ORIGIN

What was a mother? Vuiligheid was truly the last to know, but they would certainly think they'd know. With a head held up high, they smiled proudly for knowing something this owl did not. "A mother is someone who takes care of your and protects you and trains you for your future!" All true traits of a mother; unfortunately, Vuiligheid was only cared for and protected as a coveted item, trained for a life as a subservient thing for a heartless, sadistic beast who enjoyed the power of "being" a "mother."

Does Vuiligheid look like mother? They looked at their trunk, remembering their mother had one as well. Having never seen their own reflection, they concluded they did, and gave a very stern nod. "Mother says I look like an ugly. I'm not sure what that means, but we have the same nose, at least!" A happy whinny followed.

Something Gadanai had learned and started doing was drying leaves. It was also something she taught to Vuili before she disappeared. As such, Vuili was munching on some dried leaves they kept by their bed, watching Tacitus like a hawk. As the bird's talon reached for a gemstone in the pile, their breath hitched and eating paused. With a very heavy swallow, food barely chewed, he said, "I don't know... One of those is my sibling. Mother had to kill it because it was too weak and deformed. The little green one belong to some wolf, Mother told me so. The bones are of the dead. Mother likes them. I was never allowed to touch Mother's things."

With that, Vuiligheid continued to watch the owl, munching on more leaves.

---


Ah, a mother. When the young creature explained it, it all seemed to click into place what exactly a "mother" was. Tacitus didn't have one of these but he felt that this was a small sacrifice. He needed no one to care for him as he was perfectly capable of doing so on his own. Besides, wouldn't a "mother" hold you back and keep you from exploring and otherwise learning what was out in the world. Hmm, no thanks. He was perfectly happy with being his own parent.

An "ugly". What sort of a mother would say that their child was an ugly? They didn't know what an "ugly" was. Well, it seemed as his expertise was required here. "'Ugly', something that is repulsive or unpleasant in appearance. Your mother must find you unappealing in some way though if you both look the same I can't imagine how unless she finds her own appearance unpleasant." He blinked, there was no malice in his words, he was speaking matter-of-factly as if just explaining a simple fact which in his eyes he was. He wasn't trying to be rude or terrible, he was just attempting to educate an acquaintance.

His question seemed to be met with tight words and an ambiguous answer. Tacitus' talon hovered over the gems for a moment longer before he sat it back down on the ground, empty. If these gems belonged to this "mother" then he would not touch them, at least not without permission. "If that is the case I will not touch, simply look, until I gain the permission of your mother to examine them more thoroughly." Instead he leaned down to take a look at the little green gem and then the other that lay next to it. Hmm... So could gembounds be born too weak to sustain life? Or perhaps this other one was just "ugly" and "mother" decided to stomp it out of existence...

Pity. If it was weak he would have liked to at least see it before its life was ended, at least then he could have studied it. "Do you remember what your sibling was like?" His head suddenly turned, strange blue eyes questioning and examining the other creature. Who knew he'd have such a productive day today? Wouldn't Gabriel be pleased to hear of his findings?


---