[SE] The weather outside is frightful

Hadama had the advantage of age and lived experience, though it was one that only time would grant Sohalia as well. He knew his fellow rulers were as mortal and fallible as he was, and that no one bore up lightly under the burdens of leadership.

Well. Perhaps Dantalion did. The sharp-toothed young man was difficult for the mermanta to read, as different as they were from each other.

But for the rest, he found some solace in knowing that he was not alone. And that, so long as the topics did not risk regional secrets, he could reach out to Evie.

Or Sohalia.

Who may have been young and inexperienced, but who had grown swiftly under the pressures of her position, and who was growing wiser and more seasoned every time he saw her. Her words drew a nod of agreement and understanding from the Tidebreaker, and he took another slow sip of his tea as he considered them. "Would it be harder," he said, his words slow as he considered each one before speaking it aloud, "to continue as Stormbreak's Heart? To bear the weight and the cost now that you know them? Or to walk away, if it meant the region becoming leaderless?" And all the potential dangers associated with that state, as the world slipped perilously closer to the brink of its next apocalypse?

Everyone wants to see heaven
But no one wants to say goodbye

As the storm moved off, Sohalia realized that she felt calmer than she had in days. No longer did it feel like her body was trying to crawl out of its skin, anchored as she was by Hadama's gentle touch on her hand. And he was being so kind to her, so generous. The thought made her flush faintly. He'd come to visit and she'd done nothing but place her burdens on him. But maybe that was the point that he'd been trying to make - that it was time to share her burdens instead of clinging so tightly to them.

She took a sip of her tea as she considered Hadama's question, pursing her lips in thought. "I couldn't walk away," she said finally, her voice soft. "Not as long as Stormbreak needs a leader. I'd rather serve - at least, for as long as they'll have me." Maybe it wasn't the easy choice, but she knew in her heart that it was the right choice. "I think it's worth trying, anyway."

Everyone wants to see heaven
But no one wants to die

Sohalia

Sometimes helping others with their burdens made his own seem lighter in comparison. Or at least, focusing on others provided welcome distraction from his own problems. A brief respite to help another often yielded insights and solutions he could make use of himself, and so became its own reward.

There would come a time when he could ask Sohalia's advice for the troubles that affected a crowned mermanta who was not always in quite as much control of his region as he might seem on the outside. Tonight, however, in helping her he had found a measure of solace for himself.

And it was easy to wait, patient and unhurried, as the thunder grew softer in the distance and the rain became a gentle patter against the winder instead of a frantic drumming. The tea was excellent, the fire was warm, and Sohalia sought answers within herself with a seriousness that the Tidebreaker could appreciate, for he had not asked his question lightly.

And her answer, when it came, was in the end the same that he had found within himself. He nodded, and sipped his tea, and his solemnity softened beneath a smile that eased some of the wrinkles from his brow. "To sharing the weight," he rumbled, lifting his teacup to hers in a toast. "And not being alone."

~fin~