Away from the group...Seraphine knelt silently on the glimmering ice, her fingers pressed against the frozen surface as if she could still feel Aeoloria's fading warmth beneath it. The cold wind howled around her, carrying flakes of white that clung to her hair and lashes, yet she didn't move. Her body trembled, not from the chill, but from the ache of loss gnawing deep inside her chest. Aeoloria had been her bonded companion since childhood...a spirit she had nurtured, fought beside, and shared her soul with. Now, there was only silence where that familiar presence once lingered.
The Empress approached quietly, her long cloak dragging across the frost-laden ground. Her eyes softened as she looked upon Seraphine's bowed figure. For a long moment, she said nothing.
