good and bad end up in the song

Noe hadn't been back to Torchline since Stormbreak's fall, as though seeing a hustling, bustling metropolis might be too much to bear given her home's destruction. But now that she had a new path to follow, coming back was almost refreshing: one last taste of civilization before she departed for the very different sand and sun of Hak Etme. 

She was all set to meet Kaisel - who she was sure would be dumbfounded by her admittedly kind of sketchy plans - at a cafe by the water, a small one with some of the best coffee she'd ever had. Maybe she could talk Colt into importing some. Gods knew they would need their caffeine for the work they had ahead of them.

Arriving at the appointed meeting spot, Noe found an open bench outside the cafe and took a seat. Mika twined around her neck, a silent necklace that she was rarely seen without. It was a cool day for Torchline, but still pleasant, and as she waited, Noe turned her face up into the sun, as though tanning was the only thing on her agenda just now.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

Kaisel appears behind her, perfectly standing to cast his shadow over her sun, darkening her door in the least ominous way possible. ”NoooooOoooooe!” he trills in greeting, stooping to hug her while she sits, threatening briefly to pick her and the chair up as a whole and wrestle them both against his chest for a moment, death by affectionate suffocation.

”What the fuck is up girl?” he demands as he releases her, flipping her hair away from her shoulder as he departs, unable to resist the potential of fucking with her, even in small ways. It’s love. He sinks into his own chair across from her, the plop so abrupt that the momentum tips him back onto the hind legs only for a moment, but as if this had always been part of the plan his toe has deftly hooked around the table’s base and he doesn't topple over, just neatly clicks back forward and slides his elbows onto the table.

Lowering his shades his gaze peers over at her, not bothering with the menu yet. ”I’m glad you asked to meet, you’ve been kinda…” Distant, he wants to say, but bites it back. Pointing it out only seems like it’ll invite defense, even if they’ve been in the same city and it feels like he’s seen her less than when he last lived apart from her. Everything she went through with the Family, the effect Stormbreak’s loss had on them on, the way Koa has also become a quieter force these days. Growing up, man, it fucking sucks. ”I’ve missed you.”

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

A sudden shade blocked her sun, and Noe frowned up at Kaisel, wrinkling her nose playfully as he greeted her with all the affection due. "Oh my gods, Kaisel!" she half-shrieked as he stooped to hug her, but she was laughing even as he threatened to pick up both her and her chair both. He released her at last, flicking her hair off her shoulder; Noe huffed, running her hands through the dark strands as if realigning them all after his fuckery.

He plopped into the chair across from her in a way that was both graceful and graceless at once, and Noe snorted with amusement. Pursing her lips, she leaned back in her own seat, crossing her arms over her chest. She might have been prepared to go on the defensive, but he didn't finish his sentence, instead opting for something quieter, more real, and Noe softened in response. "I've missed you, too."

But there was only so much time available for sweetness, and Noe quickly shifted forward, leaning on her elbows as she fluttered her lashes dangerously in Kaisel's direction. "So you're getting married and I had to find out via the stars?" she demanded. "I mean, bonus points for romance or whatever, but, come on!"

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

His smile stretches out with all the length of sun-warmed taffy, and just as sweet. ”Then it’s settled, we’ll miss each other less by seeing each other more. No point in us both suffering.” Might have considered it if she didn’t miss him at all.

The moment passes as swiftly as fries in the hands of tourists around Hels. ”Oh shit,” he tilts back into a laugh, lurching into thhe back of his chair, his hands coming up to rub at and squish his face as the burn of shame settles. ”You’re so right, that’s my bad.” He’s started to collect a few secrets these days, which is a challenge for a motor mouth, and he’s lost track of what and who he can tell so has opted for silence out of survival. Especially since even when he thinks he’s being very clever, like telling someone to get a manicure, it’s evidently not at all.

”It all kinda happened suddenly.” Not a lie, not entirely. Marrying Flora had long been the plan, but then when, the how, the stars, those had all been rather quick and he’d been far too wrapped up in said romance during the little planning there had been to really think of telling anyone. ”Fuck, I should probably write mom and uncle,” he sighs, arms flopping back onto the table.

One eyebrow cocks up though, tugging that side of his smile back into view. ”It was romantic as hell though, right?” His grin is catching fire and spreading back across his face. ”I’ve never been this happy Noe.” Not that he’s been so very unhappy, but being loved by Flora, it’s like finally understanding the definition of joy. Everything else before pales in comparison, even pulling off a really good prank.

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

"Deal," she said with a carefree smile. It was strange, how she felt these days, like everything that had happened with the Family was just a bad dream. Sometimes she still wondered what life would have been like if they - or at least Vox - had stayed, and sometimes she still woke up in a cold sweat from the nightmares, but overall? She was back to the vivacious girl she'd been in the time before.

In any case, she was quick to tease him for his choices in love, and she propped her head on her hand as she gaped at him. "Oh my gods, you didn't tell your mom?" she half-shrieked, laughing with both astonishment and because it was just so Kaisel. "She's going to kill you." Grinning, she added, "Better make sure she gets the first official wedding invite to make up for it."

And then Kaisel was smiling in that sappy, sweet way of someone hopelessly in love, and Noe's mouth quirked up at the corners in response, genuinely happy to see her cousin so... joyful. "I'm happy for you," she said, no hint of a joke in her tone. "Seriously, Kai. I think we all deserve a little happiness, you know?" After everything they'd been through, certainly.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

The response she provides is confirmation of how deep in shit he is, making his fluster rise all the higher up his face. "I know, I know," he complains, the words of a dead man, it'd seem. Her suggestion is a fray in the noose though, and his hope of survival latches onto it quickly. "Oh that is such a good idea!" He'll even make a point to hand-deliver it. "Although we still need to figure out a date, and what the invites look like... so maybe I send her flowers for now." He could probably snipe some from all the arrangements Mateo leaves around. Surely if he plucks one per vase the botanist will never notice.

The sincerity has lasted too long and it feels weird. Koa might be the footsteps he's always tried to follow in, but Noe's closer in age to him, so she's always been more the one he's walked beside, actively trying to trip the entire time. "You sound just like a greeting card," he says blowing out a raspberry, the truth of his gratitude folded into the smile on the edges. He's Mr. Hallmark himself sometimes, but he's not about to let her get away with it. Leaning in suddenly, seat rocking forward a touch, he lowers his voice. "Speaking of happiness," he baits. "Guess who's claiming to be head over heels these days?"

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

"Hand deliver the flowers," Noe advised with a grin. "Maybe with Flora in tow. I mean, has your mom even met your fiancee?" She raised a brow, shaking her head as though already assuming she knew the answer - and that it wasn't the one that her poor aunt deserved. Oh well. Kaisel was nothing if not enthusiastic, and clearly head over heels for Flora. Despite the rather unfortunate history between the Doubletake and Koa, Noe was happy for the pair. She'd meant what she said - everyone deserved a little happiness.

But then Kai was leaning in, sharing a secret that promised to be juicy gossip, just from the tone of his voice. Leaning forward, Noe propped her head on her hands. "Ooooo," she said, eyes lighting with interest. "Tell me - oh my gods, it's not Koa, right? If he told you before he told me, I swear I will kill him." And she meant it, too. She might not have seen much of her brother since their camping-across-Caido adventure, but she would track him down to skin him alive if he was falling in love and didn't give her so much as a heads up.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

"C'mon, do you take me for a complete idiot Toe?" he demands, the tone little better than a loving sibling. "Of course Flora has met my folks. In fact, she even met them without me, once." He beams, a touch prideful at that. "She made me a keychain with a piece of the bricks in front of our house embedded in it, so that I'd always have a piece of home with me." It'd been an incredible gift in a time when he'd been struggling a lot. He values it immensely, both for the sentimental nature, and because it invokes that memory of first receiving it, where love had settled so fiercely into his chest that its warmth still echoes now in his fond smile.

That all disperses the moment he leans in, although the tea is piping hot. "Oh, uh, well no, not exactly," he grimaces, pulling back a touch. "Kinda the opposite for him, I'm afraid." Ass over toes? Sounds about right.

"Get this," he continues, eyes widening a bit as he delivers the scandal. "Sohalia is dating Zavien now." Noe would be caught up on the deets same as him, so laid plain, her brother's ex-girlfriend, still someone he loves, is not dating his best friend. Kaisel also knows how Noe feels about the Luminary, and is immensely smug at the moment for the impending, and appropriate, dramatic response that is coming. In fact, he starts to count off its arrival in his head.

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Noe asked with a playful smirk, eyes dancing with mirth. They've always been around each other enough for her to know that yes, Kaisel could, in fact, be an idiot at times. Still, it seemed that he'd at least managed to avoid a complete disaster with his mom, even if Noe's aunt had to find out about the engagement after the fact.

But then Kai was leaning in to deliver some hot gossip, and Noe was appropriately scandalized. "Stop it, no she's not." But when the punchline of the joke wasn't forthcoming, Noe frowned, her brow creasing as she took in this new information. "Wait, you're serious?" But that didn't make any sense. She didn't know Sohalia as well as someone she might call a friend, but the Luminary had cured her, had taken her in after her infection, had given her a place to stay - and Noe had known that it was all because of her love for Koa, particularly since Noe didn't really care for Stormbreak's former Heart. So, excuse her, but what the fuck?

"Zavien's his best friend," Noe said flatly, fury tightening her lips into a thin line. "So, wait, back up - is this, like, some kind of retribution against Koa, d'you think?" Granted, her brother had been a massive idiot where Sohalia was concerned, but Noe hadn't taken her for the type to get revenge, especially not with his best friend. "That's not really her style, but like, why not choose literally anyone else? And like, Zavien was just... okay with this?!"

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

"Mmhmm," he nods, slow and sure, and the smile he wears has little to do with happiness. It's the shape of disbelief drawn so taut it can't help but bow, and only habit leans it away from a frown. Noe's reaction is blase at first, too accustomed to Kaisel stringing her along on bullshit gotchas to believe that there is indeed a wolf this time. He waits for the truth to settle though, for that knee-jerk reaction to wave it off to still into the expected shock.

"Not just his best friend." Kaisel corrects, one finger held aloft and softly ticking back and forth through the air. "His very loyal best friend." Noe surely doesn't know all the details that transpired between him and Koa, much less him and the Risen Sun, and he's okay keeping it that way. He's not happy himself with the outcome, but he's trying to move on from constantly dragging his thoughts through it all.

The question she asks makes him pause with genuine surprise. "Wha—no... At least, I don't think so? Why would they??" He'd never considered the hurt had been intentional, because his hadn't, even if a quiet part of him knew the whole time and had been promptly snuffed out by desire. The mind is a powerful thing and is very skilled at tricking even itself. Self-preservation, even at the cost of self-harm. "I dunno," he admits with a low breath. "I didn't get all the deets because I kinda ticked her off with my reaction when she told me, buuuut Flora and I are gonna invite them on a double date and I hope to sus out more information then."

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

"Not that loyal, apparently," Noe muttered, shooting an incredulous look at Kaisel. A small part of her mind reminded her that this was none of her business, that it was between Sohalia and Zavien and Koa - but gods. If Koa was still in love with Soh, and Soh had moved on... would he take it in stride? Or would he be devastated all over again, just like the first time she'd chosen someone else over him?

And his best friend? Nope. Not okay.

"I'm not saying they did," Noe admitted, holding up her hands defensively. "I mean, I lived with Sohalia for a while after you guys cured me, remember? I never got the vibe that she'd even hurt a fly on purpose." Noe snorted derisively. Maybe she'd pegged the Luminary wrong. "But, it just seems sus. That's all I'm saying."

Pursing her lips, Noe sat back in her chair, slumping down with a sigh. What a mess. Why did this always have to happen to her poor brother? No wonder he went off on missions all the time, if this was what awaited him when he came back. "Does Koa know?" she asked quietly. If he didn't, he was about to.

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

Snorting his agreement, Kaisel leans back into his chair. "Pretty sure that dude has the most twisted sense of loyalty possible," Kaisel mutters, slouching lower in his chair. He gives a loud sigh that speaks to the long-suffering weight of trying to understand what is clearly just insanity. Love often appears that way on the outside, and sometimes that's all it really is.

"No, no, I know," he clarifies as she backtracks a touch, and her explanations certainly make sense. "It's just, worth not ruling out yet, is all. People do crazy shit sometimes, even when you think you know 'em." People don't stay static enough to ever truly predict their motives and actions. "But it is sus. Seems quick, I though Koa and Soh were getting back together based on what I saw. I mean, she did buck him off at the rodeo... maybe that caused more problems than it seemed?" Koa's ego didn't seem the type to so easily bruise from that, but neither of them knew all the details of their relationship, and thank the gods for that.

Scrunching his features up a touch as Koa re-enters the chat more directly, Kaisel's fingers drum with a restless energy against the table. "I'm told that Zavien talked to him, and that they're good." Not that he's bitter or anything about that, not that the mild disapproval of it all isn't making his lip curl faintly. "And I sent him two notes...though he didn't respond." Kaisel brushes the sleeve of his shoulder off, feinging an indifference that isn't felt. "I'm sure he's just, busy again."

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies

Not having attended the rodeo, Noe shrugged. "Dunno. It's a shame, though. They would've been cute together." Despite not particularly caring for the Luminary, Noe could have let a lot go if Sohalia had made Koa happy. Now, though? Now she was convinced the the woman was just disloyal at best. "But maybe he dodged a bullet, you know? This isn't the first time she chose someone else over Koa." And yes, maybe her first boyfriend was now Noe's best friend (or was, if she could ever find him again), but that seemed neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things, given that Sohalia had hurt Jude just as badly as Koa in the end, if not worse.

As for Koa now, Noe tilted her head to one side. "Yeah, I haven't heard from him either, but you know how he gets when he gets focused on work." And it was no wonder, if all of this information was anything to go by. "I just hope he's okay," Noe said, a small frown on her face. "I mean, he'll bounce back, I know that, but I just wish we could talk to him."

Was feeling so weak but baby I'm strong
Little did I know I'm a champion

Noe

Everybody sour like a lemon tree

It's the first time he's considered that maybe Koa is coming out on top in all this. As she said, maybe he's dodged the bullet, rather than been shot by it. Maybe Zavien and he really are good, if Koa's thoughts are on the same firing line. Grunting some sense of agreement, and certainly Kaisel's opinion of Soh has lowered some with all of this, he does angle his head in a touch as she jogs a memory for him. "Oh, yeah, she was talking to me about that. I guess that guy is back in the picture." He's far less involved in that aspect, so he just tosses the words out with a near shrug. "He wants to be her friend so he's questing to remove his feelings for her, or something? I dunno, it was bothering her though."

Releasing a long, low breath, Kaisel scrunches up his face a touch and glances to the side. "Yeah, well, Koa'll talk when he wants to talk." She knows that as well as he. "If he was in trouble, he'd tell us." The one truth Kaisel has to believe in to make some of the silence and the distance feel alright. Sure, they've touched base a few times since Stormbreak fell, but it's not like it once was, and Kaisel's only just beginning to see that it's affecting others Koa knew and not just him. Perhaps he put too much weight on him and Flora, and there's something bigger at play, or a shift so profound in Koa that it's really rippling out into everything.

Kaisel

I'm just smiling down upon my enemies