[SE] Net worth

I'll drown eventually so don't save me

Glaring sunlight on an excess of water turned the start of the new season into a muggy affair. Where Flowerbirth had been pouring, Longheat promised to be just that, with a high humidity that rivaled Torchline at it's worst. Normally Maea would be hiding indoors, away from the heat and glaring sun, but it seemed her tolerance to fire carried over to sunlight. For the first time in her life, she wasn't burning to a crisp. Her hair might be a rats nest of curls and her clothes a mismatched affair of whatever could be scrounged from neighbors and samaritans, but at least she was able to sit outside in the light, arms and legs bare and practically glowing in their starkness.

A cool breeze rose up from the sea, cooling her bare feet and tickling her toes. Maes had placed herself cross-legged on the span of the bridge to watch for a carriage on the way back to the Inner Quarter, and she kept herself busy mending clothes while she waited. Some for her, some for the family of fishers that let her borrow a room while she helped with clearing the docks at the Landing, and some to trade for the ride. Picking over the seam of the trousers  one last time, she bit off the thread and set them aside, neatly folded, to pick through the pile of scraps one more time. Maybe she could make something new...

Her back was to the east, keeping her eyes shaded. This time of day the traffic would be slow; she would be there for a while. Plenty of time to kill.

Maea

Maeve had grown accustomed to seeing Ancients wandering through the Grounds. Majority of them paid her very little mind. Only a few seeming to notice her, giving her nods when they passed her in the streets. She often wondered if that was due to her son or not. As she walked the fairly empty lane, Aidon flying above her with a pack of supplies held in his mouth, the Nightshade didn't look around too much as she picked her way along the path before her.

Her attention is briefly caught by a wraith of a girl sitting in the sun, picking through looked to be a pile of rags and Maeve couldn't help the way her feet slowed, jade eyes studying the pale Ancient. The urge to check that she was okay, that she didn't need anything rose swiftly, reminding her of how she would often walk the streets of Torchline doing much the same when she was queen.

[say]"I hope you aren't planning on wearing those rags... They wouldn't be doing you much in the way of favors."[/say] She called out ahead of her, a slight smile tugging at her lips as she adjusted her basket on her arm.

I'll drown eventually so don't save me

Looking up from her task as someone called out, Maea realized that she recognized the woman. Not because they had met, but the Nightshade had been ruling Torchline long enough that even a vagabond would remember her name and pay attention while roaming through her domain. To see such a figure roaming the Grounds like an ordinary city woman, complete with basket and everything, struck her as curious.

The comment, though, was not. "I know," she replied, a touch dryly. The oversized pants she wore rolled up to the knees were baggy and threadbare, the armless tunic an off shade of purple and far too loose on the thin torso. Not something Maea would have picked for herself, given a choice.  "Unfortunately, it's all I have to work with. My lodging burned the other night." Taking everything she had; anything worth trading, and even the shoes she hadn't been wearing when the meteor fell.

Shifting where she sat so she could keep the woman in her sight, the Ancient let her tail dangle freely off the edge of the bridge. Unbothered by the yawning void behind her back, she shaded her eyes and looked the other person up and down.

"You alright? It's a bit hot today... Don't overdo it."

Maea

My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room

And Maeve, for what it was worth, did not look like she used to when wandering the streets of Torchline. No where near as done up. No where near as elaborate as she used to dress. Instead she was in a simple linen dress, cap sleeves fluttering in the slight breeze as her waves were lifted with it as well. Offering a gentle smile to the girl, Maeve let out a contemplative hum, "That is rather unfortunate..." She murmured, coming to a stop a few feet away from the Ancient, head tilting to the side in consideration. "If you're headed back to town I'd be happy to give you a few things. I have some extra fabric, too." She often crafted her own clothes, choosing to upcycle or make things from scratch, especially now that she lived in the Grounds.

While the Nightshade had a fairly elaborate closet still, she had tucked away majority of her more eccentric pieces in favor of things that would allow her to blend in more easily. Not that she was too successful at that as it was.

Surprised by the concern in the other's voice and the warning to be careful, Maeve couldn't stop her brows from lifting towards her hairline. "Oh, yes.. Quite alright. I'm used to the heat of Torchline. This isn't much different." She replied with a soft laugh, waving a pale hand in dismissal.

Maeve

I'll drown eventually so don't save me

The offer to give her clothes was not unexpected, but unwelcome all the same. It may be useless pride, but she held on to it precisely because it was the only thing she had left.

"Thank you for the offer," she replied, not even pausing to think it over, "but what I have is serviceable. It doesn't matter if they look good or not." As long as they covered what they should, and kept her warm enough, that was all that mattered. All the better if it meant she didn't have to accept charity.

Looking the woman up and down, she nodded acceptance of the claim and turned back to the pile of scraps. Finding a few pieces large enough for a child's tunic, Maea began to lay them out onto the bone white surface of the bridge.
"I see. Have you heard anything from there lately? I talked to a merman a while ago, he said the place had been wrecked hard by the falling moon. You got family there still? Friends?" Talking as she worked, a sharp knife did a decent job of cutting out basic shapes from the cloth. Clearly Maea was no tailor, but putting two pieces of fabric together wasn't exactly arcane science.

Maea