Hearing that the packing had gone well, Thal nodded her head. "Good." She didn't pause before reiterating the offer from her letter, even if it still felt like awkward niceties. "If you want, we can take it to my ship after we eat. Jack Tar isn't too far from here." There was still plenty of light; unless they decided to talk well into the night, then perhaps Thal would suggest leaving in the morning.
She took another bite of the pie to give herself something to do while Maea took in the space. Her question wasn't surprising, since she'd pretty much claimed she'd never settle down. Now, she tilted her head. "Kind of. I've made this a base of sorts." Her hand gestured casually to the space, like it wasn't already settled and lived in more than she'd planned. "I'll still spend most of my time on the ship, but this way I can step away when I want to." To bring lovers, to escape her crew, to decompress, to find herself. The reasons were endless.
The second part of the question was a little more difficult to answer. It didn't feel right to hide the pivotal moment that had started everything, especially since Maea had offered to assist her on the matter. So with a deep sigh, she leaned forward, crumbling a piece of fallen pastry between her fingers. "While you were gone, I discovered more about my past..." She hesitated, wondering how to phrase everything. "When I was traveling to the Underwater City with Hadama, a mermaid there recognized me." The coincidence was still strange, having blindsided her when she was in recovery from her embarrassing retreat from the Feverlands. However, she continued on, "I agreed to speak with her, and she introduced herself as my mother, Athena. She kept calling me 'Lassie' and begging me to remember her, but... I couldn't. There was nothing to remember." Her face scrunched at the name, still not really believing that she'd ever been such a person, yet it had been hard to deny the resemblance between them. Between their dark hair and bright blue eyes, it was like looking in an aging mirror.
Thal sat back in her chair, glancing out the side window as a bolt of lightning struck across the field. It was easier to look away as she said, "According to her, I started seeing someone - maybe even 'fell in love' - and when they questioned me about him, I vanished." The 'vanishing' seemed to make sense, correlating with when she transitioned to being an Ancient, but the rest was just baffling. She'd never thought about love for a second in the last few years. And obviously things hadn't worked out with whoever it was.
Shrugging, she wrapped it all up with, "That's all I know because that's all she knew, but even that much gave me some peace. It was like I had permission to move on." That, and Asta's sage advice, but Thal felt like she'd given Maea enough information already, so she tied it with a final ribbon, her eyes meeting across the table. "And now I'm here." With you.
She took another bite of the pie to give herself something to do while Maea took in the space. Her question wasn't surprising, since she'd pretty much claimed she'd never settle down. Now, she tilted her head. "Kind of. I've made this a base of sorts." Her hand gestured casually to the space, like it wasn't already settled and lived in more than she'd planned. "I'll still spend most of my time on the ship, but this way I can step away when I want to." To bring lovers, to escape her crew, to decompress, to find herself. The reasons were endless.
The second part of the question was a little more difficult to answer. It didn't feel right to hide the pivotal moment that had started everything, especially since Maea had offered to assist her on the matter. So with a deep sigh, she leaned forward, crumbling a piece of fallen pastry between her fingers. "While you were gone, I discovered more about my past..." She hesitated, wondering how to phrase everything. "When I was traveling to the Underwater City with Hadama, a mermaid there recognized me." The coincidence was still strange, having blindsided her when she was in recovery from her embarrassing retreat from the Feverlands. However, she continued on, "I agreed to speak with her, and she introduced herself as my mother, Athena. She kept calling me 'Lassie' and begging me to remember her, but... I couldn't. There was nothing to remember." Her face scrunched at the name, still not really believing that she'd ever been such a person, yet it had been hard to deny the resemblance between them. Between their dark hair and bright blue eyes, it was like looking in an aging mirror.
Thal sat back in her chair, glancing out the side window as a bolt of lightning struck across the field. It was easier to look away as she said, "According to her, I started seeing someone - maybe even 'fell in love' - and when they questioned me about him, I vanished." The 'vanishing' seemed to make sense, correlating with when she transitioned to being an Ancient, but the rest was just baffling. She'd never thought about love for a second in the last few years. And obviously things hadn't worked out with whoever it was.
Shrugging, she wrapped it all up with, "That's all I know because that's all she knew, but even that much gave me some peace. It was like I had permission to move on." That, and Asta's sage advice, but Thal felt like she'd given Maea enough information already, so she tied it with a final ribbon, her eyes meeting across the table. "And now I'm here." With you.
thalassa
so don't waste the time i don't have
