The Sunspire sun coming up on a dream come 'round

there is a flame to the sole of her feet, the gentle blaze a kindling in her steps. mountain-born, she called to the cliff side as if greeting an old combatant. stone, greyscale, a storm cloud rolling in. this peak reminded her of a land not forgotten.

chilled from the peak's breeze, nephele took to a grotto nestled along the nook of her path. moss-ladened and damp, she sought the driest of what the hollow offered. huddled against the drafty wall she watched as tears fell from heaven's cage.

and in the solitude of the summit's shadow, she thought of a family left behind.

Inanna, too, thought of familiar faces grown distant with time. Of the family she'd found in the wake of disaster, now many miles behind her as well.

Her time had still not come.

She, too, sought shelter. Her fur would protect her from the elements, and she feared no wolf or other beast. But she felt so small there in the open — so lost and so alone. She stole away to a place where she might not feel the world was so empty, and there, came across a rare beauty.

"Oh — " She was startled, but she regained her composure almost at once. "My apologies. I sought shelter, but I will not take it from you."

She lingered, though. Hoping her company might be invited by the other.

a voice cuts through the soft patter of rain and nephele lowers to her head to look at the figure now stood by the grotto's entrance. she is silent for a moment before parting her lips to speak, "there is enough room for two." she shifts herself to allow room for the stranger to press against the wall beside her before casting her eyes back to the rainfall.

her toes wiggle awkwardly beneath her; she was not one for small talk, but silence was too uncomfortable to bear in such an enclosed shared space. "what brings you to the peak?"

"Ah! My thanks," the girl cried, all too eager to throw herself into the offer. She was compact, and she did not take up too much space as she settled herself against the opposite wall. She let out a soft sigh of relief — not for her escape from the rain or cold, which truly hadn't bothered her, but for the simple pleasure of company after far too long on her own.

Her head turned toward the woman when she spoke, her answer at first only a sleepy-sounding, "Hm?"

And then, "Oh — it is only my natural inclination, I suppose. To seek high places. But they have not served me much lately until now!"

She was bone-tired now that even the smallest level of relief had been allowed to enter her system, but she livened quickly into the conversation. She offered what she hoped was a winsome smile, finding herself breathless at the idea even as she joked: "If you take me home with you, I will not have to comb peaks any longer."

a natural inclination? was she a mountain goat? nephele had grown upon a mountain and yet she did not find any desire to scale them aside from the strategical vantage points they might provide. perhaps that was due to her poor experiences upon them, or maybe it was just logical thinking to avoid heights that could result in a slip to the death. either way, it did not matter much.

an eyebrow raised at the next mention of words from the woman's lips. "if a home is what you seek, i could provide." the woman was small, much like nephele herself, but she appeared visibly healthy and in good condition. given her presumed state of being alone, it appeared she had done well for herself.

Hopeful though she was, Inanna managed to sense no warmth from the other woman. Her smile grew a little more reserved.

The offer of a home took her by surprise. She was unnerved.

"What sort of home?" she asked, trying not to sound too suspicious. The woman's reception had been so different from the warm welcome she'd received with the seal hunters, and what she remembered of her old family. It was hard to imagine the sort of family she might bring her back to.

Or, perhaps, it was only all too easy.

what sort of home?

a bead of water fell from the grotto's ceiling, plopping just upon the pale stretch of the viper's snout as she parted her jaws to speak. "one better than none at all," she tossed out in a poor attempt at playful banter, only lacking in any tone that might have inclined it as such.

"it is a humble stretch of grassland just off to the west." she turned to point in the direction she scaled the mountain from. yellowstone was as homely as a place she knew, warm beneath the sun and rich in prey. it felt foreign from all that she known before, and yet home it was.

sorry for the short reply!

The physical location was not exactly what she was hoping to find out. She looked off toward where the territory lay, but of course, she could not see it from here. The lack of information unnerved her, somehow. She kept the woman in the corner of her vision, wishing she had kept moving along.

"Perhaps I will find my way there," she said vaguely. And then, "I believe the rain is letting up. I bid you farewell."

Ingiullik edged away, and then hurried to take her leave.