Lick.
Lick.
BEFORE DUSK, an old longsnout drank quietly at the silver stream of the night. With her haunches secured to the earth, her pink tongue was free to waver and coil along the surface, lapping every droplet and reveling in its taste despite what little flavor it gave. She barely made a stir; gentle waves splashed against her deep blue scales, petting her as if she was its own — which she accepted graciously. And with the added silence (aside from a few nearby crickets chirping in play) she couldn't help letting out a guttural purr.
Lick.
...
Lick.
It was pleasing to be rewarded by nature. Food, water, shelter, a family; nothing in the world could equal a Mother's love for her child. And she didn't have to worry — Auliza felt safe in her embrace. The world would nurture her soul with its pleasing lullaby, sharing its secrets and whispers of the old world as the moon and stars watched over her from above. But she couldn't stay to enjoy it. Once filled, the humbled longsnout rumbled her thanks, stood up, and walked away, leaving a footprint in the mud and a tremor in the earth.
And I, Death, would follow. To study, my friends, not to take.
Every full moon, Auliza would wander from her cavern, crossing the meddled swamps and cycad forests toward the western regions of the valley. She'd go alone, using only the glowing white circle in the sky for safe passage, and bringing only herself — the body of a worn, sleepless parent seeking refuge beneath the summer heat, and the spirit of a spineless hatchling running back to her first love. Occasionally, she'd cough and sneeze; the week-long sickness had yet to leave her system, but she didn't mind. It wouldn't stop her from reaching her destination. Nothing would.
Auliza's stuffy nostrils twitched to sample the air, struggling to follow a scent I thought lost in time. Her tail would lift and fall as she advanced, pupils widening and eyes narrowing as the darkness welcomed their newest predator. The wind helped sporadically; little drafts pushed the sweet perfume back to the longsnout's nares to focus on if ever it grew dim. Above, the thickened trees and grizzly shadows helped conceal her scales from my wandering eye, though a hunt was the last thing Auliza hoped to accomplish tonight. She didn't care if her sail tore through the forest balcony above her, or how many leaves rained down on her when it did; that was none of her concern.
This was not the same for myself — she executed several bugs in the span of two minutes. That's too many souls for me to deal with!
But then, just beyond the second cut of a woodland creek, Auliza found it: a little bulge of dirt sitting beside the overhang of a wilted weeping willow. A strange sight, if I ever say. To an outsider, this meager alteration of the earth looked suspicious; perhaps a hidden patch of food or a secret she hoped none would find. 'Maybe a pit of ancient treasure!' — of course, for a human, this is always your first assumption. But in an age of life and death, the fragility of happiness isn't what bears us luck, or wealth, but what gives us great sorrow. This was no pleasant find.
And, for our dear longsnout, this was far from joyous promise.
Her stomach quaked. It struck so suddenly; she only managed to suck in a quick, painful breath before it fully robbed her ability to speak.
B-Breathe...
Both eyes squeezed shut and she let out a little whine. Despite how many times she's taken the trek, this panic, this fear, it would always win her over. Poor Auliza expected that by now she'd have some level of control over her emotions...
Breathe...
It still felt more like fiction than fact.
Those eyes reopened. Now she was standing next to the mound, her spined tail draped longingly over the back end of the site, and a single claw sinking into its crusted flesh. A gloss of warmth rushed to her head as she stared downward, but never any thoughts. Only emotion. Only pain.
She began to lower herself to the mound. Careful to not fall on her side (and break her sail), the elder longsnout uneasily plopped down onto her haunches, wincing slightly as her rear-end accidentally scraped rock. Another grunt later and her underbelly had kissed the sacred ground, too. Auliza's chin then followed, settling against the smooth rift of the mound and going limp. Her claws did the same. She'd surrender to the earth through a single wanton breath, adjust herself (just an inch to feel more comfortable), and close her eyes.
Inhale.
Exhale.
...
Inhale.
Exhale.
...
She timed each second. Each breath. Those shallow rises and falls, the soothing breeze rushing from her blue nostrils to brush the mound. That tasteful air, that bitter exhale, all a tremendous strain of her mighty lungs working in sync to coax her soul away.
Inhale.
Exhale.
...
...
Inhale.
Exhale.
...
...
The world receded like a midnight tide. The wind stopped howling, the crickets stopped chirping, the shallow thumps of her seldom pulse slowed and slowed until there was nothing left. Until all that remained were her breaths.
...
...
...
"Auliza..."
The longsnout opened her eyes. The sun was there to greet her, bathing the female's vibrant scales in a glimmer of orange starlight. Warm — Auliza remembers the sizzling on her skin that boiled her blood like lava under the mountain — that sweet summer sun. She was no longer lying on the mound; bundles of old ferns, palm leaves, and silken moss filled the void beneath her. Auliza blinked a second time; there was a heaviness in her body that she hadn't felt in years, but nothing seemed to interest her more than the strange puffs of steam blowing into her eyes, rousing the predator from the darkness so she could lift skyward.
And meet the eyes of another.
"Auliza."
The first breath caught in her throat. A tall, masculine longsnout stood tall before her, wrapped with the finest amber scales and touched by a splatter of sapphire. He gleamed proudly down at the female, purring all the while and heralding a fresh piece of fish in his jaws; she assumed it was for her. But Auliza didn't speak of it (or anything, for that matter) — the longsnout was still in awe. Her eyes inspected him from tail base to chin, admiring his size, his stature, his beauty and strive. The bulk of his muscles, the flash of cyan on his crest, the scent he gave off that reminded her of freshly dropped pinewood. Even those nimble little scars marking his hide made her coo; she knew a fighter when she saw one. Her fighter. Auliza's jaws curled into a smile, tail thumping with excitement from behind. But despite all that impression, all that grace, her heart continued to sink.
Deeper.
Further.
She didn't know why.
Lowering the fish, the male stepped to the side of his chosen love, bringing his amber cheek close to hers and started rubbing back and forth. Mixing their scents. Burning their scales. Letting her know he cared, that he praised her heart like blood diamonds, that he was hers, and she was his.
Reassurance — she knew this feeling more than herself. Just a touch of compassion from the male washed out all the cold in her lungs, putting her at ease to drop her guard with one broken, heartfelt sigh.
The male then met her eyes, a tether of joy growing in his breath and soul. He clasped his claws with hers, sitting down and regathering her attention just so she could see him, and nothing more.
Auliza remembers this time. This dream. Like a memory that has yet to drift from reach, it cascades into her emotions and blooms like a flower of passion. And endless, dull euphoria splits her heart into two; fear and wonder melt beneath her scales and floods her eyes just as it does his.
Her heartbeat accelerates. She's there, with him, feeling his warmth, his speckled scales grinding against hers, his tender licks and fuzzy embrace, wanting nothing, knowing nothing, yet hoping all at once. The echo of time blisters beneath their brain, pulsing, churning, knowing to slow this fragment of a moment down into eternity.
He smiles. Auliza does, too; eye to eye, snout to snout, tasting their breaths, sensing their warmth molding in place. The longsnouts paused just short of an inch, waiting for the stars to do them harm, to speak upon their love or throw a rock if they see it damned; none did. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch, Auliza sealed her eyes closed, a burst of joy surging to her scales and heart, and a smile — one beautiful, timeless smile — coursing across her silver fangs.
They didn't break unless they wanted to.
The male drew away first, passing one loving lick across Auliza's snout and purring. She sensed the same sensations within her core, and begged herself to hold onto it for as long as possible. They never said a word for minute; they only smiled in embarrassment.
"How was that?" He then asked with a sparkle in his eyes. Auliza wrapped her tail around his, drawing him close, pressing her snout against the underside of his jaw to feel his pulsing heart.
"Perfect..."
The male purred -- he loved that word. With another cute rumble, he adjusted himself into the warmth of the bedding, and sunk into her embrace with a loving sigh. "I love you, Auliza..."
Auliza's heart nearly broke. She quickly pressed against him with a rumble of her own, licking his cheek twice before drawing away. She could feel him. See him. Smell him. His pulse felt more alive than the rocking of the earth, making it all the more heart-wrenching to revel in. Auliza squeezed her eyes before the emotions could best her, and cooed: "I love you more—"
⋯•●:●•⋯
"—Fintail..."
She finished the last word with a shudder, drawing her chin from the space between Fintail's neck and opened her eyes. But he wasn't there anymore; just a pile of dirt where her lover once was.
No warmth. No licks. No heartbeat.
Nothing.
Auliza felt tears rush to her eyes. The smile had yet to leave her toothy maw, but neither had the grief flooding her abdomen. She had been crying for some time; the massive marks of residue on the earth were still fresh. A few stray droplets trickled down her cheek, which she nuzzled away with a shaky sigh.
Auliza couldn't break her gaze from Fintail's grave. She smiled just briefly, recalling that perfect kiss they had before feeling it ebb away. And then Auliza's face contorted and twisted in misery, her jaws fumbling open as saliva and tears mixing together at the base of her muzzle. She'd hiccup and gag, fighting between her emotions; sobs and whimpers breaking even with her chuckles and moans.
Her cry lasted five long minutes. Then came the silence.
She recovered with a snivel, brushing her snout by the back of her claw though one heart-wrenching sigh. Her head then rose; the moon was nearly above her, edging the witching hour. Time to go. Auliza returned to the mound and pressed her snout onto the surface, fiercely planting a kiss to where her lover now laid.
"I'll come back, my love," she whispered.
It took a while for her to stand; she couldn't bear to leave Fintail's side again. But she had a duty to the product of their love; the eight eggs she laid; they were her responsibility now. She only wished Fintail stayed a little while longer to meet them. To know them better. To love them like he did her.
It is true; only a Mother knows the pleasures and pains of life. They are as memorable as dirt; never smooth, never even, never perfect. But what it lacked in touch it made up in softness, filled with fragments of life and a comfort only a few could fathom.
She started to turn away, wiping the slate clean from lover to mother, when a rustle caught her attention. Auliza's head whipped left; a mild gasp escaped her maw when a turquoise shape suddenly split past the walls of the emptied forest. No, not a shape, a longsnout. A daughter.
"C-Cora?" Auliza snorted with surprise. She didn't expect any of her hatchlings to travel here, nor did she want to. The trek alone was a number on its own, and she hoped to never show her anguish to any of her children. But long before she could question her, Auliza noticed that same wealth of tears collecting beneath Cora's eyes as it did hers, illuminating her emotions like the stars above. Something was wrong. And that realization alone made Auliza's stomach lurch, hard.
"What's wrong?"
Cora swallowed. She offered a steady breath to the stars, enough to blink the tears away before those haunting words could leave her muzzle.
"It's Able."