Springtime. A Monday. The weather was turning dreary and the streets were quiet at the naitokubaru.

People were few along the cobbles. Politeness and practicality meant that those who were not working in the middle of the day as it was, or they saw the greying day as an ill omen. Either way, the faun who clopped her way down one of the main alleyways felt a little put-out as she saw less than she had been expecting.

There was little to nothing of the bright colours and the entertainment that the faun had come here to distract herself with. Recently times in her life had led her to bed such distractions; her home city of Radasanth had surely suffered enough under the siege by her lover (and now, by strange circumstance, ally) Shinsou van Osiris. The would very much had rotated recently, and not simply in the ways of welcoming a new day. With the strange apocalyptic recent events of the volcano at Lorenor and the striking meteor that broke up as fiery rain over Corone, life seemed all grey-skied. Thus, Philomel had come to the old country of Akashima, a place she had previously found peace, and where she hoped she would find it again.

Of course no journey would be but without her soul's other half. His paws barely made any sound as he tiptoed over the cobbles with her, a silent partner to her heavy hooves. He was, literally now they knew, the brother to her soul, and even though he took the form of a fox the two of them never had felt closer in kinship.

Are you okay? Veridian asked softly as they turned a corner.

Philomel's eyes glanced along quickly the length of the street before she let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay as I'll ever be, beloved," she said in gnarled voice.

The fox's ears twitched a little. Letting it a little huff he swung his brush tail and looked up at her with bright golden eyes. It's not all that bad, Philomel.

"Oh really? It's not. Just my thoughts in tatters, my heart in tatters, Shinsou gone for now, this Arius dangerous, and-"

The city of our home struggling to get back to normality? Safely, the earth-spirit nodded his vulpine had. Indeed, and that is why we have come here. To find distraction. Now even though the promise of rain has kept some off the streets it is not the end of the world.

We've already lived through that.