once in twenty lifetimes

Late nights, all entwined
Made a promise to never say goodbye

Sohalia let out a watery chuckle, nudging Tal affectionately with her shoulder. She was about to respond when she suddenly sat up straight, her form going rigid as she focused on the tip of her rod, which had twitched downward - or was that her imagination?

No, it definitely moved - and there it was again!

With a squeal of glee, her self-pity and self-loathing momentarily forgotten, she yanked on her rod (likely nearly smacking poor Boreal in the face) and began to reel furiously. She wasn't much of an angler, but fortunately, the fish on her hook didn't put up much of a fight, and in the end, she pulled what could only be a whisper fish out of the water. "I did it!" she crowed, holding up her prize and turning to Tal with a brilliant smile. "This has got to be a whisper fish, right?"

I replay it in the back of my mind
Over and over again

Sohalia

Chuckling was good. Chuckling was very good, even if there were still some tears in it. Tal relaxed against Soh's side - and then almost fell over when she straightened away from him, leaving him to catch his balance with a swallowed yelp of surprise. "Wha--?" He followed her gaze to the tip of her pole, eyes widening as he saw it move the second time, and then he let out a quiet whoop! of excitement as she pulled the fish in.

Boreal was forced to duck, a rumble of wounded shock coming from the dragon as she flattened herself against the dock and then looked up at her friend reproachfully, but for once the humans ignored her plight as they focused on the fish that hung from Soh's line.

"You did!" Tal agreed, sharing his friend's excitement - and scrambling back out of the way so he didn't get a fish to the face. "An' prob'ly, yeah! Quick, hold it up t'your ear an' see if it whispers any secrets t'you!"

Late nights, all entwined
Made a promise to never say goodbye

With Boreal momentarily forgotten (sorry, friend!), Sohalia held up her line in one hand, practically vibrating with glee. It was the last task of her quest, and she could finally return to Frey with her head held high! She'd worry about how they would receive her after taking so gods-cursed long later. Right now was a time for celebration!

With Tal's encouragement, she held the fish rather closer to her face than she'd have liked, tilting her head to see if she could hear anything. Sure enough, the fish monologued a few lines of a rather obscure Fae fable, and Soh giggled in response. "Want to listen?" she asked Tal, offering him the fish. "Quick, before I throw it back!"

I replay it in the back of my mind
Over and over again

Sohalia

He didn't even have to ask; Soh's giggle said it all. The fish was definitely whispering something to her, and Tal just hoped it wasn't one of his own secrets! Not that he had many, but some things a guy liked to keep to himself. He grinned and leaned forward at her offer, turning his head to put his ear up close to the fish that his friend was kindly holding out--

The whisper fish chose that moment to flex and twist on the end the line and Tal ended up with a face full of wet, fishy tail and scales. He jerked back, spitting slime and shaking the water out of his eyes as he glared at the sassy fish that was one slap away from being a fillet. "Nothin' good comes outta melted snow," he grumbled, doing his best to ignore his dragon who had collapsed on the dock beside Sohalia, wheezing a smoky chortle so hard her wings shook. "I didn't want t'hear it's stupid secrets anyways. Let's get outta hear an' find Frey's shrine!"

Late nights, all entwined
Made a promise to never say goodbye

Soh couldn't help it. As the whisper fish smacked Tal in the face, she burst into laughter, joining Boreal in merriment at the courier's expense. "Oh, sorry, Tal," she gasped between fits of laughter. "It's just, that's the funniest thing I've seen in ages." And it was true. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to laugh like this, with joy and light and fun. When was the last time she'd let go and truly just enjoyed a moment?

The thought was oddly sobering, and she was able to quiet her laughter to fall into a wistful sort of silence. At least now she could finally finish her quest, even if she wasn't sure what she was going to do with the HEARings without Jude to share them with. But that was a problem for later. For now, she nodded eagerly. "Let's go!"

And off they went.

fin

I replay it in the back of my mind
Over and over again

Sohalia