[seasonal event] Toil and trouble

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies The worst part of it was the silence. It hovered over the farm like a cloud of misery, accentuating the fact that she was now alone. Utterly, completely alone. A funeral might have helped bring home the reality of her loss, but with no one left but her to grieve and everyone else in the community busy with their own sorrow and hard work, Maea couldn't bring herself to arrange anything. A solitary night spent crying as she crafted a lantern, so Ludo would find the souls of her loved ones and take them under its cloak, was all she gave herself. Then, unable to stand sitting around in the house any longer she threw herself into the work, numbing the thoughts by wearing herself out each day. It helped, a bit. But the nightmares did not let her rest long, and dark bags under her eyes looked more like bruises against the near translucent skin. There was so much to be done. It was by no means a big farm, and as they had always focused on the raising of sheep and growing of fruit trees it could have been far worse, butbeven so... to be alone with it all meant that all the hard labor she was so ill suited for fell on Maea. All of it was on her now. A weight on her shoulders that all but drove her on her knees. First the animals. A more thorough look in the shed confirmed that all the sheep had escaped. One of the dogs were dead, the other limped on a swollen paw, no doubt trampled by frightened ewes crowding to get away from the horrors of the night. The door was broken and needed repairs, and same with the front door. Once that was taken care of, Maea looked over the stores of firewood and food, found them almost entirely depleted and made a foray into the woodlands. With the melting snow forming puddles and revealing fallen branches on the ground from Deepfrost, it was easy enough to remedy that; the Magna were plentiful and easy to kill if she went after the small ones, and as she found tracks, sheep dung and shed wool scrubbed off on treetrunks on her way back home, the trip almost felt worthwhile. The sheep were alive, atleast, though it would be a hard task to get them home again. She would need help with that. Dealing with the orchard was worse. The trees needed pruning before spring progressed too far, and without anyone to hold the ladder, reaching for the high branches made her stomach lurch in fright. Maea gritted her teeth and held on so tight to the pruning shears that her knuckles whitened, but tried to ignored the unsteady wobble of her footing as she leaned out towards the next branch. On the ground below, Frost whimpered - out of concern or boredom was hard to tell - but Maea ignored her, too focused on the task at hand. Seiji

Seiji

Seiji has not ventured so far out in a long time. After the trials of Longnight, he had reason enough to linger near home, looking after Kiada, fixing up the house, learning what he could in the Atheneum. Today, he leaves the Settlement behind for the first time in many days. He has no goal in mind beyond walking, soaking in the rare sunlight and breathing the fresh air. The last time he visited this place, Deepfrost was just tightening his grip. He had come in search of apples then, met Ronin and the diminutive Sugar. He wonders idly how Ronin fared. Surely the man was well-prepared in his Guild Hall. Perhaps Seiji will visit sometime soon, if only to give thanks again for the extra clothes and supplies. Maybe these thoughts lead him near the small orchard. Maybe it is simply luck. But Seiji notices the woman first, her white hair stark against the branches of the trees, her body twisted precariously atop her ladder. Seiji winces as he spies her, and begins in that direction immediately, concerned he is about to see her hurt. He doesn't notice the dog, its white coat pale against the remaining snow. "Hello!" he calls. "Are these your trees?" Or was she simply taking advantage of some she had found? as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies The girl was too wrapped up in her work to notice the approach of the young man, but the dog saw him. With a gleeful bark the white shepherd shot up from her resting place by the tree and hobbled towards the stranger on three legs, eager for greetings and belly rubs. "Frost? No! Stay!" Maea looked up at the noise her dog made, but the animals did not want to listen. It knocked into the ladder as it went and Maea yelped as her footing rocked and began to slide away. Dropping the shears, she clung to the branch and tried desperately to shift her weight enough that the ladder would cease moving, but it was too late. Already there was a swooping sensation of falling in the put of her stomach, and all the could think was that she really wanted to miss the shears when she landed... Being impaled by your own tools seemed like such a lame way to die.

Seiji

Several things happen all at once. But Seiji notices the dog most of all. Large, white, and swift, it bounds toward him, its voice a ringing battle cry. He freezes, caught like a startled deer. Even steps back a few paces. Certainly, he will never outrun the creature. The woman calls after it to no avail, and then — Then — Seiji sees her begin to fall. He is much too far away. The dog is between the two of them, moving still, and he dares not appraoch it. He sees it all happening as if in slow motion, as if from very far away, and is filled with a terrible knowledge: this would never have happened without him. He edges away as the dog comes close, flinching where its pointed nose lifts to sniff him. His eyes are on the woman, but she is so far away yet, and the dog is here, the dog is very present... "Hello?" Seiji calls, edging forward, trying to move around the dog. "Are you hurt? I am sorry. I surprised you..." as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies The ladder fell away, and Maea fell, and after a dizzying, swooping sensation of nothing she landed with a thud on the ground. It was not a terribly high fall, but certainly enough to knock the air out of her lungs. For a few horrible seconds she could neither inhale nor exhale, until suddenly all the air came rushing back in through her mouth. Frost, like the happy bounding dog she was, left the boring boy that did not wsnt to play and came rushing to check on her mistress. Conveniently enough the girl was on the ground not, and the shepherd took this opportunity to lick the pale girl all over the face. Maea, who coughed and winced from the pain in her back - she had landed on the ladder, but not on the shears, thank Vi, Rae and Mort! - did not find this at all helpful. "Get off me, you stupid brat!" she splurted; then quickly snatched the collar of the enthusiastic animal when she seemed about to head for the boy again. The sudden movement sent a searing paib dowb her spine that made her gasp, but still the girl held on. Maea looked up at the stranger, not quite daring to move just yet, and tried a smile that ended up as more of a grimace. "I'm fine, I think. Sorry about the dog, she's the sweetest thing but a bit... overexcited about people. She won't hurt you."

Seiji

Seiji stands at a distance, horrified, as the scene unfolds before him. He only approaches once the dog has moved away, though he approaches slowly, afraid it might return at any moment. Thankfully, the girl appears okay. She’s moving, at least, though clearly in pain. “I am sorry.” He cannot begin to think of a way to make this up to her. Seiji’s dark eyes still flicker over the dog, wary. But he does approach, until he stands just out of its reach. “Can I help you up?” he asks, extending a hand. He decides he must, even if the dog frightens him still. “Do you live nearby?” He intends to take her back somewhere safe, it possible, so she can assess her wounds. as a child I mostly spoke inside my head had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies A sharp command from the downed girl had the dog slinging off back towards the tree, the hung head and droopy tail suggesting that they were no fun at all. With no slimey tongue or wiggly tail to obscure her vision, Maea was finally able to look up at the person who so inadvertently had caused this mayhem. She found herself staring quite a bit; the honeyed skin reminded her of Jigano and the cast of his eyes was similar to Amalia, but despite that he looked like no other person she had ever seen before. And he was cute. Handsome, in a boyish, youthful way that made her cheeks flush, to her own annoyance. No time for that, there would never be time for foolishness. What a hopelessly clumsy first impression she must have made. "It's alright, I will be..." Fine. Or at least she thought she was, but even as the fair haired farmer reached up to accept the aid, a sharp pain stabbed through her back and she gasped, ceasing all movement until the worst of the blinding surge had ebbed away. Not good. "I did miss the shears, right?" she asked weakly, and tried to roll over onto the stomach.

Leaving the guildhall was not something Remi particularly wanted to do, though he knew it was something he needed to do. Self-care was certainly not the alchemist's forte, and if it wasn't for Aoife he probably would have just allowed himself to collapse inwards like a star, slowly and beautifully burning himself away into oblivion.

But Aoife needed him, and it was for her that he continued to live.

And so, with the girl strapped to his chest, Remi walked. Had it not been for the familiar sight of both Maea and Seiji, he likely would have just kept his head down, allowed Aoife to enjoy the fresh air, and then made his way home. However seeing Maea on her stomach made something instinctively flinch inside of Remi's stomach, and with his hands against Aoife to stabilize her, the alchemist trotted towards the pair.

"Maea? Are you alright?" He asked a touch breathlessly—running with a child strapped to one's chest was not easy, especially when your arms were around her and not used for balance.

I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
What if you were the one for me? I hope you weren't the one for me

Maea Big dreamers shoot for open skies The call of a worried voice and Remi running towards them with a baby in hus arms almost had Frost up from her place again, excitement glowing from her dark eyes. But Maea was done with happy dogs and a sharp command growled through gritted teeth had the shepherd flat on her belly, whining pitifully as she was denied the honor of welcoming more guests. Maea wanted to whine too. A second attempt to rise was somewhat more successful; with the aid of Seiji's steadying hand she managed to sit up, gasping as dark spots flashed before her eyes. "I'm... fine" she repeated, stubbornly refusing to accept that this might be a bit more serious than a little bruise. "Hi Remi... D-didn't know you had... a kid." Any other day she would have been thrilled to meet the baby, happy and sad and wistful all at once as memories mingled with the present. Right now though, all she could think of was how awful a timing this was. So much left to do, Fiat Lux coming up... why did she have to break her back right now!?