when gazing into an abyss

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

A heavy fog had settled like a blanket over the Citadel. It smothered the light of distant lanterns and choked out the last sliver of an aging moon until only an eerie sheen remained, as if the mist itself carried remnants of a glow within it. With the contours of buildings, roads and ruins blurred and made indistinct by dark and damp, Maea felt transported to some foreign place, a landscape similar to but not quite the same as the one she had known all her life.

Leaned against the railing of the bone-white bridge, she turned a pebble between her fingers and stared into the night. It was still and dark, long past bedtime for most sane folks and prime working hours for those of a more nocturnal disposition. Yet here she stood. The hem of her ratty old skirt soaked to the knees and stained from too many hours of aimless wandering, until her gears had finally ground to a halt. Right there, on the crest of the bridge.

Listening hard into the stillness, it screamed back its nothingness into her ears until they rang. Once, twice, three times she turned the pebble; then she let it go, and watched it disappear into the dark. She waited to hear if it would bounce against something. When nothing happened, she leaned far out over the edge and stared down, as if sheer force of will might part the veil of obscurity for her.

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

"Careful. Wouldn't want you to fall."

Neron's voice cuts smoothly through the darkness, and his steps, while leisurely, are never anything less than confident as he picks his way across the bridge.

He's not long back from his (frankly terrible) visit to Halo, his hands buried in the pockets of his black coat, the collar turned up against a chill he doesn't feel. Following Maea's gaze over the railing of the bridge, he pauses beside her to peer down (and down and down), but even his night vision can't cut all the way to the bottom of the gorge.

"Have we met before?" he wonders, forward as ever. "I feel as though I would recognise you if we had."

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

Maea looked up as a smooth voice cut through the stillness and blinked in surprise at the sight of the man. He was vaguely familiar, but it took her a moment to recall why.
"Ah - you are Loren's brother! Neron, right? We have met, once. But it was a long time ago."

Smiling, she straightened and backed up a step, to assuage any fears of her tubling over the edge. "I'm Maea, I stayed in Halo for a while. Attending Zahria's academy..." How many years ago was it, now? Four or five - she would be more surprised if he did remember her. "I'll admit, I'm a bit surprised to see you here. Is it a visit, or..?" Her head tilted aside, curiously examining the Hailstorm.

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

It has been a very long time since he's heard his twin's name spill from anyone's lips, Neron tilting his head as if trying to get a second look at Maea, as though he really ought to recognise her. Alas, time and trauma are what they are, and instead he holds out a hand for her to shake. No sense in not being polite. "Well, then here's to an official second meeting," he murmurs. "A pleasure to meet you. Hopefully under better circumstances than in Halo."

Speaking of which, the Hailstorm rolls his shoulders in a shrug that looks carefree, but absolutely isn't. "The woman I loved was killed and I was chased from the Citadel by the Old God brigade," he explains. "I'm hoping to meet with Sunjata about the Vlamvloed here. I used to run the Kraai in the Citadel."

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

"Pleasure to meet you again, too." She shook his hand and tried to figure out what he was referring to. Her memories of Halo were good, for the most part. Perhaps that lesson with the Ursur had been a touch too much, but that was Zariah, not him. But perhaps his thoughts were on other matters. She had heard some rumors...

"Oh gods, I am so sorry!" If ever Maea had thought herself blunt and to the point, she could clearly take lessons from the Hailstorm. He delivered the line like it wasn't a lightning strike from clear skies and left her reeling for something to say. "Well... you have good odds at that, at least. He's been around, I saw him just the other day, so... I'm sure you can catch him." He had been running a bar? It didn't quite fit the image of the all powerful Warden he had been before.

"Have... have you heard from your brother, at all?" The question came a bit hesitantly, she didn't want to stir up other potentially painful topics. But it seemed like the right person to ask.

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

Neron smiles and holds a hand up, as if to assure Maea that she can save her apologies. "Being Ascended means having a long time to come to terms with things like this," he says. "Much as I would like to wallow, there's too much to do for me to climb into bed and not come back out." A sentiment that many can likely relate to within the Hollowed Grounds.

Raising his brows, he smiles to hear that Sunjata is nearby, Neron having assumed that he would have to go on a wild goose chase to find the Flood. "That is lucky," he agrees. "Perhaps I'll run into him in that very bar, then."

As for his brother? There's no pain in his face, not any more, only a soft shrug. "Not at all. I can only hope that he is sequestered away somewhere," he murmurs. "It would not be the first time. Hoping for that is better than the alternative, no?" The Hailstorm glances over the edge of the Bone Bridge, tilting his head.

"Were you looking for anything in particular out here?"

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

She held back on further condolences, understanding the sentiment of not wishing to dwell on sorrows all too well. It was a difficult thing, to keep going even when the instinct was to curl up somewhere and hide, and she admired the easy way he managed to smile. Another master at putting on masks.
"If you ever want company in keeping distracted, just let me know" she offered instead, with a lopsided smile. "Not wallowing is on my to-do-list, too."

Turning serious for a moment as she thought of Loren out in the Wilds somewhere, Maea eventually sighed with a nod. "It is. I really hope he is alright. I miss him."

She followed Neron's gaze over the edge, and tried to pierce the mist with her gaze without any more success than before.

"I wanted to see if I could spot the Kappa." Sneaking a glance at the man beside her, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "There's been some talk about going down, to see what might be there. I was invited to come along, but... I guess I'm a bit worried that I will slow them down."

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

"That is very kind of you. Perhaps you can come and work at the Vlamvloed with me. I had always wondered if I might turn the Kraai into an Ascended-run bar," Neron remarks, though this isn't really the time to discuss potential work opportunities (or the seedier sides therein). "It will be good company for us both that way, if we're trying not to wallow."

Keeping his gaze on the void at the bottom of the Bone Bridge, the Hailstorm hums out an agreement that doesn't really seem like it. "I miss him too," he says nonetheless, because that much absolutely is true.

He tilts his head as Maea joins him, raising an eyebrow across at her. "What is a Kappa?" he asks, unfamiliar with the term (or any of the flora and fauna of the Grounds, at that). "And why would you slow them down? You seem capable enough."

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

Her brows traveled up a few notches at the offer, and she smiled despite the internal cringe at the idea of haunting Sunjata's bar again. "I'm not sure I would know what to do," she admitted, hesitant - though not entirely throwing out the idea either. "Mixing drinks seem like a difficult task without a sense of taste. Though I wouldn't say no to company."

Kicking a pebble over the edge, Maea watched it fall and become engulfed in the mist below. Again she listened, if only to distract herself from the pang of sympathy. Missing a friend and missing a brother - she knew which one would weigh heavier. Speaking of the Kappa was easier.

"It's a creature. Some say monster," she replied, "though I doubt anyone really knows for sure. It's supposed to have a cave down there." She gestured lightly to the deep gorge with a pale hand. And managed not to scoff at his comment - while flattering, she doubted it was true. "What do you base that assumption on? I don't have magic anymore... all I can do is zap things and disappear. It just... doesn't feel enough." Her shoulders rose and fell in a light shrug. It was what it was - didn't matter if she missed being able to make it snow or not. That part of her had been lost, somewhere along the way back from the halls of the dead.

Not that Neron would know about that.

"Would you go?" she asked, with a curious half smile as she glanced at him. "There might be treasure down there. Hidden secrets..."

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

"You'd be surprised how easy it is," Neron says with a small smile. "It becomes more of an exact science than a taste test. No one ever complained about my drinks, anyway." And if in doubt, just serve it neat. "I'd be happy or teach you if you did want to take my offer up." Because in the Launceleyn's opinion, it would be his bar at that point. Sunjata just happened to name it. (And a bunch of other stuff that he's pretending isn't important).

He follows her pebble down into the deep with his eyes, tilting his head to listen out for a plunk! that never comes. "A monster in a cave, mm? The Hollowed Grounds seems to have a lot of those," he remarks. "And you can't just zap things and disappear. Ascended can be whatever any other race can be. You just have to know the right people."

Would he go, though? "Depends. I've done a lot of escaping death lately. As long as there's enough of us to put up a fight, I might give it a shot."

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

Tucking a lock of hair behind an ear, Maea tried not to get carried away with the idea. It was so far removed from everything she had ever tried to do - and then she recalled a similar conversation held with another Halovian. With Weaver, some time in another life. She huffed a quiet laugh at the irony. Had she progressed at all, or was the circles she spun in just that perfect?

"I've made some plans to start up the Loreseeker guild," she said, "but if I find time between that and training... I'd be happy to help." Keeping busy was the key, wasn't it? And she had so many hours to fill every day. Of course there would be time.

He was right about the monsters. One in the Spire, one in the Underground, now this one - and who knew what else lurked unseen in the rubble? "It comes with our illustrious past," she jested lightly, with a grand gesture that indicated everything around them - sadly hidden by the swirling mist. "It wouldn't be an ancient battleground without some ghosts to haunt it, right?"

She coughed delicately as he went on, and averted her gaze. "Mh. But I'd also have to be willing to bite said people. Right? I've never been.... comfortable, with that. I know it's not supposed to make a big deal of, but... it is. For me." Faint traces of color ghosted over her cheeks.

"I could let you know, when it's time?" she offered. "I know Amun and Wessex will go, at least."

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

"Loreseekers? Librarians, researchers, that sort of thing?" Neron tilts his head; it most certainly is not for him, unless the lore they are searching for involves trashy romance novels. "If you ever want to take your guild meetings out of the Atheneum, rest assured the Vlamvloed will always be happy to host." He can make promises like that even without knowing if he can run the place yet. Just watch him.

Neron will give her that once, though he does bounce his eyebrows at her somewhat skeptically. "Ghosts don't tend to run out and try to carve your face off though," he points out. "Although I have heard rumours of banshees around here, and I suppose they could count as haunting people."

Stepping back from the side of the bridge, the Hailstorm tilts his head to hear her admission. "Well, perhaps you will find a true love who happens to know magic and turn into an animal?" he suggests with a smirk. "Or even an Ascended who is happy to share. That wouldn't be so bad right?"

Amun and Wessex's presence does help, and Neron gives her an affirmative nod. "If that's our adventuring group, then I'd be happy to tag along."

Neron

Maea

And it feels like fear
Like I'll disappear

Maea nodded; he had the gist of it. "Thank you," she smiled at the offer. Apparently she was going to end up in the bar no matter which path she decided on; she was rather flattered to receive a double invitation. Even if drinks would likely not be on the house - business was business after all. "I really do hope you can work out an agreement with Sunjata. This is starting to sound fun." Much to her own surprise; very few things actually sparked her interest lately.

His scepticism made her laugh. Another surprising thing. "Perhaps not. Though even without ghosts there are still enough things around to make life... interesting. If running and screaming can be said to fall into that category." Like banshees, indeed. Or landsharks, rous, or all the other strange and violent things that went bump in the night. "Have you had a chance to explore the region, yet?" If he was new to the area... "I could give you a tour, if you'd like...

The smirk had her roll her eyes and chuff a quiet laugh. "Maybe not. One can always dream," she replied with dry amusement. "In the meantime, I might just stick to zapping and disappearing. Even if I do miss being able to make it snow." A hand waved wistfully at the thickly swirling fog around them.

Rather pleased with the answer to her invitation, Maea simply nodded. And hoped none of the others would object to her addition into their ranks. More was merrier, right?

Gets so hard to steer
Yet I go on

liars and lovers combine tonight, we're gonna make a scene

"It is, isn't it? I've been rather short of fun, lately." Neron slants a smirk Maea's way, unable not to agree with her appraisal of the situation. "Sunjata and I worked out an agreement with the Kraai, so I'm hoping that this won't be too much of an issue. Same arrangement, different bar, right?" He shrugs his shoulders.

"As an advocate for running and screaming, I quite like hearing it described as an interesting part of life," he agrees, scoffing out a laugh and letting his hands rest in his pockets. At the mention of a tour, the Hailstorm tilts his head, the smirk remaining on his face. "The last time I was here properly - Longnight aside - it was in Longheat, and there was very little to see. If you'd like to show me around I'll certainly not say no."

It was probably good for him to get out more, or something like that, and he gestures for Maea to lead the way.

"Oh, were you an Abandoned before?" he asks, Neron flicking his eyes up and overhead to cause snowflakes to appear, falling softly down around them. "I'm a bit of both, apparently. One of a kind these days, since Rexanna."

Neron