For He Loved Them

Soft steps approach you, amidst the vibrant colours of these woods.

You have emoted: Lief's ears twitch from where she sits, and she looks up, then around, inquisitive.

With a soft breeze, a flutter of large, blue, blossoms dance before you, resolving into the form of Maylea, Bloom of Serenity.

You have emoted: Lief's expression blooms into a smile of delight, and she clasps her hands together, leaning forward in her mossy seat upon a rock. "My Lady!" she says with warmth.

Maylea smiles softly.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "Hello, Eldin."

The chirping of crickets surrounds you in a medley of night-time music.

Maylea casts her gaze about, finding a moss covered rock Herself to sit upon. Her sari flutters in the breeze, and her gold and blue eyes both glitter sombrely in the dark.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "Are you well, My dear?"

You have emoted: Lief's smile grows a touch more serious as she looks to her Goddess. "I am, my Lady," she says softly and earnestly. "Our talk some time ago has me bolstered so thoroughly and well that I must constantly remind myself I'm not invincible."

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side fans his tail open behind him, extending the feathers in a stunning crescent.

Maylea's mouth turns up as Her face breaks into a smile.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "I think your peacock certainly thinks he is."

Maylea reaches over and lightly brushes Her fingers against Savit's head

You have emoted: Lief laughs a bit as she turns to admire Savit. "He does at that," she agrees as the peacock turns, chirping musically at Maylea's touch.

Curiously, you ask Maylea, "All is well for You, my Lady, yes?"

Maylea lowers Her hand and turns towards you, the dawn's rays gleaming in Her eyes. "I am well enough. Awash in memories too much, these days." She rests Her chin on a fist as She leans forward on the mossy seat. "But memory is what you ask of Me, yes? The blackthorns and their flowers."

You have emoted: Lief's expression softens, her freckled cheeks warming in the early autumn air. Her hands loosen their grips on one another, instead gently cupping, one over the other. "I do, my Lady," she says softly. "If You are willing to share Your memories."

Maylea gently places the Pathfinder in Her lap, looking upwards into the trees.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "What have you seen of the blackthorns, Eldin?"

Laughing merrily, a pixie flutters in from the northeast.

You have emoted: At Maylea's question, Lief's gaze grows distant for but a moment. "Its white flowers are...stark." Her cupped hands shift, turning upward, and she looks down at them in remembrance. "No matter whether they grow here, or whether they are wyrden-touched, that much seems the same. They grow on dark branches, and their trees are smaller than a lot of other trees are." She pauses. "I see them often in shade, even here in the Serenwilde."

A squirrel skitters through the treetops somewhere above.

You see a deer wander through a clearing in the distance.

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side carefully preens his lustrous plumage, drawing the feathers slowly through his beak.

The smell of wildflowers wafts past your nose.

Maylea smiles as if the blossoms were before Her. She reaches out with a hand, and a shimmering image of a blackthorn shrub comes into view. Her finger stretches to touch a single, stark white petal, and the entire mirage disappears.

Maylea turns to you. "My dear, the blackthorns were never painted," She whispers.

You have emoted: Lief's eyes pull up from her hands. Her gray eyes blink once; this is clearly not what she expected to hear. Silence takes her as she considers this, a hundred questions writing themselves upon her brow.

You think to yourself: But I thought...but weren't all the flowers...but how is it so lovely as it is?

Maylea folds Her hands in Her lap, eyes downcast as She remembers. "We meant to paint them, but there was no time." A soft breath falls from her lips. "No time for many things."

You have emoted: Lief scarcely breathes as she listens to Maylea, her brow knitting together. "You and..." She pauses, and murmurs, "He?"

Maylea draws Her sari close to Herself, bindi glinting in the sun. "He broke the promise," She murmurs, an unhappy look in Her gaze.

The musky scent of loam and leaves fills you with vibrancy.

You have emoted: Lief's fingers twitch as though they might reach out to Maylea. Instead, they turn again, curling into her kimono robe, gently clutching at its skirts. Her own peach-stained lips turn downward, her brow lowering.

Lifting Her head, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says to you, "They are lovely, My dear. But I could see their colours beneath, that We could have drawn forth. For He loved them."

Shadows grow longer in anticipation for the return of their dark mistress as Father Sun's chase brings him closer to the world's edge.

You have emoted: Lief searches Maylea's eyes, the golden and the azure, her own a riot of emotion. Sadness, confusion, wonderment - even the barest hint of anger riles itself in them. "He keeps them hidden now?" she asks softly. "Their colours? He won't want You to commune with them...?"

Maylea stands in a flutter of leaves, Her sari unfolding itself in gossamer sheen. "We were meant to paint them together." She shakes Her head slowly. "I would not do it alone."

You have emoted: Silently, Lief watches and listens. Wetness begins to rim her eyes, moistening her lashes, and one hand lifts from where it clenches her robe to touch her own heart. "I'm..." She must have been about to say the word 'sorry' - the word 'sorry' is written in every knit of her face's musculature. But she hesitates, then lowers her antlered head. "I'm thankful, my Lady," she says softly. "That You are here, in the Wilde. That You have stayed true to Yourself, despite Him and what seems like His every effort."

Maylea's mouth turns up as Her face breaks into a smile.

Maylea leans forward to touch you on the forehead, and you briefly see a small blackthorn tree, its spiked and bent form peppered with blossoms of pure white, growing lonely against the edge of the world, standing amidst the remnants of strife.

Gathering Her sari, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity is suddenly surrounded by a flutter of white blossoms. And She disappears into their midst.

The wind whistles eerily through the trees.

You have emoted: Lief's eyes close as the image washes over her, her breath catching in her throat. She doesn't see her Goddess depart until much later, when she opens her eyes slowly once more.