MAEA
She was not alone in her confusion, and it brought a strange sense of comfort to know that. Though she was a mess of tumbling thoughts, of new frightening sensations as his grip on her tighten - almost possessively, she thought - it was still far better than to stand on her own like she had a moment ago. Claws pricked her back through the thin cloth of her shift, not painfully but enough that she felt the sharpness of them, and she breathed a little deeper at the slight tug on her hair. It was... not unpleasant. Not at all.
Maea found she could still stand on her own two feet when he eased off a little, lowered down to kneel before her. The weight of him on her shoulders as he uses her for support was not more than she could bear - a curioius point of pride, that he would deign to do so at all - and she met his gaze as he looked up at her. A little confused. Perhaps more comfortable when she'd been able to hide away her face, yet... the raw emotions that shifted over his face made her keep looking.
Even as the claws vanished and were replaced by feathers, the horns remained. A shapeshifter, a chameleon... but Sunjata seemed unable to hide anymore, a bit lost in his own actions. Steadying herself ever so slightly, she raised her hands to cup his face again, touch featherlight against his skin.
"Where do we go, when we cannot go back?" she asked him, so quiet it was barely more than a whisper. A riddle, easy enough to answer; it was one her brother had reminded her of whenever she lost sight of where she was, what she wanted. Now she shared it with Sunjata.
And he did look lost. Even right before her eyes, with those compass points to show him the way. To answer her question for him. It helped her answer her own, and in the end it was very simple.
Maea found she could still stand on her own two feet when he eased off a little, lowered down to kneel before her. The weight of him on her shoulders as he uses her for support was not more than she could bear - a curioius point of pride, that he would deign to do so at all - and she met his gaze as he looked up at her. A little confused. Perhaps more comfortable when she'd been able to hide away her face, yet... the raw emotions that shifted over his face made her keep looking.
Even as the claws vanished and were replaced by feathers, the horns remained. A shapeshifter, a chameleon... but Sunjata seemed unable to hide anymore, a bit lost in his own actions. Steadying herself ever so slightly, she raised her hands to cup his face again, touch featherlight against his skin.
"Where do we go, when we cannot go back?" she asked him, so quiet it was barely more than a whisper. A riddle, easy enough to answer; it was one her brother had reminded her of whenever she lost sight of where she was, what she wanted. Now she shared it with Sunjata.
And he did look lost. Even right before her eyes, with those compass points to show him the way. To answer her question for him. It helped her answer her own, and in the end it was very simple.
