I'm glad you're enjoying the stories! As for Valerie, she hasn't been forgotten. It's just that thus far there hasn't been a reason to bring her back in. Not like she can just dive in after her brother and into the Depths lol. As for Cathay, she gots a metaphorical shell to crawl out of if she wants to really help herself out. Unlike Gilah, she holds little to no regrets over the atrocities she's committed. That can hamper any relationship she seeks out. Would take a real strong individual to balance out Cathay's crueler nature. That's not to say a soft side to her doesn't exist, it's just that anyone who sees it usually doesn't live to tell the tale XD.