[open] verdant moon catchall

[snowslip]

Who: Marianne & you
Where: Aldrip
What: August catchall
Warnings: None



i. a clean break

[ If you live at the inn, Marianne can be found going in and out of her room with a broom tidying. Having decided that she should cease shutting herself away so much, it feels like the right time to sort out the mess her room had become.

After an hour spent clanking around and moving things, her room does not look any cleaner despite her efforts. In fact, it's messier than before. How? Her real curse may be her inability to organize anything. So, she's resorted to boxing up the items she wants to part with and moving it out into the hall, with apologies to anyone who has to step around her pile. ]

Sorry about the mess. I'm doing a bit of tidying. If you'd like any of this, please, help yourself.

[ She gestures to the box of goods she's planning to rehome. There are jugs, pressed flowers, candles, books... ]

ii. uncanny admiration

[ Despite being fond of gardens, Marianne has largely avoided the botanical gardens where the statues of the Chosen are on display. She finds her own image carved in marble too embarrassing, too shameful for someone who had brought the town ruin not too long ago. With her newfound determination (and feeling plagued by it long enough), she arranges for her statue to be taken down and dismantled.

The next day, she thinks she can finally stroll the garden in peace...that is, until she sees an incredibly detailed carving of herself erected in a new location, again engraved with the words Savior of Aldrip. Oh, how those words make her hide her face in her hands. ]

It's back? I don't understand how.

iii. (don't) stop to smell the flowers

[ Marianne feels most at peace in the Aldrip meadows, though she still feels guilty whenever she comes across a strip of devastated land. She's taken to helping the fairies with their work to restore nature, bringing them seeds and whatever they request. This afternoon, however, she has trouble keeping her eyes open. The flower's sweet scent, the gentle breeze, the calmness all lull her to close her eyes and lay down in the grass. Once she's drifted off, birds gather around her still form, and one plucks at her hairband as she sleeps. ]

Comments

[snowslip]

[ Marianne listens thoughtfully. She knows of people like herself who feel a connection to the goddess, and people who believe without really believing, but the latter - the latter makes her uncomfortable to think about. She hopes, for the gentle and faithful people of this land, that they aren't being misled.

When she gazes upon the statues, she gets a bad feeling, but maybe it's nothing more than a feeling like the many others brought on by her bleak outlook. She's not the most optimistic of persons, and she recognizes that. She would like to change herself even just a little. Maybe it would do her good to look up more, or to try to see a bit of what the townspeople see in her.

Funny enough, it's the believing that's hard. ]

You seem like you've given it much thought. [ It makes Marianne curious what the other believes in, if anything. ] Or is it that you know people like that?

[entreats]

[ There's the tiniest pause, just a beat. Not very long at all, but it's like Ange needs just a second to think of how exactly to word this, twisting a ring on her finger as she does. ]

I know a whole lot of entities with powers on the level of a god that suck.

[ That's the easiest way to explain it, she figures. And it's not like it isn't true. ]

So I've learned the only thing you can really trust in the world is yourself. [ Maybe.. kind of a depressing thing to say, huh.

Though Ange says it just as calmly as she says everything else, not much emotion leaking out through either her voice or her facial expression as she looks over at Marianne. ]

Else you'll just get hurt.

[snowslip]

That's terrible. A goddess - or god should watch over their people.

[ Marianne says sadly, her expression turning somber. Sothis could be cruel and kind, but the goddess would never mislead people. She wonders if Ange had been one of the ones hurt in the past to feel so betrayed. Even though the other woman doesn't show much emotion, Marianne can't help but feel that living like that would be lonely. ]

[entreats]

[ Ange looks over at Marianne. ]

Is that how it is where you come from?

[ The other does seem to hold some belief in potential goodness in gods, after all. Which means there must be at least some personal experience there, Ange figures. ]

[snowslip]

[ Marianne nods, bringing her hands together. ]

The goddess Sothis watches over the land and blesses us with her strength and protection. [ Her fingers twist together with uncertainty. ] The people here have a different faith, but I can see how devoted they are, so that's why I hope the best for them.

[entreats]

.. Do you really think there's something looking out for them, as they seem to think?

[ She won't question Marianne's own faith, at least. She's not that rude.

But even with everything they've already discussed, Ange feels like there's one thing they haven't touched on. Something she can't help but think about as she looks at their surroundings. ]

I mean, remember the people out in the desert? I guess I don't really have experience with actual gods, but if there was one here, shouldn't it have protected those people from turning into mindless beings?