The Sentinels grace in your heart, flowers in your hair.

The woods transitioned without her noticing, and somewhere along the line she got so turned around that she was going north against her better judgement; the scent of the sea was stronger here, but not as strong as she would've expected had she been seeking the saline and brine. The trees kept everything out; kept her contained too, lost among the confusing shadows and heightened humidity left over from summer. It would take a few weeks before the heat fully diminished - and while Ibis was fond of living among the trees, she didn't enjoy the pressure of that heat all around her.

It was suffocating, giving her a rising claustrophobia that sped up her steps and made her feel a little bit more panicked as the hours wore on. If she wasn't careful then she'd end up spending the night among these trees - breaking her promise to her brother, which was another slight she'd rather avoid. And, yet, the further she went the less and less sure she was of the terrain.

When she finally broke free of the forest's moss-hewn confines, she stood upon a thin ridge that continued on to level out further ahead, where it dipped towards the coast. Ibis stood there for a few seconds - utterly surprised by her neutral fortunes, unsure if she should be elated by the stretch of open, empty wilderness with the booming sea beyond, or... Defeated, because she knew she would not make it home in time, as she'd wanted.

This singular thought was the proverbial straw to break her back - and as she stared out at the dark bands on the horizon that were segments of the distant ocean (and the edge of the world for all she could tell), she felt the overwhelming pressure all around her again - like she had been chasing a ghost all this time, but with her emergence to the light, the spirit fled and left her to stagnate there upon the ridge, alone. Ibis' only thought was of Lily in that moment, as her eyes prickled with tears she hadn't let fall, and she finally loosed a sob for the friend she still hadn't mourned.