Maea
The worst of all blessings
Prying her hands from the seat where they had been restrained from trying to help (read: take over), Maea let out a silent breath. "Not bad for a first time," she applauded, returning the sheepish smile with a lopsided one of her own. The control freak in her had a hard time leaving the steering to somemone else; truly, this trip was an excellent exercise in letting go, a trust fall by way of donkey cart that was panning out rather well so far. "It's convenient for me too, I would have had a difficult time bringing this out here on my own."
Gesturing to the cleaning supplies and offerings stored in the back of the wagon, she jumped down in an easy motion and went to unload a bucket of water, soap, brush and fresh candles. "Liam pointed out that I've been very fortunate to find so many Roses. Figured it's about time I do something in return, and since I haven't been to this shrine before... it seemed appropriate."
In truth, it had been years since she prayed to the God of Life and his Herald. Ever since childhood they had felt more like Amalias gods than her own, and as their relationship became frought, Maea had distanced herself from the deities too. Then came the turns between Safrin and Ronin and Sunjata, her time spent as Ascended, Harper's doubts, Noah's struggles as a demigod under Vi, and somewhere along the way she had concluded that these fickle, demanding gods had nothing to do with her.
But then roses started growing around her feet in times of need. And the stars were still beautiful, no matter what her personal feelings about Safrins conduct might be. Who was she to pass judgement on a goddess? Much of her reservation stemmed from jealousy anyway. Her friend had gotten something she wanted, and instead of being gracious about it she had turned her back on both the friend and the dream.
As she knelt before the shrine and began to wash the altar, like so many times before in her youth, Maea figured it was high time to set aside those childish behaviours and readjust her views. It wouldn't do, to keep doors closed just because they always had been.
Gesturing to the cleaning supplies and offerings stored in the back of the wagon, she jumped down in an easy motion and went to unload a bucket of water, soap, brush and fresh candles. "Liam pointed out that I've been very fortunate to find so many Roses. Figured it's about time I do something in return, and since I haven't been to this shrine before... it seemed appropriate."
In truth, it had been years since she prayed to the God of Life and his Herald. Ever since childhood they had felt more like Amalias gods than her own, and as their relationship became frought, Maea had distanced herself from the deities too. Then came the turns between Safrin and Ronin and Sunjata, her time spent as Ascended, Harper's doubts, Noah's struggles as a demigod under Vi, and somewhere along the way she had concluded that these fickle, demanding gods had nothing to do with her.
But then roses started growing around her feet in times of need. And the stars were still beautiful, no matter what her personal feelings about Safrins conduct might be. Who was she to pass judgement on a goddess? Much of her reservation stemmed from jealousy anyway. Her friend had gotten something she wanted, and instead of being gracious about it she had turned her back on both the friend and the dream.
As she knelt before the shrine and began to wash the altar, like so many times before in her youth, Maea figured it was high time to set aside those childish behaviours and readjust her views. It wouldn't do, to keep doors closed just because they always had been.
The most beautiful of curses
Base by Skylark
