I'm high on believing

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

It took no time at all to spread the gown on the ground next to the elk. A cut into the main artery had blood spilling from the neck in addition to the gut, washing red hot and steaming over her hands. The beautiful fabric soaked in the blood, and combined with the ash it made a sticky paste that would have rendered any normal garb unusable.

Sitting back with blood and gore up to her elbows, Maea turned away from the mess and watched Dantalion feed instead. Perhaps it was the tiger in her that knew better than to bother him in his meal. Maybe it was just a polite thing to do... Either way, it was a rare chance to learn about being Ancient, and from the real deal. The old guarde, so to speak. It certainly stirred something within her. Admiration, perhaps, or envy... Had she ever been that comfortable with herself? So free?

"Were you always Ancient?" she asked gently, when Danta's eyes did not look quite so glazed over anymore.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

The lack of interruption is naturally appreciated - many Ancients likely wouldn't mind sharing, and Danta could be considered one of them under certain circumstances, but not right now. His blue eyes are cold and near feral as they flick up to her whilst she soaks the dress in blood, and it's true that it's some time before he's capable of civilised conversation again.

"Mm...? I was, yeah," he rumbles, sucking the marrow from one of the elk's bones before sitting back to pick his teeth with a splinter of it. "Born and bred. I'm not sure there are so many of us left these days." Who knows, though - maybe there will be more, now that there are fresh Ancients roving Caido, falling in love and fucking in bushes and all that good stuff.

"I'd never really left the Climb before waking up after the big sleep."

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

"Was the world much different from now?" Curiosity was a living blaze firing up in her expression with the tidbits he dropped her. The time in history he came from lay far beyond anything Maea was familiar with, and her hunger for knowledge that might fill that gap rivaled the blood craving that had her absently licking her hands clean.

"I grew up knowing only the Grounds," she offered in return, though it was probably somehing she had said before. "This kind of existence, and what you're doing for the place... it's very different. In a good way, I think." Patting down the dress to make sure every inch of fabric was covered, she began to fold it neatly so it would fit in the backpack. "Is it rude to ask what kind of creature you can shift into?"

If given half a chance she would spend the whole night asking questions. But the hole in his shoulder kept pressing her with a sense of urgency, and the question was not entirely out of curiosity - though that certainly was a part of it.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

A little more used to these sorts of questions now (Danta has lost count of the what was the world likes in the past few months), he can still only offer a slight shrug, but it's with more patience than previously. "Like I said, I never left the Climb, so I can't speak for anywhere else. The Climb was paradise though - for me, anyway." A faint smile touches to his lips as he flicks away the splinter of bone, shifting to get more comfortable on the ground.

"Oh, you think so?" Flashing her a fanged grin for her trouble, it's safe to say that Danta really doesn't care whether or not people approve of what he's doing in or for the Grounds so long as they don't get in his way, but the approval is nevertheless appreciated. As for his shifts, he leans back on his good hand and gazes up at the darkening skies overhead. "For the longest time I only had a gore crow, but I've recently picked up a lava wyrm too."

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

The question of why he had traded paradise for this cursed backwater of a region burned on her tongue. Not even as the Abassador did she see the appeal of it, and without any kind of ruling ambition the idea of governing for status or power was somewhat foreign. It didn't really matter, she decided, and simply smiled back with a small nod.

"Yes, really. I've lost track of how many times this place has traded rulers. You're one of few who didn't start off by trying to impose rules on people. Or make enemies." Zariah and Wessex stood out in her recollections, not that the names would mean much to the Maverick. "I'll admit I struggle to think of this region as anything but the cage it used to be. But I look forward to seeing what you make of it."

While Danta made himself comfortable, Maea hovered uneasily by the carcass of the elk. She was hungry too, the small amount of blood swiped from her hands not nearly enough to sate it. But she felt awkward eating with someone watching. Especially him; she didn't think her compunctions would mean much to someone who had never been anything but what he was.

"I see. If you would like... If you can stay shifted with the wound... I could carry you back home?" It would be faster. Warmer too, if she tucked him beneath her coat.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

It didn't really matter, but for that reason alone, Maea might be surprised to find how carefree Danta is about discussing such things. Alas. "Oho, they sound delightful," he says of his predecessors, grinning openly now. "I wonder if there's any information on them in the Atheneum. Not that it would do me much good - the place had me napping in minutes." He imagines it's thoroughly interesting to those who are into such things, but Danta is not one of those people.

"By the time I'm done with this place, it will be unrecognisable," he assures her - big talk, of course, but he has every intention of coming through. Having settled back to watch her, he's about to gesture for her to take her fill of the elk if she wants, but then he's offering a ride home, and Danta (in his current mood, at least) is not going to look a gift Maea in the mouth.

"You are too kind," he gushes, promptly shifting into a large, ebony feathered corvid with a sorry looking wing.

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

The good thing about living in the same place was that there would be plenty of chances to talk. About fun things, and difficult things, and the things they did and did not care about. Tonight Maea might be a little bit relieved that they had to hurry back to town, with no leisure to spend on expanding her comfort zone, or picking Danta's brain on his past. Another time, perhaps.

She certainly did not waste any time packing up her bloodied dress and shouldering the backpack, whilst leaving the carcass behind for scavengers to pick clean. And for all that she worried about the amount of blood the Maverick had lost, Maea did take the time to be gentle when finally gathering up the big bird. Careful with his wing and mindful of the razor sharp talons, she tucked him beneath her coat and held him close over the heart, offering what warmth she had to spare during the long trek home.

"I know my way around the Atheneum. If you want to know about the past I can dig it out for you," she murmured softly into the gathering dark, unsure whether the crow listened or not. It was okay if he didn't. "When you feel better, I hope we can hunt together again... for some reason I seem to enjoy your company. But don't tell anyone I said that."

It was embarrassing enough just to say it aloud; no need to spread it around.  

{Fin}

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!