[Ashtaroth]

{My understanding of the geography in DV is shaky at best.}

   The mesa opens before them, crickets of the forest lost to the whipping of the wind. It riffles Ashtar's thick pelt like feathers, like she could just hop from the cliff-face and fly. "Lottie, don't get too close to the edge," despite the fact she is perched precariously as she says this, looking down on the Valley below. Lotus doesn't need her sister's guidance, but she accepts it all the same. Such a good girl. She'll be such a wonderful warrior. Ashtaroth turns to the flat, sunset a brilliant halo behind her, but the fireflies find Lotus first. "The Red Baishun I've spoken with, she had such interesting facts of history. I do need to ask the Sohei some day."
   She trots to meet her sister, observe the rose bushes on top of this cliff, in the shallow soil, meticulously pruned, an inward spiral at even intervals. "The false Rosa I told you about, they're thrown to the tar. That brought me to consider, a Rosa's body is not disposed of in the usual way. Of course not; you wouldn't store a god's bones beside that of their heretic. So, here we are."
   Yellow, White, Red, in seemingly unpredictable pattern. She wonders what will happen when they run out of space. Ragnarok, she supposes.

[Lotus]

Lotus had followed Ashtaroth up the cliff which wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. The spiraled girl tended to stick close to her bigger sisters heels. She just felt safer when Ashtar was around. Big sis wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt her, right? Lotus steps to the edge of the cliff and peers down curiously. They were really really high, the ground seemed to be miles and miles below. It be a very long, very scary fall if one of them were to slip. "Lottie, don't get too close to the edge." Ashtaroth warned her softly and Lotus gave her a small, quiet smile and stepped away from the edge. Same old Ashtar, always looking out for her.

"The Red Baishun I've spoke with, she had such interesting facts of history. I do need to ask the Sohei some day." Lotus tilted her eyes and made a small hum of inquiry. She watches with mild interest as Ashtaroth trots over to the rosebushes that lined the cliffs and eventually floats over to stand beside her as they admire the flowers together. She knows better than to pick them now. They were so beautiful and perfect.

Just like Mistress Gigantea.

"The false Rosa I told you about, they're thrown to the tar. That brought me to consider, a Rosa's body is not disposed of in the usual way. Of course not; you wouldn't store a god's bones beside that of their heretic. So, here we are." Another little hum, a small sound of agreement. "I wonder if it hurts, the tar."She muses softly before turning her full attention to the rose bushes in front of them. "They're so pretty."She murmurs, paw reaching out to touch a single rose before she thinks better of it and snatches it back.

[Ashtaroth]

   Pretty little thing, with her poise and curls. Hard as Ashtaroth tries, she is never so perfect as Lotus. Lotus is more dainty, more graceful, more kind and loved. No matter how long Ash holds her breath, her ribs will always be bigger. Her legs longer, muscle tighter.
   She may not be so much to Scheherazade's liking as Lotus, but there will be other Rosa. Raphael said so.
   "Of course it does," she says, watching her sweet sister smell the flowers. She wonders if Lotus's voice will be so lovely in screams. She wonders if their Tar Guardian would hold her under until she suffocated, if a Rose commanded. She thinks she's like to see Lotus cry.
   Still, Ashtar seats herself next to the girl, nuzzling into her shoulder when she flinches away from the thorns. "Go on, Lottie. I won't tell." She is, after all, the only witness. If anyone is going to hurt Lotus, it should be her.