[private] Not quite goodbye || Hestia & Scorch

[Philomena]

She can not hold it off any longer. 
 The time had come for her to leave, and she shudders at the thought. A good kind of cold rolls down her spine as she stands before the ocean for one last time.
Her ocean at least.

The silver maned girl takes a moment alone, and revels in the beauties she would miss in the following year , the beauties no other place would ever manage to own. With her eyes closed and her face turned to the darkening skies she calls for them.

Better to leave them in the night as to great her new king in the morning. Perhaps Scorch would be proud of the decision, it never was like Philomena to show up unannounced. She knows soon they will join her, the night soon to be light by not only her mother's ember eyes but by her queen's flaming wings. The two women had changed her life so much, and a final thank you for the opportunity was in store. 

While she wasnt the only child to participate in the trades to come (her beloved friend Sochi had too volunteered) she had been the first. Thrust willingly onto her small stool of diplomacy, one she planned to build in her time away. When she is finally joined by them she does not turn her gaze from the sea, instead her lids close in meditation.

"I  Just wanted to say goodbye." 
Who knew what would happen before she saw them again. No one. No one ever really knew.

-

@[Hestia] @[Scorch]

[Scorch]

The night air bristled with anticipation, as if the spirit of Nerine knew what was to come. The tension reminded Scorch of a certain other spirit, moulded to the form of a leopard; her lips quirked upwards at the memory of the Jungle's patronus. Though no such figure graced these newer lands, Scorch still believed that they lived and breathed alongside their occupants - watching eagerly as the drama unfolded upon their rolling hills.

The filly's voice found Scorch not far from the beach where she stood, as she had not wanted to be far from her adopted daughter this day. They had spoken at long length about the girl's year in Tephra (about proper manners and etiquette, about how they will see her as an outsider and it will be her job to pull her weight and earn their respect as an ambassador of Nerine, about staying strong and not letting the loneliness get to her too deeply), but a goodbye felt different than training.

A goodbye felt... heart wrenching.

Philomena was her first child this life, and the act of sending her away left Scorch awake at night worrying. She'd done the same many times in the past - sending Ea to the Dale where she eventually ruled, sending Camrynn to the Deserts where she eventually ruled, sending Simeon to the Tundra; she'd done her fair share of sending. And not for the first time, the mare wished that she wouldn't be so damn political with the little bits of her heart that walked on four legs; but she's not surprised. She's been a powerplayer in Beqanna since the day she was born. And it hadn't changed for her second birth either.

She answered the call swiftly, joining her painted daughter along the coast - the place that they'd most frequented as a pair, at first playing and cajolling, then learning and teaching in turn. Philomena stood nearly as tall as she would for the rest of her life, and seeing her stoic gaze across the sea caused pride to fill the empty space that grew inside Scorch's chest. She had raised her well... But more than that. More than that. She had an amazing daughter... And she couldn't love her more if she tried.

"I am so proud of you, Philomena." She reached out, pressing her lips to the girl's neck. The touch was prolonged, for was this not goodbye? But eventually the two parted, and Scorch too turned to watch the ocean. "You will always have a home here, daughter. But fare thee well in Tephra. She'll be lucky to have you."

[Philomena]

It's never long before mother joins me, she always has been quick about these things. I smile briefly at her words and lean into her touch with a quiet sigh. It would be no longer that I could enjoy in her motherly comfort, for when I returned I would be a woman, too old to run to her and hide. I chuckled at the thought and turned my pale gaze on her once again. 

" I only hope I make the right decisions." 

I fight to hide the waver but it trips my voice none the less. I couldn't help but want to cry. It is a sad day when a girl leaves everything she had known. Its not everyday you go out and make a name for not only yourself but those who depended on you. 

With a deep intake of breath I am composed and pull a smile onto my lips, if I could prove to be half the woman my mother was I would do just fine. 

"Tephra will be wonderful, I just know it." 

The words come when I know they will be strong, and they were. I had a year to become exactly who I wanted to be. Strong, independent, a woman truly meant for Nerine. 

((Short and first ever time I have written in first person. xD))