Take Me to the River

…questions? There are so many. The young Fae visibly withdraws into a sea of thought, at the centre of which spins a tight vortex, a whirlpool of guilt and apprehension that threatens to suck away it all; but she is wise enough to dabble only at the edge. All the while, a curious quirk tweaks the corner of her pensively stiffened mouth. Perhaps the greatest question of all, and the least likely to find resolution today, is, “How did you and Isuma come to be in the barrier? How did you all get there? Though on the surface, that is, from the perspective of the soaring bird, the Greatwood appears as one mass of evergreen carpet, there are indeed nooks and crannies to be found if one travels the right avenues. Likewise, there are hills and valleys, and it was while she was poised atop one such ridge (nearly two decades ago), that Hazel had, for the first time, caught sight of the wasteland which was the Hollowed Ground. There she had seen a stark divide between the beauty of her homeland, and the damaged world which the barrier-people had settled; had assumed also, that the reason for the decay around the Spire had been exactly their doing. “…and why?” The words come as one might expect from an enthusiastic child, swift and without filter; there is eloquence present, however, both spoken and thought, which suggests maturity beyond the sweet, small age of her face. Since the passing of Old Mother, Hazel has sought to put together the puzzle of her fractured education, and she feels that the pleasant acquaintance found in Jigano will help the venture progress. Green eyes are smiling forward, even though an element of seriousness lingers in the expression surrounding.