Yana
Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead
Ever vigilant - or perhaps ever nervous? - the hag notices the subtle flicker of candlelight before she hears the Commander's greeting. Marisol. She rises to her feet with a jolt, causing the yellowed pages of the old tome to flutter and skip ahead a few chapters. She processes the woman's words slowly, ruminating over them with a puckered lip, but chooses to repeat them in an attempt to gain the Commander's favor, "By her hand." Whoever she is...Tepid swamp water eyes meet those of hardened stone, and Yana is reminded of her previous encounters with Rannveig (and how they had made her skin crawl). Whereas the lady had been so charming, so charismatic, so sympathetic, the witch had been awkward -- Yana is all business; she cannot waste valuable time dancing around feelings when it could be better spent conducting research. In the brief time she has studied the Commander - noting her rigid posture and shorn hair, the vast wings at her sides, ever vigilant and prepared to propel their mistress into action - the girl thinks she has found a like-minded individual. Best get to it, then.
Unused to the customs of her court, the hag offers an awkward bow, leaning almost comically low over an outstretched leg. "Marisol. I am Yana; a... resident in Tinea Swamp." She grits her teeth at the formality of the name as she is used to referring to the marshland as hers. She remembers a previous Sovereign that had not been so fond of her claim, and so she chooses to bite her tongue, albeit begrudgingly. "I was a healer under Rannveig's reign... and I have returned to conduct my research."
Eager to earn the Commander’s indifference rather than her disapproval, the girl is careful to leave out the details of her departure and she is especially discreet regarding her past title; she would rather uproot the whole swamp than shoulder such a burden again – and the Court will surely thank me for my sacrifice. No one should have a Champion that is so keen on alienating themselves.
"If there is still a place for me here I would gladly take it."
