but when I think of you another shower starts

Her mom was dead.

Kaija swore that she'd known it before even got back home. Something wasn't right - and it wasn't just her sickness. That had started to fade, first the crystal growth breaking off just when she feared she'd lose her sight entirely, and then slowly she started to feel more and more like herself. Still a bit unwell overall but with the darkness slowly fading and the light returning she started to feel hope again, like the life that had slowly seeped out of her was returning. Until she got close to home, at least; her heart had started to sink in her chest before she even saw the grasses of the moor.

Though she'd willingly left Valhalla, she felt even less tie to the place now. If it wasn't for her brother she'd have none at all, but even his company didn't make staying plausible for her. Being there hurt. She wasn't used to feeling angry but it suddenly hit her just how deeply unfair life was. People left, or died, and there wasn't anything you could do about it. Nothing at all.

That was when she started thinking about Ophie. She'd been sick, really sick like Kaija, but it was hard to say if any of it had been a figment of her imagination or not. The sickness had messed with her mind a bit, she realized after she started feeling better. Now she was feeling more clear-headed, nearly symptom free except for a nagging fatigue that she couldn't seem to shake. Most of the ooze was gone now, though her affected eye seemed inflamed and hazy, no doubt still healing. Though her physical body seemed to be recovering with ease, she wasn't sure she'd ever be the same again, not really. It was hard to find much to smile about now. Even if her mom hadn't always been the most present, or the most loving, she'd still been her mom and the world was a little darker in her absence, the kind of darkness even the sun couldn't touch.

Maybe finding Ophie and making sure she was alright would make things a little better - she could only hope. Following her scent was tricky; her senses seemed dull now as she recovered and it took her days to find her way back across Boreas and get a sense of where she might be. Once she finally knew she was close, she felt some of that joy return - just a tiny spark, barely noticeable at all amongst all the hazy darkness but it was present and it urged her on. Once someone came into view that was no doubt Ophie - she was even alive! - Kaija picked up her pace as best as she could, barrelling toward her friend and barely managing to resist the urge to tackle her. "Ophie! You're better," she weakly exclaimed, not sounding half as thrilled as she really felt. Kaija didn't want to think about what she would've done if her friend hadn't made it.