[ P ] Chamomile Tea

kylar fritz

"What shall we read tonight?" Kylar asked cheekily as she hobbled to her wife's side.
A soft groan accentuated the tan wolf's slow, strained sit. Her thigh had been pestered by her day's activities in the gardens and now she was beholden to its many protests. At least she could take her mind off of them at night. The chores were done, the house slightly less in shambles, and their ill daughter in a restful sleep. There was nothing left to do but peruse their shoddy, dirt-stained texts and drift away themselves.

Only, there were no tombs on the broken bookshelf.
Not anymore.

Her copy of Ingrid's Wise and Necessary Text of 170 Edible Plants had disappeared along with its brothers and sisters. Scavenged, no doubt, by the thieves and rogues in Rionnach while the family had been chased away by the sun.

At least they still had some shred of memory of what they'd owned. It was too expensive to replace the books, not without Kylar taking on more classes. But that would mean leaving Nephele to put their cottage back together on her own. And, she'd be left fending for herself and Anthe.

There was no way to gracefully meet all of their ends, and so the literary world would have to wait.

@Arythmetik

template © bean

@Nephele @Anthe [Feel free to have her wake up and waddle out to see her moms at any point!]

Anthe

Sleep... as a pup, naps had been nice, relaxing, rejuvenating even... but now, Anthe had grown to resent them after all her time cooped up in the den. She had often joked with her mother's during her illness that once she got better, she would never sleep again. She wished it were possible to make up for all the time she had lost by giving up on sleeping altogether, but she supposed she would just have to devote herself to adventuring and learning however she could instead.

Kylar's voice drifted to her as of from underwater and she stirred readily, stretching her tight muscles and stiff joints before going to join her parents. She yawned broadly, squinting against the soft sunlight, before quietly settling beside Kylar. "'m feeling better I think... stronger... How was your day?" she mumbled half coherently, grinning lazily up at her mother. Though she had barely heard her, she knew her parents routine well enough to know she was likely just in time for a tale to be spun... Kylar had really gotten creative since they's returned to find their things ransacked. "Were you going to tell more stories?"

It was precious moments like these shared with her wife and daughter that made all their recent troubles fade to the background, at least for a couple of hours, Nephele could relax without worrying about the what ifs. Instead she was snuggling into Kylar’s side, getting ready for another night of adventure in the world of imagination. Prompted by Kylar to suggest a story, Nephele paused to consider, although there was only one real option for her. Ygritte the knight? she suggested, smiling bashfully as if it wasn’t one that she’d already requested over and over. It was the first story that Kylar had ever told her and the first story she’d ever heard that day in the poppy fields with Willoughby.

When Anthe managed to rise from her bed, sounding brighter than she had in weeks, Nephele jolted upright, unable to believe her ears. Oh my goodness, Anthe. Are you sure you’re okay? she asked, brow creased with concern over her daughter, worried that at any minute the poor dear might topple over and need to be carried back to bed. All she wanted was for her sweet child to recover, but it didn’t stop a mother from worrying.

Art by Bunny