I've got some color back

Maeve

Coming to Stormbreak was perhaps one of the best things she could have done for herself. Remi was right about healing out of the rain. Each day it gets a little easier to breathe. Her body aches less and her head grows a little more clear. The first few days she did little more than rest. Once she got her strength back, Maeve was more than happy to help around the home of her hosts. Mateo was an utter delight and watching the boy was more than enough of a distraction for her. They spent many an afternoon playing in the living room or coloring. Maeve told him all sorts of stories. They talked about plants and animals and how he helped his Da gather stones for Ludo. As much as a five year old can really talk, of course. She even taught him a few words of French. It was refreshing.

So today Maeve decided to actually get out of the house. She still hasn't let Locke know she's here, but she's going to. She just needs a bit more time to get herself sorted. To rest. It's not a conversation she's sure she's really ready to have. Not when she has a feeling it's not going to go the way she would like it to. Nothing to really be done for it now.

After doing a bit of shopping and finally getting herself some clothes that weren't blatantly stolen from Ronin and Remi, Maeve heads for the Celestine. It was one of the places Mateo told her about in between asking questions about her hair and the cuts on her hands. Maeve had to see for herself it really was a garden of stars. Maybe she could tell Safrin about it the next time she spoke to her. Surely the goddess would like to know that Maeve enjoyed one of her creations immensely.

The Madame meanders slowly through the gardens until she finds a patch of grass littered with flowers, stars dancing in the boughs of trees that hang overhead. She slips off the path, laying down in the soft grass and drawing a joint from a little metal case inside the packet of her dress. Carefully she lights it, bringing it to her lips as she allows her focus to get lost in the stars that seem to swirl and float above head, dancing aimlessly. Maeve blows out a slow stream of smoke, taking one of the deepest breaths she's managed in days.

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

A  gust of wind blowing through the gardens from the sea made the boughs of trees and shrubs bend and sway at its touch. The scent of soil and flowers was joined by a tang of salt, gone again as quickly as it arrived. Over the rustle of leaves a faint humming sound could be heard, as eerily beautiful as it was haunting. Seren paused in her step and cocked her head to listen. It was difficult to tell where the noise stemmed from, but she continued along the path all the same. With all the bends and twists of the path she was bound to come close sooner or later. If the wind was stronger it would have been easier, but that would have meant rain. It would have meant being cooped up in the barracks, and that... she did not think she could stand that.

Bare feet made scarcely a sound as she padded along, walking just off the path so that the soft grass could soothe her aching soles. The shoes she carried in her hands were heavy. Putting them on again would be awful, and telling herself that it was her own choice to wear them did not make them feel any lighter. But it was all good. She only needed a break. A small one, and then she would go back.

When a new scent reached her, the raven-haired girl wrinkled her nose. It was smoke, sweet and pungent at the same time; a smell that did not belong here in the twilit garden. Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Seren looked around in search for the origin, and spotted a woman lying in the grass beyond the path. There was a cigarette in her hand, and more of the smoke rising from her mouth. It coiled lazily through the air, until another breeze snatched it away.

"That's not good for you," Seren gently pointed out, and approached the stranger. "You are going to damage your lungs."

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

There was something about choosing not to think. Her mind drifting just as lazily as the smoke from her joint before it was swept away by a gentle breeze from the sea. Maeve wasn't paying much mind to her surroundings. There wasn't really a need to be on guard here. Which is why she didn't notice the other woman approaching. Not until a voice carrying a gentle warning reaches her ears. The Madame props herself up on her elbows, muscles protesting weakly as she does so. Her head cocks to the side, dark curls shifting with the movement as bright green eyes drag over the woman's form.

The dragoon recruit uniform hugs her gentle curves and Maeve doesn't bother to hide the way her eyes trail from the top of her head all the way down to her bare feet. A slow, almost saccharine sweet smile curls on lightly painted lips that she wets with a swipe of her tongue as a perfectly shaped brow arches. "Is that so?" She purrs smoothly, bringing the joint back to her lips, drawing in another breath of the milky sweet smoke, "What does a pretty little thing like you know about what I'm smoking?" Upon closer inspection, were Seren familiar with such things, it would be clear that this isn't just a cigarette. It's hand rolled and the smoke coming from it smells too earthy and honeyed to be nicotine.

Maeve blows out the breath of smoke, letting the breeze carry it away as she crosses her legs at her ankles and the movement causes the slit in her skirt to shift, showing off long legs. Her own feet are bare, shoes resting to the side of her as she lounges her in the gardens.

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

The woman was pretty. More than pretty, actually, she was beautiful in a way that had color slowly creeping up Seren's cheeks. It was something in the way she moved. Slow and deliberate, like honey trickling from a comb. Or perhaps it was because she called Seren pretty. She'd received compliments before, of course, but not like this.

"Uhm.. well, not much," she admitted, her smile a touch awkward as she shifted her stance. "But smoke in general will irritate the membranes of the lungs if inhaled in excess. Even woodsmoke can cause damage over time. Cigarettes are far worse, of course." She gave the papered roll between the woman's fingers a pointed look. It was not the most convincing argument she'd ever made, but Seren at least thought she had the facts right. The thoughts did not come as readily to her mind as they usually did while looking at this person. Blue eyes flitted away, to fix instead upon a cluster of white flower near the lady's elbow.

Hm. Better.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

It wasn't often that Maeve made people blush just by looking at them, but that seems to be the case here. She watches that pretty pink flush rise onto Seren's cheeks and she laughs softly, the sound barely louder than the rustling leaves around them. Her tongue peeks out to wet her lips again, that plush bottom lip catching between her teeth as her smile grows. Wasn't she just adorable? Even with her awkward smile and the way she shuffles on her feet, "My... Aren't you smart." She coos and it isn't condescending. No, the girl has her attention now and Maeve is more than happy to let her hold it for the time being. She's feeling good, after all.

"Cigarettes are bad." Maeve agrees, dipping her head in a nod before that smile morphs into a smirk instead. "Guess it's a good thing this isn't a cigarette." She wiggles the joint a little between her fingers, another laugh bubbling up in her chest as the woman averts her gaze. How cute. Maeve brings the paper back up to her lips, drawing another hit from it, holding the smoke in her lungs before she blows it back into the breeze.

The other woman continues to stand and Maeve clicks her tongue, "Come sit for a spell. I promise I don't bite." She drawls, running the tip of her tongue across the slight point of her canine as she flashes another smile. "What's your name, love?"

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

Seren couldn't quite tell if the remark was meant as a quip or not. The slight rise of her eyebrows suggested she didn't think it was all that much to praise, and so she shrugged. It was only facts. "They look like cigarettes. And you are still inhaling smoke," she pointed out, the tone mild as before; she had no intention of arguing about it, nor would she try to stop the woman from continuing. It was an informed choice by now, after all.

At the invitation however, Seren hesitated. The scent of the not-cigarette made her a little queasy, and the occasional breaths of wind made the stones hum again. A low, droning sound that made the hair on her arms stand up in mingled terror and delight. "Oh, I'm... my name is Seren. Thank you, but I was looking for something, actually. You didn't happen to see a patch of bare stones somewhere around here?" It seemed rude to just leave, but then again the idea of sitting down next to that woman was as terrifying as it was tempting. Which... was completely illogical because she was nice. Right? A bit thirsty though, if the way she licked her lips was any indication.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

Another laugh bubbled out of her as she blew out a final stream of smoke, stubbing it out in the grass before putting it back into her little metal case. Alright, she'll play. "They do look like cigarettes. You aren't wrong. I can promise you it isn't as bad though." Maeve hummed, slipping the case back into her pocket as she relaxed back in the grass and the breeze carried the last of that sweet pungent smell away, replacing it instead with flowers from the gardens. Maeve wasn't interested in scaring her new acquaintance away so quickly. Not when she was one of the few new people that she'd run into her. Don't get her wrong, Ronin and Mateo were wonderful company, but Maeve wasn't good at doing nothing.

Seren? That name sounded familiar. If it wasn't for the fact that she was still recovering from her little accident and that the conversation she had with Remi about Ronin's daughter hadn't happened so long ago, Maeve likely would have put two and two together. Alas, that was not the case and she might pay for it later, but she couldn't find it in herself to care about an issue she didn't even know existed.

"Seren... Well isn't that a lovely name. Fitting, I would think." Maeve murmured, shifting lazily in the grass into a more comfortable position. "I'm Maeve and I can't say I have. I'm rather new to the area myself." Green eyes flicked back up to her as she peered up at the woman from beneath her lashes. "Sit with me for a bit and I'll help you look for them. I could do with some company." Another sweet smile curled onto her soft pink lips as she waited to see if the woman would accept her invitation or not.

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

Blinking in surprise as the joint was tucked away, Seren couldn't say what it was that made the woman suddenly change her mind. Surely not her convincing rhetoric, because there had been very little of that. But gone it was, and soon the smoke had cleared too, and the girl was running out of reasons to leave. So when Maeve not only introduced herself but asked for company, Seren complied and lowered herself into the grass a healthy distance away from the woman. Out of arms reach - it seemed safer. Why? She had no idea.

"Thank you. My mother named me," she murmured, and set the shoes down behind her. Out of sight, out of mind. Tucking a lock of curly hair behind an ear, she cast about for something else to add. Her gaze fell on Maeve's hands; the bashfulness was immediately replaced with concern. "Are you alright? Did something happen to your hands?" Not for the first time Seren wished she was able to heal. It didn't seem right, that a kind, beautiful individual should carry wounds like that.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

Finally, Seren took her invitation and sat down next to her. A fairly good distance away from her. Maeve didn't miss it and had she been less concerned with spooking the girl by teasing too much, she likely would have poked fun at her for it. The Madame let it go this time. There would likely be plenty more opprotunity for teasing later if she played her cards right. Maeve shifted herself so she could more easily look at the other woman, green eyes trailing lightly over her features. Piercing blue eyes, plush lips, a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. She was pretty. Gorgeous, even. With a bit of a doe eyed innocent look that Maeve rather enjoyed.

Maeve has to bite her tongue to keep from laughing again. It isn't a joke. She knew that Seren wasn't trying to be funny. Simply stating the truth, but her smile grew anyway and a huff of a barely formed laugh pushed past her lips despite her best efforts. "Did she tell you what it meant? Your name." Maeve asked curiously, arching a brow before Seren is drawing attention to the still healing scrapes on her hands. She looked down, flexing her fingers before waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, I'm fine, love. Just left over from a little accident. That's why I'm here, actually. Recovering."

The Madame has no qualms with sharing why exactly she was in Stormbreak. It wasn't a secret, "I live in Torchline, but it's monsoon season there and my home as well as my business were lost to the storms. Some friends are letting me stay with them until I get myself sorted out."

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

The conversation was so normal that she began to relax. It was ridiculous anyway, to feel flustered just because she was near a pretty person. Seren's mother was the most beautiful woman in the world - this and many others - and Safrin had never tied her stomach in a knot. Maybe it was something she ate?

"It means 'star'," she revealed, unbothered by sharing tidbits like these. "And I'm so sorry about your home. I grew up in Torchline. It's beautiful, but the weather really is the worst sometimes." Not that she had ever experienced a monsoon, but if it was capable of sweeping away whole buildings it was worse than the summer storms Seren had been there to see. No wonder Ronin wanted to wait for Longheat before returning.

"Do you at least like it here? I know it's not sandy beaches and fun times, but Stormbreak can be charming too." What little she had seen of it so far. Come to think of it, Seren realized she had spent by far the most time here in the Celestine. Which... did not say a lot.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

Had the Madame known the thoughts of the other women, she might have asked her to consider the fact that Safrin was her mother and Maeve very much wasn't. There is a reason for everything, sweet Seren. Including why your stomach is in knots. Which, in case your wondering, is definitely not because of something you ate. Alas, Maeve doesn't know her thoughts and therefore cannot share this wonderful bit of information.

"Star. I like it." Maeve replied with a soft hum, looking over at the women as a playful smile settled on her lips, "This is the part where you ask what mine means." She teased, tossing her a quick wink as another quiet laugh pushed past her lips. This shouldn't be so much fun, but it is and Maeve is enjoying herself. Just for a little bit she can forget about the mess waiting for her back in Torchline. The state of the Halenani and everything else she has to deal with. Instead she can just be a pretty stranger in a twilit garden who happened to be flirting with Ronin's daughter. No big deal.

Maeve shrugged her slender shoulders, "C'est comme ça." The Madame replied smoothly in French, sure that the other woman likely wouldn't know what she was saying. Not that it really mattered. It sounded pretty anyway. "You are right about that. It is certainly beautiful. Not that I get along all that well with the sun. My skin is a bit too fair to really enjoy it." As for liking Stormbreak, the Madame had no qualms with it thus far. Not that she had seen too much of it.

"I like it well enough. I haven't gotten around to too many places yet. This is actually one of the first outings I've had besides to get new clothes. Have you been here long? In Stormbreak, that is."

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

"Oh! I'm sorry," Seren corrected hurriedly, flushing slightly. "What does your name mean?" Was it too late for the interest to seem genuine? Honestly the matter of Maeve's health and well-being seemed more important at the moment, but it was a curious tidbit of information and she did not say no to those.

As for the french, Maeve was correct to think that Seren would not understand it. Tilting her head curiously at the foreign words, she nevertheless repeated them to herself, wordlessly mouthing the phrase over and over until the pronounciation was right. "'C'est comme ça'... what does that mean?" Trying to puzzle out the meaning herself led nowhere, as she had nothing to go on to compare the words with. "Not long... I only arrived a week or so ago. Safrin opened a path for me." Clearly distracted, Seren plucked a flower from the grass and twirled it between her fingers. See come saw? See, arrive and... no, that made no sense.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren

Maeve

It shouldn't be so endearing to watch the other woman's cheeks flush so prettily, but there was something about it. Maybe it was the fact that men didn't typically blush like this. Women, though? They were utterly divine when it came to their responses to flirting. Even though Maeve is fairly certain that Seren hasn't flirted a day in her life. A real crime. Guess it just meant that she was the first. "It means 'intoxicating'." She purred, shifting herself slightly closer to the other woman as her head tilted towards her, the smile on her lips shifting into something more devious and playful.

Seren tried her best to mouth the words, plush lips forming the syllables over and over again before she dared to try pronouncing them. Honestly, not too bad. The accent was a little off, but it was a good try. Maeve laughed softly, wrinkling her nose, "Very close to getting it right. C'est comme ça. It's French." She explained, repeating the phrase for her so she could hear the pronunciation again, "It means 'it is what it is'. Sounds a bit prettier the other way, no?" Maeve hummed, watching her pluck the stray flower from the patch of grass, twirling it between her finger tips.

"Safrin, huh? Where exactly did she open the path from?" Maeve asked, not nothing that she is perhaps about to open herself a can of worms. The pieces haven't clicked into place yet, but they're likely about to. Maeve gently took the flower from between her fingers, leaning over to slip it behind her head. "Hmm.. That's definitely more fitting. Didn't think you could get any lovelier, but I stand corrected."

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Oh what a sin

I saw a piece of heaven

"That... is interesting," the girl replied, though without great conviction. What kind of parent named their child after something like that? "And would you say that it is very accurate?" Perhaps she ought to be concerned about more than the smoking. Or rather, for herself? Difficult. Here's to hoping that the meaning did not carry across into this reality.

Speaking of words, a translation was promptly offered, and the young demigod nodded in agreement. The other language did flow better, even though she herself couldn't quite get it right. "French... That is not a language I am familiar with. What world does it stem from?" And here was where alarm bells perhaps might start to ring for Maeve. Were other worlds common knowledge among Caido naturals these days? "From the stars, of course," Seren continued with a slight laugh, as if the answer should have been obvious. "Mother let me stay with her for a time, but.. eh.."

Her voice faltered and the explanation died out as Maeve reached over and plucked the flower from her hand. The light touch as it was placed by her ear sent goosebumps skittering down her back, and Seren shifted where she sat, the color in her cheeks deepening. It must definitely be something she ate... and whatever it had been was apparently still alive. Fluttering about her stomach like a whole hive of modilu flies.

Waiting, impatient, for me
 

Seren