you are what you love

"Ellyra!" 

Soh's voice rang out over the milling crowd of people outside the cafe as she waved eagerly to her friend. Anani floated happily along beside her, chiming pleasantly at the passersby, who looked up in surprise as the little cloud wyrm - and the shade that followed her - made their way over to the nurse waiting beside the cafe. Despite the heat, Soh wrapped Ellyra in an affectionate hug. "Gods, it's good to see you!" she said, pulling back after a beat to hold Ellyra by the shoulders, looking her up and down as though to check for anything out of place.

Seemingly satisfied, Soh released her friend. "Come on, let's get inside and out of this heat!" she exclaimed. Anani came to rest on her shoulders, releasing her cloud, which evaporated into the Torchline air. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the cafe, Soh led the way to a table and plopped down into a seat. "This place has the best shaved ice," she explained. "Seemed fitting for the season. I hope that's okay!"

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Her name broke warm and bright across the crowd, and she turned fast enough that relief showed before she could school it. She was running before she knew it. "Sohalia!" The name left her rushed, breathy call back.

She leapt into the hug without thinking, arms closing tight, grip stronger than she probably intended. The heat, the noise, the restless churn that had followed her since the docks—all of it softened at the edges. "It’s good to see you too." she said, voice a little thinner than usual, fraying at the edges as white hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes. When Soh pulled back to inspect her, Ellyra let it happen, offering a the brightest smile. 

The cafe’s cool air wrapped around her like a blessing. Only then did she realize how tightly she’d been wound; her shoulders dropped a fraction as she reached up to retie her hair, fingers slightly unsteady. "Shaved ice sounds perfect!" she said, sliding into the seat across from Soh. "Honestly, if you’d said salted seawater I’d probably have agreed."

Ellyra tried not to rush right into the conversation, but never having mastered shielding her side the attuned bond, Sohalia would surely feel the woman vibrating with curiousity and worry.

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

Ellyra's relief was touching, and as Soh wrapped her in a warm embrace, she could feel it through the Attuned bond and relaxed her control, allowing a flood of reassurance to slide through. In that brief moment, Ellyra might feel other things, too - exhaustion, worry, grief - but Soh quickly shut all that away again in favor of her own brand of concern.

Inside the cafe, they took a seat and settled in. Soh had schooled herself well, and as she accepted a drink from a waiter, her hand barely shook with all of her suppressed emotion. Gods knew she had plenty of practice avoiding uncomfortable sensations.

"Oh, I think we can do better than salt," she said, a small smile lighting her face, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Curiosity and worry were warring in her friend, and Soh knew from past experience with Ellyra that the young woman wouldn't let her get away with ignoring her feelings. Once she got the bit between her teeth, the nurse usually refused to let go until Soh was well and truly wrung out.

"Well," she said. "We got everyone out." That was, after all, the most important thing. "People split between the Grounds, Halo, King's End, and here. As far as I know, people are beginning to settle, but emotions are still high, which is to be expected."

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Ellyra leaned back in her chair, letting the cool air of the cafe wash over her. She smiled at Sohalia, broad and bright, though her fingers drummed lightly against the tabletop, betraying the edges of her restless energy. "Everyone’s out." She said. "I mean… gods, Soh, I knew you would make it happen, but hearing it out loud—there’s nothing like it. Although I didn't really know you were still helping run the city, to be honest." Ellyra had kind of holed herself away in King's End, working in the House's clinic.

She gestured vaguely toward the window, the distant hum of the city beyond, and let her hazel eyes sweep the crowd inside the cafe as if scanning for any trace of the chaos Stormbreak left in its wake. "I kept imagining the docks, the skyships, all of it stacked on top of each other. I kept picturing someone getting left behind, and that’s the kind of thing that keeps you awake at night." She let out a breathy laugh, eyebrows dancing biefly towards her hairline.

Her hands smoothed over the condensation of her glass, tapping once for emphasis. "But that’s done. You did it. You all did. And now people are moving on, finding their footing again. That’s what matters, right?"

Ellyra’s gaze landed on Sohalia again, her words flowing with the ease of familiarity now and less wit hthe tension of worry. "I needed to see you, too. Not just to check in, but to actually see you standing here, catching your breath, knowing you’re okay." She leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the table. She held her breath for a moment, her mind taking a turn she didn't expect. "I'm sorry, Soh, for disppearing to King's End the way I did with the Family in Stormbreak and all..."

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

Ellyra's words washed over Soh, and she let them break like surf against the sand, happy to listen if her friend was willing to talk. At the admission that Ellyra hadn't known she was helping to run the city, Soh laughed. "I was the Ambassador," she explained. "So less running the city and more diplomatic relations, to be honest. At least... up until the end. Then it was kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation." To say the least. "We might have missed someone if not for Safrin. She used her goddess abilities, I guess, to make sure every straggler was out. But we got almost everyone before we called her in to be sure."

And now everyone was safe and, if not settled, then settling. And, like Ellyra said, that was what mattered - never mind that Soh wasn't quite sure where it left her. There was Torchline, of course, and it wasn't that she was unhappy here - quite the contrary - but Stormbreak's loss, and the loss of her role in it, had left something of a giant question mark where her life's purpose had been.

Ellyra's words took a sudden turn, and Soh shook her head vehemently. "No - stop that," she said firmly. "Anyone in their right mind would have left after the Family came and took over. I'm just relieved that you're okay, and that you found a safe place to land."

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Ellyra opened her mouth to argue and then actually stopped herself, lips pressing together as Soh’s firmness cut cleanly through her apology. She huffed out a breath instead, shaking her head once. Her smile softened. “I know leaving made sense. Intellectually, I know that. The Family wasn’t exactly subtle about what they were building.” Her fingers traced the rim of her glass again. The truth was, though she had offered the apology, Ellyra didn’t regret leaving. King’s End had been a reprieve for her, and she had gained more skills in certain areas of patient care that she would not have learned in Stormbreak.

At the mention of Safrin, the lioness’ smile brightened, warming her hazel eyes. “Gods. Of course she did.” A small, yet delighted, laugh escaped her. She leaned back, studying Soh more carefully now. “And you? Ambassador-turned-evacuation-coordinator.” Her brow arched lightly. “Where does that leave you? Because if you think I’m going to let you dodge that question, you’re wildly underestimating how persistent I am.”

There it was again—that familiar spark. Concern, yes. But also warmth.

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

At Ellyra's question, Soh winced. "Gods, I was totally hoping you would," she teased, shaking her head. She'd known Ellyra for a long time and knew exactly how persistent the woman could be. She was not unlike a dog with a bone when she really got her teeth into something, and this? This was exactly the kind of thing that she would grab onto and never let go.

Soh propped her head on one hand, fiddling with her glass with the other. "I haven't totally decided yet," she admitted freely. "I mean... to go from knowing exactly who you are and what you're supposed to do to, well, this - it's a lot, you know?' She paused, silver gaze flicking up from her drink to meet Ellyra's. "Like... I like Torchline. A lot. I have friends here. But if I stay here, it feels like... I don't know. Like I'll be living in someone else's shadow." She released her glass to wave her hand dismissively. "I just don't really know who I am anymore without the titles and the responsibilities. But... weirdly, there's something kind of exciting about getting to figure it out?"

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Ellyra didn’t interrupt, even though several times she wanted to. When Soh finished, Ellyra tilted her head slightly. “Okay. First of all? That makes complete sense.” Her tone was matter-of-fact. “You spent years building an identity around service and responsibility. Of course it feels strange to set it down. That doesn’t mean it was the only thing that made you you.” She leaned forward a little, elbows brushing the table. “Titles are scaffolding, but they’re not the building.”

A crooked smile tugged at her mouth. “You were Sohalia before Ambassador, even before you were the Heart, or the Luminary. You’re still Sohalia now. The part of you that organized evacuations and negotiated diplomacy and opened the city’s doors to abandoned? That’s not gone. It’s just not wearing a badge anymore.” But here was the thing about Ellyra: she was deaf to her own advice. At the mention of living in someone else’s shadow, her brow furrowed and she sucked her teeth. “Whose shadow? Stormbreak’s? The gods’? Expectations?” She shook her head gently. “You don’t owe a city your entire future just because you helped save it.” Twice. ”The only person you owe anything to is yourself.”

Her expression softened, and she took another taste of her treat. “And the exciting part? That’s the important bit. If there’s even a spark of curiosity there, that’s worth listening to. Most people don’t get a clean break like this. It’s terrifying, but we’ve experience it before. When the barrier fell and we could actually leave the city we grew up in.” She reached across the table and nudged Soh’s wrist lightly. ”What if you come back with me to King’s End?”

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

Soh drummed her fingers lightly on the table as she listened, pursing her lips as though she might argue but failing to come up with any words with which to do so. When it seemed Ellyra had shared all the wisdom she had to offer (a considerable amount, really), Soh sighed. "I guess I hadn't thought about it that way." The parallel to the barrier falling in the Grounds was something that Soh had never even considered, having left her home behind so long ago and never having looked back. There had been nothing for her to look back to, after all, nothing compelling enough to give a second thought.

The invitation to King's End was tempting, too. There was so much of Torchline that she loved, but she still wasn't sold on making her home here. Still, to leave and go to King's End... she wasn't sure she wanted that either, and she didn't want to hurt the people here who loved her to go moving about on a whim. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't visit. Maybe some travel was exactly what she needed. "I could get behind that," she said. "At least to visit, look around, see if anywhere calls to me."

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Ellyra’s entire face lit up. “Oh, you absolutely should!” She said immediately, leaning forward again with renewed energy. The idea seemed to click into place in her mind all at once, and now she was off and running with it. Even just for a visit, King’s End was different than Stormbreak. Quieter, for one thing. No marble halls echoing with politics every five minutes. She grinned, bright and feline.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the table again, this time with excitement rather than nerves. “But really, Soh, it might be good for you. There’s space there to think. Fields, forests, lots of open sky! It’s the kind of quiet where you can actually hear yourself think.” She tilted her head. Her golden hair tumbled over her shoulder as she adjusted to lift her treat back up to her lips, amber eyes nearly glowing with all of her joy.

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

King's End was a beacon of hope at the end of a very long tunnel of despair. It might not be home - Soh wasn't sure that anywhere would feel like home again for a very long time - but it was somewhere to see, somewhere to heal, somewhere to think. Maybe it could be somewhere to begin anew, too, if not in terms of settling down, then in terms of being reborn. "I know what you mean," Soh said warmly. "I've always found it beautiful when I've visited." Not that she'd stayed long enough to really admire that beauty beyond surface level.

Straightening a little in her chair, Soh wrapped her hands around her glass and regarded Ellyra with open curiosity. "Tell me about what you've been up to there," she insisted. "I want to hear everything. It's been ages since we got to just catch up." Besides, Stormbreak had been all she'd thought about for ages. She wanted to hear something new, something happy, something exciting!

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

Ellyra brightened even further at Soh’s interest, the energy in her posture shifting from simple excitement to something almost conspiratorial. "Everything?" she repeated with an airy laugh. "Careful what you ask for. I’ve got months of stories."

She set her treat down and folded her arms on the table, leaning in as though about to share something important. "The House clinic keeps me busy, mostly. It’s smaller than Stormbreak’s. More personal. You get to know people." Her smile widened as she detailed all the work she'd done there, all she'd learned, and how working as a nurse there was somehow much more educational than any other place she'd lived before.

Then something bright and decisive sparked behind her eyes. "Okay, why wait?" she said, sitting forward again, excitement creeping into her voice. "If you’re serious about visiting, we could go today. There are skyships running constantly, and it’s not a long trip. I could show you the clinic, the river paths, the orchards -- everything!" Because in the lioness' mind, Soh couldn't just visit. She'd come and she'd realize all of what Ellyra had to say and she would stat with her. Her grin turned playful, almost daring. "Come on. When was the last time you made a completely spontaneous decision?"

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book

"And I want to hear them all," Soh laughed, eyes glimmering with amused interest. She could only imagine what kinds of things Ellyra had gotten into in King's End, but she wanted to hear more. After all, what better way to decide where she wanted to end up than to hear what other people were doing with their lives?

So she listened, nodding along, asking questions and commenting in all the right places. She was impressed by all Ellyra had done and learned, and she made no secret of her admiration as they talked.

When something bright sparked in her friend's eyes, Soh braced herself - it seemed that Ellyra wasn't quite done trying to convince her to come to King's End, even after she'd already agreed. Laughing, Soh shook her head. "Honestly, I can't remember, but I'm sure there was something relatively recently." But the more she thought about it, the more unsure she became, so in the end, she shrugged. "You know what, you're right. Why not leave today? Let's go!"

Sohalia

Ellyra

Get hot
Get too close to the flame

The moment Sohalia agreed, bright electricity shot through Ellyra like a struck match. She was on her feet before she even realized she’d stood. "Oh this is perfect," she said, already gathering the loose things on the table that were hers, half-melted cup of shaved ice abandoned where it sat. "The afternoon ships should still be running and the weather’s been clear all morning, so we’ll have the smoothest crossing." Her words came quick and warm, excitement spilling out faster than she could organize it. She was already halfway to the door before she realized Soh hadn’t moved yet.

"And wait until you see the river paths," Ellyra continued, pushing open the café door and letting the Torchline heat rush back in around her. "There’s this stretch where the orchards lean right over the water and the whole place smells like—" She stopped suddenly on the threshold. Her hand drifted slowly back toward the table behind them. "...Oh." Her nose wrinkled as realization caught up to her enthusiasm. "I may have been about to commit a very enthusiastic crime." She cackled, spinning around and hurriyingback toward the counter, fishing through her satchel for coins before the café staff could say a word.

FIN

Wild, open space
Talk like an open book