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dig in deeper - Maea - 07-21-2024
Day or night made little difference in the burrows. Any natural light glowed lava red and dyed both rocks and flowers out of their original hues. It could easily grow boring, or oppressive, or at least monochrome, but honestly Maea rather enjoyed reflecting anything but white for a change. Pink, shades of red, shadowed hues of coral and bone - even her hair took on new nuances of silk, glistening only when the fiery moths she had conjured came close enough to highlight individual strands, curled up and made frizzy by the humidity.
Pausing to catch her breath near the pond, she got her hopes up for a moment, thinking it was actual water within. It wasn't until she knelt to touch the still liquid and found her fingers dyed crimson that she realized otherwise, and let out a disappointed sigh. Wasn't it a bit much? Did everything have to be blood? Blood waterfalls, blood pools, blood ponds; for a goddess all about change it seemed oddly uniform. Then again, it was probably beautiful to some. Welcoming, rather than obscene, comforting instead of unsettling.
With a relentless feeling of being out of place, Maea sat down and merely stared out across the pool. It took no effort at all to uphold the burning shapes, and yet she found herself bored with the lack of life in them. Without feeding them magic and intent they would go out, erased without a trace of ever being there. There one vanished, and a second, and the final one; and before she knew it, darkness settled over the cavern.
Alone. Once again she was alone. And for once she was in no hurry to change that. Despite the persistent lump in her throat and an ache that reminded at once of unshed tears and frustration and despair, she resisted the impulse to rub at her temples or curl up or weep.
It hadn't helped her any so far.
RE: dig in deeper - Flora - 07-22-2024
Swanning through the underground tunnels as if she owned the place, the Doubletake was lost in her own thoughts as she made her way toward Frey's Breath. Dressed to impress, Flora strut across the stones in a pair of wonderfully high heels that, when paired with nothing more than a bathing suit and a sheer coverup, made her legs look deliciously long. That she'd put on a healthy amount of shimmery liquid to them that morning hadn't hurt either. Wearing a full face of makeup strategically applied so that when it inevitably started to melt because of the heat she'd look dewy rather than sloppy, she'd also pinned her curls up off of her neck so that if she did get into the water, they wouldn't be immediately ruined.
In short, Flora was here for a date.
With a packed bag full of things over one shoulder, no doubt Maea would hear the rhythmic sound of the Doubletake's heels echoing out across the rocks long before she actually came into view. Of course she wouldn't be stopping at the bloody part of the pools, ew, but certainly she'd have to pass them before reaching the actual water.
RE: dig in deeper - Maea - 07-22-2024
A sinking feeling in the stomach was what the clopping of heels against craggy rock evoked in the ancient. Apparently this wasn't the secluded refuge she had thought it might be. Where exactly would she have to go to be left alone? With a sour burn in her throat she cast about for somewhere to hide, hastily trying to decide whether to shift, what to turn into, whether it was better to kindle a light or simply shrink into the darkness until this disturbance had passed...
But the quiet was already disrupted, and her moment ruined. By the time Flora came into view Maea was still undecided and stood hovering on the edge of the bloody pool, watching the dazzling approach of the young queen like a deer in headlights. Unable to think of anything to say, and even less capable of looking away.
Belatedly, the idea of plunging into the pool came to mind. To maybe sink beneath the surface and stay there until the danger had passed. What danger, though? Of being perceived? Spoken to? She really was back to running away, huh... [say]"How pathetic."[/say] It was muttered under breath, a slip of the tongue never intended for anyone but herself. Unfortunately the caves echoed, and the sound spread round and round like an evil circle.
RE: dig in deeper - Flora - 07-22-2024
—How pathetic.
Now, Flora had been called a lot of things in her years even before she was a queen, and certainly not all of them had been nice. She'd learned to just roll her eyes at most of it, though she wasn't above lowering herself when enough became enough (see, for example, the bitchy fight between her and Jude so long ago).
Flora's heel steps came to an abrupt halt as the words echoed off of the cavern walls, dull and drab as they reached her ears. Turning a sharp aqua gaze towards Maea, the woman a pale slip next to the pool of red, the queen sized up the ancient with a single sweep of her eyes before raising an eyebrow. [say]"Sorry, did you say something?"[/say] She wondered in precisely the tone of voice that suggested she wasn't sorry at all. The Doubletake was confident in her appearance on a good day but dolled up for her date with Astaroth as she was, the queen practically sparkled with it. Or perhaps that was just the bronzer she'd liberally applied.
Recognizing Maea only because of the woman's height and pale features, Flora turned her shoulders toward the ancient as a crisp smile settled on her red lips.
RE: dig in deeper - Maea - 07-22-2024
The words barely past her lips, that sinking feeling kept pulling her towards the ground. Wishing it would swallow her up and be done with squashing her like a bug, Maea listened to a ringing in her ears that tasted like ashes and copper and crescendoed in a shattering of glass - or at least that's what Flora's tone reminded her of. The way a heel crushed a mirror and twisted, so sharp and clear that cringing was the only reasonable response.
Opening her mouth to apologize, the panic grew when she realized not a sound was coming out. Drawing in more breath, Maea tried again, and managed a weird squawking noise - like her throat was the only part shifted and her only language would be the cawing of a crow from now on. Heat flushed her face, prickling and sticky - with the thin shoulders hiking towards her horns she tore her eyes away, to lock on a rock near those wildly elegant and awfully out of place heels.
[say]"Sorry..."[/say]
There was more to be said, more explanation to deliver - she had been talking about herself, to herself, but she'd been staring at Flora so of course the queen would misunderstand - but for all the desperate scrabbling on the inside, all that expressed outwardly was a surly looking reluctance - like a banshee robbed of her voice, reduced to hurling insults after a passersby.
RE: dig in deeper - Flora - 07-22-2024
Where time might have slowed down for Maea allowing the ancient to revolve slowly in the tornado of her feelings, to give every sensation a name and to match every sharp pinprick of anxiety onto a broken shard of glass, for Flora time soldiered on such that the seconds that stretched out between them threatened to grow uncomfortable.
Sorry. Oh, well alright then.
[say]"What the fuck is wrong with you?"[/say] The queen wants to know, though the way she impatiently rolls her eyes suggests that the question is more rhetorical than not. [say]"As if nearly getting me killed at your stupid meeting wasn't enough, now you're going to insult me just for walking by?"[/say]
Bitch.
Adjusting the bag on her shoulder—the clinking of bottles a fairly recognizable sound from within—the Doubletake glances over her shoulder in the direction she'd just come from. [say]"Astaaaa, this way darling."[/say] She calls flirtatiously, affecting the sultry drawl of his voice around his favourite term of endearment before letting her gaze slip assertively back towards Maea.
RE: dig in deeper - Maea - 07-22-2024
What is wrong with you? What the fuck? What. The. Fuck? Wrong, what's wrong, what indeed is wrong in the head and body and soul of one Maea Valair? Hot topic, many wants to know, few actually care to find out. She would love to know herself, but the more she asked and the more advice she received the less clear it became.
A bit too much, yeah? Too opinionated, too considerate, too caring, too selfish and too loud, too much of everything and somehow still not enough. Not kind enough, not soft and gentle and understanding enough not open minded enough to accept and forgive everything, and she wasn't loose enough or fun enough or even cruel enough to earn that fearful kind of respect that villains got. Now if only she loosened up a bit and reigned herself in a bit and opened up a bit, and maybe if she showed some accountability and stopped being such a fucking hero, then maybe she would be able to fix this.
Except, it was out of her control. Fixing anything seemed to be beyond her ability. Flora's scathing words made that abundantly clear. And to make it a hundred times worse, Asta's name had her freezing in place, seizing up while a fog settled over her mind.
No. No no no, not like this. Not here, not now - please, gods, she was supposed to avoid him until he decided it was appropriate to meet. His terms, not hers.
Now she really should be running. But Maea couldn't bring herself to move. Hacking down shallow breaths she stared past Flora, into the dark beyond, just waiting to see that skulking figure part from the shadows. Her fists tightened in the dark velvet of the skirt, whitening knuckles the only giveaway of the sickening panic rising in her.
Maybe she would die here. Maybe that's what she deserved.
Maybe this - standing mute in the face of utter contempt - was the only just reward for a bitch like her.
RE: dig in deeper - Astaroth - 07-22-2024
True irony is when Astaroth has zero idea that the bargain had been an actual date, while still treating it very much as one. He was the gentleman butcher, after all, and when it came to the fact that he was under the assumption that it was just a friendly get together, he’d still gone the extra mile of meeting Flora in Torchline, been perhaps a bit overtly excited she’d wanted to go to the Climb of all places to swim, to which he hadn’t exactly gotten the memo of and managed to snag a pair of shorts and a floral patterned shirt that screams more so like swimming or beach day attire.
So as far as the butcher is concerned, he’s dressed for the part, trailing after Flora’s head start through the caverns (mostly because the bag he carries, while not full of bottles or wine, has the rest of their items – towels, food, whatever else Flora deemed necessary, had gotten snagged on a wall with a rogue gemstone he hadn’t seen and it had kept him up apparently quite long), long enough to hear Flora’s call down the cavern of this tunnel they’d taken to Frey’s Breath, of which Astaroth had been fully preparing the extent of random knowledge he has of this particular location.
A favorite, you see, because it was far enough underground that there often weren’t any gore crows to ruin his day, and the heat of the springs soothed old bones and phantom pains.
So emerge from the tunnels, the butcher does, bag slung over his shoulder, a pair of quite fashionable sunglasses tilted up on the top of his head, nestled amongst dark slicked back hair and in front of horns that prong upwards – his dark gaze focused on Flora with a bright yet sharp grin. “[say]Apologies, darling, evidently I had taken longer than anticipated.[/say]” As he’d realize even further upon his approach that she wasn’t alone, and looking past her has his sharp grin remaining, though without any of the mirth from before. Pasted on and sharp, it remains, less intimidating than he imagines with how the attire he wears is the most dressed down he’s gotten in some time – the floral shirt (in red, of course, with white lotus like flowers sprinkled amongst in varying patterns) unbuttoned not one, but two buttons down to reveal the brief edges of lines of scar tissue and faint, barely there bruises.
Maea seems frozen, however, and truly Astaroth cares little about whatever reaction his presence has to the loreseeker, not as he drifts up beside Flora and offers his arm as any gentleman would, fake smile still plastered on his face even as his tail gives him away with how the spaded tip of it thrashes back and forth behind him. He leans down toward her, horned head angled by her ear, accented voice soft if not a touch venomous when he says “[say]I see you have found a stray.[/say]” Because Maea had, in his mind, isolated herself with the choices she'd made and the actions she'd taken.
RE: dig in deeper - Flora - 07-23-2024
Flora could only stare as Maea seemed to slip into some sort of fugue state given the faraway look in her eyes and the weird way she was breathing. If it was some sort of a ploy for sympathy it certainly wouldn't work on the Doubletake, not since Jack had hardened her to the manipulations of others. Of course the queen knew nothing of the drama going on in Maea's life, but would it have made the slightest bit of difference if she did? Probably not.
Turning towards Asta as he enters, Flora's sigh of relief is both theatrical in its volume as well as entirely genuine. [say]"And here I thought I'd lost you."[/say] The queen laughs brightly, her expression entirely adoring as her chin lifts the nearer he comes to her that she might keep his mahogany gaze locked upon her. Looping her arm in through his and standing a touch taller for the confidence his presence inspired, as the butcher leans down toward her, Flora lets her head tilt somewhat so that her eyes might briefly fall upon Maea. A dazzling smile parts her lips as if it was sweet nothings being whispered against the shell of her ear.
[SAY]"Mmm, a rude one."[/say] The queen confirms in a velvet tone as her aqua eyes slide mercilessly towards Maea if only to confirm that yeah girl, we talkin' about you.
RE: dig in deeper - Maea - 07-23-2024
A strange sense of deja vu was settling over Maea. This scene was oddly familiar, like she'd been here before. Or perhaps it was simply a memory. The way they whispered to each other, and the sidelong glance to make sure she saw them - it was the kind of childish torment she had suffered often, growing up. How peculiar, to see grown people engage in such behavior. Well - strange to see Asta initiate it, at least. Flora was definitely young enough that immaturity shouldn't surprise anyone.
Was that a bottom she experienced at the end of the sinking? It was a relief that no one was shouting at her - Asta's smile looked painful but it was better than yelling or fighting. Maybe she wasn't dying after all? A thread of emotion wound along the edge of awareness, faint and nameless; Maea clung to it, because anything was better than breaking down in front of these people. Not quite anger, or even patience, it let her steady her breath somewhat. And even though her legs remained locked, she could swallow. Move her tongue over parched lips - only to find that she didn't have anything she wanted to say.
Maea could explain where this had gone wrong... but was there a point, when these people had already settled their opinions on her?
Blinking slowly, her gaze refocused and met each of theirs briefly. Waiting in silence, to see whether they would care to share their conversation or continue on their way. Shifting her jaw in a subtly stubborn expression, a thought flitted past that even if she could bring herself to leave, Maea might remain anyway - for no reason other than because she was there first.
Gods, spare her from herself. This could definitely still get worse.
RE: dig in deeper - Astaroth - 07-23-2024
He was a difficult one to lose when he didn’t want to be lost, though that isn’t a fact that slips from his lips while they’re in the presence of the pale Ancient. Instead, Flora’s arm is warm as it slips into his own offered one, his quiet tone sharp and soft simultaneously for the Queen’s ear only. Though the answer received is one that has a huff of a laugh leaving him, because of course that was true.
And yet, Maea still says absolutely nothing.
Not interested in letting the loreseeker ruin what has been intended on being a good day, the butcher adjusts his own bag against his shoulder, arm still intertwined with the queens as he drops his gaze and that sharp smile to her as he straightens. “[say]Shall we not let her ruin our day?[/say]” He suggests, unsurprised that the shorter Ancient would have nothing much to say at all. Astaroth isn’t too inclined to enact any of his own justice right this second anyway, not with the beautiful company he has and the promise of Frey’s Breath to soothe his mind.
“[say]Come,[/say]” his deeper accented tone vibrates toward Flora. “[say]We are nearly there.[/say]” Pulling his dark gaze away from Maea, he looks down the path still leading to open up entirely into Frey’s Breath.
RE: dig in deeper - Flora - 07-23-2024
Maea offered nothing more than blinks and the odd movement of her jaw such that as Asta's voice purred into her ear again, Flora was more than happy to have her attention diverted away from the pale ancient who'd gone from rude to catatonic in a matter of seconds. [say]"You're absolutely right."[/say] She hums indulgently, finding the butcher's unflinching charm wildly attractive, but then, had he deigned to tear a strip off of the loreseeker, she'd have been just as thrilled.
Sweeping her coverup out of the way as she turns, keeping herself tucked neatly at Asta's side while being careful not to transfer any of her bronzer onto his outfit—what a faux pax that would be—the Doubletake sets off, her movements graceful despite the height of her heels. (Years of practice in front of a mirror, you see). [say]"Do you think she's the sort to stay and watch?"[/say] Flora whispers, her eyebrows raising beneath the golden curtain of her bangs.
Given that the Doubletake viewed this as a date, and that every date she'd gone on had ended in sex, throw in the fact that she was already in a bikini and that they were about to go swimming (yes Asta, you heard that right), Flora could only assume that if Maea did decide to stay, she'd be treated to quite the show.
RE: dig in deeper - Maea - 07-23-2024
Was this moderation? It would be nice to think it was, but Maea didn't want to delude herself into thinking she had done something right just because nothing was on fire. And she could hardly call this 'doing something'; all she'd done was to stand mutely like some statue after insulting someone by accident. Panicking.
Watching the odd pair hook arms and continue past her, it was her last chance to correct the mistake. That Asta was there made her hesitant to say anything at all, but the question remained whether she cared about fixing this, whether it mattered, whether it was better to simply leave it be and count her losses.
Then she caught the whispered tail end of Flora's question. Of all the things to shake loose her tongue, that was a strange one, and yet Maea found herself turning - finally - and speaking to her retreating back. [say]"I'm not. And I wasn't talking to you, before."[/say]
Apparently it mattered after all. Maybe not because of Asta's opinions, or because she cared what Flora would think... it just her need for clarity in the end. For good or ill.
Prying open her hands, Maea made an effort to smooth down the wrinkled fabric over her hips. Moving just to remind herself that it could be done, that it was an option.
That she wasn't childish enough to insist on lingering just to end up making herself uncomfortable.
RE: dig in deeper - Astaroth - 07-23-2024
Quite content to keep Flora tucked against his side, Astaroth gives one last glance to Maea even as his tail continues to thrash like an annoyed cat behind him. His arm closes up against his side, keeping her precisely against him, even as they start to pave their path toward the water.
Of course, her whispered comment doesn’t dawn the true meaning to the butcher. If anything, he simple wonders if she means Maea would stick around to watch them swim which was odd, but not weird, and he huffs a soft rumbling laugh before he shakes his head, until Maea’s voice reaches them and he pauses for a moment, head angling over his shoulder toward her.
“[say]No, but you have a tendency to follow, don’t you?[/say]” He calls back toward her, his smile fading slightly into something sharper and rougher, arm tighter where it holds Flora’s against his side. No pleasantries, do darlings or dears.