eastern edge of elk's crown - skirting saatsine scents | possibly accompanied by Yuèzhuō and Rìhé, leaving vague

Lian knows where she belongs. Tianlong calls her. She does not know exactly how to get there, unfortunately. The sage-scented moors and now these thick deciduous forests, strange and foreign abandoned architecture jutting from the earth wherever she goes; it is all new and alien to the princess.

She will not be deterred by the relatively simple obstacle of being lost. Spring has returned. Harmony restored. There are celebrations to be organized, envoys to be sent out, trade to be re-established now while springtime riots across the continent, and days of plenty threaten to bloom just around the corner. She headed due south, and prayed daily her ancestors guided her safely back to her kin. Her people. All she had to do, really, was wander the filthy swamp until she found the proper tunnel. Simple, Lian thought, keep it simple.

Shenlei, she was sure, was beside himself with worry. Lian could not send word of her success in the final battle for the continent, and she could not send word that she was fine and knew how to take care of herself! So she would simply have to hope he was not terrorizing the Tianlong too severely with the fanaticism of a distraught father.

Ah, who was she kidding.

Well, she had best walk swiftly, to spare the Dynasty any further distress.

The lotus paused as she crossed a thin game trail, lowering her muzzle to inhale and interpret the scents.

| skill

A rustle of leaves, a murmured voice from within the veil of unfurled leaves: danger? A ruffian lying in wait? A wandering merchant? An aggressive pack-wolf determined to defend borders zealously?

A tall, pale man loomed out of the shadows. Lian stiffened, straightened to her full height, and somehow managed to peer down her nose at him despite their significant different in height. The stranger bowed, murmured greetings in a tongue Lian spoke before course-correcting into drawling common. He was looking for her? Why? Lian tilted her head slightly, ear twitching to catch the muttered words the man spoke mostly to himself.

こんにちは、見知らぬ人です。私は元気です。父があなたを送ったのですか (Greetings, stranger. I am well. Did my father send you?)

She craned her head slightly to glance over the tall wolf's shoulders, not so surreptitiously searching the shadows for signs of her kin or Tianlong she recognized. Even so, the man had proper decorum and seemed harmless. If he had been sent by Shenlei, though, he would be more capable than he looked. Her father wouldn't put his subjects in harm's way just to find his daughters. Would he...?

*speaking in japanese from here onward | skill

The man stared at her, in what Lian magnanimously chose to believe was awe. Praise, then, for she has been gifted with the finest tutors and to learn foreign tongues was a duty Lian had always taken seriously. The more apt she was at picking up new skills, new languages, the better she would adapt to wherever she would one day call home. Thank you. I began its study while very young, so I don't think I have ever considered it difficult...it comes naturally to me, now. Common, she would argue, was her third language and her third favorite, too.

Any further discussion of the matter was flung to the wind as Taro updated her on the circumstances back home. Lian straightened, alarm turning her warmed porcelain features rimmed with frost. Fen was missing as well?! Lian's stunned silence offered the man the opportunity to glance around at their surroundings with surprising calm for such a disaster. How many had her father sent? Were their borders still properly defended? Who all had disappeared, and how many still had not returned? Are Fen and I the only ones missing? List all who are missing, please. Uncharacteristically demanding for the princess, but she spoke with the hastened tension of a woman worried, and doing her very best to contain that concern while the impulse to pace itched in her paws.

The conversation turned to her needs. Lian was tempted, evidenced by a grief glint in her eyes, to snap that she needed nothing! Only to return to her Dynasty and assure herself of their safety. Harmony had been returned to Mythris. She would not see her Tianlong the source of sacrifice required for that success. A moment passed, in which Lian took a settling breath, sent up a silent prayer to her ancestors, then turned her attention back to Taro.

There was, for the time being, nothing to do except make her way home as quickly as she could. It wouldn't be wise to make herself into one of the search parties for her sister or any others who were lost, when Shenlei was sending wolves out to look for both daughters.

You look perfectly capable to me, Fujiwara. Lian replied, warm again, even slightly mirthful. She had handled herself just fine thus far, and felt a little disappointed to have a guard re-attached to her shadow. Taro's presence would mean she'd be able to sleep without waking at every rustle or snapped twig with her heart leaping out of her throat, though. Once again, there was nothing to be done about it now. This was what she had to work with. This was what she would move forward with.

Your eyes look like starlight, lil' lotus, the pale man said. Lian's brow arched sharply. He was her father's age, goodness! Handsome enough, she supposed. Amused, the princess tossed her head and chimed a delighted laugh. Why, thank you! She procured a measured smile upon her features. And yours are akin to polished gems.