Lovely, dark and deep

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

For once, the sky was overcast and the sun had taken a day off to remain in its blankets. A mist hung in the air, not quite rain and so fine that only the furthest hills and valleys were wrapped in the haze. The cool damp caused old injuries to ache and old fae muttered about their joints in their treehouse homes, while stoking the fires in cobblestone hearths and predicting whether or not Longheat would be late this year. 

Having been told to reflect more on the events in her life, Maea should probably have stayed indoors too, on a day like this. But the Guardian's old office still frightened her with its cozy comforts, and had a way of numbing her thoughts into uselessness. She found that it took time to get used to being stationary again, so while she did bring the journal her therapist had gifted her, the Ancient sought refuge in the wild woodland instead. Roaming aimlessly, the wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for. A place to sit? A view interesting enough to write about? 

Perhaps, she thought wryly to herself, as the pools of Vi's eyes came into view, she was simply looking for a reason to go back home. In a puddle small enough to step over, the gray clouds reflected an aerial view of some nameless village, equally wrapped in blankets of fog; almost like the forest was longing for a warm hearth and a cup of tea, too.

Base by Odd

NIKI

Niki has not been told to reflect on the events in his life, and he doesn't have a therapist to have given him so much as the time, let alone a notebook, and so the boy is wandering the Greatwood for quite different reasons to Maea. With Deepfrost over, the weather is more kind to his attempts at getting out and about, but with this morning as evidence, it isn't always consistent or easy, especially when he has just the sort of injury liable to ache in the overcast chill.

Even so, he emerges into the Eyes of Vi with a mildly curious expression hardened only slightly with suppressed pain, Niki glancing into a nearby pool depicting a vista of a faraway, snow-capped mountain, the boy tilting his head and taking pause to lean against his cane. With his overlarge coat near drowning him, he seems almost like a lost child amid the other still pools and the low hanging mist, though only one of those things is true.

This certainly isn't any part of the Sidhe Village, that's for sure, but with the Greatwood consistently showing him its sights whether or not he's asked for a tour, he's learning to take the detours as they come.

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Meandering past large pools and small kisses barely large enough to be considered puddles, the sights and vistas rippling on the surface kept changing. Forced to keep an eye on where she went lest she fell into one, Maea entertained herself by weaving tales of the things she saw. Naming mountains and sunny hillocks, weaving legends about a ruin in some forgotten vale or bustling city street kept her restive mind occupied for a good while.

When a figure ahead of her registered, it brought her to a halt. In the drifting haze there was a lonesome and almost brooding quality to the shade. Recalling tales of darker things, like banshees and ghouls and the elusive Morgen, she hesitated to approach. Without more than her chakram to defend herself and quite on her own, it seemed foolish to risk anything... A quick look around showed nowhere to hide, however, leaving her with limited options. Turn back? Forge ahead and hope for the best? Or, perhaps if she just went around it...

She began to angle around the huddled figure, keeping half an eye on it in case it began to move, and the other on the ground.

Base by Odd

NIKI

Entirely unaware that he's being stalked or that he's the subject of someone's concern (and not because he's fallen down or passed out or some other ridiculous and yet tragically likely circumstance for him), Niki continues to watch the vista in his little pool with quiet curiosity, completely alone as far as he knows. It's only with a sudden shiver that he realises he's been standing a little too still for a little too long, his gloved hand flexing against the handle of his cane, and he eventually moves on, his movements slow and unhurried, if not a little stiff.

He eventually finds the broad trunk of a tree to lean against to catch his breath - leaning is much more preferable to sitting, if he still has any hope of continuing back into the woods to try and reach the village - Niki withdrawing a small flask of water from a pocket to uncap it and take a drink. Sweetened with peppermint bark, it does the job well enough, though as he goes to slip it back into his coat, his cane slips from where he's propped it against the tree to clatter to the ground.

Niki watches it with quiet accusation for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh and going about the awkward task of picking it up again.

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Things were not going as Maea had expected. While she did a pretty good job of navigating around the enchanted potholes, the same could not be said for the Mysterious Figure™. It did the unthinkable and moved, right into her planned trajectory, and now it leaned against a tree just ahead of her. A cane cluttered to the ground by its feet, and she was beginning to feel a little foolish. Was she taking a long, painstaking detour around nothing but a regular person? Sure looked like it, especially as the figure leaned over to pick up the came. It did not seem like the thing a ghoul or the Morgen would be doing.

In a move she had learned by watching cats, the pale-haired woman threw caution to the wind and forged on, pretending like she hadn't just been fretting about ghosts in the middle of the day. Hemmed in by ponds on both sides as she was, she approached the figure and found a youthful face huddled in an oversized coat, of a fashion that wasn't too far removed from her own. Looming, broody - and very comfortable, thank you very much.

"Hello," she murmured politely as she came within speaking distance, inclining her head politely. Because saying nothing while passing by another person in the midst of all this forest would be both strange and sort of rude; both a label she was working hard to rid herself of.

Base by Odd

NIKI

It is far from an easy task to pick up a cane when you kind of need it to get around in the first place, but by now Niki is a dab hand at the little jokes life plays on him, and its with a soft and determined frown on his face that he manages to snatch the crutch back up into his fingers. Huffing out a relieved breath and leaning on it perhaps a touch more heavily than before as he straightens up, he brushes his dark hair from his face and glances back to the surrounding woods just in time to see a pale figure approach.

Having to do a doubletake for a second - people seem to move far too quietly in the woods for his liking - Niki nonetheless soon realises that she (probably) doesn't mean any harm given the greeting that spills from her lips. "Hallo," he responds in kind. "I do not suppose you could tell me which direction you came from, by chance? I am trying to get to the Sidhe Village, but the woods oftentimes turn me back on myself."

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Having expected to simply pass by the young man, his question surprised her enough to stop and consider. It was never easy to find her bearings in the dense woods, but Maea thought she knew the general direction of the Village, at least. 

"Oh, uhm... that way, I think." She pointed over her shoulder, in the direction she had come. "That's a long way to be misdirected - would you like me to go back with you?" Between his cane and the presence of void tainted creatures, it felt dangerous to leave the person alone. Quite possibly he could take care of himself, and yet... better to ask, and let him decide for himself. 
"I'm Maea," she introduced herself, "I moved here just recently." No more likely to find the right way than he, she could at least guide him from the air if it became necessary. So far the Ancient had never gotten lost while flying over the forest.

Base by Odd

NIKI

Following her gaze over her shoulder - and feeling relieved despite himself to see that it isn't in a direction he's been yet, because if nothing else at least the sights will be new - Niki smiles and shakes his head politely to the stranger. "That is quite alright, unless you also have business in the village," he assures her. "I am not the one doing the misdirecting. Sometimes the woods take pity on me, and sometimes they play their games. Hopefully if I go the way you came, they will realise that I do still intend to get where I am going at some point today."

At her introduction Niki straightens up further, offering her a polite nod that would almost be a quick bow if he were in a better state for it. "Good to meet you, Maea. I am Niki - I was born here," he replies. "How are you finding it so far? I know it is not nearly so busy as a lot of other places, but I like to think it has its charms."

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Cocking her head aside, she considered the options. Continue roaming, returning home, leaving this person to get by on his own, or ensure they both got back home safely... A faint smile bloomed on her lips, and Maea shook her head. "It's no inconvenience. It isn't really the weather for wandering; I may as well go home along with you."

She would have offered her hand in greeting, but given his cane and the way Niki leaned on it, she thought better of it. "Good to meet you, too. It has been... surprising, so far," she replied. Kneeling down next to a pool to fill her water-skin with the illusory liquid, she stoppered it and tucked it back into her coat pocket. Falling in beside the young man, she matched her pace with his so that she wouldn't accidentally leave him behind. "Mostly good surprises, I have to say. I've met good people, made some friends, seen a fair bit of the landscape... and it's growing on me quite well." The wild character of the forest spoke to her need for roaming, while the village had just the right balance between developed and wild. A balance between order and chaos, Maea thought, that she'd been looking for ever since she thawed out of stone.

"What's it like, growing up among the fae?" she asked politely in return, intrigued to meet a true native to the area. "They live long lives, if I recall correctly..? Sounds like a situation with potential for conflict."

Base by Odd

NIKI

"Well, you are right about that much," Niki agrees about the weather, gazing up at the hazy canopy of new leaves overhead and the blank white sky threatening a fine rain. He doesn't bother to mention that his home is actually outside the village, and getting back there is another task entirely once he's finished his business - for now, it looks as if they are headed in the same direction. And so, waiting politely for Maea to fill her waterskn before setting off, they fall into a leisurely pace and head for the trail she'd pointed towards. (Not that Niki can move at anything much more than a leisurely pace, granted, but the point still stands).

"It certainly can be full of surprises," he agrees of the Greatwood with a soft laugh; the trail they set out upon is wide enough for a cart to trundle through, so they are easily able to walk side by side as they stroll deeper into the woods. "The key, I find, is never to promise to be somewhere at a strict time. You never know when you might come across a surprise or two on your way to your destination." Like right now, for instance. It's one of the reasons Niki suspects the fae are not all that strict with their timekeeping.

Raising his eyebrows at her question, Niki shakes his head gently as he casts his mind back. "It is all I have ever known," he admits. "So it is difficult to really give you differences, since I do not have anything to compare it to. I do not recall any conflict, though, but then I suppose it is different for the fae to see a child in the woods compared to a grown adult. And I do not pose much of a threat either, which helps."

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Laughing quietly Maea would have to admit he had a point. So far she had never experienced a fae that was in a hurry, nor one that wouldn't accomodate changes of their plans to make room for the unexpected. "That's a good point, and I'll try to keep it in mind," Maea smiled. A restless person like her would find it challenging to slow down - but then, she didn't have the long lifespan of the fae either.

"Fair. I thought perhaps there might be some discrepancy given how long they live, but it's good if that's not the case. At least for my part I would like to stay here. Is there anything you can think of that would help a newcomer assimilate...?" The last thing Maea wanted to do was step on toes and make enemies.

Base by Odd

NIKI

"If it helps, it also means that nobody will ever mind if you are late to an appointment," Niki says with a lopsided smile towards her. He's never been admonished, at least, and anyone he meets with in the village has always found something else to occupy their time whilst they've been waiting for him. As for the discrepancy in their lifespans, he can only shrug apologetically to her. "Perhaps I will experience something like that in the future. At the moment everybody thinks of me as little beyond a child," he explains.

Which isn't all that untrue as a human either, at the tender age of twenty-two, but he's certainly still an infant compared to some of the older fae.

Pondering to himself for a few moments at Maea's second question, he eventually offers her a warmer smile, gesturing around them. "Just be respectful of the woods and the customs of the fae," he suggests as an overall start. "Do not try to haggle too steeply with the merchants. Make yourself available to help, and become a familiar face for a good reason. Quite similar to starting anywhere new, no?"

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

"Definitely a good thing, given how often I'm being spat out of the Village," she drawled, voice thick with amusement. "Sometimes I wonder if the forest is testing my resolve - how badly do I really want to stay? It'll be interesting to see who is more stubborn." Maea had no intention of breaking her promise to stay, so the Greatwood would have to hit her with more than a few winding trails if it really wanted her gone.

Tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat to keep them warm in the dreary damp, she nodded thoughtfully as Niki explained his relation to the fae. Listening with interest as he offered suggestions to her query, the white-haired Ancient smiled back, and nodded. "Quite simple things, indeed," she agreed. "Shouldn't be too hard." Of course, she said that fully knowing that she hadn't tried to settle anywhere other than her homeland before. Her stint in Halo had been so brief and so long ago that it didn't count.

"Can I ask what you do for a living?" She would have to find a role for herself in the village sooner or later, whether it be the plans she spun with Liam or something else entirely. Nothing about the young man's appearance revealed anything of his proffession, but then again it wasn't always written on your face.

Base by Odd

NIKI

"Ah, do not take it to heart," Niki says warmly. "The Greatwood just likes to play sometimes, I think. I was born here, and it can still take me half a day to accomplish what ought to be a ten minute walk into the village," he admits. "At least, I hope it is play, else the forest has been trying to give me a hint to leave for a very long time." Grimacing in casual apology at the trees overhead if that is the case, he glances back to Maea. "I do admire your resolve, though. Where did you live before here?"

Nodding in agreement - quite simple things, but ones he's certain both the fae and the woods will appreciate - Niki feels his shoulders start to relax as the regular pace on reasonably steady ground makes it easier to walk. "Hm? Oh, I do metalworking. Small, intricate things, like jewellery and trinkets," he explains. "I would not be much good behind an anvil, I am afraid. But the things I create sell well at the marketplace in the village, and it earns me enough to get by. Do you have a vocation or a line of work you would like to use here? I could probably point you in the right direction if so."

If not to places willing to hire or gaps in the marketplace, then at least to people who might be able to help further.

my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now
I can feel the light shine on my face

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!