A Mother and Her

"When did you start becoming beautiful?"

The first thing Lusamine became aware of was the pain. A raw, stabbing pain that made her head ring, her muscles ache and swell like they were going to burst, every nerve in her body burn under her skin. Instinct told her to scream, but she couldn't move. She couldn't hear. Her mind couldn't form a coherent thought. All she knew was the pain, and Nihilego, and the last thing she had seen: the image of Lillie's face, concerned, resolved, alive…beautiful. Beautiful in a way Nihilego wasn't. In a way Lusamine wasn't sure anything else ever could be.

Alt description: Y'all ever wake up one day in excruciating pain and realize that jellyfish you were obsessed with messed up your head and you were a terrible mom? Lusamine has.