wrapped up widdershins

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

The mushroom moved. Seated on the crumbling remnant of what might have been a sign post of stone at one time, she had been staring at the sea. Rolling waves crashed around bare feet and soaked the frayed hem of her trousers, so that white lines of salt was left on the rough fabric. A wind tossed her hair into braided cord, pale as the salt and stark in the gloom of night. With only a sliver of moon overhead the landscape lay shrouded in a veil of darkness, where only the brightest of things managed to make an impression.

There was a cluster of mushrooms growing by the base of the stone. Pale caps just bright enough to be visible, attached to the back of a rodent. It moved again. Skittered closer. Closer. Nose trembling, whiskers twitching, as it sniffed at the edges of her coat.

Very slowly, Maea turned her head and looked at the creature. It froze, but when time dragged on and she did not stir again, it crept closer. Closer. Tiny paws scrabbled to catch a hold, and climbed onto her leg. Sneaky, sneaky, it crept further up. Sniffing to see if there was anything interesting in the pocket.

It would inevitably be disappointed. She carried nothing food-worthy on her; but the tiny burglar was sort of cute, so she let it continue its exploration. It was enough company for her, on a night like this.

Maea

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Far, far beneath the surface of the water, a monster begins to rise. With tentacles as long as trees and a body the size of a ship, the Kraken that swims towards the shoreline is surely the largest predator around for miles and miles; not even ghost whales consider him worth the effort. However what breaks through the moon bright crest of a wave is not the rubbery oblong skull of a Kraken, but a head sporting drowned curls overtop sea-green eyes.

Ruffling a hand through his hair to try and shed as much water as he could, Remi suddenly burst entirely into flame as he strayed away from the water. Unburned by his own fire, the alchemist found this a speedy way of drying himself off, though it came with the unfortunate side-effect of burning away his clothes. He really should speak to Ludo about that, but given how very late it was and how very far away he was from everything, Remi didn't expect to come across anyone at this time of night.

Only...

Looking like a ghost and not simply because of her complexion, the sight of Maea had Remi freezing midstep upon the sand. Suddenly free of flames and look wholly mortal (as mortal as a demigod could look, anyway), the alchemist narrows his eyes. "I have been seeing lots of strange things lately.." He calls into the darkness. "Things out of the corner of my eye...but you seem quite real."

Which was strange, because the last time he had seen Maea, she'd been swallowed by a ghostwhale.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

When the water surged and swelled, the moushroom let out a tiny squeak and darted off into the night. Maea looked after it, frowning in soft disappointment, before turning her attention to what rose from the deep. It had promised to be something vast, something impressive...

but in the end, it was just a man.

At least, until he set himself on fire. That was new. Even though she wasn't very close the young woman still shrank back from it, up on her feet in an instant when she realized who the man was. A bit on edge, not sure what to think. This was a far cry from the sad-eyed youth she had planted flowers with in her garden.

"I dare say you are the strangest thing around here," she suggested, an uncertain smile flashing through before it was gone again. "Hello, Remi. It's been a while." Three years, or so? Last time they met, she died soon after.

It was hard not to jump to conclusions, even if he had nothing to do with it last time.

Maea

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Tilting his head back and forth as if she were some sort of afterimage that he might be able to see through if only he could find just the right angle, it's the sound of his name on her lips that has Remi straightening. There's no fear in his expression, only evident confusion and a spark of curiosity. "Ohh...I am not so sure about that." He says skeptically, but not unkindlyu=. "You are a ghost, after all." He points out. Naked or not, Remi was still the demigod of death and if he was right about Maea being a ghost, it made sense that he might stumble upon her.

And if she wasn't?

Trick of Ludo's though this might be, Remi had never been much of a fan of spirits wearing the faces of his friends. If something had indeed taken on Maea's likeness, it would have the misfortune of learning all too quickly what a mistake that had been.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

A ghost? She blinked, then shook her head with a sad bit of laughter. "If only it was that simple," she replied. Withdrawing her hands from the pockets of the coat, she shrugged it off and approached him rather cautiously. Like he might suddenly lunge, or burst into flame again.

"I assure you, I'm quite real. Care for the coat? I don't know if it will fit, but..." It was better than straining to keep her eyes away from more private areas. Some might appreciate the situation, but Maea wasn't that kind of forward when it came to nudity. "Anyway, shouldn't you be able to tell ghosts from... people?" It felt wrong to say 'the living'. She wasn't sure she entirely counted to those, strictly speaking.

Maea

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Raising an eyebrow only for his expression to grow even more confused as she shed her coat and began to walk towards him with it, Remi tilts his head looking like a lion who is watching a mouse contentedly scurry between its paws.

'Uhm..?' The alchemist begins, only to realize why it was she was likely offering the garment. Blushing and looking all the more boyish for it, Remi offers an apologetic smile. "I would tear it, I think, but..." Closing his eyes, Remi pulls from his memory a pair of sweatpants and sweater, which he quickly shuffles into.

'That is more of Delphia's ability than mine.' He explains with a shake of his head. "But if you are not a ghost, then...what?"

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

Oh well. Why didn't he say he could think up clothes from thin air? She turned away while he dressed, and pulled the coat back on herself. Not because she needed it, but having something about her shoulders lent a certain comfort. The garment was over-sized, dragging by her feet as she turned back to face him; it made her look smaller than she actually was.

Something bitter twisted her mouth as he mentioned Delphia's name. "I thought it was obvious," she sighed, "but perhaps it isn't." Scrubbing the back of her neck with a hand, she wondered at how hard this was to say. Like making a confession at the altar, a testimony before a court. If ever she would be judged for her choices, wouldn't it be here? Faced with the demigod of her deity. Or former deity, she should say. Maea doubted that Ludo would speak to her again.

"I'm Ascended, Remi. The Voice brought me back. Is it.. two years ago, now? I thought you knew." She had been last to come through, but hardly the only one to emerge in Halo, in the midst of the Festival. She tried to smile, but it faltered and faded.

Maea

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Continuing to raise his eyebrows (there would come a point soon where they disappeared beneath his drying curls), Remi waited for the explanation. It was slow to come, but if he found this odd or frustrating, he gave no indication. When she finally speaks, proper understanding dawns on him and the alchemist finds himself surprised he hadn't come to this conclusion on his own.

"Ah.' He replies a touch stiffly. With the recent loss of all memories Isla-related, so too had Remi lost almost all of his understanding or sympathy for the ascended. "No, I did not." Regarding Maea anew, the alchemist considers for a moment. "I am sorry for how you died..." He offers, swallowing. "We...none of us had any idea..." Now with the man he was, things would have been much different. Then again, with the woman she was, things already were.

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

Maea never knew of his penchant for Isla, and so expected nothing but that slight edge. It was, in a way, good to know that some things worked as she had expected.

She shook her head, quick to forgive; there had been ample time to think about what happened that day. "I don't blame you," she told him. "None of you. I never should have gone in the first place - or at least I should have stayed on the ship. I grew overconfident, thought I could do things when in reality... " Her hands came up in a shrug.

"I made a mistake, and I paid for it. I'm the one who's sorry, for putting you through that. And... and for this." She gestured to herself, who - what - she had become.

Maea

Let's not get lost in the dark blue
But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you

Remi's nod is stiff. For all the dangerous things he's done, Maea has been the only one to die while with him. He hadn't been a demigod then, and it was as she'd said, none of them could have done anything. But still. Still...

Looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes, wondering if there was a way to see through the fibres and internal mechanisms that made her what she was now, to the girl who had been so kind as to plant flowers with him, Remi found...he could not. "As the demigod of death now...I..." There was an edge to his voice and a tightness in his jaw that the alchemist made no attempt to soften. "..you should not be." And yet she was.

To kill Maeve here and now would be so very, very easy. The only thing staying the alchemist's hand was the uncertainty of whether or not he would do the same thing in her position. If he died and was offered the chance to come back, wouldn't he have taken it? If only to see Ronin again? The answer should be a resounding no, but gods if he wasn't sure.

"I am not inclined to send you back to Mort tonight Maea, but nor do I think lingering here with you is wise."

the lullaby

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck

She supposed she ought to be afraid, at hearing that. But she could only nod, in sad agreement. She shouldn't be. Yet she was.

"If you could guarantee that I actually went back to Mort, and if I didn't have someone waiting for me to come home... I would welcome it," she told him with a smile that was entirely tired, and more than a little lost. Bad decisions had been made, and it did not look like she would find any easy escape from them. Not even when one stood right in front of her. "But unfortunately, I would hurt someone very much if I died now. So. I thank you, for this respite. Maybe next time, yes?"

She took a step back. "It was nice to see you again, Remi. I hope you stay well."

Then she activated her upgrade and was gone, in a rush of air that hurried to fill the space she had vacated.

-----------
{FIN}

Maea