Maybe it was a bit of a self-inflicted punishment, or maybe - No. It was definitely that. No doubts. Thal still struggled and ached with the hollowness of Pierce's departure. Despite his insistence that it wasn't her, Thal still wondered if there was something else she could have done, something to further the Family's cause so that Dahlia never would have been caught - never been 'cured'. The guilt along with the desperate need to feel anything other than the pain, had her stepping into the one place she should never go, where the snow was deadly and the winds cruel against her skin.
Gritting her teeth against the needles already pricking at her fingers, Thal pulled the thickest cloak she'd ever worn tighter around her body to seal in what warmth she could from the three layers of clothes she wore beneath. Yet it still wasn't enough, and she flared her fire in a cocoon around her, staving off the worst of the chill with the roaring flames.
Through the crunch of her boots and the bright light of her magic, she noticed a familiar figure patrolling ahead, a unicorn at his side. Her first reaction was to turn away, annoyance and frustration pleasantly heating her blood as she recalled that she didn't even know the bastard's name. They'd never gotten along, and when he'd blatantly dismissed her... she saw red for a moment.
Torn between trying to pester him and just flying away, a surprisingly obnoxious thought came to mind, an assignment that her goddess had given her that floated like a golden strand of purpose. It didn't take away the simmering dislike she had for him, but she could suffer through this cold and his presence for her own selfish reasons.
Moving slowly forward to meet him, she kept a healthy distance and nodded her head in greeting, her voice shaking traitorously as she asked, "Do you need... help with anything?" She nearly choked on the word, the offer feeling as strange to her as it probably felt to the man, but she had a quest to complete, and if it meant forgetting about Pierce's absence for a minute, she was reluctantly willing to assist.
Gritting her teeth against the needles already pricking at her fingers, Thal pulled the thickest cloak she'd ever worn tighter around her body to seal in what warmth she could from the three layers of clothes she wore beneath. Yet it still wasn't enough, and she flared her fire in a cocoon around her, staving off the worst of the chill with the roaring flames.
Through the crunch of her boots and the bright light of her magic, she noticed a familiar figure patrolling ahead, a unicorn at his side. Her first reaction was to turn away, annoyance and frustration pleasantly heating her blood as she recalled that she didn't even know the bastard's name. They'd never gotten along, and when he'd blatantly dismissed her... she saw red for a moment.
Torn between trying to pester him and just flying away, a surprisingly obnoxious thought came to mind, an assignment that her goddess had given her that floated like a golden strand of purpose. It didn't take away the simmering dislike she had for him, but she could suffer through this cold and his presence for her own selfish reasons.
Moving slowly forward to meet him, she kept a healthy distance and nodded her head in greeting, her voice shaking traitorously as she asked, "Do you need... help with anything?" She nearly choked on the word, the offer feeling as strange to her as it probably felt to the man, but she had a quest to complete, and if it meant forgetting about Pierce's absence for a minute, she was reluctantly willing to assist.
thalassa
i came committed, guess i overdid it
