making waves

i've got a river for a soul

With a weary exhale, Remi can only offer the Madame a shrug. "Later on she said something about how Seren had a purpose and that Ronin was chosen specifically to be the father, and that, in the big scheme of things, she didn't need his permission." That wasn't doing it justice of course, but then, the alchemist wasn't exactly intent on being Safrin's defender.

"I don't know either. But I also don't think you can go through life here without finding yourself tangled with them." Remi's soft sea-glass stare meets Maeve's verdant one, and he can only shrug a touch hopelessly. "Especially with this war upcoming, I think staying out of it will not be a luxury afforded to many."

I'm a bad influence

He's right and she hates it. She doesn't want to be involved in the war or with the gods or any of it. It was never on her list of things to do. Plenty of other things were, though. Like falling in love, having a family, keeping her workers safe, taking care of those important to her. Those were the things she wanted to do. Not fight in wars or make deals with gods. Except she's helpless against the oncoming warm. How can she keep them safe on her own? How can she take care of those around her if she's just her? All of these thoughts swirl in her head, pinching her brows together and taking away that normally easy smile.

A sigh pushes past her lips and she meets his gaze, "In truth Remi, I'm scared of them. I know that might be silly... Seeing as I'm an Accepted and everything, but I am. My parents didn't tell me much about them. No one did really." Her cheeks flush as she recalls her discussion with Sunjata. How silly she felt to learn of the reason they never answered her before. "I haven't prayed since I was a child. I didn't know then that they were locked away. I didn't know until recently. I've been considering trying again."

but damn I'm fun
 

Maeve

i've got a river for a soul

'You are right to be.' The alchemist says with an immediacy that borders on interruption. The look he offers the Madame is one of soft despair, his sea-glass green eyes full of trepidation and worry. 'I have always heard that accepted means you are favoured...and certainly that seems true with many accepted I have known...but I think it also means you are seen as...things to win. Free to join either side, you are something to be coveted, but more so now because of the war.'

That she was thinking of trying again wasn't much of a surprise. It was just as he said—there was no avoiding the inevitable. "Just be smart." He offers with a boyish smile, not meaning to suggest that she wouldn't be, but not knowing her well enough to say otherwise. "If you go to Ludo, bring a game. If you go to Frey, bring offerings of fruit and wear as little as you are comfortable with. And Safrin? Well. Anything that might stroke her ego."

I'm a bad influence

The worry in his eyes causes her to take pause and she presses her lips together, meeting that sea glass gaze as she draws in a breath. He confirms something she always felt to be true. A nagging feeling that she wasn't ever really capable of shaking. That they didn't want her because they truly cared or loved her, but because of what she could potentially do for them. A prize to be won. Something to add to their shiny collection and the thought of it makes her sick to her stomach. So she decides to voice this feeling, thinking that if anyone might possibly understand, it's him. "I've always felt that it's more about what we can do for them. That we're simply tools. I'm not sure I believe that they love us the way that we're meant to love them. Maybe they can't because they're gods, but..."

She sighs, trailing off as her eyes turn back to the water, toes digging a little more forcefully in the sand as her confusion on the matter grows thicker. He offers further advice and a smile that she accepts with one of her own. Something softer and a bit more subdued, but a smile none the less. "Thank you for talking to me about this. I couldn't help but feel that I wasn't getting the whole picture. That people were... sugar coating things for me."

but damn I'm fun
 

Maeve

i've got a river for a soul

Swallowing hard, the alchemist rolls his shoulders in an uneasy shrug. "I think...Safrin likely does love Ronin, in her own twisted way. But no, it is not a love the way we love one another. It is something else. I do not know if that is what makes it seem cruel, but..." Trailing off, Remi too feels a sourness in the back of his throat.

Chuckling under his breath, though there is no real amusement in it, Remi leans over slightly to nudge her shoulder with his. "Well, that is another thing about me. You will not find me sugar coating much of anything, other than my tea." Much to Ronin's disapproval.

And so there they sit, enjoying the waves for a few moments longer, their toes digging craters into the sand that the tide will fill in as soon as they leave.

~FIN