When the Spirit Animal characters spend their time with their mothers.

I know Mother's Day ended like a few days ago but it's never too late!

-Abeke-

Abeke dragged her prey back to her village proudly. She had managed to sneak out of the village and follow the hunter's early, "borrowing" one of their bows. She had always watched the hunter's tactics and listened to their plans as they hunted and Abeke managed to learn by herself. Then finally, finally, she managed to hunt her first catch, an antelope.

But when she reached home, she was not expecting this response from her father...

"What were you thinking, sneaking out into the village and following the hunters like that?" Pojalo exclaimed in anger, "I told you that hunting is for men and men only!"

"But father," she tried to explain, "I caught an ante-"

"I know exactly what you caught," he snapped, "And you don't just kill animals for the pleasure of it! It's disrespectful to our ways!"

"But I didn't," Abeke protested, "I just thought it would be nice to hunt our lunch for my family."

Pojalo was about to say something when someone else spoke, "That's a thoughtful thing to do, Abeke."

Her mother walked into the room, her usual warm smile on her face. She walked over to her husband, wrapping a gentle arm around his shoulders. He relaxed a bit but his face still had a stern look.

"She shouldn't be out hunting on her own," Pojalo grumbled.

Her mother only smiled, "Now, dear, Abeke has proven her skills many times over and is shown to be quite the fast learner. I mean look, she caught an antelope." She then gave a wink at Abeke, "Why don't we make some grilled antelope for lunch now?"

Abeke beamed a little while Pojalo sighed, "Very well then."

As he walked out the room, Abeke's mother walked over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Abeke sighed, "Do you think dad hates me?"

"Now don't think that," she said in her usual, gentle voice, "No parent could ever hate a child like you. He was just worried that you might've gotten hurt. He loves you very much."

Abeke nodded, her spirits lifting a little, "If you say so."

"Now, let's get cooking, shall we?"

- - -

"...and then the Great Leopard, Uraza, snarled a loud snarl as she launched herself in battle, fighting the Conquerors," her mother said, telling the story as Abeke listened intently, sitting up on her bed. Though she had heard of the stories many times, it never seemed to sound old with her mother telling it, "She rushed off to the Great Wolf, Briggan's aid, and fought of Gerathon the Serpent. She had sadly failed and have fallen to the clutched of the serpent...but she had fought long enough to save Erdas."

"And that's why Uraza is cooler than Cabaro," Abeke finished.

Her mother chuckled, kissing her forehead and gently stroking her braided her, "Yes, yes. Now, off to bed."

"Alright," Abeke sighed before laying down, her eyes slowly drooping to a close as she stroked her hair, singing the familiar soft tune she would hear every night.

"I love you mother," Abeke murmured but before she fully drifted into sleep, she heard a reply.

"I love you too, Abeke. I will always love you."

-Conor-

Conor was out on the fields in a cold night, huddled towards a fire with a blanket wrapped around him. His herd of sheep grazed on the grass nearby, some already settling down for the night, huddled in groups. Conor sighed as he inched closer to the fire, making sure to keep himself warm and not have frostbite. He was all alone for the night, his father too busy in Trunswick with his two elder brothers and his younger brothers being too young.

Nearby, his spirit animals, Briggan, had his head on his front legs as be watched the sheep. The Devourer War had ended a few weeks ago and Conor had decided to come back to stay with his family for a while before returning to Greenhaven. He knew that Briggan wouldn't like to be cooped up herding sheep for the rest of his life...especially since wolves eat sheep.

He added some more sticks to the fire, making sure that it would last most of the night as he slept when he saw a figure approach him. He quickly reached for his shepherd crook, only to relax when he recognized the figure.

"Mother?" He squinted his eyes as she approached, "What are you doing here?"

She smiled then settled down beside him, "Just checking in with my son, of course."

He could feel his ears growing hot, "You didn't have to come here now. It's freezing out here. You might have frostbite."

"So might you," she pointed out, "And i'd like to be there for my son if that happened."

"Fair enough, I guess."

As Conor added more sticks to the fire, his mother gently nudged him on the shoulder, "So, how was it in Greenhaven?"

"It's alright," Conor replied but hesitated to say more.

"Are your friends doing okay?"

"Yeah," he sighed, staring a little sadly into the fire, "They're doing great. I heard that Abeke's spending time with her family in Nilo and Rollan left to Amaya with his mom. Meilin went back to Zhong to help rebuild."

"Okay, what's wrong?" His mother's tone got serious.

Conor hesitated. He was never one to lie for it just wasn't in his nature to lie. He then sighed for he had always been honest with her mom.

"I don't know," he answered, "I mean, it's great to be back and all but...I don't know if I should really leave..."

His mother placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her, "You know very well what to do. Right in here." She tapped his left chest where his heart was.

He could feel a lump in his throat, "It's just...everything has changed..."

She gave him a warm smile, something he had inherited from her though there was a twinge of sadness in her eyes, "Not everything has changed Conor. You'll always have a family here, a home here. But now, it's time to herd your own flock."

He knew he wasn't all macho man. He knew that tears were about to spill in a matter of seconds.

He could see tears welding in her mother's eyes as well, "You'll always be my son and whatever decision you choose, just know that I will always love you."

He couldn't hold it in anymore. He leaned towards her and felt her mother's warm arms engulf him into a heart-warming hug.

The night didn't seem so cold anymore.