Wapun Meadow the needy eat man-mades, they wear phony clothes

a silence crept between the two of them. old and familiar, and somehow, alienating and new.

astara found she could not read averna as well as she used to; and averna likely found the same.

for a long moment she searched the luminary depths of averna's gaze. she found nothing of great meaning, no forbidding emotion lurking in those silver depths.

and so, she pulled her gaze away and looked back to bearclaw, where averna had looked only moments before. she dipped her head once in her homeland's direction and then turned towards the valley, pausing only once to look behind her and see if averna was following.

she had much to show the spirit.