[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/MrFrT8O.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/241224/2dff96a131a2215857bd81cacd3d277e.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Outside Eye of the Beholder[/sub][/cell][/row][/table][b]Alone again.[/b] 

Nyla wasn’t sure if she was starting to enjoy the solitude that had begun to plague her around every corner, or if it had just become her new normal. She’d never been good at being alone. She’d grown up in a tight-knit community. Together, they travelled from town to town, performed for countless nameless faces, and bonded with the public over shared drinks and stories. She’d always felt comfortable in that space—surrounded by noise, touch, and human connection. 

Being alone meant being separated from your chosen family. Being alone meant certain death. 

But the walk back to the tavern had been… oddly peaceful. A relief from the crushing weight of that stranger's presence. She told herself she was glad for it, despite the way she kept remembering the slow, deliberate way his dark eyes had assessed her from bottom to top.

Some traitorous part of her actually wanted him to follow.

Focusing her eyes ahead, Nyla repetitively forced each and every thought down. She had other things to be concerned with. 

Like…. Why did she still have this basket of cookies? 

Like… Where was Flynn? 

[i][center][sub]… Where was Flynn?[/sub][/center]

[right][sub][sub]… Where was Flynn?[/sub][/sub][/right][/i]
Her grip tightened on the basket, the wood bending and creaking as she fought the urge to tear the handle in half. 

And then, as if summoned by some cruel twist of fate, a familiar redheaded woman exited the tavern. 

Nyla’s steps faltered, her gaze locked onto the woman and the sheepdog who walked beside her. It was the woman Nyla had seen Aldrick dancing with the night before, she realized. But now, closer up…  

Nyla [i]knew[/i] that face. 

Her lips curved into a surprised smile before she could stop them, her gaze sweeping over the woman’s familiar features. [color=DBA73D]“Ah—Aren’t you Lady Evercrest?”[/color] 

Formally, she should have said. Lady no longer befit her.  

[color=DBA73D]“Thalia, yes?”[/color] 

She tilted her head, feigning mild confusion, as if she might be unsure of the woman's first name. But she knew. She’d seen this woman multiple times on multiple occasions—always from afar. She’d seen the way those hazel eyes had looked up at Flynn—like he could offer her the entire universe in just one breath. 

[color=DBA73D]“Oh,”[/color] she forced herself to faintly laugh, [color=DBA73D]“you probably don’t remember me. I used to perform in the capital, but I remember you. I’m surprised to see you here.”[/color]


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[Sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Thalia [@Qia][/sub]