[SE] i'm right where you left me

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

It took a moment for Soh to put two and two together and to realize that "Ru" was "Hotaru." She winced at the memory of the poor impressions she had made on the Valkyrie. "Do you know her well?" she asked the courier. Maybe there was something Tal knew about the woman that could help Soh - other than the wonderful advice he'd already given. She'd do her best not to show up empty-handed. At least Tal seemed unconcerned about the Abandoned. Maybe it would just take time, and then they would come around.

As for preparations, that was harder to solve. "Well, last season we focused on fixing up some of the areas of Stormbreak that had fallen into disrepair," she said as she tugged at a particularly stubborn screw on her lantern. "I was approached by Torchline - they were interested in trading with us, so we could gather resources and bolster our relationship with other regions through trade. Or we could focus inward and train soldiers. I just worry that if we focus on trade, it'll be to the detriment of our own defenses, but if we train soldiers, it's not really helping the rest of Caido all that much."

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning

"Well, she's my best friend. So kinda," Tal admitted proudly. "She's pretty fierce when it comes t'protectin' what's hers. She's been through a lot, an' lost a lot, so she doesn't trust easily." He gave a little one-shoulder shrug with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Sohalia. "Y'gotta have more'n good intentions t'get her on your side. Somethin' concrete should go a long way, though." He hoped. Maybe he could put in a good word for Soh the next time he was home...?

He eased his arm off her shoulders as they started puttering with their lanterns again, but stayed leaning lightly against her in a companionable sharing of warmth and support while they worked. He was trying to jimmy a frozen hinge loose while he listened, and the tip of his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated intently on the two tasks. "Um," he offered, with all of the political acumen at his disposal. "That does sound... pretty tricky." With a soft aha he popped the hinge loose and was finally able to open the lantern's swinging door to access the inside of it. "Can't help Caido if y'can't help yourself first though, right? I mean, Torchline seems pretty laid back. What if y'just, I dunno, told 'em what's goin' through your head an' ask for a rain check on th'trade?" Nose wrinkling, he nudged at the bent candle holder inside the protective glass with a calloused finger. "How th'hail...?" he muttered under his breath before reaching for Soh's pliers.

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

A soft ache blossomed in her chest as Tal proudly declared Hotaru his best friend. She didn't begrudge him the friendship, of course - she was glad that he had people to rely on, and Hotaru certainly seemed like a good woman to have on one's side. But it just reminded her of how alone she'd been since Jude left, that hole in her heart unable to be filled by anyone or anything else. Boyfriend or not, he'd still been her best friend for ages, and she couldn't imagine not having that anymore.

"That makes sense," Soh said, shoving her sorrow to the back of her mind. "I'll try to put together some plans, then. I want to try and address the concerns that the Abandoned have about coming here, and reassure them that I don't plan for them to be mistreated. I know I can't prevent every injustice, but I'm prepared to deal with anyone who would cause trouble for them." Even if she didn't quite know how yet, she knew she would need to be prepared to make an example of a few people if needed to get the point across that Abandoned were to be welcomed and respected.

Soh replaced a screw with deft fingers, then tried the little door that opened to reveal the wick a few times to ensure that it worked properly again. Satisfied, she moved on to cleaning the lantern, which was quite dirty from smoke and soot. "I'm not too terribly worried about Torchline," she admitted. "Hadama has always been kind and understanding, and Harper is like family. It's just... I don't know," she said with a sigh. "I don't want to seem like we're completely withdrawing from the preparations to save our own skins."

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning

Tal nodded along as Soh made her list of plans, trying to be supportive without being too overbearing, but struggling to find the balance. "Mm. Yeah. I mean, it's a good start. Just... I guess maybe have somethin' more concrete than 'deal with?'" He grimaced, starting to rub the back of his neck and then realizing he had pliers in his hand. Sheepishly, he lowered them again to rest in his lap while he kept talking. "Like, what kinda punishments, exactly? An' will they be any different than people doin' crimes against non-Abandoned?" There was a political beartrap he was damned glad wasn't his responsibility to deal with! But he did reach over to give Soh's arm a gentle squeeze of commiseration since she had to shoulder that weight. Hopefully her council could help hash things out, too, so it wasn't all on her...

He applied the pliers to the candle holder, carefully straightening it out so it would hold a taper again. A spot of grease on the hinges and some delicate finicking soon had them coated to prevent further rusting as talk turned to Torchline. "So, uh... thing is," he began, fishing for the right words and not knowing if he was finding them. "Bein' able t'reach out an' help others? I mean, I guess it's always the right thing, when it's just you an' me. But leadin' a whole region? It's like..." He waved his hand a little helplessly as the words flew off and left him looking like an idiot. "You're not doin' Halo or Torchline any favors if Stormbreak's not ready when th'shit hits, an' then they have t'spend their resources t'try an' bail you out. If that makes sense," he added helplessly.

Boreal just snorted at her human's clumsy attempts at eloquence and philosophy, instead opting to provide more immediate assistance by licking one sooty pane of Soh's lantern with a broad, forked tongue that left a slimy trail of dragon slobber behind. But at least there was less soot on it now?

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

Soh winced at Tal's continued line of questioning. She knew he was trying to be helpful, and she appreciated him immensely for it, but the truth was that she didn't yet have an answer. "I'm still figuring that part out," she admitted, a faint blush mantling her cheeks. Then she groaned. "It's tricky. I don't want to treat Abandoned differently than everyone else and single them out, but you almost have to in order to protect them." She fiddled with the last screw on her lantern. "Ideally, everyone would be treated the same for any given crime, and we wouldn't need punishments for people who targeted Abandoned, because they wouldn't exist. But we don't live in an ideal world," she finished almost bitterly, because hadn't she seen that for herself in recent months? "So I think - for most people, yes, laws should be the same and punishments should be the same. But for Dragoons... we need to find a way to identify those who might abuse their power and treat Abandoned unfairly because of it, and then we need a way to dissuade them from doing that."

Tal had a point, and that, at least, was something less messy than her current adventures with the Abandoned. "True," she said. "Well, I meet with my advisors soon to discuss it, and I think you're right - we should make sure that we are strong enough to defend ourselves and to help as needed outside of Stormbreak. We can't do that with trade alone." Boreal snorted, drawing Soh's attention, and then licked the pane of Soh's lantern, drawing a startled laugh from the Luminary. "Thank you," she said with a lopsided grin, then started cleaning the lantern properly.

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning

Tal bumped Soh's shoulder companionably with his own and listened to her ideas, nodding along with both the dream and the reality she described. When she fell back into thoughtful silence he offered her a lopsided grin as he reached for a clean rag to begin some polishing on his own lantern.  "Hey, y'don't have t'have all the answers today. An' y'certainly don't have to give 'em to me," he reassured his friend. "But those're the sorta questions Ru might ask. So... yeah. Just a place t'start thinkin' an' workshoppin' with your people." She still had time before she had to meet with Halo's Abandoned, and he was pretty sure he'd heard something about Stormbreak having a council, so hopefully they'd have better ideas than he did.

At least the topic of Stormbreak's near-future was a little less fraught. He wasn't sure how good his advice was, but Soh seemed to appreciate it and Tal sat a little straighter, grinning at the words 'you're right' and basking in the implied praise. Boreal huffed her amusement and then offered Sohalia her own assistance, earning a laughing "Boreal, stop that!" from Tal when he saw the mess she'd left. She just looked smug and rested her chin back on Soh's knee as the courier reached up to scratch an imaginary itch on his nose to distract himself from the pleasant heat turning his ears pink at his friend's gratitude. "Hey, any time. It's what friends're for, yeah?"

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

Even though she had time to think about the conundrum that was the Abandoned, Soh still couldn't help but feel like she should have it all figured out right now. If these were the questions Tal was asking, she knew that there would only be more from the other Halovians when she finally made her way north. If she couldn't answer these now, what hope would she have of answering others when the time came?

But even so, as she finished cleaning her lantern and leaned her head companionably on Tal's shoulder, she found herself feeling lighter than she had in weeks. What were friends for, indeed?

-FIN-

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning