// I tried to scream but my head was underwater //
Maea's tail had wound itself tightly around a leg, hidden beneath the skirts of her dress. It untangled itself from the fabric now, coiling stiffly in reaction to Asta's snide remark, and then again when Flora responded.
Turns out, simply speaking and moving wasn't enough. Now she had to explain. But that's what she wanted, right? To make herself clear. It could hardly be more uncomfortable than taking their disdain without responding.
"I panicked," Maea simply replied, focusing on the actual questions and doingher best to ignore the insults. "I came here to be alone. When you showed up, I thought of running or hiding, rather than having to talk. That's what I was talking about. Myself, not you." Oversharing, nowthat the was talking Maea couldn't seem to stop instead. "I apologized... because I didn't know what else to say. But that only made it worse."
Her eyes flitted to Astaroth, her mouth twisting into a look of painful regret. "I've done a lot of that, lately. It's a pattern I am trying to break. I won't follow anymore. Just wanted to say, I did not intend to be rude."
It was a convoluted apology, tumbling off her tongue without nary a breath; pale hands were back to grasping the skirts again, holding on for dear life.
Turns out, simply speaking and moving wasn't enough. Now she had to explain. But that's what she wanted, right? To make herself clear. It could hardly be more uncomfortable than taking their disdain without responding.
"I panicked," Maea simply replied, focusing on the actual questions and doingher best to ignore the insults. "I came here to be alone. When you showed up, I thought of running or hiding, rather than having to talk. That's what I was talking about. Myself, not you." Oversharing, nowthat the was talking Maea couldn't seem to stop instead. "I apologized... because I didn't know what else to say. But that only made it worse."
Her eyes flitted to Astaroth, her mouth twisting into a look of painful regret. "I've done a lot of that, lately. It's a pattern I am trying to break. I won't follow anymore. Just wanted to say, I did not intend to be rude."
It was a convoluted apology, tumbling off her tongue without nary a breath; pale hands were back to grasping the skirts again, holding on for dear life.
Maea
// They called me weak, like I'm not just somebody's daughter //
