[o] [SE] everything that we should be

To kiss in cars and downtown bars
Was all we needed

Grief was something with which Sohalia was intimately familiar. Sometimes it seemed that everyone who had ever loved her was dead now - her parents, her guardian, her companion. As the only common factor between them all, it was easy for Soh to imagine that she was the bad luck charm that brought about their untimely demise, no matter how silly a notion that might have been. But grief was also something that Soh had long since learned to live with. It was the broken bond that haunted her: the part of her soul that had been cleaved from her chest, leaving only the tattered remains of a heart that no longer seemed to work quite like how it used to.

Shii rested upon her palm, and Soh didn't know what to do. Did one pet a will-o-wisp? Or was there some other sign of affection that she could offer the creature that was more light than substance, whispering its condolences in a language both unknown and fully understood? "I'm glad you're together again," she whispered. "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

Maea's distraction was a welcome one. Gently releasing Shii, Soh rose from the bench. "I was just on my way to my favorite fabric store," she replied. "I need fabric for Ludo's masque, and for a quest. I'd love some company. It's... easier, if I have other things to think about." Anything to keep the memories at bay. "So, tell me what's going on with you. Are you still in the Greatwood?"

You drew stars around my scars
But now I'm bleedin'

Sohalia