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Comfort Zone

It seemed as if life itself was against Rika. Or, if there was any viable evidence that a supreme entity existed, it was a cruel deity, and one that found sadistic joy in making the wolf's every waking moment a living hell. She was already having a hard time coping with her loneliness, the vast majority of her old schoolmates from her days in high school steadily went their own way, all but abandoning her as they went on with their lives, either taking up entry level positions that took up a lot of their time and offered only a barely manageable amount of money in exchange, moving to a different location far, far away, or enrolling into the military, never to be heard from again. Worst of all, none ever bothered to leave a way for Rika to contact them, making her uncertain if they were even real friends at all.

And then there was the issue with her family. She heard news that some her elder family were falling ill, be it by cancer or some other form of illness and desires, many of which she had made a very personal relationship with.

This only made matters worse, as she had already recently lost her grandmother, which had truly left her depressed wreck. To lose any more of them would be devastating.

She felt so cold and alone, curled up on her bed, trying her best to remain strong, but she was reaching her breaking point, her body trembling as she fought back the tears. To already be in recovery for such a dear loss, only to be thrown back into despair again, it just felt so hard to want to go on caring, or even living. This year was already starting to look like it was going to be a horrible one for the poor girl. However, right when Rika was about to finally give into her fate and relinquish her first tear, an unexpected voice snapped the wolf out of her moment of self-pity...

"Mommy?" It was the young, innocent voice of Rika's sweet little cub, Ebony. Only two years old, the adorably small girl stood at the door, a look of pure genuine concern on her face as she saw her mother looking so distressed on the bed. Rika was startled by her presence, being so late at night, and very dark at that, with only the full moon and the millions of stars leaving a small, glowing light inside Rika's bedroom.

"Oh, sweetie, what are you doing up so late?" Said the momma wolf, trying not to look directly at her daughter. Even in this darkness, she did not want her child to see her as she was right now; it was already difficult enough to stop her voice from trembling.

"I heard you crying, mommy. Is everything okie'?" Her little voice and adorable figure, donned in her cute white night gown, with her vividly colored wings, evident of her wolf/phoenix hybrid, made her look like an angel, which took the mothers mind off things, if only a little. She smiles warmly at her and nods in response, knowing that another word she would have spoken would give away the lie.

But even in this moonlit room, not even her two year old daughter could be fooled. She comes over to the bed, those cute little wings flapping softly as she struggled a bit to hoist herself above it, and lands on top of her mother in a hard, desperate embrace. "It's going to be okay, Mommy!" She says, not even knowing what was ailing her dear mother, but wanting to offer support and love in any way possible.

It could have been that one tender moment between mother and daughter, or the sheer innocence of a child showing care, or maybe just the simple warmth of having someone embrace you; whichever it was, it finally broke Rika's mask, and she hugs her little cub as tight as she can, crying as if it was all she could do, if only because it was all she could do. She let those tears flow, her sobs become loud, and she didn't care. The mother wolf knew her daughter wasn't going to judge her, either due to her natural naivety or her genuine love for her mother, and she was so very much thankful for that.

"Thank you, baby~" Rika coo's softly, gently stroking her little girls vibrant violet and rose colored hair, giving her a soft scratch on the ear for good measure, which caused her daughter to giggle and purr happily in response. It took the simplicity of a single embrace for Rika to come to an already obvious revelation;

Rika wasn't alone, and she knew that, now. Deep inside she knew very well that there were people right in front of her that cared so very much for her. Even if she didn't have her friends from her past, she still had many from her journey afterword, from her dear phoenix-wolf, Kindel, to the very daughter hugging her that they shared together, and everyone in between. From Katt to Calheb to Marrek and countless others - even that perverted little unicorn whose name questionably escapes her at the moment - they were there for her, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thank you, my little Ebony." Whispers the momma wolf as she wipes away a tear, cuddling her cub on top of her as she lays down on the bed, her girl softly smiling as she rests on her mother's warm bosom. The words were too quiet for even her daughter to hear, but the embrace was enough to show her gratitude. The final trade of words that came next before they slept was a simple line known the world over, but for Rika, she meant it to her daughter every bit as Ebony meant it for her mother.

"I love you, Mommy~"

"And I love you too, little cub~"