CASIMIRA

i’m only whatever you make me

The sight of the phoenix hummingbird had caused her chest to clench, and a wave of nostalgia crashed over her unexpectedly. It was a relief that something was finally being done, and that there was enough interest in bringing Tephra back. 

When Casimira had begun to make her way off the mountain she had realized that she was traveling close to two faces that were familiar, if only vaguely so — she knew them not only as a previous queen, but because she knows they are closely related to her brother, Nightlock. Nightlock and Wonder may not have always found themselves in the thick of Tephran affairs, but they had left their stamp on the volcanic kingdom in a different way, with their children and grandchildren decorated with flowers, antlers, and an affinity for wolves. 

Tephra had been far more than just a kingdom; it had been a home to so many different families, and the thought of failing them all again hung like a shadow over her.

“I heard a rumor long ago that some of the animals that once lived in Tephra have been hiding in the forest,” she tells her companions as they walk, her attention focused on the fortress of trees that they are making their way toward. “I didn’t dare to believe it, but I think it would be worth looking into. I think the mountains of the Dale would have been too harsh for them even though it’s closer to where Tephra had been, but maybe the forest has provided enough shelter from the elements that they’ve survived?”

Here, she steals a glance sideways at them, searching for any sign that they think the notion is ridiculous.

CASIMIRA

i’m only whatever you make me

She had been mulling over what she might want to bring back to the mountain, but found it difficult to settle on any one thing. Casimira had been born in Tephra (as many had), and when she thought of the volcanic kingdom it wasn’t so much a thing in particular that stood out to her, but rather that sum of all the parts that created a whole. Her hope is that the resurrection would mean everything would come back, but what if it did not? What if only the things they actually gathered are what Tephra would now be made of/

That wouldn’t be a bad thing (she didn’t care, as long as it returned), necessarily, but she is worried that should that actually happen she would realize that there is something that she gravely misses.

As her and her companions traverse the forest, she focuses on each plant and animal that crosses her path, taking it in to be sure it is not something she needs. It is just as she rounds a particularly thick copse of trees that she finds the familiar sight of a phoenix hummingbird, just like the one that had been on the mountain earlier, and she can feel herself start to smile. It is not until she takes in the flower that the hummingbird was trying to extract nectar from that she feels her heart leap into her throat. There, growing strangely from the tightly woven trunks of the trees, was a black orchid — not so different from what grows in Tephra, but identical to the kind that was woven into Savior’s mane.

She knew then in that instant that she does not want a Tephra that exists without orchids.

She does not even stop to consider the strangeness of it; that this forest is not the ideal area for an orchid to grow, but then again, neither is it a place for a phoenix hummingbird.

Carefully, she extracts the long stem, mindful of the soft petals that brush against her lips. The hummingbird flits near her face in protest, but all she does is extend her nose outwards, offering the face of a flower to the bird. She wants to tell it that if only it gives her some time and it will never have to go hunting for warmth and orchids again.