The message came to her clutched between the claws of a dove, sealed with the emblem of Atemae, her home. It read two words, her name and "βοήθεια" — help. And so, the maiden went. She thought not of Helovia or any ties she had made to it (she had very few, anyway); both her head and her heart had been conquered by that single word, by that fatal message.

She eyed it wearily, for it now rested in Hero's grasp, the edges tattered and letters faded from it's age. It stirred sorrowful memories in her chest, but when she left Atemae for the third time and final time, it was the only thing she took. To leave it felt wrong, to have it with her felt painful.

"Hero," she murmured almost inaudibly, beginning a sentence, not needing to finish it. The dragon flicked his tail, purred supportively, then dropped out of the air to bury the letter. Agnodice almost stopped to wait for him, to take a final look at the last word her older brother had ever meant for her, but she didn't. She moved forward, for if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to go on again. All that was left for her was to move forward, but oh, she felt like she had boulders chained to her ankles.

The duchess fought the tears that welled in her eyes, sniffling a couple times before she made an effort to regain her regal composure, one that used to come natural to her. She took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself, but only ended up looking stoic, and perhaps a bit solemn. Her usual state was one of pleasant poise, not of lifeless eyes and features so bloodless they could be made of marble.

Hero felt her pain vividly. The dragon, too, had mourned for a brother he had never known as if the man had been his blood. He returned to her side hurriedly, landing softly on her withers amongst flowers and mane, rubbing his head along her neck in an effort to comfort the mourning maiden and bring a bit of solace to both their hearts. Forever the optimist, the little dragon chirped meekly to his bonded, 'smells like spíti,' he offered, 'helovia and falls!'

Agnodice flicked a curved ear back towards her bonded, her brow raised slightly, breaking the stony, sorrowful expression etched upon her delicately lined features. "Spίti? Den eίmai sίgoyros όti to spίti eίnai mprostά ή pίsw moy." She let the words slip off her tongue icily, devoid of the emotion she kept tucked behind her lash-line.

--

Spíti - home
Spίti? Den eίmai sίgoyros όti to spίti eίnai mprostά ή pίsw moy. - home? I'm not sure home is before or behind me.
( ^ transliterated greek for a kind of easier read, not sure which way it works better *scratches head*)

woo aggy is back! apologies for the rustiness, open to all <3

agnodice & herophilos