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Their family was together again. Kanika and Zandala had traveled across the sea to chase down their family, and while things had changed, they were still family. Zayana was happy that they had arrived safe, that they loved them enough to seek answers. Sure, it was awkward seeing her sister and twin with another, even if she was happy for Kanika. It still burned to think she had been replaced, even if it was confusion due to the message never returning.

Hopefully her Limbara was safe, eventually Zayana would need to return home and see what might have happened.

But things were different for all of them. Lumikani had gone into some sort of hermit state, hiding alone and repenting for her sins. Zayana tried to understand her mother, but eventually she knew it was something Lumikani would work through, hopefully. So she explored the world, learned the land and celebrated the birth of new blooms on their island.

Beautiful girls with light skin and aqua hair. The happiness Zayana felt seeing these new Aishans must have been the same as when they themselves had been born. An island across the sea, ages from home but still with the touch of Aisha, of Elzira. Zayana felt her heart warm as many sisters stepped up to foster the new blooms, Alkidikes and Elaria alike. This time, they would raise them with the ideals of their great mothers, without the nonsense of purity because they knew any bloom was pure.

At least that's what Lumikani always said.

Zayana began to understand it a bit more. Sure, Earthlings were foolish, didn't follow Aisha and hurt the land. But hybrids were still of the great mother tree. Elzira didn't bless all sisters who prayed, and Zayana assumed Aisha was the same. So there was intent behind the blooms. If hybrids weren't meant to be, why would Aisha bloom them?

Zayana was confused, but knew that she didn't feel as confident about blind faith as she used to. She was older, mature and lived on her own these days. She knew she had a place in this world, to follow the ways of her great mother and great aunts. She also knew that Zandala and Lumikani felt the drive to pray when Elzira began to bloom, about the same age as she.

Maybe that was why she didn't want to leave Kiros as often now that the younglings were bloomed. Every time she watched her sisters raise the young pale skinned Aishans, Zayana felt her heart warm and her cheeks lift. She wanted to help raise their future, just as her mothers did for her and Kanika.

She was alone, but she didn't feel alone. Her family was back, and she it took a tribe to raise a youngling.

It felt like she was meant to follow her mother. But where her mother was focused on planting a seed, Zayana knew her job was different. She was meant to raise the next generation. Even alone, she knew she was capable. She would raise a daughter to be strong, to follow the right path and protect the lands that the great mothers protected as well. Zayana felt strong and ready to take on this task. For five years she spent in these lands, waiting and watching.

It was time to act. It was time to make a change and to see if Esena felt she was worthy as well. Zayana could wait, but the sisters around her weren't ones she was comfortable to commit with. She'd rather raise a daughter with her family, and maybe if she was ready in the future she'd ask for more with a lover. For now, she wanted to focus on a bloom and raise a daughter to lead. A daughter to be proud of, just as she hoped her mothers were proud of her.

It was time to go and seek a blessing from Esena.

As soon as she finished her prayers to Esena, Zayana left Kiros to go back to the mainland. It wasn't that she was avoiding the process, it was just that she couldn't stand sitting around and waiting. For the past few years she was used to traveling around Kahikina, exploring and connecting with the swamp and river folk. To wait around for months to see if a bloom would grow, Zayana just couldn't stand it.

So she left, made some trades and ensured any outstanding tasks were resolved. By the time she made her way back to the isle, she knew she'd h have an answer...good or bad.

A sister was waiting to greet her at the shore, the elder giving away no clues as to what news awaited. Instead, the Alkidike waved her up and toward the tree. An escort, naturally. In that moment, Zayana was glad she decided to distract herself...the anxiety of this moment was unbearable and she couldn't imagine waiting for two months without a distraction.

"Ah, Zayana. We were wondering if you had left us after seeking Esena's blessing." Another elder approached, a soft smile on her face, "It was quite abnormal to not see you waiting for a sign...most usually are beside themself trying to get an answer."

"Well..." Zayana scratched her head, her half-colored dreads growing out and reminding her she needed to touch them up, "I figured I wouldn't be doing much good if I just waited around..."

She weakly ended it with a shrug, before following up with, "So this must mean you've got news?" She was surprised her voice held no emotion, as her palms were sweating and she felt the desire to both shake the elder and run for the boat.

"Good news, of course. Esena seems to be ready to bless you with a healthy bloom. A single flower awaits you, Zayana."

Her heart sputtered a moment, and she felt her lips dry out. Looking at the two, she had to be certain what they said was truth. A bloom, for her? One of the first to be asked for and answered?

Zayana let out a laugh before shaking her head.

"How long have you known?" She finally asked.

"A few weeks now. We were going to send out a search party if you took any longer." The escort teased her with a cheeky grin.

"Well then, it's good I came back..." she replied in a good manner, her
happiness filling her from her toes to her antennae. Taking a breath, she looked back to the elder, "So does this mean I can approach the tree to tend it?"

"Ah, well you can visit, but best leave the tending for those who are trained. You've got about four to six months until it's fully grown. Most sisters will prepare their homes for a new aishan in their life...we often tend to be little terrors."

"Right, right...a home..." Zayana probably needed to set herself up a space. She had her mothers, but privacy was important and she wanted to make sure she had enough room for her daughter.

A daughter. The thought caused her heart to flutter again, she was going to be a mother!

She needed to tell her mothers, and her sister too. And Pyrrah had already expressed interest to help sit the child. Zayana was so glad her sister and Pyrrah were more keen to embrace the lands, that would make it easy for them to help raise her daughter with the same mentality.

"Six months isn't enough!" She replied with a laugh, before turning and embracing the escort, "Thank Elzira...thank Esena! Thank all the great mothers...I'm going to have a bloom!"

All three laughed and she was congratulated by many as she rushed home to tell her family.

It was time to prepare. A youngling was going to bloom before she knew it and Zayana wanted to make sure she was loved, cared for, and grew up to be a symbol of the future for the tribe.

She had so much to do.

Looking back, Zayana had been quite foolish to rush onto a ship after her mother. It was a childishness of needing to cling to home, without any thought of the consequences. Did she regret it? It was hard to say. Stepping onto the boat meant she severed the ties of her sister and Zandala in an effort to chase a mother who was running away from her problems.

Yet it also meant discovering a new place so unlike any she had ever seen. It meant breaking away from expectations and shackles she didn't realize was weighing her down. It meant new friends, new sisters, new blooms and a daughter who she adored and was growing up to be a beacon of a new sisterhood.

So sure, she was foolish and made a mistake, but in hindsight she didn't really want it any other way. Kanika had found love, but didn't know the island like she did. And she still fled Zinris, so in the end they ended up in the same place. And now, Kanika was raising two beautiful girls, whereas Zayana was ready to take the next step in raising her daughter.

It was time to teach her daughter of the world, and maybe learn a little bit on her own. She wouldn't run, but embrace the beauty of exploration and discovery. She was a proud Elaria, and not ashamed to hide it. She would go back home and pray to her mother, show Nayarra her history, before making a new story with the girl.

Then, they'd return to Kiros and her family and she'd settle into a happy world where she could grow old and watch a new sisterhood bloom.

Zayana no longer was confused, or uncertain. She knew her path in life, and was ready to lead it without clinging to her mother or sister. She loved them, would never leave them, but it was time to take care of her own family. She needed to raise Nayyara right, and get some answers on the mainland while she was at it.

Yes, she had grown, she had become independent and strong and a proud Aishan. And it was time to finally, finally let her daughter know that yes, they could go and visit the world.

There was no need to be afraid, or uncertain. There was no needed to regret or pause. She was an adult, a contributing sister and one who had every right to see each and every tree. With her hood down, her head high, and pride in her skin, her markings, her hair and her daughter.

As Zayana began to prepare for the journey, she visited one of the Menehune who made dyes for their glass. She had a dredlock from her daughter, and asked for ink in both the darkest black and the same blue. She used that ink to prepare her dreds, representing her past, present, and future. The colors of her hair represented her connections and her pride. She'd always be an Elaria, born from Alkidike and one who bloomed an Elidae. She was a connection of sisters, cousins, and mothers. She was an Aishan, and she was ready to take on the world.

It was time to visit Tendaji.

Summer Festival WE - FIN

Zayana / Nayyara

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=25512330

Thankful WE Solo - FIN

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=25536318

Zayana found herself in the same hidden grove that her mothers had discovered ages ago. She left her daughter back in Zinris to train, and took the last few days to travel in self reflection. It was an emotional journey if there ever was one, for a multitude of reasons. And it was something she needed to do, having disappeared from Zinris so suddenly chasing after her feeling mother. The lack of farewell to the Great Mother was something that Zayana was trying to ignore. But being home, being here, it was something she would need to face before she continued on with her journey.

The first leg of her journey was the hardest, the memories at night haunting. All she could think of as she moved further away from Zinirs was if it was right to leave again. She knew she had a family, knew she had a purpose, but the guilt was haunting when it refused to be ignored. There was a guilt that she left her sisterhood, left them in a state where they had no idea. There also was the guilt of finding out her mother and cohort had stolen a seed, as if Elzira wasn't worthy of blooming more children and they had to start once again.

Then, there was the small guilt that she too was indulging in this reset with her own daughter, though she had no regrets for her daughter's bloom and was proud of the girl. She was thankful of the beauty that Nayyara brought to her life, from the creativity in approaching situations to the desire to explore the world with an open mind. Her daughter was thirsty to understand and appreciate the world she was blessed with, and Zayana was able to live through that thirst by joining her on this trip. It was Nayyara who pushed her to step in and come back to her home, to not hide from her insecurities.

After a night of pondering this, Zayana awoke with a drive to go back to the hidden grove, and when she finally arrived she simply stood atop that cliff and looked in the shimmering water with wonder. It wasn't as big as she remembered, nor the drop so steep. And yet, it was beautiful. She could almost hear the sounds of her sister as they chased through the land, the laughter and the mock-battles they took while their mothers enjoyed the peace. This area was their own, a place where their background didn't matter, but instead it was just a location for their family to be a family. There was hunting, roasting meat and rushing away from the surprise rainfall. There was stories of their own tree growing strong, to the past where her mothers grew up in Chibale.

Zayana felt somber at the thought of those stories, more like fairy tales. She never expected a chance to see The Great Mother that bloomed all sisters and gave life to the other trees. It was a folk tale, a lore, something she dreamed about at night but when she woke up she was prepared for the reality. That she was an Elaria, and Elaria were at war.

Or they were at war. Now it was...confusing.

Zayana was happy that there was peace, something she wasn't certain on as she took that ship across the sea. This peace meant she had the opportunity to travel with her daughter, to not fear a raid or others to attack their new tree. Peace meant that they were safe, and could just live again.

Never had she thought she'd be at a place of simple existence.

After a day of lingering, she said farewell to the small piece of her past, not fooling herself to think she'd come back again. Her life was on Kiros, with her mothers, her sister, her daughter, and her family. It was where she could build her own future, be herself and get to know the Kahikinans that lived near her. It was where she could retire (possibly with a lover) and let the next generation shape their future. It was safe. It was happy. It was home.

The trip back was swift, maybe because she had a weight off of her shoulders. Maybe because she was anxious to see her daughter and keep moving. She had said her farewells, all but to Elzira. She'd save that goodbye for last...so she wouldn't hurt too much as she walked away from her once home. For now, she simply wanted to see her daughter again and tell stories of the memories she treasured, of this home and their own.

Picking out the Perfect Gift - FIN

Zayana x Nayyara

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=25536324

Oddly Unique - FIN

Zayana x Ilsa

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=25539945

Honoring Those We've Lost WE - FIN

Zayana / Nayyara

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=25526556