[ P ] numb

Months had passed since Dahlia had experienced her dream. She thought about it constantly, reimagining every moment as if to burn the images into her mind if only to remember what it was like to be with Haskell again. Despite the rather depressing ending, it was still one of the most joyful moments since her father had passed in the war, with the only thing better being time spent with her family. However, she couldn't shake the weird unease that crept under her coastal furs at night - was this a premonition towards Haskells state? It wasn't as if she would even know, being that there was a border closure between them for so long...

Insecurities ate away at her resolve since until she finally decided to check up on him herself. But first, she needed to prepare herself for entering the Mainlands. Having spent almost her entire life thus far in the Highlands, going south was going to be an incredible culture shock - but she was excited to meet those who knew her father. Her mother didn't have much to say about him whenever she asked questions, and she was getting to the age where that just wasn't enough to sate her curiosities. Hyacinth still went on about he wasn't actually dead; her delusions only becoming more frustrating as time went on. She needed answers.

It was the night previous where Willow popped into her mind. She was good friends with Nora, so that would mean she had met her father too, right? Deciding that the worst case was she wouldn't be able to help her, Dahlia decided to go for a walk in an effort to find Willow on the streets of Aberdeen. It had been some time since they last saw each other, but hopefully Willow remembered the blue young woman.

Giving a quick goodbye and a peck both to her sisters and mother, Dahlia left their home and began her journey to the more populated areas of the region, her nose sniffing for that familiar scent of the gentle midwife.

manip + code: clae

The days of the war grew further in distance as the seasons swept by, seemingly swifter as time passed like a race. The memories of the war were never far, though – the lives lost, how different things were now. Willow’s work kept her busy, now that pups were born all year round, and she spent the weeks traversing Saora for expectant mothers to assist when they welcomed the babies into the world. It brought immense joy to see the children grow from helpless newborns to independent youths with their own little personalities. Even her own daughter was a yearling now, which was hard to wrap her brain around sometimes.

A couple months had passed since Willow last visited her friend Nora and her brood of daughters, and, of course Anteros, who Willow had adored since childhood. She thought of the little family frequently, since she and Rowan had stayed with them for weeks in the wintertime, when little Oksana was born. She hadn’t had time to visit, but since she was in Aberdeen, it seemed a good occasion to do so. The midwife had just purchased a bouquet of wildflowers to bring to Nora, thoughts of the Seafarer family dancing in her imagination.

Imagine Willow’s surprise, then, when she looked up to find a familiar dual colored pelt, onyx and moonstone, with vivid green eyes. Peridot sights squinted to get a better look. Her face lit up brightly at the sight of the adolescent, who looked so much more grown in just the last several months. A feminine voice called out, ”Could it be? Is that little Dahlia Seafarer?” Willow paused; Had she adopted her new father’s surname? Just to be safe, she added, ”Or… Abersenthe?” The healer grinned apologetically as she hurried closer to the teenager girl, tail wagging with genuine happiness.



@Dahlia

art + code: clae

It had been some time since she explored Aberdeen. With word of a parade coming through soon - something about a peace treaty with the South - she had wanted to experience that as well, but had to figure out some answers first before the celebrations began. And while she knew that Willow frequented here often, she also understood that she was a traveling midwife, so she could only hope to happen upon her path today.

Luck was with her, though, as the familiar tan and ivory face came into view. Held within her maw was a bundle of beautiful flowers that Dahlia smelled even from this distance. As she closed the gap between them, her thick tail wagged excitedly at her heels, moving swiftly to encase the midwife in a long overdue hug.

Willow greeted her, pinning both her mothers surname and then her stepfathers in an apologetic question. A giggle left the young girls lungs as she simply shook her head; though it was obvious she was not offended by the assumptions.

"Dahlia Cain. I've not changed my name - I am planning to go South to visit a friend, and see if there is a future for me there. Surely, my fathers honourable name would only aid in my being successful there." she replied, completely oblivious to the experiences that Willow had had with her sire. Nevertheless, an easy smile graced her features, as if expecting that Willow would agree with her. "Mother has been the only person who's talked with me about him, though. Hyacinth is... still upset over his death, and never wants to bring him up." she paused for a moment, her brows knitting together as she recalled some memories. "Mom is always so sad when she talks about him... I don't have the heart to ask her but, is that because he died? Why did they split?" it was then that she bashfully fell silent, casting her emerald sights downward. "I'm sorry, Willow - I don't mean to overwhelm you with questions out of the blue." she giggled again, softly at the use of the word blue. "I'm just finding I am lost in a sea of questions that I can't find an answer to, and I understand you were there when we were born." shyly, she looked to the woman again, trying to read her face. Would she be just as elusive as Nora?

manip + code: clae

Cain. Willow’s mouth fell open I’m surprise to hear it. She hadn’t heard it since those dreadful, dark days in prison. ”Surely, my fathers honourable name would only aid in my being successful there." The girl smiled and Willow’s heart dropped. As Dahlia spoke, Willow felt an increasing sense of panic, and her uneasiness was scribbled all over tri-color features. The healer’s gaze fell when Dahlia described feeling lost in the uncertainty of unanswered questions…. Was it her place to share such details? Was it fair for Nora to keep important truths from her girls?

“I understand you were there when we were born." Willow cleared her throat, trying to form thoughts in the tumult of her mind. ”Actually, I — I wasn’t there when you and Hyacinth were born.” A growing frown traced dark lips. ”Did your mother never tell you the circumstances of your birth? Or… how she and I came to know each other?”

Willow hesitated, heart torn in a dozen directions… but it was her loyalty to young Dahlia that convinced her to speak. She had to know before she made life altering choices on false faith. The midwife inhaled sharply and began in hushed tones: ”She — your mother and I, we met while we were both imprisoned in King Adamh’s dungeons. We got caught up in a protest, and we shared a cell. And I could tell right away that she was expecting. Locked away and pregnant — with you three.” Not two — three. The horrible memories inspired a shudder, but it had been even worse for Nora…

”I never met him. But I saw him there in the darkness. He was on the other side of the bars. Such hateful, angry eyes. And — he knew. He knew she was pregnant, but kept her locked away. I don’t know how the other guards could allow it… I guess his position meant he could do what he wanted. And —“ She hesitated as the emotions coursed through her, breathing growing haggard and speech rapid. ”That’s where you were born. And that was the last your mother saw of you until she got you back.”

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Her heart sank deep into the pit of her stomach, and continued to descend into what felt like hell as Willow talked and explained, and talked some more. The information she divulged was beyond anything Dahlia had suspected; each sentence was a new blow that nearly caused her physical pain.

Bits and pieces stood out; information that her mother hadn't even mentioned, and soon enough the young woman was reeling. Never could she have expected such horrendous news, especially of a man that even her mom spoke so highly of.

So why would she lie?

Dahlia watched Willow, her rump falling to the ground soon after she had started speaking. And while there was a slight suspicion that she was creating a story that wasn't true, Dahlia didn't speak it. Instead, she knew she needed as much information as possible, even if it was truly this bad. And while the midwife hadn't technically been there for their birth, that was neither here nor there at this point. She hadn't realized that they were both imprisoned, or that--

Wait, what?

"Three?" Dahlia echoed in a voice that didn't sound like hers. Mom never mentioned a third one, it had always been just her and Hyacinth... confusion broke through the bewilderment that coloured her face, and she shook her head. "That's not possible..." she whispered. Why would Mom not told them? This was too much.

By the time Willow had concluded, at least for now, Dahlia understood what she insinuated at the end. Her father had stolen them from Nora shortly after they were born. An abhorrent action, one that Dahlia struggled with accepting. If this was the case, shouldn't Nora be upset, mad, angry at the man who had stolen her children? Was that why they had made a quick trip up north, and dad hadn't said goodbye? Puzzle pieces were slowly clicking together.

Because he didn't know.

If it were possible, Dahlia would have been white as a ghost. Her breathing came in short bursts as she frantically tried to process this all, overwhelmed with all the information and reeling from never even expecting any of this. Her dad was a good guy... Tears welled along her emerald irises as she shook her head again.

manip + code: clae

Seeing the yearling’s distressed reaction caused of jolt of guilt to course through Willow. Had she made a mistake being so candid? Gods, what Nora despise her now? The flowers she had gathered lay on the ground before her how, forgotten until Willow took a step forward, crushing the blossoms beneath an ivory paw.

”Sometimes, pups don’t make it… And it’s no one’s fault.” Although Willow, being a midwife, was quite certain that the doomed child might have survived if the circumstances were different, and his mother’s pregnancy and birthing hadn’t occurred behind prison bars…

With a steadying breath, the herbalist pressed onward, for there was no going back now: ”Didn’t it seem strange that after you and Hya came north, you never saw him again? I’ve told you what I know, but only the gods know how much more there could be. I wish that this — that this wasn’t your reality.” Her voice was halting and emotional, but the healer had learned how to suppress her own emotions for the sake of others. ”You don’t deserve this. And — and neither did your mother. But it is all true, Dahli. I have — I have no reason to lie to you. And I don’t know why your mother would hide the truth, now that you’re old enough to — to go there yourself,” she spoke quietly, struggling to maintain eye contact but willing herself to do so. ”And what it means to bear his name, the weight that it carries. I didn’t want you to have false expectations.”

Willow would attempt to move closer. ”I’m so sorry, Dahlia.” She would attempt to embrace the yearling, if Dahlia would let her — and the healer wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t, given the devastating news she has just learned for the very first time.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck