[SE] dashing through the snow

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

With the gentle heat came a wave of drowsiness. It had her yawning into the crook of her arm, while tense muscle eased and softened. It was tempting to simply crawl fully inside the hearth and make a nest to fall asleep in, like a salamander. Her clothes would burn, though, so while Hadama lingered it was not an option.

His answer came slowly, his words carefully chosen. She wondered if he was trying to phrase it so that she wouldn't feel bad. It sort of worked; Tilting her head aside, with firelight lending a glow to the horns curving out from the sides of her head, Maea smiled softly at him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It would hace been fine if I had dressed properly. Nights are so much colder, I underestimated how quickly it would get to me."

Pulling her hands out of the fire, she rubbed her hands to check for spots of stone. "To be honest...  it's quite embarrassing. I should know better by now." Like wetting the bed long past childhood, like not quite making it to the bathroom - it drew a blush to her cheeks and revealed an awkwardness she wasn't overly keen to show the impeccable King seated on her creaky pin chair. It didn't even have a cushion.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Maea’s yawns were a good indication that it was almost time for him to leave, though he wanted to stay long enough to ensure that she would not revert back to stone unexpectedly. She was in front of the fire and likely out of danger, but…

The tilt of her head caught the firelight perfectly, a line of gold limning her cheek and glowing through horns the hue of finest porcelain. His fingers sought to reach for his tools, to capture the moment in silver and gold, crystal and glass, but he kept them resting in his lap, still and outwardly serene. His tools were not here, and the urge was, as he would tell Flora some day in the near future, unwise.

As Ronin and Sunjata could perhaps attest.

So he remained where he was, seated on a chair that, like the cottage, was cozy and comfortable, and the small line between his brows eased, smoothing out at her smile. "I am glad I was here with you." Even if the cold would not have killed the Ancient, being turned to stone would not have been a good outcome. Even if her roommate had found her within the day it did not sound like a comfortable experience to undergo. He tilted his head in acknowledgment of her honesty, warmed that she would share it with him. "It is not easy to forget a lifetime of habit." Mistakes would be made, as much by the once-Mer as the once-Abandoned/Ascended. Tonight, at least, the mistake had been harmless and easily fixed with some time in front of the fire.

Their conversation was light, with long stretches of comfortable quiet filled by the crackling of the fire until the Mer King found himself joining his hostess in an unexpected yawn. It was the usually-unflappable Tidebreaker's turn to look a little embarrassed, and after a shared laugh at their tiredness he bid his dear friend farewell and made his way out into the moonlight to begin the journey of teleportation hops necessary to cross the continent and return home.

~Fin~