Wheeling Gull Isle The tree branches scraping the roof like people whispering

Lavender, like seasalt, was easily a favoured scent. She found it eased the stress of her crippling anxiety, which she'd experienced daily for as long as she could remember. The aroma reminded her of @Daiyu, her most beloved babysitter, who hadn't visited her in quite some time. Luli couldn't help but wonder if she'd decided her time among Yuèlóng was over now that the Empress' children had grown.

She had not dared question her mother of the caretaker's whereabouts, so fearful she was of her suspicion being confirmed. The koi carried on holding onto that small hope that Daiyu would remember to visit someday soon.

It was with her in her thoughts that Luli lounged among the wild lavender, sniffing at a few soft purple flowers that clung to life before the arrival of Winter's frost. She felt at ease there, but her relaxation was short-lived with the arrival if a stranger. The koi gathered quickly to her paws on sighting an unfamiliar she-wolf who meandered along in her direction, and bowed her ears submissively. "你好," she said softly in her mother tongue, and offered a timid twitch of her pale tail.