After lunch, King Wonek gathered the crew."You'll all stay here and tomorrow we'll take a trip to see Nick." Arlenna and Thiago nodded gratefully.
Solace's reaction was very different. "That's a whole day? What am I supposed to do??"
King Wonek looked around confused. "Rest?"
Solace stared at him like he had suggested she eat something soft. "We woke up way too early today." She took a second to think. "We should probably go get Miss Motion and the airship while we still have the time."
King Wonek tilted his head, "Tell me where they are."
Solace hesitated, "Why?"
King Wanek smiled, "So I can have someone retrieve both, quickly and quietly." He turned toward the window. "That way you can actually rest, or enjoy the town for a little."
Solace paused, weighing it over in her head, then she nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you the location's. The airship is super far, but miss motion is closer"
King Wonek nodded his head. "It doesn't really make sense for you to go all the way back to your airship before we go meet Nick, if you tell me the locations I'll have someone bring both to his castle and meet us." Then he chuckled. "Also, who is Miss Motion?"
Arlenna went to her room and decided to collapse onto a real bed for the first time since the arena, she slept like a rock. Thiago found the castle's training yard, hit a wooden dummy once, and took a nap on the grass. Solace, however, was a problem.
She skidded in front of the kids, and threw her shoulder into the wall to stop herself, the stone thudding on impact. "WINE, DINE." The kids froze, and solace pointed at Wine. "Winner Winner." She pointed at Dine. "Chicken Dinner!" Then she sprinted down the hall like a yellow blur. Wine gasped, dine shrieked, and they both chased her at full speed.
The entire castle heard their echoes. "NOOO, I'M NOT CHICKEN DINNER!" Dine screamed.
"YES YOU ARE! RUN FASTER!" Wine screamed back as they ran.
Frostpeak warriors stepped aside as Solace slid under tables, and used Dine's panic as motivation to go even faster. Wonek passed by carrying a beam of wood and sighed fondly. "She fits in," he murmured.
Soon after Solace went to find Arlenna, she knocked on her door and there was no answer so she decided to go in. She had her face over Arlenna's and was patting her cheeks. "Wake up my precious," She said in a creepy voice.
"What is wrong with you?" Arlenna said, as she opened her eyes.
"Depends on who you ask." Solace was rubbing her chin, and thinking about her answer like it was a real question. "Since you asked me, I say… absolutely nothing at all, now let's go on a side quest."
Arlenna shot out of the bed. "Navi, listen to me, they have numbing cream here, and not the weak stuff either."
Solace grinned, "So I won't feel a thing."
"Not…A…Thing." Arlenna replied. They stood there for a moment, just facing each other grinning. " Let's go on a side quest." She said before turning to the door.
They found Thiago in the training yard sleeping.
"Wake up bum." Arlenna whispered in his left ear.
"Wake up bum." Solace whispered in his right ear. They went back and forth until he opened his eyes. When Thiago finally woke up both women got to their feet and put a hand out. He grabbed both and they helped him up, that's when he noticed two braids hanging down in front of his left eye.
"You guys are lucky I like you, I would have absolutely killed you for touching my hair otherwise." Thiago said, and started taking them out.
Solace grinned, "Your hair is really fun to braid, I was showing Arlenna how to do it."
"Why are you taking them out, it looks nice," Arlenna said.
"Navi… there's only two braids in my hair, you either braid the whole head or nothing," Thiago said disgustedly.
Arlenna put her hands up, "Didn't know there were so many rules, that's on me."
Thiago chuckled, "I'm not a fan of braids anyway, I look like my br—" He glanced over at Arlenna.
Arlenna glanced back. "You look like who."
"My bratty alter ego," Thiago replied.
"What does that even mean?" Solace asked, confused.
"I look a little different, but act completely different with braids in," Thiago said, "So I pretend it's another person." Thiago rolled his eyes. "And I'm not the biggest fan of that person."
Arlenna chuckled,"I am so confused."
"You're telling me you act like a different person with braids in… so you just pretend it's a whole other person?" Solace asked.
Thiago smirked, "Well it's not me, they may look like me but they are not me, so sure."
"You sound crazy, but I'll play along," Arlenna said.
"Thats why I hesitated to answer," Thiago said as he shrugged.
"Why aren't you the biggest fan of this person?" Arlenna asked.
"They never have a shirt on and it's annoying, It's like they forget it's my body too."
Solace nodded her head, "Okay so you have this alter ego, right, got it, cool. That shares your body, uh huh, uh huh. They never wear a shirt… okay, understandable. Oh and they always have braided hair." She looked over at him, "Did I get all that?."
"Basically," Thiago said, "Besides the fact that it's not REALLY an alter ego, like I said before it's not me so why claim it as such, you know."
Arlenna chuckled, "I can't tell if he's being serious."
Thiago shrugged, "Guess we'll never know."
"Whats their name?" Arlenna asked.
"Thats a lot of questions, I think it's time for me to ask a few."
Solace frowned, "You can't leave us hanging like that."
Arlenna crossed her arms, "All that lore and we don't get a name."
Thiago chuckled, "Anyways, why am I up, where are you taking me? Wait, am I being kidnapped right now?" He shifted his gaze back and forth between them.
Solace pointed in the direction of the car King Wonek arranged for them, "Side quest."
Arlenna nodded her head slowly. "Side quest."
"Well why didn't you say so," Thiago said, then paused. "Side quest."
"I'm gonna figure out what the name is," Arlenna said.
The three of them walked over and got into the car. They went to the largest town in the Thrymmhold Summit region, and the streets were alive with sound. Merchants called out from open stalls, metal chimed, and laughter rose and fell in overlapping waves.
Solace pulled her earmuffs down over her ears and smiled anyway. She wandered from stall to stall with tireless energy, stopping at nearly every one, except those selling meat or what she firmly labeled as rancid smells. She wrinkled her nose dramatically whenever she passed them, earning amused looks from vendors who quickly learned to laugh with her rather than question her.
She talked to everyone, and danced when music appeared from nowhere. She laughed too loud, clapped when children showed her tricks, and spun in place when someone complimented her. The people loved it, and by the time her bag was full, it bulged with her favorites. A ton of fresh fruit and dried fruit, different kinds of rice wrapped in cloth, assorted nuts, fluffy bread balls and flat bread, desserts she had never tried before, vegetables in every shade of green and carrots.
As she walked she was eating a bowl of mushroom pasta, content and humming softly to herself. She didn't want to eat the food she just bought, she even had firm pieces of tofu saved till after her pasta.
"Solace," Arlenna yelled.
Solace turned around and realized she got distracted and walked too far from the tattoo parlor. Arlenna was waving both hands in the air in front of the door, as Solace jogged back Thiago popped his head out to see what happened.
"Do we need a leash for her?" Arlenna started laughing.
"Sorry," Solace said, "I got distracted." When they got inside Solace finished eating her pasta and Arlenna talked to the tattoo artist.
Thiago sat down next to solace. " What are you gonna get?"
"I want all of us to get a tattoo representing how we were the first three when the Pinnacle Crew was formed. If that doesn't hurt I have a ton of ideas, but I'm scared I know I'm sensitive." Solace fidgeted with her hands as she spoke." What about you?"
"Um… I think I'm just gonna get whatever one you want all of us to get. I don't really want any other tattoos, I'm not a fein like Arlenna." He turned and grinned at Arlenna.
She came over and sat down next to them. "Is he disrespecting me?" Arlenna grimaced.
"I would never allow that to happen." Solace said, dramatically. The crew started laughing.
Arlenna grinned excitedly, "Okay, the man said he has numbing cream."
"So what are we getting exactly to represent the three of us little sov?" Thiago asked.
Solace thought about it for a second, "I figured it out, have you ever heard of the word troika?"
Arlenna looked at her confused, "I've never heard of that, No."
Thiago scratched his head, "Like the horses."
Solace pointed at Thiago,"Precisely, young man."
Thiago made a face and looked at Arlenna "Young man?" Arlenna just chuckled.
"A Troika is a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses harnessed side by side," Solace said, "So I think of it like this: the pinnacle crew is the sleigh or carriage, and because you are my primes, we are the three horses pulling it."
"Oh ok so you're the little pony in the middle," Thiago said, "So that means me and Arlenna are the war horses on both sides, I get it now."
Solace smirked mockingly, and pointed at him with her thumb, "This guy." She shook her head slowly, "You should be a comedian bud."
"I begged and I pleaded," Arlenna mumbled, both hands raised. "All of this could have been avoided." Thiago just watched chuckling under his breath.
All three of them got "The Shutdown Troika" tattooed across their entire right forearm, and with the numbing creaming solace didn't feel a thing.
"I'm not gonna lie, this isn't bad little sov," Thiago said, nodding in approval. "Alright I'm gonna disappear." He headed toward the door. "I'll find a way back so don't wait for me." They waved him off, both women wanted to get more tattoos so they stayed.
Arlenna got a legless and wingless wyrm dragon, wrapped twice around her waist and up her spine. The tattoo artist was working on the head of the dragon, which was on Arlenna's shoulder. When he was done, the dragon started to move. It moved all over her body, wrapped itself twice around her waist again, then slithered up her spine, its head stopping at the nape of her neck.
"Wait, if I get one of those moving tattoos on my arm, I can move it somewhere else once it's done?" Solace asked.
"Yeah," Arlenna replied, "Why? Where do you want them?"
"I was thinking my waist," Solace replied.
Arlenna looked at her confused, "Why don't you just get it on your waist."
Solace grinned, "Um… no reason I just don't want to get a tattoo on my waist."
Arlenna rolled her eyes, "Yeah okay solace, you little liar."
"What," Solace said, "I'm not lying about anything."
Arlenna grinned, "Okay, look me in the eyes and tell me that." Solace looked at her for about two seconds, then started laughing as she looked away, making arlenna laugh too.
Solace got a Hawksbill turtle and a Kemp's Ridley turtle on her other forearm. They started swimming around as soon as they finished, then settled on each side of her waist.
"I'm gonna call my dragon Mushu," Arlenna said, as she watched it move around her body again.
"I'm gonna name the Hawksbill turtle George, and the Kemp's Ridley turtle Kennedi." Solace said, enthusiastically.
"This is so cool, let me see yours swim around," Arlenna said.
Solace sighed, "Later, can we get out of here first please?"
After the two of them left the tattoo parlor, Solace's attention drifted past the stalls, toward the edge of the town where the ground softened into grass. The flowers there were bright and colorful. "I want to go there." She pointed, Arlenna followed her gaze, then nodded.
They left the town behind and crossed into the open field just before the woods. Solace flopped down onto the grass, lying flat among the flowers with her legs crossed. She put one side of her earmuffs behind her ear so she could hear Arlenna better.
Arlenna sat beside her, knees drawn up, close enough that Solace could feel her presence without being crowded. Solace started eating her tofu. For a while, she ate her food, watching the clouds in the sky, while Arlenna sat beside her in quiet company.
"Does it ever bother you that Thiago's... distant," Arlenna said carefully. "He never really talks about himself."
Solace didn't respond right away. Her face stayed calm, her gaze fixed on the clouds drifting overhead. Arlenna glanced over, then frowned slightly, she knew that look. Solace's uncaring face was rarely uncaring at all.
"You know something," Arlenna said.
Solace tilted her head a little, still staring upward. "Do you remember," she said slowly, "before we were officially a Sovereign crew? When we were sitting around that fire?"
Arlenna thought about it for a second, "You kept asking why I was so connected to my sword,"
Solace nodded, "And after you told me why, you also told me not to tell anyone." Arlenna's fingers tightened briefly in the grass,
Solace finally turned her head to look at her, "Thiago has his secrets too," she said simply. "I think there are things I should know as the sovereign, but he gets to choose if he wants to tell them to others, and I don't think he's ready yet." The words were gentle, but final.
Arlenna leaned back on her hands, she accepted the answer, it made sense, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why doesn't he want me to know? I guess it works both ways huh. The flowers swayed around them as Solace went back to her tofu, utterly content.
Arlenna stared up at the sky, thinking about trust, and how some truths waited for the right moment to be spoken.
The bushes rustled nearby, Solace's head snapped toward the sound, and she sat up quickly."Did you hear that?"
Arlenna had already risen to one knee, eyes scanning the edge of the woods. "Yeah, but from where."
There was another rustle, louder this time. Solace was on her feet, she moved toward the woods, and started parting the leaves carefully. Inside a thicket of bushes, completely hidden, a girl lay sleeping. She looked young, twelve, maybe fourteen at most, and she looked sad, even in sleep.
She had thick braided hair styled into two buns, with a few long braids hanging down in front. Solace's eyes skimmed over the ink that covered her. From her neck to her feet she was covered in tattoos. There was a tattoo on her left forearm that said "Stunna," and a quote was on the other side that said, "Nobody is coming to save you." She had the eye of ra on the back of her right hand and the eye of Horus on the back of her left.
The tattoos were in pale white ink that popped hard against her dim skin. When her hand shifted, you could see her knuckles, and "Hold This" was spelled out. The rest of her skin was covered in the word "Failure" in the same white lettering.
Arlenna stood beside Solace and sighed softly. "People really love sleeping in bushes," she muttered. "We can't leave her here,"
Solace shot her a look, "No really."
Arlenna smirked, "No really," she said, mockingly while making a face.
Solace chuckled, "Your lucky she needs help, do you see her tattoo's"
Arlenna frowned, "Yeah, they're kinda everywhere."
"Failure is crazy though," Solace said, "That's so sad."
Arlenna nodded, "I wonder who did that to her."
"Me too," Solace muttered. She stepped closer and crouched, careful not to startle her. "Hey," she said gently. "Hey." The girl's eyes opened immediately. She didn't flinch, she just looked at them, like waking up in strange places was nothing new.
"You shouldn't sleep out here, It can be dangerous," Arlenna said, as she crouched down next to solace. The girl blinked once, unimpressed.
Solace tilted her head. "We have food."
That earned a flicker of attention, but nothing more. The girl's gaze drifted away again, the world had already decided too many things without her input.
Solace frowned, she shifted closer, her voice soft but certain. "Hey," she said, "We care about you, you don't even have to come with us, just tell us where you live, and we can get someone for you."
The girl looked at solace, and a puzzled look crossed her face. "Why?" She asked.
Solace blinked, "Why... what?"
She rolled her eyes, "Why do you care?" the girl pressed.
Solace frowned slightly, genuinely confused. "Because you're out here, and you shouldn't be." She gestured vaguely to the woods, and the open field. "Leaving you here isn't an option," she said, "It doesn't even have to be us who helps you, we can get someone, anyone." The girl stared at her harder now, searching for the catch, but there wasn't one.
"...That's weird," she said, after a long pause.
Solace smiled a little, "Yeah, I get that a lot."
Arlenna smiled as she watched the exchange. Solace reached into her bag and pulled out food, holding it out without pushing it into the girl's space.
"You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to," Solace said, "But at least tell us this, do you live around here?"
The girl hesitated, then shook her head slightly. "I don't know." That answer sat heavy.
Solace stood and offered her a hand. "Come with us somewhere safer, you can eat, and you can rest."
The girl looked at the hand for a long moment, then she took it. As they walked, Solace handed her food piece by piece. The girl ate quietly, avoiding their eyes. She didn't explain how she ended up there, and no one was going to force her to.
They walked back toward the castle together at an easy pace. Solace stayed slightly ahead, walking a little sideways so she could keep an eye on the girl. She kept handing food back over her shoulder.
Solace grinned, "Yet, somehow tragedy will strike." She passed back another piece of fruit.
Arlenna shook her head, "Solace, stop being dramatic." They started laughing together.
Solace glanced at the girl again. "Hey, since you're eating my food and all, I feel like I'm allowed to know your name."
The girl hesitated, chewing slowly. "...Kidwild,"
Solace stopped walking, she stared at the girl, jaw hanging open. "That is literally, one of the coolest names I have ever heard in my entire life, no way."
Kidwild's mouth twitched, she tried to stop it, she really did, but the grin slipped through anyway. After passing the town, another one of King Wonek's Drivers was waiting for them where they had been dropped off. They all climbed in the car, and drove back to Evergleam Peak Castle.
King Wonek spotted them first, he raised a brow as they approached, his gaze flicking from Solace to the unfamiliar girl at her side. "Solace," he said mildly, "do you just... collect children?"
Solace shrugged, "They keep finding me, what can I do?"
Arlenna crossed her arms, "It's a problem."
Wonek chuckled and crouched slightly so he was closer to Kidwild's height. "Well," he said, "you're welcome here, we've got rooms, you can stay as long as you need." Kidwild said nothing. She nodded once and followed the attendant who showed her where to go. She didn't come down for dinner and Solace noticed immediately.
Later that night, she carried a tray up the stairs and stopped outside the door Kidwild had been given. She knocked twice, then pushed it open slowly. Kidwild sat on the bed, knees drawn up, staring at nothing. Solace set the tray down nearby.
"I brought food," Solace said softly, "Figured you might get hungry."
Kidwild looked at her, "Why?"
Solace didn't think about her answer, "Because I care." She smiled at her. Kidwild stared back for a long moment, then she looked down at the tray and started picking at it. She didn't say thank you, but Solace didn't seem to mind.