Apr 24 2018, 11:53 PM
A shadow came rippling across the jagged floor of the bone cave.
She had not retreated into her chrysalis, like she led so many to believe. She had not been tattered and torn apart, like the rumors she spread seemed to have promised. There was no world-ending battle between her and a dragon, no evidence of claws that scathed her skin and ripped her feathers from their follicles. Even though that was what she would have wanted you to believe about Liora, daughter of Aza'zel and Princess of the Bonebound. That she was dead.
It was a fit of adolescent anger that sent Liora on her rampage through the caves so many cycles ago, telling others about the death of the Bonebound King and the subsequent, glorious demises of his children. To be honest, she only knew about her father; she hadn't even seen Ashtoreth since then, so her sister was as good as dead anyway. It didn't make it hurt any less, though. That everyone was gone. Aza'zel, Krakarak, Ashtoreth - anybody that would have mattered to her. She would have been better off dead too, at least then she could be with them. And yet Liora, ever bold, ever brass, was ever the coward. Taking her own life - that was an extreme even she couldn't sink to, even in her anguish.
Yet, somehow, she did - and then she fled Canis. Liora told herself she wouldn't return, ever. And she had done well in upholding that promise. She spent all that time exploring the other caves. Hunting, for fun; eating, sleeping, tormenting the lesser gembounds. She had learned a lot about golems. And a lot about others, by observing. And through all of that, she felt the need to reintegrate herself begin to bite. Her anger had long since subsided; it was her stubbornness that kept her away.
But today, she swallowed it down. On broad wings, she flew through the tunnels and into the cavern she once called home. Entering the room, she felt a sudden surge of possessive pride revoke a loud caw from her gleaming amethyst beak, a sound that bellowed through the cavern - an announcement of her arrival. To who, she didn't care. All that needed to be known was that the Bonebound Princess had returned.
Chortling deep in her throat, Liora landed on the rocky floor and appraised the room, eager to see what changes had taken place in her absence.