Chapter Thirty-Five

Eventually, Iris managed to convince Lyda to walk with her around the mountains just outside the Valley for a few hours, just the two of them. Before they left, Iris went back to the campsite her family had set up to collect a small bag of food as well as supplies she always took with her into the wilderness. Her husband and son were not there, and she guessed that they must have still been out in the plaza, but she shrugged it off, assuring Lyda that it wouldn't be a big deal if she disappeared for a while. With that, they made their way back up the mountain path and out of the Valley.

For much of the first hour, Iris tried to ease the tension in Lyda's system by simply asking her what she had been up to since the last time they had seen each other. This only fueled Lyda's stress even more as she finally confessed that she had not felt like herself in years. This caught Iris' attention as she asked when L