The way he listened without seeming to judge what she said was perhaps the greatest welcome-back gift Jigano could have given her. As he responded with his own reflections, Maea listened and felt something in her chest gradually ease. In all honesty she had not been sure how this encounter would pan out, considering the tensions that had existed between them in the past, but it seemed that a year in limbo was enough to put such things behind them, at least for tonight. It was a relief, a blessing if you will, and even more so as she was given the chance to do for him what he'd done for her.
Just listen.
She thought of Remi, whom she'd only met briefly with a small swaddling child strapped to his chest. Thought of Ronin, whom she'd only seen in the distance, fighting - and dying - to change the world. She thought of the friends she knew, strangers she'd heard of or didn't know at all, and the stains of crimson in the grass became more than just blood. More than just mud and water and pieces of broken things. This place... it was a monument to failure. A grand, and horrifying example of what the worst could be, if everything really went wrong. The festival... a lot of people had been there, yes, but what if the monster had attacked the Settlement instead? On a day when not everyone with a fighting chance was around, when children played in the streets, when people were distracted, scattered, inattentive. The thought was horrifying.
"I suppose," she said slowly, trailing the gaze back to Jigano, "that we will all have to learn from this. Make it a new starting point, and try to grow. Become stronger. Better. So that we will not have to ask ourselves those things again, or clean up another battleground full of beloved dead. I would indeed take jealousy over tragedy, any day. Perhaps it will just be easier to live with, if I know that I've really done all I can myself as well."
There were no excuses left now, in her case. The farm was gone, so she had no distractions. Her eyes were fine, better than they had ever been, and her health... well. That too was better than it used to be. She would learn how to read properly. Pick up that rapier again, if Jigano would continue to teach her. Study, develop her skills and knowledge, and then... maybe the gods would start to smile, even at someone like her.
"I want to be a Loreseeker," she told her friend with a shy smile, in an echo of the first conversation they ever had. "I've thought about it a lot these past days, and that's all I come back to, what I really want. I'm not very good at a lot of things right now, but I will work hard, so that I will be one day. Would you have me?"
Holding out a small, pale hand towards Jigano, Maea sought his gaze to hold it, and show how serious she was.
Just listen.
She thought of Remi, whom she'd only met briefly with a small swaddling child strapped to his chest. Thought of Ronin, whom she'd only seen in the distance, fighting - and dying - to change the world. She thought of the friends she knew, strangers she'd heard of or didn't know at all, and the stains of crimson in the grass became more than just blood. More than just mud and water and pieces of broken things. This place... it was a monument to failure. A grand, and horrifying example of what the worst could be, if everything really went wrong. The festival... a lot of people had been there, yes, but what if the monster had attacked the Settlement instead? On a day when not everyone with a fighting chance was around, when children played in the streets, when people were distracted, scattered, inattentive. The thought was horrifying.
"I suppose," she said slowly, trailing the gaze back to Jigano, "that we will all have to learn from this. Make it a new starting point, and try to grow. Become stronger. Better. So that we will not have to ask ourselves those things again, or clean up another battleground full of beloved dead. I would indeed take jealousy over tragedy, any day. Perhaps it will just be easier to live with, if I know that I've really done all I can myself as well."
There were no excuses left now, in her case. The farm was gone, so she had no distractions. Her eyes were fine, better than they had ever been, and her health... well. That too was better than it used to be. She would learn how to read properly. Pick up that rapier again, if Jigano would continue to teach her. Study, develop her skills and knowledge, and then... maybe the gods would start to smile, even at someone like her.
"I want to be a Loreseeker," she told her friend with a shy smile, in an echo of the first conversation they ever had. "I've thought about it a lot these past days, and that's all I come back to, what I really want. I'm not very good at a lot of things right now, but I will work hard, so that I will be one day. Would you have me?"
Holding out a small, pale hand towards Jigano, Maea sought his gaze to hold it, and show how serious she was.
