Maea
And time it waits for no one
It heals them when you die
It heals them when you die
Daylight was fading quick. A storm had been looming on the horizon for the better part of the day, and it finally broke over the Citadel by the time the sun lowered itself to the horizon. With howling winds and the kind of swirling, ice-filled snow that would leave cheeks raw and bloody if exposed for too long, it drove the last stubborn citizens of Halo indoors. To huddle by fires and bemoan the coming of yet another Deepfrost. Was it already Leafchange? How time flew.
One person did not retreat to her room, however. Despite the fireplace, the Academy students quarters were rather drafty and cold, and Maea was tired of sitting there, staring at the wall. Her own thoughts had always been the enemy, and never more so than these days. So when she could find no more work to do, when the meditation failed her and sleep wouldn't come, she made her way to the Palace proper. It had been longer than usual since she came here; an extended leave from the school to visit Sunjata had kept her from her usual appointments with the Grand Healer, and though it had been a few days since she came back, she had not sought him out. Had avoided their morning trainings... avoided anyone, really, except when it could not be prevented.
But now... she did look for Loren in the empty, echoing halls. Lanterns burned low on the walls, casting blue shadows over the passages. The eerie glow of her companion threw them wild and dancing wherever Shii passed, and the sight made the girl clench her teeth, pain lancing through her chest... a cough tore through her lungs, for the first time in what felt like ages. Her face felt hot, her eyes tight and burning; seemed she had finally caught that sick they'd tried to prevent for so long.
She looked for him at the infirmary first. But if he wasn't there, she'd move on, check his rooms... hoping he wouldn't be asleep.
One person did not retreat to her room, however. Despite the fireplace, the Academy students quarters were rather drafty and cold, and Maea was tired of sitting there, staring at the wall. Her own thoughts had always been the enemy, and never more so than these days. So when she could find no more work to do, when the meditation failed her and sleep wouldn't come, she made her way to the Palace proper. It had been longer than usual since she came here; an extended leave from the school to visit Sunjata had kept her from her usual appointments with the Grand Healer, and though it had been a few days since she came back, she had not sought him out. Had avoided their morning trainings... avoided anyone, really, except when it could not be prevented.
But now... she did look for Loren in the empty, echoing halls. Lanterns burned low on the walls, casting blue shadows over the passages. The eerie glow of her companion threw them wild and dancing wherever Shii passed, and the sight made the girl clench her teeth, pain lancing through her chest... a cough tore through her lungs, for the first time in what felt like ages. Her face felt hot, her eyes tight and burning; seemed she had finally caught that sick they'd tried to prevent for so long.
She looked for him at the infirmary first. But if he wasn't there, she'd move on, check his rooms... hoping he wouldn't be asleep.
And soon you are forgotten
A whisper within a sigh
A whisper within a sigh
