Odette had always felt she was only called upon when she was needed, forgotten about when she wasn't...

The Solitary Scholar

This last year aside, Quarrycrest was the perfect quiet place for Odette base herself.

Not only was it secluded and far enough away from Atlasdam that no scholars would come looking for her unless they needed something, but it was also a bustling hub of trade thanks to the goldmines on the northern side of town, meaning that tome she was looking for could be easily procured by finding the right travelling merchant. She didn't have all that much need to leave the town anymore, some days she didn't even have all that much need to leave her home, but that didn't stop her travelling when wanderlust bit her.

Since she'd left the Academy, she reckoned she'd visited all the towns in Orsterra at least once, and the bigger ones quite a few more times than that, but none suited her more than Quarrycrest. Yes, sometimes the locals liked to call on her scholarly talents to help them during their times of need and yes, sometimes they got in the way of what she was in the middle of researching to do just that, but they also gave her all sort of wonderful things as thank yous for her help – from books to pastries, they were always there to repay her kindness.

Her life away from the structure and regime of studying around academics had been lovely; she'd seen so much, she'd discovered so much, she'd gotten rid of that constant lingering migraine…

Then freaking Cyrus Albright walked back into her life. Then her migraine returned.

It wasn't so much that she disliked Cyrus, in fact she liked him quite a lot. He was a fantastic academic, able to see to the truth of things far quicker than most with a moral compass that never strayed from what he thought was the right thing to do. It was just that, well, in all their years studying alongside one another at the Academy, she'd had to keep a constant eye on him to make sure he didn't get himself in trouble with his students for saying something he thought was merely a statement of fact, not a glowing compliment.

When he was around, Odette felt that she had to keep a constant eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything foolish. In a lot of respects, it was like she was having to take care of a hyperactive puppy.

And while he'd proven useful during his time in the Clifflands, it had taken a lot of time for Odette to explain to the girl he saved that he wasn't in love with her, that that was just the way he was. And when he'd disappeared yet again, Odette had felt something… missing.

There he was, a man who'd lost his job thanks to his kind words – just like she thought he would – and yet he seemed far happier travelling the world with his new friends than he ever had at the Academy. Or, no, perhaps it wasn't happier, but freer. Able to study anything he wished as he circled the continent over and over again.

Though she couldn't quite explain why, Odette was jealous. Yes, she could travel anytime she wanted, study anything she wanted – nothing was holding her down after all – but there was something different in how she would have done it. She would have travelled alone, unlike Cyrus who travelled with friends, companions. Unlike Cyrus, who would always feel like he was relied on, needed by the rest of his group.

Perhaps that was it, Odette didn't feel needed anymore. And she had no idea what to do what that realisation.

Thankfully, not long after she'd made that realisation, did Cyrus appear at her door once again.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon," Odette confessed when she opened the door, a little surprised to find him all alone. "What brings you back?"

"Well," Cyrus looked around him, a little jittery and nervous – she'd never seen him like that before. "I beg your pardon, but might I be able to come inside?"

"That serious, eh?" Odette asked, opening the door wide as she invited him inside her little house once again.

"Yes. However, I am also being incessantly trailed by the young lady I saved from Gideon."

Odette laughed uproariously.

"Please, Odette," Cyrus groaned, his head in his hands. "I know, I must watch what I say to these young women. However, I have-"

"I'm glad to see you've finally gotten that through your thick skull!" Odette clapped him on the shoulder, he really had grown a lot since she last saw him. Those he travelled with must have helped a lot with that.

"Odette, please, I have something important-"

"Not interested." Odette shook her head. "Whatever trouble you and that little gang of yours get yourself into is none of my business."

"Even if it involves the resting place of the Galdera?"

That peaked her curiosity. In complete silence, she listened closely as Cyrus explained what he'd found on his search for From the Far Reaches of Hell, the situation that he and his friends were now in as they searched for their lost travelling companion. As he explained that he and the others would be going to the literal Gate to Hell in their search to save him.

"Let me get this straight." Odette said as he finished explaining, her forehead once again in her hand as she tried to massage away another Cyrus migraine. "You're all going to try and rescue a kid from the Dark God Himself? And you want my help?"

"I suppose that is the short of it, yes." Cyrus nodded, chuckling slightly to himself. "I know it is a lot to ask-"

"It's a lot to ask." Odette emphasised.

"Yes, well," Cyrus cleared his throat. "I thought you might be interested in coming all the same. To see history be made with your own eyes."

"What kind of history are you going to be making, Cyrus?"

"Either we save Kit and stop the resurrection of Galdera, or we don't and start the beginning of the end."

"Well, when you put it like that..." Odette said with heavy sarcasm that was once again lost on Cyrus.

"Excellent! I'll go tell the others-"

"Cyrus, no." Odette sighed as she looked at him. In so many respects he was now far smarter than he was before, yet when it came to human interactions… "I don't think I can come."

"I see." Cyrus sighed and stood, folding his cloak around him as he did. "I had expected you to decline, this is a far-fetched, suicide mission after all. If we survive, however, I'll make sure to come back and give you a full recounting of all the knowledge I gain. I suspect I will see things in there that explain and expand upon the history of Orsterra as we know it."

"I suspect the same." Odette confessed as she turned in her chair, watching as Cyrus opened the door. "Cyrus? Why did you ask me to come?"

She'd suspected him to say it was because they needed her there, another pair of hands to fight a God. She'd suspected him to say it was because he needed her to be his idea board as they looked at all the glyphs behind the Gate. She hadn't expected his answer.

"Why? Because I want you there, my dear!" He smiled at her. "You are one of the greatest scholars I have ever met, if anyone can make sense of what we see in there it is you!"

"I see." Her chin in her hand, Odette smiled to herself. It was a want for her to be there, not a need. They could manage without her, she knew that now. But for them to want her there, to see what they saw and help them understand how to fight it, how to make sense of it… "I've got a few loose ends to tie up, can we leave tomorrow morning?"

Cyrus' answering smile was far wider and brighter than she'd ever seen it before. "Of course, Odette! I suggest bringing something to wear that you won't mind dying in."