There is a part of her tugging at her reality, wanting to rip it apart and show her all the rotten things inside of it. She hasn't been letting it because it's too great. It's too much to handle. It makes her heart sink like it did that frosty winter day when… when.
Her mind shuts it out. All those memories and what really happened when she first met Po. She can't. Her mind won't let her.
So she has settled here for a new start. Corr thinks it's the forest calling to her in a different way than the swamp did. She thinks it's the bird and elk spirits asking her to follow more than the toads and the cranes. It had been hard to say goodbye to them, but these new spirits welcomed her immediately. Over the season, she's been able to finish moving in and calling this place home. There's still work to be done, but it's already starting to feel more comfortable.
But there is something lingering on her mind as she stands by the stream. Corr tries to ground herself and listen to what it's trying to tell her, but there's nothing. She supposes she's been better at listening to the emotions of others than the emotions or voices of the world around her. It makes her a little jealous of Po's abilities, but she figures she'll just ask him to manifest a flower or two for her sometimes.
So when something sparks in her like a gentle nudge from an old friend, it comes as a surprise. Her concentration is broken and she turns around to come face to face with a ghost. It probably shows in her face as all the blood rushes out of it and her heart stops for a moment.
It can't be, can it?
But it's his voice and it's his aura. She would know it anywhere, only it appears to be an even more vibrant shade of violet, but it's still his shade of violet.
"Asterion?" she breathes, hardly believing this moment to be real. The crow witch remembers the altars in Denocte and placing sea shells by Asterion's stone. She remembers meeting Rhone and how he grew a lily there. While there had always been a part of her that didn't believe he died, she had come to some type of closure then that he wasn't coming back.
Yet here he is.
Corr can no longer contain herself, so she rushes towards him with the biggest smile on her face. Hāsta bounces around on her shoulder, but remains attached by the extra cord she tied around her neck and to the crow's feet. The bird always seems so clumsy these days, so it's what she's had to do to make sure she keeps her balance while Corr moves around. She's not paying attention to what her bonded is doing at this moment though, so the bird's body is hanging sideways. Perhaps a grim greeting for poor Asterion who won't know what's happened. Clearly from the expression on Corr's face, she is oblivious and doesn't mind it at all.
She embraces Asterion in a hug, feeling the warmth of his skin and seeing his aura shine so brightly in front of her eyes. He has to be real. "They thought you were…" Dead, the word is hard for her to grasp. "Welcome back," she says instead, trying to find the right words while thousands of questions swim around in her head.
He's back, he's alive, he's okay.
@Asterion <3
