\\ Get my pretty name out of your mouth \\
She felt Maea's withdrawal in her chest more than she saw it with her eyes, the pale Ancient shrinking visibly as she spoke. Thal didn't interrupt, watching and listening as every wall and barricade were raised in the finality of her words. Her rage felt cold, slithering through her veins like it no longer sensed a worthy opponent on which to spark its hunger. And as Maea finished, she wondered if it was worth it to even try. Why had she come here to begin with?
Another dry laugh fell flat between them as Thal splayed her hands at her sides, feeling the dismissal in the question. "So that's it? You find out one dark secret, one lie, something you don't agree with, and you can't stand to be associated with that person anymore?" She shook her head, the dark waves of her hair catching on her horns. Her hand raked through them to rest atop her head, looking into the fire rather than the pale Ancient that was the source of so many of her frustrations. "I may not be the best to speak on it," gods, she probably wasn't even on the list, "but I think part of being friends is accepting the darkness, not ignoring it." Thal wouldn't claim to know anything about 'love,' but she had felt enough kinship with Asta to understand what it meant to be accepted despite her flaws, for someone to care enough to understand her rather than judge, and to support her strengths.
Sighing, she let her hand drop, her eyes meeting Maea's again, steely and swirling with a mixture of emotions that couldn't be named. "I don't fault you for any of your past - even the mistakes you made with Asta. I accept that you had your reasons - your 'morals' - but when you stake your self-righteous claims without any grace or chance at redemption, how do you expect to find peace with people?" When she spoke of non-tolerance and change like she was the only one with the answer book. When she let a single event or piece of information ruin her entire view of someone. When she was too bullheaded to just let things be.
"I came here because I needed to prove to myself that it wasn't a mistake to trust you again, because I want to consider you a friend despite your stubborn fixation on morality. But Maea, it doesn't feel like you want to make amends with Asta, I don't know if you'll ever fully tell me the truth when it matters, and it doesn't sound like you particularly care whether we're friends or not." There was a level of hurt in her words that she buried deep inside, trying to let the anger overpower any fear as she narrowed her eyes accusingly, wondering if this would always be the reality of their relationship; too similar to be enemies and too different to be friends.
Another dry laugh fell flat between them as Thal splayed her hands at her sides, feeling the dismissal in the question. "So that's it? You find out one dark secret, one lie, something you don't agree with, and you can't stand to be associated with that person anymore?" She shook her head, the dark waves of her hair catching on her horns. Her hand raked through them to rest atop her head, looking into the fire rather than the pale Ancient that was the source of so many of her frustrations. "I may not be the best to speak on it," gods, she probably wasn't even on the list, "but I think part of being friends is accepting the darkness, not ignoring it." Thal wouldn't claim to know anything about 'love,' but she had felt enough kinship with Asta to understand what it meant to be accepted despite her flaws, for someone to care enough to understand her rather than judge, and to support her strengths.
Sighing, she let her hand drop, her eyes meeting Maea's again, steely and swirling with a mixture of emotions that couldn't be named. "I don't fault you for any of your past - even the mistakes you made with Asta. I accept that you had your reasons - your 'morals' - but when you stake your self-righteous claims without any grace or chance at redemption, how do you expect to find peace with people?" When she spoke of non-tolerance and change like she was the only one with the answer book. When she let a single event or piece of information ruin her entire view of someone. When she was too bullheaded to just let things be.
"I came here because I needed to prove to myself that it wasn't a mistake to trust you again, because I want to consider you a friend despite your stubborn fixation on morality. But Maea, it doesn't feel like you want to make amends with Asta, I don't know if you'll ever fully tell me the truth when it matters, and it doesn't sound like you particularly care whether we're friends or not." There was a level of hurt in her words that she buried deep inside, trying to let the anger overpower any fear as she narrowed her eyes accusingly, wondering if this would always be the reality of their relationship; too similar to be enemies and too different to be friends.
Thalassa
