Ruan had been right. Jinju wasn’t a child anymore and she certainly didn’t need his protection. Regardless of the differences in bloodlines, it was suddenly so clear to Circinae that the black horse before her was Ruan’s daughter. It was in the way she spoke, the manner in which she offered to close the separation between them, even in her ability to accept the friendship that was growing between her father and the little russet wolf. The fire wielder and the ice king were cut from the same cloth. “The past is behind us. Let’s leave it that way, shall we?” Circy offers, stretching her neck forward so that her nose might clash gently against the satin black of Jinju’s.

It’s only when she pulls herself together once more that Circinae brings back the soft smile she’s so known for, a light “What will you do with your time now?” filling the empty space between them. It was an honestly curious question, because Circy was glad she’d finally begun to build a friendship out of thin air. The world was Jinju’s oyster now - she could do with it as she pleased, but Circinae’s intentions were to remain here and begin building something of a life out of the nothing she’d left behind her. Would the redwoods hold her captive? No. The forest green mare has always been a bit of a free spirit, that would never change.

It was Jinju she wanted to hear more about now.

The wolf shifter understands the calling of ‘other places’. How could one stay so grounded when the world out there was so infinitely grand? Horses roamed, it was true, but wolves expanded their territory, brought others with them, trekked and hunted and slept where others wouldn’t. Jinju is young, vibrant, filled with adventure and perhaps even seeking out someone or something to fill the emptiness that’s been brought to the Taiga so recently. Circinae understands.

She understands because that peace for her is golden hued. He smells of the earth and air, shares secrets with her and draws her in instead of pushing her away. “Go while you can, you won’t regret it.” Circy encourages with a smile, tail batting softly against her hide while the few insects of the woodland begin their assault. “I haven’t been to other lands yet, only to the wilderness. Everything else seems so far away for my shorter legs.” She laughs. Still, she remembers a time when she and Raeanne had braved the journey together. It had been easier with a companion.

“Your mother will always be your mother, though.” She tells her, turning the conversation back to the black mares mention of Reagan. “Something tells me Reagan won’t be gone forever, too. Perhaps I’m wrong … but I’d like to think otherwise.”

So easy to forgive and forget. Circinae almost wishes she could be more like the ruby-eyed fledgling. The excitement in her voice carries the two-toned mare back to a simpler place of her childhood, when she’d wished so badly for a sibling and instead been granted with a visit from Wyrm. Horrible, terrible creature that he was, the shifter had been rather unimpressed with his whelp of a sibling and luckily, Circy hasn’t seen hide or hair of him since then. Perhaps … perhaps Jinju could fill that lost space for a while. It would be pleasant to think of herself as mentor, friend, and elder sister-like figure to the budding woman. But these are thoughts she keeps to herself, allowing only a bright smile to waver over her face as a gentle laugh parts her lips.

“I’ll stay, don’t worry about that.” She assures, knowing it to be true regardless of the outcome from the recent storm. Lightning would flash, thunder would roll, but the rains from such a disturbance always brought fresh peace and watered earth with it. Something new and wonderful always seemed to prevail against terrible odds. “In the meantime, while we all settle from this particular rattling of bones, I think getting out would be good for everyone.” Circinae muses, tail flippantly swinging in thought.

“We’re located in the heart of this world - so striking out in just about any direction would work, I think.” The elder mare advises. Truly, nothing was beyond Jinju’s reach if she grasped for it. “But my advice, if you’ll take it, would be to travel East. Nothing too broad or unknown that way. Go see the ocean, and then come back and tell me how it is.” The green mare laughs, turning about to begin a journey of her own. She trades her tail for a shorter one, covered in thick, mahogany hair, wags it a few times for fun and then turns back to gaze once more at Ruan’s get.

“I’ll be here when you get back, I promise.” She says, shifting wholly then before bounding off into the maze of redwood trees.