[SWE] Festival of Lights - 320PC

Sohalia

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

In truth, Soh hadn't known whether Zavien would want her company for this, not when one of the lanterns he carried was for his first love, lost far too soon to this world. In another life, they might still be together - something that lingered in the back of Soh's mind as they walked through the forest hand-in-hand. If Lena had lived, they wouldn't be here like this, and a part of Soh felt horribly guilty for daring to be happy when it was the direct result of her friend's death.

Another shriek lit the sky, and Zavien's hand tightened around hers. She squeezed back, hoping the gesture was a reassuring one. They hadn't said much since arriving. Perhaps they didn't need to. Zavien, she knew, was lost to his grief and his guilt, and as much as it bothered her that she couldn't be of help to him right now, she understood.

In her free hand, she carried several lanterns: two for her parents, simply decorated in swirls of light and color; one for Harper, who had been so close to a fatherly figure for her, before he'd died; and one for Lena, who had been a good friend to her and who Soh had failed to be there for in the end. The latter two were decorated with animals indicative of her friends' shifts, painstakingly painted by her own hand.

They came to a stop beneath a small tree, away from the festivities in a darker corner of the festival. Soh remained a quiet, supportive shadow at Zavien's side, not moving to place her own lanterns until he did so first.

---

Soh brings lanterns for her parents, Lena, and Harper. Her viable lantern for selection is for Harper.

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