Blackwater Islands all this time, i've been waiting for you

If Akantha ever stopped to reflect on herself, which she rarely did, she might find that she was not at all her usual cantankerous self around the pale nymph. Her emotions often came and went as did her moods—as unpredictable as the tides, some would say. One moment she was a tempest; dangerous and raging. The next she was a tide pool; calm and inviting. Not even Kalika, whom she'd spent the most time with since her return to the Teekons, could predict which direction it would turn next. But somehow, in the company of the woman cast upon her shores by the Mothers, Akantha experienced a calm she hadn't felt in many, many moons. She knew better than to indulge in it too often, but she could not help but steal away with Galateia on occasion for her own selfish satisfaction.

A reverent reply passed between the young woman's lips and bade Akantha's smile to grow even further. It illumiated the naturally dark planes of her face, and sparked in the depths of her hazel eyes. Something within cried out in blind elation and launched itself against her ribcage, aching, and grasping, for purchase as Galateia continued to express her thoughts. The praise served to bolster her ego, and she cupped both ears towards her younger charge as a chuckle tumbled from her throat. The Matriarch desperately—foolishly, wanted to skip the pretense, and elevate the young woman to the rightful place her mind had set for her. But she did not wish to risk the wroth of the Mothers so she remained mum on the thought.

Heat rose to her cheeks at Galateia's final remark and immediately her mind jumped to the poetic—they were opposites; a benevolent, kind, scholar to her fierce, untempered, barbarism. Try as she might, she could not find a single flaw in her companion. Where Kalika tried, Galateia just did; where Indie spoke, Galatiea sang. Akantha was impatient; Galateia was infinitely so. Akantha knew it was unfair of her to compare her Sisters in such a way, but her currently narrow perspective did not permit her to care. 

"Then I'll wait until you are." Akantha replied, leaving no room for arguement. "How else am I going to keep a record of anything useful? My eyes see only a forest, but you see a wealth of properties that I would otherwise miss."