All she knows anymore are aches and pains and nausea. How anyone could do this willingly is beyond her, but it became more clear to her why her mom resented her sometimes. If this is how she felt during pregnancy, Morrighan supposes she couldn't entirely blame her.

If many didn't get nervous by her fire, they do now, since any wrong move sets the Regent off. She can tell she's nearing the end of her pregnancy, but it's not just the hormones and pain that's on her mind. She's still not sure if she's taking care of this child alone or not. To say the least, things didn't go exactly as she hoped with Al'Zahra. It's all very complicated and maybe they were never meant to be.

It was a lot easier when she turned down any chance of love. She used to think it was all stupid and childish, but then she let herself fall, and hard. She made a mistake.

Part of her, though, doesn't want to make the child be a mistake. Part of her actually wants to be a mother, as scary and impossible as it feels. But for the love of Caligo, she keeps hoping it'll be the end of it already. It's clear the child has inherited her stubbornness.

Morrighan doesn't usually spend much time by the sea. It never called to her in any particular way, but for whatever reason she finds herself lost in thought by the shores. The breeze sweeps her mane and plays with strands of her hair. Her forelock falls over her eyes and she shakes her head to get it back into place. It's then that she sees a boat and something shifting beneath the waves. She immediately conjures a fireball that hovers by her side and Bram steps forward with his hackles raised. Morrighan is extremely pregnant, but that doesn't mean she would let a threat walk freely onto their land.

When the creatures rise, she realizes that it's no threat at all. It doesn't take her long to recognize the faces of Isra and Fable. It's felt like ages since they left on their quest. They hadn't gone alone either, but it seems they are the only ones here (or the only ones left- she's afraid to ask).

As Isra approaches, the sea acts like a child not wanting to let go of its mother. Morrighan watches with narrowed eyes and the fireball still hovers in the air. Bram has relaxed, but keeps a close eye on his companion. She is still too bitter. What was possibly more important than Denocte? Maybe she will never know or understand.

She transforms the ball into the shape of an arrow and it hisses through the air towards Isra's chest. Morr aims for her heart, but makes the fire disappear before it meets her flesh. In a way it's a warning, but also a greeting.

"You're back," is all the Regent says. It's all she really can say for now.

"Speaking."

Suddenly, the ground beneath her turns to quicksand and she finds herself stuck in place. Morrighan narrows her eyes at Isra's approach and is clearly not impressed with the woman's retaliation to the arrow. Fable appears just as unsettled as she sees him flash his teeth. Her ears pin to the back of her head. Really?

It shouldn't come as a surprise for Isra's return to be so dramatic. The ground turns to marble as the woman walks, yet still Morrighan is stuck in the swamp and quicksand. Flowers turn to steel and rust, reminding the Regent about that garden her and Sirius came upon. When Isra does finally stand in front of her, there is fire at her feet but it does nothing to the transformed ground.

The mare's words don't do much to calm her irritation, especially when she asks her question. "Maybe," she grumbles an answer. Since Isra's quest seemed so much more important than their Court, Morr didn't expect her to come back. Part of her wanted to, but now that she stands here, she finds herself feeling more irritated than the day the woman left. Especially now that she can't move a muscle, it would be much better not having her here.

"Was it worth it?" she asks, referring to the quest she left for. Her tone is as bitter cold as she feels. Maybe she'll always feel bitter about all this, but she supposes she can't be that upset. It allowed her to move up as Regent, which Isra doesn't know yet.

She'll tell her eventually.

"And maybe now that you see I'm not trying to kill you, you can get rid of this shit?" she gestures to all the quicksand, which her legs are slowly sinking further into. She is not amused.

"Speaking."

Thankfully, Isra doesn't continue to torture Morrighan with the quicksand and the ground transforms to a field of dandelions. Some of the seeds float in the air from the ocean breeze and it tickles her nose. It's hard, but she does her best to hold back a sneeze. The last thing she needs is to lose her composure by having a sneezing fit from the damn things.

The former Sovereign goes on to explain her journey and, while Morr still doesn't know the details, she knows it had something to do with a war and the woman's homeland. Sure, maybe part of her would want to travel back to Ourania too and finish the war they started, but that all felt like ages ago. It's a world she doesn't even consider home anymore, but somewhere foreign and no longer important. She's transferred her roots here in Denocte and it's much more worthy of her energy and time.

Maybe she'll never understand it because she never lived through what Isra endured. There were no children in chains or in other words, there were no slaves. Just a war against two species that seemed to span centuries with no end in sight. A war between magic and a predator's jaws. She's not even sure if there's anything left of that world or if they all had been scattered across realms during that same blackout that brought Morr here.

In all honesty, she didn't know what she'd do if she had the power to save thousands. Would she use it for good or for chaos and destruction? She decides to keep her mouth shut, but her eyes are still narrowed. Especially now that Isra is assuming the Regent's world has always been small.

"No," she says curtly. "I've just always had one family to be loyal to." In a way she's mocking the mare, but it's also the honest truth. It became very clear when she first arrived that she would have to make this new world her home, so she did. She settled into the Night Court, called them her new family and home, and pledged her allegiance to them instead. Here she is now making her way up the ranks, but of course Isra wouldn't know about her promotion. It's almost tempting to mention it, maybe then she would understand, but Morrighan decides to bring that up later.

Her fire disappears. There is only smoke in the air and the smell of burning grass and dandelions. She will always feel bitter about this, but she can at least put her weapon down.

For now.

"Did the others make it?" she asks, referring to the ones that joined Isra on the boat. Morr remembers hearing something about Michael coming back early, but she has yet to run into him again. It's odd to see no one behind the woman now except Fable, which doesn't seem to be a good sign. She hopes they didn't perish at sea, or worse, got caught in the crossfire of Isra's war. It certainly would not help her case.

"Speaking."

Morrighan watches as Isra's dragon envelopes her with his wings. It's like he's comforting her from the Regent's judgmental gaze and words. She won't apologize for it though because while Isra may be a hero, she still left. Maybe she will never understand why Isra still went back. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore.

Morr is relieved to know that the others came back in one piece. It reassures her that maybe this mission wasn't entirely impulsive and Isra still kept them safe.

Even as Isra says she won't apologize, Morr can feel herself backing down a little bit. There will always be a touch of bitterness of course, it would be unlike her to not hold even the slightest of grudges. Surely Isra must expect no less of her after knowing her for so long now.

There is a pause before she says anything though, more for effect than anything else. Maybe it's to make Isra think there is still rage boiling inside her. Her two-colored eyes still look on with a bit of judgment, but then she mutters, "come on" before gesturing for them to get moving. "Let's go home. I want to be the first to buy you a drink."

As she starts to walk back to the Court, the offer surprises her a little, but she wants to be the one to present the former Sovereign back. It'll surely be a big event with everyone cheering and crying over her return (if they aren't already doing that at the sight of the ship).

Yeah, sure, she's happy to have Isra back on the inside.

And maybe even a little part of her is looking forward to her daughter getting the chance to meet her.

"Speaking."