The mountains of Ichika no Ho-en were not terribly cold—or at least in summer, as she was told.
Being now late fall, the tall cliffs and steeps of the peaceful pack were picking up snow, covering the brown foliage. Ralla imagined how beautiful the land must be in the spring and summer, but she would not stay long enough to find out. No; even though the climate didn’t bother her—not at all, in fact, since she was originally from a very cold place—Ralla was intent on exploring the territories within the land (as much as she was permitted). Razekiel had been very welcoming to her, despite her springing such a proposal as she had on him, and although she had yet to meet many others, she knew they were all about the place. Would they be as welcoming as their Seiryu (or so she had been told Razekiel’s title was).
There were some texts within what she was told was the spiritual hall, and so Ralla had spent her first morning reading over what she could salvage from the smudged pages. There were in fact quite a few books that were completely intact, but from those she gathered very odd accounts of a deity called Buddha and Buddhism. The Buddha expressed many teachings about peace, love, understanding, and forgiveness. Ralla decided she quite liked him.
Now it was late afternoon, and the sun had long set beyond the peaks to the west. It was odd to think that just beyond the rim of the mountains the sun would not quite have touched the horizon, as the shadows spread long over the valley below. Was there no fire in the territory? Of course she saw lanterns and small lights, but what about a large one where everyone gathered around? It was with that mission to find such a thing (if there was one) that left Ralla walking about the large gardens, crossing ornate red bridges with a light blanket of fallen leaves to cover the ground. She walked as silent as the rising moon and just as gracefully, lest she disturb those of the pack who may have required complete peace.
Moon walks. Moon talks. Moon thinks.
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