Liara had forced herself not to skip along the small path, after all she had a lantern and the short bristly grass was slick from the river. She didn't need a higher power or cognition to know that if she slipped into the cold, dark waters and was fortunate enough to survive her mother would give her a proper talking to. It was the fear and annoyance of being berated that gave her pause even as her mind skipped over the river's grip.
This was just for them, Benezia walked just in front of Liara. The matriarch held one hand aloft and let her biotics ripple around it creating a torch to see by. Her long, flowing pant legs had been secured at the calf by a few pieces of string but still had trace amounts of water and mud at the edge. While Benezia had opted out of a shirt she still had a sheer shawl draped over her shoulders. The trailing edges shifted and danced on the light breeze and shimmered in the biotic lights. Liara equally watched the ground where she walked and the tattoos that seemed to drip down her mother's back. Some earned, some gifted, some chosen. Beautiful nonsensical patterns in black the color of the galaxy, the space between the stars. Benezia's sparkling eyes glanced over her left shoulder, a gentle smile on her lips as Liara tried to pretend she was watching her way before giggling and looking back up in time to see her mother shaking her head in both love and exasperation.
Across the way was a large tree, Liara didn't know what kind, but all of its flowers had a brilliant glow to them. The fallen petals underneath looking almost like snow or jewels from this side of the river. A small stone bridge was the only way to cross, no rails as it had been constructed generations upon generations ago. Benezia paused and gently guided Liara across the bridge, slowing her natural instinct to dart across the freezing stones. Coming in their bare feet meant going slow to not slip despite how cold a stone or squishy the mud. The river now behind them the tree seemed larger than ever, tucked neatly between non-biotic fauna it had a presence that would have been lost elsewhere amongst its peers.
At the base of its trunk Liara found her somber mood again. Benezia hoisted herself up onto a nearby stone and reached out for their lantern. As the future of their family Liara had carried that light from their home, and now her mother as the link between future and past would hang it on the tree in honor of her own mother. As Liara stood at the base and looked up she watched as her mother quietly whispered something up into the leaves and the picked a flower in full bloom. With her feet back on the ground Benezia gently placed it into the gap between Liara's crest placing a kiss on both her cheeks. They sat surrounded by the sweet smell of flowers, the sound of water, and the coolness of the soil.