Maea
And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die
It heals them when you die
It was a very difficult question, and one she had asked herself quite often. Thoughtful, Maea turned her eyes to the crowd, to distant people passing by wrapped in their own lives. Strangers, some with faces she had begun to recognize. Would she do anything, for Ludo? Even if that anything meant more gruesome tasks, that might mean staining her hands with blood?
"I'd like to say there's nothing I wouldn't do, if Ludo wished it done," she said slowly. The girl Amalia knew was still there, for the most part. A little less timid, a lot more outspoken now that people actually seemed willing to listen... but a few seasons did not change the core of a person so easily. "I'd like to, but... I think there might be limits, to what I could do without losing myself. If I was tasked with the kind of genocide Roana had been encouraged to commit... I'd have to ask myself if the approval of my god weighed heavier than the love I hold for friends and acquaintances I've made. There are people among the Ascended I value more than my own life... how could I harm them?" There was the notion that Ludo knew more than her to consider as well. Was her own love and life worth more than the purpose to which she might be sacrificed? Was that a price she would be willing to pay?
"I think... I will only really know when I'm faced with that kind of decision," she eventually said, with a shrug. "What about you, Amalia? You're the Shield of Safrin... what kind of burdens come with that fancy title?" Though she poked fun of it, there was genuine respect in the glance she offered the younger woman. Perhaps a touch of envy, too, but mostly just admiration. Amalia had come far indeed.
The returned apology was accepted with a deeply grateful nod. When she was asked whether Maea still wanted to beat her up however, she was met with a rather toothy grin, an almost feral look of eagerness that definitely never crossed her face in the past.
"I'll admit, I wouldn't be adverse to trying," she replied, amused by the idea, "but something tells me it wouldn't be as easy as I think. Would you like to give it a try? There's an excellent training area at the Academy... or we could find a spot out on the tundra, with no people around to watch." Now, or later, or save it for some other day; it was all fine with Maea. But the offer was sincere; no doubt they both had enough pent up frustrations still churning within to make it an interesting spar.
"I'd like to say there's nothing I wouldn't do, if Ludo wished it done," she said slowly. The girl Amalia knew was still there, for the most part. A little less timid, a lot more outspoken now that people actually seemed willing to listen... but a few seasons did not change the core of a person so easily. "I'd like to, but... I think there might be limits, to what I could do without losing myself. If I was tasked with the kind of genocide Roana had been encouraged to commit... I'd have to ask myself if the approval of my god weighed heavier than the love I hold for friends and acquaintances I've made. There are people among the Ascended I value more than my own life... how could I harm them?" There was the notion that Ludo knew more than her to consider as well. Was her own love and life worth more than the purpose to which she might be sacrificed? Was that a price she would be willing to pay?
"I think... I will only really know when I'm faced with that kind of decision," she eventually said, with a shrug. "What about you, Amalia? You're the Shield of Safrin... what kind of burdens come with that fancy title?" Though she poked fun of it, there was genuine respect in the glance she offered the younger woman. Perhaps a touch of envy, too, but mostly just admiration. Amalia had come far indeed.
The returned apology was accepted with a deeply grateful nod. When she was asked whether Maea still wanted to beat her up however, she was met with a rather toothy grin, an almost feral look of eagerness that definitely never crossed her face in the past.
"I'll admit, I wouldn't be adverse to trying," she replied, amused by the idea, "but something tells me it wouldn't be as easy as I think. Would you like to give it a try? There's an excellent training area at the Academy... or we could find a spot out on the tundra, with no people around to watch." Now, or later, or save it for some other day; it was all fine with Maea. But the offer was sincere; no doubt they both had enough pent up frustrations still churning within to make it an interesting spar.
And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh
A whisper within a sigh
