Herbalists' Cache tide bound

star eater’s expression softened, her breath steadying as the words settled between them. she had felt the girl’s loyalty before, seen it in the way she lingered, in the way she listened, but to hear it spoken aloud warmed something deep inside her.
you are like a daughter to me, she murmured, and the admission came easily, naturally, as if it had always been true. and in a way, it had—other shore had been hers the moment she had nursed her back to strength, the moment she had chosen to stay when she could have left.
the war would come, but not here. not now. here, there was only them.
tell me something of your past, she said, settling in closer. i wish to know you.
it was a rare request. she did not ask lightly, did not ask without care. but she wanted to know—who other shore had been before she had become saatsine. before she had chosen her place at star eater’s side.