Nothing unusual happened during the early prayers and soon, Mae left to tend her corner of garden. Each priestess-in-training was entrusted with corner of the gardens to take care of and if they chose to, they could continue the duty later on. She had, finding it both relaxing and time consuming. As strange as it may be, latter was not a bad thing in her life where she didn't get much chance of solitude or personal space. But when she was in garden, she was rarely sought out and it was a good excuse to not do some things she didn't want to. Studying worked, too, but today she felt too tired for that.

In fact, she was too tired for weeding, too, and soon, sat down on the white painted bench. She had devotedly worked here for years and rarely had just taken time to appreciate the results. Why couldn't she do it now? Soon, she'd leave and the place would be overgrown, her work go to waste at least partially... Maybe she could ask Illitha to take over... Her thoughts drifted further and further away, until she slipped into shallow sleep, body sliding lower and head falling back on backrest partially.

This didn't last long, of course, when someone shook her by shoulder and startled, elf woke, grabbing after her knife at waist, hand stopping when she realized it was only one of the priestesses. "My lady! The Mage of Silver requests to speak with you. He would not wait." Mae nodded - yesterday, she had contacted him and informed of the situation, seeking out advice and help.

It would be more than hour later that she'd emerge from her quarters, expression crestfallen and showing signs of tiredness - not so much physically as in her dimmed gaze. Her fears had been proved correct and there was no time to waste. She would have to leave with the first light to reach Ray'dur, from there take teleport to Capital and meet Mage in person. Then, they could fully assess the situation and stop the plot that already apparently had already began its motion. But the trip to Ray'dur was nearly a week's worth of ride...

For moment, she leaned against the cold stone wall, closing eyes, lips barely moving in quiet prayer for strength to endure this task given to her by Fate. She couldn't fail, this could be more disastrous than falling of the Veil... Or be the cause for that. Then, woman began preparing for her hasty leave. Whole temple suddenly went lively and buzzing with activity, raiders leaving for city to gather supplies she had requested and preparing for a prolonged leave of their High Priestess. People came from city and surrounding area to ask for one final blessing before she left, and as much as she would've liked to give individual one to each of them, she just didn't have time for it.

As night fell, Mae fell drained, but ready for what would come. What upset her was that her guard captain's wife, a close acquaintance, perhaps even a friend, was close to giving birth to her firstborn child and neither her husband or Mae would be able to be there for her. But she couldn't go alone, too quickly such news would spread and she would become a target for various attacks. While she was capable of defending herself, there was high chance she could be overwhelmed in the end. And there was no one else who could be capable of standing by her side among temple guards. Perhaps, if he had been there that night, not with his wife (high priestess her self had given him some days off), all of this would not have come so far.

Before going to sleep, the woman settled down in garden for a short while, just to enjoy some peace and quiet, calm the turmoil within her - otherwise, her dreams would bring no peace, only troubling memories. Lacrimae knew herself well enough to acknowledge that.

---

Well, he was obviously alive. Woman settled down in sand, observing as he came to his sense. She wasn't disappointed that this guy had survived, but didn't feel particularly happy about it, either. Didn't look like he'd have anything worth taking anyway. He recovered rather quickly, really and then finally turned his attention to her. Two pairs of green eyes met in intense stare and Laeth didn't even blink as he took in her appearance. She could read in his expression that something in her looks didn't quite sit well with the man, but who was he to judge? He was short and had pink hair.

Still, he had such mature eyes, like one who had seen a lot and been in pain often. It made her wonder just what he had experienced. Although she never admitted to having suffered herself, now and then she found a disfigured empathy for those who had been beaten up by life. But when the man spoke, most of the interest evaporated and it was evident in her expression. He didn't speak her language, no, he used that English tongue she had learned some on her trips to mainland. Marwo understood enough now to know he was inquiring about food.

She stood up, dusted off her clothes although without much avail, and picked up her bag and shoes. Even barefooted, she was taller than him. If it wouldn't be for those eyes and expression of his, she'd put him in shelf with wacky human teenagers who dyed hair, but it didn't seem quite fit him. Oh well. In any case, Island would shape him up soon enough - nearly no one spoke English here and were naturally distrustful of anyone from Mainland. Sure, there was a good deal of curiosity mixed in, but some were also hateful.

Didn't seem like he needed help, already following the strange, furry creature and Marwo got on her way, too (besides, he hadn't been very polite in his question, from what she gathered, what was mate anyway? An insult?). Of course, due to the factor the only direction that had strong scent of food was the same she was heading in - towards city - made her kind of follow him, before the woman passed him by, humming a tune. Although she seemed absolutely ignoring his presence, she was still aware of it and if he tried something funny, she would react on time.

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