the wind talks back

Amalia I took the stars from our eyes and I made a map I knew that somehow I could find my way back Together they make their way through the snow, huddled and shivering against the cold. Amalia chooses her leopard shift, sorry for the silence it creates between herself and Phoebe but grateful for its comfort in the harshness of this place. Never before has she seen a land to apt, so fitting for her first new skin; it is strange, then, how uneasy it makes her, given how right the leopard feels. Or perhaps that uneasiness comes with their task. Amalia cannot say she is enthused to be taking these next steps, especially knowing who it is they are likely to meet as they arrive. The Lauceleyns, a chapter she thought behind her- what likelihood could there possibly be, that they should listen to reason? That they should care for the cause presented, to guard the rest of the world from decay? She cannot imagine a world in which Zariah is sympathetic. A world in which the battle they have been tasked with becomes easier, by this fight. She cannot imagine anything she would like to do less than stand before the woman again and try to hold her temper. Except, of course, for letting down her gods. Amalia shifts back to her human form as they come before the walls, pulling shield and staff from her bracer, her expression fixed and stern. Behind it, though, anxiety rests, enough that Remi and Jigano will be able to find it easily should they look. Upon her shoulder Jyoti coos soothingly, starlight circling around the pair as they gaze up at the castle. She has gotten them here, but now that they are so close, girl finds herself frozen, glancing uneasily between her companions. She does not know how it is one calls for royalty to appear. Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too So I stayed in the darkness with you