Stuck in the middle of freedom and fear

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

There's something of a mockery to the fact it's raining now. She's never taken weather personally before, but she's not sure how else to look up at the wet storms of the season and find the clouds shaped into a great, divine, middle finger pointed right at her. Seems in fact, that the heat and the unseasonal burns wore themselves out after chewing through her life. Rationally, she knows this isn't true, but at present she's a bit low on rations and it's a lot easier to place blame than to take it.

So after shooting off another scowl at the sky, her own screams just as liable to leap up at the next peal of unusual lightning, she gets back to the very important task at hand — getting fucking drunk. She might already be there, given that she’s sitting on the bank of the pool amidst the drizzle, jeans rolled up to her knees, boots lopsided beside her with socks for tongues so that she can dip her toes in the water. It’s not exactly toe-dipping weather, but Colt means to dip her toes into as many coping mechanisms as she can. Poolside stress relief a nice healthy balance to the liver damage she’s aiming for.

Her shirt is draped across her head like some makeshift umbrella, already damp though, revealing her bra and a few of her minor scars to the water. Her belt’s been pulled out, zipper and button undone, which is peak comfort aside from shuffling out of the jeans entirely. That’s all she’s really looking for right now, some modicum of comfort.

Tilting her head back, she closes her eyes against the storm and sings low and soft, bracing back on one hand that’s leaning out beside her, the chorus only interrupted for another swig.

---

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

"Girl," Soh said as she appeared through the rain. "What in Caido are you doing?" It was a strange sight to have come across, to be sure: Colt, sitting with her toes in the water of the Miana Pool, in the midst of a great rainstorm that had been soaking Torchline (and the rest of the world) since the start of the season. The woman had a bottle in hand and was in the middle of taking a rather large swig as Soh plopped herself down on a rock beside her, though the Luminary elected to keep her sock and shoes very much on her feet. Anani floated nearby, regarding Colt with a chiming noise of curiosity before bounding through the air to investigate some nearby rocks.

"Please tell me this isn't because of Vesper," Soh said idly, watching her friend keenly through the drizzle. "Because I can absolutely think of better options to get through man problems without sitting out here in the rain." And she could - gods knew that she'd had the practice. Then, softening: "Come back to Wildering House with me. We can drink ourselves into a stupor somewhere warm and dry."

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

Girl cuts in on her with just enough disapproval to it that she grins, as if fully caught when she thought she’d been sneaky. Colt is usually well aware when she’s ridiculous or wrong, or at the very least, can reflect on it later and admit to it, if she’s of the mind to. Currently, she knows there’s a bit of madness here, but this feels like an appropriate response, all things considered. She had briefly thought of razing other buildings to the ground, so this is the image of a woman poised with constraint.

”Soh!” she greets, the words sliding with a loose, liquor warmth. Not slurring, not quite there, yet, but give her time. She blinks through the mist, then glances back around at the pool before her, toes wriggling against the surface of the water like fish skimming up for air. ”Eh, sittin’.” She looks down at the bottle in her hand next, and with a honey-slow smile, gives it a little shake before tilting it out towards Soh in offer. ”’Nd drinkin’.”

The cloud wyrm is just enough distracting movement to pull Colt’s gaze before the creature’s off and away, and the glassy focus of her gaze next lands on Soh. The name that Soh brandishes with such ease crystallizes the edges of Colt’s breath, because no, she hadn’t been tracing that particular wound, but the word may as well have been Sohalia’s hand grabbing onto a bruise and asking her if it hurt, despite the clearly yellow and green mottling there. ”Definitely not,” she snorts, the tone so rich with offense she could cough up a sword. ”I happen to have options when it comes to what I’m miserable about. Isn’t that lucky?” The smirk she tries to offer up dies before it reaches both sides of her face, and the half it does tilt into drops swiftly, the humor fading like she’s aware she doesn’t need it, or just lacks the strength to push it up right now.

Before she can offer a better explanation, she latches onto Soh’s offer, pulling her feet out quick enough to cause a mild splash. ”Don’t have to tell me twice,” she murmurs with a grateful smile, gathering her boots into the crook of her arm and rising with a grace that she does not deserve given the amount of empty glass in the tequila bottle that her other hand is still fisting as tight as a baby on a titty. Well, she thinks she’s graceful, but in actuality she looks like a newborn foal getting to its feet for the first time.

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

Soh plopped down beside Colt, accepting the offered bottle with an amused tilt of her head. "I can see that," she said seriously before taking a swig out of the bottle and handing it back. The liquor burned down her throat, but she didn't dislike the sensation. In fact, she'd grown rather used to it in recent seasons.

At least this wasn't about a man, though Soh hated to see her friend in such a sorry state regardless of the reasoning behind it. Deciding not to press for answers - not yet, anyway, Soh leapt to her feet just in time to avoid Colt's splash. She watched as Colt unfolded herself rather gracelessly, then linked arms with the rancher. It was as much to keep Colt upright and on target as it was a movement of camaraderie, but she didn't need to tell Colt that. "You're in luck, too. I know where the good tequila is at the House."

Then she was walking, and Anani was floating along behind, and they were on their way to Wildering House. "Soooo," she said after a moment. "Have you ever danced in the rain?" Sweeping a hand out to indicate their surroudings. "I never have, but I've always wanted to." It seemed just absurd enough that drunk!Colt might take the bait, and just silly enough that it might help to lift the rancher's mood.

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

Misery must love company as much as they say, with the way Colt brightens the moment Soh joins her, readily drinking from the bottle like a pro. Her eyes watch her from the side, appraising the way Soh swallows it without a fit or complaint. ”Impressive,” she whistles, regaining the bottle with a grin.

Definitely interested in a better place to drink though, Colt does not remain by the pool’s edge, following after Soh and chaining arms with a bright laugh that’s at fierce odds with the truth she’s been trying to drown in tequila. Liquor is good at warming, literally or otherwise. ”Yes, I knew you were a good one to befriend!” Because after all their little run-ins here and there, she does count Soh as that now, especially for going out of the way to drag her sorry ass up.

Glancing over at Soh as she drags out her sooo, Colt’s brows reach for the sky in bafflement at the unexpected question. Colt’s breath catches for just a moment, then unleashes in a loud, rolling laugh that leaves her weak for a moment. ”That was the last thing I expected you to say,” she offers up by way of explanation as she regains her air. ”But yes, actually, I’ve done many things in the rain.” A wink ends that sentence, suggesting she’s done a very particular type of dance, although truth be told she does not wish to dwell on her partner for that moment right now. Not that Sunjata has left his own bruise on her, but it’d be a lie to say there’s not something raw there now.

”C’mon,” she encourages with a tireless grin, slouching her goods in her arms down to her feet and then tugging Soh along with her to the side in a half-run. ”No better time than the present! I only really know line dancing, but you can pick it up quick.” Standing beside Soh, she glances over at her and nods, beginning to hum out a tune she knows. Her steps soon shuffle into a semi-coordinated coreography, the lack of real music and the grip of the drink showing themselves plainly as she fumbles around. It only tugs out another laugh, and her motions quickly dissolve into fun flairs and twists, taking Soh by the hand to spin around her a few times.

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

"I've had practice," Soh said drily, handing the bottle back. Gods knew she'd been through enough to warrant a little drinking here and there (or, as Colt might remember, a lot of drinking here and there). Fortunately, these days she was less inclined to lose herself in a bottle, but old habits, as they say, die hard.

They walked together through the rain, Soh steering the way towards Wildering House. At Colt's suggestive wink, Soh laughed, a light blush mantling her cheeks. She could easily imagine that the rancher had done things in the rain that Soh hadn't even dreamed of. Somehow, Colt just gave off a world-weary vibe, as though she'd seen and done everything that the world had to offer. But Colt surprised her, tugging at her arm and beginning to hum a merry little tune. At first, Soh tried to follow the steps, but that quickly dissolved into chaos and laughter, and in the end, the two women ended up spinning and twisting in the rain to some made-up song that neither could hear.

Finally, breathless and bright-eyed, Soh paused in her twirling to giggle. She was soaking wet now, her blonde hair plastered to her head and neck. A new wind had picked up, and the temperature was on the edge of chilly, teetering towards something uncomfortable. "Come on!" Soh called over the rain. "Let's go get dry and drunk!" And then she was off again towards Wildering House, which loomed in the nearby sand.

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

Oh, Colt knows Soh can get drunk just fine, but there aren’t many who can drink their shots straight from a bottle with no salt or chasers to go with. Add to that that Colt’s drug of choice is tequila, which doesn’t usually align with everyone else’s decision, and the rancher is rather in awe of the woman she figured needed this blended and dosed in sugar first. So she just grins back at Soh’s easy response, tilting her head in understanding of life’s eagerness to provide practice.

The dancing leaves her breathless, peetering off from Soh with a staggering waltz of laughter and sighs. ”Now you’ve done it!” she declares, and there’s something to dragging out an accomplishment from the middle of nowhere. A reminder, however small, that there’s more that can be done. Maybe not as simple as this, but surely this is not the end.

Tipping her head back to smile up into the rain, arms outstretched for balance, although a few footsteps back are taken as the motion upsets her steadiness regardless, she grabs hold of something better than going numb. Living. Dripping water now as the storm picks up in earnest, Colt sticks her tongue out, catching a few drops as if she’s exactly where she wants to be, undaunted by weather and broken lives. As Soh calls out, she sweeps her focus back down with another staggering gait. ”Coooming!” she answers back, crouching down to reclaim her bundle of goods in her arms and racing after Soh with her head ducking against the raind riven by the wind. She giggles, barefeet slapping the walkway as she giggles and whoops into the night.

Spilling into the house like a dog that’s escaped a bath, Colt drips at the entry way and peers around at the impressive mansion with the wide eyes of someone keenly aware you’re not supposed to enter a place like this soaking wet. ”Oh shit this place is too nice,” she gasps to Soh, bare toes wiggling over one another as Colt stands with her boots, socks, and liquor cradled in her arms. A fresh shiver runs through her, teeth chattering abruptly. "Can I put these here?" she asks, scarcely waiting for an answer before she begins to deposit her armful near the door. Her dripping shirt, soaked jeans, and damp hat all join the pile, peeling away the waterlogged fabric out of practicality more than anything else. Seemingly unbothered by it, she stands up in just her bra and panties, straightening out her hair against each shoulder. "Much better."

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

Their dancing left them both breathless, although Soh managed to keep herself mostly upright thanks to a decided lack of alcohol in her system. When she made for Wildering House, it took her a moment to realize that Colt wasn't right behind her, and she looked back to see the woman turning her face up to the rain, holding her arms out as though allowing the storm to wash her clean. Something softened in Soh's gaze. She wasn't sure what had happened, but this, at least, was an indication that it wouldn't break her friend, that there was still something in her clinging to life and living.

Colt's reaction to Wildering House just about summed up how everyone felt when entering for the first time. Making a mental note to clean up their mess later, Soh nodded. "Oh, yeah, there's fine," she said as Colt deposited her belongings unceremoniously by the door. The rancher's clothes joined shortly thereafter, leaving a bemused Soh looking at her wondering how they always managed to end up half-naked around each other.

"Here, this way," Soh said, leading the way down the hall. "Do you want to borrow some dry clothes? I think we're about the same size." Hardly waiting for an answer, Soh ducked into her room, pulling Colt along. She left the rancher standing in the middle of her room as she rummaged through the closet, pulling out some clothes that she thought might work before returning to Colt and shoving them into the woman's arms. Then it was back to the closet, where she changed her own soaking clothes and pulled on some comfortable pajama pants and a tank top.

With that taken care of, Soh padded back across the room to the door. "The good tequila is in the kitchen. I think the house spirits keep it stocked for me." Tequila was, after all, her liquor of choice - though she did prefer it mixed rather than straight from the bottle, most of the time.

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

Hearing the affirmation as she's placing everything down, glad she doesn't need to quickly gather it all back up after making a bad judgment call, it leaves her straightening into her nearly nude stand. Unbothered by her current attire given the practicality of removing the wet that'd continue to chill her, and the fact that Soh has seen her wear less, Colt nonetheless does not turn down the offer to clothe herself again in something dry. "Yeah, I was—" her words are cut short as Soh grasps her arm and carts her dutifully alongwith her newfound stride. She's on a mission, and Colt scampers along after her, her free arm throw across her chest to keep her tits from jostling.

Finding her stride with a chuckle, she finishes her agreement. "Was hoping you had something, or a robe. This is all I have on me." Nearly all she owns now too, but she doesn't add that on. Left to peek around the room as Soh rummages for something suitable, Colt's fingers trail after some of the decorations put up on the walls. A surprising amount of maps, she finds. "Oh!" she says as items are suddenly placed in her hands. "Thanks. I'm just gonna pop into the bathroom we passed to get a towel." No sense putting fresh clothes on a still wet body.

Slipping away to dry off properly, she returns to find Soh cozied up for the night. Colt herself is in thin sweats and a loose t-shirt, one of the shoulders always falling off a smidge, though which side changes depending on how she moves. "House spirits?" she repeats as she falls into step with Soh on their way to the kitchen, head tilting like she's trying to better hear something odd. "Say what're all those maps you have?" she adds on, too curious. "You have one of Hak Etme?"

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

Surprisingly unbothered by Colt's state of undress, Soh did her best not to drag the woman down the hall to her room. The damp had made her skin pebble, and she was just as eager to get into something warm and dry as it seemed Colt was. After handing off the clothing she'd picked out for the rancher, Soh changed, granted a brief moment of privacy as Colt stepped into the nearby bathroom. It left her with time to consider what, exactly, had brought Colt out in this weather to drink by herself. She couldn't come up with any good reasoning.

Colt returned before Soh could think up any potential scenarios. "Oh, yeah, Wildering House is haunted," Soh said nonchalantly. "Mostly the spirits are just a little mischievous, but they can be a real help if they take a liking to you. Gods help you if you get on Flora's bad side, though." She grinned at her friend, knowing that at least Colt was safe from being the target of any nastiness.

Then they were on the way to the kitchens at a more leisurely pace. The turned a corner as Colt asked about the maps. "I'm a cartographer," Soh explained. "Or, at least, I was, back before everything with Stormbreak happened. I think I'm going to get back into it though." It was one thing she could confidently look back and say she'd enjoyed - and the money that it had brought in had been an added bonus. "Hak Etme? Hmm, I have it partially mapped, but I'm missing a few areas. Why do you ask? There's not much out there."

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

The way Sohalia says the house is haunted is so plain that Colt has to blink after it a few times, trying to determine if she'd misheard. Generally, when someone says a house is haunted, there's a bit more, drama involved with the admission, although if anyone could take the news in good stride it'd be someone from King's End. "Is that right?" Colt begs to confirm, glancing about as if expecting some showing of spiritual activity to kickstart on the spot in warning of her manners. As is typical however, very little occurs on demand or when expected, especially when it's things oriented in the afterlife. "I'll be mindful I only sing her praises then," Colt says with amusement coloring her tones as her glance continues to drift around. "Which is no difficult matter." Aside from the wonderful house she's in and the hospitality being bestowed upon her by extension of Soh, Flora has never provided her a reason not to offer anything but praise.

Her attention returns swiftly to Soh as the Luminary mentions her talents in map-making. "A cartographer? Can't say I've had the pleasure of meeting one before." Admittedly Colt is such a homebody she hasn't had much need of maps at all, and has generally stuck to roads well traveled beyond her home, or in the company of others who know more than she anyway. Her one foray into some of the more wild areas of Torchline had already proven disastrous once, and perhaps she should better arm herself with the results of sorts like Soh to avoid a future repeat, which isn't something she'd much considered until now. Proof of just how much planning still lies ahead of her, assuming she's even committing to a plan. All she'd really settled on was getting drunk tonight.

With a newfound interest in her friend and her hobbies, Colt's eyes glitter with approval and self-interest. "You absolutely should, that seems like a very useful hobby, and certainly no easy one. I bet your talents could be given quite some purpose." Was it really selfish of her if Soh also benefitted? A mutual back scratching, really. As for the why Hak Etme, a grand question that she has asked herself on more than one occasion now, for it's the place she keeps circling back to, Colt gives her shoulders a little shrug, the lopsided shirt shifting against them. "Well, I'm considering moving there." She drops it as casually as Soh did the haunting, seeming not to consider any greater change in her life than a new color of paint for her house.

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

Given that the house had been haunted for the better part of its existence, Soh no longer thought much about it aside from the occasional offering to the spirits to stay in their good graces. Indeed, when she eventually settled on where she wanted to live and got her own place, it was going to be strange to exist in a place that didn't have invisible ghosts and specters roaming about, providing the occasional margarita and frequently leaving books for her to read on her nightstand.

Of her mapmaking skills, Soh simply smiled. "Well, you've met one," she reminded Colt, gesturing to herself and sketching a bow. To her surprise, the rancher continued on about the maps, encouraging Soh in her hobby. That in and of itself wasn't a shock, given that they were friends, but the timing seemed... strange. Weren't they on their way to get drunk? Why did cartography matter so much just now?

Then Colt was talking about moving to Hak Etme, and Soh paused, frowning at her friend. "What? Why?" As she'd just stated, there was hardly anything out there, and it certainly didn't seem like it would be suitable for sustaining life long-term. "What's wrong with King's End?"

Sohalia

Heart is buried six feet in the ground, gonna need a shovel now

Flashing a grin at the quick display Soh offers up, Colt dips her head curtly. "And a fine one at that." How many other cartographers in disguise might she have crossed paths with, if this talent had been lurking just beneath the sleeves of Soh.

The quick change from their easy, flowing steps into the kitchen to the short haul of a halt that Soh makes, properly regarding her as if motion alone could be a distraction, the same way parking couldn't be accomplished with the volume up too loud. "This," Colt declares with an exaggerated flourish of her wrist and an overly drawn out stress on the vowel, "requires a drink in my hand to properly explain." Something to take the edge off, as it were. The dash and dance through the rain and the sobering of maps left her all a bit, too upright compared to the stagger she wanted.

The kitchen, fortunately, is not far off, and its shape is familiar even if she's never stepped foot into this particular one. "First of all," she informs Soh with a glance, "I happen to have been all through Hak Etme. Maybe not cartographer-level exploring, but I've seen its different styles." She plops down onto a stool with an affinity for wrangling its balance immediately beneath her. "I think, Suvahasi actually has some potential. All those plants, must mean a fresh water source. Could be something worth harvesting and trading there too. Just needs a bit of taming." She pauses, fingers drumming along the counter. "Well, a lot of taming."

Colt

Maybe one day I'll get back the rhythm in my chest

knowing I can't turn the rain into sun any more

At Colt's request for a drink, Soh started forward, entering the kitchen and beginning to bustle about in search of her favorite tequila. "What kind of drink do you want?" she asked, glancing over at Colt with a raised brow. "You can have a bottle, or a glass, or I can mix something up." Settling the bottle in front of her friend, Soh turned away to pull down a tall glass from a cupboard, then began to gather the ingredients for a tequila sunrise. Despite everything, including the fact that it had been Koa to introduce her to this particular beverage, it was still her favorite - and that irked her, as though it proved that his fingerprints were still all over her.

Pursing her lips and shaking off that particular thought, Soh started to mix her drink. "Well, sure," she replied. "Suvahasi might have some potential, but... it is toxic, you know." From her memory, moving too quickly through the dense undergrowth could release a hallucinogenic pollen. Not exactly somewhere easy to live. Making a face, Soh added, "Not to mention it's forever away from anything remotely civilized." And why run all that way for no good reason that Colt had offered up till this point? There had to be something Soh was missing.

Sohalia