'cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
#1
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The sky was a soft gold, accented by fluffy, pink streaked clouds. Over the water, the sun was sinking slowly. It was picturesque. She found the whole thing beautiful and could not have asked for a better night to walk along the shore. For now, at least, the confusion and fright of the unknown was abated. When she had first come to this place, fresh with heartbreak and (as she often told others) moving forward, Cercatori had been a sort of haven for her.

She had learned very quickly that even such lovely places could know darkness. It had come before, and came again. What naivety had remained in her was gone now, and she looked upon the world with the same kind (if now wizened) blue eyes. Absentmindedly her fingers toyed with the metal rose, tarnished and losing its luster, and she let out a sigh. Things would be better; things always got better.

This thought eased some of her worry. The water rushed up to her feet but did not come to her ankles, or the loose and flowing red skirt above them. She had taken to wearing this, with its up-the-side slits, as a dual sort of cautionary thing—if could clear away tears and bind a wound, if the need came for it. She had found that both came more often together than she would have liked. It was a pretty thing none the less, accented by soft, jingling bells. Rosie had no reason to skulk about like some common thief. This was her home.

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#2
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Big Grin

Her young was growing so beautifully, so perfectly - it was amazing, to see the growth of their youth. The most valuable time, the most vulnerable time, to be alive..

And a wondrous time, as well. Esmeralda and Ares's personalities at this time contrasted sharply from Skye's almost hollow demeanor - eyes and ears now open, they were curious, aware, alive. Every sight, every sensation, was a new experience for them - the leaves of trees shivering in the brisk air, the sounds of the birds singing and flapping their wings to ready themselves for their migration to the south. All that was old to Skye, all that she had already experienced, her kin were now experiencing for the first time in their lives.

A familiar scent was on the wind - her pups, young as they were, could not detect it, but Skye's own nose could. She followed it, emerging on the beach; a figure was there, a familiar figure - Roselle, or Auntie Rosie as she insisted the others call her. Skye simply called her Rosie - she had known her long enough for that.

"Hello, Rosie," she said amiably enough, attempting to mask her hollowness for the time being. Her pups yipped in her arms, excited at the scent of another canine. "How are you today?"

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#3
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Autumn was approaching fast, but for now, the long days of summer suited her. Thin and with a pelt not meant for winter, she would rely heavily (as she had since she was a girl) upon thick clothing and warm fires to keep her going. These thoughts were never far from her mind, but she let them go at the approaching figure. Almost instantly her face broke into a broad, warm smile. Skye was close to her in age, but those few months were enough to warrant (in Rosie’s opinion) the matronly attitude that she held over everyone.

The babes in the pale woman’s arms were looked upon fondly, and she held out her hands, gesturing she might take them for a time. Even though her leader showed no signs of it, Rosie hardly doubted that she was still wrought with worry. After all, between having children and watching Jade mutilate her own kin…oh it was too much, sometimes. Behind her a long, feathered tail wagged. “Ah ma dame,” her voice was a peculiar thing, accented heavily by another lifetime spent amongst the French-speaking part of her homeland. “I am well. Eet is a beautiful sunset, no?”

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#4
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She had no qualms in handing her pups to the slender dog woman - she had proven herself to be almost like a mother to all in the pack, including and perhaps especially the pups. They cried out softly as they were transferred from Skye's hands to Roselle's, but they quieted down as the soft, long fur of the sight hound's body warmed them and cushioned them in a pillow-like way.

"It is," Skye said softly in response to Roselle's admiration of the sunset. It was an unusually bright and orange sunset - it was beautiful, and she was glad that she was there to see it. "Another end of the day.. I guess all things get better, don't they?" She was not talking about the sunset any longer, but of the events in the pack. Things had gone by, horrible things.. she could not shake them from her mind.

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#5
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Though the puppies protested, Rosie shifted them until both were snug and held between her arms. Thin as she was, her body managed to conform to the two as if it was made for such a thing. Incapable as she was of producing children, there were some instincts deep yet. Of course, she loved being able to care for all of the children—it gave her a purpose, and it filled her heart with love each time she saw one of them grow. Even if they were not her children, she felt somehow responsible, felt as if she had played a part in seeing them off into the world.

Yet as she cooed gently to further ease the babes, her leader spoke in a tone that caused a faint and worried line to crease between Roselle’s eyes. It softened after a moment as she smiled, however sadly, and her blue eyes rose to meet the honey-orange of Skye’s. C'est la vie, no? Eef there is no rain, zere can be no flowers. Zees ees why we look for le soleil.” To accent her point, she looked out towards the sinking sun. It had touched the water now, and everything glowed. The water looked as if it was made of gold. Rosie inclined her head towards the children, eyes softening. “Zees will pass,” she went on gently, but the ghost of the horrors seen lingered on her face.

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#6
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She nodded slowly, absorbing Roselle's thickly-accented words. She knew that the feathery sight hound Saluki was right; all things passed, eventually, and all things - both good and bad - had to come to an end sooner or later. Tragedy struck, perhaps more than once, but the clouds would make way for the sun.. it just seemed that to Skye, it never would. Tragedy struck all pups at the same time - how?

She shook the thoughts from her head, willing herself to force a smile that would not come. "You are right," she said to Roselle, still staring out at the setting sun. It was a brilliant orange-gold now, morphing the sea into an ocean of lava, bright and hot against the cool purple-tinged sky. A beautiful end to a beautiful day, but the events were not beautiful.

"Are you finding everything well?" she asked, meaning of the woman's well-being. Roselle loved to care for all, Skye knew - she was a mother to the pack, and not just to the pups that she adored. She knew that it caused her pain, to see the tragedies strike, and Skye wanted to know if she was alright.

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#7
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A world could end a thousand times over. It was tragedy that shaped lives, molding them as the weather molded landscapes. The sea could smooth out the hardest edge of a stone, and the wind could chip away a mountain until it was dust. In embracing the day-to-day struggle and looking upon the now with this fatalistic view, there were abundant reasons to look beyond the cold, dark nights. Simply waiting and brooding on storms would summon them faster—so Roselle chose to rise above and not look back. By releasing everything she rose, like the sun.

The question was polite, and Rosie smiled at it. She had only a vague idea what it was to lead, and imagined that Skye had a thousand other things to attend to. By going out of her way to socialize, the bond between the leader and her members was solidified. Rosie, for example, could never see herself following anyone who did not have such a kind heart. It was unfortunate that Skye had been forced to temper this with violence, but the world had not changed. The world was as brutal and stupid and savage as ever.

“I have no complaints,”“Eet will be nice to have children to watch this winter. Zee snow, eet will be new to them.” One of her great joys was seeing the world as it was to those who did not understand it. Children gave her an insight (and a reminder) of many simple things that she had once forgotten.

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#8
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She watched her pups, content in the sighthound's warm, feathered arms. They looked sleepy now, content - just as they should be. Just as the rest of the pack should be.. soon, perhaps, when the tides of grief pulled over and revealed tranquil sands, just as the tides of the oceans did each night and each day.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said; Roselle had never been the fiercest of the pack, nor the strongest, but she was always kind, always motherly, and that did just as much for the pack as a guardian did.

"It'll be the only world they'll know.. and then spring will come," she said, remembering the awe in Robert and Erzulie's eyes when they first saw the snow melting away - the only land they had ever truly known, after they became aware of their surroundings - and being replaced with bright, vibrant new colors and life and sounds and scents. It was almost magical.

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#9
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It was not Rosie’s place to be a warrior. She was too fine boned, too easily broken. Her body was the weakness her heart had once been. Yet where darkness might have grown to consume her she instead rejected the sorrow and embraced life. Fatalistic as she was, each day was new and each day brought something different with it. She would live to see the sun rise, and she would do so on her own terms. It did not matter if she was only able to run when the time came for fighting, because she was by far the fastest thing amongst her packmates. At least, she suspected this—she had never truly pushed herself around them and only knew what other wolves were like.

Oui,” Rosie agreed, and her tail wagged behind her. “Zat ees my favorite part of all. I have not seen spring here, so zees will be my first as well.” It would not be France, where the fields filled with wildflowers and the promises of boys were broken so easily. She frowned slightly at the thought, dismissed it, and shook her head lightly. “Vee should walk before eet gets too dark. Zees leetle ones should sleep, no?”

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