[SE] the joy of youth is to disobey

"Well, it's beautiful," they declared, before addressing the orb directly. "You're beautiful, thank you for coming out and brightening my day."

And then back to Miss Valair, who, while not a magical glowing ball of light, was a far better conversationalist. "So Ludo gave you a quest, and you got to meet Shii while you were doing it. That's nice. I mean, it's not exactly like Ludo gave you a new companion, but it facilitated that for you, at least. And, y'know, it gave you clothes, too," with a nod to the Rags. "Maybe it's kind of hard to say you're 'friends' with a God, but...you're friendly at least. That's..." how to put it? "...good, but not in a usual way. I just mean that most people don't even get all that familiar with the gods, and you've got this unique connection to one."

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

Shii pulsed even brighter at that, and actually braved the sunlight to swoop out and loop once around the youths head. But then it returned to Maea and nestled back into the folds of Ludo's Rags, content to remain close to its bonded. Maea didn't insist on making it be more polite, rather appreciating the rare chance to have the wisp close for once.

Her attention returned to Quanil when they started speaking again. Blinking slowly, she tried to understand where the youth was going with this.

"Are you trying to console me? Or tell me I'm fortunate? That I should be grateful?" She looked amused, but in a guarded way. It was a sensitive topic, which Quanil should be well aware of. How often did Abandoned ever get to interact with the gods? If it was gratitude, then Maea already felt it. If she was fortunate, then she knew that as well. Intimately.

But if it was some attempt to console her for not having the favor an Attuned, or an Accepted might have...? Then it rankled more than a little, and she was not so overseeing as to be ready to accept that from someone she didn't even know.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

"Oh, no, I'm just... well, babbling again. I wouldn't tell you how to feel; that seems... pointless?" Their brow furrowed as they considered that concept. "You feel how you feel about it. I mean, we can change how we act, sure, but changing how you feel seems like it'd be really hard. And trying to tell someone how to feel would be kind of rude, really.

"No, I just was thinking about what it might be like to have this sort of relationship with a god, and I wanted to make sure you didn't think I thought it was bad when I said it was different because I know you..." They hesitated, but oh well, too late now. They pushed on, admitting with some sadness, "You've had a lot of people treat you badly because you were different. I didn't want you to think I was one of them so... good different. Or, at least, not bad different."

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

She raised a brow at the convoluted explanation, but her stance relaxed, not as much on edge anymore. It was stupid to let herself be riled by a kid, but some habits died harder than others, and while Maea had come a long way since that LongNight when the Spark Bird appeared, some sores just didn't heal as quickly as others.

"I didn't think you were," she replied, soberly. "But then, I usually don't pay much attention to what people say. I prefer to trust their actions." Because people lied, but patterns were honest.

Maea shifted her weight between her feet, threw a glance at the sun and adjusted the satchel on her shoulder. A bit restless. She'd come to Torchline with certain plans in mind, and this talk was nice, but also cut into her available time.

"Was there anything else you wondered about Torchline?" she asked, prepared to round things off unless there were other things that needed discussing.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

They nodded in agreement with Miss Valair's wisdom in preferring actions to words and resettled the pack on their back when they saw her do the same with her satchel.

"Oh, tons. Tons of things, but there's no point in being a Loreseeker if I don't hunt around and find out some of those things for myself." They were back to their usual easy-going smile. "Besides, we literally bumped into each other and I've probably taken up enough of your time as it is. It was very good of you to take so much time to help me, Miss Valair. I really do appreciate it, and if you ever need anything that I actually can help with, please let me know!"

Always eager to help, especially when they could help good people who'd helped them.

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

She grinned at the offer, and the grit of the youngster to figure things out for themselves. It was a mind to her liking, and she was happy to see that Quanil was taking their stint as Loreseeker more seriously than she had.

"That's the spirit," she said encouragingly. "And same to you, Quanil. If you ever need help, come seek me out. I don't know how much good I'll be, but I will definitely try."

With a lazy wave of her hand, Maea turned and walked off along the coast. As if drawn in, she angled herself closer and closer to the sea, until she was knee deep in the water once again.

But she didn't seem to mind.

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- FIN

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay