Checkpoint: Alpha

this new air feels hard to breathe, is this how it's supposed to be? if sweet dreams are made of these then why can't I be sure? Otem didn't want to feel sorry for herself. The only time she'd really allowed her mind to wallow in its own self-pity was just after Isopia had died, and her twin and father had vanished. It had seemed appropriate then to play the abandoned child, but now, standing in front of so many who had come just because she had called, it seemed absurd and stupid. Even worse, it seemed childish. And yet in many ways Otem was still a child. She couldn't bear to hear her ideas shot down, despite how rational the reasons had been. She'd picked a mountain because she thought it would be visible to everyone. Alright, sure, that made sense, but didn't they also need to make allocations for those who would have a hard time reaching its summit? And didn't having scheduled meetings make more sense, so that everyone could appropriately plan for them, rather than having to drop everything at the sign of smoke? It all made sense, but even so, something inside of Otem began to twist tightly, making her want to burry her head and just cry about it. But she didn't. Despite the overwhelming pull of her emotions, at least Otem knew she was being stupid, and so she banned all traces of disappointment and bitterness from surfacing across her face, and forced herself to nod enthusiastically (perhaps a little too enthusiastically) to Kiada's suggestion. "There are plenty of mountains, but only one destroyed castle. It's a much easier place to describe." Otem added with a smile. "Every half moon then? Often enough to share information, but not so often that we can't continue to explore?" What Otem wanted to say, was that they should think up a name ... or have some sort of symbol that could identify them. The autumn-mare had lost so much when she had come to the Rift, that she clung to talismans and titles as if they had the power to keep everyone together. Still, she felt silly and small suggesting such an idea, and so she remained silent.

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