Tidal Florette - A Painted Soul I

Yumi - 41

Yumi opens her eyes as though waking at dawn. All she sees in that moment is Sapha lying there next to her on the floor, just coming to as well. Holding a gaze between each other, Yumi notices the glimmer of tears showing up in Sapha's radiantly emerald eyes before she quickly pulls away and sits up. Come back...

She realizes they've been returned to the palace. That she has no idea how much time has passed since they were taken to Nox's realm. That Favian is probably panicking about them disappearing and needs her to get up and get back to work learning how to cure the moonlit. How am I supposed to tell him that I can't? He's going to hate me for this... All because I had to go and fal—

Yumi's fist closes, tightly gripping the strands of the rug beneath her. No... You can't think like that. You have to help her take the power for herself and then say goodbye...

"Yumi... Why did you come up here? When you found me, I mean."

Yumi sits up. "The empress assigned me a couple guards that I'm going to be stuck with for a while. They were going to teach me some old card game to pass the time and I thought..."

Sapha nods as she stands and walks across the room to a small hourglass that has completed its course on the desk by her bed. "At least that doesn't seem urgent. It's been at least a day."

Yumi looks at the hourglass with confusion. "Hopefully no more than one... Is that yours?"

Sapha seems to be hesitating to set the apparatus down, she's appearing to have an internal debate over whether to flip it or not. "What of it?"

"Why?"

She crosses her arms. "What does it matter?"

"I have no idea. Does it help with your work?"

Sapha lowers her head with a sigh. "Every morning before it empties I need to be rested and ready to flip it for a new day. When I was a kid, if I wasn't ready... then..."

Yumi keeps quiet, hoping Sapha will continue, but also baffled by what purpose that could possibly serve and if she's been tracking every day on her person this entire time. What happens if you get kidnapped and hung upside down? Your whole morning is ruined the next day... Although, I suppose being kidnapped wouldn't be all that fun... Depends who did the kidnapping...

Sapha clips it to her belt back within her cloak, apparently leaving it for the next morning. "The job needed to be done and I needed to be ready to flip it for the next... okay?"

Yumi's attention is broken from its momentary lapse. "I'm sorry... but... you don't work for him anymore."

Sapha's stares back with a coldness in her eyes. "No... But I'll keep counting... Until the job's done..."

"Didn't you just have a falling out with your employer?"

"I... worked with them, not for them. Our reasons aligned and it seems now they do not." She looks down at her hand, studying it as a dark flame starts appearing around it. Yumi feels a tightness in her chest, but it's a manageable pain. Sapha's fist closes as the flame grows. "The job is far from over..."

She seems to suddenly realize the shadowy flames existence and it goes out immediately as she looks at Yumi who's hiding the pain. "Sorry... did that hurt?"

Yumi shakes her head as she hops up, deciding to downplay things for the sake of helping Sapha move forward. "You must be getting stronger."

Sapha looks back suspiciously as her arm falls to her side as she heads for the door to leave. "You're still an awful liar. Don't tempt me to use it just to fuck with you."