Every day dragged on longer than the last and Morrigan regretted she could not enjoy what should have been the nicest summer weather she'd experienced having always lived in the south before now. Autumn would soon be upon them, and with it Khal's birthday crept closer. Ori had always been his own boy, and would no doubt be a renowned healer priest if he chose to return to them, but after losing Tormund and her eldest son being missing... Morrigan felt hollowed out.

What if Ori returned only for his mothers to have to tell him he was the last of their sons? He had already come home to tragedy once. Not to mention the happy newborns Talisa had recently brough into their life, who should have been a beacon of happiness but were instead an added weight to the iron mask she was wearing. She was busy now stripping the hide from leg bones of a small deer for the youngest children to chew on, but she lay just outside the entrance to the den, unable to leave it unguarded for even a moment. @Yennefer

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She had never seen her mother stay so close before, only when Yennefer and her siblings had been much younger in the Cove, but even still, she hadn’t comprehended how @Morrigan was ever bound to duty. She had seen it firsthand when the rockslide had devoured everything and left them without a home, having been distraught as her mother remained behind to help those who might not have been so fortune as them. How she had been so afraid, so angry, but now since they had come to the Brook, the wolven pelted cub dwelled upon it often. There were no bad emotions towards it, but rather a burning curiosity as to why. What was it that drove Morrigan to do so? She could imagine doing the same for her siblings and family, but for others, it was hard to see the reasoning. Such was the curse of youth, and what she would come to learn in time that no one was invincible, not even those she held so close.

Yet, in the moment, she was ever the babe lost inside her own innocence, deciding to venture up out of the den to see what her mummy was up to. Slowly, she would approach the laying form of her mother, a soft mewl of greeting and a brushing of the cheek against the nape to let her know she was there as Yennefer moved to the forefront. Bright sterling, amethyst eyes would immediately focus upon the tiny leg bones that were having their hide stripped away, immediately wondering if it would be for Mama Talisa's new litter. It was sure going to take a bit, even from someone so skilled, and it intrigued her for she had never done such a thing herself. "Can I help, mummy?" She offered softly, coming to sit beside Morrigan's large paws, looking up at her with blatant interest in taking on the task.


"Speech"

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Any malingering thoughts were forced from her mind as the soft voice of @Yennefer reached her ears. "Of course, love," she said before pushing one of the other bits she'd intended to work on in the girl's direction and continuing work on her own. "For the new babies," she clarified before asking, "How are you feeling? I imagine this has all been a lot for you girls." Morrigan's own childhood had been fairly simple, especially in comparison to what had become of her own progenies' lives. The Greyflood could make no promises to them that things would stay peaceful now though. She knew better than that and had never believed in comforting lies.

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As her mother pushed her some of the parts her way, Yennefer would immediately set herself to the task, careful to observe the manner in which @Morrigan was stripping hide from the bones and mimic it as closely as possible. Gleaming eyes were kept intent on her mother, nodding at her instruction and beginning to peel away the flesh from the bone with care with tiny claws and teeth. She didn't want anything left within the hides that could be hazardous, especially if they were for her younger siblings. There was silence between them as the pair worked diligently, the wolven cub the eager student to her mother's mentoring, so taken by her work that she almost didn't know she was being spoken to until she happened to glance up and be watching for a particular technique. "It...it has been a lot to adjust to." She murmured truthfully aloud, her thoughts drifting back to their sudden departure from the cove and now to the disappearances of family. Things certainly hadn't been easy nor fair to them, and it seemed as if it would never be when ill will kept coming there way. Yet, she supposed all in all, they had all come out of it stronger for the better; even if she did not feel it. "I am just unsure of what might happen next and I want to be ready for it." Her words were blatant in their childish honesty, letting the piece she was working on come to rest beneath her toes as she watched her mother questioningly. How do I become more like you, mummy.

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Morrigan would watch her daughter even as she was watched herself, noticing how carefully she paid attention to her own methods as they worked together on the toy. "I know my love," Morrigan would say as she finally turned her mismatched gaze back to her work, "But you girls have been very brave through all of this." That much was very true, and though Morrigan struggled to be the type of gentle, natural mother that Talisa had always been, she was more than happy to help her children learn to be secure in what they wanted in their lives. "What does that look like to you? Being ready for it?" Did @Yennefer wish to be a fighter like Morrigan, or something softer yet no less essential.

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The task got easier the more she went about it, easing the hide away from bone and checking each piece over thoroughly to make certain there were no remaining fragments tucked away from sight. Some were troublesome and kept snagging when trying to peel them away, and she would do her best to release them with the sharp touch of a claw with her brow furrowed in concentration. These would be for her younger siblings and making such toys safe was of utmost priority. Like @Morrigan, Yennefer fell into a comfortable pace of the craft, her attention completely taken by the work. Though, it didn’t mean she wasn’t listening and when her mother words slipped through the stillness, her ears flicked swiftly in acknowledgement. "I want to be a warrior, like you." She stated firmly, no hesitation in the decisive way she spoke. "I want to have the strength to fight anything, so you don't always have to." Her family and their protection was the only thing that mattered to the wolven girl, and she had not forgotten when mummy had gone back for others in the rockslide. She hadn't been able to do anything then, but now, she was older and far more capable than a little cub who could only lose her temper and cry.

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