Tauramme

(Written by Ushizuki)

scritch, scritch

Tauramme shifted in her sleep.

scritch, scritch

Her brow crinkled and her short mumbling was muffled with deep sleep. Her mind vaguely registered that something was lightly scratching her left cheek.

scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch

Finally, she managed to slit one of her eyes open enough to see what that confounded scratching was. She was met with wide, vibrant green eyes.

"Mama, are you awake?" spoke a soft, flat voice. One side of Tauramme's jaw quirked up.

"Yes, seedling. What it is?"

"Well, you know how you're leaving soon?" the Fae asked, bounding up to sit on her mother's snout. Tauramme had to slightly cross her eyes to look at her but she had grown used to it, as her daughter preferred looking evenly into others' faces.

"Mmhmm," she replied, slowly nodding her head and causing Yggdrasil to bob along with the movement.

She would be leaving for a sister clan in the Arcane region. She wanted the lush, verdant surroundings that were lacking in the barren, scarce lands of Dragonhome. She had grown restless and it seemed to be getting worse each day. While she would be leaving, her daughter chose to stay. She was recently appointed as the clan's Nature Patron and as such held a seat on the clan council. Also, Yggdrasil seemed fond of the twiggy trees and bristly shrubs that spotted the rocky terrain. To each their own.

"Well," Yggdrasil shifted from foot to foot, carefully cradling something to her small chest. Tauramme hadn't noticed it before now, due to the lingering hold of sleep. But now, she saw it was a flower with beautiful yellow orange petals. Tauramme knew exactly what kind of flower it was, she would be a poor excuse of a Nature dragon if she didn't! It was a sunrise hibiscus, a flower native to the Viridian Labyrinth.

"What's that you have there?" she asked anyway. It was always best to humor young ones.

"It's, um, it's for you." Yggdrasil stated, holding out the large flower. Her mother took it in her claw, admiring the perfect slope of the petals. It had obviously been grown with love and care.

"For me?"

The Fae nodded, "So you don't forget about me."

"Oh, seedling." Tauramme soothed, using her free claw to scoop her child up and nestled her against her left cheek. She set the flower into the ground in a safe spot, but still close by, sending her energy though the stem and causing new roots to form and secure it.

"If there's anything I've learned from my stay here, it's how important it is to remember the past." Tauramme stated, closing her eyes and nestling down to sleep. "But you'll never become part of my past, dear."

"What do you mean, Mama?"

"Because you are my future. Now, go to sleep."

"I love you, Mama."

"And I love you, my little blossom. More than you'll ever know."