This was not the first time Tiki had experience Ferox's cold winters; but it had been quite a long time ago and the lands were under a much different name. People came and go at rapid paces, but not the earth. Nature was a bit more resilient and did not change so easily. It was something Tiki had found to be quite familiar.
Along with a small caravan of soldiers, diplomats, and some guards; the Chon'sin princess had voyaged across the sea and treaded across Ferox in efforts to reach their capitol. There an assembly for peace talks was to be held between the leaders of the nations, as well as talks of how to go about for recovery for the people and the lands. Tiki had no doubt that the fate of Plegia and the discussion of the redistribution of the nations that Walhart had conquered would be the main source of interest and true purpose of the meeting.
Tiki let out a heavy sigh. She grew tired of the never ending sound of snow crunching between their feet as they marched on. The snow was exciting at first, but after days of marching in it; it grew to be incredibly tiresome. As she began to shake off the snow that was building on top of her head, Tiki suddenly let out a very loud, violent sneeze.
Achoo! A sudden, loud sneeze escaped the Voice's lips as she was trying to wipe snow that had built up on her coat.
"Fie, Lady Tiki, that was quite the sneeze if I've ever heard one!" Say'ri exclaimed, diverting her attention back to Tiki. "Are you sure you up for the journey, milday? If you are feeling sick, we can send some soldiers with you back. A Feroxi winter is not something to take lightly." Say'ri had been rather quiet today, the past few days, often looking upon in deep thought, most likely regarding what laid at the end of this particularly cold journey. The stress of the journey was starting to get to her, and Tiki hadn't failed to notice.
"I'm fine, Say'ri. Bits of frozen rain will not be the end of me. I'm much more resilient than that. Besides, we are far beyond the point of turning back. It has just been quite some time since I traveled to these parts." Tiki smiled softly. There was snow and ice for miles in all directions; she might as well stick it out to the end.
"Aye, that it is true." Say'ri nodded, having seemed to have forgotten how long they have been partaking in this journey. "So be it. The next town should be about an hour's worth of walking. It won't be long."
An awkward silence fell between the two. Despite having been next to Say'ri the whole journey, Tiki felt incredibly lonely during the whole trip. But due to knowing the reason why behind Say'ri's silence, Tiki did not bring it up or risk bringing more stress upon the princess. Tiki had hoped that Say'ri would eventually open up to her and share some of her feelings and burdens with her, but the princess proved to be too stubborn and too proud for that.
"But Lady Tiki," Say'ri said, gazing upon the manakete once more. "I am very glad that you volunteered to join us on this trip. Aye, your presence will bring great relief and comfort for everyone there. The voice will help unify many great nations alike. Your opinion will be highly regarded and will no doubt influence many."
Tiki smiled once more and nodded her head along with what her friend said. It was true that Tiki had requested that Say'ri let her accompany the Chon'sin princess along with her, and there was no doubt in anyone's minds that Tiki's presence at the gathering would provide great political support towards her allies as well as bring about a peaceful resolution between the very different nations, big or small. However, Tiki was rather frustrated that Say'ri failed to see, or at least acknowledge, Tiki's true motives for coming along with the princess; it was for her.
"That is all very true," Tiki stated, her eyes flickering towards her companion's direction. "However, I won't be going as the Voice, officially, perhaps, but truly…I will be going there as Tiki; your guest and your friend. The matters of politics between humans do not concern me, but you do. I am here and will be there for you, Say'ri. No one else." Tiki kept her gaze locked between Say'ri's, hoping that her words will ring as sincere for Say'ri. Caught by surprise by the sudden intimacy and very familiar tone in her voice, Say'ri's face flushed a bright pink for all to see, but merely dismissed Tiki's words.
"It would seem that this cold Feroxi weather has left you sicker than originally thought. Come now, Lady Tiki, and I'll see to it that you get your much needed hot bath and warm bed to sleep on." She began to pick up her walking speed and Tiki quickly followed suit.
It did not take their group long to reach to the town. It was well sized and populated, having been one of the bigger stops on a well-traveled road. They passed by a market place, where Tiki saw vendors selling all sorts of thing, ranging from foods to weapons to furniture. One man tried to sell Tiki a pendant, while Say'ri briefly gazed upon a piece of armor that caught her eye.
But the group continued on, and came across an inn. Arrangements and payments were made, and soon both ladies found themselves a room of their own. Tiki set out to take up that hot bath that was promised her, but soon she soon found herself very sleepy and discovered that the bed in her room was incredibly comfortable. Yes, so very soft and warm…
And with that she was out for the night.
When Tiki first woke up, it was still dark out. The room was cold, but the blankets were warm and because so, Tiki had no desire to get out of bed. But of all the times she could find herself not being able to fall asleep, it was then. Frustrated, but mostly importantly bored, after an hour of failing to fall back asleep, Tiki sat up on her bed and managed to drag herself out of it.
Stepping outside of her room, Tiki had discovered that she was the only one up. Stepping very quietly and carefully to not make a noise, the halls were empty and silent, while the air around was still. It appeared to be that she was the only one of the guests up, as she walked to the lobby and entrance and found no one else in sight; save for a few night staff members who didn't seem to really see her, or at least failed to say anything.
With not much else to do and no one around to really talk to, Tiki decided she was going to step outside. The air was cold and crisp, but the winds still and was it was rather pleasant because so. In the east, the sun was starting to rise with a few orange and pink hues began to slowly creep along from the horizon. With at least an hour or so of time for her own, Tiki decided that she would do some brief sightseeing. Behind the inn, there was a small trail that leads through the entrance of a forest. Full of curiosity and boredom, Tiki set her way down the path.
It did not take Tiki long to reach her destination. The path was short and rather boring, save for the few times she nearly slipped because of some unseen ice in the path. The end of the trail proved to be quite the disappointment, as there wasn't anything there. It was just a wide, open clearing; nothing really to see. Perhaps in the spring or summer, there was something there, such as flowers or lavish plant life. But for now, it was just a lot of white snow about; the same snow that could be seen for miles and miles in all directions.
Disappointed, Tiki was ready to call it quits on her "little adventure," when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention; snow sculptures. In the distance, despite it being so hidden among the sea of white, Tiki saw small snow sculptures. Upon closer inspection, she saw that they were sculptures of various animals; some more recognizable than others. She saw a sculpture of a rabbit, a dog, a frog, a rock—no, wait that was a turtle…probably.
A smile crept on the manakete's face as she was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Memories of ancient times of her as small one began to flood her mind; making snow sculptures of her own in the snow, learning how to make and throw a snowball, all the fun and joy Tiki and her friends would have during those times. But now all of those friends, all of those good friends of hers in those precious memories; every one of them are long dead and gone. Robbed from her by time, again and again.
She was always alone in the end, always left behind.
With a sudden solemn feeling in her chest, Tiki decided to try and distract herself. Moving the cloak around her, she got on the snow ground before her and began to scoop and collect the snow and shift it around. It had been quite a while since she had done this, but surely she could still remember? But before Tiki could test this to be true or false, a loud voice rang throughout the clearing.
"Lady Tiki!" Tiki whipped her head around to see an out of breath Say'ri coming from behind her, most likely coming from the trail path. To be honest, Tiki was not surprised to find Say'ri coming like this, but was merely surprised how much earlier Say'ri was from the normal amount of time it took her to realize that Tiki was gone.
"Fie! Lady Tiki, where have you been?!" Say'ri huffed, visibly out of breath and a little red in the face. "You mustn't run off on your own like that! If anything were to happen to you…" But before Say'ri could finish what she was saying, Tiki cut her off.
"You're right, how could I forget how treacherous and dangerous these lands are! Why, it would be a pitiful tragedy for the great Voice of Naga to meet her end at the vicious snow bunnies of Regna Ferox. What would the great people think?" Tiki didn't bother to turn her gaze to her the princess, and merely kept her back to her and continued to work on her snow sculpture.
Surprised at the level of passive aggression in her tone, Say'ri just stood there in silence for a while, just watching Tiki make her sculpture. Eventually, the dark haired woman just walked around and sat right next to Tik. Upright and stiff, she sat visibly tense and bore a serious expression on her face.
"I am sorry to have upset you, Lady Tiki. I…" Say'ri trailed off, trying to think of the right words to say. "I just don't think you realize how much you mean to all of us… How much you mean to the people."
This piqued Tiki's attention, to which she responded with a brief, "'All of us'? Does this include you?" she asked, meeting her gaze with Say'ri's.
"I especially adore you." Say'ri mumbled lowly, but loud enough for Tiki to hear. She cast her gaze down at the snow, could barely hold herself still with all of the fidgeting she was doing, and her face was a bright shade of crimson.
Tiki was mildly surprised at the response, mostly surprised at the honesty. Tiki always knew, or rather hoped, that the Chon'sin princess held the same amount of affection that she had carried for her. But even if she did, Tiki assumed that Say'ri would never admit it, being too heavily tied to her title and sense of duty. But for once, Tiki was very happy to have been wrong.
"I am sorry too, Say'ri." She stated, her hands continuing to the sculpture beneath her. "I said some harsh things, and it was unfair to you. But I am just so tired and so frustrated, of people forgetting that I am not just the Voice; I am Tiki. I am my own person and I have my own thoughts and feelings outside of my position. Being 'the Voice' is just so very lonely.
"With that being said, I must selfishly ask you Say'ri, if our feelings are truly in fact similar, is it possible…can you stay by my side, not just as a friend, but as a lover? I know the nature of what I am asking is quite heavy but…I love you, Say'ri, and I need to know if this love can be a mutual reality, or is it doomed to be a fleeting dream. I know the difficulties that we would face would be great, given the nature of our circumstances, but...I don't want to think about that. I don't want to live in the past or the future, for it gives me too much pain to think about. I just want to live in the now, no matter how turbulent that can be. I want to be with you, Say'ri."
Both women had been facing one another now, eyes locked on one another, no matter how tempted they were at turning them away. Say'ri slowly reached for Tiki's hands and gently began to hold them. A long silence was held between the two, but while the suspense was eating away at Tiki, she remained patient. Finally, Say'ri broke the silence.
"Milady, my lifetime compared to yours is but a grain of sand to the whole ocean. I will not be able to love you as long as I would like, but I promise, for however long life is given to me; I promise you will not be lonely. So yes, if you let me, I would very much like to be the companion of your heart." Say'ri then tenderly kissed Tiki's hands, which she had brought up to her lips.
Unable to contain her joy and excitement, lightly threw herself at Say'ri, draping her arms around the other woman in an embrace, but her sudden weight sent the two of them backwards into the cold snow. However, neither of them seemed to could find a reason to care, at that moment.
Hours later, the both women had long left the clearing, having left a trail of two pairs of footprints closely together in the snow on the way back through the trail. The sun was beginning to set, and in the morning they would surely leave to continue along for their journey. A large snow sculpture of a dragon sat in the clearing, alone, isolated, and separated from the smaller ones that were clustered together. But a promise was made that they would come back through this town, because the two of them still needed to make a companion for their snow creation.
Time would rob Tiki of many things, but it could never rob her of these moments, these precious memories that she would cherish and relish in the no