the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

For a moment, as she looked up and saw the sad look in his eyes, Maea wondered if she had somehow hurt him anyway, in her desperate attempt not to do so. Perhaps you could become too careful, too considerate, to the point where you hid away everything that was in your heart, and kept both from growing. That's how you knew a training session had been effective, was it not? From the ache and pain of the muscles as they tore, rebuilt, and grew back stronger.

He changed the topic, and Maea was both sad and grateful for it. At least Weaver seemed a harmless topic - in so far as the woman could ever be considered harmless - but it made it both easier and harder to know she would see him again so soo. Easier, because she always wanted to see him. Harder... because what could possibly change in a few short weeks?

Everything, her own mind whispered to her, and she sighed lightly. Nodded, that she'd heard. "I'll be there to help if you need a hand with anything," she said.

Hesitating a bit, she looked off to the lighthouse, watched the glow turn in its slow, steady path, out over the sea where the sun had begun to set, in a glow of colorful clouds. Oh, if only they could hurry away from here; Maea didn't know if she could stand to see another sunset here, in this place; knowing how it had turned out last time she watched one with Sunjata by her side. Knowing, it wasn't going to end that way now.

"I've... arranged with Loren to go explore those moving islands, off Ahi coast," she told him. "To try and map their movements, see if there's a pattern. Maybe... if you wanted to come along? We could spend some time together, all three of us." And she could let him drag Loren to the Slagveld afterwards, while she either stayed or went back to Halo... Depending on how hard it was to be around him, without any of this.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay