shattered into ash [any]

[Cress]

all that we have amassed sits before us, shattered into ash

She remembers the pair who had greeted her in the field so long ago, the young black mare and her father, and she hopes that she is not too late to show them that she has, indeed, chosen Taiga as her home. She knows how quickly rulers and loyalties can change, and she dreads that she has missed them in her reluctance to fulfill her promise. She can taste flames at the back of her tongue once more, and perhaps her fire will draw in the young mare. It is what had drawn them together in the first place, after all. Flames attract flames.

She is not disappointed when Jinju enters her sight—as a matter of fact, she is quite the opposite. Her brown eyes light up and she smiles as she takes a step forward, relief all over her face. She is still here; does that mean that Ruan is, too? "Jinju!" She says enthusiastically, nodding at the young woman's words. Her smile turns sheepish, though, as she responds. "I am sorry that it has taken me so long to come find this wonderful place. I do admit that I was frightened of giving my heart to another kingdom."

Is it a kingdom? She isn't sure how the new lands of Beqanna work, and she's well aware that many of them are not being run like kingdoms at all.

Cress smiles once more as Jinju offers to show her the inside of the Taiga, and she accepts the mare's invitation whole-heartedly as she crosses into the redwood forest. Her hooves sink into the pine needles and she sighs contentedly, feeling the aching of her joints start to go away as she channels her healing up through the ground. The soft footing is something she remembers fondly from the Valley, and it is as familiar to her as the fire in her chest.

"I would be honored if you could show me around," she tells Jinju, eyes dark with contentment. She glances at Jinju's rounded stomach and nods. "Congratulations, by the way. Who is the father, if you do not mind me asking?"

cress

oxytocin x kindling