Glade 89, 124
That diverting of the path took most of the morning.
It was now midday and the group was stopping for rest and meal upon what used to be a small lake that had grown wildly in the floods. It was a lake some knew for the lily pads so large they could hold a Terrorsaur upon them. So the hippos were set to rest and to feed themselves while the Satchel group set about to making a light encampment upon the great lilypads. Half the Shield group was tasked with going out hunting and gathering of food with half the Winds, with the remainders taking their break with the Satchel group.
Norani was sitting on the edge of one of these lily pads, her feet dangling in the water. Her eyes were closed and she was listening to the waters beneath them. The waters were happy, they loved to expand and to engulf and to fill, and this lake grew so large that currents were even forming. The other elements were being pressed by all the waters in the region, balance had not yet been regained, but it seemed to at the least be leaning toward it.
Norani had been told to wait on her Shield partner once they'd been selected. She was a little wary of going hunting, remembering back to her time down at the beach the Duck had left them on. She could still feel the pain of that boar as it died, every moment of agony striking her across the bond she had formed with it, unaware of how her magic truly worked back then. Since that day, she had not killed a single creature, nor had she eaten meat from one.
But others here did eat meat, and hunting a creature would bring more food to the group than trying to gather enough fruit or other edibles. The lands were recovering but the long winter did a lot of damage to the food supplies in the wild. She idly thumbed at the chakrams on her waist, largely unused ever since her magic had grown. It felt strange to use them, they weren't.. a part of her, not like her magic was. And they reminded her of her chieftain, her village, her people who had been banished by the Senate, banished for the crime of making her into what she is now.
She sighed.
Does the world always have to be so complicated?
She flopped back on the lily pad, staring up at the sun, the rays of light bending just enough to not damage her eyes, the deference given to an elementalist that knew how to call upon light. Maybe today would go well. She hoped so. Yesterday had been interesting, having met Evandria, one of the cartographers in the group, a foreign dragonborn returning to the home of her forebears. She'd been isolated and alone for so long, first by her own rash decisions to leave home, then the trip to Agst'rasera, and finally her time in the... in the darkness. She clenched her jaw, then sighed as she released it.
It was nice to be around people again.
Still, she missed the other members of the family-around-her, and hoped they would return. Kaiko was gone, her fate entirely unknown to Norani and she feared the lass might be dead. Destyn was alive but his whereabouts were unknown to her as well. And Yeva... Norani's heart panged. Yeva, the woman who ignited her heart, was up in the Northlands, free from the Astral Sea. Would she make it back here? Would the Charadin reach her and protect her?
Yes, of course Yeva would, and of course the Charadin would find her. Yeva was strong, adaptable, smart. She came back from being lost in the Astral Sea, something that was supposed to be impossible. And Yeva loved her and they promised to get back to each other. And Norani trusted her entirely, had full faith in her, and she always would.
Her stomach grumbled loudly.
She hoped her partner would show up soon so they could get after it on finding some more food.