[SE] Oh, Valley of Plenty

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.