Maea
Oh, when the world is burning
Fighting down an urge to flare up like a bonfire doused in oil, it didn't help that she felt bad for getting so emotional. Accepting truths she didn't like had never been easy for her and it stung to realize that the one ally she'd thought she had was made of paper and wishful thinking.
"It's not like I had any expectations," she replied quietly, voice muffled behind the hand she leaned her chin into. "I just couldn't let her waltz in there uncontested, like she owned the place. I would have done the same for anyone." Drawing a breath, she sighed and slumped down in the seat. Rubbing fingertips against her eyelids until bright spots danced in her vision, Maea shrugged her shoulders and finally returned Hadama's look with naked honesty, more earnest than wise. "I probably expected everyone else to react in a similar way. If a dragon had interrupted us you know they would have been up in arms in a heartbeat. It's the reaction I have come to expect from leaders, and from people with the power to make a difference. Ever since outlanders poured into the Grounds, that's the way it has been. When a threat appears people rally together, face it, and fight to take it down. I didn't realize that the rules were different this time around - it seems I didn't get that note."
"It's not like I had any expectations," she replied quietly, voice muffled behind the hand she leaned her chin into. "I just couldn't let her waltz in there uncontested, like she owned the place. I would have done the same for anyone." Drawing a breath, she sighed and slumped down in the seat. Rubbing fingertips against her eyelids until bright spots danced in her vision, Maea shrugged her shoulders and finally returned Hadama's look with naked honesty, more earnest than wise. "I probably expected everyone else to react in a similar way. If a dragon had interrupted us you know they would have been up in arms in a heartbeat. It's the reaction I have come to expect from leaders, and from people with the power to make a difference. Ever since outlanders poured into the Grounds, that's the way it has been. When a threat appears people rally together, face it, and fight to take it down. I didn't realize that the rules were different this time around - it seems I didn't get that note."
Don't walk away
