Maea
give me shelter, or show me heart
It had been a passing remark, at first, just a thought aired that maybe they were looking in the wrong place. It wasn't clear who first suggested taking a trip together, but before she knew it, Maea found herself on a skyship above Hak Etme, watching the desert glide by beneath her feet. As strange as it had been to leave the Hollowed Grounds and know it wouldn't be her home anymore, so too did it feel weird to leave the Greatwood behind. The forest had grown on her. The feel of dappled shade on her skin, the scent and sights of green and vibrant things, the cool moisture of the air - it had been like slipping on a robe to find it fit as though made for her, and for all that she knew it was an illusion, it was one Maea was learning to love.
The Climb would show both her and Liam how flimsy such ideas were, however. It loomed larger in her mind as the days went by, and when the horizon darkened with ash and smoke, the Ancient woman grew restive, finding it hard to settle. Only a part of her had missed the volcanic isles, but that part was strong, and the pull to return an ache in her bones she couldn't quite explain.
Dropped off on a relatively safe spot on the Crust that would take them below ground and into the cavern hosting the springs, the first thing Maea did was pull her boots off. Balancing easily on one leg, then the other, she sighed in delight as heat rose up through the soles of her feet, chasing off stiffness and a chill she hadn't even noticed.
"Oh, that is so much better." Stashing the shoes away in her satchel, she smiled sheepishly at her companion. "I suspect our experiences of this region will be wildly different. Let me know if you start to feel bad in any way... I'm good with the heat, but you may not be." She would have to pay more attention than usual in the hot, humid tunnels below; unlike Evie, Nova or Hadama, the dragoon had no magic to ease himself with.
The Climb would show both her and Liam how flimsy such ideas were, however. It loomed larger in her mind as the days went by, and when the horizon darkened with ash and smoke, the Ancient woman grew restive, finding it hard to settle. Only a part of her had missed the volcanic isles, but that part was strong, and the pull to return an ache in her bones she couldn't quite explain.
Dropped off on a relatively safe spot on the Crust that would take them below ground and into the cavern hosting the springs, the first thing Maea did was pull her boots off. Balancing easily on one leg, then the other, she sighed in delight as heat rose up through the soles of her feet, chasing off stiffness and a chill she hadn't even noticed.
"Oh, that is so much better." Stashing the shoes away in her satchel, she smiled sheepishly at her companion. "I suspect our experiences of this region will be wildly different. Let me know if you start to feel bad in any way... I'm good with the heat, but you may not be." She would have to pay more attention than usual in the hot, humid tunnels below; unlike Evie, Nova or Hadama, the dragoon had no magic to ease himself with.
watch me fall apart
and I'll be yours to keep
and I'll be yours to keep
