It felt good to be out of the den and even out of the gorge even if it would only be for a short time. Of course her den was there so she would ultimately have to turn in for the night, but the stars tonight were beautiful and the sky was more than clear enough to see them. Although she was used to living in the dark in her youth and had never quite gotten used to a more normal schedule, she found herself a bit tired as she laid down and relaxed on the flat, short grass of the dancefloor.

Even if she spent the night out here alone she wouldn't complain, though company would be preferred. Did any of her children like star gazing? She wasn't sure, and briefly frowned when she couldn't really think of anything that her children liked. She'd been away too long, taking care of herself, their sibling, and one of Medusa's oldest children to have any real bonding time with her children. She considered calling for them, all of them, but realized it was late and that they would likely be asleep. She didn't want to be rude and wake them from what was probably a good dream, however, so she could only hope that company would arrive in some form.

"Speech!"

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Triss hadn’t slept well ever since her mother had moved to the infirmary. She wasn’t in the family den, either. Her siblings were strangers to her, and perhaps a part of her resented how their arrival came shortly after her mother had distanced herself from them - from her. Her and Widow had been a duo against the world for so long, that anything different just felt… strange to her.

She rose in the night from her little solo den, and was heading out to get some water when she caught her mothers den. Surprise, and a touch of home jumped in her chest. Was Widow out of the infirmary? A little shyly, as if she didn’t know what to say to her mother anymore, she crept forward. Instead of speaking, she lay down beside Widow, nudging with her nose to move her mothers paw, and crawled under it. Even now, a yearling, she fit so easily under her mothers paw.


"Speech"

The stars were beautiful out, but due to the quiet nature of the night she found herself drifting off for what could have only been for a few minutes. Perhaps it was or perhaps it was much longer, but she found herself being roused awake by a movement under her paw. Blinking silver eyes awake, she looked down and found that a little dark shape had weedled it's way into a cuddle. Knowing her eldest daughter like the back of her own paw, she pulled the young woman close to her and dragged her tongue gently between her ears.

Her daughter had turned two recently and although she was sad to have missed such an important day, she was grateful that Cryptis appeared to be doing well. Her tiny daughter would always be tiny, but never would she hold an equally small part of her heart. She loved all of her children, but she wouldn't dare say equally. If anything, her firstborn would always be her favorite, as long as she didn't do anything stupid to make her think otherwise at least.

"Hello, my love," she purred and nuzzled the smaller, now grown woman who she was proud to call her daughter.

"Speech!"

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“Muuum” she said, but it was a pretty minor complaint really, as she submitted to the cleaning. She leaned against the larger form of her mother with a sigh. She fell silent for a little bit, enjoying the familiarity of her mothers scent and touch. She had missed this enough to leave an ache in her heart. “I missed you.” She admitted softly, closing her eyes. Though she didn’t intend to sleep, and waste any of this time with her mother.

She wanted to talk, but there was so much there in her thoughts that it was hard to grasp any one thing, or to describe it the way she wanted. She decided to pick one that was both tricky, but made her happy. “I met a boy.”


"Speech"

She couldn't help but smile and let a singular chuckle escape her lips as Cyptis softly complained. She knew it wasn't really a complaint, but she stopped nonetheless and sighed contently. "I missed you too, you know. I would've asked for your help had we not feared it to be so.. lethal. But I couldn't risk losing any of your siblings, certainly not you," she said with the same smile she was already wearing and nuzzled her gently.

Knowing Cyptis was growing up was one thing, seeing her grown was one thing as well, but she couldn't help but feel some resentment towards her announcement of having met a boy. Not because he was a boy, or even because she was growing up and would likely be interested in some sort of companionship, but that she had missed everything in her life these past many weeks. "Oh yeah?" She questioned softly. "Tell me everything about him, as much as you want to tell," she said and dragged her tongue between her ears again. She was truly happy for her daughter, but she couldn't help but be angry at herself for missing so many milestones.

"Speech!"

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She clung a little tighter to her mother. “You’re not expendable either.” She grumbled. Not that Widow had a choice with getting sick, but she still felt it needed to be said. She needed her mother. They were a team against the world… even if there were more of them now than she had expected them to be.

“He’s a healer, and he’s kind. He gets my attacks and he helps me work through them.” she explained, indicating her neck, and the crystals that clung to her inner throat. “He’s…” She didn’t know how to describe him, or what he had become to her. “He’s funny, and I like spending time with him.” she finished a little lamely.


"Speech"

Cyptis wasn't wrong and she wouldn't pretend that she was either. She was certainly right, she wasn't expendable... but her knowledge and skill was necessary. Getting sick was never on her mind, she'd done her best to prevent it actually, but some things couldn't be helped. She was just happy that everyone was alive and well, recovering and would soon be back to their normal selves.

Taking a deep breath as Cryptis went on about the boy, she couldn't help but smile. As long as he was good to her, she wouldn't complain. Worry? Of course, but that's what mothers do she came to find out. She doubted her mother ever worried about her, but shook the thought from her head to focus on Triss and the now.

"I'm glad he's good to you and that you like him. If he ever hurts you though, I'll kill him," she teased with a playful glare and a laugh. Would she kill him if he hurt her? Absolutely, but it was best to play it off as some kind of joke than an actual threat... but she wanted Cryptis to know that her mother would protect her, time and time again. "I would like to meet him, when you're both ready, of course," she added with a soft smile, that way she had a name and a face to who was reaching for her eldest daughters heart in case she ever needed to hunt him down.

"Speech!"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

“He cares too much about me to hurt me.” She said, feeling the truth in her heart. He was… he was so much to her, and the struggles with their pack and priorities was tearing her up inside. She could never imagine leaving her mother, who had been her whole world for all of her life. But she also knew that Crux wasn’t likely to leave his own pack, it was clear the wolves there meant a lot to him. It put them in a difficult place, and she didn’t know if they would ever find a solution.

“I’d like that, mum, I’d like that a lot.” She said, settling her head down on Widow’s giant paw like a pillow. Her mothers large presence always felt so safe to her.


"Speech"

She could only hope that what Cryptis said was true, but she knew that many men were dangerous, selfish, and greedy. She wasn't all too familiar with the surrounding packs, but she hoped that he came from a good home and that he was raised right. Treating her eldest daughter as anything but a queen wouldn't be good enough, and Widow was certain she would make him aware of that fact. Now they just needed to schedule a time to meet and discuss where to go from here. If he was so interested in being with her daughter, then why hadn't he tried to join her in Insomnia? Widow feared the day that she may ask to join him in this unknown pack, but she couldn't hold on to her children forever, even if she so desperately wanted to.

"We'll talk more about it later, for now get some rest my darling," she purred and returned to dragging her tongue between her ears soothingly as Cryptis rested her head on her paws.

"Speech!"

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