Northstar Vale i've delivered us to where we are

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It was by her own doings that the girl had settled into the metaphorical outskirts of the group, loathe to impose on the forming bonds. The risk of rejection, of being forgotten, had hung over her head ever since the arrival of her sister—the very same sister whose disappearance had encouraged her to leave home in the first place, the very same that she had given up her search for long ago. Ever since the eldest of the Draconid girls had not only found her way to the gathering of children, but had chosen to join them, too, Kaori hadn’t felt right. Whatever great and mystical journey she had concocted within her imagination was drawn to a close, forcing her back into reality: the assumed favourite child was back and sure to take the lamb’s place in the world. The notion was suffocating, crushing her chest with an unseen—untouchable—weight, from under which she could not escape. It was with her head low that she pushed onwards anyways, trailing after the group whilst keeping away from the majority of them, the range within which she’d been born clawing at the skies in the distance.

By the time they had started their ascent, the girl noticed where they were and it shot a surge of excitement and fear through her body. Still, she was quiet and standoffish, perking up only after the group stopped and the sight below was traced over with her gaze. She could not recall having ever seen such a place before, nor having heard of it from her mother, which made it all the better for her. It was new and exciting, bringing back to life the flame beneath her breast. The words spoken by those around her fell on deaf ears, and their faces fluttered by unrecognized—she could focus only on the territory below them, the mountain’s hidden fortress.

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