Her guess was correct, though Hadama didn't know it yet. "To collect the ones that glow," he revealed, a hint of a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "And to hold them for the week without sun. The City is deep and lit by plankton, but it is a way to mark the passing of time." More words than he usually spoke in one breath, but Maeve was a friend and he was more relaxed around her.
He listened with interest to her own traditions, fascinated as always by anything that had to do with fire while large hands deftly wove the fronds. He didn't need to more than glance down occasionally, long used to the motion and able to speak while he worked.
But Maeve's silence was a warning even before her warning and his fingers slowed as the smile faded from his eyes. Her friend remained, but the solemn strength of the King of the Mer settled on his shoulders as he nodded slowly for her to continue. Patiently he waited for her to speak at her own pace, and the words that came were not entirely unexpected. He tilted his head to the side in slow acknowledgment, digesting her decision with careful thought.
"You have endured much," he said slowly. "For Torchline. And for all of Caido. You have more than earned a reprieve." And freedom to search for the missing Edmund; that, too, he expected.
He normally didn't care for such flashy displays of power, but he gathered the water beneath him with his magic and used it to raise himself up high enough to comfortably reach for Maeve's hand if she would allow it, offering her the touch he so rarely initiated with others. "I will support your decision. To all of Torchline. To Safrin, if needed, but I think she will understand, too." As her friend, he would do a great deal more if the opportunity arose.
But as King, and for a time the sole ruler of Torchline... "I will need your advice." His voice was a reassuring rumble, gentle for all its power. "As I have this past year. You are welcome on the council."
~Fin~
He listened with interest to her own traditions, fascinated as always by anything that had to do with fire while large hands deftly wove the fronds. He didn't need to more than glance down occasionally, long used to the motion and able to speak while he worked.
But Maeve's silence was a warning even before her warning and his fingers slowed as the smile faded from his eyes. Her friend remained, but the solemn strength of the King of the Mer settled on his shoulders as he nodded slowly for her to continue. Patiently he waited for her to speak at her own pace, and the words that came were not entirely unexpected. He tilted his head to the side in slow acknowledgment, digesting her decision with careful thought.
"You have endured much," he said slowly. "For Torchline. And for all of Caido. You have more than earned a reprieve." And freedom to search for the missing Edmund; that, too, he expected.
He normally didn't care for such flashy displays of power, but he gathered the water beneath him with his magic and used it to raise himself up high enough to comfortably reach for Maeve's hand if she would allow it, offering her the touch he so rarely initiated with others. "I will support your decision. To all of Torchline. To Safrin, if needed, but I think she will understand, too." As her friend, he would do a great deal more if the opportunity arose.
But as King, and for a time the sole ruler of Torchline... "I will need your advice." His voice was a reassuring rumble, gentle for all its power. "As I have this past year. You are welcome on the council."
~Fin~
