You're so cold
but you feel alive
Then again... Sunjata wasn't known for his ability to make good decisions. At least he waited until they were out of earshot before he tried again. She listened - because she always did whenever people spoke, whether they believed it or not - and his boldness in braving her chill was rewarded with the barest glance in his direction.
Oh, she saw the darkness. The cracks that spiderwebbed across a glass pane from whatever knives edge she was holding against him. Perhaps the quiet was more damaging than any words she used, because it left him alone with his own thoughts. Perhaps, she thought, she should just leave him like that. See if he could figure out for himself why she was being cold with him.
But while not wise, Sunjata wasn't exactly stupid either. He knew what he had done.
Without much response to his offer, his words, Maea watched him take a stance and fire the arrow. It was a smooth stroke, a deft shot that struck true and made it look very easy. Lifting her own bow, she inspected it the way her brother had once taught her, a long time ago. Checking that the limbs were not notched, that the bow was straight and the arrow sight undamaged. She ran a finger down the string, making sure that it was whole, and with two fingers she pulled it back to her ear - '..with your back, Maea sweet, not your arms..' - to get a sense for the weight of it. Releasing slowly, so that the recoil would not damage the bow or her own unguarded arm, she nodded to herself. It was all pointless, of course. Sunjata would have made sure the bow was in working order before he handed it to her. She'd expected no less, and yet had checked it all the same.
Trust was something to be earned, and he had already damaged what little she'd given.
Still. Maea threw him a lifeline even as he sank into that broken darkness. Throwing a glance at him as she turned sideways towards the target, she raised a single, white brow.
"I'm listening."
Pulling an arrow from the quiver and nocking it to the string, she raised the bow and sighted down the arrow at the target, squinting a little. For a moment she held, straining against the weight, then loosed. And missed. The arrow shot straight over the right shoulder of the target and bounced off the innocent wall beyond it.
Oh, she saw the darkness. The cracks that spiderwebbed across a glass pane from whatever knives edge she was holding against him. Perhaps the quiet was more damaging than any words she used, because it left him alone with his own thoughts. Perhaps, she thought, she should just leave him like that. See if he could figure out for himself
But while not wise, Sunjata wasn't exactly stupid either. He knew what he had done.
Without much response to his offer, his words, Maea watched him take a stance and fire the arrow. It was a smooth stroke, a deft shot that struck true and made it look very easy. Lifting her own bow, she inspected it the way her brother had once taught her, a long time ago. Checking that the limbs were not notched, that the bow was straight and the arrow sight undamaged. She ran a finger down the string, making sure that it was whole, and with two fingers she pulled it back to her ear - '..with your back, Maea sweet, not your arms..' - to get a sense for the weight of it. Releasing slowly, so that the recoil would not damage the bow or her own unguarded arm, she nodded to herself. It was all pointless, of course. Sunjata would have made sure the bow was in working order before he handed it to her. She'd expected no less, and yet had checked it all the same.
Trust was something to be earned, and he had already damaged what little she'd given.
Still. Maea threw him a lifeline even as he sank into that broken darkness. Throwing a glance at him as she turned sideways towards the target, she raised a single, white brow.
"I'm listening."
Pulling an arrow from the quiver and nocking it to the string, she raised the bow and sighted down the arrow at the target, squinting a little. For a moment she held, straining against the weight, then loosed. And missed. The arrow shot straight over the right shoulder of the target and bounced off the innocent wall beyond it.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
