i think this is it.

Sedna was there when she was needed and not when she wasn’t. It was in her nature. Today she had spent her time in the shaded dusty oaks, collecting ferns and mushrooms, barks and sap. It was a veritable grove of useful things. As much as she loved the way the wind whispered through the bamboo like the wind through willow leaves, there was only so much use she could make of bamboo.

The rolling waves drew her out, towards the beach that would prove the easiest walk home. It was always like emerging from somewhere hidden, out of her old life and back to her new. The trip north had been a disaster, all things considered. Perhaps, she wouldn’t bother making the journey again. If anyone wanted her, they knew where to find her if she just stayed put.

Her steps slowed as Hattori came into view, a small grin pulling at one corner of her lips. Raijin had been working hard to teach her his native tongue and her children taking a preference for it only accelerated her learning, although some of the words still felt the wrong shape in her mouth. “Kaicho, you seem pensive this evening.” She gestured to Otis to continue on his way home with the supplies he carried, she would follow with the rest soon, but at least her family wouldn’t be left wondering if something terrible had befallen her if he wasn’t in a panic.

“Speech”