Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone
Playfully led astray to view the wonders of an enchanted forest was the kind of chaos Maea could appreciate. While it might be more practical to get where you wanted when you wished to, perhaps she could use a bit more whimsy in a life lived far too seriously.
"I'm from the Hollowed Grounds, originally," she replied, knowing it might come with all kinds of connotation; while it felt far longer, it was really only ten years since the barrier fell, and the Greatwood had been the first to realize the dangers that followed. "Spent a good deal of time roaming, then tried to settle back down there again - but it has changed too much in ways I don't care much for. I intended to relocate to Torchline originally, but these woods... I don't know. Something about them just calms me, in a way I haven't experienced before. I came looking for roses, and found a home." A tender expression overtook her as Maea cast her gaze around at the trees, the verdant greenery coming back to life, the pops of color where wildflowers huddled against the sprinkling damp. Even on a cold and miserable day like this it was a lovely place, full of life, plants, animals, riddles to ponder and fresh, clean air to inhale until the lungs felt near to bursting – it stimulated the mind and granted peace at the same time. How had she not seen this before? Even though she had passed through so many times... she had been well and truly blind.
Perking up with interest at Niki's reply, Maea flashed him a quick smile. "Takes a lot of skill, that," she acknowledged with a good deal of respect. "I've only tried it the one time - a friend showed me how to make a ring - and it didn't come out at all like I'd pictured it." Shaking her head ruefully at the memory, she skipped easily onto a log blocking their path, then turned back to offer Niki a hand up and over in case he needed it. "I'm... not sure yet. I used to be a loreseeker, I could always fall back on that - scribing, working in archives, so on ‐ though I'm really too restless for deskwork alone. I like doing, helping out, being useful..." Which could mean doing anything, anywhere, applying her jack-of-all-trade experience wherever it was needed. "I'll tell you though, if it wasn't about making a living, I'd love to study. Magic, theology, understanding the workings of the world - that's always been interesting to me."
"I'm from the Hollowed Grounds, originally," she replied, knowing it might come with all kinds of connotation; while it felt far longer, it was really only ten years since the barrier fell, and the Greatwood had been the first to realize the dangers that followed. "Spent a good deal of time roaming, then tried to settle back down there again - but it has changed too much in ways I don't care much for. I intended to relocate to Torchline originally, but these woods... I don't know. Something about them just calms me, in a way I haven't experienced before. I came looking for roses, and found a home." A tender expression overtook her as Maea cast her gaze around at the trees, the verdant greenery coming back to life, the pops of color where wildflowers huddled against the sprinkling damp. Even on a cold and miserable day like this it was a lovely place, full of life, plants, animals, riddles to ponder and fresh, clean air to inhale until the lungs felt near to bursting – it stimulated the mind and granted peace at the same time. How had she not seen this before? Even though she had passed through so many times... she had been well and truly blind.
Perking up with interest at Niki's reply, Maea flashed him a quick smile. "Takes a lot of skill, that," she acknowledged with a good deal of respect. "I've only tried it the one time - a friend showed me how to make a ring - and it didn't come out at all like I'd pictured it." Shaking her head ruefully at the memory, she skipped easily onto a log blocking their path, then turned back to offer Niki a hand up and over in case he needed it. "I'm... not sure yet. I used to be a loreseeker, I could always fall back on that - scribing, working in archives, so on ‐ though I'm really too restless for deskwork alone. I like doing, helping out, being useful..." Which could mean doing anything, anywhere, applying her jack-of-all-trade experience wherever it was needed. "I'll tell you though, if it wasn't about making a living, I'd love to study. Magic, theology, understanding the workings of the world - that's always been interesting to me."
