Kasia noticed Briar looking extremely sad sitting all alone and so she decided to walk closer and sit next to her before asking...
"are you okay? Do you... want to talk about it? I understand if you don't.. I just don't want you to have that pained expression on your face anymore. I'm here if you need me ..."
Briar looked at Kasia and her tears softly fell onto her lap as she struggled to find the words. She sat in silence for a time before she suddenly gathered the courage and spoke up. "My mate... I loved him so much.. I just.. miss him. We loved one another... So much... "
Briar wiped her eyes in vain as tears continued to roll down her soft cheeks. "We lived out in the mountains by ourselves and were happy for years.. but we.. were attacked while he was hunting. Our... our home was destroyed.. The beastmen made me cancel my mates mark in order for him to live. They were going to kill him..." A flicker of pleading was in Briars eyes, almost begging to be believed. Like she had committed the worst sin in the world against her will.
Kasia listened to her slowly telling her what had obviously been on her mind ever since they met. It was just understood she wasn't ready to say anything until now. The emotions seemed to overflow inside of Briar all of the sudden now that she was safe from harm. The light left her eyes as she continued her story and all that was left was guilt and sadness.
"They let him live but I.. I killed his soul ... he went mad and attacked all of those beastmen closest to me.. They were trying to force me to accept them as my new mates ...when Mal killed them I was so happy to be saved... but when I saw my Mal's eyes...Full of hatred and sorrow. All the while his body was covered in wounds."
Briar's voice was starting to crack more and more as she told her sad story.
"I knew his soul was broken ...I was so terrified... I ... I ... ran away. I left him to die.... But I wanted to live. He was still surrounded ....and I abandoned..... My mate...I didn't even turn..to look... back in his last moments.."
Briar's voice finally gave out and she broke down into sobs. Her cries were pitiful and heart wrenching all while being inconsolable for a long time. It ended up taking a couple of hours before she could even bring herself to calm down . No more words were spoken until then, just half words and sounds Kasia couldn't understand. She sat and hugged Briar tightly while rubbing her back. Briar clung to Kasia like the world would stop existing at any moment if she didn't cling on for dear life.
As the days passed the duo became as close as sisters, Briar loved the word and always called Kasia her sister now. Kasia didn't mind one bit, rather she was happy to have found someone to consider her family. It was even better that it was someone so Sweet and Knowledgeable.
Kasia managed to convince Briar to keep walking along the tree line like she had been doing previously. She loved exploring more of this world when she was sent to this place. Briar couldn't climb well like Kasia, so when Kasia wanted to just watch off in the distance Briar would stay within the house and look at the strange markings on a couple of crystal books she was given. She would mostly look at the images portraying beasts of all kinds. The days were peaceful and lively between the two Sisters, evading beasts and learning all about one another while they explored.
Later on one late night neither one could sleep. Briar softly spoke up "Hey sister, we should go to the beast city before the cold season. We are getting closer to it anyway, I recognized this area on our walk this morning. What do you think?"
Kasia didn't know what this cold season was, but she felt excited to meet more people! But Briar said these places require a mate to stay and be protected ... "I can't choose someone I have never met so soon...I don't know about the whole mate thing. "
"Don't worry!! Leave it all up to me sister. I grew up here, I won't let anyone trick us!" Briar was full to the brim with confidence over this, while Kasia let her worries simmer down she couldn't help but think of this wondrous place full of people.... no beastmen. It would be amazing to see a city in this world too. Would they be as accepting of her, a stranger in this world, as her new sister Briar? The possibilities seemed to stretch farther than imaginable.
"But sister.. don't be too worried about finding a mate immediately, around here females just know. It'll be a feeling deep in your chest, you just know. When you don't listen to that feeling most times you regret it. Don't feel too pressured about it though. Most females will have that feeling many times in life. just listen to your own heart." Briars words were very comforting to Kasia. Though she could tell that Briar was thinking about Mal with a lot of fondness in her voice. A small part of kasia flared up in the back of her mind. The very thing she asked for when she received her gifts... love. Will she truly be able to find love here? Not just a 'mate' as they called it, but True unconditional love. Kasia shook her head and pushed the thought away, she needed to stay vigilant with all the beasts around.
After a long talk with each other about the beast city, the two girls laid down and went to sleep for the night. Hearing the far off sounds of beasts became a comforting sound to Kasia as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the day she will get to see this beast city.
The morning came and the two decided to head toward the beast city after all. They walked along the trees until Kasia saw a glimmer in the forest and decided to check it out. Briar was feeling a lot more confident these days and wanted to follow her on this little outing to see what the glimmer was. To their surprise it was a river that pooled and then kept flowing deeper into the forest.
The pair decided to take a bath and there was enough clearing around them to keep an eye out for dangers.
The water was crystal clear and there were little fish swimming all around their feet. They didn't go deep into the water for fear of them not being able to escape should anything happen suddenly. So they stayed right along the edge and washed their hands and feet while softly talking about the beauty of this place. There were pink trees and purple flowers and even blue hued bushes. The light was streaming through the trees making the water shine. It was unlike any place either of them had ever seen. They both lingered in this beautiful place for hours. This seemingly safe and calm place that didn't seem possible that it could exist but before they used up their luck they reluctantly chose to keep moving onward to continue their journey for the beast city.
According to Briar the "cold season" was really close, and she seemed truly concerned about it. She said it was dangerous for females to stay alone during such a time. Although Kasia had no idea what it was the thought of meeting more people seemed to overshadow her thoughts on whatever this cold season was.
She was excited for what was next.