"Cousins?" Asked Lilly to Venus as she stared at her. "With... Artemis?"
'But only in spirit'
..'But only in spirit', Lilly thought repeating that inside her mind. This was as close as she could get without actually being...
She frowned a little. In a way she felt like she was a rat that learned to climb a tree (An apt description for a squirrel creature really), she climbed higher and higher, swiftly moving, deftly dodging, running, and used every possible trick to go as far as she could, and even further then she dared. The journey was so difficult, so hard.. but when she made it to the top of the tree, she was still just a rat. She was just a rat at the top of a tree now. There were no branches left to climb, and she couldn't fly any higher. All she could do was watch her friends fly from above with glorious wings, occasionally coming down to her level. She felt like she should be happy to have seen the sky, and she was... but at the same time, there was a sadness to the situation. Like there was something still missing, something she could not rejoice in.
Venus continued her gentle smile as she touched the fur of her daughter.
Lilly stared at her, still not quite sure what to make of her. "You.. you think I'm your daughter?" she asked. But she already had a mother. Yet when she looked at this woman, she saw her mother there, and many others.
"You are," she said softly.
"But I'm an animal, an'.. ugly," she said sadly. "An' you're so pretty."
"There is more beauty in you then you realise child. Wait until you grow up," she said quietly before looking to her more gravely. "You love your friends so much, don't you," she said to her placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I- Y-yeah," said Lilly. So much it hurt sometimes. She sought their approval, and it was so hard because she knew she was a brat. Not only a brat, but a-
"A kind heart, who made a lot of mistakes... childish mistakes," said Venus. "I forgive you for all of them. You will grow up... the question is, what will you grow up to be?"
Lilly looked down. "All I can be," she said quietly. "This is it... right? This is all I can be isn't it?"
"I do not know child," said Venus looking at her thoughtfully. "You have already achieved a great deal."
Lilly sighed. Her achievements just didn't feel like anything more then just the gain of a little luck, and some fortuitous happenstance. Perhaps the result of the gods looking out for her? She hoped it wasn't like that.
"You struggle so much because you love, Lilly... Love is a noble emotion, but you simply don't understand how it works within you at the moment. You are confused and trying to latch onto the familiar. Many have tried to use love as a weapon against me, but I love them all the more back."
Lilly smiled at that for some reason, but was still looking a little forlorn.
"Tell me everything you feel daughter," she said to her. "we've all the time in the world."
"I... I was replaced by Artemis," she said softly to the Feminine Force, burrowing her head into the goddess's chest. "I loved bein' with Jenny.. and..."
"You feel jealous of Artemis?" Asked the Woman.
"Y-Yeah. Cause she's a- a- goddess. An' I'm just..."
"Just my daughter," said the Feminine Force with quiet emphasis.
Lilly blushed heavily at that. "But only in spirit. I ain't really. An' Artemis is really the moon-lady's kid. Ain't that what they said isn't it?"
Venus sighed a little. "Truthfully Lilly, all girls are my daughters... I am not 'allowed' to favour one over the other. But you do have special place in my heart- something you will know. They may not acknowledge it because it is not allowed to be so. I can not make you something you are not, and nor would I... I suspect you wouldn't wish it either. I can not make you the same as Artemis... to fly above the tree you stand on." She said looking into the imagery of her mind. Lilly gasped a little as she realised she could read her mind. "...It would mean taking away who you are too. If Jenny finds a closer relationship with Her, then... do you really wish to damage that?"
The squirrel girl stared quietly into space for a while, then quietly shook her head. "No... they are my friends. I want them to be happy."
Venus nodded. "Have a little faith in them. Maybe one day, they will realise who you are to me... and what they mean to you... and maybe they will realise, what you mean to them. if they do not, you know me now... and you will always know. You are never alone, never..." she said ruffling the child's hair.
Lilly giggled a little at the warmth and love. She felt a strange contentment in the arms of the goddess, she felt like she could relax. The burdens she carried, lifting away.
"Remember Lilly... the Enemy... when you fight them, they will not lie... but neither will they tell the truth."
"W-what?"
"...rest..."
