// somebody told me that there's two sides to this life //
Ruby. Garnet. Jasper. Sunstone, agate, carnelian. Beryl, zircon, and that must be diamond. Crystal, glass, gemstone and something in between – there was no end to the formations clustering along the walls, dripping from the ceiling, growing like fractal trees from the ground in formations so delicate a single touch might break them. In the shimmering heat her single point of fire almost felt cool, a mere indulgence in order to better see the wonders spread out around her. Even her reflection was dyed red in the myriad facets, a million wan faces staring back at her with hollow eyes, asking questions without answers.
Pausing before a particularly large prism - taller than herself, its facet polished like a mirror - Maea regarded the reflection without knowing what to feel. The black dress still looked odd, to her own eyes. It seemed too fine a thing for that skinny girl, with her lank hair and hungry mouth. Strange like the horns, so large as to be obscene, and strange like that tail that moved with a life of its own. Swiping her tongue over the teeth, she pulled her lips back in a snarl and immediately grimaced at the effect; they were less strange, Maea had spent almost as many years with fangs as without them at this point, but the combined effect was... sharp. Harsh. Something odd and fey and different. It almost made her wish it was worse. Dragging on the tip of an ear, she tried to imagine herself with the ears and wings of the fae, with scaly hide and spines jutting from the spine. Maybe that would ease this feeling that coiled through her gut. Like she'd come too far from who she'd once been, yet not far enough to forget that girl. The dress was for someone older and more cunning, the kind of person who could smile without meaning it and use words to get her will through when power was no longer an option.
"It was a good thought," she told the reflection, "but it didn't quite work out the way we hoped." As it turns out, one couldn't simply change their nature by changing clothes. "The question is, what do we do now?"
Sinking down onto the sticky floor, Maea drew her knees up against her chest and kept staring at her reflection. Maybe if she looked long enough she would see something she hadn't noticed before. Find something worth building on, something to love and cherish and be just a little bit proud of. The fire flickering over her shoulder was one thing; finding the spark of magic had saved her from despair once. The crow had saved her a second time. What else..? There had to be something else...
Pausing before a particularly large prism - taller than herself, its facet polished like a mirror - Maea regarded the reflection without knowing what to feel. The black dress still looked odd, to her own eyes. It seemed too fine a thing for that skinny girl, with her lank hair and hungry mouth. Strange like the horns, so large as to be obscene, and strange like that tail that moved with a life of its own. Swiping her tongue over the teeth, she pulled her lips back in a snarl and immediately grimaced at the effect; they were less strange, Maea had spent almost as many years with fangs as without them at this point, but the combined effect was... sharp. Harsh. Something odd and fey and different. It almost made her wish it was worse. Dragging on the tip of an ear, she tried to imagine herself with the ears and wings of the fae, with scaly hide and spines jutting from the spine. Maybe that would ease this feeling that coiled through her gut. Like she'd come too far from who she'd once been, yet not far enough to forget that girl. The dress was for someone older and more cunning, the kind of person who could smile without meaning it and use words to get her will through when power was no longer an option.
"It was a good thought," she told the reflection, "but it didn't quite work out the way we hoped." As it turns out, one couldn't simply change their nature by changing clothes. "The question is, what do we do now?"
Sinking down onto the sticky floor, Maea drew her knees up against her chest and kept staring at her reflection. Maybe if she looked long enough she would see something she hadn't noticed before. Find something worth building on, something to love and cherish and be just a little bit proud of. The fire flickering over her shoulder was one thing; finding the spark of magic had saved her from despair once. The crow had saved her a second time. What else..? There had to be something else...
Maea
// I think I might've chosen darkness over light //
