The place where she stands is now sacred to her. It was the place where she had built her alter for Metaphor, where she saw him off into the spirit world. She missed him, god she missed him. Her heart still ached and she still shed a tear or two for him. And yet, her body was so very numb. Even as she stands here, she feels absolutely nothing. The ache of loss is still there and she welcomes it, but she no longer feels any sort of happiness. Not even the child who grew in her womb could make the mare smile.
But something draws her from her thoughts and reminiscing. Someone new is in Denocte and she needed to investigate. With what happened to the food stores and what happened to her mate, she was cautious about newcomers. At one point in her life, she might have welcomed them all with open arms and smiles. But today, today something dark had taken over her and she would welcome the newcomer with a blank stare, a void that could never again be filled.
She follows the scent of the others, leaving behind that sacred ground she stood on. Her nose takes her into the castle, into the grand hall where she sees the other two just up ahead. She recognizes one, having seen him at a herd gathering or two. But the other, the more ominous colored one, is a stranger to her. She smells of a foreign land and Katniss cannot help but wonder if she is friend or foe.
But as she approaches, careful of how her tall frame “clip clops” over the alabaster floors. She listens quietly, taking in the information and trying to process it. The new mare makes a comment about living here and Katniss wonders what it would be like to live here in the castle. She had always made her home just outside the palace walls, tucked away on a hilltop. It was there she had made a life with Metaphor and it was there that she now felt so alone and empty. Perhaps she did need to return to the safety of the city.
As the mare introduces herself, Katniss steps from behind a column. It was not meet to scare or intimidate, but to show that there was another in their presence. “Denocte has had some great medics…” Her loving being one of them. She hated knowing that someone’s greed took him from her. He could have shown this newcomer how to be a proper medic. And yet, he was no longer here to do just that. She looks to them both, her gaze void of all emotion. It was an odd thing for the silver black mare, one who was usually full of life. “I am Katniss. Welcome to Denocte.” What else was she to say? Her heart wasn’t quite ready to integrate back into society, but she knew she could not hide away forever. She would have to come forth and do her duty to Denocte.
@Camilla @August
