It is no secret that Katniss has been slacking in her duties since that night that she sent off her lover on a pyre. When something so precious is taken from you, it’s hard to breathe let alone live. Katniss had fallen into a deep depression and only just recently was she beginning to see light. It was like she had been walking down a long, dark tunnel and only just recently has there been a sliver of light to guide her through. She was slowly pulling herself out of the trenches if not for herself, then for Kibou. The boy she had birthed exactly 340 days since her lover had died was now a year old. The colt was still a boy but no longer did he simply need her for nutrients. Now, the child needed her for guidance. She had to show him what it meant to be strong and brave. She had to be both parents and that was a job she was unprepared for.
Not only this, but Katniss had promised Isra that she would protect Night Court in her absence. What that entailed she was unsure of, but she had promised that she would look after the cout and she would look after Aspara, guiding her as a mother should. Aspara did not need another mother, but there may come a time when she needed someone to act as a mother, to offer her guidance and support. Then again, she was Isra’s daughter. The child was practically born and adult.
The greeting exchanged between Katniss and Morrighan was formal and stiff. It did not flow as easily as her greetings with Isra or Asterion. But regardless, Katniss offered the mare a smile. She does not miss the way Morrighan’s eyes fall on the flowers that she has placed on the cobblestone streets. And at her question, Katniss sighs, all the heaviness of her emotions present. “I leave flowers at his grave site every time I come through.” She does not feel the need to expand on her answer. Either Morrighan knows (after a hint) that this is where she finally said goodbye, or she just thought Katniss to be a fool. It didn’t bother Katniss either way which she thought. Then again, she supposed it was only her business that she knew why she was placing flowers in this very spot.
But there is no time for dwelling on such sad things. Sadness has consumed Katniss for far too long. It is time now to think of happier thoughts. To think of how well Kibou is starting to grow and mature, to think of how this court was flourishing, and to think of how many new faces Katniss is beginning to learn. “Denocte has been quite, wouldn’t you agree?” Her patrols were lacking in adventure since the night of the explosion. Perhaps it was a good thing. But more cynically, perhaps it was an indication that this was the calm before the storm. Was Denocte prepared?
@Morrighan
