It was a pleasant day for Octavia. For once, all of the orchestra's musicians seemed in tune, making the resulting sounds form a majestic masterpiece. Octavia knew that they could do a lot better, but she was happy to know that everypony was giving their best and working really in order to improve. Not that she needed to, of course. She walked peacefully to the house she and White Noise shared, enjoying the gentle night's breeze. She took her time before getting home: White told her that some of her friends would come over, and they would be quite busy with their jam session. Octavia wasn't particularly fond of White's friends, but she knew that they also made her happy; and Octavia couldn't possibly make her loved one unhappy by forcing White to chose between herself or her friends.
She stopped in front of her house. It was a quite simple, two story building; the only visible contrast between it and the neighbor's homes was the overgrown lawn. Octavia made a mental note to smack White's head for, again, forgetting to do her chores. 'That mare... sometimes I wonder if she makes this on purpose.' Octavia walked with the same calmness as before into the bushed that once resembled a garden. She could hear a feint musical sound emanating from the house; the most prominent part of it was the bass' rhythmic beats.
The gray cellist sighs and opens the door to her house: fortunately White and her friends were considerate enough not to trash the living room. Octavia perked her ears up to hear a bit more of what they were playing in the music room... it sounded awful. Octavia usually enjoyed some White's music, but today they were simply awful... The gray mare, not wanting to disturb her marefriend from murdering music as a whole, trotted towards the kitchen to cook some meal for both. She made up her mind into cooking small portions only for her and White; that would probably force her friends to leave the house if they wanted any food.
Arriving in the kitchen, Octavia noticed that the sound of White's jam session became louder. It was expected, the music room was directly on top of the kitchen. Octavia wished it wasn't, though; whatever they were playing upstairs did not sound like one of White's music. Even though they picked a bit more of rhythm; it still sounded too... experimental for Octavia's liking. Still, the gray mare bobbed her head to some of the music's beats: the repetition made the beat stick to Octavia's mind.
Halfway through her routine of cutting the vegetables in order to place them in the boiling water, Octavia noticed that the music itself stopped for a while and then returned. In the interim, Octavia thought that she'd heard White's voice, but she couldn't make out what the mare said. Octavia sighed: "If White Noise wants to speak with me, why won't she come downstairs and do so!?" The mare mumbled to herself. She decided to go upstairs and see whatever it was that White wanted.
Halfway through the set of stairs, Octavia picked up an odd scent. It was strong and made the air around the second floor feel a little denser. Octavia knew that scent from somewhere, but she couldn't remember what exactly that was; felt her mind slow down at each intake of breath. The scent became stronger and stronger at each step the gray mare took towards the music room; becoming unbearable when she reached the door. Octavia knew something strange was going on inside the room. She turned the knob on the door just as the music died; the door swung open, revealing a pink-eyed White Noise at her turntable and three other ponies scattered around the room, each holding one musical instrument (except for a certain mare, who held what resembled a lit cigarette in her mouth). They didn't seem to notice Octavia's presence.
"White, that was, like, so genius of you." One stallion mentioned to her, as the mare used some kind of rolled paper to snort some white powder. "The music like, died, but after you said that; woooow... I felt like, 'Dude, let's play it again'!" All the ponies in the room, with the exception of Octavia, the stallion and White (who was too busy with her head up, sniffing the air with a hoof holding one of her nostrils closed, a procedure which repeated itself with each nostril), nodded to what the stallion said.
White Noise held her hoof on her throat, making her voice sound rasp like a mid-aged stallion: "All of which makes me anxious... at times I'm bearably so." She and the room full of ponies tries to hold back a laugh, but all failed to do so. That particular scene is what triggered Octavia's memory: the smell and the sound of laughter... she knew what was going on.
"White Noise! You've been smoking clove?! On our house!?" Octavia's sudden outburst startled everypony in the room. They all turned their heads to the mare, except for White's, for the mare were still attempting to clean her nostrils. Octavia moved towards the DJ pony and looked at the white powder which, moments ago, White eagerly snorted. "You've... You've been snorting Horn Powder too!?"
White proceeded to answer: "Relax, Octy. S'all in good fun." Octavia noticed that White kept blinking at a higher frequency than normal; she also seemed to have some trouble in keeping her head from trembling a bit.
"All in good fun?... All in good fun!?" Octavia shouted, throwing her hooves in the air in order to emphasize just how mad she was. "Do you have any idea of what those things can do to you!? You could've died."
White's expression changed from that of joy to one of irritation. "But I'm not. And you're not my mother, cut it out!" Octavia's face began to contort itself, the mare's whole head seemed ready to blow up; Octavia grit her teeth in order to halt herself, before she could say something that she knew she'd regret. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply while mentally counting to five.
"Look, White Noise, while I know that this may all sound fun and everything, this is not. The pleasure you're experiencing now doesn't even balance the amount of pain that you'll endure if you keep this on." Octavia spoke like White was some sort of mentally impaired junkie. White wasn't like that: this was the first time White used those stuffs since she stopped; and even that was long before she met Octavia. "Did you plan this? Why did you buy this?"
White lowered her voice when she spoke: "Hey, this stuff ain't mine." That gave Octavia another good reason to dislike her friends even more. Octavia's eyes shifted to gaze upon the other ponies that filled the room. They all looked down to the floor, but none of them seemed to regret what was happening. It was then that Octavia saw her. Melody stood on her hind legs; she held a double bass with both her forehooves and, in her mouth stood what Octavia knew wasn't a cigarette, but a Clove joint. Octavia had to, once again, tame her anger; she wasn't the jealous type of pony, but seeing White near that mare (even though she was on the opposite side of the room) made her boil.
White told Octavia once about her past life; she happened to mention Melody as some kind of 'buck buddy' of hers. Although White constantly assured Octavia that she was 'past history', the graphic images that came to the cellist's mind told her otherwise. "Look, 'Tavia. I'm sorry." White said.
"Don't ever do this again!"
"Look, I said I was sorry, Okay? What else do you want from me!?" Octavia never before witnessed an sudden outburst like this coming from White. As startled as she was, she didn't back out.
"Promise me that you won't do this again."
"Yeah, yeah..." Octavia felt tempted to smack White's head and inject some sense in it, but her mind wasn't in it's best condition right now. Octavia knew that Horn Powder gives one the illusion of power, and she wasn't eager to push White over the edge with that kind of stuff on her system.
"Look, dinner's almost ready." She turned and addressed the other ponies in the room. "Pick up your belongings and go." She coldly said.
"But Oct-" White Noise was going to point out that her friends could join the duo for dinner. Octavia subtly turned her head to face White; she shot her a 'Play along or you're dead' gaze, which was almost as strong as Fluttershy's 'Stare'. "... Fine!" Octavia turned around and exited the room, leaving an annoyed White to deal with her friends.
"Wow, White. That marefriend of yours truly is something..." Melody scowled. "No wonder you were so eager to give Horn Powder another go."
"Nah, 'Tavia 's cool." White said, much to Melody's disdain. "You guys should seriously go, though." Everypony in the music room except for White and Melody got up and left. White sat down on the couch and sighed; that little ordeal with Octavia gave her a headache. White's ears perked up when she heard an instrument case closing; Melody had tucked in the double bass and stood there, just looking at White, who rose one eyebrow: "What?"
"So... Aren't you going to show me the way out?" She asked.
"Are you stupid or what? The door's right there. I don't need to show you the way out." White answered, rubbing a hoof on her forehead. 'This headache is killing me. Why are the lights so bright!?'
"Well... if you don't want to show me the way out... maybe you want me to stay, hmmm?" She said, tone a bit suggestive.
White kept rubbing her forehead with her eyes shut tight. "No, I don't. I just thought that you would be smart enough to figure it on your own." Melody didn't feel insulted by the way White talked to her; she knew that it was all 'normal White behavior'. White heard Melody's hoofsteps, each louder than it's predecessor. White was quite shocked when a hoof was suddenly under her chin. A gentle pull lifted her head up. White opened her eyes and saw Melody looking straight at hers.
"You don't need to be rude with me, baby; I know just what you need." Melody grabbed something from her saddlebags and showed White a small, transparent plastic bag. Inside it was a syringe and another plastic bag, this one filled with white powder.
"Is that... more Horn Powder?" White asked, she knew Horn Powder could be injected; she tried it once. She knew that the Speed came faster and stronger when injected, but the effects didn't last as long.
"Maroin, dear." White remembered the name from her 'party monster' times. She had seen some pretty mares and stallions turn into what now closely resembled undead corpses, by using that drug for long periods of time. White's thoughts about the drug vanished when she felt Melody sitting on top of her; eyes locking. "It has been a long time, White Noise." White stood paralyzed as Melody held White's face gently with her hooves. Each second that passed, Melody's face approached hers. Melody closed her eyes and White was able to feel the mare's breath on her face.
White was quick to push the other mare with a bit too much force; not that she regretted it. Melody rolled from White's lap to the floor. "What the buck do you think you're doing!?" Melody was dumbstruck from White's reaction; her brain was now incapable of forming words. "Get out of my house." White said glaring daggers to Melody, which was still paralyzed on the floor, looking awkwardly towards White. "Do I need to repeat myself?! Get. Out." White pointed at the door with her hoof. Melody saw anger boiling on those crimson red eyes of White. With a sudden burst of courage, she got up and galloped out of the music room. White was able to hear her rush downstairs and get out of her house.
White sighed; she knew that she just took out her anger on Melody. Not that she didn't deserve it, of course. White was glad that Octavia didn't saw the whole scene; White didn't need to be berated at again. Remembering what Octavia said about dinner, White's stomach growled. "Hehe... munchies..." She giggled to herself and rose up from the couch, her lazily steps dragging her down the set of stairs in order to meet her marefriend for dinner. Poking her head in the kitchen, she sees Octavia, already at the table, eating without her. White Noise, without saying a word, walks up towards Octavia, and stops by her side. White's mind began to show her memories with Melody, making White's eyes water. Octavia, noticing that something isn't right with her marefriend, asks her:
"White... what's wrong?" White's brain became an emotional turmoil. The drugs by themselves gave White a slight sense of euphoria, but the feelings she had for Octavia, combined with the way she talked to White made her feel sad.
"I'm sorry 'Tavia..." She said. Octavia proceeded to get up from the table and hug White.
"Shh... It's Okay, White." Octavia rubbed White's back with her left forehoof. "You said that you wouldn't do it again, and I trust you, White." White Noise fought back the tears on her eyes. Octavia knew something was wrong with her marefriend, but she thought it was best not to pry. White would say something when she felt sure. The dinner and the rest of the night followed with an awkward silence between the two marefriends. The silence was broken by Octavia, who wished her marefriend a goodnight when both were already in bed.
* * *
The following morning seemed to brighten both mares’ spirits. White became her old talkative self, a great relief to Octavia. 'It must've been the drugs in her system.' She thought. "Hey White. I'm going to play at the concert today. Wanna come?" Octavia didn't really expect White to comply, especially with the downpour that came from the skies. Such rains were rare in Equestria; either the Weather Team messed up, or the storm clouds formed from the Everfree Forest. But even if the day was beautiful, White would rather sleep the entire day off than meet with some fancy, smug Canterlot musicians.
"Thanks for the invite, 'Tavia. But I'm thinking about chilling out for today." Octavia sighed; besides the jam session yesterday, it has been a long time before White tried to create something new. 'She really shouldn't procrastinate that much.' Octavia thought.
"Okay, then. Take care." They shared one quick kiss before Octavia left. White stood by the open door, watching as her marefriend rounded one corner. The wind picked up and White found herself being assaulted by the merciless raindrops. Closing her front door, White sighed: 'Another boring day...' The mare trotted to the bedroom and leaped onto the bed. Sure she wasn't tired, but if White could manage to sleep, the day would just fly by.
White Noise tossed and turned on her bet, not due to worrying, though. She has woken up a couple of hours ago. She had tried every sleep-inducing method that she knew of: counting numbers; clearing the mind; focusing on some boring calm music; counting humans leaping over a fence... nothing seemed to work. Acknowledging that she wouldn't be able to sleep it off, she grunted and walked to her music room. "Maybe I should start mixing some new tracks... It's been quite some time since I last went clubbing." She muttered to herself.
Opening the door to the music room, White noted that most of the mess that she and her friends made the night earlier was left unclean. She grunted and headed to her turntable. "I'll clean this up after a new beat is made." She vowed to herself.
* * *
White was pleased with her latest creation. It sure was different from everything that she had created before. She hit the play button and, whilst the music played on full volume and on repeat, she started cleaning the room. White swept the floor, shaking her body to the beats of the music while doing so. She had cleaned half the room when she came across the plastic bag that belonged to Melody. 'She probably forgot to pick it up after I scared her off.' White Noise picked the plastic bag with her mouth and dropped it into her left hoof.
Gazing at the little syringe inside the plastic bag, White contemplated her possibilities. She could return it to Melody- no! After yesterday, White was fed up with the mare's constant tries to seduce her. She could throw it out- no! She and Octavia were in some financial troubles, and White knew that Junk was worth some good bits. But becoming a drug dealer? She could try it out- no! What would Octavia say!? "What to do...?" White spoke aloud, eyes moving from the syringe to the white powder. 'I've never tried that stuff before. I know that Junk can be quite dangerous... but everypony I asked about it said that it was awesome.'
"Maybe if I try just a little..." White said, opening the plastic bag. She held the closed needle on one of her hoofs and the plastic bag with the white powder on another. Her breathing became more frantic; her heart rate rose. Her thoughts were now messier than they were a few moments ago. White focused in trying to remember how they used to do it in the streets and clubs. Memories from times when White Noise and Melody were more intimate popped into her head.
White got up and trotted towards the kitchen. She magicked a big metal spoon, a lighter and a cup of water. When all the ingredients were at hoof, she trotted back to the music room and closed the door. She was shaking a little; her mind filled with self doubt. Magicking the ingredients in front of her face, she poured a bit of water in the spoon and some of the white powder on top of it. With the syringe's needle, she mixed the contents until the powder dissolved itself. With another magic focus she lit the lighter, and placed the flame below the spoon. Few seconds of shaky anticipation passed before the mix started to change it's color.
White wrapped a plastic band tightly around her left foreleg. She tapped her leg four times and forced the muscles in it. She brought forth the syringe and stabbed one chunky vein. She pulled the piston, and saw the crimson blood flow inside the syringe's barrel. Now that she was certain that the needle was placed on the correct place, she magically pushed the piston downwards, filling her bloodstream with Junk. White was only able to mutter a relieved moan and strap out the plastic band around her leg. She lay down on the wooden floor; pupils small like pinpricks. She started to trip right away; her brain was sending her thousands of pleasurable neural impulses. The ground seemed to shift and to slowly swallow White; a fact which the mare couldn't help but laugh at. "Oh my Luna, this is so. Bucking. GOOD!" She moaned once more before the real trip began. White could see herself from outside of her body. She giggled when she saw herself smiling with the most dumb, pleasured expression stamped on her face.
* * *
Octavia was even more excited today than yesterday. They were just done practicing the Overture, which played out perfectly. 'Maybe the orchestra will be ready in time for the next concert...' She pondered. Octavia walked in a Pinkie Pie-ish manner, humming a tone while doing so. Time passed and Octavia finally reached her home. She opened the door and kept her Pinkie attitude whilst trotting to the kitchen. Her ears perked up when she heard music coming from the above floor, a tune that she never heard before; which only made her feel happier. 'Glad to see that White finally decided to compose something new!' She merrily thought.
She put her saddlebags on the floor and trotted upstairs. 'Such an energetic music. White must be in a good mood today!' Octavia started humming bits of the playing song while trotting towards the music room. She saw the door half-open and she knocked on it four times before opening. 'Don't want to disturb her when she's composing.'
"White, are you there?" No answer came. Octavia decided to push the door open to see her loved one. ''Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt. I just wanted you to know that I'm ho-' She froze right there. On the ground, shaking violently was her love: White Noise. Her eyes were open in a perpetual emotionless gaze. Her mouth was dripping a mix of saliva and vomit. Her nostrils were bleeding. Octavia could see the syringe still attached to her left foreleg. White was mumbling incoherently; she sounded almost like she was gurgling.
"No... No! WHITE!" She screamed and rushed to the mare's side. She pressed her body down, trying to control the convulsing mare. "SOMEPONY! ANYPONY, HELP US!" She screamed with everything her lungs were able to provide. She could see White's breathing becoming slower and slower. This prompted Octavia to leave her marefriend in the music room and call for an ambulance.
* * *
From White's perspective, everything that was once great now became a terrifying nightmare. The light in the room was unstable, shifting from bright to dark. Shadows appeared from the most unusual places and were all contorted in bizarre ways. White never felt so scared in her entire life. Cold sweat rushing through her coat. Just when she thought that things couldn't get worse, she heard four terrifying loud bangs on the door. The whole house structure seemed to shake at the sound. A monstrous voice called for her: "White, are you there?" White was paralyzed when she saw tentacles pry and tear the door open. Bits of wood and green goo scattered everywhere. The monster slowly made its way inside the room; every 'step' that it took made a squishy, distorted sound.
"WHAT ARE YOU!?" White tried to taunt the monster, but it was useless. It peeked into the room and White was shocked to see that it was an octopus with Octavia's head. The monster seemed confused for a moment. It's eyes were each looking at a different direction. The strangeness in all of it prompted White to laugh. "An octopus? Octavia as an octopus!?" The room suddenly began to grow darker and darker. White stopped laughing, it was as if fear penetrated her brain, forcing her to feel it. The monster's eyes glowed to a tone of red as she glared threateningly to White. Her head began to pound intensely, and although her heart was racing, she could feel herself gasping for air. She backed into a corner and began to shiver. The sounds now coming from the monster were unintelligible. Her pounding headache made the mare fall to the ground. White was struggling to keep herself from fainting, but she felt so weak and tired. The monster kept it's advance towards the mare as she collapsed to the ground and closed her tear-stained eyes.
* * *
The ambulance came just in time. White's heart had stopped beating and she was transferred to the nearest hospital. The events of that night played back and forth in Octavia's mind. How her happiness died when she saw White in that state. How her trust on the mare died, after breaking an important promise. But now the only thing she wanted was to be able to embrace White one more time.
Octavia found herself seated on a comfortable couch in the hospital's waiting room. Every nurse that passed by her made her cringe; but nopony seemed to pay attention to her. Hours passed since White was admitted. Each passing second robbed Octavia of her hopes. Her ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps that were neared than the usual passing nurses. She saw a medic looking straight at her and she got up and trotted towards him.
"How is she, doctor? Will she be alright?!" Octavia could feel her eyes watering already.
"Not good, I'm afraid." Octavia's heart skipped a beat. "She's in a coma, we don't know when she will wake up." Octavia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We also found out that she suffered severe ocular damage from continued exposition to light. We don't know the extent of the damage so far. We'll only be able to determine it if she wakes up." She silently shook her head and began to cry. "I'm sorry." Was all the medic said before he turned around and left the mare to her emotions.
"Why White?Why did you do this to me? Why? Why? WHY?" Octavia screamed, prompting some nurses to come rushing towards to comfort her. No matter what they tried to do, Octavia was literally broken. The only comfort the mare could have was to see White. Octavia broke free from the nurses surrounding her and galloped into the hospital's hallways. She didn't know in which room White Noise was being kept, but that didn't held her back. Octavia kept galloping, nurses and hospital security staff yelling and galloping after her. Octavia kept going until she reached a room that hosted a white unicorn with blue mane. Without hesitation, Octavia ran to the mare's side and embraced her. She was practically yelling while holding White: "Come back, please! White I need you! Wake up!"
A huge stallion grabbed Octavia and pulled her away from White. "NO! WHITE!" She yelped when a nurse stabbed her with a syringe. Octavia tried to fight back in order to return to White's side, but the sedative made her groggy. With her last powers, Octavia tried one last time to reach the mare. "White... please.... wake... u-" Was all that could be heard before Octavia's world faded to black.
* * *
Weeks passed but White never woke up. Octavia rearranged her entire schedule, in order to be able to spend the most time possible with White. This was just like one of those days: Octavia just sat beside White and proceeded to recite memories. Those that she was most fond of. The times in which she and White were happy. But no matter how happy the memory was, it always brought her a cold, lonely sensation.
Octavia thought about trying something different that day. She brought her record player and cello. Explaining that to the hospital staff sure was hard, but she managed to convince them of allowing one music to be played. Octavia set the record player next to White’s bed stand and opened her cello case. After the strings were perfectly tuned, Octavia looked gloomily towards the lone window on the room. A huge storm was picking on the outside, lightning struck the ground fiercely, eliciting a loud thunder roar from the sudden discharge. ‘You always loved this piece, White... I hope you can hear it... wherever you are...’ She thought before hitting the play key on the cassette.
Heavy piano chords strung and resonated through the halls. Octavia listened for a few seconds to White’s favorite classical piece before starting her own improvisation on the music. The sounds were deep and low, filled with gloom. Tears began to form on Octavia’s eyes as she grinded the cello’s bow to the strings, perfectly emulating her own feelings on her improvisation.
* * *
‘That... that music.’ White thought. ‘But... it’s different somehow...’ She paused before acknowledging the improvisations done to the piece. ‘Octavia!’ White felt herself slowly moving according to the music’s tones. She felt a bit relieved just by hearing it. She felt that she could move freely, like a small flower being gently pushed by the wind. But Octavia suddenly stopped playing, leaving the piano to play alone before the recording came to an end.
White felt a sudden shift in gravity as Octavia held her in a deep embrace. Suddenly, everything felt darker to her. ‘Hold me, ‘Tavia... I’m so cold...’ White tried to reach out to touch Octavia but her muscled could not respond. Feeling the numbness in both her mind and body, White forced a deep, tired breath. ‘I’m... just going to... take a little nap...’
* * *
"... and when you said you also loved me back... that was the happiest day of my life." She glanced over her shoulder to White. Octavia bore an empathetic smile towards the mare. "I... I just won't know what to do if you leave me." Octavia could barely finish her sentence before she burst into tears. “Please... don't leave me here, White." She gently lowered her head and pressed it against White's chest, maintaining that position for what felt like hours to the mare.
Suddenly, a gasp for air startled Octavia. She quickly retreated from White's body and stood there with her eyes wide. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. Everything in the room seemed so distant. Even the sounds seemed muffled. Octavia couldn't believe it. She knew what that gasp for air meant. She had read about that before; when ponies gave their last breath. She entered some sort of trance; not accepting what was going on. She was hearing somepony call her name, but all Octavia could see was a white blur moving near her.
"... Octavia... is that you?" Reality kicked in as Octavia proceeded to hug White, showering both with her tears.
"White! I thought I'd lost you!" She still couldn't believe it. One minute White is giving her last breath, the other she's awake and talking to her.
"Wow... easy there 'Tavia." White Noise said gently pushing back her marefriend. "'Tavia, something is wrong! I can't see anything." A slight tinge of fear in White's voice.
"That's because your eyes are bandaged, you silly." Octavia giggled; this day was too good to be true.
"Wait... why are my eyes bandaged?" White asked, a little less frightened.
"The doctors said that there was some kind of eye damage..." Octavia said as she gently removed the bandages around White's eyes. "... they couldn't find out what was the extension of the damag-"
"ARGH! MY EYES!" White said and quickly covered her eyes with her hooves. "Everything is so bright!" Her red irises burned when she opened her eyes.
"Calm down, White. I'll get a doctor." Octavia said and White hear her marefriend's hoofsteps echoing further and further away from her.
* * *
Octavia opened the door to her house only to find White lying down on the couch. Since White Noise came back home, all she could do was sit down and wait for Octavia's arrival. The doctor told White that she wasn't really blind. But any exposure to even normal light could make her permanently blind. This meant no more parties for White. Octavia could note that White seemed bored. But Octavia didn't let that scene ruin what she had planned.
"White, I have a surprise for you." She said in an inviting tone.
"What is it?" White coldly asked in return. Octavia trotted and sat beside her on the couch. She handed a small package to White. "What is this?" White's mood was greatly improved after the realized that the surprise was, in fact a present.
"Those are the glasses the doctor prescribed." White was taken aback by this. "The ones that will block the light's harmful spectra."
"But 'Tavia, just the lenses themselves cost a fortune! How were you able to pay for all of this?!"
"Well... I went to the bank and emptied my account. Then I met that stallion, you know... the collector of rare antique instruments and-" Octavia didn't need to finish her sentence. White knew what she was talking about.
"Octavia! No! You shouldn't have!"
"But I did. And you want to know why?" She said and took White's face in her hooves. "Because you are far more important to me than a violoncello or some stinking bits." Octavia sighed a bit. That cello felt like a piece of herself; but White was a more important one. "I search around the store and got a model that I think you'll find to your liking." White tore open the package and felt the pair of glasses on her hooves. They were sturdy and seemingly pointy on the upper edged. White's eyes began to water.
"Oh... 'Tavia. What can I ever do to repay you?"
"Just... promise me that you will never scare me like that again."
"Never again, 'Tavia!" White leaned forward and planted a kiss on her marefriend's lips.
