Smooth and silky

Ember could see the barely contained disapproval in her mother's expression when she saw the state of her tail, not that it was any surprise to the young Carpathian. She knew her mother's aversion to getting dirty and how she had hounded the importance of personal hygiene and grooming habits into their skulls since they were old enough to listen, but hey, it wasn't like Ember had chosen to let her tail get like this! She shot her mother a sardonic sassy look that asked "What?" before going back to brushing out her tail fur, removing the leaves and untangling the knots she found along the way. When the first phase of work was finally done, she drank in her mother's praise and listened for the next steps of their lesson. She was having fun so far, and her tail was already beginning to feel worlds better; she could see why her mom enjoyed her daily grooming rituals so much!

Briar instructed her on which brush to use next, a specific one with firmer, more tightly packed bristles and a specific kind of oil. While Briar explained each step, Ember watched while her mother demonstrated the proper technique to brushing out her tail to smooth out the fur. After a few repetitions, Ember nodded her head, feeling confident enough to try and emulate her mother. "Okay, I think I got it," she said, picking up the brush and applying a light coating of the oil to the bristles like Briar had shown her. Then she did as her mother had done, beginning at the fine ends of her tail fur and brushing through the long flowing strands of hair up towards the base of her tail. It was a little tricky to get down at first, but after a few practice brushes Ember found her rhythm, and before long the adolescent girl was going to town grooming her tail. Already it was a sight different from when she had walked into the room!

Ember spent a good bit of time liberally reapplying oil to the brush to make sure she had plenty distributed throughout her tail until the fur was smooth and sleek and even gleamed a little in the light. With this newfound luster in her fur, Ember could really see all the intricate blending of black and midnight blue hues in her fur. She'd never seen her coat so defined before! "Wow! Is my tail always gonna look like this when I brush it?" she asked Briar, looking up at her mother while resisting the urge to wag her tail, lest she disrupt all their work with her excitement. "Does this mean all the boys are gonna be staring at how pretty I am now?" Ember shot Briar a cheeky, roguish grin. She was now at the age where the interest in romance was beginning to form in her mind, and although she was still fairly uninterested in the notion, she knew it at least made her dad uncomfy to think about his daughters dating. Would her mom be the same way? On that note, another thought came to her as she was setting the brush aside and waiting for her next lesson. "Does Dad ever help you do your tail? Or is this kind of thing too girly for him?"

WC: 553
Total: 1897 / 1500

"Ember Carpathius"