Fate had given her one last moment to shine, one final gift before Nayati left and faced the life of an outcast once more. Alone again. She knew that she could spare herself that ending, those next few lonely chapter of her life if she merely stayed. But something also drove her onward. She had to do this, for herself. She needed to find that inner strength that was budding, but restricted by the herd life she was in. There was still so much left to explore of herself, and it needed to be done in solitude. Her travels as an outcast had toughened her after the Foothills had fallen to the Grey, and Nayati needed that experience once more. Leaving would not be easy in the least, however. But perhaps that was the first trial? The initial hurdle? Baby steps, she told herself, and Rathunax sighed mournfully.

Wingbeats, small but familiar, brought her ears round towards the sound. Rathunax circled back around with a cry of recognition, calling out to his younger kin. Nayati turned slowly, blinking dumbly to see Resplendence hurrying towards her, relief painted artistically on her beautiful face and glitter descending from her mane and tail. Nayati smiled tearfully to see her there, standing before her like a vision from her dreams. Rue's birth had shoved Nayati far from the family portrait, and she'd descended into the shadows with a quiet sort of understanding. It had happened with Romani as well, experience had taught her that she was never going to be worth enough to be chosen first or kept around as anything more than a charity case.

"Momma," she whispered nonetheless, because of all the mothers Nayati had obtained, Resplendence had been there for her the longest. She hadn't walked away, not fully, and Nayati loved her so much it hurt. Leaving her mother would perhaps be the hardest part of walking away, and Vadim beside her. Because who else would care enough to miss her but those two? Perhaps Alysanne...and Nayati regretted not being able to say goodbye to her either. But if she turned around, if she walked back into the depths of Helovia, she'd never be able to go through with leaving again.

Nayati fell into Resplendence's embrace, tucking her cheek into the warm skin that was so familiar to her. She'd been held in that manner before, when the two had first met, Nayati shaking and terrified in a thorn bush during the night. The motion had not ceased comforting her yet, and knowing it might be her last embrace for quite a while only made yet another tear crease down her cheek. A sob that was once supposed to be a laugh echoed in her hollowed-out throat, beneath the painted crimson rose marking that had one day appeared and never left. How could she possibly break the news? "I'm leaving, momma."