MAEA
It started in the morning when the sun rose up and she couldn't quite smile even though the sky was blue. It started with clawing herself awake from a nightmare that felt just a little bit too real. It began as an ache behind her eyes, in her teeth, between the shoulderblades, a suffocating sensation of being caged in, tied down, unable to move - and not in the fun way, where the worries could be kissed away and warm hands were there to show her the path to freedom. No, this was the kind of choking that had her running for the nearest portal, desperately throwing herself through the space-between until the vibrant light and balmy ocean breeze of Torchline could assure her that, yes, she was still awake. Still alive, still free from a cage that should have opened a year ago (but oh, it still felt like weeks, just a few measely weeks).
But still, still the pressure over her lungs haunted her steps as she roamed through the city, weighed her feet down as she waded through tidal pools and over sandy beaches, and it persisted all the way to the high cliffs of Aumakua where the lighthouse cast its guiding rays into the ocean, stained violet hues reds and blues from a setting sun. Out here the wind was stiff and almost cold, and as she breathed it in and felt the surge of the sea sing through her veins Maea was finally, finally able to breathe. Deep, starved breaths as though she'd been deprived for too long, drowning (and she had drowned, in the eyes of a man, only a stones throw from here. The taste of his mouth was still fresh in her memory and if she closed her eyes she could almost feel him there behind her, just out of reach) and only now was able to breach the surface.
Climbing up onto the rocks she found a ledge to stand on, overlooking the sea as it surged and swelled somewhere far below. The ache between her shoulders was a pounding menace, rising and falling with the crashing waves or perhaps sighing along with the billowing wind, and she pawed at her back. Clawed at the fabric of her dress, as if something was crawling under the skin (it was, but only magic) and and she could make it go away (she couldn't) if only she was able to reach it...
Then, a particularly strong gust of wind threw into her from the side, and Maea found herself teetering on the edge, swaying dangerously as her balance was disrupted. Below, blue, above, blue, and for a moment, a swindling, dizzying second she almost wished to fall, to fly, to be engulfed by the vast, endless horizon.
With a snap something broke within her, sprung free from the core of magic within her soul. Vast, white and glistening, a pair of wings burst out from her back and stretched far out to either side of her small frame. Though they were nearly weightless there was a slight resistance against the wind as it caught in shimmering feathers, just enough to steady her... and the girl gaped at them. Bewildered, utterly aghast at the sight of them as her head snapped to one side, and the other, trying desperately to see her own back.
"What...?"
The word was snatched away from her lips, weak and faltering, pleading someone to explain. Only, she'd come alone. Who could even begin to answer this question?
But still, still the pressure over her lungs haunted her steps as she roamed through the city, weighed her feet down as she waded through tidal pools and over sandy beaches, and it persisted all the way to the high cliffs of Aumakua where the lighthouse cast its guiding rays into the ocean, stained violet hues reds and blues from a setting sun. Out here the wind was stiff and almost cold, and as she breathed it in and felt the surge of the sea sing through her veins Maea was finally, finally able to breathe. Deep, starved breaths as though she'd been deprived for too long, drowning (and she had drowned, in the eyes of a man, only a stones throw from here. The taste of his mouth was still fresh in her memory and if she closed her eyes she could almost feel him there behind her, just out of reach) and only now was able to breach the surface.
Climbing up onto the rocks she found a ledge to stand on, overlooking the sea as it surged and swelled somewhere far below. The ache between her shoulders was a pounding menace, rising and falling with the crashing waves or perhaps sighing along with the billowing wind, and she pawed at her back. Clawed at the fabric of her dress, as if something was crawling under the skin (it was, but only magic) and and she could make it go away (she couldn't) if only she was able to reach it...
Then, a particularly strong gust of wind threw into her from the side, and Maea found herself teetering on the edge, swaying dangerously as her balance was disrupted. Below, blue, above, blue, and for a moment, a swindling, dizzying second she almost wished to fall, to fly, to be engulfed by the vast, endless horizon.
With a snap something broke within her, sprung free from the core of magic within her soul. Vast, white and glistening, a pair of wings burst out from her back and stretched far out to either side of her small frame. Though they were nearly weightless there was a slight resistance against the wind as it caught in shimmering feathers, just enough to steady her... and the girl gaped at them. Bewildered, utterly aghast at the sight of them as her head snapped to one side, and the other, trying desperately to see her own back.
"What...?"
The word was snatched away from her lips, weak and faltering, pleading someone to explain. Only, she'd come alone. Who could even begin to answer this question?
Lost in a world full of non-believers
Searching for smoke in a still water pond
Searching for smoke in a still water pond
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
