[RQ] The rest is still unwritten

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

It was still early in the day when Maea reached the shore of the Black Lake. She had risen before dawn and packed her things before the sun had fully risen, eager to be done with this last stretch of the journey back home. Traveling by foot had instilled in her a new appreciation for the vastness of the continent, and while it had sated some of the restlessness she also longed for the days when a thought was all it took to jump across time and space as she pleased. Not that it would keep her in the Grounds for that long; she still had business to attend to elsewhere. But for now, she was able to simply relax and enjoy the relative familiarity of the landscape. There were new landmarks, of course, such as this lake; it hadn't been here when she grew up, and she found it jarring to gaze across the pitch surface and see the Spire reflected like a black needle far in the distance.

Trying to recall what had been here before, she stripped off her shoes and dropped both backpack and ratty coat out of the water's reach and headed down to the waterline to explore. A short stretch of sun-warm beach soon gave way to far deeper depths that made her feet ache to come in contact with. A light breeze sweeping in from the lake made a mess of her hair; absently Maea raked it back from her eyes as she examined what cliffs and stones had wrought with her homeland. The powers it must have taken sent chills down her spine, of dread and awe and other sentiments she didn't have name for.

When the water lost her interest, she found an outcropping of dark stone that jutted out over the surface and made herself comfortable there. Some gathered driftwood and a quick strike of flint and steel gave her something to occupy herself while she waited for Danta; more amusement to be found in the feeding of the flame than any necessity, especially now that she could literally play with the fire. Humming happily to herself and with the pale tail coiling around her feet, she reached for the fire, made it ripple and dance over her fingers and tried to shape it into little ravens, like the one she'd sent ahead to let the Maverick know that she was back and ready for their planned excursion. Unlike the real bird however, these ones didn't last and didn't look much like anything at all; her grasp of the flame was still too basic.

Maea didn't mind. The mere presence of the spark within her was enough to make her happy; a return of something precious she'd thought lost and gone forever. It gave her hope for the future, even as it remained hazed with uncertainty.  

---

RQ to gather stones from the Black Lake.
Dantalion
Ophelia

Base by Odd

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Danta arrives with all the aplomb of a hipster late for a meeting. Instead of a large travel mug, he carries a half-drunk bottle of wine; instead of a Macbook, there's a few canvas sacks tucked under his arm. Regardless, he moves with the same blase stroll, the same obliviousness to the march of the day.

On the plus side, he had read the raven Maea had sent, and he'd even extended the invitation to Ophelia on the tail end of their spider-catching spree. (Wanna collect rocks? was the extent of said invitation).

Spotting Maea and her little bonfire and casting a wave, it's with long limbs and little care that Danta clambers to the outcrop and plops himself down beside his fellow Ancient. "A bonfire in Longheat? I like your style," he says approvingly, offering out a sip of wine from the bottle. "Ophelia should be coming, too. More the merrier, right?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ophelia

Ophelia can't match Danta's hipster vivacity, but they make up for it with a dreamy smile and a little, childlike wave as they hop up to the outcrop their two siblings have made camp on. Their ivory tail sways in a content, catlike motion at their heels, legs bare and pale in the summer light beneath rough-cropped shorts.

Instead of sitting with their compatriots Ophelia toes at the outer edge of the fire, enjoying the lick of heat near their shins. "Reporting for duty," they trill with a little twist of their heels in a Dorothy-esque fashion. They're entirely unsure what sort of rocks they need, or how many, but Ophelia often shows up to these things knowing they're needed for manual labor and not much thinking. Someone here must have the answer to that.

it's peaceful in the deep, either way you cannot breathe
no need to pray - no need to speak

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Spotting Danta on the horizon when he waved, Maea found herself needing to suppress a rather foolish little grin. There was something so very simple and easy over this homecoming. Even if she didn't exactly know the Theocrat well, or indeed the pale shadow he brought along in the form of Ophelia, she still recognized them. And they had come to greet her after a long journey, almost like a real family might. Maea thought she could be forgiven for assuming there to be a bond in the making here. However thin, however new - it still felt good.

"It's always weather for a good pyre," she replied with satisfaction lacing through the syllables while Danta made himself comfortable. A moment later Ophelia had joined them, and suddenly the number of tails and horns on display let Maea feel like she actually belonged. Right here, with these people.

Accepting the bottle offered, she sniffed the contents before taking a cautious sip, then passed it along to Ophelia. "What duty are you reporting for? I thought we would be talking about jobs, and touring the shrine?" Raising a quizzical brow at Danta for an explanation, she savored the taste of the wine  , honestly too content to let any change of plan get to her. More was better, and that went for things to do as well as additional company.

Base by Odd

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"Talking about jobs, taking a tour of the shrine... and collecting rocks," Danta says with a wink tipped in Maea's direction, and he offers out a canvas sack for each of his lovely assistants, though he doesn't move to get up and begin just yet.

Letting his fingers twist through the flames of the fire Maea has made, the Ancient's smile is as warm as the day. "Dygra has agreed to provide protection to the Grounds against these void creatures. The stones will create a border, I think."

Shrugging his shoulders and promptly rolling back to his feet, he leaves the wine with Ophelia to enjoy and flops his own empty sack over one shoulder. "Shall we get started, then?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ophelia

It seems Maea hadn't been told of their mission - though she is shortly - and Ophelia shoots Danta a bright grin as he hands over a sack, glad to be in on the joke so to speak. "Are we supposed to have jobs? I quite like making Danta do it all," Ophelia teases, and though their dreamlike tone often masks their sarcasm the wink they give the Maverick cuts right through that. What's the point of a theocrat if the citizens have to get their hands dirty?

Taking the wine as it's left behind, the ghost consumes it plentifully (and then wrinkles their nose at the taste, because it never gets any better) before popping the cork back in and holding it out toward Maea. "So they don't need to be special rocks, right?" Last time, Ophelia had helped Danta collect precious stones, but the Black Lake isn't exactly known for those. Phi can wipe the dirt off the rocks they collect, but you can't polish a skipping stone into a diamond. With bag in hand they hop off the outcrop and follow in Danta's wake, picking over available rocks with the spadelike tip of their tail.

it's peaceful in the deep, either way you cannot breathe
no need to pray - no need to speak

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Quirking an eyebrow in return at Danta's wink, Maea accepted the added agenda with stoic calm. She was happy to help, especially given the nature of the task at hand, and she accepted the sack with an amiable smile.

"That's a lot of stones... I hope it's okay to gather smaller ones?" Though perhaps it was more the symbolism of laying down the border that mattered. "Is that it, then? Or do we need to do something more?"

Shaking her head in polite refusal of the bottle when it was offered back to her, Maea rose to her feet along with the others and shook out the bag. It was an easy enough task to collect the stones, allowing for conversation while they meandered along the lake shore. The bonfire was left to burn out on its own, adding a bouquet of wood smoke to the wind that was quite pleasant.

"You don't need to get a job if you don't want to, " Maea replied fondly to Ophelia. "I just prefer to have something to fill my time with. All the better if it means I can be of use, somehow." Glancing over at Danta, she tilted her head aside with glittering curiosity. "You said before that you wanted to make the Grounds better than the other regions...  Do you have a plan on how to do that, that you'd be willing to share?"

Base by Odd

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Leading them down to the shoreline, Danta bends to collect stones from the lapping waters of the Black Lake with relative ease, plopping them into the sack at intervals. "Not special, no. And smaller is better, I ought to think. I'll add a larger one every now and then - you know, to spice things up." The grin he levels at the two women promptly becomes a pout to hear Ophelia's opinion of work - not that he wouldn't think the exact same thing, of course.

"There are other requirements, but for today, just the rocks will do," he adds to Maea. As for his grand plan, the Maverick might disappoint his fellow Ancient with his snort of laughter and the easy shake of his head. "This and the bonfire are a start, don't you think? Given how much the other regions are asking us for help lately, too, I'd say we can't be doing too badly."

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ophelia

With the confirmation that the rocks didn't need to be anything special, Ophelia begins heaping handfuls of stones into their bag, their path meandering and unclear as they weave back and forth between Danta and Maea.

They spare a beaming smile toward Maea, pleased with this answer. Ophelia is happy to be useful, but they do it out of a sense of camaraderie, not because they feel they need something to fill their days. There is so much of the world they never got to see or experience, they have plenty to wander around and wonder at on the daily.

"We're already better naturally," they assert, though the basis for that claim is deeply unclear. "Once we make all the creepy animals leave, people will want to come anyway because it'll be safer." That's a huge draw in Ophelia's mind, and with that they dump another handful of rocks into their sack.

it's peaceful in the deep, either way you cannot breathe
no need to pray - no need to speak

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

She was disappointed, though perhaps not for the reason one might expect. Grandness was a matter of perspective; what caused the worried wrinkle in her brow had more to do with the lack of planning and structure.

"The bonfire is lovely," she admitted, "and the ward will be a great comfort. I guess... I was hoping to figure out where I might fit into any plans, but if you don't have any that would be difficult..."

Thinking of ways to rephrase the question, or other ways to convey what troubled her, Maea focused on collecting rocks for a while. Shifting larger rocks aside with her tail, she crouched down and shoveled handfuls into the bag, only to pause and check for any that really stood out to her. A round pebble, a lovely pattern in the rock - one she held up to the light, because of the golden flecks that shimmered against the blue-black base. That one she offered to Ophelia.

"I don't know if you know about it, but I used to be Ascended," she said eventually to both her comrades. "But I only became one after... after dying. The Voice managed to pull a bunch of us from Mort's realm... and I've always felt bad for accepting that offer. I followed Ludo, all my family is there - I should have stayed. But now that I'm properly alive again, I don't hate it... I just dont want to waste it. So that I don't have any regrets when my time comes, so that I can't be tempted to break my promises again... I want to fill my days with meaningful things."

Glancing up, wary of more laughter from these people who lived so much more freely than she, Maea watched Danta and Ophelia.

"So, I guess, what I'm asking is... Do you have need of help, in any way? Is there work to do for the region where I might be of use, that I could apply myself to?"

Certainly gathering stones for Dygra was useful, but the temporary nature of the task did give her some anxiety. Knowing there was more to do, but not knowing what or when, or how... It was difficult to keep from adding more reasons for wanting something to do, hard to refrain from begging for the sense of fulfillment she craved - so Maea bit her cheek to give the others a chance to speak.

Base by Odd

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"That's as good a point as any," Danta remarks to Ophelia, meandering out of her way naturally as she moves and sways between the two of them and the banks of the Black Lake. Pausing in a crouch to admire a small crab scuttling across the rocks between his feet, it isn't long before Danta uses a broad, flat rock to crush it, and he picks at the crustacean as a snack as he continues. (The rock, of course, joins the sack).

"Mm, no, I didn't," he murmurs to Maea, offering some of his snack to Phi as he continues. And I don't really care lays dormant on his tongue, because he senses Maea's explanation is going somewhere, and when the point finally arrives, he lights up. "Want to keep my office organised?" he asks. "Or go and speak to people in other regions when I don't want to?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Ophelia

Maea seems to convalesce into her own mind for a bit, and Ophelia - whether they are patient or simply have too short of an attention span to wait - leaves her to it, scuttling around to collect rocks with seemingly random criteria. Maea holds out a beautiful one their way, and Ophelia plucks it from her hand with a croon of delight, ensuring that it goes into their pocket instead of their sack.

Dantalion equally moves easily around the ghost's helterskelter shuffling, and Ophelia is doubly rewarded with the bit of crab he holds out. They beam like a spoiled younger sibling as they bump their forehead against Danta's shoulder in silent appreciation, popping the meat into their mouth. Though as they lift their head, the Maverick will be the first person privy to their wrinkled brow and disgruntled expression before they turn over their shoulder toward Maea.

"I think working yourself to the bone for random people seems like more of a waste," they point out innocently, incapable of filtering such thoughts. "I don't think Danta's letters are very meaningful," they tease, grinning sharply at Danta and flicking their tail playfully his way before skipping further down the beach, voice floating backward. "You could market us maybe! Visit all the regions and talk about how great we are." Maea seems rather wordy in a way Ophelia envies, newly literate as they are. Perhaps marketing is more her calling?

it's peaceful in the deep, either way you cannot breathe
no need to pray - no need to speak

Oh, you say you have to fall apart to really be someone

Sucking in a breath as get heart nearly skipped a beat, Maea's expression brightened with the offer because that was exactly the kind of thing she had been hoping for. For someone who looked like he didn't give a damn, Danta was pretty good at giving people exactly what they wanted - she gave him a radiant smile and might even have hugged him if he didn't smell of crab.

Before she could grow too exuberant over the prospect of opening letters and meddling in politics, Ophelia cut in and left Maea quiet for a moment. Slowing down to pick over the pebbles around a pile of driftwood, she kept her eyes on the work as she spoke. "Perhaps you are right. If I only did it for others. But since I don't know what I want for myself yet, trying different things is a good way to start... or so I've been told." And keeping busy kept her from sinking into apathy, but they didn't need to know that.

If she enjoyed drifting with the wind it would have been easy; there wouldn't be a need to change anything. But she had found a difference between freedom and rootlessness; one was fulfilling, while the other whittled away at her well being.

"I like traveling, and solving problems," she went on, looking up at Danta to finally answer his question, "so if that was a job offer I happily accept. Whatever you call 'talking to people when you don't want to'." Was that meant to be diplomacy, or emmissary, or simply being a messenger? Regardless, she wanted to do it. Was eager, even, to get her nose into that pile of correspondence to see what had been passed between the leaders of the various regions.

"Maybe his letters aren't," she told Ophelia with a playful smile and a sideways glance at the Maveric to see how much teasing he could stomach, "but others might be. If they talk about dangerous things that come this way, I would prefer to know so I can protect you."

Base by Odd

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

Content to smell like crab and not be hugged, Danta entertains himself playfully swatting after Phi's tail as they dart away, and he finishes his snack without another morsel offered her way. "Would you work yourself to the bone for yourself, then?" he asks them, tilting his head and smirking before bending to collect a few more stones from the bank of the lake. "And of course my letters aren't meaningful. I prefer all my meaningful correspondence to be in person." And with hands. And tongues.

Realising that Maea was actually verbally applying for a role here, the Maverick offers her a sharklike smile and snaps his fingers after yeeting the crab shell into the water. "Like an ambassador, or a liaison," he purrs. Or emissary, as others definitely called it. "You can work with Kiada and between them I'm sure you'll be able to figure out where you're best needed. Just let me know if anyone wants to fight us or if we want to fight anyone else. Especially if you see... what's his dick? Nathan? Nnnnnorman?" Noah. He means Noah. "If you see him around."

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!