It was unseasonably warm. Autumn had struck with a fury and her coat had begun to fill out in all of it's winter luxury... She panted. The cruelty of the gods was unmatched, and the young queen languished under their watchful gaze. Screw you, she thought with a huff. She ought to make her way to the lake... Later, she decided at last. It wasn't even midday yet, so at least that was something. It felt like mid spring, if not later, and who could say where the day would leave her after the sun had run it's course? What she needed was a distraction. She heaved herself up into a sitting position and swung her head slowly from side to side. Hmmm... She lit upon a half-collapsed wall a ways off on the very edge of the debris field. If I can't get out of this damned heat I might as well enjoy the view... As she was pulling herself up to the top of the wall she reflected that, despite the temperature, it was turning into a nice day. The clouds could have been mistaken for fluffy cotton lumps inlaid on some sort of sapphire plain, and the low scrub rolled merrily in the breeze along with the dying grasses. She might have taken a more brisk wind, but this would suit her well enough for now. "Talk" "You" Think

"What are you doing?" High up on the wall, Valeriya perched, looking like a bird wannabe. Nemesis approached slowly, his gaze locked on his sister's face, brow pulled low and inquisitive over vivid blue eyes. What could have possibly possessed her to climb all the way up there? Sinking to his haunches, the boy quickly rose up on his hind limbs to place reaching forepaws on the wall's side. He rested his chin on the rugged surface, his eyes staring balefully and childlike up at Valeriya, betraying his melancholy mood. "How's the view?" "Speaking" Thinking