Temperamental

It was not that he had deliberately avoided Hak Etme since gaining legs. The desert had nothing that he needed, and there was no reason for him to go there. He was a busy man who had enough to keep him busy in other lands, but when Safrin gave him a quest he did not shy away from the more difficult aspects of it.

To temper his armlet in light he had come to the legendary Sunshine Pools of Hak Etme, though he had not come alone. Noe Carpenter accompanied him, after a chance meeting in Torchline revealed that she had no experience with the desert either. His Moon Warp ability allowed him to bring another person with him, and though they had to take steps across several regions to reach it, they did eventually come to the shores of the sulfur pools shortly before dawn.

The smell of the place assaulted his senses first, and plans for a leisurely breakfast while they waited for sunrise were somewhat dashed by the rank odor of rotten eggs that permeated the area. It was also unexpectedly chilly, at least until the sun was over the horizon and warming the sands and baked earth around them to a more pleasant temperature. As noon approached, however, Hadama unslung his trident from his back and hooked his silver armlet over one of the weapon's starlit tines, considering the best way to lower it into one of the pools without it slipping off the end. "Do you have any recommendations?" he asked the nearby engineer politely, open to advice if she had any to offer.

Why you got it in for me?
Is it cause I bring it to your knees?

The Sunshine Pools reeked.

Noe had never been to Hak Etme, nor had she ever had a particular desire to go there, but when she'd run into Hadama in Torchline and learned of his quest, she'd been more than happy to go exploring. Or at least she had been until they'd arrived, and then she'd followed Hadama into the desert with her nose scrunched slightly with disgust. Mika, unbothered by the sulfuric scent, twined around her neck, peering out over the bright pools of water. Noe was only slightly jealous of the little mata mata and how easily she took the smell in stride.

Other than that, though, the area was pretty. Fragile, white crystals surrounded the pools, crunching under their feet as they traversed the terrain. The pools themselves were clear blue, matching the color of the sky as noon approached.

Noe watched with rapt fascination as Hadama hooked a silver armlet over one of his trident's tines. Then she pulled the leather thong that she'd used to tie her hair back free, offering it to Hadama. "Here - we can use this to tie it in place so it doesn't slip."

Throw water on electricity just to see
If the spark'll make us feel the way we used to feel

Noe

Hadama did not subscribe to the idea that misery loved company, but he could not argue that there was an odd comfort in knowing that this trial by scent was shared by another. He would never admit it, but he was grateful for Noe's presence, if only so that she could later attest to the sheer force of the sulfuric assault.

Some of the pools that they passed were singular colors: sky blue, or brick red, or a yellow more often found on corn or pansies. Others were rainbow-hued, deep blue in the center brightening to concentric rings of brilliant color towards the edges. There was a beauty in their poison, a sweet lethality that beckoned the foolish toe to dip into a beautiful pool that would boil it in seconds.

Hadama recognized their kinship to the deep sea vents of his own territory, and respected them far too much to attempt to touch their waters himself. "Thank you," he answered Noe solemnly, accepting the hair tie and using it to secure the bangle tightly to the trident so it would not slip off so easily. "Have you given further thought to moving to Torchline?" Emerald eyes gleamed as he glanced over at her, a gentle reminder that he had not given up hope of recruiting her talents to the coastal region's sunny shores.

Why you got it in for me?
Is it cause I bring it to your knees?

Hadama accepted the offered hair tie, and Noe watched as he used it to tie the armlet securely to the trident. God quests required the strangest tasks, she thought, but she supposed that such things were more symbolic than anything else. After all, she very much doubted that Safrin required the bangle to be dipped in sulfur water to be able to do whatever it was she needed to do to it, and yet, here they were, proving that Hadama was worthy of such a gift.

The girl started when the merking asked her a question, and she was glad she didn't blush easily as she answered, "A little." She bit her lip. "I really wanted to be closer to Jude, but he's staying with us in Stormbreak now, so... I don't know. I like Torchline, but..." She shrugged. To leave her family and all she'd ever known to strike out in a new region seemed... ill-advised. Even if it meant staying in an objectively more dangerous location.

Throw water on electricity just to see
If the spark'll make us feel the way we used to feel

Noe

As with most quests from the gods, it was the intention and the effort more than the final result that truly seemed to matter. He might have been able to simply lay the armlet out on a sunny rock in Torchline to complete the task, but that was not Hadama's way. He bent his full effort to the task and fulfilling not merely the letter but the spirit of it. And that meant seeking out the sulfurous pools of 'light' in Hak Etme, hot enough to burn - and to temper.

He lowered the armlet carefully into the water at the full extension of his reach and weapon so that he did not have to stand quite so dangerously close to the deadly pool they had chosen. His eyes were fixed firmly on the metal, but his ears were tuned to Noe and he heard the hesitation in her voice. What she said, and what she left unsaid.

"I understand." His voice was gentle, and if there was disappointment that the engineer's plans had changed there was also acceptance of her choice. "Do you know Jude well?" He had been unaware that the two knew each other at all, and given that the young man's last love interest had been removed from her throne by the Family he had not expected to hear that he had moved to Stormbreak in the seasons since.

Why you got it in for me?
Is it cause I bring it to your knees?

Hadama lowered the armlet into the pool, and Noe raised a brow at the casual show of strength. She wasn't a particularly physical girl, but she knew that holding the trident extended like that for any length of time required more than she personally had to give, and her estimation of Torchline's king - already high - rose further.

A part of her wished it would be so simple as to pack up and move to Torchline. She'd loved the sandy beaches and the bustling city, after all, and she could certainly see herself thriving there. But at the end of the day, Stormbreak was where her family was. Where her friends were. Even if she wasn't particularly tied to the region itself... home was where the heart was, and her heart was firmly in Stormbreak's vast network of cobbled streets.

"He's my best friend," she said of Jude, ignoring the fact that that didn't quite answer the question. She'd met the young man during a vulnerable period of his life, and things had only gotten more precarious over their friendship. She loved him dearly, but to claim that she knew him well... well, sometimes she had to wonder.

Throw water on electricity just to see
If the spark'll make us feel the way we used to feel

Noe

Although Hadama may have made the task look easy, it was assuredly not. Even the demigod's great strength was taxed to hold the weapon out as he did, the muscles of his forearm bunched and taut beneath his gold-scarred skin, the veins in clear relief. Nevertheless, he held his trident without a tremble and his face remained serene if focused as he watched the armlet where it wavered beneath the surface of the pool, catching the light of the sun above and tempering in the heat of the water around it.

But he was a man of several talents, and he could listen just as intently to Noe as she spoke of her life and her plans. And of Jude, a young man in need of a home and a harbor. A harbor he had always thought was in Torchline. Hearing that he had moved to Stormbreak without a word...

His expression didn't change, but he thought of another young woman who had once called Harper's son her best friend. "Mmn." And whether he believed Noe's claim or not, he accepted her words without argument, only thoughtful curiosity. "Would you follow him to another region if he moves again?"

Why you got it in for me?
Is it cause I bring it to your knees?

In Noe’s mind, there was no one else but her when it came to Jude. Oh, sure, she knew of Sohalia, but she had forfeited any claim to Jude’s friendship when she had callously hurt him - and, by the same token, when she’d hurt Koa. Noe had many reasons to dislike the Luminary, and they were all a result of the two most important people in her life.

Still, despite her affection for Jude, Stormbreak was her home. Her family was there. She’d started a business there. Even if it wasn’t much, it was still a life there, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to leave it now that it had finally begun. ”I don’t know,” she said finally, her words ringing with honesty. ”Maybe. With everything going on, deciding where to live hasn’t really been something I’ve thought about, y‘know?”

Throw water on electricity just to see
If the spark'll make us feel the way we used to feel

Noe

Noe spoke of uncertainty and Hadama nodded slowly in acknowledgment. He neither needed nor expected an easy answer to the question he posed, but merely for the engineer to start thinking about where her priorities would lie should Jude choose to move again. Whether that would be a return to Torchline, a shift to a nomadic lifestyle, or some other place the Tidebreaker could not guess. It was surprise enough that the young man had chosen Stormbreak and the Family's second stronghold on Caido.

Would he remain there if Sohalia took back her crown?

He turned his trident thoughtfully, watching the play of light over metal as the armlet sparkled beneath the surface. Judging that the tempering was enough - and that his arm could not remain at full extension much longer - he carefully withdrew his weapon and its precious charge. His shoulders relaxed with relief as blood began to flow more freely through his forearm again and he pointed the tines of his weapon away and towards the ground so they could drip freely without catching himself or Noe in the boiling drops.

"Indeed. And there is no hurry to decide." Not, at least, until the Family began moving again in earnest. And that was something they could not control. "Are there any other areas of Hak Etme you want to see while we are here?" The sands were not exactly welcoming, but Deepfrost seemed to be a less... brutal time to visit the desert, at least.

Why you got it in for me?
Is it cause I bring it to your knees?

Hadama was quiet, but that had never bothered Noe. In fact, she rather admired that he listened more than he spoke. And since she was talkative, she was happy to fill the silence - or, at least, she was happy to until he asked her questions to which she had no answer. Not that she was bothered, per se; they simply forced her to turn inward and reflect.

She’d been doing a lot of that lately.

Hadama’s armlet, it seemed, had been tempered enough. At the suggestion that there might be other areas to explore, Noe shrugged. ”I’m not sure. I haven’t traveled much, but I can’t say the desert is very exciting.” Still, she was happy to stay with Hadama for however long he wanted to stray through the region.

fin

Throw water on electricity just to see
If the spark'll make us feel the way we used to feel

Noe