It had been a long time, longer than Bane realized. It was a day not unlike this one that she’d first arrived to the Peak, wet behind the ears, clinging to her mother’s hip. Stratton had been with her too. He’d been by her side until Thane took him. Until father took him. That was a wild thought, really, to her. Bane barely had parents. That was what happened when you crossed lineage like hers. The general of the Peak, the boss of the Lagoon-- what would you expect? They were busy. In more ideal circumstances, they would have procreated with someone who had the time and capacity to actually raise children, but it would not be. It left creatures on this earth like Bane, creatures that were a curse in and of themselves.

Bane had returned, unsure of what she’d find here. The Peak had been a quiet place when she’d last seen it. Their numbers waxed and waned as the moon. Bane never quite knew what to think of it, or herself, but it was the only place she’d ever called home. Though the years had passed, sometimes she dreamed of the Peak. More than sometimes. It was a recurring dream, standing out looking over their world. It was on the same ledge she’d stood beside her mother, beside Impa, upon. So many years had passed.

It hadn’t been long ago that she’d sent her daughter off. Eden was… Bane didn’t know what Eden was. It was hard to be a mother when you’d never had one yourself. Herself, the champagne mare was ill suited for motherhood. Terrible at it. Displays of softness did not come naturally to Bane. They didn’t even really come unnaturally. Part of her hoped Eden had turned out alright in spite of that, and part of her had a hard time truly caring.

But it may have, in part, been that caring which brought her back to the Islands, back to the Peak. She was older now, wiser, stronger. It’s with sure steps that Bane climbs the peak. She was raised to these mountains, born to them. Every path, every crack, as a child Bane could have raced up and down with her eyes closed. She’s more careful now but just as surefooted. Bane does not call. She doesn’t draw attention to herself. The ledge that her mother had frequented, the one that they’d stood together upon. That’s where Bane came to rest her weary head in the low light of the winter afternoon. From her vantage point, she could see all of the Peak.

At least from where she stood, things hadn’t changed much.

Anath x Thane