[SE] when memories fade

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Soh may have been in Halo on Official Business, but that didn't mean that she couldn't have a good time while she was there. Her duties as Stormbreak's Heart had taken up so much of her time recently that she had been unable to map and sketch as much as she might like, and so when she found herself once more in the tundra - correctly attired in some of the warmer clothes she'd bought on her last trip - she made it a personal mission to explore a little more of the area. Perhaps she could expand upon the Halovian maps she'd begun on her last visit.

It was to the Greenwing that she traveled on this particular day; it was sunny and bright, though chilly, and the Greenwing was perhaps a bit less green than it might have been in high summer. Still, it was a beautiful area - or, at least, it would be, if it wasn't for the spider webs everywhere. She wasn't sure where they were all coming from or why they were popping up all over Caido - they were in Stormbreak and Torchline, too - but they were everywhere, and it brought a small frown to Soh's face as she considered the landscape. It couldn't be good for the native flora and fauna to be covered in sticky silk, could it?

There was one tree in particular that seemed to be particularly afflicted, and Soh stopped beneath its branches as she looked up at it with her hands on her hips. "Well, this won't do," she murmured to herself, and quickly took it upon herself to begin clearing away some of the silk that had wrapped itself around the tree's trunk. Maybe she could shift to owl form shortly to try and clean off the branches?

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

Hotaru, meanwhile, is hunting. As a woman this time, though the feeling of wrongness comes from her animal hindbrain. Restless with the changing of seasons and the further changes in her life as of late, stalking and killing is the only outlet she can think of that spares anyone else the outcome of her discontent. Staying in human form is merely the best way to draw this out and make things slower.

She isn't anticipating to run into a young woman out in the Greenwing however, though the tracks she'd been following cross over with the young woman's footprints. Hm. That likely doesn't bode well. As much as she'd like to ignore that, it's likely for the best that she warn her.

"Good morning," she calls as she approaches, only to frown slightly when she doesn't recognize the young woman upon getting closer. Hotaru knows a great deal of Halovians, which makes this a more curious matter than she'd anticipated. "Are you lost or traveling?"

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Good morning, said a voice from behind her, and Soh jumped, whirling around to face the stranger. "Oh, you startled me!" she said with a laugh. The other woman had the look of a hunter, and Soh assumed that she must be passing through on the way to some hunting ground or other. She imagined that she must be quite the sight: a strange young woman, clearly not a Halovian, pulling and scraping at spiderwebs on a random tree in the Greenwing. So it was with a sheepish smile that she said, "I'm traveling; I'm a cartographer, and I came out here to map the area, but I got distracted by all the spider silk."

She conveniently forgot to mention that she was also the Heart of Stormbreak, and therefore in Halo to spread news of upcoming changes to her region. For now, she just wanted to be herself. "I'm Sohalia, by the way!" she said brightly, pulling strands of spiderwebs off her fingers before offering a hand to shake.

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

Sometimes Hotaru forgets how light-footed she can be, and so her ensuing smile is a tad apologetic. The woman is rather young, which certainly makes the Valkyrie soften her normally healthily suspicious edges. "Apologies. Do be careful, though - Halo has quite a few predators that can catch you unawares." Hotaru included, clearly.

She could have guessed the young woman was a tourist of sorts, but the confirmation is appreciated. As is the way she cleans her hand before offering it to the Valkyrie, who takes it and shakes it firmly with a strength that may seem at odds with her petite form.

"A pleasure. My name is Hotaru." Glancing over at the tree Sohalia had been prying spidersilk off of, she tilts her head and considers the best solution. "If you'd like some help, I have some time to spare." Assuming Sohalia will agree, she proactively transforms her hands to the sharp claws of her cougar shift, carefully slipping the points beneath a particularly thick strand and cutting through it. It's more difficult than normal, but that's not surprising given the tensile properties of the cloud spider silk. It just makes it more intriguing of a chore. "So you're a cartographer - but where do you live?" The least she can do is make conversation before returning to her hunt.

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

True to form, Sohalia hadn't even been considering predators - animal or otherwise - and in fact had wandered out to the Greenwing without even her staff as a weapon. She blushed a little at the reminder that there were bad things in the world that could hurt her. She should know better by now, but whenever it came to exploring a new place, her mind tended to wander. She'd been so excited by her mapping that a bad outcome had never crossed her mind.

Hotaru was a name that sounded familiar, and Soh had to think for but a moment before a grin broke out on her face. "Oh! You're Tal's friend! You run the Arcane Academy, right? And a spa, if I'm remembering correctly?" She thought Hotaru must be quite busy, to do all of that and still have time to roam out here, but that was none of her business. As for help, she certainly wouldn't turn it down, and she gestured toward the tree. As Hotaru began to shred the silk with shifted hands (paws?), Soh gasped. "Ooooh, I didn't even think of doing that!" she said, and shifted her own hands into her tide jaguar form to begin snipping away at the silk with her own claws.

"I'm from Stormbreak," she said conversationally. "I grew up in the Grounds, but I left after the barrier fell." She picked at a few more strands of silk. It was hard to cut through even with claws, but she persisted anyway, feeling bad for the poor tree that had been so caught up in the threads.

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

Just as her name is familiar, the usage of Tal's nickname makes Hotaru see Sohalia in a different light immediately. Not that the Valkyrie trusts Tal to have good taste in friends (herself not included of course) but familiarity is only ever a positive thing. Especially when Sohalia endears herself to the Valkyrie's pride by mentioning her businesses. "Yes, that is me. Though I mostly simply oversee the spa these days to focus on the Academy." She'd ruthlessly fired her first manager when he hadn't lived up to her expectations, but her current manager has been wonderfully competent.

The two of them toil alongside each other peacefully, Hotaru lending a keen and attentive ear as they shred at the spiderwebs with shifted claws. "Few seemed to linger in the Grounds after the barrier fell," she comments neutrally, shaking a bit of clinging web off her claws. Something tickles at the edge of her awareness, and the Valkyrie frowns, pausing and half-shifting golden ears upon her crown. Claws disappear so she can extend her hand towards Sohalia in a universal 'wait' gesture. Karma is clearly in action, because Sohalia being naively unaware of predators may have tempted fate a little too readily. "Be still. I don't think we're alone." Swiftly she unholsters her slingshot and loads one of her spheres of ice into it, spinning on her heel to examine the snowy tundra with keen eyes and a severe frown. Beyond the copse of trees, something lumbers closer.

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

"Oh, I'm so happy to meet you! Tal adores you," Soh said. And obviously, if Tal loved Hotaru, then it was only natural that Soh would, too. As a friend of one of her best friends, she was sure that Hotaru had to be wonderful.

There was a period of silence while they worked together, claws snipping through the spiderwebs and strands of silk piling on the ground. It wasn't until Hotaru held up a newly-human hand to wait that Soh paused, looking up with surprise, and froze. She was nothing if not good at following instructions.

As Hotaru unholstered a slingshot and loaded some kind of projectile that Soh couldn't identify into it, the young Heart shifted her own hands back into human form and considered her options. She had no weapons, and she wasn't about to shift and fly away, leaving Hotaru stranded. So she stooped to silently pick up a few rocks from the ground. It wasn't much, but at least it was something she could throw.

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

Ru softens a little further as her dear friend is mentioned, certainly far from immune to flattery. "He is quite dear to me as well. Though I confess he's never spoken of you to me." Is it a snub? Perhaps. One can hardly ever tell with Hotaru.

Still, she won't have the girl being harmed on her watch, even if her airheaded tourism is a bit exasperating. Not only would she never hear the end of it from Tal, but she'd feel some small measure of guilt. Unfairly, in her eyes, most late-teens individuals remind her of Enzo and prompt a level of protectiveness that Hotaru does not often afford strangers.

Luckily, Sohalia is obedient, seeming to sense the gravity of the moment if nothing else. Hotaru half-shifts her nose, taking in the scents on the wind. They're partially downwind, so the alert comes at the same time as she hears the shuffling of giant paws. "Frey's tits," she curses with feeling, and jerks her head at Sohalia. "Go! Up the tree if you can!" She has no idea what race the Luminary is, but she doesn't have time to think about it as an ursur - now very focused on new prey - comes charging from the outer circle of trees right at the pair.

She unleashes her ice sphere a pace ahead of the bear's paws, shattering stone and pebbles into a ricochet up against the creature's face and chest. The ice makes it stumble slightly as it steps onto it, tossing its mighty tusks and roaring. Good, she has bought herself just enough time. Shifting as quickly as she can, Hotaru streaks towards it in a blur of golden feathers, outstretching her talons towards its eyes and scratching with all her bodyweight behind it. The screech of a wounded predator is adrenaline for the Valkyrie, but she has someone to protect right now. The hunt will have to wait.

Narrowly avoiding the tusks that shake and spray blood from blinded eyes, Hotaru climbs - looking back towards Sohalia to see if she has managed to get out of range so she can begin planning how to get her out of here.

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Some people might have ignored Hotaru and joined in the fray. Sohalia was not some people. At the older woman's curse and sudden orders, Soh dropped her rocks and began to shift - just as an ursur burst from the trees to run directly at the pair. If she'd been human, she might have yelped with surprise; as it was, a strangled half-screech made its way out of her shifting throat - which, in retrospect, was probably a bad thing, as making noise would draw attention to herself.

As a snowy owl at last, Soh took to the sky, flapping her wings hard to get as high as possible. She wasn't about to sit in the tree - she wanted to be as far away from the beast as possible - but neither was she prepared to let Hotaru do battle on her own. If something happened to the woman, Tal would never forgive her.

But Hotaru, too, had shifted, and in a blur of golden feathers, she'd blinded the ursur and climbed into the sky, joining Soh where she circled high overhead. What can I do? Soh asked fretfully, her dismay at having been caught without a weapon clear through the bond - as was her determination to help, if she could. Or should we just... leave?

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

The sudden presence of a bond makes it clear Sohalia is Attuned, or something similar - though hybrids like Hotaru are scarce - but Ru still doesn't check in until she has blinded the ursur and climbed a good few feet. It's only then that she sees Sohalia has a blessedly lucky flighted form, a snowy owl that she joins up with in the sky.

We can kill it, if you prefer merciful death. Now that I've blinded it, it may be kinder. But Hotaru doesn't care either way. A hunter will take it down, or another predator. Right now her priority is keeping Sohalia safe, not resuming her hunt. Even blind it is still very dangerous. I'd have to take it down myself, which I can do but you would have to remain up here. Unprepared and unarmed as she is, Hotaru would not allow her back down on the ground. Or we can simply fly back to the Citadel. Normally Ru would simply take charge and tell them what to do, but part of her is curious to know what this young woman is made of.

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Soh circled the injured ursur, using her keen owl's sight to examine the poor creature. Her sadness emanated through the bond - she'd never been particularly good at hiding her emotions from other Attuned - but in the end, she had to agree that a merciful death was probably the best option for the ursur. She wondered if she had been what had drawn the beast out of hiding, or if it had been an unavoidable chance encounter. Regardless, she felt responsible for the creature's death, and that responsibility hit her hard.

A merciful death would be more fair, she said slowly, But are you sure about doing it alone? I know I can't do much, but I should help, if I can. Her voice was small but determined. She'd never been much of a hunter, but there had to be something she could do. She couldn't just rely on others for rescue all the time. The young Heart resolved to never again be caught without her weaponry - although, admittedly, a staff and some knives might not have helped against an ursur.

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

The ursur roars and blindly storms around beneath them as Hotaru waits for Sohalia to make her choice. Merciful death is not what she might have anticipated from the young woman even in the short time they'd known each other, but she concedes nonetheless.

There is not much you can do. There is no shame in knowing your weaknesses. Perhaps it will inspire Sohalia to make changes in the future, but for now, Hotaru cannot lie to her. Ursur are incredibly hard to kill, and Sohalia only has her shifts as far as the Valkyrie can tell. It would not be enough.

If you want to assist, help to disorient it. Fly lower and screech if you can. It will hide my approach. Hotaru does not give her plentiful time to decide, nor to enact it. She begins to dive soon after, intent on finishing things. Shifting midair takes all of a few moments, and her entire form is wreathed in lightning as she lands on the ursur's back and lets it all strike at once at close-contact. The ursur bellows in its death throes, but Hotaru's lightning is her oldest and strongest magic, and it falls over twitching spasmodically within moments, leaving the Valkyrie to stand up in the snow and look towards Sohalia in the sky. Do you wish to harvest anything from it? If not then Hotaru will, given she'd been intent on hunting today as it was, and wasting such valuable resources was frowned upon in Halo.

But I would love you in any form you take

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Perhaps a more proud person would have bristled at Hotaru's insinuation that she was weak, but Soh was well aware that she was lacking in the combat department. Her sheepish acceptance was likely clear through the bond, Soh never having learned to hide her emotions particularly well. Still, Hotaru did give her a task, and although it made her nervous, Soh was determined not to let her new companion down, and she swallowed down her anxiety and replaced it with a fierce determination that had her hurtling towards the ursur with an angry screech before peeling away, leaving Hotaru to deal with actually killing the creature.

And when it was done, Soh swooped down and shifted, joining Hotaru in the snow. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not sure what all uses it may have." She eyed the fallen ursur with a sigh. If she hadn't been there, would it have still died, or did she have its death to add to her conscience? "Thank you," she added after a moment's thought, though it felt strange to be thanking the older woman for death and destruction. "For saving me."

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Hotaru

Anything beautiful, people want to break
And you are beautiful, I'm afraid

Sohalia is biddable, which is not a bad quality to have. Though she is sorely lacking in training, Hotaru can see glimmers of potential here and there, which is more than she can say for most other airheaded tourists. Though it's still lucky she was here - Sohalia may be capable of flying away when in danger, but she easily could have been snuck up on by the ursur and killed all the same.

Standing over its body, Hotaru hums, academia already overtaking her persona. "The hide is exceptionally valuable given its insulating properties, and it wasn't damaged during the fight." Her hand extends to begin pointing out the various sections visually. "The claws and tusks are incredibly strong and can be used for weapons or decorative items." Gesturing towards the body at large, her smile is private and amused. "And of course, it has a healthy array of fat to be made into lard and other weatherproofing materials, and plentiful meat." Regardless, Hotaru will end up forcing some of it onto Sohalia for the girl to take back to the Citadel while taking the rest herself, but the Heart doesn't need to know that yet.

Taking the gratitude in stride, Ru merely tips a smile her way, unbothered by the devastation her own hands had wrought. "You're welcome. Though if you intend to wander outside of the Citadel, I recommend signing up for a hunter's course first. They're offered to most tourists and visitors." And would hopefully keep Sohalia alive a little longer in the snow. "Give me some time to quarter this up and I can lead you back to the Citadel." And, not needing a knife when she has her shifts, she unsheathes her claws and kneels in the snow to begin doing exactly that. And if Sohalia leaves with meat and claws, she'll merely have one more thing to be grateful for.

- Fin!

But I would love you in any form you take