Her mind was tortured, occupied with what she could not control. The lives of others were not hers to command, yet she begged the gods against her better judgment for the power to change a heart and mind. Perhaps if she explained what fed her reluctance to return the child to its mother, she comrade would be better understanding. But as hopeful as her thoughts were, they were foolish. Even she would not pacify her anger toward another that wronged her so deeply. She would bid that the guilty sit with their misdeeds until true understanding came to them and they were ready to repent. But the Exultare was far from ready to face the wrath of the mother she had brought worry to. She would rather pit herself against Nature then endure the eyes of disappointment.
The path she travelled was foreign, graced by the distant scent of pack growing stronger as she tread deeper toward claimed midst. Even delved in guilt, her wanderer’s heart would lead her into the unknown assuring as distraction from her personal burden. Her sky-bound companion swiftly dove to land upon her shoulder, gently curling his talons around the golden perch. Affectionately he slipped a sharpened beak into her wild mane while nibbling fondly at whatever auburn tress his curved beak could reach. “You should smile more…” he shrieked softly, hoping to stir some essence of light upon her face. But it was to no avail as all the woman could do was offer a pitiful curl of a corner of her maw. “Perhaps when there is not this weight upon me… when I do not have to think about those I have wronged.”
X’yrin knew she could not immerse herself in this mistake forever, but she felt she deserved this punishment of recollection as opposed to pushing it back into the recesses of her mind. She needed to acknowledge her mistake and understand what drove such selfishness so that she would not make the same mistake again. Leaving his master in thought, the nameless owl took flight once more, rising above the woodland canopy to observe what resided below. If his master would not pay attention to what surrounded them, then it would be up to him to do so, it seemed.