[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jHL17eH.png[/img][/center][hr][sub][color=lightpink]Location: Outside the Inn[/color][/sub][hr][hr]

Amaya had failed to anticipate how [i]maddening[/i] it would be to finally spend time with Elara but only while trapped by the eyes of strangers. She didn’t want her handmaiden, she wanted her [i]friend[/i]. But Amaya had never known how to hold both the titles of Princess and Person at once.

She glanced over at Elara – her silver hair that glowed like moonlight, her pale eyes, the small, tentative smile that pierced through her careful walls and made Amaya want to burst into tears because [i]her mother was dead and she wanted to be held[/i] –

Amaya’s hand is a light, chilly touch on top of Elara’s. It was just a slight pressure, and then it was gone. It was a thoughtless motion, to any onlookers. She looked back to the two Aurelian women, a puff of white air escaping her lips. 

But before she could address the two women any more, she was overwhelmed with the feeling of not being in her own body – of looking at it from the outside. Suddenly she saw herself as others might. Beautiful. Regal. Composed. 

Impenetrable. 

And then it was over, and she was Amaya once more, fractured and nervous beneath her careful façade. Both of the Aurelians were stammering and then one all but fled the scene. Amaya fought to reorient herself. From the dissociation, to the panicked sisters, she tried to maintain composure without reacting too much to all these new factors.

[i]Psychic magic[/i], she realized. Uncontrolled, at that. Amaya cursed herself. Psychic magic was [i]Lunarian[/i]. She’d received countless lessons as a child on all manner of Lunarian magiccraft, and while she’d never quite taken to psychic magic, she’d at least been taught how to [i]shield[/i] properly. 

[color=lightpink][i]Careless.[/i][/color]

The remaining sister – [i][color=lightpink]Dyna, Ranni and Dyna Soleil[/color][/i] – practically danced in place, so eager was she to follow her sister. It was easier for Amaya to hold herself together when at least there were others present who were so horrible at it. But still, something melancholic bubbled up in her at seeing Dyna’s obvious distress and concern for her sister.

Amaya dismissed her with a soft wave of her hand, giving Dyna the permission she was all but begging for. [color=lightpink]“She needs your company more than I do.”[/color] She hesitated – she was being too cold. The image of herself flashed in her mind again – beautiful, but aloof. Ornamental. She was here to learn about people and start [i]building relationships[/i], not sit here like a statue carved from ice. She offered Dyna a soft smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. [color=lightpink]“I hope she’s well soon.”[/color] It was true – Amaya didn’t wish any strife or struggle upon any of the citizens of Dawnhaven, not when the world was difficult enough to survive as it was. But the words seemed to fall flat to Amaya’s ears. Her voice was smooth, the warmth well-practiced, but it felt so… [i]hollow[/i]. Like she no longer knew how to play the role of gracious Princess that she’d practiced at for so many years. 

And then Dyna was gone, and it was just Amaya and Elara. 

She let out a slow, billowing breath. [color=lightpink]“I swear I used to be better at this.”[/color] The words were a low, decidedly [i]un[/i]-princesslike mutter. She glanced at Elara, meeting her friend’s eyes. Words piled up on the back of her tongue, blocking her throat. [color=lightpink][i]I missed you. Were you alright during the storm? I don’t know how to stop grieving.[/i]

“I [i]am[/i] glad to see you.”[/color] It was a pale whisper, the words too small to encompass all she wanted to say. The corner of her mouth quirked up into a fragile smile, mimicking the one Elara had offered her mere moments earlier. 

Then Amaya took a steadying breath in, pulling herself back together. It was easier this time, with her friend finally beside her. Even if they didn’t have the opportunity to properly talk yet, having Elara with her as she braved the crowds was a familiar, comforting sensation. 

[color=lightpink]“Perhaps you’re right,”[/color] she finally said, at a more normal volume. [color=lightpink]“A drink might do me good.”[/color] Truthfully, Amaya didn’t want Elara to leave at all. But she recognized the offer for what it was – the urge to be helpful, to care for Amaya as she had for so many years. And who knew? Maybe the warmth would chase away the chill that built under her skin, in her lungs. [color=lightpink]“Thank you.”[/color]

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[color=lightpink][sub]Interaction: Elara Moonshadow [@Qia], Ranni and Dyna Soleil [@Queen Arya][/sub][/color]