Maea
My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on the limb
Sinking down to lay upon the rock, Maea pressed her cheek against it to savor the heat. Having never known the warmth of a mother's embrace, and long past forgetting what a lover's touch brought save heartache and bitterness, she associated the goddess with neither. It was simply comfortable and safe to be near her, a presence to relax into where none of her many walls and barriers and reservations mattered anymore.
"It's the first time in a long while that I care to be around others consistently," she shared, murmuring secrets to the darkness that she hadn't told anyone before. "Before I either couldn't, felt unwanted, or didn't wish to engage... but now I do. I want a place in the circle, a role to play... doesn't really matter what it is. Just... it would be nice if my presence or absence would make a difference." An memory came to her, of weary soldiers gathering around a fallen comrade after a fierce battle. Bent and grieving, their loss had been palpable and the weight of that one persons absence something that moved her deeply. "I want it for myself, too, you know? A focus, a passion that isn't dependent on the world being in a state of impending doom to give me purpose. Dunno what it is yet, but I'll keep looking."
The snake skin vanished, and the dress took on a different feel around her. Rolling over onto her back, white hair pooled about her as she ran her hands over the soft fabric, savoring the thin layer of tangible confidence that held her together in spite of the uncertainties that loomed. "Thank you. I'm sure it's a trivial thing, this armor. That you take the time to hear me, and grant my silly wishes... It really means everything."
Smiling into the depths of darkness, the little woman stretched herself out comfortably and let her eyes fall shut. Lingering long after the presence of the goddess had faded, it was only the return of the Deepfrost chill that eventually chased her from the shrine and back into the city, to light and warmth and familiar faces. Back home.
{FIN} <3
"It's the first time in a long while that I care to be around others consistently," she shared, murmuring secrets to the darkness that she hadn't told anyone before. "Before I either couldn't, felt unwanted, or didn't wish to engage... but now I do. I want a place in the circle, a role to play... doesn't really matter what it is. Just... it would be nice if my presence or absence would make a difference." An memory came to her, of weary soldiers gathering around a fallen comrade after a fierce battle. Bent and grieving, their loss had been palpable and the weight of that one persons absence something that moved her deeply. "I want it for myself, too, you know? A focus, a passion that isn't dependent on the world being in a state of impending doom to give me purpose. Dunno what it is yet, but I'll keep looking."
The snake skin vanished, and the dress took on a different feel around her. Rolling over onto her back, white hair pooled about her as she ran her hands over the soft fabric, savoring the thin layer of tangible confidence that held her together in spite of the uncertainties that loomed. "Thank you. I'm sure it's a trivial thing, this armor. That you take the time to hear me, and grant my silly wishes... It really means everything."
Smiling into the depths of darkness, the little woman stretched herself out comfortably and let her eyes fall shut. Lingering long after the presence of the goddess had faded, it was only the return of the Deepfrost chill that eventually chased her from the shrine and back into the city, to light and warmth and familiar faces. Back home.
{FIN} <3
And I remember thinking — I want to be like them
