"Daughter-" the divine creature spoke as she stepped out of the shadows, her eyes settled on the frame of her first born. "You've returned. I thought perhaps you had died, I'm glad to see that isn't the case." As Xibalba spoke she circled Awilix with both wings tucked in at her sides. She would glance at her daughter and search her up-and-down once before stopping dead in her tracks, tilting her head as she waited her daughter's response. It was hard to express emotions in this moment, for months the Goddess thought her dead, so to see her standing here in the flesh, well, it felt surreal, and raw. Awilix was covered in small scratches and had one long scar across the bridge of her nose, it was clear that whatever had happened had caused her to put up quite a fight. This pained to the Goddess to see, knowing she was unable to help her own child safe made her stomach turn.
"When did you return?"
"I returned just the other day, both Eygon and I survived, the rest of our band perished." There was a distance between them as the orange lioness spoke, her eyes shifting from place to place, unable to focus. It was hard to look her mother in the eye, despite being rather close. "I didn't think you would notice my absence." As she spoke a deep frown swept across her face, blanketing any emotions she might have been feeling here in the shadow of mother.
"Why would you say such a thing? I thought about you every day since you disappeared." The Goddess snarled as both of her eyes pinned in anger. "You are my child, of course I noticed you were gone. I was in a panic-"
"I'm surprised you had any time to think about anything other than Maya." The lioness sighed as she looked away, her jealousy easily seen. For as long as Awilix had been alive she felt like she was nothing in comparison to what Maya meant to her mother.
"That's not fair." Xibalba sighed as she stepped closer to her daughter.
"Mother please..." As her Xibalba moved closer Awilix removed herself, stepping further back before she looked up at the Goddess with hollow eyes. "You can't deny what is true. I know what I mean to you and it's nothing compared to what she means to you.
"Why are you saying this? You cannot be this jealous of your aunt, it's unhealthy."
"Jealous? Mother it is not jealousy, it is honesty." It was hard to stand here and feel lesser than she already did, yet... somehow her mother made her return home feel less welcoming than anyone else. Slowly the lioness walked past the Goddess, sighing in deeply before turning to speak. "-You are always there to save her, but where were you when I needed you?"
The question echoed as Xibalba found herself paralyzed by her own child's accusations.
"I am always here, your shadow, your fate." the Goddess spoke out as she snarled in reply, glaring at her daughter with wide, bright eyes. "You feel disconnected from me because of the love I feel for my sister. That is a personal problem, child, not one I've created."
Her words were as cold as ice.
"This is why I never open open up to you." The orange female sighed in deeply before rolling her shoulders back in frustration. Something had to give, this conversation was being too heavy to carry. Her odd colored eyes, a gift her mother gave her, danced across her mother's figure before she spoke again. "This isn't worth fighting about."
"No, it isn't." The Goddess replied, agreeing in a slight nod.
For a long moment they stood in silence, the awkward tension between the two snapping like rubber.
"Have you seen Kinsin lately?" finally Xibalba spoke out, ruffling her feathers as she sat herself down beside her daughter.
"Not lately-" a swift reply. "He hasn't come around in a long time. I figured he was with Velka and the others."
"Velka." her mother smirked, glancing away, her eyes drifting off to some place far in the distance.
"My first born."
"The golden child." Awilix snorted as she rolled her eyes, frowning slightly at the thought. Her mother had always put so much effort into Velka, perhaps Maya wasn't her only competition.
"Out of all my children she is the most put together and whole."
"Perhaps." the orange lioness frowned deeply, glancing away. "I do miss my brother, you know. Being a twin is complected. I wonder if he misses me too."
"I am sure he does, my heart. What is one flame without the other? He feels what you feel after all."
"Perhaps." Awilix smirked, glancing back up at her mother. There was something in her eyes that kept her from reaching out, something deeper that jealously.
"Mother?" the female paused as she moved to stand, her white dipped toes pressing deep into the earth. "Do you ever think about what life would have been like had you never given birth to all of us?"
"What type of question is this?" the Goddess frowned, her eyes covered by her long bangs.
"Not ever. You are all parts of me. Equal parts, of my mind, body, and soul." between her breaths the Goddess found herself smirking, glancing at Awilix with a proud expression. "You might not see it clearly, child, but you are apart of me, from now until my final days."
As her mother spoke the lioness tilted her head in her best efforts to avoid her mother's emotions, something about this honestly felt too close. "I get it, I do."
"But do you?" Xibalba snapped, moving a paw to her daughters shoulder. "Maya is my sister, but you are my heart. Please understand this."
"Okay, mother."
"I mean it. I need you to know your place here in, with me."
Maybe she didn't know how to handle her mother's honesty, maybe she wasn't ready to hear it in such a raw form - whatever it was left the orange female feeling emotions she hadn't felt in a very long time. "Perhaps having you around won't be so bad."
"Perhaps." the Goddess smirked. As the two sat together they found some common ground for the first time in years.
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