Moonspear There is so much wrong going on outside

Jarilo's anger only made everything worse.  He had every right to be, but Maia recoiled from the hurt and frustration in his words.  It was the brutal truth, and panicked tightness began to fill her chest as she felt the onset of sobs and the flush of heat in her face.  No..... no....

You don't want to see him anymore.  But she did.  There was so much she hadn't told him, so many stories, and so much she didn't ask.  Things about her mom, her dad.  Stupid things, things that didn't even matter.  What was her mom like, before she'd had kids? Did she always want them? Did she think for a while that storytelling was a useless trade too, or did she always know what she wanted to do?

Probably Charon wouldn't have even known, but now she'd never get to ask.  And she'd never get to see him again.

I.... .  She was losing her composure, and she didn't think she could answer poor Dirge's question.  She barely heard it.  She didn't belong here.  She was just messing everything up like she always did, and now that he was gone, she couldn't come back.  They didn't want her here.

Without acknowledging and still shell shocked, Maia spun and fled, not a single word of goodbye.  Behind her she left it sitting there on the ground... a perfect white shell, discarded on the leaves.  It didn't matter now.