Blackfeather Woods & i've been sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool for a while now

Rather than blooming at the praise, Maegi wilted. She was too far into the depths of self-deprecation to see the truth behind Tundra's words. She nodded along, as was appropriate, but her subconscious refuted each and every little thing mentioned. She only spiraled lower as the woman questioned her about recent moons.

Cassiopeia is dead. Anansi is dead. Sobek is dead. Sakhmet is missing. Hela and Scylla are missing. Reed is missing. Nightstar is missing. You— She'd lost track of it all and cut herself off. You were missing. The forest is wounded and so are we.

Courtfall. Perhaps one day, she would visit. But everything was still too new, too raw. The mountains called to Maegi, too, but for different reasons. She would be able to compartmentalize this tumultuous time eventually. 

But not now. 

Thank you for visiting, Maegi said, her voice, her eyes, empty. The capacity to feel was drained, the effort too herculean.