Northstar Vale Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot!

Hime used to crave being left to her own devices, but that had been during her previous life as the empress of her own clan. It hadn't really been her clan, either - she had taken it for herself, driven out her competition (her sister, the friends she cavorted around with rather than pledging pure allegiance to her blood), and her recklessness had led to the obstacle of responsibility. Making decisions for the betterment of the clan was something Hime had been tutored to do, but she could not fathom putting anyone ahead of herself; she had been a foolish girl then, as power-hungry as always, and lacking the experience.

This place was different. This empire. There were opportunities here not just for Hime, but for Reiko too. Hime had the experience now, and her drive was unmatched. All she wanted was to make this place perfect - to make her sister choose her, choose blood over all these lowly peasants. And being left alone now, without a proper station nor any true power, only gave Hime time to fantasize, to plot, to covet what could be.

Takeshi's scent drifted away from her and faded among some trees. Hime could have pursued it, she could have followed that path until the inevitable encounter with the Emperor and done her best to tempt him with her plans; however, now was not the time. She had to be patient. So she veered off the path and drifted across the hillside, listening to the wind whispering through the grass, watching the greenery shifting in to a blur — and there, on the fringe, was an odd little shape.

Hime paused to watch it. There was a garish quality to it, a sharp red that did not look natural - or perhaps looked too natural, like the blood she was so fixated upon. The woman squints and tries to make out what it is, striding closer, legitimately throwing caution to the wind. It took a few minutes for her brain to patchwork the true shape together: it was merely a foraging woman.