Eight Intertwined

118 - Parallels

Primrose drifted through the streets of Victors Hollow with a light hum on her tongue even though she wasn't passionate about the sound or the song in the slightest. She still had a bit of time before she needed to pack up for the group to set off the following day, but she needed more fresh air before she settled down in the inn for the night. Her emotions had been shredding her for the last hour or two, though she wasn't entirely sure why. She had been in a fairly good mood while the group was out on their treasure hunt. She didn't understand why everything had shifted out of the blue like that.

No, that wasn't true. Primrose knew exactly why things were changing. Their next destination was Stillsnow so H'aanit could visit Susanna and ask her about what to do when fighting against Redeye. The closest town to Stillsnow was Noblecourt, and that was where Primrose could find the next of the crows. Rufus had said as much, and as hesitant as she was to trust him, Primrose knew she didn't have many other options. He was the only path forward she had, and she just needed to deal with that. If she wanted to get her revenge, it was her only choice. 

Primrose was afraid of going back to Noblecourt due to a variety of concerns. One of the primary reasons for her worry was that she didn't know if revenge was even what she wanted anymore. It had been a while since her first revenge mission, and a lot had happened since then. Primrose had come to know the rest of her traveling companions much better since then, and they were the best friends she could have asked for. No matter what, she knew she was safe as long as she had them around. It was the best she had felt in years, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

But revenge was her purpose. It was the reason she had lived this long in the first place. Many had assumed her dead after the fall of House Azelhart, but she couldn't let that happen as long as she could still fight, could still make sure the world remembered her father no matter what. She couldn't die when revenge was still waiting for her. It was all she had, and it was important. 

Primrose didn't know if she would ever be ready to face the next of the crows. She couldn't back down now that the chance had been given to her, but she was afraid of what would happen when she got there. She would just need to be patient and see what came of it for better or worse. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach though, and she knew she needed someone to talk to about it. Luckily for her, there was someone else who was going through something similar, and Primrose knew he would be able to help. 

It was easy to find Olberic after the travelers split up for the afternoon. Primrose spotted him on a bench near the arena as he stared up at the massive coliseum with a small frown on his face. He was thinking about what he had heard from Gustav. Of course he was. He knew where Erhardt was, and the travelers would be going there with time. Even if they still had a while to wait before the black market took them to Wellspring, the anxiety of seeing his old friend again hung heavily over Olberic's head. He looked so tired, and Primrose couldn't help thinking again and again that it wasn't right for him to be so exhausted. He had been such a bright spot in her life, and she wanted to help him in any way she could. 

Primrose approached Olberic slowly before she sat down on the bench beside him. "How are you doing?" she asked softly even though she knew it was a pointless question. She knew exactly how he was feeling, and there wasn't much she could do to help him with it. He wanted to go and see Erhardt in Wellspring, but at the same time, he was terrified of what he was going to find. He had never been so ready for anything in his life, but he had also never been so unprepared. 

Olberic looked at Primrose slowly, not shocked by her presence but still too tired to say anything at first. He hummed before loosely shrugging even though they both knew apathy was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. "I'm just thinking," he replied even though that wasn't even close to an answer to Primrose's question. It didn't need to be though. She already knew what it meant, and he knew that too.