after all [Ashmedai]

Columns rose miraculously from the frozen lake, forming towers of crystalline ice and archways all across its surface. A maze of frozen water crisscrossed its surface, making for an adventure not too far from home. The crunch of snow underfoot gave way to the near silence of walking on ice. Rough paw pads and thick toe fur meant that the ghost was adept at moving across all the surfaces of the north by now.

The ice lit up beneath her paws as she touched upon it. A soft laugh slid from between her lips, mercury optics closing for a moment. This place still managed to surprise her. Bioluminescent plankton. It was official, the north could offer anything the southern areas could. Shaking her head lightly, she trotted further onto the lake. Memories of her childhood, fuzzy with the passage of time, came floating back. Days spent bounding through the mangrove with her brother, chasing the glow of the plankton through the roots.

She passed through an archway of ice. There were twigs and leaves trapped inside, speaking to the lengthiness of time spent forming it. A steady drip of cool water pattered on the ice, and she tilted her skull heavenward to accept the fresh water onto her tongue.