"I would never say that to you."
1,015
"Shyshie...Shyshie...." Darkmoon crooned quietly as she knelt on the bed "It's time to wake up...Shyshie..."
There was a faint inarticulate mumble as Shyshie stretched and burrowed her head deeper beneath the pillow.
"Come on," Darkmoon whispered, tugging the pillow away "I made you breakfast."
"What?" Shyshie asked in sleepy disbelief, sitting up "How long did I sleep in!?"
"Not at all," Darkmoon smiled, pulling up the hood of Shyshie's selkie cloak "I just happened to get up before you."
Shyshie stared at her blankly, hugging the pillow "It's past noon isn't it?"
"No...but it's not too far off," Darkmoon admitted "You were exhausted after last night."
"Yeah, Horeth had a lot of things he wanted to talk to me about," Shyshie sighed and released the pillow "Made my head hurt."
"Well, I have just the thing to make you feel better," Darkmoon beamed "Some nice hot tea."
"Really? How long ago did you get up?"
"Oh, stop acting so surprised," Darkmoon reached under Shyshie's hood and ruffled her ears "I am more than capable of waking up and getting my daughter breakfast."
Shyshie didn't reply as Darkmoon rested her hand against Shyshie's cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned slightly into her mother's soft touch, so often gloved.
Then her nose twitched.
"Are you burning something?"
"Oh no! My fish!" Darkmoon shot to her feet and bolted out the door and down the stairs "Oh no! Oh no!"
A thin tendril of acrid smoke spiraled out of the oven and in a panic Darkmoon opened the door and with her bare paws grasped the hot metal pan.
She lifted it and halfway made it to the counter before the pain kicked in. She dropped the pan, tears starting at the corners of her eyes as the burning sensation blazed in her palms.
"Mama? Mama are you alright!?" Shyshie sidestepped the dropped pan.
"Yeah," Darkmoon pulled her paws into tight fists "I grabbed the pan without thinking and burned myself."
"Oh no."
"Yeah, "oh no"," Darkmoon squeezed her eyes close to keep the tears from spilling over "Could you get me some water?"
"Wait," Shyshie said, reaching out for her mother's paws "I...I want to try something."
"You want to try something!? Why don't you try getting me some water?"
"Please," Shyshie gently touched Darkmoon's fists "Let me try."
"What on earth are you going to do?" Darkmoon growled, but she let Shyshie uncurled her fists.
"Well...let me just try," Shyshie hesitated, then began humming softly, murmuring foreign words under her breath.
"Starwalk! I really don't think singing is going to-" Darkmoon's voice died away as the burning in her palms faded. She relaxed her curled fingers to find that the angry sores had disappeared.
"What...?" Darkmoon looked up at Shyshie, who was staring anxiously at her "What did you do?"
Shyshie hung her head as if she'd cut her mother's paws off rather than healed them.
"Starwalk," Darkmoon's tones went soft and she slipped her hand underneath Shyshie's chin, tilting her head back up and the watery eyes met Darkmoon's "Was this one of the things Horeth spoke to you about last night?"
"No," Shyshie's voice was a shuddery whisper "He told me a long time ago."
"I don't understand," Darkmoon knelt "What did you do? How?"
Shyshie sniffled and reached up to brush at her eyes "It's... It's complicated..."
"You sang, what did you sing?" Darkmoon paused as she realized that Shyshie was shaking "I'm not mad at you sweetheart, don't cry, please don't cry."
Darkmoon wrapped her arms around Shyshie shoulders "Please?"
"I...I'm not," Shyshie's voice cracked a little "I...was just nervous."
"Nervous? About what?"
"Telling you."
"Telling me what?" Darkmoon tilted her head and tried to pull Shyshie closer "About the singing?"
Shyshie sniffled and nodded, but didn't let Darkmoon hug her.
"But I don't understand, what did you do?"
"I sang."
Despite herself Darkmoon breathed out a soft laugh "Yes I heard you sweetheart. What did you sing? Was it a special song? Was it a selkie song?"
Shyshie nodded.
"And it fixed my hands. Was it supposed to do that?"
Shyshie nodded again.
"Can...can you do other things with that song?"
"Just healing."
"Can you do other things with other songs?"
Shyshie didn't answer and dropped her gaze again.
"Starwalk, answer me."
"Yes."
"What can you do?" Darkmoon slipped her hand against Shyshie's face, leaning back into her line of sight.
"Sleep, some songs can make people sleep, but those are harder," Shyshie sighed and sat down.
"Why are those harder?"
"Because it's...like convincing them to sleep. It...its a song to their mind...instead of their body."
"That makes sense, but why were you afraid to tell to tell me? Starwalk?"
Several seconds of silence.
"Starwalk, I'm not upset, but if there's something wrong I need to know."
Shyshie sighed with frustration, with herself or with the current situation, Darkmoon couldn't tell.
"No, there's nothing wrong but I thought that if I told you then...then you might not want me to sing anymore."
"Not want you to-? Oh Shyshie," Darkmoon pulled her close and this time she didn't resist "I'd never ask you to stop singing. It's just as much a part of you as your selkie blood. Why would you ever think that?"
"I don't know," Shyshie curled closer against Darkmoon "I just did..."
"Okay, okay, that's okay," Darkmoon rocked her back and forth "But you know you can talk to me, always."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, you don't have to be sorry, it's fine to be nervous," Darkmoon smoothed down Shyshie's fur "But if you were nervous why did you heal my hands?"
"Well," Shyshie pulled away to shrug "You were hurt."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't dying."
"I just felt bad," Shyshie pressed back against Darkmoon "About your hands and not telling."
"Well, now that we've got all this cleared up, should we eat breakfast?"
"Okay. But I can't sing the dirt off the fish."
"That's fine we'll just wash them off," Darkmoon stood "Unless there's anything else you need to tell me."
"Your shirt's buttoned wrong."
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1,015
"Shyshie...Shyshie...." Darkmoon crooned quietly as she knelt on the bed "It's time to wake up...Shyshie..."
There was a faint inarticulate mumble as Shyshie stretched and burrowed her head deeper beneath the pillow.
"Come on," Darkmoon whispered, tugging the pillow away "I made you breakfast."
"What?" Shyshie asked in sleepy disbelief, sitting up "How long did I sleep in!?"
"Not at all," Darkmoon smiled, pulling up the hood of Shyshie's selkie cloak "I just happened to get up before you."
Shyshie stared at her blankly, hugging the pillow "It's past noon isn't it?"
"No...but it's not too far off," Darkmoon admitted "You were exhausted after last night."
"Yeah, Horeth had a lot of things he wanted to talk to me about," Shyshie sighed and released the pillow "Made my head hurt."
"Well, I have just the thing to make you feel better," Darkmoon beamed "Some nice hot tea."
"Really? How long ago did you get up?"
"Oh, stop acting so surprised," Darkmoon reached under Shyshie's hood and ruffled her ears "I am more than capable of waking up and getting my daughter breakfast."
Shyshie didn't reply as Darkmoon rested her hand against Shyshie's cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned slightly into her mother's soft touch, so often gloved.
Then her nose twitched.
"Are you burning something?"
"Oh no! My fish!" Darkmoon shot to her feet and bolted out the door and down the stairs "Oh no! Oh no!"
A thin tendril of acrid smoke spiraled out of the oven and in a panic Darkmoon opened the door and with her bare paws grasped the hot metal pan.
She lifted it and halfway made it to the counter before the pain kicked in. She dropped the pan, tears starting at the corners of her eyes as the burning sensation blazed in her palms.
"Mama? Mama are you alright!?" Shyshie sidestepped the dropped pan.
"Yeah," Darkmoon pulled her paws into tight fists "I grabbed the pan without thinking and burned myself."
"Oh no."
"Yeah, "oh no"," Darkmoon squeezed her eyes close to keep the tears from spilling over "Could you get me some water?"
"Wait," Shyshie said, reaching out for her mother's paws "I...I want to try something."
"You want to try something!? Why don't you try getting me some water?"
"Please," Shyshie gently touched Darkmoon's fists "Let me try."
"What on earth are you going to do?" Darkmoon growled, but she let Shyshie uncurled her fists.
"Well...let me just try," Shyshie hesitated, then began humming softly, murmuring foreign words under her breath.
"Starwalk! I really don't think singing is going to-" Darkmoon's voice died away as the burning in her palms faded. She relaxed her curled fingers to find that the angry sores had disappeared.
"What...?" Darkmoon looked up at Shyshie, who was staring anxiously at her "What did you do?"
Shyshie hung her head as if she'd cut her mother's paws off rather than healed them.
"Starwalk," Darkmoon's tones went soft and she slipped her hand underneath Shyshie's chin, tilting her head back up and the watery eyes met Darkmoon's "Was this one of the things Horeth spoke to you about last night?"
"No," Shyshie's voice was a shuddery whisper "He told me a long time ago."
"I don't understand," Darkmoon knelt "What did you do? How?"
Shyshie sniffled and reached up to brush at her eyes "It's... It's complicated..."
"You sang, what did you sing?" Darkmoon paused as she realized that Shyshie was shaking "I'm not mad at you sweetheart, don't cry, please don't cry."
Darkmoon wrapped her arms around Shyshie shoulders "Please?"
"I...I'm not," Shyshie's voice cracked a little "I...was just nervous."
"Nervous? About what?"
"Telling you."
"Telling me what?" Darkmoon tilted her head and tried to pull Shyshie closer "About the singing?"
Shyshie sniffled and nodded, but didn't let Darkmoon hug her.
"But I don't understand, what did you do?"
"I sang."
Despite herself Darkmoon breathed out a soft laugh "Yes I heard you sweetheart. What did you sing? Was it a special song? Was it a selkie song?"
Shyshie nodded.
"And it fixed my hands. Was it supposed to do that?"
Shyshie nodded again.
"Can...can you do other things with that song?"
"Just healing."
"Can you do other things with other songs?"
Shyshie didn't answer and dropped her gaze again.
"Starwalk, answer me."
"Yes."
"What can you do?" Darkmoon slipped her hand against Shyshie's face, leaning back into her line of sight.
"Sleep, some songs can make people sleep, but those are harder," Shyshie sighed and sat down.
"Why are those harder?"
"Because it's...like convincing them to sleep. It...its a song to their mind...instead of their body."
"That makes sense, but why were you afraid to tell to tell me? Starwalk?"
Several seconds of silence.
"Starwalk, I'm not upset, but if there's something wrong I need to know."
Shyshie sighed with frustration, with herself or with the current situation, Darkmoon couldn't tell.
"No, there's nothing wrong but I thought that if I told you then...then you might not want me to sing anymore."
"Not want you to-? Oh Shyshie," Darkmoon pulled her close and this time she didn't resist "I'd never ask you to stop singing. It's just as much a part of you as your selkie blood. Why would you ever think that?"
"I don't know," Shyshie curled closer against Darkmoon "I just did..."
"Okay, okay, that's okay," Darkmoon rocked her back and forth "But you know you can talk to me, always."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, you don't have to be sorry, it's fine to be nervous," Darkmoon smoothed down Shyshie's fur "But if you were nervous why did you heal my hands?"
"Well," Shyshie pulled away to shrug "You were hurt."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't dying."
"I just felt bad," Shyshie pressed back against Darkmoon "About your hands and not telling."
"Well, now that we've got all this cleared up, should we eat breakfast?"
"Okay. But I can't sing the dirt off the fish."
"That's fine we'll just wash them off," Darkmoon stood "Unless there's anything else you need to tell me."
"Your shirt's buttoned wrong."
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