and i knew from the first note played

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Lyra arrives in Sidhe Village with little fanfare, having packed a small bag and hopped on the first skyship she could get. It took her longer than she’d expected, most likely because everyone seemed to be flocking to the Greatwood. She’s heard of the hunt for flowers, of course, but she hasn’t yet joined in on it for herself. She had to wait for her kids to age out and move on - which they did a few weeks prior. Now, when she has no children to look after, seems like the perfect time to go on a little adventure.

When she disembarks, she finds a village teeming with life. Vendors who could only be Fae shout along the streets, and people roam along paths tangled with roots. She’lol have to watch her step as she searches for Maea. Good thing she packed her hiking boots.

She makes her way through the village, following the directions Maea had sent her, until she stands in front of an impressive home. Raising her brows, she whistles low to herself, pausing for a moment to admire it. Then, shaking her head, she makes her way to the front door and knocks.

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

Directions only counted so much when it came to the Sidhe village. Paths had a tendency to twist beneath your feet, occasionally leading them completely astray, or as in this case, just slightly off from where you intended to go.
Lounging on the porch that wrapped around her (yes, her!) house, Maea had been keeping an eye out for the visitor and thought she recognized the figure that came strolling along the path that led to the Treehouse.  She was about to raise a hand to wave, when Lyra suddenly stopped a house or so too soon. Torn between amusement and that second-hand awkwardness of getting something almost right, she stood from her seat and hurried over to the stairs, then down halfway as she called out.

"Hello! Over here. Sorry, I know I wrote 'a big house' but I'm afraid it's not that big." The neighboring family was a thriving clan of six and had a house to match, with several extensions sprouting along the branches of their tree like odd growths. In comparison, the former government building was a humble two story thing, well crafted and large for one person to have all to herself - but not, perhaps, anything close to a mansion.
"It's good to see you again," Maea continued, coming down to meet Lyra half way and help with any luggage. "How was your journey?"

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

The house that Lyra selected is clearly not the right house, but the woman is too cheerful to be embarrassed. It's an honest mistake, and who would fault her? Besides, no one even seems to be home at the big house, so the only person to witness her blunder is Maea.

"Hi!" Lyra says, laughing a bit at herself. "Sorry about that!" She carries only a duffel bag over one shoulder and a hiking backpack on her back; she always packs light, finding it easier to travel that way. "The journey was fine; it took a while to find a skyship that still had space. Seems like everyone's coming up here these days!" It's something about flowers, Lyra has heard, though she knows very little about the whole thing. She's kept her head in the sand for so long in Torchline that she's woefully unaware of the intricacies around the Family and the Void and the rest of it.

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

"I'm glad the trip went smoothly. Welcome to the Greatwood! It's experiencing a bit if a boom right now, it's true. The inn is full to capacity and the woods are crawling with adventurers. Even ordinary roses seem to be a hot commodity at this point," she laughed.

Leading the way back up the stairs winding up around the tree trunk supporting her house, once they reached the porch a lovely view of the Sidhe Village stretched out all around them. Smaller than it seemed from the ground, even in the daylight it had an ethereal, magical touch about it that Maea was quickly learning to love.
Holding the door for her guest, it opened up into a fairly large room reminiscent of a wooden cave. Only the grouping of furniture into kitchen, lounge and work space served to section off the space, so that it seemed far roomier than it perhaps was. A stairwell tucked against a far wall led up to a second floor, where a door closed offered privacy to the small bedroom beyond. It was a bright room, overflowing with light from openwindows, where every surface of wooden beams, railings and door frames seemed carved with beautiful, occasionally eclectic patterns that left plenty to entertain the eyes.

"Welcome to the Guardian's Treehouse, too," Maea said warmly, stepping aside so Lyra could come inside. "I'm not the guardian, but it is my home... I hope you'll enjoy your stay."

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Lyra laughs at that. "It's true - even in Torchline, roses are all the rage right now. I saw one street vendor selling them in every color you can imagine." She had spent all afternoon wondering how he did it, until she returned the next day to find that they were white roses dyed with colored water. "He didn't have any with gold, though. I imagine that's not the kind of thing that's easily replicated."

They climb the steps to the porch, and Lyra takes a moment to admire the view. Sidhe Village is small, but charming - a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Haulani. This, she thinks, would be a lovely place to vacation when one tired of the bigger cities around Caido. The way that the village intertwines with nature is uniquely beautiful, and Lyra is suddenly glad she came.

The treehouse itself, when Lyra enters, is quaint but lovely, with an open-concept living space that reminds her of a cabin she once visited when she was a child. Despite the similarities to a wooden cave, the many large windows let in plenty of light, and the dark wood doesn't feel overwhelming. It's a nice house, and Lyra turns to her hostess with a smile. "This is lovely," she says. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

"Neither had I before I was offered this place by a friend," Maea agreed. "I've passed through the Village before, but never had much reason to go inside. The more I see, the better I like it all." A good thing, given her promises to stay and make a home out of the region.

Showing Lyra the upstairs room where Maea had prepared a spare cot for her guest, she sank down onto her own bed to keep her company while unpacking. "I'm glad you could come," she said, the pale-skinned tail coiling lazily beside her. "Do you have an idea of what you'd like to do? I've got some ideas, if not." The fae village was interesting enough to see on its own, with the Observatory and Undercroft well worth a visit. The Bodega held a wealth of shops and eateries, too, for whenever they tired of walking or training or whatever else they came up with.

And if none of that tempted, Maea was perfectly content with sitting around in the house, talking and getting to know this person she had invited on a whim.

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Lyra follows Maea upstairs and finds that this, too, is a cozy setting. She begins to unpack as she listens to the Ancient talk, in good spirits. She’d been a bit adrift lately in Torchline, and getting out of the city and returning to nature is just what the doctor ordered. She can’t wait to go exploring out in the woods, and if she manages to find one of these rare roses that everyone seems to be looking for, then all the better.

”I’m open to suggestions,” Lyra laughs as she pulls out some toiletries, tucking the sunscreen away in a pocket. Even under the cover of trees, it’s possible to burn, and she intends to spend as much time outside as she can. ”But I’d love to get to know the forest. I understand that it changes?” she asks, tilting her head to one side. She’s never been to a sentient wood before, and the thought of learning the terrain fills her with excitement. What would it be like to do a search and rescue mission out here? Would the Greatwood help or hinder? It is all fascinating to Lyra, who has never considered such things before.

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

Nodding fervently, 'changing' seemed an understatement when it came to the Greatwood. "It does, yeah. She doesn't like strangers, they tend to find themselves thrown off course and ending up far from where they wished to go. It's usually fine if you have a guide along - someone who's lived here long enough to be accepted by the forest - and sometimes I've found that it helps to ask nicely." Aware how strange it sounded, talking about the forest like it had a mind of its own, Maea nevertheless believed every bit of the stories she'd heard. Even this past half season she had seen enough with her own eyes to have no doubt.

"Still, I don't think the islands themselves move, so if you stick to the waterways or fly above the trees it's not impossible to get around. I'd be happy to show you around; just, don't worry if we're thrown off to some place we didn't expect to visit." Maea wasn't long enough beneath the boughs to be a true local yet; every so often her own paths were twisted around, as though to shake her out of any comfortable delusions on her place in the region.

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Lyra listens intently to the description of the forest, finding herself both intrigued and bemused by its sentience. She's never heard of anything quite like it. The closest approximate she can think of in Torchline are the Kuali'i Isles, but even they don't seem to pick and choose who they let through their waterways. They simply change all the time for everyone, regardless of whether one is a local or a tourist. "Fascinating," Lyra says, seemingly unbothered by the idea of getting lost in the forest. "I look forward to checking it all out! Maybe the Greatwood will be nice to us." Or, at the very least, not send them in circles until they go mad. She wonders if anything like that has ever happened before.

Finishing up her unpacking, Lyra stands and dusts off her hands. "Well, that should be good for now," she says. "Did you have anything you need to take care of before we go, or...?" She hopes it isn't rude to ask, but she is rather eager to get out and see the sights.

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

"Let's hope so!" Scooting off the bed, Maea stretched out her back. "Nope, I'm good to go. Let's check out the village first, then we can expand from there. It's not that big, shouldn't take long." Unless, you know, the woods wanted it to.

Grabbing her coat on the way out, Maea led the way off the porch and back down the trail Lyra had first come from. In the sun it was almost warm enough that she could have gone without the extra layer. But at least for an Ancient the wind still nipped and in the name of comfort Maea boreup under the bulky clothes, already longing for summer.

"What do you do, when you're not vacationing?" she asked leisurely, strolling down the trail towards the square and its branching pathways.

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Despite their easy camaraderie, Lyra recalls that they really don't know much about one another, and this is the perfect time to remedy that. She follows the Ancient out, carrying her hiking backpack with various travel essentials. After all, especially with the way the woods here change, it can never hurt to be too prepared.

"I'm a search and rescue responder back home," Lyra says, keeping up easily as they stride down the trail and towards the village square. "Mostly I see water rescues in Torchline. I've always wanted to branch out my training, though. The woods are very different than beaches." The village springs up around them, all buildings built into trees and whatnot. "What about you? What do you do?"

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

Quietly intrigued by the work Lyra described, Maea listened attentively. "Sounds like an adventurous sort of job," she remarked, "though I imagine it can be dangerous too? The sea can't be easy to work with... Nor are people." They had a way of putting themselves in strange and stupid situations, sometimes for entirely stupid reasons. She only had to look to herself and some bad choices to admire Lyra's work even more.

Spending some time pointing out noteworthy buildings, the ancient had to consider before answering the return query. "I'm... sort of between jobs at the moment," she admitted. "I've done a bit of everything over the years, though scribing and archival work is the most recent. Probably what I'm best at, too." Not that she was overly pleased with that, given her restless nature and the itch to make something of herself beyond a clerk.

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //

This is a state of grace
This is the worthwhile fight

Lyra laughs. "You can say that again," she says fervently, but her remark lacks any kind of bite. In truth, she rather enjoys her job and the challenges that come along with it - whether those be natural or manufactured in origin. "It's interesting, though - people in those kind of situations are predictable. How they act, where they go, what they do - many people default to the same basic instincts when they start to realize they're lost and the panic sets in. I think what's harder is when I find the ones beyond saving." She sobers, thinking of the lives lost where she's been the first to realize that they were gone. "After losing someone, everything else feels... easy, in comparison."

Lyra follows along eagerly, drinking in the knowledge that Maea offers as she makes mental notes about this building or that. She'll have to make notes later, if she's going to remember anything long-term - but for now, asking a passing question here or there allows her to cement enough of the layout of the village in her mind to find her way back. "Scribing and archiving is important work," she says of Maea's most recent occupation, entirely serious. "Without records of important things, we'd be lost as a civilization."

Love is a ruthless game
Unless you play it good and right

Lyra

// now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? //

Maea sobered alongside the lifeguard as a memory of death whispered past them upon the wind. She hadn't thought about it, but of course there would be accidents and instances where you arrived too late. "It takes a certain type person to know how wrong things can go and still go out there to help," she said, smiling softly. "I suppose that's part of why I can't get comfortable with desk work. By the time a story reaches thearchives, it's already too late to change anything."

Turning towards the Bodega, she stopped along the way to buy them each a hot drink and something to snack on. Chasing the chill out of her fingers by wrapping them around the cup, she gazed off along a path until it faded between the trees. "Is it hybris, you think? To insist that we, of all people, need to be the ones who go out there and affect change? Even though there's an overwhelming amount of other people who are far more capable...?"

Maea

// I threw stones at the stars but the whole sky fell //