[Friendship wasn't something she considered often in this world. There was duty, sometimes, and occasionally, the glimpse of understanding that might be perceived as through a frosted window looking in from outside. But rarely did she entertain the thought that the foundations of relationships built here could scaffolded into friendship. In some ways, it seemed entirely antithetical to what many wished to achieve in the first place.
Caren's choice to remain with Meridian even after the haze of corruption left her mind had been simple. She was called. She felt little draw to the cause, little investment in the political unrest. But Set had not been wrong that there was angry suffering at the center of Meridian, a grief that bared its fangs through its Shardbearers. So she had endeavored to try, of her own volition. If she had hoped, even for a moment, for a recreated world that promised her different circumstances, then that too was a trick of the light.
Going out midday (which was always) in such a crowded city still wasn't pleasant, but the sun-shielding parasol she received from Cetina mitigated what it could. Caren pulled the parasol's canopy closed upon entering the garden. She was a little overgrown herself: Discord had been bubbling unchecked in her heart for a while now, hair a gauzy tuft.]
I've come in response to your invitation. Thank you for having me. [Her greeting was polite - normal, even, in a way that felt a little guarded.]
no subject
Caren's choice to remain with Meridian even after the haze of corruption left her mind had been simple. She was called. She felt little draw to the cause, little investment in the political unrest. But Set had not been wrong that there was angry suffering at the center of Meridian, a grief that bared its fangs through its Shardbearers. So she had endeavored to try, of her own volition. If she had hoped, even for a moment, for a recreated world that promised her different circumstances, then that too was a trick of the light.
Going out midday (which was always) in such a crowded city still wasn't pleasant, but the sun-shielding parasol she received from Cetina mitigated what it could. Caren pulled the parasol's canopy closed upon entering the garden. She was a little overgrown herself: Discord had been bubbling unchecked in her heart for a while now, hair a gauzy tuft.]
I've come in response to your invitation. Thank you for having me. [Her greeting was polite - normal, even, in a way that felt a little guarded.]