The ground was treacherous and cold, and no sweet call from their missing sister arched high through the sullen winter air. It felt like an omen - a bad one. China refused to let herself be gulled by such things - The earth mother was not so specific as to hinder their search on this day. It would take a lot more than the absent of birdsong, the absence of Clover, and the absence of their father to turn away the two sisters.
They had travelled a long way, both physically and mentally, to reach this point. China had come to Inferni once before, and had been driven away by the metallic bite of war before she had had a chance to meet with the father they so craved. But now, she was back, and with Sage's hand held so firmly in her own it seemed impossible that their mission could fail.
Or so her feebly hopeful heart would like to think.
The higher they climbed, the less forgiving the terrain became. The cold snow seeped at the warmth of her blood, and often it would cave out from beneath the two sisters, plunging them up to their waists in the cold wet. It was as if the land itself was urging them back, back to the tainted soil of middle Inferni, where their blue blood assured them fake safety and love. No! They had come for their father, and the Earthmother could not keep him from them! Surprised at this though, which had slashes its way unbidden to her mind, China found her eggshell blue gaze sliding guiltily to her sister. Oh, if only Sage knew how much she had let herself go, how her soul had wandered from the teachings of Juniper Peace...
When Sage's voice rang out, China joined her, tilting her head back and cupping her hands around pixie maw. "Dad? Papa?!" The mountain mocked them with sullen echoes. The two girls trudged on.
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