Lunise's eyes wandered as if she did not want to feed Meesei false hope, yet did not want to discourage her without knowing. She settled for a neutral observation. "That would be a most fortunate piece of information," she said.

At Nytala's gaze, Lunise was drawn to look at her and felt a quivering somewhere in her body. Her mouth tightened and she looked down. "Indeed, this should be done quickly."

She stepped up and hugged Nytala one last time, and though she held on for longer than she intended, it did not last as long as their previous embrace. They had said what they needed to say. There was nothing left to do. "Goodbye, mother," Lunise said. "Thank you for watching over me. Thank you."

When she finally let go, Lunise stepped away with fresh tears on her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped her face clean, relaxing her expression to rapidly compose herself. Her stern and official visage was put on like a mask. Though she still spared a brief, grateful smile.