Amazon smiled sadly at Luster as she crawled up next to her. "But I'm your mother. It's not your job to worry about me." She reached out again, softly touching the fur on her muzzle. A thought suddenly occurred to her as she glanced at the gem on Luster's head. When Onye had died, when her body had melted horribly away, Amazon had been too afraid to inspect it closely but it looked like it was the gem that had caused her premature death. Pressing against her skull, into her head...horrible. Fear flashed through her and her eyes narrowed with worry.

"What about you, Luster? How's your head? You haven't been sick at all, have you? Or you haven't been light headed?" She dearly hoped that the same problems that had killed the baby aardwolf wouldn't follow her daughter in this second life. Or if her own abnormalities would have carried over through life, even thought it was her gem that was the problem.

She closed her eyes for a moment, convincing herself that it was all okay. Fater would not be so cruel. Luster was the light - the child of two that were destined to die from the start, she would live and shine brighter then the two that had come before. "I've been travelling," she forced herself to say, casually. "I saw more of Polaris and Pisces this time."

@Luster

Luster
Sometimes you need a second chance
because you weren't quite ready for the first

The hybrid sighed, leaning into the touch happily. The movement may have been creepy to others, but this was Mama, and the stilted movements of a reptile's arm and hand didn't bother her in the least. "Okay Mama."

Mama asked after her, and she tapped her tail, "'m fine Mama, I've been around here practicing my Magic on spiders! They move funny and they taste funny, too!" she grinned happily, eyes bright. But Mama's questions after that confused her, and she tilted her head, one ear flopping over. "My head's been fine, it hurts if my Magic goes really wrong but 'm fine!" she grinned, tilting her head to lick Mama's hand.

Her tail thwacked harder when Mama said she'd been travelling, asking "Really? What were they like? I want to travel too!"

@Amazon

Even though Amazon was panicking a bit, she still managed to smile proudly at Luster when she talked about her magic. "I'm proud of you. If you keep practicing, you'll be able to do amazing things!" She hadn't explored magic herself, but she wondered if, perhaps, she should have. Would her ability to use magic still be stunted if she had focused on it? Perhaps she could have found a spell that would heal her. But she shut that idea down - if Pride hadn't found it, then she wouldn't have been able to either.

She breathed out, letting Luster's response convince her that she was safe from the cruelty of fate. "Good...good. I just want to make sure. I love you very much, Luster." She giggled a bit at the ticklish feeling of Luster's tongue in the palm of her claw. "They are big! Polaris has got the Spire and the river and Orion has the Tower and the stars! I walked around the Forum this time, its this big crumbled building here in Orion. I will take you there, sometime. Or even beyond! We'll go see Eridanus, where there's lots of plants, and Monoceros where the winds are so strong even birds get knocked away!"

@Luster

Luster
Sometimes you need a second chance
because you weren't quite ready for the first

The hybrid's face lit up, and her tail whapped even faster. "Really? Really, really? You think so? I want to!" she grinned. "I love you too, Mama."

She stilled as Mama began to talk about the places she had visited, moving only to keep licking Mama's palm absent mindedly. "The Spire? What's it look like?" oh, she wanted to see!

And then--an idea! Maybe she could try her magic on other animals, not just spiders! Maybe there were other animals in other caves that she could practice on? "You promise? Really, really promise? Solemnly swear?" she demanded, nipping the lizard's palm gently, although her tone was playful. "I can't wait!"

@Amazon

Seeing Luster so happy made Amazon both relieved and sad. They didn't have much time left. She wanted to tell her, oh, she really wanted to let her know and prepare her for when she was gone, but she didn't have the heart. She wanted to see that smiling, shining face as much as she could. She didn't want their precious little time together marred by worry and sadness. She didn't want to see pity in her eyes whenever she looked over and she didn't want to comfort her over something like this. It's not fair. She'd really been thinking that a lot lately.

"The Spire...it's big! So big I couldn't see the top! It's really bright and it glows and when you stand near it you feel like you can run across the world. It's really something." She nodded and giggled again at the soft nip that Luster gave her, but a deep sadness ran through her within. That was a promise she could never keep, but still, she smiled wide and clasped her claws around Luster's nuzzle. "I promise. Solemnly swear!" She held it like that for a moment, pushing down the lump in her throat until she could speak again and her grip loosened. "Where do you want to go first?"

@Luster

Luster
Sometimes you need a second chance
because you weren't quite ready for the first

Her face lit up, and she listened intently as Mama described the Spire. "Even bigger than Dread?" she gasped--she couldn't picture anything bigger than him! "Bigger than the Throne?" and then she paused, tilting her head and thinking, "Even bigger than Dread on the Throne?" The mental image blew her mind.

Her nose twitched as Mama clasped her muzzle, and she grinned. "I'm holding you to that, for sure!" her tail whipped excitedly, and she licked her tongue out to what she could reach of Mama's arm. And she immediately knew where she wanted to go first, "The Spire! The Spire the Spire the Spire for sure!"