Super trooper

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

"Sure. We can go together." Pushing herself off the branch, Maea dropped down and landed next to Noe with feline grace. Trailed by the wisp she set off in the direction the woman had indicated, hands tucked comfortably into the wide sleeves of the crimson robe she wore over her other clothes. "Also, you don't have to explain - I know the infection is not something you can control. Just figured it was worth asking." 

Extending a faint smile in an attempt to reassure the young woman, she continued to walk in silence for a time, eyes trailing the vegetation in search of roses - and to steer clear of the hostile vegetation surrounding the Mathair. 
"Where are you from?" she asked eventually, if only to offer an escape in case her company found the quiet uncomfortable.

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

"I wish I had learned something helpful," Noe admitted softly as they set off in a new direction. "At least then maybe it would have been worth it." Otherwise, what good was she? What use was someone who simply thought the Family weren't as bad as they seemed, with no proof to back it up? She'd said and done things as a Friend of the Family that she desperately regretted, and it felt like the only way to fix it was if she could contribute, somehow, to the cause.

The silence stretched for a while as they searched, and when Maea broke it, Noe glanced over at the Ancient. "Stormbreak," she said. "Born and raised. I stayed there while I was infected, but now... I've been staying in Torchline. What about you?"

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

Casting a sidelong glance at the younger woman, Maea's expression was sympathetic, if a bit doubtful. "I don't think you need to hold that against yourself. It's not like you chose this, anymore than you'd choose being assaulted. Whether anything was gained or learned or not, you're still you - a survivor of a terrible event." She didn't say 'victim', as the word came with plenty of bad associations, but the sentiment was similar. Through no fault of her own had Noe endured this ordeal, and in no way did the lack of intelligence or pieces of a Family member detract from the strength it took to simply stand here today.

"Stormbreak, huh... I admit, I've had mixed feelings about that place. I'm sure it's a nice city, but between the Order and the Family, it could use some better advertisement." Climbing over the moldering trunk of a fallen tree, Maea carefully stepped between poisonous plants and skirted a patch of sweetgrass that filled the air with a sugary fragrance. "I'm from the Grounds, originally. Spent a lot of time on the road, but... I've been staying here for a while. Hopefully for good." Though half a year was too short of a time to make predictions on. That she wished to stay was one thing - whether she could was another matter entirely. "Would you want to return home, if you could?"

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

Noe had been thinking of herself as a victim; this was the first that someone had referred to her as a survivor. The girl paused as she considered the implications, biting her lip. "Thanks," she said after a moment. "I... hadn't thought about it like that." And she hadn't been herself since she'd been cured. Maybe it was about time that she tried to figure out who she was now - outside of just being a survivor.

As for Stormbreak, Noe smiled crookedly. "I know, Stormbreak has a bad reputation, but... it has plenty about it that's good. Now that the Family's gone, I hope people give it a chance." She paused again. "I could show you, whenever it's safe to go back. If you ever want a tour guide." Noe stepped over a root, skirting the sugary sweetgrass behind Maea.

The girl new little of the Grounds, and she might have asked more questions if not for the one posed to her: whether or not she would return home, if she could. "I don't know. I love Stormbreak, don't get me wrong... but after everything with the Family, I don't know if it's really home anymore, you know?"

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

It was an easy trap to fall into, as Maea had discovered for herself. While there was nothing wrong with feeling the pain and doubt that came with accepting ones own weaknesses and vulnerability, it was a slippery slope that could easily send you on a downward spiral into dark places if entertained too much. "I've found that it helps to talk about it, when something is weighing on me," she said gently. "It sounds like a cliché, but sometimes we get stuck in a narrative that isn't necessarily real... Putting it out there tends to put things back into perspective."

A rustle in the vegetation up ahead drew Maea's attention. Slowing her step, her hand fell towards the chakram in her belt - but the only thing that appeared was the russet coat of a fox as it dashed off with a limp bundle snagged in its mouth. A rabbit, perhaps, or squirrel? She didn't have time to see.
"I do know that feeling," she murmured, and resumed walking. "I wound up leaving the Grounds because I didn't feel like I belonged there anymore. Between difficult relations and all the ways it's changed over the years..." She shook her head, then turned to look at Noe with a half smile. "I would like a tour, though, yes. Maybe it would help both of us to see the place differently." Rekindle Noe's fondness for well known locations, and show Maea a side of the town that wasn't colored by the various factions that ruled it.

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

Noe said nothing, but tensed as something rustled in the bushes up ahead, her step stuttering as a fox dashed from the leaves with something that appeared to be dead clenched in its mouth. The girl breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't wanted to deal with anything dangerous in her wanderings. When Maea kept walking, Noe did too, falling into step beside the Ancient with her hands tucked into her pockets.

"It's decided, then," Noe said a little too breezily. "A tour, as soon as we can go back safely." Maybe it was for the best that she had some time to consider where her loyalties lay. In the meantime, she could at least plan to play tour guide, and maybe that would be enough to make up her mind one way or the other.

A root sticking up out of the ground nearly tripped her, and Noe flung out an arm to brace against a nearby tree trunk. "So," she said after she'd righted herself. "Do the trees always move, or just when they don't like someone?"

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

Another plan saved for better times, another hope sketched out and left on the growing pile of 'later'. Maea didn't say it, but her hands clenched in frustration over her powerlessness to make 'later' come sooner. If only she'd been stronger... if wishes were coins she'd be the richest person in Caido by now.

Reaching up to pluck a leaf from a low hanging branch, Maea rolled it between her fingers and inhaled the fragrance. Heartened by the aroma of living, growing things, it became easier to set such gloomy thoughts aside. "It seems to be strangers they go for, mostly," she replied, "but I also met someone who's lived here all his life who still got displaced. He thought it was to show him interesting places, though, so who knows. It does happen less frequently the longer I've been here though! You just can't expect to get places on a specific time." She rolled her eyes, keenly aware of the many times she'd been delayed or had to wait for hours or even days for people to show up. "You learn the 'go with the flow' kind of mentality whether you want to or not, in this forest."

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

Ah, if only wishes were coins. Noe, too, would be a very rich young woman - or at the very least, much better off than she was at present. But, unfortunately for both of them, that was not the case, and they were left fortuneless and adrift in the ever-shifting sands of time.

"Soooo am I safe with you, then?" Noe asked, doing her best not to trip on a particularly complicated root system. If she'd had the time or the energy, perhaps she would have paused to study it; roots were, after all, a natural marvel of engineering, lacing together to keep plants firmly in place against all sorts of natural phenomena. "Or, I guess - safe-ish? Because I'm not exactly keen to get stuck out here for days on end. I didn't bring enough supplies, for one."

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

"Hmm, I'd say we've got a fifty-fifty chance of getting where we want to go if I lead," Maea replied breezily, bright and perhaps a bit too honest for comfort. "It'll be fine - if we do get lost, I can hunt dinner for us both." Casting a mischievous glance at the younger woman, she let the thought marinate before throwing her a lifeline. "Of course, if you prefer to be on the safe side, we can always start to head back now. Something tells me we won't find any roses in this area..." Call it instinct or experiece - all of the two previous roses had sprouted fairly quickly upon entering a new section of the forest.

Maea did hope that potentially getting lost was the only concern Noe had for her safety, however. Chewing on the inside of her cheek for a few silent strides, in the end she had to make sure. "I hope I don't come off as unsafe... do I? I know I look a bit different... is it the horns, or the teeth?" Maybe it was the tail - Maea would lie if she ever claimed it hadn't creeped her out in her earliest days as an ancient. Growing a completely new limb could do that.

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

Noe considered this, blinking dumbly. "Oh," she said, feeling remarkably silly. Of course someone who spent time here would be able to fend for themselves if the trees decided to send them on a wild good chase. She was the outlier here, the one who didn't belong. "Either way, I guess. If there's a different area to check, we could always do that." After all, there was still some light -

And then Maea was asking if she came across as unsafe, and Noe was quick to reassure her. "No, no; not at all!" she hastened to say. "It's not that, it's just - I guess I feel silly for not being better prepared. My brother would kill me if he knew I came out here like this." After he'd finished scolding her, telling her that he'd taught her better. And, truthfully, he'd be right to.

"Although," she added, shooting an impish look at Maea. "What's it like, having a tail?" The horns, Noe rather thought she could get used to. The tail, though... that would be different.

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

Breathing a rather exaggerated sigh of relief to take the edge off the storm of reassurance, she pushed the cascade of white hair back from her face with a grin. "Not used to being on the road, I take it? You'll learn, if you keep traveling. Make a habit of keeping fishing hooks and line in a pocket, for starters - and a knife. Never go anywhere without a good, sturdy knife. Maybe you can ask your brother to help you pick one out?" Showing some interest in ones safety tended fall on good soil with the protective types, she'd noticed.

Obliging by altering their course, Maea guided them in the general direction of the village. Laughing at the playful curiosity, she flicked said tail amiably as she walked. "Weird, let me tell you. The first few weeks after becoming ancient were a nightmare. Sitting on it hurt. No motor control. It banged into things, knocked stuff over. I stepped on it, closed it in a door - and don't get me started on how awkward it was to wear pants before I got them tailored." No pun intended.

Maea

NOE

'Cause, baby, I could build a castle
Out of all the bricks they threw at me

'Not used to being on the road,' was a bit of an understatement. The only travel Noe had done thus far had been to populated, civilized areas - with proper inns, and roads that didn't shift and change, and markets and restaurants and shops. And while yeah, the Greatwood technically had some of those things, it was far from what Noe would consider to be city-girl friendly.

Of Maea's advice, Noe nodded. "Thanks," she said. "He'd probably be thrilled to help." Maybe he could teach her to use a fishing line, while he was at it. Honestly, Noe couldn't think of a time she'd gone fishing, even with all the time she'd spent in Torchline.

At least talking about Maea's tail was less awkward than it might have been, the Ancient taking Noe's query in stride. Wincing in playful understanding, the girl reached up to move a branch out of her way, the bark biting into her fingertips. She supposed that building up callouses would be on her list of things to do, if she was going to continue traveling. "Gods, that sounds rough. I can't even imagine."

And every day is like a battle
But every night with us is like a dream

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

"Fingers crossed," Maea nodded, definitely not about to discourage anyone from exploring the world. 

Volunteering more basic survival tips should Noe be interested, the conversation flowed from topics of hometowns and future plans to exchanging family names. Gradually the path beneath their feet became better defined from increasing wear, signalling a return to habited spaces. Clouds were blowing in from the west, promising thunder in the evening; it would be nice to reach the village before it broke out, but Maea was in no real hurry. Confident that she could get them through any difficulties should the need arise, she simply savored the pleasant process of getting acquainted with a new friend.


[FIN]

Maea