[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1U4bQ50.png[/img][/center][hr][sub][color=lemonchiffon]Location: The Hot Springs[/color][/sub][hr][hr]

Though Tia had intended to go to the post office first thing, she instead found herself on the steps of the hot springs, snow shovel in hand. Snow had managed to pile several feet high in the week that they’d all been stuck indoors, and as the temple’s keeper, it fell to Tia to make sure that the path was safe for visitors. It made sense that people would seek out the warmth of the springs, coupled with the novelty of being outside. She just hadn’t expected it quite so soon.

She tried to keep her presence small and unobtrusive as she cleared the stairs – she didn’t want to disturb the woman sitting in the spring. Striking and intense, her fiery gaze had set Tia on edge. Truly impressive, given that she’d just spent a week growing used to Gadez’s special brand of intensity. 

Tia’s face heated when she remembered their brief interaction. It had taken her a moment to understand the woman’s implication as she’d looked between Tia and Gadez. By the time the woman had moved past them towards the springs, Tia’s cheeks were aflame and her eyes were panicked and wide. Then Gadez left, the woman left, and Tia was alone with her mortification. The fire crackled lowly through the temple.

The letter she’d written to the Queen weighed heavy in her pocket. It was only a few pieces of paper, but it seemed to burn between the cloth of her robes. She had to send it – she had a [i]responsibility[/i]. Not only that, but she had to go to the post office to see if the Arch Priest would finally give her permission to share her visions with the Prince. They had to [i]mean[/i] something, didn’t they? But after a week of buzzing around the temple worrying about not accomplishing her tasks in a timely manner, Tia felt petrified now that she actually had the option to go out into the world and get the work done. 

And so now she was [s]procrastinating[/s] [i]busying herself with an equally important task[/i]. The hot springs were very popular, afterall. Someone might be injured slipping on the steps if she didn’t clear them of ice and snow. Aelios would be most displeased if anything befell those who frequented her temple, worshipers or not.

…Right? Right. 

Tia looked up at a voice carried softly on the breeze. She blinked in surprise at the figure approaching her. Then a small, shy smile spread across her face. 

Orion Nightingale emerged from the snow and frost like stone carved out of the landscape itself. He was a study in contrasts - how his bright eyes and dark hair were stark against the paleness of his skin. How the warmth of his voice contradicted his cool demeanor. How carefully he moved, in spite of – or perhaps [i]because[/i] of – his large frame. 

Tia was just thankful at least he wasn’t seeing her while she was covered in blood, this time. Or unconscious. Or in need of saving.

Well, the day was still young, she supposed.

[color=lemonchiffon]“Mr. Nightingale,”[/color] she greeted when he was close enough to hear her soft voice. She hesitated a moment. Then Tia held up a hand in a motion to wait and dug through her robe pockets to pull out a notebook and pencil. Flipping to an open page, she glanced up at him again before writing. Her fingers were slightly numb from the cold, but it wasn’t too bad yet. Her handwriting wavered only slightly as she moved the pencil along the paper.

[quote][i][color=lemonchiffon]Very well, thank you. The storm was a forced opportunity for rest. And yo[/color][/i][/quote]

The book and pencil fell from her hands, burying themselves several inches deep in a snowbank. Her eyes unfocused. She may have stopped breathing.

[i]A pair of arms thrown around her in a tight hug as a young priestess in training shouted ‘Yes, I accept!’ knocking both women to the ground. Tia’s hand guiding another as she coached her through the more intricate magic of healing a burn on her twin’s leg. A quiet evening over two cups of tea, as they shared bittersweet stories of their lives before coming to the capital, the small, humble churches they’d called home before being enveloped by the grand Sunfire Citadel.[/i]

Tia came back to herself. Stunned, she looked past Orion, towards the town. Something [i]pulled[/i].

[i][color=lemonchiffon]...Ranni?[/color][/i]

She was suddenly out of breath. 

It wasn’t like the visions she’d been receiving, or the prickling awareness she’d had of Willis that first day in Dawnhaven. There was no burning force pushing her onward, no [i]weight[/i] threatening to drown her on a whim. But Tia didn’t know what else to compare it to. There was simply… knowledge. A certainty that pushed through her reality. Ranni Soleil, the young woman she’d been tasked with mentoring in the months before her injury, was [i]here[/i].

Tia blinked, trying to reorient herself, to remember where she was and what her body felt like. Her eyes were wet when she looked back up at Orion, her breath coming out in shallow puffs.

[color=lemonchiffon]“Is there another –”[/color] 

A series of coughs cut her off, her throat protesting the reckless speed and volume with which she spoke. Tia squeezed her eyes shut, bringing a sleeve up to her mouth. When her coughs quieted and she could manage to get in air, she carefully tried again.

[color=lemonchiffon]“Priestess?”[/color] she breathed out. She swallowed again. [color=lemonchiffon]“Here?”[/color]

[hr]
[color=lemonchiffon][sub]Interaction: Gadez Paladice [@Dezuel], Kira Rykker [@The Muse], Orion Nightingale [@Qia]
Mention: Ranni Soleil [@Queen Arya][/sub][/color]