Paradise Falls the dream’s a lie

It seemed Isla was not ready to have him leave just yet. Riven's ear perked at her question, and he let himself relax a bit further, grateful to not have to abandon the water straight away. A smile formed on his face and he shook his head.

"No, I'm not." Yet, anyway. Perhaps there was time for that later, but he wouldn't consider them to be friends at the moment. A soft, sheepish huff of laughter escaped him. "There's actually someone else I'm here for."

Someone else he was avoiding. He'd traveled all this way, almost nonstop, to see his old friends, and yet now that he was within reaching distance he shied back. How could it be that the last step of the journey was the hardest?

"Are you friends with Chan?" he asked then, tipping his head.

Oh, curious indeed.

She wondered some list of names and faces. Found that she hardly cared much for who he might be here for. It would matter more if he stayed long term, but only time would tell.

When the question became flipped on her, she only smiled thinly like a grim secret wiggled in place of her tongue. We have a history. It would have been easy to sit here and paint a grand, ugly image of the things they shared. Instead she only let it hover in the air like a fogged mystery.