Shivers of nervous energy, and maybe a little bit of excitement, coursed through my black and blue veins as monochromatic eyes rested on the grey and white scene before me. Home, I was nearly home. Or at least what little resemblance of home the frozen grasp of the Basin would be without either of my parents or any of my siblings. The moment of grief was stifled by the overwhelming joy coming across the bond between the red kite and myself, the idea of being home and done with travelling was almost too much for him to handle. A glance upwards proved that as the bird of prey swooped around in circles and spirals that would have made even the most agile of humming birds jealous.

A smile tugged at my inky lips and my crowned skull shook slightly, a chuckle slipping loose from my throat before mismatched limbs struck into the hard packed snow of the Steppe. There was still a little ways to go before the great metal warriors of the North would welcome us with their frozen gaze and stern expressions, but regardless the end of our journey was in sight and I couldn't help but kick up my heels a little. Most likely influenced by Edison's odd excitement.

Nothing would deter me now. It was time to go back to the clutch inside the mountains and take my rightful position as the new poisoner. To learn the tricks and ways that my father had worked so hard on perfecting during his time here, before he had decided to leave. It was at this thought that I hesitated slightly, an ivory dipped limb hovering over the thick blanket of moon lit snow. Moon eyes looked over a bloodied shoulder, back at the lands of Helovia where so many other oppertunites were available. Maybe a different herd could use the learnings of the poisoner?

Edison screeched angrily in my skull at the thought that I might be headed back to the mainland rather than continuing deeper into the snow. Not that I could blame him, all of this wandering was getting quite old. Steam billowed in the air before me as a sigh tore through inky lips and the levitating hoof disapeared into the snow just beneath it, leaving me standing still rather than moving forward as the original intention. Returning would be more bittersweet than I was sure I could handle at this point, but was running from the past my wisest choice?

"Speech."