Sunbeam Lair stroll the merry way

Smol post, but wanted to throw this in here. ♥

As time passed, she’d found herself venturing near to the cavern’s entrance more often than usual. Sometimes it had been to patrol, though usually, it’d been out of curiosity. Thoughts of what else might lay beyond the paths she’d traveled crossed her mind, but she had dared not act on impulse. Her daughters and tribe alike—whether they’d agree or not—needed her there, and so whenever she’d stepped foot outside of the lair, her time spent away was short. As she’d set out today, however, it had not been by herself. She’d located @Shiori and encouraged her to follow, having reached a point where she felt comfortable taking the girl into the world outside; her decision to do so had been influenced by the youngest child’s past behavior, which had always been perfect.

Outside of the lair, she’d kept her pace slow and her mind alert, cautious of the dangers that might linger around them. And when she’d heard a commotion she’d stopped, then began moving in the direction whence it’d come after recognizing the voice as belonging to Airi. Once she’d arrived she hadn’t assessed the situation right away, instead having moved between the male and her daughter—the latter of which she’d shot a glance at, warning her to stay back with her sister. Despite how quickly she’d moved between the pair, it’d not been with anger that she’d looked back at the stranger, who wasn’t actually a stranger at all. At first, she’d not recognized him, having been too concerned about the well-being of her hatchling. After being allowed to actually look at him, though, she’d recalled having seen him in the past, the mask of yellow that he wore being distinct enough to stand out to her. With her memory of him lacking any true aggression, she’d been able to relax, but remained on edge enough to protect her children if need be. “It is you,” she’d said, followed by, “It has been a long time.” She hadn’t stopped to think of whether or not she, too, would be remembered, her mind preoccupied with the talk she planned to have with her eldest later on.