everything we are, it just went away
with a slide of the tongue and a sour taste
She had almost forgotten that she had promised to visit two kingdoms, in the light of everything that was going on. Solace had gently reminded her of her impending trip to Nerine after their long conversation on the beach, and she wakes in the morning feeling fully rested for the first time in a long time. She has to travel through Hyaline today, and can’t help but to be incredibly excited to see the land she had fallen in love with before the plague had struck. She is nervous, too, knowing that the plague has its hold over both of these lands, but she also has faith in her mother’s healing if she were to ever fall ill. Cress would never let her littlest child die—she would die to save any of them.
As the sun rises she is already off, cantering slowly along the beaches. It isn’t long before the black sand under her hooves gives way to gold, and she lets loose a joyful whinny as the first mountains of Hyaline come into view. She hugs the coastline as she goes, shifting into her bear for the swim across the first of the rivers separating her from Nerine. Midday comes and goes as she traverses the beaches edging Hyaline, the mountains begging her to return to the crystal-clear pool in the center of the kingdom. On the way back, she thinks as she finds the border stream between Hyaline and Taiga, and shifts once more to cross it.
On the other side, she sheds her bear easily, slipping back into a more welcoming skin as she moves along this brief portion of Taiga’s coast. She sees no one as she finds the border of Nerine, but she knows from traveling to Tephra that Taiga is a very large expanse of land. She glances behind her as she straddles the border of the two kingdoms, but there is no one.
Facing forward again, she plants her hooves solidly outside of Nerine, adrenaline coursing through her. She is more confident than she was on the trip to Tephra, but she is still incredibly nervous. Before, she had been with a queen. Today, she is alone. Might as well get this over with. She lifts her head and whinnies, announcing her presence to the residents of the Northern kingdom. I am here, let’s talk.
Dawn
oh, it's gonna be a long night
@litotes @Breckin @Leilan