Bramblepoint clandestine meetings & longing stares

That was no sunrise, the man — calling himself Draper — seemed less interested in the sky now that they were together beneath it, and Ibis could feel his eyes upon her.

There was a feeling in the pit of her belly that was familiar, a twinge of something she hadn't felt since before her girls were with her. She ignores it in favor of watching the sky and doing her best not to look at the man; thankful suddenly that there was a cataclysm on the horizon.

South. My family has claimed the fen. I am here because of that light, but... the weight of the disaster is slowly sinking in, her face creases in a frown. Those people on the mountain, they couldn't have survived whatever that light was. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. Someone should help them.

Doing so would be at great personal risk, which was not something Ibis often took in to account when lending aid; but this time around she was lacking a daughter and a husband. She could not put herself at risk if it meant leaving her remaining daughter motherless.

Perhaps she could get a closer look before returning. Do you know this area well? She asks the man quickly, finally glancing his way.