by Ryn » Wed Nov 15, 2023 4:22 pm
On the way back, once again drenched in salt-water, Ryn had recounted to Katarina what she'd done while she investigated the portal. She'd been brief, which is hardly out of character but she mainly did not want her friend to know the extent of her 'sparring' with the Morrigan. Or that she'd specifically asked about fashion, just the details of Samantha's retinue and the eerily familiar Wyldclay Mirror. She did actually write a report as well, though there'd probably been some room for improvement from Katarina since it was even more sparse than what she'd told her. Still she'd made some effort.
Then she'd withdrawn through one of the Ghost Paths to the wooded cliffside overlooking a valley deep within Yellowstone. Not that Ryn knows that name. To her it's a vast caldera, mostly untouched by human hands and now also the spot she'd shown Katarina when trying to share with her a glimpse of what 'home' is to her. She knows the mortal had only seen a glimpse of what is spread out before Ryn's eyes. She's well aware the way she sees the world is vastly different. Especially here, far from human machinations, she can see so much. The myriad shades of green and brown, the sparkle of minerals in the stone and the droplets of water dancing above the river far below. The teeming life everywhere, insects and small mammals, dozens of birds with their own brilliant spread of colors to their differently textured feathers, fish glimmering with scales from silver to faded grey. Calls that echo and vibrate with subtle notes, almost shimmering in the air. An aura of miniscule stratified currents around each tree where microscopic lungs draw in carbon dioxide and breathe out fresh oxygen. The constant slow movement of water through gnarled roots and creaking wood. Even the stars above, washed out as they are by the sunlight.
This is what she wishes she could show Katarina. That even here she finds herself rather looking at her friend than the spectacle of life. But all she knows to express is blood and pain. She doesn't hate it. Far from it; even now the thought of tearing open the rib-cage of a rotten soul and feeling a vile heart cease to beat in her hand tantalizes. But it's not how she wants Katarina to see her, is it? Somehow she's managed not to scare her off and that gives her hope. She's brave and clever, unaware of how much so, it feels. And she smiled at Ryn again, including her eyes. If only Ryn could figure out what she'd done right...