Aramora

Chapter 37: See You Soon

He's gone before she gets the chance to ask him how he's coping with everything, and she guesses it's probably for the best. She's likely the last person he and Nesosa would want to open up to after what she did.

She sets those thoughts aside and turns back into the cabin to where Naomi is still peacefully asleep.

It's unfortunate that peace never lasts.

She makes her way back over and gently shakes Naomi's shoulder, watching her face shift as she fights to remain asleep.

"Naomi... c'mon, wake up," she says softly.

Hearing her voice, Naomi blinks her eyes open and squints at how dry they are. The few hours of sleep didn't do much with how much she had been crying. The redness to the whites of her eyes lingers from their talk on the deck. As does the hollow feeling.

Naomi lets out a yawn and looks around the room. "Nisha...? What's—" she yawns again, "What's going on?" she asks.

Nisha sighs and nods her head towards the door. "We... we're here. Malachi wants us on the deck," she explains and her heart grows heavier as Naomi's eyes slightly mist up again.

Why did she have to get close to her? She's only hurting her.

Nisha's face softens and she reaches over to cup her cheek and lightly brush her thumb over her skin, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes as if she could erase them with her touch, but she can't no matter how badly she wants to.

Naomi closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Nisha doesn't need to bother trying to read her as she's an open book. The weight of the world has been on her shoulders for so long, but it was also on theirs. She wasn't alone through this, but the weight she must be feeling right now is different.

Because soon she'll lose another person to help carry the weight, which not only takes away the support to keep it up, but it also makes it heavier.

Naomi nods and gets up before she can let herself hide under the covers like she normally would. There's too much at stake to run from it now. She grabs her bag and slips it over her shoulders and Nisha fastens her daggers in their sheaths to her belt.

Naomi steps towards the door and takes one more deep breath, throwing a glance back at Nisha. "Let's go," she says and opens the door, leaving the cabin with Nisha following as they try preparing themselves for what's to come.

When they reach the deck, the first thing they see is Malachi and Nesosa standing at the edge of the ship and staring at the glowing magic barrier in front of them that surrounds Ecrin. The sky is still dark and the storm only adds to that, mixing with a drizzle of rain to chill them physically while the apprehension does the same to their spirits.

As they approach, Malachi notices them and motions them closer. As they reach his side, Naomi glances over at Nesosa. She thinks out of all of them, she looks the most exhausted. Her eyes have the darkest circles and are red from how dry they must be. Her shoulders slouch, but her clenched fists tremble.

"Nesosa... How are you feeling...?" Naomi asks hesitantly.

Nesosa doesn't flinch at her voice, but it almost looks like she was unaware of her presence until she spoke. She doesn't take her eyes off the barrier.

"Angry," she rasps as she speaks. The smoke, ash, and screaming did a good bit of damage to her vocal cords, but her fire hasn't dwindled in the slightest. If anything, it's been reignited. Only it's now being fueled by vengeance. Spite.

Nisha looks to Malachi. "You said there's a problem? What is it? You know, on top of the mountain of problems we already have in front of us," she asks despite not really wanting to know. She knows that this all needs to be sorted out, but knowing what comes after makes it seem like a hill she doesn't want to climb because she knows that on the other side is the cliff waiting for her to jump.