you know so far." She turned to hold Cadence close, kissing the top of her head.

her gently on the back and shaking her head. "I don't like to talk about myself, never have. But I should have told you more, as well. All is forgiven. We have a lot of work to get done, and we'll get to know each other better as we do. Now, tell me everything that I've missed. Everything-

Noel looked softly at Cadence, mostly blaming herself for never really telling her about any of this. She never held it against the girl, she's her caretaker, she doesn't want to dump her own troubles onto her. "Nothing to worry about there, my dear." She placed her free arm around Cadence, patting-

in fact, not simple at all. "Similar to how you can feed on souls, I can feed on people's life essence. I strip them of their life, make it mine, and they wither away. It's not pretty, but I had to do it. I never would've found my way back if I hadn't."

Noel started to tell her about her time in the Appalachian, and the hikers that sometimes went missing at her hand. "I used them as fuel, you see. I'm old, Cadence. I'm extremely old. I've been around far longer than a human should. And it's all because I figured out one simple trick." It was,-

Noel laughed a little, folding her hands together on the table. "Go on, sit. I'll tell you." She never really thought to talk about herself, after all it came easier to her to just take care of Cadence. She tended to put herself second to the girl a lot. "I've been on quite the adventure myself."-

in store. Everything is going differently. We better be ready for anything." Noel said, glancing down at the cup and chuckling faintly. She waved the girl off and shook her head "Don't you worry about me. I suppose my excessive indulgence in life has left me a little more... invigorated, so to say."

"Dear God, Cadence. I already am proud of you for even attempting to reason with those fools." Her disdain for people hadn't changed much, and had even worsened perhaps. But for Cadence's sake, she would try to help out. "A new Krouziej? I suppose Fate has interesting things -

her hand wrapping around the cup of tea, seemingly unfazed by the heat. "That's not nothing. You're right. It's important to have help, and sometimes there's a cost to gaining it." She would hold a grudge against Faine though, for this. She would not let this sacrifice be in vain.

her jaw pensively. She let Cadence talk, holding any comments until she got a good look at the eyepatch. She stood, her chair teetering back but she caught it to prevent it falling. Taking a deep breath, she sat back down. "Of course." Leaning back, Noel's expression was serious-

She figured Virgil and Able had been around, that didn't shock her much. She would have to put her qualms with people aside for them. The other though, surprised her. Noel raised her brow, taking her coat off and hanging it over the back of her chair. Resting her elbows on the table, she rubbed-