[SWP] It comes in waves

WAKER

Night Sky offers up what she knows of the land, but the names mean little to you. You recognize the walkers, though; perhaps relatives of the forest walkers Kiada and Rixen had gone to? It doesn't seem unreasonable, and the Matron had warned them of the dangers of those creatures. The idea of their desert cousins lurking around the next corner isn't soothing.

Then Otem's voice bombards your mind, and your blue-rimmed ears sharply flit forward. The sarcasm stings, and your steps falter for a moment. Perhaps the Hope was not a cure-all, and you're not faulty for not being a cheerful ballon—because here's Otem, her doubts held close but violently, accidentally broadcast. "You can't deny that it helped the lake, and the Metus," you offer quietly, shifting your wings against your sides.

You're not sure what to do with the revelation that Otem is doubting. Is she right to? Should you, too? But if you do, what else do you have? What else will you do? You blow out a sigh and turn your head away, hooves hitting the pale flagstones with dull thuds.

"Huh," you sort of say, sort of breathe, when talk turns to the shadowy veils. Instinct had screamed at you to stay the fuck away, so you had, but you're not surprised to hear that Otem tried to get through. She just, sort of seems like that—stubborn and relentless and curious. "What makes you think you can go beyond the shadows, anyway?" you ask, sounding a bit distracted and tired as you make it down another crumbled lane.