Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away
The pale ancient nodded fervently. "Just so." A hateful feeling, a niggling inability to comprehend why things had turned out the way they had, the urge to turn her back on the whole issue and say good riddance to everyone involved conflicting with her solemn vow to stop running. Maybe it would be better to talk... maybe she wouldn't lose her head this time. Maybe frustration and defensiveness wouldn't get in the way of seeing clearly. One could only hope.
Though she almost wondered if she'd missed something already when Charlie paused before answering. The reasoning behind hacking against the wall had Maea kipping for breath; knowing at least a fragment of what that was like. Only, in her case there were plenty of signs left of what she had lost. Ruins, overgrown orchards, the occasional farmer or merchant who still recognized the Valair name and knew what it had stood for. Crumbles - at least she had crumbles. Charlie didn't even have that.
"I'd be happy to help," she replied, softening considerably before the seemingly hopeless task. "And if you'd rather I don't, just say the word. I wouldn't want to step on something important."
Having no tools suitable for the task, Maea just dug up a dagger from her pack, and found a rock. Thus armed with rudimentary chisel and hammer, she searched the walls for a trace of old waterlines. Imagining where the river had flowed, where the whirlpools and rapids might have run, and where the flow slowed and allowed sediment, debris and forgotten things to sink down and settle. Picking a spot not entirely at random, she got to work.
"You've noticed these strange creatures about, yes? Void infected plants and animals... They appeared a year ago after a meteor fell. And at the beginning of Longheat a meteor fell. Starfall. That's when some people calling themselves the Family showed up. Ridiculously strong - even a demigod couldn't do more than run from one. They're the reason why I'm looking for the flowers, and part of the reason why I wanted to host the ball. Half for fun, half to serve as cover for a meeting where all the region leaders could meet in person. The way things went before, a storm of letters going everywhere, it felt like there should be a smoother way to do it, you know? And we could talk about how to deal with the invasion at the same time." It was as much for her own sake that Maea backtracked the story so far. Honestly, she could have gone back to her childhood and explained from there, because it had as much to do with what happened the other day as anything else, but... anyway.
"So I got the events going, and all the leaders showed up... and before any of us could say more than 'hello', this woman shows up. Dahlia. The one who sent one of the strongest people on Caido to the infirmary like a green trainee. She said something along the lines of 'oh, you must have forgotten my invitation' - and I said no. No mistake, she's not invited and could she please leave."
The hammering of steel on stone served as emphasis to the tale, filling any silence with a cling, clang, clang, - Maea's tone was clipped and to the point, trying her best to relate the events without omitting anything. "The leaders - most didn't say a word. The Wardens from Halo had brought their child and started backing, and Hadama of Torchline got up to stand with me, but... It was clear they all thought I'd done something stupid. And then Sunjata of course gets up and starts going on about how we should maybe sit down and talk to this woman if we're so scared of her, and that I had made a mistake, and she - !" The tone of the rhythm changed as agitation got hold of her again, putting more force into the blows than strictly necessary. "She gave me this look. Like I was nothing more than a fly she was about to squash, if only master suave hadn't interrupted. They start talking like nothing's wrong at all, Hadama basically says I should go calm down, and when I get to my senses and return to the room, it's over. She'd left, and it's all ruined. And Danta... blames me for how dangerous is got! As if it wasn't a dice toss whether we would live or die the moment she showed in the room!"
Aaand there her composure fractured all over again. Voice thick with rage Maea turned and hurled the rock across the cave. It smacked into a far wall and clattered uselessly to the ground; the impotent resolution only served to fuel Maea's frustration, but she had nothing else to take her feelings out on.
Though she almost wondered if she'd missed something already when Charlie paused before answering. The reasoning behind hacking against the wall had Maea kipping for breath; knowing at least a fragment of what that was like. Only, in her case there were plenty of signs left of what she had lost. Ruins, overgrown orchards, the occasional farmer or merchant who still recognized the Valair name and knew what it had stood for. Crumbles - at least she had crumbles. Charlie didn't even have that.
"I'd be happy to help," she replied, softening considerably before the seemingly hopeless task. "And if you'd rather I don't, just say the word. I wouldn't want to step on something important."
Having no tools suitable for the task, Maea just dug up a dagger from her pack, and found a rock. Thus armed with rudimentary chisel and hammer, she searched the walls for a trace of old waterlines. Imagining where the river had flowed, where the whirlpools and rapids might have run, and where the flow slowed and allowed sediment, debris and forgotten things to sink down and settle. Picking a spot not entirely at random, she got to work.
"You've noticed these strange creatures about, yes? Void infected plants and animals... They appeared a year ago after a meteor fell. And at the beginning of Longheat a meteor fell. Starfall. That's when some people calling themselves the Family showed up. Ridiculously strong - even a demigod couldn't do more than run from one. They're the reason why I'm looking for the flowers, and part of the reason why I wanted to host the ball. Half for fun, half to serve as cover for a meeting where all the region leaders could meet in person. The way things went before, a storm of letters going everywhere, it felt like there should be a smoother way to do it, you know? And we could talk about how to deal with the invasion at the same time." It was as much for her own sake that Maea backtracked the story so far. Honestly, she could have gone back to her childhood and explained from there, because it had as much to do with what happened the other day as anything else, but... anyway.
"So I got the events going, and all the leaders showed up... and before any of us could say more than 'hello', this woman shows up. Dahlia. The one who sent one of the strongest people on Caido to the infirmary like a green trainee. She said something along the lines of 'oh, you must have forgotten my invitation' - and I said no. No mistake, she's not invited and could she please leave."
The hammering of steel on stone served as emphasis to the tale, filling any silence with a cling, clang, clang, - Maea's tone was clipped and to the point, trying her best to relate the events without omitting anything. "The leaders - most didn't say a word. The Wardens from Halo had brought their child and started backing, and Hadama of Torchline got up to stand with me, but... It was clear they all thought I'd done something stupid. And then Sunjata of course gets up and starts going on about how we should maybe sit down and talk to this woman if we're so scared of her, and that I had made a mistake, and she - !" The tone of the rhythm changed as agitation got hold of her again, putting more force into the blows than strictly necessary. "She gave me this look. Like I was nothing more than a fly she was about to squash, if only master suave hadn't interrupted. They start talking like nothing's wrong at all, Hadama basically says I should go calm down, and when I get to my senses and return to the room, it's over. She'd left, and it's all ruined. And Danta... blames me for how dangerous is got! As if it wasn't a dice toss whether we would live or die the moment she showed in the room!"
Aaand there her composure fractured all over again. Voice thick with rage Maea turned and hurled the rock across the cave. It smacked into a far wall and clattered uselessly to the ground; the impotent resolution only served to fuel Maea's frustration, but she had nothing else to take her feelings out on.
