While rituals had been forbidden from his youth as a child, Larkspur was aware of their purposes. His sister had gone through a similar one to this before he had been chosen for the pyre. Wisteria had never been friendly to him outright, as was the way of the Khalif. Even as children, they had been separated. Though cruel to him around others, sometimes at night she would seek him out. She had feared a great many things, and confided in Larkspur about these. At night, one was not supposed to speak of fears—but she knew he would protect her for Tak, who claimed the boy as his own. She walked between worlds. Neither of them belonged to Ankh. It was a shame, and had caused their mother much distress.
Their own brood had been out for the day. Salvia often lingered around their animals, while Pandemic and Wretch made their own games up. Pandemic had been focusing on the large fire within the central cave recently, though he had been warned repeatedly to be careful around such a thing. Fire still terrified Larkspur in its own way; when Dahlia de Mai had burnt, he had fled.
He walked with Eris quietly, having previously explained the purpose of this meeting with his Aunt-Mother. Eris had wanted more children, and Larkspur would do everything he could to provide these for her. It did not take long to exit the caves and begin trailing Misery through the forest. After so many days of winter, the sunlight felt like heaven against his dark pelt.
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