Even as she smiles and greets her sister joyously, sorrow still sits heavily in Evren's chest, like a stone she cannot budge. Her emotions are flayed raw, and as Bhaskara explains what had brought her here, Evren's flimsy composure begins to slip. To feel such sorrow and then elation in such quick succession leaves her feeling trembly and glassy-eyed as she offers her sister another smile. It has been so long since they had met, Evren has worried that Bhaskara would not take up her offer to come visit the Forest - and that, in turn, they would never see one another again.

"I'm glad," Evren says, a grin still frozen on her face, then half-turns. "Are you thirsty? Hungry? Come, let's find a place for you to recuperate after your swim."

Without waiting for an answer, the tobiano mare leads Bhaskara further into the Forest, following a trail that has been well-worn by generations of hooves. For a few moments she's quiet, her copper eyes staring faraway through the trees as she fights another wave of emotion. A bird erupts in flight from a shrub up ahead, momentarily commanding her attention, and this distraction is enough to ground her. She turns to Bhaskara once more, eyes still shining but her expression bright as though nothing in the world is the matter.

"So how are things? How goes your mission for the Desert?"