Skill: N/A

---

After weeks in the frigid, barren woods of Northfall, the chill in Elysium’s air felt almost tropical.

The gilded woman basked in the warmth of the midday light, golden coat as luminous as the rays of sun that kissed her skin. Normally, the Augur would be nestled safely in her den this time of day, taking a respite from the winter winds and indulging in a snooze … but sleep had not been easy since Narcissa had left.

Nightmares crawled at the back of her eyelids whenever she so much as dared to flutter them shut.

Softly, Amaranth would sigh, standing up atop her basking rock and delicately stretching each of her stilt-like limbs with individual care. After a moment, the woman would slink down from her granite pedestal, listlessly moving toward the inner grounds of the pack. There was someone she sought … there was one golden daughter that remained. Aelia?  Unlike Valeska’s voice, Amaranth’s was a quiet beckon, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed around for the golden girl. 

---

There are caws on the mid-day wind. Ravens that have stayed in the chilly mountains, stowing away from the cold of the lower lands. They seemed to often inhabit the Respite, but their numbers as of late had been going up. The golden girl stared up at them from her place underneath the sun, resting on one of the various rocks near the cache. The winged rats watched her back from the slim branches of the alpines. Ever since one had given Amaris a bad feeling, she harbored a slight resentment to them.

Though her guarding of the food was interrupted by one of the soft calls of one of her mothers. The white tuffs of her ears stood on edge, flagging up and twitching around, and then her head followed suit of her mother's voice, finding her dragging along the well-worn paths. Мать? (Mother?) The golden warrior rose from the stone, catching sight of the Augur.

It had been a while since she'd seen her blonde mother. She'd been visiting Northfall. And with the grief of losing a child, she hadn't been out much whilst she was back either. It weighed on Aelia now that she should have checked in either way. She crossed the distance between them and without a word, nuzzled underneath her mother's chin and pressed against her chest. Я скучал по тебе. (I missed you.) She murmured into the fur, the same color that graced Narcissa's coat as well as her own, How was Northfall?

Amaranth

Skill: Counselor 1/5

---

Like a radiant beam of sun, the golden youth appeared, summoned by the whisper. Amarath's gaze was soft, an empty abyss of amethyst as the youth buried into her mother's open arms. Gold met gold, melding into a singular form that radiated with a silent level of warmth and trust. A bond that warmed the reluctant mother to her very core, softening the ice in her veins that remained after her trip to the bitter North.

I missed you, too, mое Mаленькое Cолнышко (my Little Sun), Amaranth would purr, resting her slender muzzle atop the familiar, youthful frame. Thank the spirits that her Russian had improved, and she'd not insulted any of her loved ones in quite some time (with no thanks to Harper). Selfishly, Amaranth lingered in the embrace for a moment longer, softening her gaze before pulling away to address the questions at hand. As Aelia asked about her time in Northfall, there was a visible shift in Amaranth's eyes ... that tender softness hardened up.

It was not a hardness toward Aelia, no. Just ...
... a hard fact. Defeat. Loss.

Cold, was Amaranth's chosen response, her ears flicking forward as she appraised Aelia. There's not an ounce of Northern blood in these veins ... she would continue, the hints of a smile pulling at her dark lips. Yet another thing she and Valeska were so intrinsically different on. But, as they said, opposites would attract ... yin could not exist without yang. Have things been okay here? Have you been okay? There was a soft level of probing in her voice, perhaps the subtle flickers of concern lacing vocals that often held nothing but apathy.

Searching, perhaps, for hope.

---

Feeling her mother's embrace, Aelia could feel herself relax, letting go of tension she didn't even know that she had. It had been a while since she had seen either of her mothers, and she worried for them deeply. She couldn't come to admit to even herself that one of the reasons she'd stowed away was because of the similarities between her and Cissa, physically. She sighed out against her mother's blonde fur, wondering if she thought the same of herself, It's good to have you back.

The two fell back to their own selves and Aelia's lunar eyes met with her mother's enchanting amethyst ones; and she just so happened to catch the shift. The Augur seemed to stiffen as if imbued with the frigid cold of Northfall once more, and Aelia's hope seemed to fade. Whatever had happened North had not brought Narcissa back, nor neither of her mother's joy. The boy from the North had been a curse — or so a lot of them thought.

Aelia nodded at her response, I imagined. She said, offering a small smile. The blonde girl's tail did two slow wags upon seeing her mother's sly smile coil at the edges of her lips. That must be where I also get my hatred of the cold. The Daystar commented, feeling a warmth in her chest. At least not all of the Augur had been frozen over.

Things have been okay here... She thought to the past few days she had, Amaya's revelation and Amaris' confession, Odd, but... When isn't that the case? She attempted to add some levity to their conversation; her rays of warmth trying to coerce Amaranth's iced interior to melt. She missed seeing her mother drag oddities throughout Elysium and be seen side-by-side with her counterpart. These days had lacked in those sights, those ebbing emotions that trickled down through all of Elysium... All echoing with the loss of one girl.

Amaranth

Skill: Counselor 2/5

---

Aloof had always been a way to describe Amaranth's mothering style. The golden woman, unfortunately, had not been programmed into traditional modalities of emotion or love. She'd known suffering, she'd known emptiness ... and as a result, she'd been programmed to take the things she wanted. She'd been programmed to hoard. Thankfully, her time with Valeska had taught her new things — that she need not take everything when things could be given freely. And Valeska had shown her that love could be given.

And so, she would do her best to give what little bits of love she could to her children (when they deserved it, of course). Amaranth tried to silently communicate that love to Aelia through their embrace. She could only hope that whatever she gave would be enough to keep the rest of her children close. Safe.

But safety was so fickle. Life and death would take and give as they pleased, without regard for things like love.

As they settled apart from one another, Amaranth offered Aelia a weak smile, her amethyst eyes twinkling. I am sorry you inherited my vigor and not your Mать's, she commented lightly, smile coiling upward weakly upon her lips as Aelia continued their discussion. It was evident that Narcissa had not returned in her absence, the loss still prevalent and leaving a large gap in family morale.

Odd you say? Her brow would quirk, ears cupping toward the Little Sun. Despite everything, there was one quality that Amaranth would always display ... and that was a hungry, insatiable sense of curiosity. Odd how? Amythyst eyes would glitter, imploring her daughter to explain further. Perhaps a distraction was necessary.

---

skill: seer

It's alright, Мать. (mother.) Aelia assured her, I'd rather have grown up here, than in the high mountains... She shuddered at the thought; enjoying the warmth that the Respite provided her almost all year round. And even when the cold came, she had her twin to snuggle up against and keep her warm. That or the fires that Sreda somehow managed to commit.

Amaranth was almost always in a daze; and not in a way that she wasn't competent, but her mind always seemed to be elsewhere... Not completely here with reality. It was a lovable quality. But when Aelia's voice wavered, uncertainty ran through it after the past few days... with the unveiling of not only Amaris' so-called powers but the truth as well. Her eyes flickered away from her mother and to the pines that led to the waterfall, Oh, you know... Just the usual... Amaya's bone readings.... Amaris' dreams... She left out the part about the truth that Amaris had confessed to her. Even though he had lied, there was some part of her that knew that it couldn't just be a coincidence that his dreams appeared with some semblance of the truth.

There was something else that bugged her. The fact that both her siblings had... a connection to the divine. While Aelia was just... Aelia. No matter how much she prayed to the Five or meditated, waiting for them to give her a sign. It felt... Bad. Like she was broken in some way. Her eyes returned to her mother now, And my lack of it all. She shrugged, trying to slink past the underlying truths that she withheld. Do you think... That I'm not worthy of The Five's attention? She asked her mother, with a tilt of her little head, her mother's own curiosity reflecting in her daughter. Did any of her older siblings struggle with this problem?

Amaranth

Skill: Counselor 3/5

---

It was an amusing half-thought to know that 'odd' and 'the usual' could be used in one descriptive sentence to define their lives. But there was much truth behind it, for their lives were nothing but odd, and that was nothing but usual to the members of the Callosum clan. Elysium was a peculiar place, one of magic and spirituality. One of the twisted realities and dream-like trances that swayed far from the normal reality that many experienced.

Amaranth offered her daughter a warming smile, her amethyst eyes blinking slowly. But Aelia seemed troubled by it. By the 'odd usual'.

The golden mother was patient, her curious gaze and thin smile present while the Little Sun spoke. There was a sadness there, that she did not possess otherworldly abilities. (Oh, Aelia, if only she knew that all of these abilities were just those created by tired, deranged, unusual minds.) Her gaze would soften slightly, the haze clearing to display something that resembled empathy buried beneath.

"Do you think... That I'm not worthy of The Five's attention?"

In truth, Amaranth did not know of The Five before meeting Valeska. She did not know of much before meeting Valeska. Her purpose had been to troll the world, waiting for death to take the life that it had missed. It was only when she had met Valeksa that she had become ... alive.

You know ... the Five did not look at me for some time, Amaranth began, head tilt mirroring Aelia's own as she flicked her tail to touch gently along her daughter's flank. I'm not quite sure they even look at me now, she'd continue, pressing her ears forward as she lifted a brow. Blessings, curses, dreams, magic, she continued, her melodic voice chiming like the midday sun, there is more to it than what appears obvious. Her words were cryptic, but they were designed to be soothing. For if you were overtly blessed, were you truly blessed at all?

Sometimes you find things when you are not looking for them. She would lower her muzzle, aiming to press a soft nose into Aelia's cheek. And you, mое Mаленькое Cолнышко (my little sun), are more than adequate. She would draw her muzzle back, her eyes then suddenly steely and intense. And if The Five disagrees, I shall dispute that with them myself.

Not that she knew how to talk to The Five.

Or even if they were there.

But she would make it a fucking point to try.

Unless ...

Her brows narrowed for a moment. It is not your siblings telling you this, is it? And the air grew still.

---

skill: seer

There was a hole in Aelia's heart where she wanted her powers to be; for them to fill her up with a sense of belonging and being in Elysium. Of course, psychic powers were not required to be within the folds of The Five, but with her family's history, she felt as if she was the black sheep — or in this case, maybe the white sheep, since the rest of them were surely the odd ones out.

Aelia's head lifted upwards, her ears flickering up from their slouched-down fixated point, afraid that she might be a disappointment since she had not inherited what the rest of them had. Instead, her mother tells her a tale of how the Five did not look at her for some time too. The golden girl's lunar eyes widened like saucers, how could they not accept Amaranth's divinity underneath their wing? She was surely devout — as Aelia had seen through her marriage to Valeska. And still, to this day, her mother felt as though they looked away from her more times than not, this made Aelia's eyes shift towards the Heavens, having many questions for them, that she probably wouldn't get the answers to.

The touch of her mother's nose to her cheek brings her back to the moment, eyes finding the golden woman's face again, in crow feathers tangled in her neck fluff. It is hard not to look when I see the Five's blessings everywhere. She admitted, looking down at her paws as she rubbed them against one another. It did make her crack a smile when her mother spoke of taking the dispute up with the Five herself.

The mention of her siblings made her head shoot up as she frantically shook her head from side to side. No! No... Not at all! There was a rushed assurance in her voice, afraid that Amaranth was already on the verge of stomping herself over to Amaya and Amaris to scold them. But in reality, it was her own self getting in the way. If anything, I feel like they're too busy with their own... abilities. Amaya certainly was, dedicated to her craft and bones, always in the thick of the smelliest pile of rot, which was probably better than being near Aelia, where she could sully her coat. And Amaris, well, he was only slinking around during the nights from what she could tell, or alongside her, which recently, hadn't been too often.

I want to be worthy too. She'd never felt inadequate if anything, the opposite. The shining star of the show. She didn't know how to stop shining — or looking for what she wanted.

Amaranth

Skill:

Tarot Card Drawn: Seven of Wands (Reversed)
Exhaustion, giving up, overwhelmed

---

Amaranth could see the struggle of the Daystar ... and it pained her.

They were not struggles that Amaranth herself had ever felt, for her struggles at Aelia's age were far different. Amaranth, for most of her life, did not even live. Aelia, on the other hand, came into the world with a sense of purpose and life — a life for herself, but also a life for the others around her. Aelia was the sun, where Amaranth had always been a shadow.

They were two parts of one whole.

Worthy, she would repeat thoughtfully, blinking toward her daughter. You are a shining sun, Aelia, Amaranth would begin, adjusting herself so she was facing her daughter a bit more. Amaranth's eyes would swirl, a mystery there that was penetrated by an uncharacteristic warmth. A soft smile radiated at the edges of her lips. You wish to see everyone grow, empowered by your light. Your presence. And you have the strength to burn bright enough to allow everyone to see. A sun could measure success by the growth caused by its light. But what happened if the sun burned too brightly? What would happen if the sun forgot to nurture its own strength?

Exhaustion. Overwhelm. Shut down.

The sun could become the shadow.

But you must remember that our own sense of worthiness comes from here, she'd continue, lifting a paw to gently place it on Aelia's chest, a warm gesture as if to remind Aelia to nurture her own light, too.

---

skill: seer

Aelia struggled with the feeling of worth in her own self, setting all her expectations of herself on a high platter for the Five to dictate. If they didn't see anything of note in her, then why was she born?

The sweet swell of her mother's voice filled the air, repeating what Aelia's biggest aspiration was, her ears tilting on edge as if she was about to learn what she needed to make the Five see her that way. Maybe something her mother did to get their attention? But instead, there is the motherly reassurance that she is the shining sun. She'd heard this most of her life, closely related to the Sun for obvious reasons, but it hit differently coming from the supernova she was descended from.

It was funny in a way, even Aelia, in this moment, could see the effect her shine had on others. Her mother, who usually strayed towards the more... mysterious side of things, shifted her phases like the moon, turning towards the sun as a smile curved at the edges of her usually straight, pulled lips. In the movement, it was like Aelia could see an array of lights differ in her mother's eyes and around her. It was all but a brief second of purple flecking with golden sprays, but in the blink of an eye, dispersed.

'And you have the strength to burn bright enough to allow everyone to see.' All of Aelia felt as if she'd burst to life with the afternoon sun. As if a cloud had moved away and she could feel warm radiate through her again. Oh... мать (mother), I see now... For Amaranth to be this tender with her (not that she wasn't before; she was an amazing mother, but this was outright different than her usual cryptid riddles of affection).

As Amaranth's paw met Aelia's chest with the affirmation, the Daystar nodded, understanding. Coming to terms with the fact that she could be worthy all on her own. Just as her mother was, before the Five turned their eyes onto her. From myself... She repeated, softly. A wave of emotion washed over Aelia's shoulders, happy that she had her mother here, the resource of the cosmos and wisdom, in her own backyard. Thank you, мать... Я тебя люблю. (I love you.) And in an instant before anyone could stop her or Amaranth could wiggle out of the way, reached out again and engulfed her mother in a big hug.

You are wiser than The Five. The Daystar said into her mother's fur, pulling away shortly after.