MAEA
Pick your battles. It was a valuable piece of advice, offered with a shrug and a smile and Maea was somewhat taken aback by the profound wisdom of it. She was an inherent overthinker, always looking for meaning behind everything, including the things she chose not to do. But Sunjata offered a delightfully simple way to handle it that suddenly answered several questions she'd asked herself on repeat over the years. Pick your fights. Change what you can. Learn to live with what you cannot change, and laugh while doing it.
She looked at Sunjata then, actually looked for what felt like the first time, and saw past the golden skin, the dripping curls - all those things that made her feel insecure and out of sorts - to the man behind it. Taking note of the well-trained physique, the scars, the tattoos she hadn't dared consider before, Maea realized that he was more than just a man. He was intelligent, indeed a fighter but with the brains to back it up. Why she was surprised, she couldn't say. Perhaps it was simple prejudice against a half of humankind she had very little experience with, or the stamp of 'Phoebe's husband' had kept her from bothering to look further.
In the end it didn't matter. The important thing was that some of the awkward nervousness drained from her, and she was able to take a deep breath, relax, and put some trust in him.
"Alright," she said, smiling a bit wider as she took the offered hand. "Fun it is. Fair warning though, if you let me drown I'm taking you down with me."
Easing herself down, Maea endured her lungs seizing and gasping until the water was up to her shoulders, then neck... Then she held her breath and ducked down beneath the surface. Returning back upp again, she blew water from her lips and pushed the shimmering white hair back from her face.
She looked at Sunjata then, actually looked for what felt like the first time, and saw past the golden skin, the dripping curls - all those things that made her feel insecure and out of sorts - to the man behind it. Taking note of the well-trained physique, the scars, the tattoos she hadn't dared consider before, Maea realized that he was more than just a man. He was intelligent, indeed a fighter but with the brains to back it up. Why she was surprised, she couldn't say. Perhaps it was simple prejudice against a half of humankind she had very little experience with, or the stamp of 'Phoebe's husband' had kept her from bothering to look further.
In the end it didn't matter. The important thing was that some of the awkward nervousness drained from her, and she was able to take a deep breath, relax, and put some trust in him.
"Alright," she said, smiling a bit wider as she took the offered hand. "Fun it is. Fair warning though, if you let me drown I'm taking you down with me."
Easing herself down, Maea endured her lungs seizing and gasping until the water was up to her shoulders, then neck... Then she held her breath and ducked down beneath the surface. Returning back upp again, she blew water from her lips and pushed the shimmering white hair back from her face.
