Asteria had never been more proud of her daughter, but never had she been quite so concerned about her either.
Asteria had known about what Hecate was going to do and she'd worried that it wouldn't be possible even for her strong daughter, but when the ghosts return to the home with a bloody Hecate who manages to mutter through her blood about being victorious Asteria pulls the girl into her arms and holds her close.
Then Hecate sleeps and (with Perses and the loyal ghosts) Asteria watches over her. She cleans away the blood and she stays at Hecate's bedside, protecting her now that Hecate has done what she could to protect Asteria. She cools her forehead with a damp cloth and she tells her stories about the stars and what they mean.
And she waits. Because she knows that Hecate will wake up again and Asteria will be there. It's late Thursday afternoon when Hecate begins to stir and Asteria reaches out to cradle her neck in case the girl tries to sit too quickly. "Careful," she tells her.
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[info]torchywitch 2011-08-25 02:37 am UTC (link) Track This This had been needed. Zeus was at the heart of everything. Hecate had lost her mother because of his lust. And even when she woke, sore all over and with a splitting headache, she did not regret it. Her stomach would hold nothing, she could feel that, but she was alive and in her home.
And her mother was there. She let her sit her up, blinking into the light of her room, "too bright," a ghost turns even the dim light off and she feels her entire body shake. But she did this. IT is worth it. "Mama?"
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[info]thefallingstar 2011-08-25 07:40 am UTC (link) Track This "I'm here," Asteria says to her quietly, not having yet removed her hand from touching her daughter. Asteria has grown better with touching. She's still not cuddly and likely she never will be, but she can abide it now. And with her daughter feeling so close to death, Asteria doesn't even avoid it. Perhaps she is no longer entirely stone. Perhaps Zeus has began to take her place there.
Asteria holds a glass of water to her daughter's lips. "Try and drink a little," she whispers.
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[info]torchywitch 2011-08-25 07:54 am UTC (link) Track This She let her hand grip around her mother's, needing the contact for now. She's alive. The pain makes her aware of that much. "I did it mama." She sipped from the water, as much as she could, before curling close to her mother. "It hurts, but the price is worth it."
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[info]thefallingstar 2011-08-25 08:26 am UTC (link) Track This Asteria closes her eyes tightly, overwhelmed with concern for her daughter and the knowledge that Zeus is no longer a threat. She puts the glass to the side and then rubs her hand gently up and down Hecate's back. "My brave Hekata," she whispers, and then strokes her hair slowly, like a mother should.
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[info]torchywitch 2011-08-25 08:33 am UTC (link) Track This She smiled to her mother's praise. It's all she needs really. Shivering she closed her eyes, keeping her mother's hand in her own. After a while, she found strength to speak, "where is papa?"
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[info]thefallingstar 2011-08-27 06:00 am UTC (link) Track This "Close," Asteria promised her daughter. "We've been watching over you, waiting for you to wake and we're both very proud of you." It felt like an understatement to say 'proud'. Whatever lingering doubts Asteria had had about Hecate's faithfulness to the Titans was gone now. "Would you like me to fetch him for you?"
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[info]torchywitch 2011-08-27 06:11 am UTC (link) Track This She nodded. She wanted to see her father, wanted to know if she was forgiven now, for never having sided with him during the war. But she'd been vulnerable then, without her mother to guide her. Now she was more sure of herself. "Please."