CASIMIRA
dragon-shifting daughter of ashhal and ryatah
She is grateful that they appear to be friendly. After the sudden surge in her heartbeat when she had mistaken the man as her father she is unsure if she would have been able to maintain a pleasant demeanor had it turned out they were here with the intent of causing trouble. That wasn’t something that happened often in Tephra, but the memories of a war-torn volcanic kingdom had impressed themselves into her mind, following her across lifetimes.
It’s why when the mare says they are from Loess that there is a moment—so brief it is unlikely they noticed, the glacial hue of her eyes serving as a shield to her true feelings—that suspicion threatens to steal the welcoming smile from her face. Loess has not been an issue for the kingdom for some time, but as far as Casimira knew, things were never exactly mended, either. Oceane had been a queen that mostly kept to herself, and Tephra leaders—save for Gale, though he never wreaked havoc in the name of the kingdom, exactly—did the same.
And now it rests beneath the sea, serving only as a landbridge between Tephra and the mainland.
She knows, though, that it could have just as easily been Tephra. That it is only by chance that the waters had stopped rising when they did, that the next earthquake could be what it takes to submerge them right alongside the southern kingdom, and so she does not take Tephra’s survival as any kind of sign that it was karma for Loess’s transgressions years ago.
It was luck, a slippery thing beyond anyone’s control, and something everyone runs out of eventually.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Altissima, Tarian,” she replies with the return of a genuine smile, nodding her head to each in turn. Her gaze swings to the stallion, then, laughter brightening her eyes and caressing the words that lilt from her tongue, “You found them. Well, one of us, I suppose. I’m Casimira.” One-half of the partnership that leads the volcanic kingdom, and while sometimes she wishes that Savior was with her more often when she stumbled across newcomers, it is for selfish reasons only. She does not mind handling kingdom duties, knows that his tie to Tephra goes beyond an intangible crown, and it’s why he is so often lost in the jungle instead. No, she wants him here only because she misses him, because her chest aches when they are apart, and to hear another speak his name sparks a longing behind her ribs so strong she almost turns to go, to leave them to discover the kingdom for themselves.
But she does not. She keeps herself rooted before them, the smile still easy on her lips, the pale blue of her eyes still watching them curiously. “You are welcome to stay in Tephra for as long as you’d like. I could not imagine losing my home in the way that you all did…” she trails off, a frown marring her face. “There was another here not long ago also in search of her family after the flooding. Oceane’s daughter, Lillibet. I am not sure if she ever found them,” she finishes softly. She looks back to each of them, her voice daring to lilt with hope, “Perhaps either of you know the fate of her parents?”
@Tarian @Altissima