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Scattered crumbs and dark smears were all that was left on the plate by the time I was done snacking my heart away, and as always my taste buds yearned for more. Mom had always been great at making meals that could so easily tempt one to the infernal sin of gluttony.

Really, it's a wonder that I was still skinny.

Then over there, juxtaposing the hearty meals of a caring mother, suddenly there was the confession of the cold-blooded murder of her countless children to keep in mind with every delectable munch.

Still, I got through it and yet although the cake was finished, alas, these questions of mine remained unending. 

I wanted to know more - more than more, really - I needed to know everything, down to the minute details… I wanted to learn about her upbringing, Dad's, their history, their fights, their reason for eloping so hard that they changed worlds. 

But something was telling me that they were all going to end up as questions for another time, a later time. Mom wasn't sitting back down, she remained standing, with one foot facing towards the closed door.

"Leaving so soon?" I asked, downing away my last chew.

"Never planned on staying long, sadly," She said, sighing. "I really wish I could, I miss our movie nights. But Samantha's magic is a lot more volatile, she wants to get a grasp on her abilities as soon as possible so she could go back to school and her life… so I have to be there for her, she wants nothing to do with any of this fantasy stuff. I can respect that."

Look at that, it seems Sammy and I took vastly different stances when it came to finding out that the fantasy was our reality. 

Only took one foot into the doorway and already she was slamming that door shut proclaiming at once that this wasn't a party she was going to vibe with. Meanwhile here I was, frolicking and prancing around in the middle of the magical dance floor without even knowing any of the moves. 

That's just us, I suppose…

But also knowing us… we don't always see eye to eye on things… especially when it came to sharing things with each other.

"Can't Dad teach her himself?" I asked, trying to not let my selfishness show.

Mom shook her head, puffing out an amused breath. "Your father's extraordinary but he's no teacher. At most, he's only there in case I take another tumble. No, I'm all she's got as a teacher, and besides… she doesn't have friends like yours."

That was when I finally decided to concede… pretty sure I could sit here all day coming up with innumerable amounts of reasons for her to stay, and undoubtedly she'll just deflect it all back with just as many excuses. 

It's as she said, she was only here to tell the truth and nothing more… guess I shouldn't really expect any more either. 

Mom took the plate from my hands and held it in hers. "I'll clean that for you."

"Then you'll be leaving, right?"

Mom gave an affirming smirk. 

"Not before I say my goodbyes first. Only polite, after all. And as for Adalia and her sister..." Mom's eyes drifted towards the bed. "Tell them they can't depend on me anymore… they're big girls now…"

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot…

"But without you, Amelia said Adalia would just continue to frenzy. I've been a blood bank to her for weeks now… and they said you have a more permanent solution to that."

"Not so permanent, it seems," Mom said, a little dismayed. "It was a complicated spell - a spell that went against her very nature as a Matriarch. A metamorphosis of sorts... I took away her fangs, took away her claws, I took away her very identity as a creature of the night."

I blinked. "You turned her human?"

"Not precisely, but I suppose you can say that. In a way, all I did was merely repress her nature. The spell probably degraded with time… guess I wasn't so thorough with it as I thought. Ah well, I suppose even Goddesses make mistakes."

"You can't just do the spell over?"

Mom simply stared back at me without saying anything. She'd do that often to me whenever I asked something so painfully obvious that it didn't deserve an answer. Then I'd go rummaging through my thoughts looking for the answer myself and usually I'd find it within the minute.

In this case, it didn't even take a second.

"Oh yeah…" I muttered, my head tilting to the ground. "They'll know…"

"My magic is only limited to the little things now," She said. "Healing your wound was already pushing it."

"Then why do it? It'll heal on its own in time eventually."

"Because you were in pain," She simply said. "And what mother would want to see their child in that much pain?"

You, apparently. If your truths were anything to go by, and yet at the same time… I know you meant exactly what you said right then. I could feel the tenderness, the endearment in those words. I just wonder why you meant them now and not back then… not to your other children. 

Honestly, it's like you're entirely two different people at once, I kinda wish you were though, I'd probably go about my life better that way but you're not, this was you pure and whole.

But I already ate that cake, didn't cake… that plate in your hands was empty, wasn't it - so what am I even talking about? I've already accepted you for you already.

Lilith… Terestra… at the end of the day, you're still my mother… and without your past, you wouldn't be you otherwise. 

Mom blew an audible breath, lining both feet towards the doorway. "Okay. I suppose I've already taken enough of your training time. I'll wash up the clutter in the sink, then I'll say goodbye, alright?"

My eyes veered upwards. Already she had her back towards me, the bedroom door only but another step away. Funny, at the start of all this - I wanted absolutely nothing to do with her… and now I didn't want her to leave. 

This flip flop between wants… it's seriously unbecoming of me. 

Let her go, me. Let her leave. Sammy needs her too, can't very well keep her all to yourself now, can you?

Okay, maybe… maybe just a little bit… a little lesson.

I opened my lips. "You don't got any advice?" 

Her hand had already gripped the door handle, slightly slanting. At once, she let go, spun around, and looked towards me once more.

"Advice?" She said, a little nonplussed. "Like?"

"What else?" I said, giving my hands a little flourish. "Magic. I already did some practice runs on my own, took some hours to read up on your abilities too - and I'm still always coming up empty. Is there - like - a secret? Something that I'm just not grasping here?"

"No secret," She said, walking back towards me. "Just practice, practice, practice. Focus, determination, and intent. That's how everybody does it."

I shook my head. That's not what I wanted to know. 

"How do you do it?"

"Ahh…" Mom closed her eyes. "Okay, I understand..."

The way she said it, the way her eyes look when she next opened them - I don't know what I just asked for… but I'm certainly gonna get it.

"Scholars in the academies would tell you to never rely on your emotions to save you. Magic on impulse can only get you so far, after all. I think different. I think your emotions are the most powerful catalyst of all. Just give into them, give into your nature, dear… that's all you have to do."

I leaned into my seat, feeling the confusion strain my expression. "I don't think I - "

"You need a demonstration?" There was a twinkle in her eyes. "Your sister shares your father's. You share in mine, my nature is your nature… and I'm a being derived from calamity… as my son, you are a piece of that calamity… your hate is what would drive you, your anger… your desire for chaos, if you want to be more effective, just channel these emotions."

I was still leaning back, still very much befuddled. "But I don't desire - "

"Then desire," She said, her voice as cheery and sweet as ever. "It's in your nature to. Just hate, just despise, just think to destroy, think the worst of whatever it is you focus on, find joy in destroying it, shredding it, keep focusing, keep smiling… then eventually, sooner or later…"

Suddenly a loud crack erupted, a shrill crackle that ended as abruptly as it sounded. 

What happened, and where it happened - at first, I didn't know. 

Then I heard it, a small chink against the floorboards, then again… a louder chink - a bigger shard. The plate in her hands had ruptured into a million pieces. Shimmering bits, tiny fragments falling like grains of sand in an hourglass. 

Mom didn't even get cut. She stood still, smiling that same smile as always, clasping together her now empty hands.

"There you go," She said.