The forest did not speak.
For the first time since their arrival, there were no whispers, no distant rustles, no lurking presence in the dark.
The roots beneath their feet were still. Watching, yes, but no longer weighing them down.
They had finally been acknowledged.
Miles, Sarissa, and Dee walked in silence through the grove beyond the plateau, a strange light filtering through the canopy above. Morning, maybe, or something close to it.
It was hard to tell time apart in Tir'Serene.
Miles had a hand resting loosely at his side. There was a rhythm to his step now, not practiced like when he was a fighter, not cautious like when he was a survivor. Just… Forward.
As if the path behind him had ended long ago, and he had just realized that.
Sarissa limped slightly, favoring her bad leg, but she didn't ask for help.
The pain was hers, a reminder, a tether to the choice she had made and the world it brought them to.
She let the ache settle into her bones like weathered armor.
