Truth be told, it wouldn’t matter where they went. The last time Paks had been in Hama Valon it had been with Jesi. Any establishment she went into, chances are she would have visited it with Jesi. As they walked, her mind went back to the last time she and Jesi walked this path, or went into that shop, or had drinks at that tavern.
Paks chewed at the inside of her lip as they went further and further into Hama Valon. The Void wasn’t something she’d yet mastered. . .wasn’t something she even attempted to master, but Light did she wish she’d taken the time to learn!
‘The Void doesn’t let a person hide from their emotions or their memories, my heart. Even if you did know how to call on the Flame and Void, you couldn’t hide from what you are feeling forever. . .you can’t avoid coming into Hama Valon,’ Jesi’s form appeared on Paks’ side opposite to the Gaidin.
Looking to her, Paks frowned, ‘I’m sure I could find a way.’
Giving her a flat look, Jesi replied, ‘You gotta cut the attitude, sweetheart. The Gaidin didn’t have to reach out to you. She cares, and she’s not the only one, darlin’, but you’re wallowing in so much shit, you can’t see it for the mud in your eyes.’
The vision of Jesi disappeared and Paks stopped in her tracks. They were close to the Band of Brothers, but her focus was on a different tavern. The tavern where Paks rescued a very drunk Jesi from a very drunk, handsy patron. The tavern outside of which Jesi professed the depth of her feelings, and her desire to bond with Paks.
“I don’t think I can do this,” she mumbled, the statement not really directed to Natlya. Part of her wanted to turn and run away, but another part of her was frozen in place.