Don't paint wonderful lies on me that wash away
Maea accepted the cup and held it up to her face, breathing in the fragrant steam as the warm damp brought color back to her pale face. Careful lips attempted a sip, found they did not quite dare brave the heat of it yet; she blew on it, thinking. Savoring the simplicity of this scene. The familiarity of the guild hall, the crackling fire, her friend sitting across from her at the table. Was she really ready to give up all of this for adventures in the snow, far from everything and everyone she loved?
And the answer to that question snicked in place within her, like a quiet sigh of regret. Yes.
She remained quiet for a time, until her tea had cooled enough that she could drink from it. In the end, it was his admission that it was all her choice that let her breathe easier. Oh, he'd said it from the start, but there had been so much like a threat before. 'Join her and you lose all of this forever', and with that the feeling of a cage, of being kept from doing something. Now? The suffocating feeling was not as strong.
"I don't think grudges are always a bad thing," she said eventually. "You've experienced difficult things and drawn conclusions from them... and I would only hold it against you if you tried to keep me from making my own mistakes. But you are not, and for that I am truly grateful." Her smile said as much, expression warming with the genuine affection she truly held for him, despite this tendency of theirs to clash wills. Perhaps it was merely a result of her being so much younger and less experienced... one day, when she had found out more of who she was and where she was headed, they might be more on the same page on how things should be done. Or not... it was impossible to tell.
"I feel... that this is something I really need to do. I doubt I will stay at Zariah's Academy forever, though. A year, at most... unless she does something to make me leave earlier.
"But I will always consider myself a Loreseeker, even if my name is not in the Guild rosters," she admitted, and looked to Jigano to see how he felt about that. "So if you ever need something, or there is anything I can help you with, you only need to say the word. My true loyalty will always be to this guild, and to you."
Even if this now had become a small goodbye.
And the answer to that question snicked in place within her, like a quiet sigh of regret. Yes.
She remained quiet for a time, until her tea had cooled enough that she could drink from it. In the end, it was his admission that it was all her choice that let her breathe easier. Oh, he'd said it from the start, but there had been so much like a threat before. 'Join her and you lose all of this forever', and with that the feeling of a cage, of being kept from doing something. Now? The suffocating feeling was not as strong.
"I don't think grudges are always a bad thing," she said eventually. "You've experienced difficult things and drawn conclusions from them... and I would only hold it against you if you tried to keep me from making my own mistakes. But you are not, and for that I am truly grateful." Her smile said as much, expression warming with the genuine affection she truly held for him, despite this tendency of theirs to clash wills. Perhaps it was merely a result of her being so much younger and less experienced... one day, when she had found out more of who she was and where she was headed, they might be more on the same page on how things should be done. Or not... it was impossible to tell.
"I feel... that this is something I really need to do. I doubt I will stay at Zariah's Academy forever, though. A year, at most... unless she does something to make me leave earlier.
"But I will always consider myself a Loreseeker, even if my name is not in the Guild rosters," she admitted, and looked to Jigano to see how he felt about that. "So if you ever need something, or there is anything I can help you with, you only need to say the word. My true loyalty will always be to this guild, and to you."
Even if this now had become a small goodbye.
