// May the road rise up to meet you //
Maea's lips thinned into a line at the words, the violence hanging in the air about the other woman. It was not only the assault that made her feel unsafe – but if they began discussing that now, she would probably never finish the other points Thalassa had wanted to hear about. So she did what she did best and shoved her own thoughts to the back of her mind, reluctantly emptying the stage for another unpleasant recollection.
"Right... well. A few weeks later, I sought Asta out to talk. I apologised for the things I had said while we argued, and I asked if there was another way to go about dealing with crime. I suggested one - exile - which to my mind remained harsh but at least a bit more fair than slaughtering someone tied up and defenseless... His reaction was... not good. I had no idea what he'd been put through in the past, and when I realised it I apologised right away, but Asta kept spiralling. In the end he shifted and ran off, and I..." Scowling down at her own hands, and the mug, the blue-green glaze too vibrant against her wan skin. "I probably should have let him be. But he seemed so out of it, and the area was crawling with void creatures, and it's not like I hate him – just what he does. So... I followed him. Again."
And what followed was just as incomprehensible now as it had been at the time. With an expression like she could hardly believe what came out of her own mouth, Maea recalled the events to the best of her memory. "I caught up with him, and approached to see if I could help him calm down. He lunged at me, and I... pushedd him back. I was in my tiger shift, and I thought, perhaps it was just something he had to work through. So when he kept launching himself at my throat I shoved him back down again. I didn't even realize how hard I was pushing, and he just kept coming... until neither of could move anymore."
Unlike before, genuine horror shone in Maea's eyes as she recounted the event. Where her face had been a blank mask before, now it twisted with shame, the words contorting her lips like they left an acrid taste in her mouth. "I... wish I could tell you exactly what was said after, but it's too jumbled. I do recall saying that I'd been taking my problems out on him, something I didn't even realize until that moment. And for some godawful reason I asked him if he would hold me accountable if I began to become a hypocrite... to which Asta replied that he would kill me. And honestly, given what I had just done to him, I couldn't blame him. So I told him to go ahead."
Sagging in her chair like she had been running for a week, the pale little woman passed a hand over her eyes. They were dry - she had no right to weep about any of this ‐ and it was with great effort she got the rest of the words out. "In the end, he allowed me to heal some of his bruises, and he left. When Danta heard what happened he banned me from the Dusklight and the Last Whisper ‐ not from the Inner Quarter - and that's where things stand now." Like she'd told her before, Maea had offered to make amends however Asta wished. The silence was painful, but no more than she deserved.
"Right... well. A few weeks later, I sought Asta out to talk. I apologised for the things I had said while we argued, and I asked if there was another way to go about dealing with crime. I suggested one - exile - which to my mind remained harsh but at least a bit more fair than slaughtering someone tied up and defenseless... His reaction was... not good. I had no idea what he'd been put through in the past, and when I realised it I apologised right away, but Asta kept spiralling. In the end he shifted and ran off, and I..." Scowling down at her own hands, and the mug, the blue-green glaze too vibrant against her wan skin. "I probably should have let him be. But he seemed so out of it, and the area was crawling with void creatures, and it's not like I hate him – just what he does. So... I followed him. Again."
And what followed was just as incomprehensible now as it had been at the time. With an expression like she could hardly believe what came out of her own mouth, Maea recalled the events to the best of her memory. "I caught up with him, and approached to see if I could help him calm down. He lunged at me, and I... pushedd him back. I was in my tiger shift, and I thought, perhaps it was just something he had to work through. So when he kept launching himself at my throat I shoved him back down again. I didn't even realize how hard I was pushing, and he just kept coming... until neither of could move anymore."
Unlike before, genuine horror shone in Maea's eyes as she recounted the event. Where her face had been a blank mask before, now it twisted with shame, the words contorting her lips like they left an acrid taste in her mouth. "I... wish I could tell you exactly what was said after, but it's too jumbled. I do recall saying that I'd been taking my problems out on him, something I didn't even realize until that moment. And for some godawful reason I asked him if he would hold me accountable if I began to become a hypocrite... to which Asta replied that he would kill me. And honestly, given what I had just done to him, I couldn't blame him. So I told him to go ahead."
Sagging in her chair like she had been running for a week, the pale little woman passed a hand over her eyes. They were dry - she had no right to weep about any of this ‐ and it was with great effort she got the rest of the words out. "In the end, he allowed me to heal some of his bruises, and he left. When Danta heard what happened he banned me from the Dusklight and the Last Whisper ‐ not from the Inner Quarter - and that's where things stand now." Like she'd told her before, Maea had offered to make amends however Asta wished. The silence was painful, but no more than she deserved.
Maea
// May the wind be at your back //
