A mothers embrace

Date | 21st of March 2022
Time | Early evening around 5pm
Weather | Raining, probably because of Priscilla’s abilities
Place | Aurelia’s place in Oakheart
Attire | A lot more dressed down than she normally looks like, grey jeans and black boots, a rain jacket and a black hat.

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It was like everything around her were crumbling, she didn’t even know why it was happening because nothing out of the ordinary had actually been provoking this sort of feeling that was weighing her down. Maybe it was the fact that she was rootless, and that she had thought for so long that if she just found her brother, things would turn out alright. Only to have been shoved away and not even being able to reconnect with him the way she had thought. Then there was the fact that she had kept it from her mother, gone on a trip to America, away from her children. Maybe, maybe she was just unravelling? Like a tread in a sweater, she kept pulling at, until there was nothing left to cover the body.
She had no idea how long she had been standing there in the rain looking up at the apartment complex that her mother lived in. After a while she finally braced herself. Closing her eyes, she let out a small breath before she stepped off the curb and walked over to press the button to the intercom, almost hoping that she wouldn’t even be home.

Aurelia had just put food into the oven when someone had pressed the doorbell from downstairs. She furrowed her brows. The weather had been so nice all day, but now it had been pouring for a while now. She had been able to sense that one of her children was near, but she had learned to live with them being present and having their own life. As long as it wasn’t a small child she had to find, it didn’t alarm her that much. Her silver eyes looked towards the door. While she grabbed a giant carrot, she walked over and opened up. She didn’t even have to think twice about who it was, not that she was expecting anyone, but she was always prepared. Except sometimes she didn’t have enough food for a family gathering. She stood and waited by the door, even though she lived on the top floor. She didn’t want to be late at opening up the door. She simply stood and listened for the steps on the stairs. Priscillas steps to be correct. It was very few children of hers who she didn’t recognize the steps of. As soon as she heard that her daughter reached the platform she opened the door. Her arms were wide open, mostly because one held onto the door, and the other the doorframe. “What’s bugging you, dearest?”

Her feet felt so heavy as she walked up the stairs. Not because it was hard on her legs to get up to the top floor. But almost as if every step drained every remaining energy that she had left in her body. Her silver eyes met her mother’s as she finally came into view, a small smile formed over her lips as her mother asked her what was bugging her, instead of just saying hello and welcoming her inside. Always straight to the problem, so very like her.
“Hello to you too mother” she mused, walking over and giving her a small hug before she walked inside and kicked off her shoes and then took her drenched jacket off her shoulders and hung it up. “So, making dinner?” she asked, nodding towards the carrot in her hand, dodging the question about what was going on, at least for now. “Got enough for one more?” she asked, turning towards the kitchen walking in to see what was on tonight menu.

“Hello my love,” she mused and hugged her daughter back before she let her walk inside and close the door after her. She kept her eyes on her daughter, while she took a bite of her carrot. Even though it had been years since Priscilla had stopped aging, Aurelia believed that her daughter continued to grow and learn. One did so too all the way through life, right? Sad that they had eternal life; never ending uncertainty and education about how life is and isn’t. People should almost believe that people like Aurelia would be having the answers to everything, but it was far from the truth. “First dinner,” she replied and nodded. Aurelia ate all of the time, which also meant that her electric bill was enormous, when she had to heat things up all the time. As of right now, there was a whole chicken in the oven with potatoes underneath, covered in cream and cheese. Aurelia was an enormous foodie, everyone knew that. “Of course,” she said almost a little surprised that she even asked. Aurelia would just be snacking a little more after. “It’s going to take a little while before everything is done, but I promise you… It’s mouthwatering,” she almost teased herself by the description and leaned up against the nearest wall in the kitchen, using the hand with the carrot as a fan, as if the thought of the food was making it hot in the apartment. She then took a bite of her carrot before she pushed herself off the wall and walked over to stand next to her daughter. She leaned down to place both elbows on the countertop, her head on top of her palms. “Have you eaten today?” she wondered with a light smile, not that she was one to judge or anything, but she cared, and she wanted to know just about how hungry her daughter was. Did she need to put in another whole chicken?

There was a normal saying, like mother like daughter and father like son. But when it came to Priscilla and Aurelia, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. She herself immersed herself in work, and even though she was a mother, she had never really been the family person like her mother always loved to be. Which was why she had so many siblings, many she had yet to meet. Which in a way could also be a little overwhelming, especially when all you had wanted was the brother that had been taken when she had been quite young.
Then there was the love for food, which was almost nonexciting for Priscilla. She could at most boil an egg and had never really found any passion for the whole, lets cook dinner. Especially not when you could pay someone to do it, and when you were a thunderbird. You could eat, at lot. Which meant spending to many hours in the kitchen.
“Yeah a little, but I wouldn’t say no to a free meal” she hummed and walked towards the fridge “Do you have any beer?” she asked, opening it and then looking over her shoulder to see if it was alright if she took something.

Aurelia gave her daughter a genuine smile as she replied, “Neither would I,” she chuckled and leaned away from the position she stood in and took a bite of her carrot, while her eyes followed her daughter, “Yeah, bring one for me too,” she said while still having a few bits of carrot in her mouth. Compared to how Priscilla might feel, Aurelia could see a lot of herself in her daughter, after all, she had lived a very long life, and had had to adapt depending on the surroundings and the community she was in. It was only really the last fifty years or so, that her love and need for food had been able to be kept to a satisfactory. Before that, money wasn’t the same, especially not for women, but that was minor details. She opened the drawer she stood by and found a bottle opener to open both of the beers. She leaned against the counter with her back to it as soon as she had opened both. She took a sip of her bear, letting a small silence spread between them. “So, what do you need?” she wondered tilting her head a little.

”You go it” she yelled from behind the fridge door and grabbed to beers. The glass knocked together as she walked over and placed it on the counter and then opened them before she took a sip from it when her mother went straight for the jugular. What do you need. Well, it wasn’t really the right question, was it? Because she didn’t need anything, or maybe she did. It was so bloody confusing!
Humming a little, she let her thumb glide over sticker that showed what kind of brand they were drinking. Clearly staling on answering her mother. Mostly because she had no idea where to start, did she start with the fact that she had found Jack? That a crazy siphoner had brought her on a chase for a wanted man, that had ended in California? That she had two kids and a ex husband? That she had no idea how to even be the person she wanted to be. Yes, the list was long, and in the end, she decided to just go straight to most important thing, at least to her. “I found Jack” she folded her lips together and looked up towards her with a small yet painful smile.

Aurelia watched how her daughter stood, thinking about what she needed, or maybe just something that was on heart. She didn’t push her daughter, because she truly just believed that she needed a little time to think. Truly enough, words left Priscilla’s mouth. “What?” Aurelia’s eyes blinked a little rapidly for a moment before she put her flask down. “And what happened?” she wondered. The weather did speak of her daughter’s emotions, and therefore she knew that it might not be good news. Aurelia’s heart was galloping away with her. She wished so much to find Jack, but that meant taking steps. As of right now, the first step was to know what happened and why it was making things difficult for Priscilla.

As her mother asked what happened, she felt how the clouds grew thicker and the droplets from the rain picked up the intensity that it threw themselves against the window. She hated that it was so easy to read her right now, because she had been so upset, so angry, when Jack had told her that he didn’t want anything from her, nor hear what she had to say. Which was hard, when you had used most of one’s life looking for someone, and then finding out that they didn’t even want to be found.
“He was the leader for southside serpents, and he didn’t want to be found, or wants to be a part of our lives” she licked her lips, knowing it was the harsh truth, but she didn’t have the energy to fake being nice. Not when she felt like everything was falling apart around her. “I just, I don’t really know what to do with my life anymore, and everything just seems to fall apart around me” she drowned the rest of the beer and let her hand glide over her face, not really knowing if she should sit down, or keep standing.