Wild Berry Meadow It was all she had

A pang of disappointment stirs at the sudden interruption of her reverie, but she gives no outward sign of it. Unfazed by the presence of strangers, Kaiaka meets the shadowed man’s gaze with quiet composure, not assessing, not admiring, merely acknowledging what stands before her.

Her eyes drift to the female beside him, lovely in her own right despite the mud and debris clinging to her strange markings. There is no urgency in Kaiaka’s manner, no rush to fill the silence. She lets the moment stretch, unbothered by the weight of unspoken words.

At last, she offers a greeting, her tone as neutral as the expression she wears. Allo, strangers.

Nothing more. Her gaze shifts to meet a pair of faded golden orbs. She wonders but does not ask, leaving space for the pair to bridge the distance, if they so choose.