Norani nodded, seeing the wisdom in her elder's words. Maybe the ants had stopped their attack at the sand line, but perhaps targets such as themselves might entice the risk out of them. And she listened intently to Imogen's words. Norani had always wanted to see what Kythera had been like before it fell to the Imperium, she'd heard it was beautiful, far more so than Drathera. And at Imogen's telling of her parents resisting Zaichaer's despicable government, Norani nodded in agreement. Good. That felt like proper Ecithian attitudes.
It was strange to hear such a dichotomy of Zaichaer beauty within and beauty unseen, by choice. And as Imogen made her declaration on the state of Drathera's own style of governance, Norani piped in, "The stories of old say it was not always the case. The Commonwealth is young but our people are ancient. They once conquered and controlled the entirety of the continent according to our stories of old. My chieftain taught us that the Commonwealth is the worst form of government there is, except for every other type, all of which have been tried among our people at some point or another."
Norani wondered if one could also learn this silverfire similarly to how she learned of her normal fire.
At Imogen's question, Norani did what was only normal to Ecithians for such a question. First she began by untying her breastwraps, pulling them away unashamedly, revealing the glowing lotus flower that was inked upon her heart by a Seer, accompanied in the swirls of the old style of runic pictography that made up the language of Ecith's tattoos. "I am from a small village, and I met Yeva in Drathera when I traveled there with my contingent to acquire my citizenship markings." Norani pointed to the vine like runes beneath the flower, "Yeva found me there, exhausted and alone." A sad smile, "I still don't really understand the life in Drathera. So many more people and while we share many beliefs, our customs do vary differently it seems. I suspect it might be that way with all the villages in regards to the capital."
Her fingers continued to follow along the runes as she spoke, "Our friendship grew, and we traveled back to my village together." Her smile grew, "We grew happier with one another, as she learned our tongue and our culture." Then a deep sigh, "She... helped me out of a dark place. I... my family-around-me and I are not one right now. She is my dearest friend in the world and the only family who accepts me, does not lie to me."
At the core of the flower, "I love her with all that I am, for all that she is." She said this proudly, "We travel together now, leaving the pain of my home to come help with this expedition."
Imogen not mentioning Carina again was not lost on Norani and she did not pursue it further, she did decide to ask more of Imogen's great and elderly wisdom, "Do you think it can be right to keep heartbreaking secrets from the heartbroken? To build a world of lies to support it, in order to protect them, somehow?"
