& whispered in the sound of silence (open)

i wanted to be ruined —

a little more than i wanted

— to be loved

She gives him a knowing nod. While the land might not have ever belonged to her, she was made for it. Molded from it. Built to withstand the harsh temperatures and the flame upon her back stark against the snowfalls. At his question, she tilts her head to him with a nostalgic smile. “Yes. The Aurora Basin.” She says lightly, a whimsical sort of sigh leaving her lips. “My father ruled a different kingdom, called the World’s Edge.” She announces quietly with a shrug. “But it was nothing like the Basin and its hot springs, a lake that never froze, the wolf packs that looked out for intruders.” She doesn’t know if the last part is true or made up, but it’s not like it matters much anyway.

Still, she catches the glint of a smile on Remi’s face as he mentions somewhere new, because that’s exactly what she’s thinking. And the Alchemist hasn’t really gotten to know the Deimos and Kiada that revel within the winter, fortress winds. A fact she hopes to show him, to see how bright the General can become when given the opportunity.

“The book is still in the library in the Spire, I think.” She announces with a small frown. It hadn’t come with them when they arrived – it had simply spit them all out in varying places. Amalia, Deimos, and her at the Spire. Jigano, likely the Mathair if she had to guess.

KIADA