Mariael wasn’t exactly sure how to feel the closer they drew to the Bay. Most of Tinuvel looked the same, but she had been born in the Bay and took sole leadership at such a young age that seeing it often mentally threw her. For the entirety of her young life she’d taken on the responsibilities of leadership for all the wrong reasons - revenge - and even tried to take the whole of Tinuvel, too. Being away for so many years had never dulled how much she missed her home.
Now the Arch was her home and Mariael loved it and had no interest in leaving it, but the Bay… the Bay was different.
She tried to focus on seeing Maziel again, and held fast to the lift in her chest and the joy just the mere thought inspired. It was better than worrying about what might come along with Maziel. Would there be a young babe at her side? Would it not just be Paradiso’s child, the daughter Maziel had told her about, that she would be meeting? Mariael blew a low breath out of her lips and chose to look at Suileman to comfort her. Her gratefulness for him knew no limits; the reason she had a chance to see her sister again at all was because of him. Just having his presence with her calmed her like nothing she could recall. Maybe Maziel, when they were young girls and only had each other. But even so, with Suileman it was different. He was her best friend, yes, but the love of her life, too.
As they finally stopped in a small clearing near the border of the Bay, Mariael listened to the brief silence that followed Suileman’s announcing call, then the chirping of nearby birds as they started up again. She breathed in deep and let the air out slowly, thinking of her youth running through these trees, patrolling these borders every morning and every evening until she could walk them with her eyes closed and never stumble or run into anything.
Nephilim’s eyes were excitedly wide. He looked this way and that, snorting soft huffs of air, nostrils flared wide as he drank the scents in deeply. His pale tail flagged high off his hindquarters. Mariael glanced sidelong at him and smiled, thinking how full circle it was for him to stand on the Bay’s dirt. Nephilim, brought home again. She looked up to the sky and swallowed back the burning in her throat at the tears that wanted to well; no matter how much healing she did, Mariael felt she might never let go of the guilt from what happened between her and her father.
Sul looked at her and Mariael pulled her mind from the convoluted mess her thoughts were delving into. She understood the glance and nodded before tipping her whiskered muzzle up toward the sky and letting loose a call, awaiting the approach of her sister and (or) of Fell, whoever found them first.
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