Home sweet home

MaeA This man was more of a treasure than she'd realized. Perhaps she just hadn't been able to see it under the erratic behavior she was so unaccustomed to, or... it was just something that had grown during his year in Caido. Regardless, the comment he gave her was sweet and kind, and Maea smiled at him for it, both happy that he would think so and hopeful that he might be right. Listening to his accounts, she couldn't quite keep up with the meanings of his 'pet' and manors. It would become clear eventually, but for now the short girl just nodded to show she was listening. "A house is a big committment," she remarked cheerfully, "even if it's just for you. Congratulations, you've officially made Caido your home now. Have you found something to occupy yourself with otherwise? I take it that portals aren't something you need to mess with all the time... Though I certainly appreciate the effort. Not sure what I'd have done if I had to stay in Halo. It was beautiful, but... very cold indeed." Howling winds slowly subsiding, the blinding sleet clearing up just enough that she could raise her head, and see a white expanse spreading out before her. A wasteland of snow and ice, beautiful and barren, void of life. That's what she'd returned to. That's what could have been the end, and the beginning of a new life, Maea realized, if those portals hadn't been opened. It eased a knot of guilt inside her. The knowing that they should not have been allowed to be activated, and the fact that she'd had the knowledge of them and done nothing to prevent it. Now, these facts had helped her return home. The irony did not pass her by. you're so cold, but you feel alive.