Flag of Blue

high in the halls of the kings who are gone
the priestess would dance with her ghosts

Her work was the only place where Karine really became a contradiction. It was her duty to ensure the health and wellness of those under her care--and, previously, to provide damage control for those forced to suffer her kins' hubris. Yet, these duties, while having the end goal of not having to perform them, gave the fallen priestess life and purpose. Doting on others was all she'd known; it was in her blood. There was part of her, then, that couldn't help agreeing with the stranger's quiet nod, which she was sure said far more than his silence led on.

But he brightened at her offer for assistance, hardly hesitating to lay out a list of the herbs he sought. In turn, Karine perked up a little herself, her own features rising with delight and attentiveness as she just as quickly made a mental record of the names. Water mint. Woundwort. Perhaps if she found some of the same plants from her home, she'd gather those for him as well, though she wondered if this place was far too damp for such herbs to survive.

With a nod of her own, she loped past him, and from there, she settled into her headspace. Plush tail of ebony and ivory wagged gently, almost idly, at her heels as she browsed the surrounding brush, though she was sure to stay close by in case he happened to find anything himself. It was as she did this that he eventually piped up again, stealing back her attention with words she wasn't used to hearing. At least, not directed at her, as opposed to the other way around. A flick of a velvet ear brought the woman to face him again with a skull slightly tilted.

Suddenly, Karine was made aware of her own roughened skin as it pulled at her left face, her shoulder. "Tired" didn't encompass the emptiness that often stole her breath. "Tired" could never describe the toll that years of loss and uncertainty had taken on her once pure heart. "Tired" was nowhere near the feeling that still drowned her bones at night. But if she were being honest...she couldn't conjure any other alternatives at the moment.

"You'd be right, sir. Apologies," she admitted. "My name is Karine. I've been traveling for quite some time. I suppose I'm eager for the opportunity to slow down for a moment and simply...focus on my work." Her tone lightened fondly toward the end of that, the marred corner of her lip turning upward in a crooked little smile.

"

the ones she had lost and the ones she had found
and the ones who had loved her the most