you've known her. You have known her for so long. The one chosen of the sun.. The Solar Augmentation awoke something far beyond this world-- far beyond comprehension.
"That horn of yours looks like it’s seen better days,"
you say with a gentle smile, teasing—affectionate. You reach toward it like you might smooth away the crack, not realizing the ache beneath. Something caused by a curse laying deep beneath Runasapi.
Illari’s breath catches.
Her hand rises halfway to yours, then hesitates in the space between.--
"It’s more than a horn," she whispers.
"It’s a reminder... of what was taken. Of what I couldn’t save."
Her voice trembles—not with anger, but the weight of memory.
A golden warmth pulses faintly around her, but it hums like a warning, like a prayer. Her markings glow softly, and her gaze flickers with something other —-- not rage, but presence. The spirit stirs.
"It thinks you're a threat to me," Illari says gently, stepping closer, "because It only knows pain. It's what’s left when I break."
Her fingers brush yours, as light as a ray of sun.
"But I know you. I feel you. And I won't let it take this from me."
She leans in, forehead resting against yours, eyes closed as solar warmth encircles you like a protective vow. The leaves of the trees offering their soft whistles in the breeze.
"Stay with me. No matter how loud it gets... Stay."