Lanterns Between The Starlight

The next thing that Sophie-Anne knew was someone pounding—not knocking—on her door. She started awake and jumped up, grabbing her shoes to put on. "Just a moment!" she said, voice tense. She knew she was exhausted but to not hear someone knocking? Pretty much all Loomborn had extremely sensitive hearing. Their ears were large and could catch sounds easily. Even a slight shuffle tended to be enough to get a Loomborn's attention. She hastily stuffed her feet in her shoes and tied them, laces going everywhere. She shuffled to the door. Aleksy stood there. Despite his pounding, though, he looked more worried than anything. "You okay there, Sophie-Anne? It's past noon." She stared at him. Past noon...? She was always an early riser, so to sleep in so late... But, then again, she had slept horribly on the train, so it did make some sense. "Sorry, Aleksy," she apologised. "I didn't mean to sleep so late. I'm normally up at five sharp!" She smiled and tried to reassure him, but that only seemed to make his brows crease even more. "Honestly, there's not much need to wake that early unless you plan on helping Amara and Alaric in the bakery with their bread. Most of our businesses don't open till eleven or later even." She stared at him. They slept in? That late? Business started early in Threadfall, often as early as six. She wasluckyto only need to be to work at nine. She needed to get ready for her day, though, so that was why she needed to wake so early. "I-I see..." She still couldn't wrap her mind around all of this. Inam had said that Willowmere was different from Threadfall, but she really was having trouble accepting the seemingly polar opposite culture. How did both places exist within the Lumenwild yet were so different? Then again, Willowmere was on the outskirts of the Lumenwild, so maybe that explained it. Maybe the cultures were just that different because of the distance and how far out Willowmere was. Granted, Sophie-Anne had never left Threadfall once arriving there shortly after she had been woven. Maybe other cities were different, but she didn't know for sure. "Well, if you come with me, I can cook ya up something real fast." Aleksy smiled at her and she gave a hesitant smile in return. They walked down the stairs where a snow leopard in a denim vest sat on one of the chairs. Sophie-Anne blinked. Another Awakened in such a small town? That...seemed to defy the odds. She could scarcely believe it. Then she offered a hasty bow. "H-Hello! I'm Sophie-Anne! It's nice to meet you!" Rude. It was rude to stare. Threadfall just didn't have many Awakened, so seeing two in less than twenty-four hours was nothing short of a miracle. The leopard turned her head around and smiled. "Hello! It's nice to meet you. I'm Theodora. I take it you're the new arrival from yesterday?" Her tail waved a bit, her smile not faltering. It was still so odd to her how easily the Loomborn of Willowmere seemed to smile. Such a thing would be considered borderline mental illness in Threadfall. Almost nobody but the highest of guild masters enjoyed life. Sophie-Anne nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes. How did you know?" Theodora purred. "Word gets around Willowmere fast. Chime let pretty much everybody know that someone new arrived yesterday. We do get visitors in Willowmere, but not many come with a suitcase." Sophie-Anne felt her fur prickling. Most Loomborn only owned one outfit, so there was no need for suitcases unless bringing other belongings. "Chime?" She had no idea who that was. She had met Luna, but that was it. "Oh, the sky puppy moth. She usually welcomes new arrivals even if she can be a little....cryptic. Gets it from Eclipse, I suppose." Theodora chuckled, ears twitching. However, her expression turned a bit sad and serious. "What's up with you? I can see your seams." Sophie-Anne's fur prickled even more and she looked away, ashamed. "I'd rather not talk about it." She wasn't about to give up her failure to Loomborn she had just met. They'd see her as the failure she was and shun her just like everyone in Threadfall had. She wanted to start anew. She could never return to Threadfall. The failure would follow her for years to come. Everyone in the Guilds knew what had happened. They wouldn't allow her to work in the city ever again. Maybe she could start anew somewhere else after recouping in Willowmere, but she couldn't, not right now. Her magic was pretty much unresponsive to her and she couldn't do anything about it. Magic was the only thing she was good for and that had failed her... Theodora nodded. "That's fair." She looked at Aleksy, tail wagging. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Same time, same place." She hopped down from the chair and walked out of the door. Aleksy held the door and then turned to Sophie-Anne. "You should probably go explore the town and introduce yourself. And don't forget that Keeping the Thread isn't the way you think it does. For now, just go explore and meet the townsfolk. Well. After we get something in that belly of yours." He smiled at her and she nodded as she sat down in one of the chairs. He slipped back into the kitchen, leaving her alone. Why would Loomborn not want Weavemarks? It made no sense to her. Timewasmoney in Threadfall. Weavemarks were how the city ran. Yet they didn't use them here in Willowmere unless someone was traveling. In some regards, she was glad because her Weavemarks wouldn't last forever. But by the same token, adapting to such a different system would be hard. They traded in goods and services rather than currency... She really couldn't wrap her mind around it. How was it not transactional? She just... Ugh. She mulled over her thoughts until Aleksy startled her by placing a plate in front of her. He smiled at her. "Eat up, then go have some fun. Go explore the town to your heart's content. If you need anything, just go to the bakery. Alaric and Amara will gladly take care of you." She nodded a bit. The thought of meeting others filled her stuffing with dread. If they knew how badly she'd failed, they'd hate her. Nobody could treat her kindly ever again after what had happened. "I'd also suggest stopping by the Five Petals of the Blooming March. The Pawlette sisters are kind as well. Though you may want to avoid the old observatory. Old Erol there is pretty gruff and not the kindest in general. Chime and Eclipse do live there too, though." "Who are Chime and Eclipse exactly?" She had met Chime the day prior, but it wasn't like she knew who Chimewas. “Chime is just a sweet little cinnamon roll who goes about the town and Keeps the Thread a lot without any expectation of return. Eclipse is a traveling scholar, though he’s been here in Willowmere for quite a few years now. They’re bound, if you catch my drift.” Aleksy smiled. Sophie-Anne just stared. She had no idea what that meant. Bound? Obviously a thread-based play on something. Oh. Ohhhh. “They’re together.” She took a bite and swallowed. “What about Alaric and Amara?” Aleksy nodded. “Yepyep, they’re together too.” “And nobody has a problem with it?” In Threadfall, Loomborn basically had to be married in order to live together, be they same-sex or otherwise. She and Inam were a special exception as they were roommates, but they did get a lot of sidelong glances. It was just…not socially acceptable for Loomborn to live together in Threadfall. Was this just another cultural difference between the far-flung reaches of the Lumenwild and the larger cities? Then again, she had no idea if other cities were as strict as Threadfall or not. “Why would we?” Aleksy simply stared at her. Well, that certainly was quite the difference. “No reason…” She looked down at her plate, but it was hard to eat. So much had happened over the past day that it was hard to fully accept. She had so much to learn to fit in and how to handle things here. She didn’t want to disappoint anybody. Failures in Threadfall would follow her for years to come. She didn’t want to have those failures follow her here… She couldn’t do anything with her magic, though… That hurt. She had loved Starweaving so much, but it was so hard to deal with sometimes. Everything wassotransactional in Threadfall… She just… She pushed the plate back toward Aleksy. “I’m not hungry anymore.” He frowned. “You’ve barely touched it.” “I’m just not hungry.” She knew that skipping meals wasn’t healthy, but after the weeks of travel on the train, she’d grown accustomed to not having enough to eat. This would help keep her going for a while, at least. “Where would you suggest I go first?” Aleksy didn’t seem too happy with the idea of her not eating more, but he didn’t say anything and took the plate. “I’d suggest heading to Lantern Square. Stop by the Hearthstone Bakery, The Quiet Post, and Five Petals & Thread first. Amara, Alaric, and the Pawlette sisters will welcome you warmly.” He smiled at her. She still couldn’t get over just how easily Loomborn here smiled. It made no sense to her. Only those highest in the guilds in Threadfall were basicallyallowedto even smile. She just… How could Loomborn be sohappyhere? Life in Threadfall had been abysmal and miserable. No wonder Inam had suggested that she come here… If these Loomborn were as genuine as they seemed…it was definitely abigchange and shift in philosophy to her. “All right. Thank you.” She paused. “Do you want me to Keep the Thread in any way right now…?” “I keep tellin’ ya, Keeping the Thread doesn’t work like that. Just let things go. Though I would appreciate some help cleaning up later. But don’t worry about it right now.” Aleksy continued to smile. “Okay…” She stood up and headed over toward the door, pausing before heading back out. The sun was well overhead by this point, the colored leaves rustling in a cool breeze. It felt so strange to be in a place with…so much nature. Threadfall had some parks and such, but nothing like this. Trees were a rarity. She had honestly beencompletelyenchanted when the train had left Threadfall and she’d seenso muchnature for the first time. She hadn’t been able to explore unfortunately. Now…she could explore to her heart’s content if she wanted to. Granted, she didn’t want to be caught out in the dark. She wasn’t sure if there were street lamps here or not. The moon went through different phases which she hadn’t been paying any attention to while traveling… Getting lost in a new place at night she didn’t know wasnotsomething she wanted to do. It looked like she was in River Row where the train station was. Lantern Square was to the north. Well…at least it seemed like Willowmere was a straight path… Threadfall was laid out neatly in a very precise grid, just like everything else. Well, aside from the older parts of the city where streets were cobbled and could twist and turn due to their age. Those were areas she tended to avoid because they weresoconfusing to her. The main city was easy to navigate due to everything being numbered in a meaningful, precise way. The old parts of the city had weird names instead of numbers… She didn’t really understand why things worked that way. She started walking north along a well-curated pathway. Some Loomborn walked along, offering her smiles and waves as she passed. She offered a hesitant smile in return, but hurried along after a certain point. Everyone hereseemedfriendly enough, but it was really hard to tell if they were being genuine or trying to get something out of her. She just had no idea how to handle any of this. Inam was the only friendly Loomborn that wasn’t out to get her in Threadfall. They had been roommates foryearsat this point… She still felt awful for basically abandoning Inam, but the bat had said to leave and they’d handle things by themselves. They would just find another roommate since so many Loomborn came through Threadfall and needed a place to stay. Still… It felt awful abandoning her one and only friend in the world. She came upon a cute square of shops, all decorated. A lot had flowerboxes in the windows with fall-colored flowers popping out of the soil. She walked up to one of the shops, honestly enchanted. She had seen flowers before, of course, but it was another thing to see them just…coming out of the soil like this. They weresocute. She had never seen flowers that weren’t in pots or vases before. So to see them coming out of the earth… It was something incredibly special to her. She heard a door open and her ears twitched. A brown-furred Loomborn with black tear streaks on her cheeks smiled at her. “Well, hello, darling. You’re a new face around here. Who might you be?” “Um… My name is Sophie-Anne. Who are you?” She looked up and saw that it was the Hearthstone Bakery. Stupid Sophie-Anne. This had to be Amara. She ran the bakery. “I’m Amara. Have you already eaten today? Your seams are very pronounced.” Amara smiled at her and motioned. Sophie-Anne hesitantly followed and entered the bakery. “Yeah, I did already eat… Aleksy’s feeding me at the Ribbon Goose Inn.” The warm smell of bread and pastries wafted around her, making her mouth water. She hadn’t had a good sweet in a very long time. They were extremely expensive in Threadfall, so they were generally only gotten during certain times of the year like Lantern Weaving Night and Hearth Night. How could they be so numerous and abundant here in the Willowmere which sat on the very edge of the Lumenwild? It was weird to think about… It was so far flung. And no prices listed…Thatwould take somemajorgetting used to. “Go on and look around. See if anything tempts your appetite.” Amara smiled and Sophie-Anne nodded a bit. She looked at the glass case and found a couple of sweets she’d only had a couple of times. Macarons… How rare. So small yet so perfect. She knew they weren’t the easiest to make, so the fact that they were all so perfect spoke to Amara’s talent and skill with baking. “How should I Keep the Thread for this?” Sophie-Anne asked as she picked out what she wanted. “Oh, don’t worry about it so much, dearie.” Amara smiled as she picked up the chosen sweets and put them into a box. “You’re new here. The Thread will find a way to be kept in due time. I take it you’re from one of the big cities then?” Sophie-Anne smiled sheepishly and nodded. “I’m used to having to pay for everything in Weavemarks… Aleksy told me about Keeping the Thread and how important it is here.” She really just didn’t want it to seem like she was taking advantage of anybody or their kindness. She did need to settle, but it was hard when she was so used to everything being so transactional. All she wanted was to ensure that nobody felt like they were being cheated out of what they gave her. Inam was the only one that hadn’t constantly asked for favors in return or at least alittlebit of money in return. “Ah, yes, that will take some time to get used to… For now, relax. The Thread will find a way in the end. You don’t have to be so rigid when it comes to Keeping the Thread; I promise. It’ll find its own way. You’re new. The Thread will work out in the end.” “Can I ask a question?” Sophie-Anne looked at Amara hesitantly. Amara smiled and nodded. “Fire away.” “How can you have goodies available for everyday consumption? This sort of stuff is only had a few times a year in Threadfall…” Amara made a face. “Ah, you’re fromthere.That certainly explains a great deal. We’ve had people from Threadfall come and pass through and they’re incredibly uptight. You don’t seem to be like that, though, at least. As for how… We don’t restrict our resources in the same way that Threadfall does. Anyone can have anything here. Sweets make Loombornhappyand, well, Threadfall doesn’tlikeits Loomborn to be happy.” Well, Sophie-Anne was definitely noticing that compared to here in Willowmere. Happiness… She almost didn’t know what it was like. The only happiness she’d gotten was from spending time with Inam, but those hours were few and far between… Twelve to sixteen hour workdays weren’t uncommon as far as Threadfall was concerned. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work,maybelunch if one was lucky, more work, dinner, sleep, repeat. That was life in Threadfall unless one was high in the guilds. “Could…I eat one now?” She looked down at the little box Amara filled with the sweets she had chosen…and plenty shehadn’t.She could barely remember what sweets tasted like, she got them so seldomly. “Of course, dear. What would you like?” “One of the macarons.” She didn’t know what flavors she’d like, so she’d just said to get one of every flavor. Amara nodded and handed one to Sophie-Anne. She looked at it down in her hand which shook a little bit. It was so strange to have something outside of designated, allowable seasons and holidays. It felt like it went against the very order of the Loom itself. Threadfall had everything down to its basic parts and prescribed everything. So to go against all of that… It felt sowrong. Swallowing, she took a bite of the macaron. It wassosweet compared to everything she ate on a daily basis in Threadfall that it was dizzying. It was delectable, but soverysweet. Bakeries really only sold bread in Threadfall unless one was of the upper guild ranks where things like thisweren’trestricted. So to have a sweet… It felt like she was breaking some sort ofmajorrule. She shuddered a bit as she thought about it. “It feels weird…” Amara nodded. “I know it does.” Sophie-Anne blinked. “Are you from—” “Threadfall? Yes. Many years ago. I moved here after I just couldn’t keep up with the pace of daily life anymore. I took up an apprenticeship here at the Hearthstone Bakery and learned the craft of making baked goods outside of just bread.” Amara smiled. “Feel free to come by whenever you want. I can teach you to make whatever baked goods you’d like. Sound good?” “I— Yes.” She swallowed. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the ability to learn to make something that wassorestricted in Threadfall. Only those high in the guilds could afford sugar and sweets like this on a frequent basis. “I have heard macarons are challenging to make. Is that true?” She didn’t want Amara prying into her own history, not yet, at least. Shecouldn’tvoice her failure to anybody else. Theywouldthink lesser of her. But at least Amara understood tosomedegree… She had come from Threadfall too. She would understand what it was like to have to push and work so many hours a week for almost nothing. Amara nodded. “Oh yes, very challenging. Incredibly so. At least if you want them to beperfect.I feel bad for throwing so many out that aren’t perfect even if they are edible. Luna often comes and eats them, though. Same with Joyti.” She chuckled. “I also give them to Eliina who doesn’t care about perfection.” So many new names… It felt like it was going to takeforeverto get a handle on everyone in Willowmere. Joyti, Amara, Chime, Eclipse, Luna, Eliina… Threadfall didn’t particularlycareif one kept track of others’ names or not, but it seemed important here. “I see.” “If you don’t care about perfection either, I can give you some everyday.” Amara smiled. Sophie-Anne hesitated before nodding. Amara clapped her hands together. “Sounds great then! If you’d like to learn about baking, just stop by. Early mornings are best, though, as that’s when I do most of it. Before sunrise. I know most Loomborn aren’tthatearly of risers, though.” Sophie-Anne sighed. “I am unfortunately.” Amara gave her a sympathetic look. “Ah, yes… Most in Threadfall are. But please… Rest first. There’s no rush for you have to learn immediately. How long are you here for?” “I have no idea.” No point in being dishonest in her eyes. There was a difference between being open about not wanting to tell others something and lying. She mayneverreturn to Threadfall as her failure would follow her for alongtime. She could have gone to another city, but her Starweavingwould notrespond no matterwhatshe did… She wascompletelyuseless without her weaving abilities. Threadfall would only see her as such and she had lost out onsomuch money due to the collapse… She had tried to get her weaving to respond, but literallynothingworked anymore. She sighed again. Amara’s sympathetic look remained and she put a few more sweets in the box. “These should help you feel better, dear. Why don’t you go explore Lantern Square a little bit more?” She smiled and Sophie-Anne nodded a bit. Shewasout here to meet other Loomborn, so no point in holding things up too much. “Thank you.” Sophie-Anne took the box which felt weighty underneath all the sweets. Her suitcase had weighed far more, of course, but considering this wasjustsweets and baked goods… It felt like a lot of weight. With that done, Sophie-Anne turned around and left. She looked around the square. Where to go next…?