[o] There's no plan

// somebody told me that there's two sides to this life //

In the interim between her voice fading and his picking up, Maea had a lot of time to second guess herself. There she was again, offering solutions and lecturing when sympathy might be all he wanted from her. Too eager to help fix problems when they were laid out before her, she should spend more time simply listening, and asking questions, and... and apparently, she actually said something right?

Maea blinked. Surprised, to hear gratitude rather than criticism. It softened something within that she didn't quite understand, like a barrier hastily erected in self-defense had been taken down.
The girl in the mirror-like crystal smiled, shy and grateful and just a little bit proud of herself for being able to help. "I'm glad. Because to be honest I'm not very good at cheering people up. If that failed I would've been out of ideas on what to try next." Plucking a pretty crystal for him, perhaps, like a crow that brought trash and trinkets in exchange for food, convinced it was a fair trade. There was a glint of dry humour and fondness in her eyes however, that suggested a first failure wouldn't keep her from trying until he smiled again. Fear was a poison she knew well, and in her own experience, nothing took the edge off like laughter.

Drawing in a deep breath, Maea twisted a bit until her spine loosened up and cast her pale eyes about the glittering cavern. "How would you feel about exploring this place for a bit? I've been meaning to gather some quartz for an experiment, and this might be just the place... Say, have you ever tried working with glass before? I've been reading up on it lately, and it's actually quite fascinating..."

Content to linger for a while longer or to rise and get lost in the beauty of the Soulfire Reach, whichever he preferred, Maea launched into a detailed description of her first attempt at making glass. The partial success had lit a fire in her that kept coming back, trying and retrying - chasing after just the right combination of sand, quickening agents, heat and time to produce the kind of material she might work with to create something new.

Perhaps there was a lesson in there, somewhere, to the woes that plagued her. Balance was as necessary when treading unfamiliar ground as it was in chemistry, an essential component in finding peace of mind. Too much light left you blinded, as too much darkness consumed hope of better things. If she could only learn to walk the line between the two, with a foot on each side... Perhaps that was where she would find what she was looking for.

Maea

// I think I might've chosen darkness over light //

"Mmh. I have found you to be very effective." It wasn't a smile. The memories he had spoken of were still too close to the surface for that. But his eyes were gentle and warm, as were the fingers that squeezed hers in turn, grateful for her care and recognizing the stubbornness and loyalty that would have kept her by his side until he was ready to set his fear aside once more. He had made his choice long ago, and so perhaps had lost something beyond price. But from it he had gained a true friend, and he would honor and cherish that bond for the treasure it was, even as they both forged against the currents of the world and its myriad dangers.

He followed her gaze as she stretched, emerald eyes drifting over the crystals that flashed from the light of fire and stars and passing over others that yet hid from them, tucked into shadow or tilted so that the light could not catch their facets. "I would like that," he agreed quietly, but was content to sit a while longer and listen to her forays into crafting, giving a silent shake of his head to admit his ignorance of glasswork. He was an attentive and thoughtful audience, familiar with some of the terms though needing to ask quiet questions about others. Neither fire nor starlght dimmed, as they sat and talked amidst the crystal cavern.

And perhaps for both of them there was a measure of healing in it.

~Fin