but the thing is, even if i could go back, i wouldn't belong there anymore
Aurelia can't reflect the small smile Maeve gives, because it seems sad and demure in nature. In fact, there's a slight grimace that weaves across her features in understanding. The words are something that hits home with Aurelia, as Maeve's often are, and perhaps that's part of why she's been so reluctant to come. "Rebuilding is never easy," she says softly, "but, it can lead to better things. Learning from the past and.. whatnot. I'm glad you're able to see it that way." Because the alternative would've been to give up, which never really seems like an option... "With Safrin's protection by next year, hopefully you won't have to worry so much about the monsoons," she adds on as a means to encourage.
At the realization that Maeve hadn't heard, Aurelia supposes she can't be too surprised herself. It's been a busy season... for all of them. And it's not as if it was shouted from the rooftops, though at the time she accepted it, she might've liked to do that. Such hopeful excitement for the future is much dimmer now. "For the most part, yes" she answers with a careful tone, "especially after what's happened, I want to be here just in case..."
But she lets Maeve tell her side of things, and as her voice fills the tent, Aurelia takes to writing it all down. Every detail that she can manage goes into the notes, though she does try to collect them into bullet points so that it's easier for her to keep up. She nods at certain things, showing that she's listening. By the time Maeve finishes on a final note and Hotaru's name is aired again, Aurelia sets down the pencil between the pages she's written. Her chin tilts back up to regard Maeve, to read the emotions there, to try and decipher what lies between the lines.
A held breath escapes her nose quietly, and she chews at the inside of her lip for a moment. "How close are you with Hotaru?" She asks, and this part is perhaps less necessary of a question. But an account of someone's character can make a bit of a difference. "Do you think she'd do something like this?" She's interested to hear Maeve's answer, because her own is that she most certainly didn't didn't expect this of the woman who she'd thought was entirely loyal to Sunjata.
At the realization that Maeve hadn't heard, Aurelia supposes she can't be too surprised herself. It's been a busy season... for all of them. And it's not as if it was shouted from the rooftops, though at the time she accepted it, she might've liked to do that. Such hopeful excitement for the future is much dimmer now. "For the most part, yes" she answers with a careful tone, "especially after what's happened, I want to be here just in case..."
But she lets Maeve tell her side of things, and as her voice fills the tent, Aurelia takes to writing it all down. Every detail that she can manage goes into the notes, though she does try to collect them into bullet points so that it's easier for her to keep up. She nods at certain things, showing that she's listening. By the time Maeve finishes on a final note and Hotaru's name is aired again, Aurelia sets down the pencil between the pages she's written. Her chin tilts back up to regard Maeve, to read the emotions there, to try and decipher what lies between the lines.
A held breath escapes her nose quietly, and she chews at the inside of her lip for a moment. "How close are you with Hotaru?" She asks, and this part is perhaps less necessary of a question. But an account of someone's character can make a bit of a difference. "Do you think she'd do something like this?" She's interested to hear Maeve's answer, because her own is that she most certainly didn't didn't expect this of the woman who she'd thought was entirely loyal to Sunjata.
Aurelia
