Maea
Oh, when the world is burning
A stillness had settled over the landscape. Cold rain had lashed the barren trees and fallow fields over the better course of the day, but as the afternoon dragged on it had begun to let up. Thirsty soil drank the puddles dry before they barely had time to form and for the first time since Flowerbirth the dust had gone from the wind. There was a bite to the air that spoke of early frost. Leaves scattered all along the road that wound its way out from the old Settlement - now called the Inner Quarter by most, though not all - and narrowed as it climbed the rolling hills. Just out of sight of the city lights, a cottage lay nestled in greenery between two ridges. It was old, and small, built from brick and cut stone so massive it was a wonder anyone had been able to move them at all, and the chimney was a bit crooked. A thin trail of smoke struggled to rise above the treetops but was continually pushed down by the wind, so that a thin haze added to the dreary feel of the early eve.
Within the small kitchen, Maea scowled at the hearth and stacked another piece of firewood onto the embers. She couldn't seem to get a proper draft going no matter what she did; the room smelled of smoke, and while the teapot had been rattling for a while now she couldn't get to it before she had this sorted. Her stomach gnawed with hunger; she had meant to make food a long time ago, but just like with the tea, it was pushed aside - how could she cook if she couldn't even make the fireplace behave?
Sucking in a breath to summon some patience, she fed the embers with a breath of magic one more time. The tinder caught fire and flared up in bright yellow light, that soon began to lick the half-burned wood. For a moment, it seemed that the smoke that hovered around the heavy beams of the ceiling thinned. But the moment she let her control slip, the fire flagged and dimmed again, leaving the corners of the room to brood under unsettling shadows.
A frustrated snarl was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. It was so unexpected that Maea jumped where she sat and spun to stare at it, half expecting someone or something to come bursting through. Ophelia never knocked when she came home, and there had been no visitors to speak of since they first moved in. Yet there it was again. Unmistakably, undeniably, a knock on the door.
Rising to her feet, she approached warily and cracked open the door just enough to peer outside - hardly daring to hope it wouldn't be trouble that came knocking.
Within the small kitchen, Maea scowled at the hearth and stacked another piece of firewood onto the embers. She couldn't seem to get a proper draft going no matter what she did; the room smelled of smoke, and while the teapot had been rattling for a while now she couldn't get to it before she had this sorted. Her stomach gnawed with hunger; she had meant to make food a long time ago, but just like with the tea, it was pushed aside - how could she cook if she couldn't even make the fireplace behave?
Sucking in a breath to summon some patience, she fed the embers with a breath of magic one more time. The tinder caught fire and flared up in bright yellow light, that soon began to lick the half-burned wood. For a moment, it seemed that the smoke that hovered around the heavy beams of the ceiling thinned. But the moment she let her control slip, the fire flagged and dimmed again, leaving the corners of the room to brood under unsettling shadows.
A frustrated snarl was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. It was so unexpected that Maea jumped where she sat and spun to stare at it, half expecting someone or something to come bursting through. Ophelia never knocked when she came home, and there had been no visitors to speak of since they first moved in. Yet there it was again. Unmistakably, undeniably, a knock on the door.
Rising to her feet, she approached warily and cracked open the door just enough to peer outside - hardly daring to hope it wouldn't be trouble that came knocking.
Don't walk away
