The time has come

Sibelle fought to catch her gaze, but Ekko would not offer it. She kept her eyes transfixed on that single blade of grass, memorizing every shade and hue of the green object. It was amazing how spectacular it seemed, she tried to shut out the rest of the world. She was oh so good at that, she had built up her walls so high that it was impossible to pass. The russet female seemed to have found a hidden door within her thick walls, and was slowly peeling it apart. Sibelle was working her way into this girls heart, no matter how she tried to push back. Sib didn't even know anything about her, and of course she hadn't just offered up her past on a silver platter. She was careful about it, because as far as she knew, she should be dead. There were many times when Ekko had wished she was dead, and she would be lying if she didn't say that she attempted to harm herself in that way.

When the two ladies hit the earth, a shaky sigh slipped from her lips at Sibelle's simple words, her ears pinning back flat against her skull. She knew that she wasn't talking about what had happened with her, Sibelle, and Crucifix just now. It was about her, her past. Sibelle was asking for her story, and she knew that it was probably about time. She deserved to know why she thought that love was the devil, why she knew that it ruined lives and killed souls. Another shuttering sigh left her, the tears slowly slipping down her rusty face. She took in a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. She hadn't talked about what had happened to her ever, to anyone. But her mistress had asked her, and by her tone she knew that she wasn't just asking. She was telling her that it was time. The time had truly come.

Ekko was having a hard time even speaking, the silence was long as she mustered up the courage to speak. This was going to be the most that she had ever said in a long time, and the most that Sibelle would probably ever hear from her lips. "My pups... my babies." She whispered, her voice broken and so quiet. "He told me that he loved me, even though his father was my master. And then we had pups, our beautiful, perfect pups." Ekko choked out, pausing as sobs shook her small frame. "And then the two of them came upon us... and..." She glanced up at Sibelle for a brief moment, although her gaze rested just above her eyes. "They tore my babies apart and made me watch. My little babies didn't even have a chance to see this world, they were torn from it too young... so young." Ekko was glad that she was laying down, otherwise she might have collapsed. "I was frozen... I didn't step in until they went after my last little girl, my Faire Echo. They turned on me then as I tried to protect her, beating me until I prayed to the gods that they would just kill me. That is where I got this scar, when the man I thought loved me marked my face and told me that now no one could love me, not with this ugly thing. I lost my hearing in that ear, but worst of all I lost part of myself. I'm broken, Mistress Sibelle." Her last words were but a whisper, her lips quivering as more tears fell from her pale eyes. "My babies..."