22 August, 2017[=georgia][=#70564a]

The first half of the day was uneventful. I spent some time hanging around Umay, too afraid to approach while she was in the company of Nikhil, until eventually growing bored and wandering off to pray at the twin gods' statues. After a carefully recited prayer, I plopped down and stretched out, laying over on my side beneath the shade of the ancient statues.

Crescent found me there, and I spent some time rolling around in his soft fur and mostly being half-asleep, until little Ahn approached and caught my attention. I got up and said hello to her, after which we talked a little about Walter and then I shared the news of my pregnancy. She seemed genuinely excited about the prospect of little Lemons running around. It ended on a positive note, with the two of us curled up cuddling together.

It wasn't long before I heard her footsteps.

Kaoori.

Kaoori was in bright spirits, which only made my heart hurt all the more for the conversation that lay ahead of us. She covered me in peacock feathers and giggled, running circles around me while I tried to play along and savor these last sweet moments. Finally, panting and exhausted, we curled up together. It was time to talk.

We spoke first about Malikorin and my hesitance to come near him lately.