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+---- Thread: Something wild calls me home (/showthread.php?tid=11849)
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Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-05-2025
A rustle of unseen droplets upon wilting leaves filled the air. A hush lay over the woods, and the birds had gone quiet in the trees. Somewhere high above, a pale sun only just managed to break through the haze of water vapour drifting over the forest floor. Whether mist or low clouds or some remnant of the Fae Fiadha mattered little; it was cold, and quiet, and a weather better suited for sipping tea by a warm hearth.
Not Maea, though. She had bundled up against the damp chill and set out on her regular walk, armed with sketchbook and pen and an empty box tucked into her backpack, just in case this was the day she got lucky and a rose appeared before her feet. Letting the ever changing paths of the forest lead her astray, she was led this morning to a section of forest where the moss lay thick as blankets over a smattering of boulders and rocks. The pines grew like crooked teeth out of the madness, twisting and turning in a struggle against gravity and wind - and a small waterfall dribbled down through the cracks, pooling in a small lake at the bottom of a dell.
Enchanted by the sight, the ancient settled herself by the edge of the pool, daring to dip her fingers into the clear water. Cool but not yet icy, it nearly tempted her into taking a dip... Glancing furtively around, she hesitated - if anyone was around to see her...
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-07-2025
The mist hugs the earth like a sigh still clinging to sleep. Dew beads in my hair and slicks the curls against my forehead, the air cool and dense with silence that feels alive. The woods are hushed—drenched in pale silver light that filters through the haze, turning every branch into soft charcoal sketches against the morning. My boots sink a little into the moss with each step, and the scent of damp bark, pine, and distant blossoms curls through the cold.
I’ve wandered aimlessly for hours, not really ready to head home. My nonna said she'd always loved it here, and I'm thinking of her, feeling closer to her, as I scan the underbrush. I promised I’d look, didn’t I? Even if the roses of Vi tend to show up when they want to be found, not when I go hunting for them. But something else catches my attention.
A hush-break of sound—delicate and constant. A waterfall.
I pause, blinking toward the trees ahead. Sure enough, a glimmer of light bounces off something beyond the trunks. Curious, I smile to myself and hike my backpack up higher on my shoulder. [say]“Well hello there,”[/say] I murmur to the woods, as if they meant to show me this. I duck under low branches and follow the sound.
When I step out into the little clearing, I grin wide.
Gods, it’s stunning. The waterfall only trickles, more song than roar, but it’s enough to make the air shimmer. I kneel at the edge and reach to dip my fingers into the water, letting the chill sting pleasantly against my skin.
[say]“Way better than last night’s melted ice,”[/say] I mutter to no one, unhooking my canteen. I dump out the lukewarm water and lean forward to refill it from the clear pool, humming a little as I do—some off-key melody stuck in my head from the party last night. My head bobs with the rhythm, my curls bouncing along, and I’m so absorbed in it that I don’t see her until I do.
She’s right there—an unmistakable silhouette against the rock, white hair, pale skin, and those eyes I’ve seen from across gathering halls and celebrations. And I—
—squeak.
[say]“Ahhshit—”[/say]
I jerk back instinctively, lose my balance, and fall flat on my ass with a graceless oof. My newly filled canteen spills beside me, water soaking into the moss. [say]“Oh, no—damnit,”[/say] I mutter, grabbing for it too late. My face burns as I scramble upright, brushing myself off.
[say]“Sorry—! I didn’t mean to—uh, sneak up, or fall over, or—spill nature’s finest, apparently.”[/say] I rub the back of my neck. [say]“Looks like we both got pulled in by the same waterfall,”[/say] I say. [say]“It’s clearly got some tricks to attract at least two random strangers at once."[/say]
I glance at the spilled canteen, the wet patch spreading across my pant leg, and sigh. [say]“Though if it's choosing favorites, pretty sure I just got voted least coordinated forest nymph.”[/say] I gather up the bottle and dunk it back in the water to fill again, eyes on the pale ancient. [say]“I’m Theea.”[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-10-2025
Eyes pale as the mist followed the movements of the girl, from the moment she came into view until she tipped over with a squawk that echoed through the silent woods. A preternatural stillness lay over her, as though she had learned the art of silencing both heartbeat and breath and knew intimately the flow of petrified blood through marble limbs. Maybe it was wariness, of this stranger who appeared where no others chose to walk. Maybe she was just surprised, taken aback by the flood of nervous ramblings that cut the stillness into ribbons. It wasn't often she came across anyone who resembled herr younger self so much, after all.
[say]"Hello, Theea,"[/say] came a quiet reply, once the girl got that far. Withdrawing her hand from the pool, clear droplets clung to pale fingertips like moisture she'd from icicles; like the fair-skinned woman was a second a way from melting into the mist and disappearing. Contemplating whether she should comment on the spilled water or the remark about the waterfall and its ability to draw in visitors, silence extended, growing poignant and taking on a life of its own. [say]"... I startled you. My bad."[/say] She smiled; a fleeting thing, there and gone like a will-o-wisp, leaving only an afterimage of something warm and soft, lost to the mist.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-10-2025
I blink, the realization hitting me like cold water—the pale, will-o-wisp figure isn’t just anyone. She’s an Ancient. I’ve never actually spoken to one before. After the war, when the Ancients started waking and the Ascended became them, Mom and I pulled back from the world even more than before. Our paths just… never crossed.
But here she is, beautiful, white horns, tail, and all.
I can’t help but smile at her greeting, and I catch the flicker of her own—brief as it is—before it’s gone. It’s enough to plant a little seed of hope in me, that maybe I’ve stumbled across a potential friend… or at least someone I could call an ally in this strange, sprawling world.
[say]“You didn’t startle me, really,”[/say] I say quickly, brushing damp leaves off my skirt. [say]“I startled myself. You got here first, I think.”[/say] I glance toward the pool, then back to her, a sheepish tilt to my mouth. [say]“Sorry if I’m intruding or—oh gods, am I trespassing? Do you, uh… live here?”[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Random Event - 08-10-2025
You’ve encountered one of Vi’s Roses.. This counts as a rare creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. You can post a link to this thread in the character updates thread if you pick the rose, to have it added to your inventory.
Vi's Roses (rare): A beautiful crimson flower with thorns of deep gold, it is rumoured that these roses are coloured with Vi's lifeblood. When planted, they have the ability to cleanse the area around them.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-10-2025
A tail as milky white as the rest of the ancient's skin coiled lazily around her feet, snaking in and out of the pooling skirts. The way this girl kept panicking all on her own amused her, perhaps because the awkwardness rhymed so poorly with the expert way she had moved through the woodlands. Perhaps this Theea belonged more to the wild places than the settled areas and the bustling cities. Maybe they weren't entirely different... though Maea thought it had been a while since she tripped over her own tongue like that.
[say]"You are not trespassing,"[/say] she assured, before the little raven girl could spook herself into running off. [say]"The Greatwood doesn't belong to anyone in that way... but I do call it home."[/say] Not this exact spot, though, so they were all good.
About to ask something, Maea was distracted by a sense of movement in the corner of her eye, a flash of red so vibrant that the autumn leaves seemed washed out and drab in comparison. Shooting to her feet, a look of shocked incredulity crossed her face, and she'd taken a step towards the rose before she froze, gaze turning to the girl. Painful, desperate -
[say]"... would you... yield this one flower to me?"[/say] she asked, trembling with the effort of restraining herself. [say]"Someone I love very much... has need of it. I'd give you anything in return – "[/say] Breaking off before the request turned into actual pleading, she held her breath while awaiting the reply. While she could simply take it, brush the girl aside and refuse to listen... it would haunt her to find out later that someone else had to suffer because of her. Liam would never forgive that.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-10-2025
Relief washes over me when she says I’m not trespassing, the knot in my chest loosening enough for me to let out a quiet breath. I get what she means about the Greatwood—not belonging to anyone, but still being home. I’m about to mention that my Nonna lived here once, but the words die in my throat at the same moment something catches my eye.
Blood-red petals, golden thorns.
My steps falter. I’ve seen a rose like that only once before—when I nearly crushed it underfoot and ended up tripping over it in front of Elizabeth. I hadn’t needed it then, so I’d let her take it to leadership without a second thought. But now…
The Ancient beside me moves sharply, her expression shifting so quickly it startles me. When her pale eyes turn to me, I see it—desperation so raw it tugs hard at something in my chest. I didn’t expect that kind of emotion from her, not here, not like this.
I rise slowly and take a step toward her, offering the smallest smile I can muster, something meant to steady the moment. [say]“I have no need of it,”[/say] I tell her, my voice soft but certain. [say]“If it can help your loved one, take it. Please.”[/say] I can’t imagine what he must be going through—not in the wake of the Family’s absence, not with that kind of weight in her voice.
I hesitate, then add with a faint, almost sheepish tilt to my head, [say]“I hope I’m not being too bold—or nosy—but… who is it for?”[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-10-2025
Hesitating, as though to give Theea the option to change her mind for even a fraction longer, it was clearly difficult for the pale woman to accept the simple reassurance. Despite her need of the rose, despite the clear, honest purpose of curing someone of the Void, somehow it seemed greedy, to pluck it without first asking, first making absolutely sure that the girl wasn't just putting on a brave face...
[say]"His name is Liam,"[/say] she replied, finally moving towards the rose as though answering the questions was payment. Maybe it was; in this moment there wasn't much she wouldn't give this sweet, generous child who'd be giving her best friend and lover back to her. [say]"He is... my partner. Someone I thought I could never have... Someone I'd do anything for."[/say]
Kneeling beside the flower, she plucked it gingerly, reverent before this miracle. It felt too light in her hands, the thorns too sharp, the petals redder than blood. Somehow she was holding back her tears, despite the quiver in her voice. [say]"You should come and meet him, once he's cured. He's wonderfully kind - I'm sure you would get along."[/say] Someday soon - she would have to figure out how to do this swiftly, without struggle or pain... Ah, her hands wouldn't stop trembling.
Finally he would be free.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-10-2025
I wait quietly through her hesitation, not wanting to rush her, just letting the mist and the sound of the waterfall fill the silence between us. And then, as she finally reaches for the flower, she gives me a name. Liam.
Something in me softens at that. I don’t know what it’s like to love someone that way—at least, not yet—but I’ve seen it. My parents had it, once. I’ve always been a bit of a fool for love stories, really. And still… Mateo’s words flit through my mind, uninvited—how growing up comes with finding people more… interesting. The thought catches briefly on someone, flickers like a spark I can’t quite cup in my hands.
I circle the edge of the pool, boots whispering over damp moss until I’m closer, watching her fingers move reverently over the rose. When she invites me to meet him, I grin without thinking. [say]“I’d love that,”[/say] I say warmly, a little surprised at how good it feels to know I might actually be helping someone. Maybe not in any grand, heroic way—but in a way that matters, just with kindness someone needed.
The emotion in her voice tugs hard at me, and I notice the tremble in her hands as she holds the flower. My heart clenches. I slip my backpack from my shoulder, kneeling to rummage inside until I pull out a small wooden box—the one I made not long after Deimos asked me to search for these, back when the Family was still here.
I hold it out to her, smiling gently. [say]“Here. It’ll keep it safe—and uncrushed—until you can get it to him.”[/say]
Then, with a sudden blink, I realize something. [say]“I’m sorry—I don’t think I ever got your name.”[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-13-2025
Slowly her pulse was returning to normal. With every word Theea proved herself trustworthy, not one to suddenly rip the flower from her hands, or change her mind, or laugh at the emotions that thickened her voice and made it tremble and crack. The rose was light in her hands but the weight of responsibility she felt at using it properly, accurately, was a mountain on her back that wouldn't disappear until Liam was free to detest the Family - or not - as he pleased.
Gingerly accepting the wooden box, she folded a napkin into it and placed the rose on top. [say]"My name is Maea Valair,"[/say] she replied, soft and quiet as she looked up, still nursing the treasure in both hands. [say]"Thank you, Theea. Can I do anything for you?"[/say] Now, or tomorrow, or fifty years from now didn't matter; this was a kindness that wouldn't be forgotten, not ever. It kept her kneeling in the moss despite the thrill singing through her limbs that urged her to fly right back home to Liam. It was for the better; this was not a thing she ought to rush into without a plan.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-16-2025
I smile when she takes the box, tucking my humor away for once. There’s a time for it, and this isn’t it. [say]“Maea,”[/say] I repeat, letting the sound of it linger. [say]“It’s beautiful.”[/say]
When she thanks me, I just shake my head. [say]“It’s what anyone in my situation would’ve done.”[/say] Maybe not anyone, but it feels wrong to make it out like some grand sacrifice. Clearing the Void matters—but just as impotant that, helping the people still drowning in its wake… it means something deeper. Those left behind are helpless in their misery. If I can throw them a rope, even a small one, I will.
[say]“I don’t need anything,”[/say] I add after a moment, and the honesty of it surprises me. I’m figuring it out—life, that is. Being an adult. The words pull a crooked smile from me, and I tilt my head. [say]”Maybe just… pay it forward, you know?”[/say]
I tilt my head a little admiring her large horns, and I wonder how they aren’t so heavy. Hollow, like a ram’s horn maybe?
[say]“This is probably rude to ask,”[/say] I warn, but ask anyway. [say]“How old are you? Like… are you an ancient Ancient?”[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-16-2025
Rattled enough for her composure to have slipped, the sudden compliment on her name actually made the ancient blush, confused and awkward when faced with a sentiment she didn't know what to do with. She'd never known how to accept compliments. Should she be saying thank you? Agreeing seemed conceited while disagreeing was ungrateful, and was she supposed to be happy or unbothered about the sentiment of someone she had just met? Flustered was all she could manage, in the end, betrayed by expressive lips that couldn't settle on a smile nor maintain that previous mask of calm.
Leaping on the chance to talk about something else, she didn't care if the question of her age was insensitive. [say]"No, not an old one,"[/say] she replied, words tumbling over one another in her haste to explain. [say]"I'm... gods, how old am I – uh, thirty...one? Yes, that sounds right. I don't look like it, right? There are... reasons."[/say] Rubbing a smooth cheek with the backside of her hand, Maea knew her features remained frozen in a previous decade. A death mask time had yet to catch up with, deceptively youthful ‐ she couldn't blame anyone who mistook her for a kid. Especially not given how often she acted like one.
At a loss for what to do when she couldn't offer Theea anything, Maea slowly tucked away the box with the rose inside her coat. With it pressed against her heart, she felt calmer yet intensely aware of its presence; so vibrantly alive that every whisper of air against skin and every crunch of leaf beneath her feet felt personal. [say]"I'll try. Paying it forward... Not sure how, but... I'll do my best."[/say] Her hand slipped from the chin to the back of her neck, rubbing it in a gesture picked up from a certain soldier she'd spent so much time with. [say]"Do you... live in the Greatwood?"[/say]
RE: Something wild calls me home - Theea - 08-16-2025
I notice the blush—it’s impossible not to, with how pale Maea is—but I pretend I don’t. It makes something ease in me, though. I understand. My own self-esteem issues are different, more about who I am than how I look or my name, but shyness in the face of a compliment? That I get.
Ah, so she was one of the ones who changed during the war. The thought prickles at me, a twinge of apprehension I can’t quite stop from surfacing—but I wave it away as quickly as it comes. She seems too kind for that memory, too desperate to help the person she loves, too ready to accept me just for being kind. [say]”Sorry for asking. My dad says I’m as nosy as my mom is.[/say] I smile, but it’s more like a cringe. [say]”Which isn’t a compliment.”[/say]
My smile softens at the way she tucks the rose against her chest, though I don’t comment on it. Instead, I grin a little wider and say, [say]“Sometimes it’s something as simple as holding a blanket in the rain so someone can light a candle at a grave.”[/say] Niki flickers through my thoughts, and I wonder if I should find him while I’m here to make good on my promise for his help.
I shift a little, my tone brightening as I answer her question. [say]“I have before—when I was a kid—but not now. My mom, dad and I lived here for a while.”[/say] My grin turns wistful. [say]“My nonna lived here too, but I never really knew her. She was so at home in this forest.”[/say]
I tilt my head, curious, hopeful. [say]“Did you… know Vervain Calob at all?”[/say] I would love to hear more about her from just about anyone.
RE: Something wild calls me home - Maea - 08-17-2025
Her head cocked aside at the apology, the slight movement exaggerated by the wide sweep of those horns. [say]"Curiosity is not a sin. I don't mind; if I don't want to answer something, I simply won't."[/say] Reticence had gotten her in far less trouble than oversharing, safe to say, so perhaps Theea should be more concerned about the answers she would receive than the asking in itself.
The example offered was received with a faint smile, a nod that strived to accept without questioning or explaining why that kind of selfless action seemed harder than delivering on a request. This girl didn't need to hear about Maea's insecurities, and Maea herself needed to stop defining herself by the mistakes she'd been making. Let this be a chance, instead, to break a pattern that no longer served her.
Shifting where she sat, from kneeling in the moss to sitting on her rump and tucking her legs up beneath her, the name she was given did spark some recollection. It took her a while to place it, but once she did, Maea nodded. [say]"Not well, mind you, but I did meet her, once. She worked as a healer in the Hollowed Grounds before the barrier fell... I breathed in gas while some of us explored the Spire, and she was the one who healed me."[/say] Besides recalling a dark head of hair and a maternal nature, there was little else she could offer Theea, to the petite ancient's regret. [say]"Did you like living here?"[/say]