// May the road rise up to meet you //
"Well, what if I really think it is? What if to me, the absolute worst thing that can happen is that I stop viewing the people around me as people and begin treating them like food? I've had nightmares about it often enough. Chewing away at the face of someone, only to realize it was a neighbour, my brother, you..." Her voice quivered, a tremble starting up from someplace deep within that spread to her hands. Carefully setting the mug down, Maea braided her fingers together and leaned forward, elbows resting against her knees. "If you think that's offensive, then I can only apologize. It's still true, and the tolerance will have to go both ways. If I have to accept that the rest of you don't care, then you need to tolerate that I do."
An impatient toss of her head dismissed the suggestion, being far off the mark. "No, it has to do with the potential consequences of being perceived as cruel or inhumane. When I first set foot in Halo, a tribe of cannibals and cultists lived in a village called Whitebrim. They were outcasts and exiles from the rest of their society, and the government eradicated them. As they were in a minority, they didn't stand much of a chance." She looked up. "I've been persecuted before, Thal. As an Ascended, as an abandoned, for no reason other than being what I was. Did you know that there is an enchantment on the Greatwood, that traps an ascended in place and won't let them leave? Did you know that until very recently, Abandoned would die simply for setting foot in Stormbreak? A fae I knew tried to kill me simply for existing. And now I am supposed to feel safe when the one haven for Ancients is blatantly condoning cannibalism? Like it won't get us all killed the moment people have a moment to spare from the Family. You may be tolerant, Thalassa, but I can assure you that 'people' in general are not. You rage against that criminal for making me feel unsafe – well, so does Asta. And Danta, who made a rule but refuse to enforce it because the one who broke it happens to be someone he likes."
An impatient toss of her head dismissed the suggestion, being far off the mark. "No, it has to do with the potential consequences of being perceived as cruel or inhumane. When I first set foot in Halo, a tribe of cannibals and cultists lived in a village called Whitebrim. They were outcasts and exiles from the rest of their society, and the government eradicated them. As they were in a minority, they didn't stand much of a chance." She looked up. "I've been persecuted before, Thal. As an Ascended, as an abandoned, for no reason other than being what I was. Did you know that there is an enchantment on the Greatwood, that traps an ascended in place and won't let them leave? Did you know that until very recently, Abandoned would die simply for setting foot in Stormbreak? A fae I knew tried to kill me simply for existing. And now I am supposed to feel safe when the one haven for Ancients is blatantly condoning cannibalism? Like it won't get us all killed the moment people have a moment to spare from the Family. You may be tolerant, Thalassa, but I can assure you that 'people' in general are not. You rage against that criminal for making me feel unsafe – well, so does Asta. And Danta, who made a rule but refuse to enforce it because the one who broke it happens to be someone he likes."
Maea
// May the wind be at your back //
