Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly
Our toes, our noses
Take hold on the loam,
Acquire the air.
We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door.
Retsuko could have been a dragonrider.
Could have stood on the sands. Could have locked eyes with rainbow jewels. Become bonded. Taken flight. Fought Thread. And she could have been mauled in the sands, her blood becoming one with the heated grit and grounded stone. The light could have faded from her eyes. Kinship with between through alienating darkness and bitter cold.
The same could have been said of the forest, though. Yet Retsuko had survived the camping trip. She survived the attack by Osk. Two errant incidents that should not have happened. Was she truly making the right choice? As Retsuko stepped towards the candidate barracks, she wondered the gravity of her decision. What sort of creature would find her - the meek and quiet Retsuko - to be a suitable ally in a world where fire burned the sky? She, who ran from danger and unintentionally brought harm to another due to her careless endeavors?
She maybe would have paused before entering the doorway and turned on her heel had her parents not met her at the threshold. Kaitilinn wrapped her arms about her only child. They were both smeared with the efforts of the day. Bountiful aromas of a full kitchen wafted off their shirts. They must have been assisting the cooks with meal prep in recognition of the coming feast.
"Good luck," whispered her mother.
Retsuko swallowed. "You aren't staying?"
"This is a moment where you and only you can decide what to do." She pressed her lips to the piebald skin of her brow. "Besides, dearest daughter, we still need to finish up in the kitchen or the cook'll serve us up instead."
Chortling, Tolivier chortled. He pulled Retsuko into a large, tight hug. Something hard and sharp pressed into her palm. "You'll need this. Whers bond through blood. Make the cut quick so it doesn't hurt as bad." Of course her father found her belt knife, and of course he would have cleaned and polished it for the occasion. "Come to the feast when you're done. We'll meet you - and your baby - there."
Retsuko turned the blade over in her hand. When she looked up again, her mother and father were fast disappearing around the bend and out of sight. A sigh escaping her lips, the girl slunk into the barracks. FoxFire awaited her with glowing red eyes. Green wings flared until the fire-lizard was settled upon her shoulder. The attention was on that egg. Beautiful, mysterious. Was in sanctuary or condemnation? Would the creature inside destroy her, or bless her? And where was Mackenzie?
"Oh ... oh ... okay ... " Deep breaths. "I can do this ... " Feet padded. Her steps were cautious, treading on literal eggshells as small shards fell from the violently rattling womb. Images of Serapheth's brood bloodying candidates crept into her mind as the real splits began to form in the egg ...
