MAEA
He never raised his voice, but Maea felt the weight of his tirade all the same. Treading water to keep herself from being swept away by the current, she did not go far, just enough that they no longer touched. Her expression was serious as she listened, eyes keen and attentive; she did not back away from the abrupt change of topic, nor try to interrupt him.
In the end, when his words were spent and he looked at her for a reaction, she found the stormy gray eyes somehow hollow. Void, as if whatever light she'd thought herself see in there indeed had only been a reflection. Chewing on her lower lip, the girl considered him, the brief moment of intimacy they'd shared, the boundary they'd almost crossed.
"What is it that you want, then?" she asked. There was sympathy in her eyes, and the voice was soft. No blame, no derision or contempt, just... calm patience. Dipping her hair down into the water for a moment, she combed it back from the face; gazing at him with clarity. Watching, listening.
"I can't say I really understand your thinking. Did you do this because she told you to, just to prove her... wrong? Right?
"I... did not take you for the kind of person who'd go along with the wishes of others if they're so selfish and against all you want. What happened to 'picking your battles'? What of the pride in setting your own boundaries and sticking to them?"
It's what she was doing right now. And though she did lament the loss of something that surely would have been sweet, Maea felt all the stronger for doing so.
"If you truly do not want this, then leave. I would be far more impressed by someone who had the guts to admit a mistake and correct it, damn the loss of face, than anyone who damaged themselves and others for the sake of keeping face. That's what it really seems to be about to me. Not pride, just ego. You want to be right, not honorable."
She meant no disrespect with what she said, and the tone was mild, but knew it might cut all the same.
In the end, when his words were spent and he looked at her for a reaction, she found the stormy gray eyes somehow hollow. Void, as if whatever light she'd thought herself see in there indeed had only been a reflection. Chewing on her lower lip, the girl considered him, the brief moment of intimacy they'd shared, the boundary they'd almost crossed.
"What is it that you want, then?" she asked. There was sympathy in her eyes, and the voice was soft. No blame, no derision or contempt, just... calm patience. Dipping her hair down into the water for a moment, she combed it back from the face; gazing at him with clarity. Watching, listening.
"I can't say I really understand your thinking. Did you do this because she told you to, just to prove her... wrong? Right?
"I... did not take you for the kind of person who'd go along with the wishes of others if they're so selfish and against all you want. What happened to 'picking your battles'? What of the pride in setting your own boundaries and sticking to them?"
It's what she was doing right now. And though she did lament the loss of something that surely would have been sweet, Maea felt all the stronger for doing so.
"If you truly do not want this, then leave. I would be far more impressed by someone who had the guts to admit a mistake and correct it, damn the loss of face, than anyone who damaged themselves and others for the sake of keeping face. That's what it really seems to be about to me. Not pride, just ego. You want to be right, not honorable."
She meant no disrespect with what she said, and the tone was mild, but knew it might cut all the same.
