i'm still a believer but i don't know why

Sohalia

And isn't it just so pretty to think

It took a few minutes to extract themselves from the party. There was something to be said for this festival celebrating Tanau and its sheer size and level of chaos. Soh had never quite seen anything like it. There were so many people that it was difficult to find privacy in which to speak - and that was if Soh could even decide what to say. She'd gone back and forth on this moment so many times that she was no longer quite sure where her head was or if it was aligned with her heart.

Anani lay draped across her shoulders as they walked along, her cool scales pleasant in the suffocating heat. They passed vendors selling exotic foods and eclectic items, until they found a series of small canopies that seemed to be covering some seating areas. Most people were still dancing and milling around the bonfire or the vendors, so this little section of the Climb seemed quite deserted by comparison. It was as good a place as any, or so Sohalia supposed.

So she paused, looking around to meet Koa's copper eyes. "Is this okay?" she asked, gesturing to the spot. Despite the seating available, Soh remained standing, doing her best not to fidget. "Thanks for coming to talk." She wrung her hands. Sweat dripped down her spine despite Anani's best efforts at providing a light breeze. "...How are you?"

All along there was some invisible string tying you to me

Hear those bells ring deep in the soul
Chiming away for a moment

It takes some time to find their way out of the milling crowd, and in that time Koa can't help but feel his heartrate spike. Possibilities tumble like rocks through his mind, each one with a different potential outcome ranging from beautiful to dull. He isn't anxious, exactly, nor ruminating; moreso painfully aware that they approach a critical crossroads, a precipice, that things could be decided and futures unmade under the blistering sun.

At last Soh leads him to a shaded alcove, as quiet and private as they could hope to find at such an event. "Of course," he answers quickly to her pause, her gratitude, affixing a carefully inviting smile as he meets her silver gaze. Soh doesn't sit and so Koa doesn't, either, the both of them standing like awkward teenagers at a middle school dance.

He's shoved his left hand into his pocket, where it fidgets with something unseen; his left he raises to wipe the sweat that prickles on his neck. A wry chuckle is the response to her question. "I'm... well, y'know how it is." Turning his gaze back to the crowd, he Koa lets his shoulders shrug. "Taking things one day at a time, I guess. Trying to figure out what life looks like now."

Copper eyes drift back down to her, like magnets drawn toward a pole. He's trying to follow where she leads, to let her set the pace, even as anticipation shivers in his eyes. "What about you? All settled in Torchline?" He doesn't want to let himself presume, to push, to reach for more, not now, not after he's messed up so many times, and yet the desire to do so remains ever constant, thrumming like a heartbeat in his veins.

Koa Carpenter

Feel your breath course frankly below
And see life as a worthy opponent

Sohalia

And isn't it just so pretty to think

Maybe it was a silly question, and Soh felt a self-deprecating smile lift the corners of her lips. They were all just doing their best in the wake of Stormbreak's fall, and expecting anything other than that was like expecting rain in the desert. "Yeah," she said softly. "I get that. Things in Torchline are good, but..." She hesitated, unsure how to describe the way it felt like in Torchline, she would forever be just Flora's best friend and never anything more. "It's like you said, trying to figure out what life looks like now."

Silver eyes searched his, looking for any sign of what may come from this conversation and whether that life would proceed with him in it or without. Realizing suddenly that she'd begun to fidget with her fingers, she dropped them to hang loosely at her sides. Questions bubbled up in her throat, threatening to cascade out all at once, but in the end, there was only one that mattered. So, taking the smallest step towards Koa, she looked at him imploringly. "Koa... why did you leave?"

And maybe she didn't ask why he'd left her, but the question was still there, shining brightly in eyes that begged for a real answer.

All along there was some invisible string tying you to me