Kings and vagabonds

Thalassa

In the back of my mind, I'm still overseas

Having thought she disguised her discomfort well enough, Thal didn't think anything on Hadama's lack of response. They may be friends, but he didn't owe her anything; even if she had been a Torchliner, there was a divide between civilians and leadership, one he wasn't obligated to cross. So she sipped on her mead, trying her best to smooth her own ruffled insecurities. 

That didn't mean she had any desire to participate in a search that no one would tell her the purpose of. If she didn't know the plans, she was less inclined to help them along. 

She swirled the drink in her glass as she shrugged her shoulders. "If we leave for Ludo's Woods now, that should be fine, but I need to head back to the Grounds tonight. I've been away from my crew too long. I'll visit to Frey's Breath via the portal in a few days. Maybe I'll run into you guys then." Or maybe she wouldn't. It wasn't a rejection of her friends, but perhaps a boundary she was setting for herself. She didn't want to be used or involved in something she didn't have all the information on.

MAEA

Maea's reason for going on this search might align with Hadama's in the end, but she absolutely had her own motivations. The only reason she didn't volunteer what that was had everything to do with Hadama being the king; co-ruler to the queen who had banished her from the tropical shores, and this really wasn't the time to sew cracks in a foundation that needed to remain strong. The less she said the better, no matter the petulant desire to whine and seek sympathy that burned in her throat.

Quelling it with a mouthful of hot drink, Maea raised a pale brow at Thalassa's urgency, but didn't object to her reasoning. "I don't mind, just need to gather up some things" she replied, before casting Hadama a look. "Do you have the time? We can keep it brief, no longer than a few hours." That part of the woods wasn't nice to linger in after dark anyway. Too many spirits, and wisps, and worse.

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Disappointment that he would not be able to spend longer with his friend was something he could show, at least. Hadama tilted his head in acceptance of Thalassa's timeline but he did not bother to hide the regret in his eyes. "I am sorry to hear that. I would have liked to spend longer with you both." But perhaps they would, indeed, run into each other at Frey's Breath when they all made their way there.

He took a larger drink of his tea now that they had a destination and a reason to move more quickly, though he still did not precisely hurry. Speed was a vice the Tidebreaker was rarely accused of when lives were not actively at stake, and he took the time to savor the mouthful and swallow it down before he nodded reassuringly to Maea. "Indeed. I can set aside a few hours for this. It is important work." And he turned back to Thalassa with a tilt of his head. "And I will teleport you to the Grounds when we are done. So your crew does not become worried." It would be several days via airship to traverse between regions, otherwise. And it was a simple matter for him to use his magic to aid his friends when he could.

With a final swallow of his tea he inhaled the last of its delicate aroma and then allowed a soft sigh of contentment to escape. He stopped their server on the way past to deal with the check and then nodded to the Ancients. "Let us go."

~fin