the news swam behind her eyes; a cruel gyre of guilt and duty burnished amunet's desire to find him. their evening together had been brief, though stirred an emotion unnameable to the night-laden creature. she knew not what to call it, knew not what it meant for her. but, the things she had learned of meant putting the exploration of what lay in her heart off, at least until she knew a moment of peace. peace. it was disturbed, the sediment of their society stirred and left it all murky. perhaps, she owed them nothing. perhaps, she could have remained at the peaks and hid herself in the nooks and cranies of it's slopes. but for the first time in her life she'd felt something that others must call home. had she owed them a thing? no.

but there came the rise of a sense of obligation she could not shake, nor shirk.

and with the weight in her belly, that obligation had changed. she had much to think about, but first, she had to seek him out, and seek him out she did. his scent was scant in the crossing, and she had found herself traversing to other islands before finding the desert he called home. she remembered him speaking of it, and with the help of some kind passerby she found herself in the correct place. there, she found traces of him on the shoreline. the evidence clear, and she was relieved by the heat lifting from the sands and touching her winter-embraced figure. she chose not to wait at the borders, and instead hurried out into the dunes.

that desert flame was hard to miss standing beneath the glow of the sun, and the blustered-tossed dunes. relief filled her expression, and joyously a nickering sound fled from her. rounded and weary, she knew it would be some time before she had the strength to return to the peak. at least, she knew in her heart, he would provide some safety in the time being. first, business.

"i've a favour to ask." breathlessly, she spoke. pushing the words as her lungs rose and fell to collect herself.