whatever comes, let it come
what stays, let it stay
As Maea fell silent, Loren focused on his breathing. He took deep breaths in through his nose, and released them from his mouth. Although he still moved at a quick pace through the hedges, and his heart still pounded in his chest, he felt hard-earned training pay off as his thoughts stilled and his fury subsided.So when the pale-skinned woman actually did answer his question, he didn't respond with more heated words. Instead, he turned a surprisingly sympathetic look on her. And his voice, when he spoke, was calm and comforting. "No. No it's not. It's...it's quite understandable really. And I think you'll find a lot of people feel that way as well. Myself. Amalia."
The summoner smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "But you'll never feel like you belong if you keep measuring yourself against other people. And you need to start recognizing what you can and do contribute. Like your aim with the rock earlier. It bought us quite a bit of time from the squirrels, in case you hadn't noticed." He paused, and gave her a considering look. "Seems to me the only one who thinks you're just Maea is you."
Then he glanced up at the open air above them. "I'm going to go check on the path again. Follow me." With that, he leapt into the air again and shifted, wings pumping. He gained enough altitude to spot the nearest way out, and began flying above it, hoping to lead her through.
Of course, that was when the squirrels started firing thorns at him. He honked in outrage as they shot towards his feathers, and he tried to weave and dodge through the air frantically as he made his way towards the ground so he could land.
what goes, let go
LOREN
