You’re dripping like a saturated sunrise, anyone

[Kagerus]

kagerus

as dreams are to the sleeper, so am I to you

I catch the softening of her stance as our conversation goes on, though I do not stare or even point it out with too keen an eye; I'd once been the girl returning from somewhere to a place that should have felt like home, but didn't quite yet. It wasn't until I found myself in Hyaline that that began to change - though ultimately what decided that final shift from stranger to she who belongs was the return of my father, Kavi, and his marriage to my mother-figure, Insignificance; and from there, the birth of my brother, Khaedrik.

But not all homes remain unbroken, and indeed when Khaedrik learned of my promiscuity and the death that would ensue because of it, our little family shattered. My parents are dormant residents of Hyaline, and my brother... I fear that I have scared him away.

To say the least, I understand how she's feeling - and I want to offer her that intrinsic sensation of belonging, but I fear the repercussions of loving something as much as I love my family, and Hyaline, and Solace...

"I've been there, Briseis; returning from the Beyond is daunting. The faces are all changed." I blink at her kindly, tilting my head, wondering just how far the plain black mare has seen - farther than I have, I dare to believe. "But there's always time to reacquaint yourself with society. And joining a kingdom is often the easiest way of doing so."

She goes on to mention having been invited to a kingdom of old once, long ago, and I nod when she gets to the part about not quite having clicked with the land. Kavi had raised me for the first months of my life in the Chamber, but from there on out we'd moved to the Jungle together. I am lucky to have had such a steadfast father who kept me true to kingdomship and duty; but perhaps it also runs in our blood. My line is far form nomadic; very far indeed.

"Hyaline is currently the only light-neutral kingdom in Beqanna; we seek to hold the peace, and to offer refuge to anyone who needs it, especially to children during times of war." The wind blows, and a chill runs along my red-white hide; autumn has come upon us quickly. Luckily this year I won't have the worry of a child threatening to end my life; but still, I physiologically yearn for such a thing. But Briseis is in no position to help me with that, and so I shove the thought aside.

"There are a reasonable amount of full-time inhabitants in Hyaline who I really think you'd click with. We're not as startling as maybe Nerine, the warrior women, or Sylva, the newly-founded evils. How do you feel about it?" I chuckle a little and duck my head, embarrassed by how my phrasing seems to become less articulate the more excited I get at the thought of introducing someone to my mountainous home. "About Hyaline, I mean."