[SE] burned us down

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

Fortunately for Sohalia, the man seemed to take her at her word, lowering his sword and offering a friendly smile. She returned it cautiously, still not particularly keen to trust a stranger, torn between her trusting nature and her recent experiences. "Oh," she said, "I was just lost in thought. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings." It seemed she'd yet to learn her lesson, and both she and Tarak had been so fixated on the Void River Stars that neither of them had been particularly aware of someone approaching. She felt a pulse of guilt through her bond with her companion and glanced up at the griffin to smile ruefully. They would learn. They would have to.

The stranger proved himself useful, using the tip of his sword to flick a star out of the water. Tarak swooped down on it eagerly, blasting it with a burst of fire before returning to the tree branch where he'd started. There he crouched, tail flicking back and forth as he stalked the others still in the water with his eyes. Soh fought the urge to laugh. Her companion never seemed particularly intimidating, but he certainly had a hunter's heart.

"It's nice to meet you, Zavien," she said, oblivious to the confusion cascading through the man as he realized who she was. Perhaps, had she known, she might have been able to relax a little. If he was a friend of her friends, then he couldn't be that bad, right? But alas, she didn't know, and she didn't recognize his name, for all that she was from his home region. Instead, she offered small talk: "What brings you to King's End?"

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning