// May the road rise up to meet you //
Listening to the raven-haired woman, something sad came into her eyes. Pushing herself back into the armchair, Maea pulled her feet up onto the seat, the tail wrapped tightly around the bony ankles. The way she withdrew was a physical thing, barriers rising back up to where they had been before that row back in King's End, before snowballs and tears had punched a hole in them.
"I will likely never be convinced that life is not more precious than gold or personal satisfaction, that murder is not evil, or that destroying what others build is somehow more 'fun' than protecting or cultivating it. And I don't think I will ever feel the need to lie in order to fit in anywhere, or with anyone. I couldn't live with myself if I did. Blame... I don't blame him. I lament that my regard for him was built on a falsehood. If he had been honest from the start, I could have stayed clear of him and all of this would have been avoided." She looked at Thalassa, wondering why Astaroth's pain mattered more to her than her own. She wasn't pretending any more than he to be anything but who she was. Did it simply come down to compatability? Perhaps they were just too different, too far gone down their own roads to find any middle ground. Not for lack of desire – but if all Maea's experiences and values and ways to see the world held no value to Thalassa, why was she even here?
"I have no interest in ruling that place," she replied wearily. "Nor do I expect any of you to listen to or change for me, when it is abundantly clear that none of you share my concerns. That is why I don't live in the Grounds anymore. So that I can sleep at night. So that I do share the values of the people I surround myself with. Go ahead and live however you please, Thalassa. I will do the same, and I really hope I'm proven wrong and no one will ever condemn you for it." She didn't think either of them would be that lucky, but Maea hoped for it all the same.
"Is there anything else on your mind, while we're speaking honestly?"
"I will likely never be convinced that life is not more precious than gold or personal satisfaction, that murder is not evil, or that destroying what others build is somehow more 'fun' than protecting or cultivating it. And I don't think I will ever feel the need to lie in order to fit in anywhere, or with anyone. I couldn't live with myself if I did. Blame... I don't blame him. I lament that my regard for him was built on a falsehood. If he had been honest from the start, I could have stayed clear of him and all of this would have been avoided." She looked at Thalassa, wondering why Astaroth's pain mattered more to her than her own. She wasn't pretending any more than he to be anything but who she was. Did it simply come down to compatability? Perhaps they were just too different, too far gone down their own roads to find any middle ground. Not for lack of desire – but if all Maea's experiences and values and ways to see the world held no value to Thalassa, why was she even here?
"I have no interest in ruling that place," she replied wearily. "Nor do I expect any of you to listen to or change for me, when it is abundantly clear that none of you share my concerns. That is why I don't live in the Grounds anymore. So that I can sleep at night. So that I do share the values of the people I surround myself with. Go ahead and live however you please, Thalassa. I will do the same, and I really hope I'm proven wrong and no one will ever condemn you for it." She didn't think either of them would be that lucky, but Maea hoped for it all the same.
"Is there anything else on your mind, while we're speaking honestly?"
Maea
// May the wind be at your back //
