Moms make everything better

Ember heard her mother's voice calling out to her from down one of the rows of bottle racks and casks, pausing her in her tracks. She spied her mother's tawny form down one of the rows waving to her and Ember instantly felt a wave of relief come over her. Just being near Briar was therapeutic in itself. Moms really did have some magical way of making everything feel better. Smiling and waving back, Ember briskly trotted down the row of bottles until she got to her mother, taking a moment to inspect the scene she'd walked up on. The sweet scent of fruits mixed with the bitterness of alcohol filled her nose. Her mother was busy prepping fresh wines to be fermented and aged. And judging by the rows of bottles stacked up neatly to one side waiting for a home, she guessed Briar had just finished bottling a fresh batch too. Winemaking was such a fascinating thing to the young Carpathian...

Briar's voice pulled Ember from her mental dwelling and brought her attention back to her mother. "Oh, yeah! I mean, no. I mean... kinda? Ugh!" Ember groaned and heaved a sigh, her shoulders slumping as she gave a dramatic roll of her head. Why was it so hard just saying something clearly too?! Why did everything about being a teen have to be hard? "Mom, can I talk to you about something?" she asked, starting over from the top. "...Actually, it's kinda like... a bunch of things." Em flashed Briar a sheepish smile, ears folding back shyly. There wasn't just one thing weighing on Ember's mind; it was a conglomeration of all sorts of troubles and frustrations. Her father, Erik, her fight and kiss with Aylin, her own self... everything. How much time did Briar have to listen? Although maybe if she was making wine, Em might have her mother as a captive audience for longer than she expected.

"Ember" | "Carpathian"