World Tree MUSH

Things have seemed less tense around Amara in the last couple of weeks. Apparently she'd had some sort of conversation with Cecil and things had settled.

Late evening has fallen on Kaipo, most people quietly slipping indoors for the evening. Most people, however, are not Amara.

By the water's edge, the blue mage has found herself a comfortable little spot. As the slowly descending sun dances on the surface of the water, Amara - her magely robe set aside in favour of a pale blue linen dress - leans with one hand resting on the trunk of a palm, looking out over the oasis. She can see the other side easily enough but just the fact that there's water here helps.

"Maybe it was fate that brought me into the path of the Dark Knight and his friends," she says toherself - though an approaching person could hear her in conversation with, well, nobody in particular. "I wonder if the Elder knew this would happen and that's why he let me go." She checks herself with a frown. "No, probably not. Just dumb luck, I bet...."

    Terra has this weird quality to her. She can be found doing the strangest things, often wandering alone or staring at something she's never seen before. Or accidentally creeping up on someone who's sought solitude for perfectly valid reasons.

    Accidentally mostly due to the fact she not only didn't notice Amara immediately. Her gaze tends to wander, afterall. Her ears work just fine, though and she comes up short upon hearing Amara's conversation. She's always so serious. Could she be praying? She's seen more than a little prayer staying around a certain Hylian princess!

    So, she draws near quietly with no intention of actually interrupting or fixing an ear to the words Amara speaks. Kind of hard not to, though, so she eventually leans past the tree- she's still a few meters off- and sets her impassive gaze on the blue mage.

    Here's her moment to shine, show growth or otherwise take initiative in a social moment and instead, unable to get a fix on exactly what she should say she utters, simply, a wordless affirmative.

    "Mmm." Nod.

Amara, to her credit...

...does not notice Terra wandering up at all. Maybe she doesn't deserve credit. Indeed, she shakes her head and closes her eyes. "Guess it turns out he wasn't so bad after all--"

'Mmm.'

"UWAAH"

Amara just about jumps out of her dress. She comes down with a gasp, whirling and clutching her hands to her collar, her eyes wide and her heart thumping quickly. "Holy moons! /Holy/ moons. Scared the /crap/ out of me, Terra!"

It takes her a couple of seconds to compose herself, but even then, surprise is giving way to a hot blush as she fusses with her dress and clears her throat. "...Sorry," she manages with a self-effacing smile, laying a hand at her own cheek. "I guess I was just talking to myself. I hope I didn't say anything too embarrassing. Uh..."

"So what... brings you out here? I figured I'd look at the water...."

     Though Terra might argue to the contrary about Amara deserving credit, the half-esper often feels the same way about herself. Then it's back out of her own thoughts to face the chaos she's wrought.
    "Huh?!" Amara's cry makes her startle as well. At least she doesn't flee, though she sinks to her knees amidst the cloth of her light cloak. Her apology is nothing short of sincere, if a bit quick to her lips.

    "I'm sorry."

    "I didn't want to interrupt if you were praying." Beat. "Who wasn't so bad?"

    As to why she's here, well. She hardly knows herself, so she only shakes her head. "I do like the water." Well, there's that. So, seems like looking at the water is what we're doing!

When Terra falls to her knees like that, Amara opens her mouth a little before blinking once, then again. How could it be that Terra's as unsettled as she is?

She, at least, is quick to smooth it over. Her surprise gives way to a smile as she steps forward and sinks to her knees as well, smoothing her dress over the tops of her thighs (it comes down about a third of the way). "You didn't interrupt at all. I'm happy to have company."

That beat. And the question. Oh, the question. Amara lowers her head and smiles, small but a little sad. "...Cecil," she admits. "I was so convinced he wasn't going to be a good guy. But I think there's a good heart in him, even after what happened. So no matter how much it hurts, I think I can bear to fight alongside him now. Maybe it'll help bring us both some peace...."

Amara looks up again and tilts her head, smiling more warmly. "Did you grow up around water?" she asks.

    Terra's unsettled by everything. Easily captivated by everything. Is that weird? She's also just a touch skittish around new people. A touch.

    Her own dress is rather short, though it's helped with colorful sashes so no issue there! "Oh. Alright." She turns her body to sit more comfortably, leaning on one warm with her legs folded to the side.

    "I don't know many people. I... Cecil has always been kind." If a bit quiet, not unlike herself. Must be something to do with all the inner turmoil going around but gosh some people handle it differently, don't they? Certain sassy greenhairs come to mind.

    Before she can ask about more and draw out any of Amara's past, she's faced with her own. Or lack of.

    She doesn't frown, her expression doesn't change. She just looks at the waning light of sunset against the water. "I don't know."

Shifting her posture, Amara settles to the soft, sun-warmed grass. She eases into a spot to Terra's right. The sunset light streams through the broad palm fronds swaying subtly overhead in the smallest hint of a breeze, just enough to kiss the skin with the most tender of touches.

All in all, a surprisingly relaxing evening in the middle of the desert.

But there's the weightiness of the topics - the quiet turmoil behind the two women's words. Bowing her head, Amara smiles faintly and sadly. She can't say Cecil has always been kind. That she is here, the last of her family, puts the lie to that.

"I think he understands that sometimes, what's lawful isn't always the same as what's just or right. And I think that's important to understand," she says.

But Terra's other answer surprises her a bit. With a blink, she tilts her head and looks towards the green-haired young woman beside her. "You don't?" She pauses, then clears her throat. "I'm sorry if it's too much to ask. Do you not remember your past, Terra...?"

    Terra brushes a strand of green out of her face. The breeze isn't unwelcome despite ruffling her hair, however. The warmth of the sun will be missed when it's gone, as always but she'll endure.

    "Mmm." Though she understands some Bad Things have happened that Cecil may have been involved with, she can hardly judge. Of all the things she remembers, many are acutely unpleasant.

    Terra slowly tilts her head, then swings her gaze to Amara. A quiet shake, then a shoulder rolls as if she caught herself about to shrug and stopped it. "I first met Rydia while fleeing from a city. I don't remember exactly but I attacked the town with other soldiers. We hurt people, too."

    Righting herself to take weight off of her arm, she pinches up a little sand to rub between her fingers. Her expression wavers ever so slightly as she lies.

    "I don't remember anything before that." Just a little bit.

The stirring of the breeze teases at Amara's hair - more violet than anything actually blue. A few locks drift across her cheek, and she chases them back with delicate fingertips as she listens to Terra explain her story.

"You did?" she asks with a blink and a tilt of her head by a few degrees. "Then something must have changed for you, if you decided to come with Rydia."

/No wonder she went with Cecil,/ Amara realizes with a sudden stab of realization. /I wonder if she was tricked or used the same way..../

The wavering in Terra's face is spotted; Amara bites gently down to her lower lip. "I'm sorry for pushing you, then," she offers up with a small, sad smile.

"It must be a bit scary," she says quietly. "But maybe there's a chance to make some new memories now. When I lost everything in the attack, I had to believe that... that there'll be a tomorrow, and we can fill it with joyful things and people we love."

    Terra can only imagine quite a lot changed. Everything immediately following that incident feels like a blur. There was so much, all at once. A boot heel scrapes a furrow into the sand as she shifts, uncomfortable as she admits, "I didn't have any other choice." 

    Perhaps in actuality she did but what...? Regardless, she drops her pinch of sand and resumes staring at the water. She certainly looked unsettled in that moment. "No, it's fine. I only know my own name but-" She looks up. Still, oddly tranquil considering. "I don't feel bad. Not knowing." Based on what she does know if any of it good anyway?

    "I wonder sometimes." This is what she worries about? "If I can feel like everyone else. I'm different," she almost sighs, as she cups her hands together. Flame pools and licks at her fingers. "I scare Rydia." Her hands close, the flames quench.

Fortuitiously, Amara either doesn't pick out that Terra's obscuring things, or she's too polite to try and force her.

When Terra explains further, Amara widens her eyes ever so slightly. But the surprise passes, and she smiles a small, quiet smile. "Well. So long as you're happy, that's what's important, right? I think you have plenty of choices you can make, now."

As the greenhead calls up those little whisps of flame, Amara leans forward just a bit, gazing into the fire, then lifting her eyes towards the caster once more. "...Rydia told me a little of what happened. I would be afraid of fire, too. I think... I think it's the kind of memory that doesn't fade away. Especally because she's young...."

She purses her lips and clasps her hands atop one of her thighs, letting her gaze turn back towards the water. It takes her a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts, before she looks back again. "How're you different?"

    Terra's only keeping even more horrific degrees of violence to herself. Maybe that's part of why she seems to not sleep a lot. Though Amara's positivity is reassuring to a point she does wonder. Is she happy?

    "Mmm." She's heard the accounts of Rydia's trauma. It helps stay her hand when the adventurous little girl goes storming off into danger. "It won't? Oh." That's a little disheartening. If a memory can't fade can it also not come back? Not a rational thought, necessarily, but a thought that crosses her head.

    At least she doesn't frown. "Magic is different." She pauses, not really sure how to phrase her next thought. "Where I'm from." Various reactions to her abilities have very nearly convinced her it's something to be ashamed of. That much is hinted at by the way she hides her hands between her knees. "There's something else..."

    A headshake. "I'm not sure how to explain. Sorry."

"Memories sometimes stay with you for a long time," Amara admits with a small, sad smile. "I'll never forget what happened to my brothers, for example. And I know Rydia will never forget what happened to her family. That means we just have to live our lives." She holds her hands out, cupping them in front of her.

"Think of life like a big bowl at a buffet," she opines. "Sometimes there are things in the bowl you don't like. So you just have to fill the bowl up with things you do like until there are more of them than there are the bad things. And sometimes that's hard, and it takes awhile! But it's life!"

When Terra demurs explaining, Amara reaches out, tentatively, but stops herself halfway there. She blushes a little and draws her hand back.

"Did you want to talk about it another time?" she asks with a dip of her head. "The sun is going down. But....

"If it means anything, you seem like a really nice person."