a word of welcome and warning

Ara had never traveled so far from home before. The young girl would follow the sun's path as it lowered in the sky, venturing far to the west. The girl was hardly seven months old, though her demeanor and poise was that of a grown adult. She walked carefully and with precision, her tail dangling limply behind her. Her posture lacked any hint of the position she might hold within her family; void of pride, void of humility. It seemed something else was on the young girl's mind as she trekked quietly across the lands. The snow was thick on the ground, but it would only hinder her journey minimally. Already she was used to the frigid air and the snow that seemed to cover the earth as far as she could see in every direction.

The landscape would change as she traveled, minute rapidly changing into hours. She knew it was unwise to leave Seracian territory for so long, but she felt an insatiable wanderlust deep within her chest, urging her to expand her knowledge. It would never be enough to just be familiar with her home territory, but she wanted more.

Her jaw nearly dropped when she came across the forest, a dense land filled with willow trees. So tall -- they seemed so strong and powerful and she felt as though they surely had lived far longer than either of her parents. Blue eyes would widen as she took in the scene. These were the same trees she had seen when her mother had taken her to visit a friend. The playdate had been brief, but she remembered fondly how she had retrieved a branch and had taken it home to her father. It was a beautiful scene, and the trees looked like fearsome ice-monsters, snow and frozen ice hanging treacherously from the willow branches. Though she was in awe at the beauty of it all, she couldn't help but feel vaguely threatened by the massive willows, stunned that a thing could be so beautiful and so dangerous at the same time. Quietly she would weave between the trees, head held high as she let her gaze dance about freely.