Great joy filled Daria's heart as she laid herself down to rest that night in the den that the leaders of the West had so generously provided for her. The one named Humphrey had said something to her before he and his wonderful family left her, and these two words continued to ring in her ears like the sweet lullaby that her mother used to sing for her.
"Welcome home."
Home.
It was something that she had never had before. In her former pack, she was despised for what she was, and in the cave, she felt imprisoned; but here, she felt safe, welcome, like she had finally found a place to call home. How she just wished that her mother could see her now.
"You did it, mom," she whispered softly as tears brimmed in her closed eyes, "I made it."
A&Ω
Daria turned over onto her side and allowed her eyes to peel themselves slowly open. Though she was blind, she could recognize the difference between the night and the day by the sounds of the land around her and the presence of light as it forced its way into her blind eyes, or the lack thereof, so when the rhythmic song of the crickets filled her ears, and her eyes opened without the pain of light's intrusion, she knew it to still be night.
She sighed softly and closed her eyes in an attempt to drift off into sleep once more, but the residue of the strange dream she dreamt remained in the corners of her mind and disallowed her from passing beyond the realm of consciousness once more, so she pressed herself to her haunches. Though her dreams were as blind as she, they remained crystal clear to her, and the screams of that voice she longed to hear only once more painted for her blind eyes, the brutal way in which she died. It was hurtful for her to know that her mother would still be alive if it wasn't for her, and tears began to fill her eyes, but when a familiar gust of wind swirled about before her, the bitter residue slipped away from her mind and was replaced by a combination of shock and confusion.
"You," she cried over the wind in a trembling voice, "I- I don't need to be protected anymore. I-"
"I know that," a female voice interrupted softly as the wind died away.
Daria's eyes widened upon hearing the voice and she lifted her head as tears began to fill the brims of her eyes.
"Mom?" she asked in disbelief, "you're..."
The ghost nodded slowly and condensed itself into a vortex as it moved to the ground and before Daria, the true form of her mother appeared, though she still possessed a ghostly aura.
"Yes, my child," she replied with a small smile.
Daria could not believe it. Her entire life, all she wanted was to hear her mother's voice one last time, and now that the moment finally arrived, she had a difficult time believing it was real.
She heard no paw steps draw near, so she was taken by surprise when she suddenly felt brush of fur against the side of her face, but once the initial shock wore off, her tensed muscles relaxed and tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"Oh, mom," she cried and wrapped her up tight in a warm embrace.
Her mother's presence closed its eyes and smiled softly.
"I love you, Daria," she whispered, then as quickly as she had come, she vanished, leaving Daria alone once more.
Daria felt fear wash over her once more, for she felt as though she had been abandoned again, but this fear quickly melted away into resolve when she realized that her mother was finally free to rest. Her mother had died to save her, so that she may now live for her, and with this, she smiled, wiped her nose with the side of her paw, and looked up toward the roof of the den.
"I love you, too, Mother."