Home sweet home

MaeA Laughing softly, Maea traced a finger along the wings of the black dragon, her hands pale against the jet of Coffee's scales. She couldn't stay uptight with Adam.. His manners were disarming, even when he apologized, and it wasn't hard to forgive the initial plumpness. Wasn't it just her being too uptight about the matter, anyway? "Who's to say what makes anyone worthy?" she said with a light shrug, shoulders barely moving under the weight of the dragon. "Perhaps you did deserve it. I try not to guess too much about why the gods do what they do and why... it doesn't get you anywhere. I suppose, if they want to give me something they will do so. Until then... well." She would continue to pray, and honor them, and atone for the mistakes of her ancestors by living her life to her best abilities. 'Use your magic modestly and under the eyes of the Old Gods', Ludo had advised her, and Maea intended to do just that. "So, tell me. What have you been up to in the past year? Settled down any, with this boyfriend of yours, or do you still like to crash into people's dinners?" Her tone was teasing, reminding Adam of the way they had first met. It had been a very dramatic entrance, that still made her laugh whenever she remembered it. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

"Well all I did was offer her a drink." Adam snorted. "I've done that a lot, to a lot of people in a lot of places, and all it usually got me was a no or maybe a good night. I think if the Gods actually looked at you they'd find you more than worthy." He gave Maea a wide smile, hoping that he was right; he did not know by what measure Gods judged their people. Personally though, he'd give Maea any animal form she wanted. She'd certainly been through enough.

Coffee nuzzled into Maea's hair as Adam considered the question, trying to think of a good way to sum up the last year - all the highs, all the lows, the great pain and the achievements both. "I actually went and got myself a house. Crazy, I know. I don't live with Pet though...he uh...he stays at the manor. Long story." Making a face as he thought of Peter's 'family', Adam tried to move on as quickly as possible.

"Other than that...uhh.. I helped out with getting the portal sorted to Halo. It's not very nice there though, honestly. Just kinda cold and miserable." Certainly not anywhere he wanted to return any time soon. With that said Adam opened his mouth to add more, then realised he was pretty much out of personal accomplishments. What had he been doing this whole time?

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

MaeA This man was more of a treasure than she'd realized. Perhaps she just hadn't been able to see it under the erratic behavior she was so unaccustomed to, or... it was just something that had grown during his year in Caido. Regardless, the comment he gave her was sweet and kind, and Maea smiled at him for it, both happy that he would think so and hopeful that he might be right. Listening to his accounts, she couldn't quite keep up with the meanings of his 'pet' and manors. It would become clear eventually, but for now the short girl just nodded to show she was listening. "A house is a big committment," she remarked cheerfully, "even if it's just for you. Congratulations, you've officially made Caido your home now. Have you found something to occupy yourself with otherwise? I take it that portals aren't something you need to mess with all the time... Though I certainly appreciate the effort. Not sure what I'd have done if I had to stay in Halo. It was beautiful, but... very cold indeed." Howling winds slowly subsiding, the blinding sleet clearing up just enough that she could raise her head, and see a white expanse spreading out before her. A wasteland of snow and ice, beautiful and barren, void of life. That's what she'd returned to. That's what could have been the end, and the beginning of a new life, Maea realized, if those portals hadn't been opened. It eased a knot of guilt inside her. The knowing that they should not have been allowed to be activated, and the fact that she'd had the knowledge of them and done nothing to prevent it. Now, these facts had helped her return home. The irony did not pass her by. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

Adam's house was not so much of a commitment, since it was rarely cleaned and he'd achieved it by simply walking into the building and declaring it his, but he still nodded anyway, liking the idea he could feel proud of it. After all, he had little to say for the second question. "Uhhh...well, I've just been kinda...helping people where they need it, y'know? Going on 'em on trips when another pair of hands is needed..."

With long stretches of nothing between, but he didn't need to mention those.

"Wait, hang on, you were in Halo?" He asked. When Maea had said she'd been lost, he had assumed she'd meant in some kind of spiritual sense or supernatural plain, not in the snowy mountains he'd visited only weeks prior.

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

MaeA Maea thought no less of him for not having grand tales to his name. The fact that he'd been helping others rather than getting into trouble rather worked in his favor this time, earning him a warm smile that suggested a lot of approval on her part. "Helping others is not a small thing. I'm sure you've contributed more than you know." Dragging her fingers through the hair, she hummed acknowledgement to the question; she had indeed been there. For a day. Or... longer? No, she didn't even want to think about it. The whole concept gave her a headache. A glance at Adam told her that he was quickly growing confused about her vague answers, and it made her sigh. Give up. "Alright, I'll tell you. But don't expect it to make sense!" She went on to explain it all; the illness, the forest, the storm, the emergence in Halo, and how she got back. It was quickly done, and she did not sugarcoat it or try to explain anything... Just facts. Cold and hard and confusing. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

"Aw, well, cheers." Adam was used to smugly accepting compliments about his looks or his skills with a pistol, but ones based on altruism were uncomfortably new, felt like a stark reminder of the changes he'd undergone since arriving in Caido; he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled embarrassed, as if ashamed to have spent his time being a decent person.

Maea's tale was unlike anything he'd heard, and Adam had been living in the Hollowed Grounds for almost two years now. He listened to her quietly, Coffee stepping over from her shoulders back to his in the meantime, Adam's fingers automatically going to rub at the dragon's snout. The fields came into view on the horizon before he absorbed it all.

There were a lot of questions, but plenty of them he felt Maea probably wouldn't want to answer. So instead, he stuck with a casual: "So...what did you make of Halo, then? Think you wanna go make a...winter home, I guess?"

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

MaeA She laughed, glad to be spared the questions he no doubt had - she couldn't answer them anyway - and honestly amused at the thought of making a home out of Halo. "I only saw snow, ice and rock," she replied, "so I think it would be difficult to make a living out there. But who knows, maybe I'll go back to explore it again. I do like snow, and there's no shortage of it there." Thinkning back, she recalled the quiet awe at her first look on the tundra. The endless horizon, the sweeping vastness of the expanse, the biting cold that only briefly registered before Ludo's rags spared her from an icy grave, keeping her warm. They sky had been endless, even covered in clouds and drifting snow, and the sight of the towering mountains as she'd made it toward the Fangs with Amun... It did speak to her, somehow. "Have you been there at all?" she asked, looking at Adam. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

Snow, Ice and Rock sounded about right for Adam's experience of the land through the portal. It was a featureless land of white snow and sky, nothing but depressing hill after depressing hill. "Yeah, if you wanted to make an igloo, you'd be really fucking sorted over there, huh?"

Coffee hissed a quiet breath of displeasure and Adam laughed, scritching his chin. "Don't worry babs, I'm not gonna make us go live over there." It wasn't just the fire dragon that would find it miserable living in the Tundra. Adam would hate it there too, couldn't really imagine many things he'd dislike more.

"Yeah, but I didn't stay for long. I got through the portal and then the guy I went with ended up fighting with his brother? Who was just...on the other side by some weird coincidence?" Adam shook his head, frowning and raising one eyebrow in confusion. "That and the cold...yeah, no. I decided to say fuck that and I left. I don't really wanna go back, not unless I need to. Pet's visiting there soon, but not with me." Though if his partner didn't return in good time, he'd go on a search.

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies "Oh, did they really? Who did you have with you?" It sounded like a curious coincidence indeed, but Maea had wound up in a place beyond her expectations too... so if anything, she could relate to the probability of it. She guessed the brothers must be Outlanders, brought here together by the Voice... only to then be separated by distances too vast to comprehend. Or bridge. Until the portals. Despite her dislike for the New Goddess, she had to admit that the portals were a clever design. No doubt it opened the world up to more interaction than before, in ways that travel by foot simply could not accomplish. She only wondered what the price was. Turning her gaze to the horizon, Maea could see the green of the Fields and the Woodlands beyond come into focus. It would take a few hours to get home, no doubt, but they were keeping a good pace and the walking was made lighter by Adam's company.

ADAM

"Oh, he's called Loren Launceleyn - he's one of those weird family members. I think they're like, a cult or some shit, but Pet's been caught up in it, so I gotta try play nice for now." Adam sighed, not liking the situation very much at all; so far he had been unsuccessful in convincing Pet away from his 'family' and it was beginning to weigh on him.

Walking with Maea was pleasant enough, Adam always glad for company that was easy to chat to and would joke along with him. It didn't require any effort, which he would put in when required, but didn't always have the energy to. They continued along with pleasant small talk and companionable silences for a while, the horizon coming ever closer.

Eventually, after a moment of quiet, he asked: "Hey, so, if you're Abandoned...do you know any cool magic?"

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

MaeA Not disagreeing, Maea tucked away the name to remember later. She had so much catching up to do, and the list was growing longer by the minute. Once she'd been to the farm and checked in with Jigano to let him know she was alive, she would have to stop by the Temple and check the notice board. Notes there were rarely removed, so she'd be able to get at least a rough grasp on what had happened, at least officially. She'd never know the full story, of course, but... at least it'd give her some reference to what people were talking about. Humming in quiet contentment as she walked, Maea interrupted herself as Adam posed a question. Tilting her head, she considered, stroking Coffee's sinuous neck. "Define 'cool'? I do know some, but I don't know if it's very interesting..." A sidelong glance at him; and from somewhere behind them, a pebble came shooting towards the back of the man's head. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

Coffee made a noise not unlike a purr as Maea stroked his neck, leaning up his chin - Adam leaned to the side to accommodate the shift in weight and 'hmm'ed as he considered the question. "I mean...anything with fire or something like that...maybe water or ice or just something that looks cool. Some people can summ--"

He was interrupted by something hitting the back of his head. "Ow!" Adam whipped around, trying to see his mystery assilant. For a moment he glared suspiciously at Coffee, but the innocent eyes of his dragon stared back; he then moved to look at Maea. "Heyyyy. You coulda just throw a pebble in front of us." Sticking out his tongue he continued to walk, rubbing the back of his head. "Now you owe me some cool fire or something."

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!

MaeA The girl laughed at his reaction, grin wide and a touch mischievous as she found some more pebbles and juggled them in the air before her. It took some concentration but very little effort, and Maea did not even break her stride as she showed off a bit. "Alas, if only I could. I'd need some actual water to do more, and it's a bit scarce out here. Perhaps another time - remind me and I'll be happy to oblige." With a sidelong glance at the rogue, she lobbed the stones one at a time over to Adam. Did he know how to juggle? Would he catch them, or merely let them fall? you're so cold, but you feel alive.

ADAM

Adam wore an exaggerated pout as he watched Maea swirl the pebbles about in the air, but he couldn't keep it up for long, enjoying the little show; this was the kind of thing he liked. People that could use their great power for a bit of fun every so often, who were willing to share their gifts.

"What would you do with the water?" He asked curiously, pulling out of his bag Ludo's horn, holding out in front of them. "Cos I could give you as much as you need right here." Tipping it out just to his side, the horn began to spill a massive amount of seemingly never-ending water out onto the road, far more than should have been able to fit into the small container.

Leaning away a bit to get a better catch, he used his spare hand to collect the pebbles she threw over. He'd always had good instincts for that sort of thing, years of training in markmanship and horseriding coming in useful. Idly, he juggled them in one hand, slowly but effectively enough, and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

A wasted youth is better by far

Then a wise and productive old age

Base Code by Sky!