I miss who I used to be

When you hold me, it holds me together

When Sohalia found Flora, it was to find the Doubletake with freshly applied makeup, although the scratches along her spine and the fraying edges of her dress were dead giveaways as to her clandestine activities in the woods. Smiling a little to herself, Sohalia checked surreptitiously to make sure that Kai wasn't following her before gliding to her best friend's side. Even in a mask, Flora was impossible to miss - or at least to Soh, who knew the queen's golden curls and bejeweled accessories as well as she knew herself.

The Luminary was dressed in a dark, silken gown that flowed off her shoulders, held up by sparkling straps and accented by the decorated white mask that she work on the upper half of her face. Her hair was loose and wavy about her shoulders, and she flicked the trailing tendrils over her shoulder as she approached her best friend. There was a glass of something in her hand; she wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she liked the way it burned as it went down. She might not be entirely wasted yet, but she was well on her way to drunk - and it was turning out to be the best decision she'd made all night.

"Flora!" she called in a stage whisper as she crept up beside her friend, still wary of being followed and having no desire to get stuck in the middle of that drama. Looking around them, she looped her arm through the Doubletake's and tugged her towards the woods, where they would have some modicum of privacy. "You look stunning," she said more loudly as they entered the cover of the trees. Holding up her glass, she offered it to the queen. "Have you tried one of these? It's great. But don't drink it all. I'm not drunk enough yet."

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Sohalia

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora spies her before the stage whisper even lands. Sohalia is a beam of moonlight stitched into silk, and Flora is moving the moment she sees her, heels doing their best as she weaves through the masquerade with far too much purpose for someone pretending they haven’t just emerged from a tryst in the trees.

"Soh, gods, look at you," she breathes as soon as she reaches her, hands fluttering dramatically as if she's about to fan herself. "You look incredible. Honestly, if you don’t get dragged into those woods before the night is out, it’ll be an insult." Her grin is warm and too full of blackberry champagne.

She loops her arm through Sohalia’s without hesitation, letting herself be tugged away from the crowd and into the gentle hush beneath the trees. It’s easier to breathe here, and Flora is grateful for the privacy even before Soh offers her the glass. "Ooh, don’t mind if I do," she hums, taking the flute and lifting it to her lips. The drink burns like truth and bad decisions and fun, and Flora’s fluttery laugh spills out of her in delight. "Mmmm, so good."

She passes the glass back and leans in conspiratorially, curls brushing Sohalia’s shoulder. "Have you seen anyone else yet? Other than, you know..." Her brows lift meaningfully above her mask, lips twitching into a crooked line.

some real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

When you hold me, it holds me together

Flora’s compliment brought a blush to Soh’s cheeks as she reached out to pull her friend into a hug. ”Not sure who’ll be dragging me, considering the only people I’ve recognized are you and, well, you know…” As it turned out, Soh was the one doing the dragging as she tugged Flora into the trees, ducking away from the party and any potential run-ins with He Who Must Not Be Named. She accepted her drink back from Flora and downed the rest of it, snagging a new one before they made their way deeper into the woods and away from any lingering drink stands.

”But there are a ton of people here,” she said. ”And the night is young, so…” So maybe there would be someone for her to find later - although, given her track record, she rather doubted that tryst amongst the trees would be on her bingo card tonight. Besides, Flora was perfect company. Who else did she need, really, other than the Doubletake on her arm? ”Who have you seen?”

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Sohalia

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora wrinkles her nose, curls bouncing as if to punctuate her words. "Oh, I’m sure Koa’s around somewhere," she says, tone edged with a wryness that can’t quite hide the small twist of anticipation behind it. Lately, parties seem to be his thing—or maybe they’re just everyone’s thing now—but either way, she can’t imagine him skipping one like this or somehow missing Sohalia. Especially not when she’s gone to the trouble of styling her outfit the way she had. If he’s here, he’ll notice.

Her grin flickers wider as Soh’s question settles, heat rising in her cheeks as she replies, "Oh, you mean other than Jack?" It comes out brighter than she intends, a kind of reckless sparkle, and she leans into it, letting the warmth bloom across her expression. Then, with an airy shrug, she adds, "Just the usual. I was with Theea and Niki for a bit before my little tryst in the woods." The words are tossed out with a queen’s ease, but her pulse thrums all the same, the memory stitched against her skin like the faint scratches still hidden beneath her dress.

some real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Orbs of light beckon and call from the darkened angles and shadows of trees. Were those whispers of your friends? Family? Fallen allies?

Was that a scream? Could they be in trouble?

Is it all in your head? Just your imagination?

Or something else altogether – because what if it’s true?

---

You’ve encountered a Will-O-Wisp. This counts as a common creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.

Will-O-Wisps (common): Glowing orbs of light that dance and weave between the branches, despite their usefulness, these creatures are not to be trusted. Mischievous and loyal to no one, they will lead travellers astray at a moment's notice.

When you hold me, it holds me together

"Maybe he is," Soh said, shrugging a shoulder with much more nonchalance than she actually felt at the mention of the dragoon. She wasn't really sure how to feel about Koa at the moment - or how he felt about her. And perhaps that was growing old, or maybe it was just the liquor in her veins, but she found, suddenly, that she wasn't sure if she cared to see him. Maybe it would just complicate her night, and she wasn't sure she wanted any more of that after having to pretend to be drunk just to get rid of his cousin.

Or maybe she wasn't pretending. Maybe she was well on her way to drunk, and she simply didn't care.

Either way, the appearance of the will-o-wisps had her rolling her eyes in a way that was almost affectionate. They'd seemed drawn to the party, but Soh didn't want Flora to be found, so instead, she flapped a hand at them and said, "Shoo!" As if that was going to do anything at all.

The Luminary took another sip of her drink. "So... are you and Jack, like... okay now? Or was this like a hate sex kind of meet up and we still hate him?"

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Sohalia

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora tilts her head just enough to catch Soh’s shrug, her gaze softening in a way that carries the weight of knowing more than she’ll ever press out loud. She’s watched this dance between her best friend and the dragoon long enough to recognize that nonchalance rarely means nothing, but she decides to let it drift past like seafoam anyway; a topic for another time.

The will-o-wisps hover at the edge of her vision, and she muffles a laugh into the rim of her glass. "They’re everywhere this time of year, I swear," she mumbles, voice low and distracted, as though acknowledging them might make them scatter.

"After Dahlia attacked me," she begins, words slower now, softer, "Jack came to see me at the House of Midnight." The admission slides free on a sigh, and though the memory no longer slices through her like it once did, she still feels the echo of it in her chest, especially not with the warmth of his kiss still hot in her memory. "We realised that...even though we did still love one another, it wasn’t enough. And gods, Soh, it hurt—worse than anything else I’ve felt. But it also...put things back into perspective, in a way. Like, it just didn't work between us, and...I guess that made it easier, even knowing that it was over for good."

Straightening as if the breath she draws might settle her spine, Flora tips one shoulder in a shrug, eyes glittering in the lantern light. "I don’t know if we’re okay in the sense of...going out for dinner or just hanging out, like normal people." Her cheeks heat and she bites down on a smile that spills anyway. "But the sex has always been, like, really good, so..."

some real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

When you hold me, it holds me together

The wisps dispersed, drifting off to find others to pester with their whisperings. While Soh was normally unbothered by the creatures, tonight she found that all she wanted was to be left to her own devices - with Flora's presence being the only exception. A gentle breeze chased the last of the wisps into the trees, branches rustling overhead as the wind tugged a curl over Soh's shoulder. She ignored it, not wishing to release either her drink or Flora's arm as they meandered through the darkened forest.

Soh understood all too well that loving someone could be not enough to make things work. Gods knew she had had her fill of just that sensation, and she squeezed Flora's arm in solidarity as her friend talked. Between the two of them, they'd had enough bad luck with love for a lifetime, and Soh hoped that the Doubletake would find her stride sooner rather than later. If anyone deserved happiness - not just because of who she was to Soh, but because of all she'd done for Torchline and for Caido - it was Flora.

"Yeah, I get that," she murmured, glancing sidelong at Flora from beneath the mask settled upon her face. If nothing else, at least Flora was getting good sex out of it, though Soh had to wonder if maybe that wouldn't come back to bite her in the long run. "You deserve to have a good time, so just enjoy yourself." But be careful was the unspoken ending to the sentence.

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Sohalia

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora wrinkles her nose affectionately beneath the mask, the expression softened by the glow in her cheeks and the warmth still lingering in her veins. She isn’t to know, not yet, how short-lived these bright, reckless good times will be, but in the moment she’s nothing if not elated—dizzy with the sweetness of being back in Jack’s orbit and the comfort of Soh’s arm through her own.

"Speaking of a good time…" Flora drawls with a grin, leaning to nudge her best friend’s shoulder. Her curls bounce with the motion, the lanternlight catching on their edges as she tips her head toward the distant music pulsing faintly through the trees. "What do you say we refill our glasses and see if we can find a song worth dancing to?"

The smile she flashes is dazzling, wide enough to banish every will-o-wisp shadow from the woods around them, and with a little tug on Sohalia’s arm she leads the way back toward the lights and laughter of the masquerade, already bright with the promise of another memory worth making.

And with that, the forest fades behind them, the night carrying them forward into music and champagne and whatever trouble might still wait in the clearing. Dragons and roses, as it turned out.

~FIN

some real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3