[SE] Oh, Valley of Plenty

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies The VlamVloed was pretty. And brassy. And all the things Maea was not. She felt decidedly out of place as she slipped inside, moving from the brightness of the sweltering outdoors to the cool, dim bowels of the bar. Behind her, the door closed with a soft clank, steeping her in shadows and silence. Blinking and waiting to let her eyes adjust to the soft light, the short, pale-faced girl looked around, not quite sure what to make of it. It was a far cry from the Rathskeller she had grown up with. Where the old establishment had been all rustic woods and battered comfort, this place exuded something else. A feeling she did not quite have the words for. Nothing so lofty as nobility, nor as mundane as pride. It was more to do with... class, and style, and a kind of living she had very little in common with. Nevertheless, she had business here, and a purpose in coming that did not disappear because of some personal dismay that this new thing was different from what she was familiar with. Stepping up to the bar, she looked about the empty room - it was too early in the day even for the most avid of drunks to have returned to the revelry - and called for attention in a voice that was not entirely confident. "Hello? Anyone here?" ---- Sunjata

SUNJATA

Despite everything that had happened, the bar itself continued to go on without a hitch. And he still expected himself to be there for it to ensure it worked out well enough that he might have a time where he doesn’t need to worry about it as much. But for today, it was early still and he was off in the back taking his time putting things together, figuring out the best way to just try not to put too much work into things for a slight edge of annoyance that Nate might come barging through the doors yelling at him about how he should be on bedrest.

Oh well, if it happened it happened.

But he doesn’t expect the light voice that he hears, and after a moment, he appears from the back wearing a dark navy sleeveless shirt with all his equally navy wing tattoos on display that flare down the front and backs of his arms, the compasses on each side of his neck that when he rounds and stands on his side of the bar before her, the north points toward her. “Sorry about that, was just getting things ready for the day.” He offers, steel gaze flitting down to her – standing nearly a foot and a half taller than she. Placing his hands on the bar, clasped before him where the ring glints within the light he offers her a gentle smile of greeting. “What can I do for you?”

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies Turning her attention towards the man who appeared at her call, Maea took him in with quick glances. She knew him by name only, as the man who had just recently married Phoebe in a rather confusing wedding that surely would go to the history books as being among the weirder ones. Beyond that? Nothing. Too much had been missed during her absence, and she was not one to fish for information about people before she went to meet them. A flaw, perhaps. One she might have to amend, on her path to becoming a proper Loreseeker. Knowing how to separate truth and lie and understand what could and should not be addressed could be important one day. But today was not that day. Today she was reverting to Farmer Maea running an errand, so she tried to disregard the tattoos - what did they mean? - and set aside her discomfort in the presence of a stranger (did he have to be so tall?). "I was hoping you could help me take some spirits off my hands," she explained. Approaching the bar, and the proprietor, she stopped at a healthy distance, reserved as could be in her simple dress and black shawl. "My name is Maea Valair, my family used to deliver for the Rathskeller." Used to. But no longer. Because there was no family left, and now there was no farm either. "I'm closing down, though, and there's a bit of stock left. Cider, mostly. Some mead, and a batch of apple wine that I can't vouch for the quality of. It was an experiment of my brother's..." A beat. A touch of pain in pale eyes, there and gone again before she could school her face back into a neutral politeness.

SUNJATA

Ah, it’s a surprise for him as he hears the question that she poises to him. An offer to take some spirits off her hands? Probably some of the better news he’s had as of late, and his smile grows a bit brighter at the prospect, letting her approach the bar and finish her explanation. Hands unclasp and settle along the surface of the bar as his fingers idly tap along the top, missing the glimmer in her eyes of pain – one he’s known far too well, far too intimately to be seeking it out with strangers.

So instead he inclines his head to her at the offer. “I’m sorry about the state of the Rathskeller.” He begins, refraining from mentioning how he’d helped Loren burn it down last LongNight. “But we could always use more of… Well, everything you’ve mentioned. What’s the price for them?” He asks with a tilt of his head, something decidedly avian in nature about it, steel eyes scanning her in his curiosity.

What would she have him do in order to take them off her hands?

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies It was deceptively easy to fall back into the role she had played for so long. Bartering, doing business... once it had been the only face anyone ever saw of her. The Valaire girl, come to speak for her father, her brother, for the farm and the business. The Apple family, the ones with the sheep and the trees. Just Maea. It was a relief to be able to leave it behind, in truth. But what would the new her need in order to get her feet back on the ground? One couldn't start over without clothes on her back, food in her belly and a roof over her head. Before she would have asked for lumber, nails, seed or hands to help with the harvest come Leafchange. Now... Shifting, she touched the surface of the bar with light fingers. They weren't trembling, nor did her voice, but there was something very tentative in her eyes as she looked about. "Do... you have rooms here? I've been looking for lodgings. If I could stay for a while, eat and sleep, I'd consider it an even trade." Perhaps a bit generous, but seeing as her house was no longer habitable and that the weeds were growing thick on meadows where sheep used to graze, she could not afford to be picky.

SUNJATA

The repayment offer… Isn’t what he’s expecting at all. But it’s something he can easily offer in exchange for it – a more hands-off sort of approach to dealing with it which works well for him in his current state. And he fidgets for a moment with the ring as he dips his head to her in his own quiet form of agreement. “I’ve got a few.” He offers, his accented rumble crossing the distance between her. But then he slips away from standing before her off to the side of the bar, nearby the hallway that leads down to where the rooms are located.

“I think they’re all open right now so you can take your pick. Stay however long you need as long as you don’t start trouble.” He offers, looking back to her with a lighter smile. Though if he’s being honest, she doesn’t particularly seem like a trouble maker. Looks can be deceiving, however, as he’s fully aware of. Provided she follows, he’ll lead her to the three rooms located here, all doors open and each room cleaned – decorated with bits of blue and bronze throughout. Nothing ornate, but nothing plain either. A sort of middle of the road approach.

“I’m Sunjata, by the way.” He offers, recalling he had completely forgot to introduce himself after she had introduced herself earlier, and he leans against the hallway wall as he lets her take her pick before he can tell her about how she could go about finding food and drink and what not – whether she’d prefer if it were brought to her room.

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies Her feet made hardly any sound against the floor as she followed him. There was much to look at in this place. A way of decorating things she was not familiar with, trinkets and baubles on the walls, vivid colors. For so long Maea's world had been black and white, ruled by a desaturated somberness where color was almost vulgar. A gesture of defiance to the stats quo, a scream of protest against the pointlessness of life lived in a cage. The colorful flowers and opulent display of the wedding had been a shock to her senses, and this place was similarly gaudy in her eyes. A proof, if ever she needed one, that the owner was not from here. But more and more, it felt as though she was the one who did not belong anymore. Even if she smiled at the slight joke, and nodded a polite greeting as he belatedly introduced himself. Looking over the rooms he showed her, Maea felt somehow numb to it all. Perhaps it was sparse in his eyes, modest and balanced... to her it was indulgent. "Yes, I know," she replied, a bit absently. "I was at yours and Phoebe's wedding. I suppose congratulations are in order?" There was a question there, that asked if it was indeed something to celebrate. While Maea didn't know anything of the drama that surrounded the marriage, no one could have missed the tension that hovered in the air on the appointed day. Even someone as dense - and disinterested - as her could not avoid seeing that maybe something wasn't entirely alright.

SUNJATA

She takes in the room, and he stands by to let her inspect it and see if there’s anything else she may need before he shows her the rest of the area, but he pauses long enough to introduce himself. He only smiles slightly – perhaps a bit awkwardly – when she mentions having been at his wedding. His eyes widen a fraction before he exhales and runs a hand along the side of his neck over one of the scars he bears and one of his tattoos. “Ah. Thank you.” He admits, though a part of him feels awkward and strange about the entire thing.

“It was not expected to go that way.” He offers – in case it helps the awkwardness of it any. It likely doesn’t, but he hopes it does at least ease his own awkwardness. “I, at least, hadn’t expected Frey to show. I had sort of hoped to just get it over with.” He rumbles, awkwardly refraining from fiddling with the enchanted wedding ring, refraining from looking at it as he moves away from the door to return around to the front, where places had been set for requests and requirements for people staying within the rooms.

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies A soft chuckle at the admission; no, she doubted anyone would have foreseen the appearance of Rae's Herald. Nor the strange turn of events that followed. But what could you expect? Frey was a living natural disaster as far as Maea was concerned, as likely to wreak havoc as to actually help. "I got the feeling that Frey was thinking along the same lines," she gently teased. Picking the last room, furthest away down the corridor, Maea simply closed the door to mark it as her own and followed Sunjata back towards the bar. "It's... been a while, but I do consider Phoebe a friend. I hope you will be happy together." Platitudes. Words. She hadn't even gone to see Phoebe about selling the farm yet, let alone to wish her good fortunes. Did the midwife even know Maea was alive and returned? She'd been so caught up in other things, and with no inclanation of making a spectacle of her existence. Though perhaps that would have made things easier.   Letting Sunjata show her around the establishment, absorbing information about food, mealtime, locations of sanitation and backdoors for emergency exits, Maea wasn't sure she quite grasped the reality of the whole situation. That she would be living here from now on, for the foreseeable future. It was a foreign concept, nothing she had ever even considered before, and yet here she stood. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. She sighed.

SUNJATA

At her gentle tease, Sunjata offers a lighter smile in return, the awkwardness departing him slightly as he nods. But he doesn’t have anything to say after that, not at least until after she’s claimed her room and they’re moving on down the hallway once more. At the mention of being Phoebe’s friend, he casts a glance back at her with a raised brow. “Ah, I hadn’t known.” He offers apologetically – having not known she was one of Phoebe’s friends.

“Her and I have had a bit of a… Long, rocky relationship. But we’re trying.” He admits, a roll of his shoulders. Absentmindedly, his right hand fingers trace the scar along the same palm as he shows her a bit around the bar – where she could go to request, where she could go if she needed to leave, things of the sort. It doesn’t take too much time, and its long before the bar even opens anyway.

Afterwards, he rounds back towards the bar, gesturing for her to take a seat if she should wish it. “Can I get you something to drink and eat for the time being, though? Get to know one of my wife’s friends and contributor to my bar?” It’s another light gentle tease toward the end, but the offer is there and honest. A crooked smile that’s almost boyish crosses his face before there’s a loud thunk, and a plume of black and iridescent wings dives toward him.

His companion, Haai, settles along his shoulders like some sort of scarf – her emerald gaze inspecting Maea from her new perch as she digs her claws into his shoulders as he exhales a small oomph when she makes contact. “Ah, and this is Haai. She’s here when I am.” He offers – the griffin offering a small howl of her own from her dark maw, her tongue slipping out lopsidedly.

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies "I've been away for a long time," she explained softly, "and I haven't had the chance to stop by since I returned. I wasn't even aware... last I heard, she was still trying to make it work with Emmett." How fortunes changed. Maea had heard that her neighbor and childhood acquaintance had not made it through the year, and the loss of him stung, like with so many others. But death and the passing of familiar faces was unfortunately as much a part of her life as it ever had been. The fall of the barrier had done nothing to change that. So Maea forced herself to say his name as though it didn't hurt, as if this void of missing days and lost moments did not make her want to bash her head with clenched fists and scream. Slipping onto the proffered seat, she tried to relax and make herself comfortable, even though she had yet to accustom herself to the surroundings. At the offer for refreshments, she heistated but nodded gratefully - she'd never admit that she'd eaten less than she should for a while, and that sitting inside with a proper roof overhead was a newfound luxury. "Thank you, yes. If it's not too much trouble, " she replied. Even knowing she'd just made a bargain for it, Maea felt odd to impose before opening hours. Stiff, tense, as if waiting for something to go wrong, for Sunjata to pounce, or turn sour. The sudden appearance of the griffin was a godsend as it gave her something new to consider; the tiny howler made her face light up in a genuine smile, softening the cast of her eyes into something far kinder. "Oh, she is precious! A griffin, isn't she? Though not the same kind as Isuma..." Eagerly Maea held out her hands for the small creature, inviting it closer should it so desire.

SUNJATA

At her explanation, it sort of makes sense. And his head tilts toward her curiously as she mentions Emmett – someone whom he’d never met, had passed before he’d had a chance to meet him, had passed awhile before Sunjata had even met Phoebe – the midwife having mourned briefly before the Flood had walked into her life. Well, swam mostly. He inhales briefly, nodding to Maea. “I met her after Emmett passed. The end of last LongHeat actually was when we met.” He explains, as if it gives some sort of timeline. “She loved him very much, though. Still does.” He adds at the end, a small smile, as if it made any sort of difference at all.

At the mention of food, however, he nods and offers a small roll of tattooed shoulders. It wasn’t a problem, not when she’d be giving plenty in return. He pauses briefly to step toward the back, shouting something far enough to the kitchen within, before he returns as Haai comes to investigate, and he watches as Maea’s face almost lights up at that.

The griffin, completely intrigued by the woman, peers forward and sniffs at the hands offered before brushing her cheek against one of Maea’s palms. “She’s not, no. Part wolf, part magpie.” He offers with a small smile. “I found her early Flowerbirth, I think she’s likely going to get a lot bigger than Isuma.” A deep rumble of a chuckle. Indeed, the griffin was already pretty close to the size of Isuma as is, and she wasn’t quite that old yet.

Sunjata then begins to fill a glass with water to start Maea off, his ring tinking against the glass of the bottle before he slides the drinking glass toward her. “I’ve got some wine, some juices, some kinds of flavored water as well if you’d prefer one of those?” He asks after a moment, head tilting slightly as he waits to see what she has to say.

i'll never be that me again

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies "Considering the size of those paws, I'd say you're right," Maea agreed, happily stroking the gryphon with gentle hands. She examined the peculiar mix of canine and avian features, touching carefully on the seam on the shoulders where fur became feather, her curiosity palpable. While not unheard of, these familiars were rare still rare enough that she reveled in the chance to examine one up close, all her Loreseeker instincts kicking in at once. "Has she showed any signs of ability yet? Some are supposed to have quite extraordinary talents... like the healing and speed of unicorns, for example." Hardly aware that Sunjata had gone off to give directions to the kitchen, Maea looked up from Haai when he put the water in front of her, and shook her head at the offer for something else. "Thank you, juice is fine. I've never been very good with alcohol... which is ironic, considering it's been part of the trade." Just not her trade.

SUNJATA

There’s a knowing nod sent Maea’s way with a slight smile curving the corners of his lips. But the enjoyment that Haai is receiving from the scratches Maea gives. There’s a small groan of a hum that slips from her throat, head angling and nuzzling Maea until she decides to try and invade the pale girl’s space, to settle along the edge of the bar with her head along Maea’s forearm should the woman let her.

The question, however, if she’s shown any signs has him nodding once he returns. “No healing, but she can breathe fire so.” Another slight quirk of his lip. “She has a tendency of puffing a bit of smoke in the face of those she doesn’t like.” He says out of experience, as though Haai had done it numerous times to just simply annoy him. And it had worked, in a way.

But he slides the water over to her, listening to her explain that she’s not particularly good with alcohol. He snorts lightly but nods regardless, pouring another glass of the juice they have currently, sliding that over to her as well. “I didn’t have a taste for it until I turned seventeen. After that? Well, it was almost a staple.” A slight shrug. The reasons of why he got into drinking so heavy, into making the bar, go unsaid. In a pleasant conversation like this, he didn’t need to turn it dark.

Besides, he doesn’t really know her all that well yet.

i'll never be that me again