am i right side up or upside down

The last few weeks had been hell, and the knowledge that Stormbreak was falling or had perhaps already fallen rattled around Sohalia’s mind on loop. Ever since Safrin had spirited them away from the city, Soh had been restless, waiting for the inevitable fall and hoping, praying, that they’d done enough. She was sure that everyone was out - they’d made sure, and Safrin had made sure - but what if they were wrong? She had nightmares about some random child, scared and alone, or some stray creature who hadn’t quite made it to the Celestine.

So she didn’t sleep. Instead, she did the one thing she could think to do: she flew to Torchline to see her best friend.

When she arrived at Wildering House, she was tired, dusty, and withdrawn. Her clothes were rumpled and travel-worn, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were puffy, like she’d been crying off and on (and she probably had). She went straight to the cabinet where her favorite spirit seemed to live (the one who liked offerings of pretty stones and flowers) and gave it a chunk of quartz and a note to deliver to Flora, hoping that it would find its way to her friend and let her know that Soh had arrived.

Then Soh went to the pool, where she promptly stripped down to her underwear and jumped in. Fed by the healing waters of Torchline’s fountain, Soh hoped that by the time Flora arrived, she’d feel rejuvenated. And if not, well, at least she’d been cooler than sh was five minutes ago.

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Flora is halfway through something forgettable; some ledger, some conversation, some obligation that dissolves the second the spirit finds her, fluttering and insistent, quartz clinking softly against the folded scrap of paper like a nervous habit. The handwriting is Soh’s. That alone is enough to pull the air out of her lungs, excitement blooming sharp and bright before dread slips its fingers underneath.

"Two cocktails," she calls to the spirits as she runs, bare feet slapping against cool stone. "And don’t be gentle." Glass clinks somewhere behind her, a pleased, anticipatory sound.

The sun is blinding when she bursts out onto the deck, the sea throwing light back at the house in fractured shards, and Flora’s mouth curves into a grin even as her chest tightens, because there she is—Sohalia, half-submerged—hair darkened by water, exhaustion clinging to her like a second skin. "Soh!" Flora calls, already tugging her shirt up and over her head, the fabric discarded without ceremony as her shorts follow, kicked aside with a flick of her foot. Gold rings glint as she takes the steps two at a time, barely slowing before she slips into the pool, the healing water closing over her shoulders like a held breath finally released.

She swims straight for her, arms wrapping around Soh without hesitation, without restraint, pulling her close until there’s no room left for distance or decorum. Dust, salt, travel-worn exhaustion, it all registers and then immediately stops mattering. Flora presses her face into Soh’s hair and exhales, the sound long and wrecked and deeply familiar. "Fuuuck," she murmurs, the word dissolving into a sigh that carries weeks of tension with it.

She pulls back just enough to see the Luminary properly, hands sliding up to cradle Sohalia’s cheeks, thumbs warm against damp skin as her gaze searches, catalogues, worries. The grin softens but doesn’t disappear; it just reshapes itself into something steadier, something that knows how to hold weight without dropping it. "How are you?" she asks, even as her brows knit, even as she’s already shaking her head. "No, that’s—" A quiet huff of breath, affectionate and resigned all at once. "I know you’re obviously not okay." Her hands stay where they are, grounding, present, thumbs brushing lightly as she meets Soh’s eyes again, voice gentler now, steadier. "Tell me how it went."

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

Soh heard her name a moment before arms engulfed her, wrapping around her in a sudden rush of sea salt and lilac. She burrowed her face instinctively into Flora’s shoulder, reaching to wrap her in a tight hug, clinging like the Doubletake might be the very last tether holding her to the earth. For a moment, time stood still, weeks’ worth of tension forgotten, and Soh was able to take the first deep breath she had taken in a month.

Then Flora pulled back, hands sliding to cup her cheeks, and it all came crashing back down again.

She wasn’t okay, it was true - but she also wasn’t falling apart. The time for that had come and gone, and now she’d accepted the cold reality of the situation in which she found herself. Stormbreak was gone - perhaps already destroyed - and there was nothing that she nor anyone else could do to change that. It wasn’t the past or even the present that she carried so heavily now. No, it was the future, and all the uncertainty that came with it.

”I think we got everyone out,” she croaked, voice dull and raspy from overuse. ”When the last skyship was gone, Zavien and Koa channeled Safrin, and she made sure that the city was empty and took the three of us, too. I came here once I made sure everyone was settled. I don’t… have you heard anything about it falling yet?”

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Flora’s aqua gaze doesn’t waver as Soh speaks, tracking every shift in her silver eyes, every rough edge in her voice, and when the words finally land—everyone out—she nods immediately, firmly, like she can physically hold that truth in place if she does it hard enough. "That’s really good," she murmurs, the praise quiet but solid, something meant to be leaned against.

Her breath leaves her in a slow exhale, and then she’s pulling Soh back in without asking, arms sliding around her shoulders and locking there, tight and deliberate, cheek resting against damp hair as the pool laps gently around them. There is nothing clever to say, nothing that would stitch this together or make the shape of it less jagged, so she doesn’t try. She just holds her, grounding and present, letting the silence do the work words can’t.

When she finally eases back, it’s with another soft sigh, fingers lingering for a moment at Soh’s arms before she lets them fall away. Her head tips slightly, curls darkened by water clinging to her neck as she shakes it. "No," Flora says gently. "Nothing yet." Her mouth twists, just a little. "We might be able to see it from the coast, though." The thought makes her wince, shoulders lifting and settling again as she tilts her head, eyes flicking briefly toward the horizon beyond the balustrade before returning to Soh. "Maybe it’s better not to watch," she adds, quieter, like she’s convincing herself as much as anyone.

Her gaze steadies again, concern threading through the warmth as she searches Soh’s face. "How are Zavien and Koa holding up?"

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

That's really good, said Flora, and Soh offered a sad, tired smile as she accepted the praise. It was good, she knew that, but gods if it didn't ache to have her last memory of her home be of it empty and dying. She'd much rather remember busy market days, looking out over everything from her office in the Tower, listening to the hum of the city far below. The silence that haunted her now was wrong, and yet it was all she could hear when she closed her eyes and tried to picture Stormbreak in its prime.

For a while, Flora simply held her as the water lapped around them, gently easing aches and pains that Soh hadn't even realized were there. She said nothing for the longest time. There was nothing more to say, only a bone-deep sadness that hurt more than any physical injury ever could - and Soh had had her fair share.

That Stormbreak had not yet fallen was both a blessing and a curse; Soh knew herself well enough to know that she would sit in the window seat in her room, watching for its destruction, unless Flora kept her occupied. "Probably," she agreed, but there was no emotion in it - only a strained depression that Soh couldn't quite hide. At Flora's question, though, her gaze focuses on the Doubletake, the query drawing her back to a place from which she can function. "I'm not sure," she said. "I don't know where they ended up when Safrin sent us out of the city. But before, they were... well, I don't know if they were ready, but I think we'd all accepted what was coming."

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

They’re close enough now that the water barely moves between them, and Flora lifts a hand to brush a few pale strands of Soh’s hair back from her cheek, the gesture slow and careful, like she’s handling something already cracked. Her nod is small but weighted. I "don’t think any of you would ever really be ready," she says softly, a sad smile tugging at her mouth even as it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Ready is such a clean word for something that rips this much out of you.

For a moment she just looks at her, thumb resting lightly near Soh’s temple, taking in the hollowed tiredness that no amount of healing water can touch. Then, inevitably—because grief doesn’t stop her from being herself, because sometimes it’s easier to step sideways than stare straight at the wound—Flora tilts her head. "I kind of thought Koa might’ve come with you," she admits, tone gentle but curious, gaze flicking up through her lashes. "What with Noe and Kai being here and all."

One brow lifts, just slightly, the familiar glimmer of mischief peeking through the sadness like sunlight through stormclouds. "Does that mean you and him are...over, or..?"

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

The shift, when it came, was a welcome one. The fall of Stormbreak was so heavy that Soh's nonexistent love life was almost a relief to discuss in comparison. The city was going to collapse, and there was nothing she could do about that - but she still had some semblance of control over her choices, and Koa? Well, Koa was currently a choice.

And because it was Flora, and gods knew that they'd spent their fair share of time talking about the Dragoon (former Dragoon?), Soh tilted her head back and made a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh. "Gods, I don't know," she admitted. "I thought we were. He ghosted me, after your party, so I thought that was it, you know? But then he just appeared in Stormbreak, saying he wanted to be here for me through all this with Stormbreak. He offered to leave... but that's not what I want. Even if nothing romantic happens, I just... I just wish we could be... normal, I guess?"

She shrugged, as though waving it all off. "But like... I don't know where we stand. One minute he's been gone for seasons, and the next he's promising to talk, and the next he's asking me to shower with him?? And, honestly, I just... I don't even know anymore. So much has happened - on both sides - that it just sort of feels like that ship has sailed." Silver eyes turned to Flora, wistful and bemused in equal measure. "But then, I've spent so long hoping, and I guess a part of me still wants to see what we could be, if we had the chance."

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Flora listens the way she always does when it’s Soh—fully, greedily, like every word matters and also like she’s mentally filing half of it away under juicy. Her attention is bright and intent, chin tipped up slightly, eyes fixed on Soh’s face as the story unspools, sympathy and recognition threading together because gods knew Soh had held space for far too much of Flora’s romantic shrapnel over the last year.

Her mouth drops open with theatrical precision, the reaction so immediate it almost sends a ripple through the water between them as Soh mentions that Koa had asked her to shower with him. "I’m sorry," Flora blurts, incredulous and delighted in equal measure, "what?" Her head tilts sharply to the side, curls slipping wetly over one shoulder as she stares at Soh, imploring and disbelieving all at once, before she has to shake her head to disguise the laugh trying to claw its way out of her chest. "No, because—" A huffed breath, shoulders lifting. "Honestly? That sounds exactly like something Koa would do." He'd disappeared on Flora once too, and then shown up like nothing had happened, like they could just fall back into each other's arms as easily as anything else. And Flora had. Still, she winces immediately, lifting a hand. "Not that I know Koa better than you do," she adds quickly, mouth twisting, because for everything that summer had held for she and the dragoon, it was nothing to what had sparked between him and the Luminary.

Her gaze flicks over Soh’s shoulder then, a quick glance toward the open stretch of pool, and she tips her chin slightly. The house responds like it’s been waiting for a cue; water shifts, displaced by something large and buoyant drifting in from the edge, followed by another, the spirits clearly pleased with themselves. Flora turns back just as two oversized floaties glide into reach, both of them unmistakably shaped like tumseas, their carved grins faintly ridiculous. She groans affectionately, rolling her eyes skyward. "Gods, what a mess."

She reaches out, grabs the tumsea floatie, and with a practiced little hop hoists herself onto it, water sloshing softly as she settles astride, forearms draped over its neck. Gold rings catch the sun as she exhales, long and thoughtful. "Okay," she says, squinting slightly as she lines it all up in her head. "So. Options." She ticks them off with a lazy tilt of her fingers. "Option one: you see where things go with Koa, knowing full well that he could absolutely break your heart for—what—like the third time?" Her mouth twists, honest but not cruel. "But also maybe it ends really well. Maybe it’s worth the risk because you two have been going round and round for, like, years now."

Her eyes slide back to Soh, playful light creeping in despite everything. "Orrrrrrrrrrrr—" The word stretches, singsong and deliberate. "Maybe you find your own Kaisel." Her brows lift meaningfully, a smile threading its way into her voice despite herself. "I never thought of Kai as anything other than Koa’s cousin," she admits, shrugging one shoulder. "And then one day everything just...changed, and now I've literally never been happier, and he was right there all along." The grin softens as she looks at her friend, fond and earnest beneath the teasing. "Maybe that’s what you need."

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

Flora's laugh was unexpected but not unwelcome, and a small smile curled Soh's lips in response. Suddenly, the whole situation seemed a lot funnier than she had considered it being even a moment prior. Then she was laughing too, climbing onto her oversized floatie as though nothing was amiss. This was just another Tuesday at Wildering House. She was just visiting her best friend to gossip and bond. Stormbreak wasn't falling. Her life wasn't a mess. Everything was exactly as it should be.

(Or we can pretend, for a moment.)

Leaning lazily upon her tumsea, Soh watched as Flora ticked off her options, weighing them as she splashed a foot idly in the cool water. The Doubletake had a point; it certainly seemed like, just when Flora had least expected it, Kai had arrived to sweep her off her feet. Maybe Soh just needed to stop trying so hard. "You know what my problem is?" she wondered aloud. "I just hate feeling alone. I just... see happy couples and I just want that, you know? But maybe that means I'm looking too hard or something, and I just need to sit back and wait and be patient." She made a face, as though the prospect was truly horrifying to contemplate.

"But speaking of Kai," Soh said, abruptly sitting up as straight as she could on the floatie. "Tell me everything. What have I missed? I feel like we haven't been able to catch up in ages."

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Flora’s head tips in immediate, emphatic understanding, the tumsea bobbing beneath her as she nods a little too hard. "I know," she says, soft but absolute, eyes warm on Soh’s face. "I really do." Her mouth curves, gentler now. "But now that you’re back in Torchline, you won’t have to be alone." She gestures vaguely with one hand, water slipping through her fingers. "You’ve got me, obviously. And the spirits—" as if summoned by the mention, something unseen sloshes the water approvingly "—and with Mateo and Enzo in the house, there is always someone around for coffee dates or questionable shenanigans. You won’t be rattling around by yourself unless you want to."

Her tone shifts then, grounding without turning heavy. "And if Koa isn’t the one, then he just...isn’t. If you stay hung up on him, maybe you’re missing out on something really good." Her lips press together briefly, a glance skimming the water. "I nearly missed out on Kai because of Jack," she admits quietly, not lingering on it, just letting the truth sit where it belongs.

Then Soh asks about Kaisel, and Flora absolutely lights up. The smile hits first, growing too fast, too bright, until she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep it from completely running away with her. She glances down at her left hand without quite meaning to, eyes catching on the sparkly orange hair tie looped around her wrist, and she has to inhale sharply, like she’s physically holding back a little scream of joy threatening to burst out of her throat. She paddles closer, tumsea nudging against Soh’s floatie as she leans in, conspiratorial and vibrating with barely contained excitement. "Okay," she says, already grinning so hard it’s difficult to get the words out, "don’t freak out, but—"

The pause is useless. She laughs, breathless, and then it all spills out in one rush, barely contained by lungs or sense. "Kai and I got secretly married last week."

Flora sucks in another breath and just keeps going, words tumbling over each other, hands gesturing helplessly as if she might catch them. "We hadn’t planned to do it, and obviously there is going to be a real wedding later where you will be my maid of honour, but...well, Kai had flown up to the Cordillera after I'd run into Jack. I was an absolute wreck and one thing had turned into another and he just happened to already have my engagement ring with him since he was going to ask anyway, and so he proposed, and suddenly it felt like making that promise permanent seemed like the most important thing, so I channelled Safrin and...yeah." All of it pours out in one long, exhilarated exhale, leaving Flora flushed and slightly breathless.

When she finally stops, she’s laughing softly, looking down at her left hand again like she still can’t quite believe it. "He hasn’t even had a chance to talk to my dads yet," she adds, fond and a little awed. "And we knew Asta was going to propose to Danta, so we didn’t want to steal their thunder." Her smile lingers there, bright and full and unmistakably real, before she looks back up at Soh, eyes shining.

"The plan is to tell everyone in a week or so, so that it isn't right after Asta, but...yeah."

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

Sohalia bobbed along on her tumsea floatie, reaching to trail one hand lazily in the water. The plus side of the pool being fed by the healing fountain was that at least she physically felt better, muscles relaxing in a way they hadn't in weeks, and she found that she suddenly wanted nothing more than a nap. For one thing, Flora was right; for another, worrying about it all wasn't going to make a bit of difference.

But before she could sink further onto her tumsea, Flora was scooting closer through the water, something soft and yet conspiratorial in her smile. Soh expected the excitement - after all, Flora was head over heels in love, and she deserved every bit of happiness that Kai brought her - but at the grand reveal, the Luminary almost fell off her floatie. "You what?" she half-shrieked, delight and awe and surprise warring for space in her expression. "Flora!!"

Somehow Soh managed to listen, despite the fact that she was practically beside herself, vibrating with questions and emotions that she wasn't quite sure what to do with. "Oh, my gods," Soh squealed when Flora had finished. "Oh, my GODS!" She reached out to grasp Flora's hand, squeezing tight in lieu of a real hug that would take them both off their floaties; then, promptly abandoning that plan, she tugged Flora into the water with a splash so that she could wrap her arms around her friend. "Congratulations," she breathed into Flora's damp hair.

Then, pulling away, she reached for Flora's hand. "Okay, so, ring?" she demanded. "And did you say you channeled Safrin to do it?" Their floaties drifted away, only to be pushed closer by the helpful household spirits. Soh ignored them, unwilling to let Flora go until she got all the answers. "I'm so happy for you!"

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Soh’s reaction hits her like a second sun. Flora’s laugh breaks free, bright and unguarded, the kind that comes from somewhere behind the ribs rather than the throat, and when Soh yanks her off the floatie she goes willingly, splashing into the pool with a delighted sound and wrapping her arms around Soh’s neck without hesitation. She holds her there, cheek pressed into damp hair, joy humming so loudly through her that it almost feels unreal, like she’s stepped slightly out of her own body and into something lighter.

When she pulls back, it’s only far enough to grin at the Luminary properly, wild and unchecked and very nearly glowing. "It’s inside," she says breathlessly, nodding toward the house. "I’ll show you. It—" A small, helpless laugh escapes her. "It basically looks like a flower, made out of a bunch of different stones." In gold, of course. Her voice softens, awe slipping in around the edges. "And every morning it has this magic so that there's a flower beside my bed," she adds, quieter now. "Always a different one."

The words land with a sigh, giddy and unabashed, because yes, maybe flower things are corny when your name is Flora, but waking up every day with something living and beautiful left there like proof of Kai's love feels like magic she still hasn’t adjusted to. Her smile turns a little dazed as she shakes her head, curls clinging wetly to her shoulders.

"And yeah, Safrin. It was super romantic." She lifts her left hand, water beading along her skin, the sparkly orange hair tie looped around her wrist catching the light. "We used hair ties for wedding bands," she explains, clearly still a little in awe of it. "I'd told Kai that I'd marry him with nothing more than a hairtie before, so it kinda fit. Then Safrin made them sparkle. We figured this way we could wear them all the time and still keep it a secret."

The floaties bump insistently at their sides, nudged by well-meaning spirits, but Flora ignores them entirely, too far gone to care. She exhales, long and dreamy, shoulders sinking as if the feeling itself might carry her. "I’ve literally never been this happy before," she says, shaking her head again in disbelief, the grin refusing to be contained any longer.

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky

Maybe flower things were corny, but who ever said that corny was bad? Soh had never said such a thing; in fact, she sighed happily at the thought of a flower blooming by Flora's pillow every morning, a constant reminder of how very loved she was. "But that's so romantic," she squealed. Then, because she was fairly impressed with Kaisel and couldn't help but share it, she laughed and added, "Way to go, Kai!"

Flora lifted her left hand, showing off a sparkling orange hair tie that Soh hadn't noticed before, and the Luminary caught Flora's hand in her own so that she could inspect it more closely. To anyone else - including her - it just looked like an ordinary hair tie. But to Flora and Kaisel, it was so much more, and that was all that mattered. "You deserve to be happy," she said as she released Flora's hand. "Honestly. You give so much of yourself to everyone around you. This is exactly the kind of love that you should have."

The tumseas continued their insistent nudging, and Soh giggled at the sight they probably made. Two women floating in the pool in their underwear, followed around by seemingly magical floaties, squealing and shrieking and just generally acting the fools; it was more than she could have dreamed, and she was so glad to finally have some good news in her life that she clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait for the second wedding," she said. "Gods, we have to talk about what you want for your bachelorette party! Or do you not get one now?" she added with a wink. "What season are you thinking? Will you do it here, or...?"

When memories fade we've got each other
When time and confusion collide

Sohalia

Flora

Flora is still fizzing, still buoyant with it, like the joy has made her lighter than the water itself. She nods quickly, curls flicking droplets everywhere. "I knew he was planning on proposing," she admits, laughing softly, "but we hadn’t even talked about rings or anything." Her gaze dips instinctively toward her hand even though the ring itself is tucked safely away inside, and her smile melts into something almost reverent. "And what he picked is just...perfect."

She reaches for Soh’s hand again, giving it a tight, affectionate squeeze, eyes bright and a little glassy with it all. "I feel so lucky," she says, the words coming out warm and breathless. A small laugh escapes her as she shakes her head. "Especially because I never even thought of Kai that way for so long. And now I keep thinking...what if I’d never let myself take that chance with him? All of this would just be...gone."

The thought makes her shiver despite the heat, and then she laughs it off, the sound bright and ringing. "And of course I get a bachelorette party," Flora declares immediately, like the idea itself is delightful beyond reason. At Soh’s rapid-fire questions she huffs out a laugh, shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug. "I haven’t even really thought about any of it yet," she confesses, nudging Soh gently with her hip, tumseas bobbing around them like eager witnesses. "I was kind of hoping my maid of honour would help me figure all that out."

Her smile softens then, losing just a little of its sparkle to make room for something earnest and open as she looks back at Soh. "If you want to," Flora adds quietly, knowing that for all her enthusiasm, Soh had more than enough on her plate these days.

I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in

Code stolen from Queen Sky