Oh, Lani. Bast's heart ached for her, for the daughter she was so often denied. Only seeing her monthly was horrible, and being forced to lie about her divinity was worse, but the past year had been... well, she didn't want to repeat it. After the visit last Christmas, the January visit was stalled after the goddess got stuck in cat form, and between one thing and another, her ex had decided to try to keep Ailani and Bast apart, insisting that Bast, or Sarabi to the courts, was the one failing to hold up her end of the custody agreement.
But now she was here. She was here, and here to stay, and her joy at having her sweet, beautiful daughter to herself was tempered by deep heartache at the horror her baby must be going through. Through everything else that was horrible and wrong in her life, through all the heartache and the pain, this was too much. It was pain she couldn't erase, a problem she couldn't beat down or solve through violence and posturing.
When she saw Lani, it was physically difficult to keep a smile off her face; the effort grew easier when she saw the broken look on her teenager's face. She took Lani easily, wrapping her arms around the girl and murmuring sweet nothings in Egyptian into her hair.
"Shhh, baby," she purred quietly, stroking her hair softly. "Why don't we just walk a little, okay? Get to baggage claim, and find a bench."