She has been raised in the great forest with rabbits and deer, peacocks and owls, wolves and panthers. She circles the periphery of the great forest, one among its protectresses. She walks with the Great Tortoise, bow slung across her shoulder, holding the primeval meditative sphere afloat.
Cosmos breathes in, breathes out. Fire and water meeting at the center point.
What happens when a handsome warrior appears amongst them and woos the warrior priestess?
When they fall in love, what happens to her, and what happens to him? Often the stories will focus only on her domestication. But what if love's wildness affects his soul as much as hers? What if, instead of one person losing themselves in the other and forgetting themselves, there is a mutual remembering of purpose, a mutual reworking and coming awake of purpose?
The warrior priestess and the handsome warrior will walk together, shoulder to shoulder. Joined in their new purpose together, eyes focused on distinct goals.
But that is not the only path available to her.
May we open new paths wherever we step. May we wage beautiful wars that overturn preconceived notions about what it means to inhabit our bodies, our genders, our forests—may we swing open the freedom and possibilities and beauty alive in us.