MAEA
Watching the exchange between Libbs and Wessex, Maea compared it to the response she garnered from the older woman and wondered what it was about her that irked the ascended so much. In so many ways, she and the outlander girl were polar opposites. Where Maea was cautious and reserved, Libbs were open and outgoing. Was that the reason? But the albino had once been open and inviting too. It had been beaten out of her quickly, by the constant rejection of others until only her closest family ever saw her cry or laugh easy and without restraint. Was it the unthinking curiosity, the daring audacity to tumble headlong into the unknown? That too had been taken out of her as a small child, because too much daring meant you wouldn't live long. And living was all that mattered on a farm. To survive another day, another year. Work the fields, reap the harvest, seed and plant and endure the terrors of Deepfrost until the sun returned and it would start again. Live the simple life, the quiet life, the life where you did not stick your head out or draw attention - because it was never a good thing to be different. Different got you killed.
In the end, she was only a product of her environment. Someone who stood out when she shouldn't, who had not been able to pull her weight for too many years. Different, weak, Abandoned. A hammer to be nailed back down - and oh, how well the hammer had struck. Escaping the mold she had been pressed down into was a slow and painful process, and in moments like these when she came face to face with the old crowd, Maea felt as though she was slipping all the way back to how she used to be. She wanted to withdraw, pull away, leave the conversation to these two who seemed to speak the same language. It would be so easy.
But she had decided to change. What would be the point of all the training and hard work if she couldn't even withstand this? Wessex was formidable in every sense, but she was still only one person. A bit more than human, perhaps, but... still mortal. And this was only a conversation in the woods, not a battle to the death.
Bowing her head in grudging respect at the revealed age, Maea considered the former Queen. "Perhaps children aren't the only ones who would benefit from that wisdom. I'm sure you have more to offer than skinned rabbits, Wise One." Forcing her hands down, Maea made herself actually look at the other. Meet her gaze, try to understand what she was seeing. Why things were the way the were between them.
In the end, she was only a product of her environment. Someone who stood out when she shouldn't, who had not been able to pull her weight for too many years. Different, weak, Abandoned. A hammer to be nailed back down - and oh, how well the hammer had struck. Escaping the mold she had been pressed down into was a slow and painful process, and in moments like these when she came face to face with the old crowd, Maea felt as though she was slipping all the way back to how she used to be. She wanted to withdraw, pull away, leave the conversation to these two who seemed to speak the same language. It would be so easy.
But she had decided to change. What would be the point of all the training and hard work if she couldn't even withstand this? Wessex was formidable in every sense, but she was still only one person. A bit more than human, perhaps, but... still mortal. And this was only a conversation in the woods, not a battle to the death.
Bowing her head in grudging respect at the revealed age, Maea considered the former Queen. "Perhaps children aren't the only ones who would benefit from that wisdom. I'm sure you have more to offer than skinned rabbits, Wise One." Forcing her hands down, Maea made herself actually look at the other. Meet her gaze, try to understand what she was seeing. Why things were the way the were between them.
