Late Morning : Early Winter - Northern Market District

I gave Bjorn a look of disappointment as the silence turned awkward. "So.. do you care to explain?"

"Haah..." He let out a deep sigh as he glanced down at Yolanda. "Right, sorry for the mess.” His expression slowly turned more worried as he talked. “Yolanda.. got a bit depressed after Amara left without her."

"Huh?" -Amara left? But wait, before that...- "Did Yolanda really drink all of this herself?" -It's all wine... She hates wine...-

"Yeah... Drinking it all was her attempt at drowning her sorrows with alcohol. She repeatedly sent me out to get more of whatever I could find for a few hours straight earlier. The flowers were my own attempt at cheering her up, but..." He looked down at the sliced-apart petals on the bed with a guilty expression. "They.. weren't received too well..."

"Haah, yeah... She has a bad reputation with red flowers specifically..." I gave her a worried look as silence filled the room.

Seeing her tightly gripping onto Bjorn was a genuinely pitiful sight, but even though it was childish, I couldn't bring myself to say or do anything. -Amara is the closest thing she's ever had to a mother… For her to suddenly vanish.. it probably reminded her of her father...-

"All we can do is hope she feels better when she wakes up." -I really hope she isn’t dwelling on it…- There was a short moment of silence before I continued. "So.. about Amara... You said she left?"

"Y..yeah. According to Yolanda, she left without telling us anything, not long after the prayer itself ended. I thought she would have at least told Yolanda something, but apparently not..."

-Oh…- "Yeah, that's.. really unusual for her..." It was the first time I had even heard of Amara leaving Yolanda without saying anything. -Amara knows about her past as well... Why would she leave her like this? There's no way she was kidnapped or something, right?- Although the chances were slim to none, they were still greater than zero. "Did you happen to see her leave?"

"No, I was still passed out when she left."

"What? Why did you pass out?"

"According to Yolanda, it was the flash and shockwave from a spell Dagr used to cleanse a sinful apostle, but all I remember is seeing a bright flash, then feeling something hit me.” A forced smile slowly crept onto his face as he spoke. “I really wish I was awake to properly see it."

I stiffened up immediately. "Y..yeah, it was quite a beautiful display of strength..."

Bjorn slowly nodded before looking back at me. "Anyway.. what's your plan? Are you going to leave as well?"

Slowly easing up, I gently leaned against the side of the doorframe. "That's the plan... There are some things I need to check on at home, so I was planning on leaving this afternoon or tonight."

"Ah. How long will you be gone?"

I felt awkward thinking about what to say before simply being honest. "I'm.. not too sure, but it might be a while. I do plan to stop by when I come through town, but I can’t say it will be that often..."

I was a bit nervous he would get disheartened after catching my drift, but it seemed to be a needless worry. "Oh? You still have things to do in Siratha?"

He seemed genuinely glad that I would still visit from time to time. "Yeah, there are a few things around here that I need to keep my eyes on."

"Haha, that's good to hear. I was a bit worried we would be parting ways." His laugh sounded half forced, but it ever-so-slowly eased the mood until the conversation started returning to normal.

We continued talking for a while after that, discussing our plans for the future and idly talking about our hobbies.

It was honestly quite a refreshing chat, but it came to an end the moment Yolanda woke up...

"Mmm... Hm?" She looked incredibly lethargic as she glanced around the room, but when she saw me, her eyes went wide. "VASILIAAASS!" Jumping off the bed and darting over to me, she threw her face into my chest and started crying. "AHHH, I THOUGHT YOU LEFT TOOO!"

A knot of guilt formed in my stomach the moment I realized how distraught she was, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything and just started rubbing her head like Amara sometimes would. *pat* *rub-rub*

The next few minutes felt like an eternity, but eventually, she stopped crying, and things calmed down enough for us to move out of the messy bedroom and into the living area.

"Would you like some warm tea?" I tried to speak up to break the ice, but it hardly did anything.

"Y..yes, please..." *sniffle* Yolanda sat at the table, wrapped up in a soft blanket I made for her while slowly but surely calming back down.

*Clink* Carefully setting the cup of steaming tea in front of her, I finally sat down and gave her a moment to ease her nerves.

Eventually, she glanced at me after a few sips and mumbled under her breath. "Thank you, Vasilias..." Her voice lacked its usual confidence and joy, but it was an improvement from earlier.

"Don't thank me for something like this. I’m here to help you when you need it… If you want some, please just ask." Seeing Amara awkwardly glancing around, trying to turn our gazes off her, I quickly got back up and fixed two more cups of tea.

*Clink* "T..thanks." Bjorn happily took the tea once I handed it to him and immediately started using it to warm up.

*Clink* The sound of Yolanda setting down her glass pierced through the silence as Bjorn and I turned to her.

"Vasilias... Amara is probably alright.. right?" Her voice carried a mix of fear and worry, but it helped ease me into the conversation.

"Amara is from a well-known noble family and is quite strong herself. I don't think we need to worry about her too much."

"But-"

"Yolanda, if it is within her ability, she will come back." -She's the last person on this planet who would abandon you...- "But if it will help ease your worries, I'll get someone trustworthy to look for her."

"O..okay..." She awkwardly looked at her reflection in the tea as she let out a deep sigh. "Haah... I’ll.. take you up on that… I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"Don't worry about it. It's something I planned to do regardless."

"T..thank you… Truly…"

The next few hours flew by before any of us even realized it. Although our conversation started stagnantly, as time passed, Bjorn and I worked to warm up the atmosphere, and eventually, Yolanda joined in. We managed to chat and reminisce about the past like everything was normal.

Eventually, the afternoon rolled around, and instead of continuing to coop ourselves inside the chilly room, we went out and strolled the market, getting Yolanda some of her favorite candy, getting Bjorn some nice warm clothes, and even grabbing lunch at a cozy tavern.

By the time evening rolled around, everyone's mood had improved substantially, and Yolanda was once again able to put aside some of her worries and anxiety.

But eventually, as sunset neared, the time of my departure arrived.

"You won't forget to come and visit, right?" Yolanda's cheerful smile could finally be seen again, glistening in the warm light from a lantern hanging from the inn.

It was a truly refreshing sight. "Haha, of course not. Will you still be living in Morva Asari for the time being?"

"Yeah, I plan to stay there until Amara returns."

"Alright, in that case, I'll tell the people I send out to give you updates if they find anything." Seeing her nod in understanding, I happily continued. “Let me give you one last present before I leave.”

"Hm?" She gave me a confused glance as I grabbed her hand and closed it to form a fist. “Huh?” *clink* Her expression turned panicked as she felt cold metal press against her palm.

"Think of this as me asking you to forgive my untimely departure." *pat* *rub-rub* "Be safe without me, alright?"

When I let go of her hand and gently rubbed her head, she looked in her palm to see several freshly minted platinum coins. "W..what?! This much is-"

But by the time she looked up, I was gone.

She immediately pouted. "He could have at least let me say thanks or goodbye..."

"You know how he is sometimes." Bjorn idly looked down the road with a warm expression. “We should go to the Tree tomorrow and pray for both him and Amara. Maybe our lords will be able to watch over them…”

Yolanda's mixed expression quickly lightened back up as she let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Haha, alright. Let’s do that."

"Huh? Is something funny?"

Her pure smile turned smug the more confused Bjorn became. "Hm? I don't know what you're talking about~."