wherein the Augustine principle is discussed but never defined

To bring back the past is an unnecessary path in life, which we will see in our experiments. The child did not know this, of course, and looked to any means of reliving those long nights outside, alone beneath the stars- and there were plenty of stars back then- with only a wistful look and the dog- the true mother. It was here that Saline first met the child, chattering from upon a branch arching high above, her maw dripping (splat splat splat) and the dog took no notice, but she did curl about the child in the snow, as if to protect it from this thing that did not, as far as she was concerned, exist. The Word's true form is never remembered, and subsequently miscarried over time, but we can be sure that It was poisonous none-the-less, and detrimental to all that the child would experience from then on.
"got a lon-lon-long way to go, huh-huh-huh?? WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR face you know you wanna know you wanna know where to go but it ain't gonna be an E-A-S-Y thing, hahhhhh???"
The thing was never perfect, and her drone has only deteriorated through the years, her speech growing harsher, but one thing it lacks now that it had then was constant Pitch, and so the child knew it was not a thing to be feared, for it was honest and true like none other.
This is when we see the first discrepancies. The thing would perch up there all winter and well into summer, but come August it would fade, as that month was the month of its namesake, and She took it to reform the Cheshire. Saline's screams could be heard from within the walls, and though the child could hear them, it did nothing- it feared August, as did all inhabitants of the house. So Saline grew to despise the child, more than she did already, for that was simply her nature. She would come when the child lay awake and gnaw at its fingers and toes, clawing its arms and leaving slightly mysterious bruises and scars which the child never had to explain, for no one cared in the least. March would sit with the child as she was accustomed, but she could do nothing to keep the Cheshire away, for she was beneath and had already known August's wrath.
The relationship between August and Saline is unpredictable at best. It is violent and lustful, as is the Saint's relationship with most members of the house (if not, indeed, all) yet She rebuilds Saline in an imperfect manner, with the mechanics never quite falling to Her usual sense. Saline hates the Saint, which is unusual in the house (even 12% could never hate August- it simply isn't possible), and August has neglected any attempt to fix this. She is excited by the cruel Cheshire, intrigued by her rabid screaming and flailing fistsclawsteethmouth. There are no rooms in the house Saline is forbidden from except for the Inner Sanction, which has never been confirmed as existing, so we may ignore that factor.

CANTABILE
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