Messages In This Thread

Lian · 7/29/2026, 8:11 PM

| skill

It's not the masses of Tianlong that descend upon the Lotus. It is only Mercy herself, shining with the composed and gentle light of the moon as she appears from within a forest of vines and tree trunks, dappled with bamboo. Lian maintains her resolve to stay composed, princess-like, and not childish and unmannered. At least, until Yue's hurried footsteps bring the woman close enough to gather the girl's delicate figure into an embrace.

Lian had been on the road many days. She has slept alone in strange dirt, stumbled upon strange countries, and walked until callouses begin to form on soft paws. She is well-rested and fed thanks to Taro and Satriya, but she is weary. Wanting, for the peace that only her home and family can provide. There is nowhere, except this tiniest circle of those closest to Heaven itself, that the Lotus can feel safe to let the trappings of a princess drift from her grasp. She is enveloped in silk, in the scent of delicate white tea, ripe persimmon, and a refreshing spring rain outside the window.

Home. Safe. And in an instant, she is not Teng Lian, daughter of the Dragon, Heaven's blood, Lotus of the Tianlong. She is only a girl, and her throat is tight with tears, face hidden in the veil of Yue's feathery fur and tucked into the shield of her shoulder. Yue, is all that bubbles up, wetly, from Lian's lips before she tucks herself tighter into the Empress' shadow. The world has felt a grandiose, wondrous, overwhelming thing for days on end. A thing that both welcomes Lian to witness and discover it, but threatens to consume and overturn her like a shoddy canoe. I have missed you! It is true, but Lian is not sure words can truly express the lurch of emotion that floods her now. Joy, grief, fear, excitement, and a thorough sense of exhaustion residing more in her soul than her body.

Welcome Back!

Greetings Stranger!

Verdant's Grace

princess of the tianlong