[SE] the afterparty

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Unlike before, this was no peaceful silence. Thalassa seemed tense, and to Maea the stillness crawled with fraught, anxious things. A million outcomes played out in her mind - if she said nothing, if she said something else wrong, if she apologized, if she did not. Was this the creaking and groaning of another bridge foundation coming undone? After all, everything with Asta had seemed fine until suddenly it was not. If there were signs she had missed them, and so this time Maea barely breathed, her every sense trained on Thalassa as she waited, panicking all to herself - wondering if this was the end of yet another friendship.

The thought of leaving flitted past. Outside it was fully daek, rain pelting down while thunder rolled in the distance. It would be unpleasant, but little worse than anything else she'd experienced. But then there would be no reconcilliation. If they were simply tired and grouchy now, the morning might see their mood improved and Maea departed on a good note. Or... or it might not. At least she wouldn't have run away though. That was key. She Could. Not. Run.

With a ragged breath, she dragged some semblance of courage from the bottom of her toes. "Do you... is this – should I apologize?" She just couldn't tell anymore, if it even made a difference or just ruined things even more.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!