Auntie dear

His little Kea companion had found Deathbelle. She had followed the Empress’s bird, back to the island she was living on. Her report had told her how the Empress was slumming it without any of her usual comforts. So, he had wrapped up a pillow, some soaps, a coat, a water canteen, swiped some of Io’s best alcohol, and taken a bunch of the dried meat from storage. Everything but the coat was wrapped in an oiled back and slung over his shoulder. The coat was too big to fit, so that he tied up around his head and shoulders as best he could. He wanted to try and keep it as dry as possible for the upcoming swim.

Thus prepared, the young man had left Armada, travelled to the mangroves, and swum to the island. Once he was on the shore, he raised his head and howled to the Empress. Determined not to be turned away.