Blackfeather Woods Another mirror saying "Why so serious?"

I'll leave it up to you if you wanna archive this, have it as a short thread, or leave it open to someone else with Sora just being a cameo!

Sorana was rather more oblivious to her mother's present condition, which was for the best, lest she lose her head entirely. Nevertheless, when Bridget offered an invitation to get away for a week, Sora gladly accepted. She enjoyed spending time with her auntie and getting out to stretch her legs would be good for her, too.

Sometimes she felt like she was being awful to her mother, but most of the time, Sora felt justified for being so upset, avoidant, and downright stuck-up about it. Teya hadn't listened to her. It felt to her like her mother was deliberately doing exactly the opposite of what Sora needed, and slowly but surely, she was beginning to shift the crosshairs of her anger. Sure, she hated Bronco's guts for just existing and moving in on her mom while Sora was still grieving the loss of her father — what kind of crappy person did that? — but she was starting to realize he was not the only one to blame for the whole thing.

Sorana had cried out that she needed her mother to stay, and Teya had left her to sleep on her own, moving in with Bronco mere days after their argument about it. She felt utterly discarded and unwanted.

Out here, with Bridget, she felt a little more like herself. Enough to glance up at the unbroken canopy of Blackfeather Woods with a soft gasp. It was nothing like the Caldera forest where there were frequent clearings and ridges and wide spaces between the trees. This forest seemed to swallow light and sound alike. It was pretty spooky, honestly, and Sora was entranced the moment they entered it.

She nudged Bridget excitedly when a crow broke cover overhead, followed by about twenty of its brethren. Sora didn't think she'd ever seen so many crows in one place! With a genuine laugh of delight, she pranced after them, seizing the opportunity to leave her problems both real and imaginary behind just for a moment.