“I’ll meet up with you girls at the Blooming March later! I have an errand to run real quick.”

His heart broke having to wake Timberland from the comforts of his lap while he handed her a small treat in the hopes she’d forget the offense entirely. Vanora waved him off, her other hand occupied by Vivienne’s. Last he had saw them, their relationship was still very new, but now they live together. A heavy reality check of how much his little girl had grown, and also a reflection of how a busy schedule had been preventing him from being able to pace himself..the importance of enjoying the present... that would change from here on out! He thought to himself.

Outside was lively, it seemed many had decorated for Vibrance Day with a plethora of flowers, wreaths shaped like hearts and sweets being the front shelf of every market. Uphill a familiar brick path, memories cascaded in and out to times before Voltra had been re-populated.

Volkan was a young adult when he befriended a certain traveling merchant. Their friendship opened many doors for Volkan, and he had considered the man his best friend.

Before settling down into a serious relationship, Volkan would take field trips with the airship pilot from Metal, learning all about the other realms. No realm is without its faults, call it bias if you want, but the political climate of Metal, Ice, and Electric was quite toxic compared to that of Sound.

His buddy would always call him a bleeding heart, advise him 'not to get involved with things that weren’t his business' - but how could he not?

The desire to fix, help, and unite might as well been genetic for Volkan. He would always speak out, rally and protest against injustice while coming to the aid of those in need - often getting himself into trouble, sure….trouble, that his slick, sly and smooth tongued friend would have to somehow, someway, drag him out of. Volkan chuckled at the memory.

It’s not that their morals weren’t the same, but their methods were intrinsically different and yet: they never truly clashed. Together they garnered a reputation, fellow friends, even a fanclub even! As well as a legion of people who scoffed at their mere presence, warning their neighbors that they were here.

It had been a little under two decades ago, that Volkan, his best friend, and a select handful of others that came from across the realms-founded the ruins and committed to reclaiming the barren land as their home someday.

Voltra is small, and far behind in infrastructure compared to the other realms naturally. But the geniuses that came together to make this land what it is today, will always help better it! So not to mimic the mistakes of the other realms. Even if the rest of the founders weren’t here to show the fruit of their labor, Volkan knew for sure every one of them was out there making a difference in some way, with Voltra in mind and hopefully, they'd come back home someday.

---

As Volkan came to face “Reduce, Reuse, Reinvent!” he laughed at the nostalgia. This shop was formerly known as “Mard’Gearz” and it was the shop his best friend ran and planned to retire to with his adoptive daughter. But he had been missing for so long, and she has reclaimed the shop as her own in order to survive. Never returning from a trip that shouldn’t have lasted longer than three months, his beloved partner in business and crime had been missing for two years now. Shaking off any bad thoughts, Volkan let himself in, bell pleasantly chiming overhead.

“Hello, Valentina?”
The bright pink-headed girl quickly jumped out from under her desk, pen in mouth, grime splattered about. She spat the pen out before beaming a welcome. “Uncle Volkan! It’s been a while!” He extended his arms to embrace, but Valentina instead rushed right past him gathering a barrel of scrolls...the feeling of rejection was brief.

“Thought ya died up there in that office, maybe our mayor needs some protection?”
He stuttered at the thought. “Uh-hmm. Maybe? That would certainly be a-” She cut him off.

“And did ya walk here? I could engineer you a new vehicle to suit ya fancy?”
The offer of wonderful gifts prevented him from trying to get the conversation back in hand.

“Ah, you know my vehicle has indeed been making a strange sound as of late!”
Valentina rummaged through the barrel and unscrolled four different schematics.

“Do ya think it’s the inertia balancer? Oh, back to the defensive piece, we could integrate an entropy predictor!! Just gotta infuse a pulley with negativity readers. On the car though, I really should just overhaul that lump of junk with and electrica automator system and do away with the magic dust dispensers all together! Pfft. Who even thought that would be convenient for the average man?”

Now, Volkan was overwhelmed and unsure how to keep up with the ever-expanding conversation.....

“So with that in mind, I think I will give my current vehicle another year. I’m glad we settled on a design for some conservative protection back at Central, I’ll make sure you’re compensated well. Thank you, Valentina.”

For a moment she had nothing more to say, she cocked her head sideways unused to such a phenomenon. He smirked at the notion of her being off-guard, and made his strike to grab the conversation again.

“However, neither of those things were why I came here today. Here - take this!”
He handed over a large frame, that when unwrapped revealed an award. In Honor of Valentina Tinker, congratulations on a successful first quarter, and helping make Voltra a fuller and better, more technologically advanced place.

She traced her fingers across the glass and smiled before spinning on her heel to view the room and determine where best to hang the award. The walls were covered completely in shelves with mechanical goods, so for now, she awkwardly opted to place it down on her overridden desk on top of a random pile of metals. Volkan snickered at her antics.

“Thanks Uncle, appreciate it!"
He patted her on the head before holding the door open for her. “One bit of advice though, if you don’t mind?”

She followed his lead outside. “Okay?”
He knew she could handle criticism well for the most part. His arms stretched squarely as if trying to capture a photo of the entire front of her shop.

“Might want to work on your welcoming aesthetics, I know what you sell speaks for itself, but the storefront could use some… tender love and care.”

Valentina scoffed, not so much at he, but the thought of her being able to ‘pretty up a place’. It sounded more painful than it was worth. Volkan gave a playful nudge and she threw her hands up. “I’m better off hirin’ someone else to do that. Not my cup of tea.”

A hint of discouragement hid between her words, some small but lingering sensitivity about not having enough cliché feminine traits and strengths, but Volkan’s criticism wasn’t meant to be anything more than a tip for good business. He caught the subtle and quickly hidden melancholy but diverted the conversation anyway.

“Speaking of a cup of tea, I’ll be attending the Vibrance festival this evening, it would be outstanding if you came as well, dearest Valentina.”
He placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.
“I know tea isn’t your thing, but it’d be a shame if you didn’t have a brew from a tree that blooms only once a year!”

She hummed and ha’d, toiling with the idea.
“Eh, I don’t see why not. I guess. Maybe I could jiffy up a mechanical brewer that optimizes steeping!”

Volkan raised a triumphant fist in the air with a shout: “Excellent idea!”
His deep voice projected loudly, startling a nearby passing family just as the sky suddenly turned grey.

For but a moment, Volkan thought his voice might have caused the sudden overcast, but he followed Valentina’s trembling gaze to see a giant airship blocking the sun, and preparing itself to dock down the road at Central Square.

First confusion, and then a strong blissful hope swelled in Volkan’s chest as he excitedly turned to Valentina.

“VAL my dear! Do you think it’s him?!”

But she was already gone, door slamming shut and the sign switching to “Closed”.

If this arrival was who he thought it was, then this pilot would owe the young lady an apology. But for now, the slight promise of being reunited with his best friend overcame him, and Volkan sprinted to Central Square with a feeling he hadn't felt so strongly in years: Excitement. Anticipation. Hope?