the green light of forgiveness

Noe

"So... why are you glad I'm here, exactly?" Noe pressed when Soh didn't answer her. Mika burrowed into her hair, hissing softly. If the engineer noticed the gentle rebuke from her companion, she ignored it. She already knew that she'd been a bitch to Sohalia, but she'd done it for so long now that it felt strange to be anything else.

Still, the girl pressed closer to the Luminary as the forest darkened and grew quieter, until even the birds seemed to have found a better place to be. Ludo's Wood was eerie, and Noe wasn't sure she liked it very much - even if Ludo had been good to her family, in its way.

Late nights, all entwined
Made a promise to never say goodbye

Noe's question wasn't easy to answer without baring her soul to the other girl, and that was something that Sohalia was not quite ready to do. She might be in love with Koa, but that was something that she didn't expect Noe to approve of - so she would rather keep it to herself, at least until she knew where she and Koa stood.

"It's good to get out a bit," she said instead, which was also true. Noe didn't need to spend all day, every day in the apartment. "And I know we've never been friends, but... we could be. If you wanted." Soh glanced over at the younger girl. Noe was a spitfire - it was something that Soh had once thought would make her a powerful ally - but she was also vulnerable. And she could use friends other than Vox to get her through this time.

I replay it in the back of my mind
Over and over again

Sohalia

Noe

Noe stepped away from Soh, searching beneath a bush for any hint of crimson or gold. Finding none, she hurried back to the Luminary's side. At the woman's words, though, Noe snorted. "Us? Friends?" She scoffed. "Yeah, that's likely."

But it was getting harder and harder to pretend to dislike Sohalia. Because the truth was, Noe owed her everything. And she was nice, even if she was a little too serious. It would be easy to be her friend, but that was the problem. It had been easy to be Vox's friend, too, and look where that had gotten her.

Late nights, all entwined
Made a promise to never say goodbye

"Why not?" Soh asked, praying for patience. She'd offered Noe as much support as she could - and she knew she would continue doing so, for Koa's sake. But gods, did the girl have to make it so difficult? It was like she knew exactly what buttons to push to make Soh wonder if it was really worth it to keep trying. Maybe she should have just let Noe stay holed up in her room in Haulani.

Tarak swooped into the gloom, leaving Soh feeling restless in his wake. Her companion wasn't particularly bothered by Ludo's Wood, but Soh found it more than a little creepy, and she was glad of Noe's company even if the girl wasn't a fan of hers.

I replay it in the back of my mind
Over and over again

Sohalia

Noe

Noe wasn't prepared for Soh to answer her with a question, and she stared at the Luminary in silence for a few seconds, pausing in her search. She wasn't really sure how to answer, not after everything that had transpired. Why not?

Could they form a sort of truce, then? It was exhausting to keep hating someone who was so utterly un-hateable, especially when Koa seemed to have forgiven her. In fact, Noe was sure he'd be upset if she continued to keep Soh at arm's length. Biting her lip, Noe looked away. "I don't see anything here," she said. "Do you?"

And when Soh had agreed that there didn't seem to be any flowers here, they moved on.

fin