A New Dawn Rises

"Welcome home"

The only words that Mosturn uttered to himself as he stepped foot into the Hikari village once again, the years that had passed had mearly added to the beauty of the village itself. Mosturn begun to slowly pace through-out the village, taking in all the sights and sounds he had missed and longed for, at that a small smile slowly crept up the right section of Mosturns lip. Mosturn looked up to the sky, his eyes were caught in the glimpse of the hypnotic sun above him, he slowly begun to close his eyes and take in everything when suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, they came to a hault as they drew closer, Mosturn slowly opened his eyes and turned around.

"Not again," Ashlyn murmured to herself as she let out an exasperated sigh, her shoulders drooping slightly in annoyance. She stuck out her lower lip, as if to pout, but instead she took a breath and blew upwards. A tiny lock of auburn hair jumped up from tickling the tip of her nose and fell reluctantly to brush the side of her cheek. Two dark brown eyes crossed at it, glaring at the strand to stay put. Currently, her arms were preoccupied with holding the dark blue shawl over her head in place. She'd left her nation in search of Queen Osen herself in hopes of gaining a peaceful alliance with her and the Light Nation. Literally just risen from the dead, the Ancient Nation could not stand alone.

Tightening the shawl around her, Ashlyn adjusted the bag that was slung over her shoulders. In it were her light traveling supples. As usual, the empress had no guards for her protection. Not that she needed them, Ashlyn was very trusting in her abilities to care for herself. So the only protection she had from possible danger was the hood that was held carefully over her crown to keep it well hidden. She'd ordered the guards to stay on their posts at the castle, to protect the nation. She didn't bet on it being one of the smartest ideas, but as a leader she was expendable. The Ancient Nation itself was not.

So Ashlyn continued quietly on her way, the light clicking of her sandals were the only sounds that signaled her presence on the nearly empty sidewalks of the Hikari Villa. She was surprised, yet thankful for the lack of people. She would much rather do with out the questioning glances and the suspicious looks she sometimes received from the passer-by's. Ashlyn's eyes stayed focused downwards on the sidewalk as she pressed forward. Though when the shape of another persons feet suddenly came into view, she stopped. Picking her head up, Ashlyn studied the figure of a man with his head tilted upwards, staring up at the sky. Curiously, her own eyes flicked up at the radiant sky before moving back down to the man. He began to turn around and Ashlyn quickly straightened up her slightly slouched figure. The quick movement had made the auburn red strand of hair fall back in front of her face.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spoke, "A truly brilliant sky here," Ashlyn dipped her head slightly and more light strands of red fell over her cheeks, "My apologies...It seems I have disturbed you."

As Mosturn opened his eyes he saw who stood before him, a woman with beauty beyond any mortal he'd ever glanced eyes upon, she too was captivated by the beautiful sky above them. "Not at all ma'am, I am mearly doing what we all should, apprieciating what we have around us" Mosturn said, he'd usually say limited words and rudely walk away, however he felt no real hostility towards this person. He then changed his lookings from the sky to the woman, "Name's Mosturn".

Both corners of Ashlyn's lips flicked upwards once again in a calm smile, she closed her dark eyes as she bowed slightly in Mosturn's direction, still careful of the shawl that was wrapped around her shoulders and head. When she stood straight once again, Ashlyn opened her eyes and introduced herself in return, "And I'm Ashlyn...," she paused for a small moment, almost fumbling over her words, but she still spoke automatically, "of the Ancient Nation.." It was out of habit that she added her home to her name, even after all these years. Though why she couldn't drop it, Ashlyn didn't know. It just felt normal to her and it reminded her of how things were before. Sure, it was of no benefit to her, clinging on to such a habit, but it was comforting. And any sort of comfort from her old life was exactly what she needed. It was the little things, she guessed, that made the difference.

"It's safe for me to assume this is your home, correct?" Ashlyn tilted her head slightly to the side, her auburn bangs finally giving way to the side of her face.

"For many years, these lands I once called home weren't mine, I resided amongst the natives of the fire nation, however those years are behind me, I have returned to do my people good, especially my queen" Mosturn said, surprisingly quite social with this stranger. As he flicked his hair from his eyes he begun to speak again, "It is a pleasure to meet you Ashlyn, the ancient nation seems quite the length from here, what brings you to these lands?".

"Ah, good," Ashlyn noted happily. The corners of her eyes wrinkling as she grinned them shut, though only for a moment. The more she stood talking with Mosturn, the more she took a liking to him. Unlike most of the people she'd come across, he was actually...inviting. Considering the fact that she was a complete stranger to him as well.

It wasn't out of the norm if strangers she'd randomly run into were hostile. Hostility had become expected among the Nations in the past years. Ally and enemy lines have faded and though there is peace in most of Sprikania, it is very uneasy. Ashlyn uses great caution when entering nations not of her own, especially since most of the time, she is not invited by the ruling king or queen, but yet she invites herself. And she thought it best to travel to the Light Nation first and made it a priority on her list. She'd also heard many great things about Queen Osen..

my queen..

Ashlyn's ears perked again as Mosturn spoke. "Yes, indeed the Ancient Nation is quite a journey away, though it's tolerable..and has actually been a lot easier than expected.. As you spoke of the Fire Nation, it is a much farther distance. Anyways, I'm here for a visit, I guess you could say," Ashlyn spoke thoughtfully, "'tis been some time since I've traveled, a short change of setting was in order..and perhaps if I had enough luck on my side, even have a visit with the Queen herself."