Maea
Oh, when the world is burning
It was darker outside than within, and the light from lanterns - and the gasping, sputtering hearth too, she conceded, if grudgingly - fell upon the face of the weary traveler that stood on her doorstep. Pulling the door wide open, Maea's wary expression brightened into delighted surprise, answering his grin with a smile of her own.
"Harper! You really came." Perhaps she should not have doubted it. But somewhere in the back of her mind she must have expected the promised visit to be longer in the coming. To see him twice in the same season must be some kind of record - and definitely a welcome change. "Come in - you're just in time, I was about to burn the place down. Now I might save it for some other day." It wasn't clear if it was a joke or not.
Stepping back to let him inside, she cast a quick glance over the room to make sure it wasn't too dreadfully messy. The foyer was little more than a narrow corridor from where a flight of steps led up to the loft - and the guest room - and spilled rather abruptly into the kitchen, arguably the largest room of the house. Fresh lime-washed plaster and dark wooden beams in the low ceiling gave the room a rustic and careworn character, made a touch eccentric by the mismatched table and chairs that stood before the open fireplace. Built in cupboards and a large pantry swallowed up the majority of the space, and while it wasn't pristine - someone had left some cups beside the wash basin, and the floor could use a good sweeping - it was homely enough, and passed her inspection. As good as two restless souls could make it in less than a full season.
Sans the light haze of smoke that stung the eyes, of course, and left a sooty taste in the back of the throat. She still had to do something about that.
On a hook over the fireplace, the teapot was about to boil itself dry. Hurrying over, Maea lifted it off with her bare hands, heedless of the scalding metal, and set it aside to deal with later. Looking unexpectedly comfortable in a simple white dress, her battle with the fire had left sooty fingerprints around the knees, and a smudge of black on her cheek from impatiently pushing her hair from the face.
"Harper! You really came." Perhaps she should not have doubted it. But somewhere in the back of her mind she must have expected the promised visit to be longer in the coming. To see him twice in the same season must be some kind of record - and definitely a welcome change. "Come in - you're just in time, I was about to burn the place down. Now I might save it for some other day." It wasn't clear if it was a joke or not.
Stepping back to let him inside, she cast a quick glance over the room to make sure it wasn't too dreadfully messy. The foyer was little more than a narrow corridor from where a flight of steps led up to the loft - and the guest room - and spilled rather abruptly into the kitchen, arguably the largest room of the house. Fresh lime-washed plaster and dark wooden beams in the low ceiling gave the room a rustic and careworn character, made a touch eccentric by the mismatched table and chairs that stood before the open fireplace. Built in cupboards and a large pantry swallowed up the majority of the space, and while it wasn't pristine - someone had left some cups beside the wash basin, and the floor could use a good sweeping - it was homely enough, and passed her inspection. As good as two restless souls could make it in less than a full season.
Sans the light haze of smoke that stung the eyes, of course, and left a sooty taste in the back of the throat. She still had to do something about that.
On a hook over the fireplace, the teapot was about to boil itself dry. Hurrying over, Maea lifted it off with her bare hands, heedless of the scalding metal, and set it aside to deal with later. Looking unexpectedly comfortable in a simple white dress, her battle with the fire had left sooty fingerprints around the knees, and a smudge of black on her cheek from impatiently pushing her hair from the face.
Don't walk away
