Lion Head Mesa i don't want to wake it up.

At the mention of her brother, Valiria's demeanor shifted. Her cool, collected, confident exterior melted. She was no soldier now, she was just a girl. If only for the briefest of moments, she was vulnerable. She was lonely. She was desperate.

"Aquillius is here?" Liri questioned, her voice soft and yearning, full of the emotion she tried so hard to deny existed at all. It was safer to be hard. It was safer to be strong.

But it was not easy.

"Is my father...?" she breathed in the next heartbeat, and that was all it took for her to realize her guard had dropped. She swallowed thickly and pulled her shield back up. It was heavier now with the cracks in her armor showing, but she grabbed at her anger, grabbed at her mask, and used it to cover herself again as best as she could.