How many years had it been since they'd talked? Poppy's mind turned the question over and over in her mind, unsure how the answer - never - sat with her. They'd never been close. They'd never had a connection beyond blood, and blood only went so far. She supposed, in a way, she was grateful to her Aura; she'd given her life, after all, and Thoth his. Poppy hadn't asked to be born, and for a long time she wasn't sure if she cared to be alive... But now things were different, she was changing. And once again, she was doing it all on her own; she hadn't asked anyone for anything. But that was the rub, wasn't it? She could pick at Aura's faults, at what she'd done wrong, at the abandonment and disinterest, but wasn't part of the blame on her, too? That apathy had been rather mutual, all things considered. They'd gone their separate ways and that had been that.
Or it would have been, if there wasn't a small part of her - a little part she'd tried to squish with alarming regularity - that hoped. That wanted a mother, and wanted that mother to be proud of her. Now that Poppy was a mother herself, and not a particularly good one, she thought she might understand, just a little bit better, what Aura must have felt, what she'd gone through over the years. Being a mother wasn't for everyone - she sure as hell hadn't been cut out for it. Poppy sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and studying her mother - really looking at her - for the first time, taking in the changes, the similarities. She was still Aura, mostly, just like Poppy was still mostly Poppy, but...
"I..." Poppy began, in answer to her mother's question, but stopped short with a contemplative frown. She wasn't really sure what she wanted, what her answer was. If she wasn't such a hothead she probably wouldn't have even approached Aura at all, but it was done now. She tugged at her lower lip, shifted in her seat. And then, finally, blurted the first thing that came to mind: "What's a Lieutenant of Death? The nurses mentioned it when they were taking care of the lady." |