the maddest woman this town has ever seen

Sohalia

Leafchange in the Greatwood was beautiful, and it was the one time of year when the Crimson Cataract blended into its surroundings. Sohalia made her way beneath it, Noe on her heels. Tarak soared overhead, chasing Mika through the foliage. His bright blue feathers stood out against the red of the floating river and the yellow-orange of the forest canopy, drawing Soh's gaze from time to time as she hunted along the path for roses.

With the Family gone, Stormbreak was once more vacant - but she couldn't reclaim her home without curing it of the lingering Void that threatened its people. And so here they were, searching yet again - and, yet again, thus far they had come up empty-handed.

"If we could just find one rose," the Luminary groused as they walked along the river's path. "I'd be so freaking happy."

these aching memories still dance around me

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

Noe watched as Mika tagged Tarak, then darted back down to wrap around her bonded, where she wrapped around the girl's neck to hide in her dark hair. Giggling, Noe swatted gently at her companion, who hissed faintly before flitting off into the trees again. "Gods, you're telling me," Noe agreed, shaking her head at their continual failure. If it wasn't for the fact that Soh had pricked her with one of these roses, she'd have questioned whether or not they even existed.

As it was, the girls were no closer on this trip to finding a rose than they had been on any other. But this time, the fate of their entire region was at stake. And although Noe had yet to decide whether she would move back to Stormbreak - there were too many haunted memories there now - she still cared about the city, and desperately wanted to see it saved.

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

Noe

Sohalia

With the companions playing tag above and the girls searching for roses down below, it made for an interesting sight indeed. Soh snorted as Mika tried to hide with Noe, then flitted back into the treeline, Tarak on her heels. Then she glanced at Noe. The girl was doing better - although there was a sadness about her that she couldn't seem to shake. Soh knew that things were complicated for Noe, and she wished that there was something more she could do to help the girl through the complex emotions that had come with being a Friend of the Family - and then a friend to Vox.

"Have you given any more thought to taking over the lease?" Soh asked, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. "No pressure or anything. I was just curious." It was something they'd talked about briefly. If Noe decided to stay in Torchline permanently, she needed a place to stay, and what better place than that which she already lived in?

these aching memories still dance around me

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

"I'm still thinking about it," Noe replied, lifting up the branch that Soh had just ducked beneath with one hand. There was a lot to consider when it came to the question of where to live. Stormbreak had always been her home, and her family would no doubt return. But it was where Noe had been a prisoner in her own mind for far too long - and, strangely enough, it hurt to think about returning to the place where she'd formed a friendship with Vox, especially now that he would no longer be there.

It was a strange conundrum, and one that had kept her up too many nights already. Maybe she needed an outside perspective, but she wasn't sure who to talk to. She wasn't sure Koa would understand, and she hadn't heard from Jude in a while, and her other friends had their own shit to deal with. "I just... can't decide what I'm going to do."

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

Noe

Sohalia

Soh couldn't pretend to understand what Noe was going through, but she had tried on those late nights when Noe's nightmares had woken her, and she'd gone to check on the girl to find her thrashing, tangled in bedsheets and terrified. Sometimes, she was afraid that the Family had come to take her away again. Other times, she refused to talk about what she'd dreamed. Somehow, Noe had seemed to separate Vox from the Family, and she mourned his loss even as she celebrated the Family's departure. It was... strange.

"There's no rush," Soh pointed out. "Even if we took Stormbreak back tomorrow... you can still take your time to decide." As long as Noe was safe, that was all that mattered. And for now, she was.

fin

these aching memories still dance around me