Maea
And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain
But take the pain
She scrunched her face up in a playfully menacing way as he nudged her. When Boreal came down to land and pressed up against her other side, Maea wrapped an arm about the dragon's sturdy body, leaning lightly into her warmth. "Yeah, it sounds great when you sum it up like that. It's a very recent development, though. Before... I barely had any friends. And I fucked up most things I tried to do, and the few people I got close to wound up dying or disappearing. It was like trying to hold on to sand - everything I wanted just slipping away." And she had done a lot of running. From the Grounds, from the gods, from poor choices in lovers and from her own wounded pride. Heartbreak, in general. "Somewhere along the way I picked up a habit of cowering. Apologizing for breathing. And I really want to stop doing that."
Despite the weighty subject matter, the smile she offered Talyson was surprisingly bright. Reaching out and pressing a closed fist gently into his shoulder, she nodded. "I can do that," she said simply. For him too, if he wished it; already his sometimes gruff and straight-to-the-point nature had done much to help her come out of her shell. Others were as well. Danta, with his tolerance and sweet spot for fellow Ancients, Hotaru, not to mention the slightly more task-related but no less confidence boosting connections building with Remi and Noah. Able to see and accept what they all had to offer in a whole new way, Maea knew she was growing by leaps and bounds. Her abilities, her shifts, were a reflection of that.
And then there was Harper. Who came with a whole new set of challenges to the introverted, repressed lone wolf of a woman.
Heaving a deep sigh, expelling what felt like a great pile of dusty build up - it was just her breath fogging in the chill air - she stretched her arms up over the head and let herself fall back onto the ground. It might be cold, and the sky above remained gray, but for all the seriousness of the conversation she didn't feel all that bad.
"Maybe things are getting better," she acknowledged out loud. "The silver linings... they're growing a bit every day."
Despite the weighty subject matter, the smile she offered Talyson was surprisingly bright. Reaching out and pressing a closed fist gently into his shoulder, she nodded. "I can do that," she said simply. For him too, if he wished it; already his sometimes gruff and straight-to-the-point nature had done much to help her come out of her shell. Others were as well. Danta, with his tolerance and sweet spot for fellow Ancients, Hotaru, not to mention the slightly more task-related but no less confidence boosting connections building with Remi and Noah. Able to see and accept what they all had to offer in a whole new way, Maea knew she was growing by leaps and bounds. Her abilities, her shifts, were a reflection of that.
And then there was Harper. Who came with a whole new set of challenges to the introverted, repressed lone wolf of a woman.
Heaving a deep sigh, expelling what felt like a great pile of dusty build up - it was just her breath fogging in the chill air - she stretched her arms up over the head and let herself fall back onto the ground. It might be cold, and the sky above remained gray, but for all the seriousness of the conversation she didn't feel all that bad.
"Maybe things are getting better," she acknowledged out loud. "The silver linings... they're growing a bit every day."
Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay
You choose to stay
