Sarissa (ladyofsummer) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2018-05-28 20:55:00 |
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Sarissa had gone seen people come and go at Madison Valley - multiple times, in fact. Harry, for example, had come and gone, and come and gone again. For someone as old as she was, who lived a transitory life and had seen lives born and lost, it wasn’t a new experience. She felt sad about it, and then she got over it. She’d had to, or else she would’ve lost her mind centuries ago. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be sympathetic when others lost people they cared about, though - especially when the person lost had been keeping a demon at bay. Sarissa knew a thing or two about suppressing something that threatened to take over your entire sense of being. While she didn’t like talking about it, perhaps she could help Eretria. Perhaps Eretria could help her. She knew Ere would be late that morning, but that was fine. It was slow anyway, and she could’ve handled anything that came up herself. She could afford to wait. *** Ere burned off some steam with Wes, that had been good for her, she was ever grateful for him. He was a saving grace when her world crashed around her. She really didn't know how to handle this. Her mentor, her friend, had gone back to his death. That knowledge only made it worse for her. Then the weight of the fact her other friends from home weren't speaking to her left her feeling adrift. She'd finished with Wes then fed the horses and headed to work. The rest would wait until she figured out a good balance on how to do it all herself. She slipped into work, she'd cleaned up, put makeup on to hide the black eye she'd totally gotten by moving too slow and hung her jacket up before clocking in. “Sorry I'm late, Sarissa” she said quietly, running a hand through her hair. *** “That’s understandable,” Sarissa assured her. She didn’t ask how she was; that much was plain to see. Instead, she conjured up some tea and handed it over to the girl. Such a small use of power was warranted in this case. “Is there anything I can do for you right now?” They’d talked about Sarissa teaching Eretria to control her powers and the demon in her, but first Eretria had to get to the point where she could absorb anything. *** She stopped for a moment as the tea was conjured up and handed over. Then she sat down with it and took a long sip. It was a welcomed addition to her current state - tired, but a good tired. Working out that hard really had helped. “Thank you.” she said after a moment, remembering her manners. “I… honestly don’t know.” she said with a shrug of one shoulder. “Being busy helps. I stop remembering that I know what he goes back to.” she shrugged again and sipped more of the tea. “This place is fickle, I know that, I just wasn’t expecting it either.” Eretria was used to losing people. It happened. But for once, she’d been really clinging to the idea that this was stable. No wars were going on. She wasn’t helping kill anyone. No one was dying. Things could be okay. But… of course they weren’t. That’s not how things go. *** “There’s no rhyme or reason to it,” Sarissa agreed. “That’s what makes it hard.” She went over to flip over the store sign to closed - manually this time. Most people were at work this time of day, but there were still some people who came by looking for flowers for a coworker or for a family member at home. She didn’t want to be interrupted when Eretria still looked so raw. *** She shook her head gently and shrugged. “It’s frustrating.” she said after a moment before looking at Sarissa. “Aren’t we going to get into trouble?” she furrowed her brows, yeah, Ere was raw and hurting but she didn’t want them in trouble either. “I’m sorry. Readjusting is… weird and I just started.” she laughed gently, shaking her head as she tried to not deal with it. “I am not a fan.” she just sighed, a little. *** “I think there are times when you worry about getting into trouble, and times when you don’t,” Sarissa replied gently as she took a seat across from Eretria. “I’d say this counts as the latter.” She summoned up a cup of tea to herself. “What were you adjusting to, exactly?” *** Eretria pondered that for a moment then nodded. “Fair enough.” she wouldn’t argue as she looked back at Sarissa. “Managing the homestead on my own, since we bought it together and started building things together - now it’s just me. The house is only half-done, the fields are half-plowed, the animals need care - we have three horses, and the quiet.” she said faintly. “That’s the hardest part. I’ve been alone before, that’s not new but that was before I that dark side got woken up and now I don’t like the quiet. I worry.” *** Sarissa nodded. “That’s a lot of work,” she agreed. She didn’t offer any solutions, though. Once Eretria adjusted, she’d come to realize that either she could manage by herself after all, or that she’d need some help. At the moment, she probably wasn't ready to think about such things. “Tell me about the dark side,” she invited. She was curious about this, and if there were any commonalities between it and the Mantle she carried. “When did it wake up? How did it wake up? And how does it manifest?” *** Ere would figure it out. It would be managed or it wouldn't. That's all there really was to it, honestly. She didn't mind the work she just needed to find the new routine for it to work right. “Apparently I'm the child of a demon and a human, rare in my time but I guess not so much a few generations back. I found out from a man who'd taken me in as a small child. He had a wraith locked up, brought me to it and told me I could control them. I got addicted to the power until one time I couldn't control it and the wraith took over.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I did a lot of bad things under its control, and when they got me back, I was told I'll forever be at risk to lose myself to anything like that. The half demon blood is why I can be a druid, why I went off to be one back home, because it can help keep it in check, help protect that side of me. But dark things attract me, and I can feel it in my dreams, like a well of power I can't quite reach.” **** Sarissa wondered if that was something Maeve had struggled with, at least at first: that sense of ever-encroaching darkness. But Maeve had liked being Winter Lady; wanted it. She probably hadn’t resisted much. Sarissa, however, understood what it was like to resist being taken over by an entity much stronger than herself. “It seems that life energy, or life magic, keeps it at bay,” Sarissa said, remembering what Eretria had said about the Summer Knight’s Mantle keeping the darkness at bay. She gave the girl another encouraging smile. “Let’s see what we can do to keep that going.” *** She nodded a bit - “It seems like that might be right - earth, life, nature - a balance of everything keeps it quiet.” she said softly as she finished her tea, staring at the cup for a moment. “It’s strange to think of myself like that, I grew up not having a clue, not knowing.” She shook her head. “The worst part is I liked it. Even afterwards, I liked the feeling. And that’s just not… something I should enjoy.” she shook her head. Then looked up at her. “Yes. I am grateful you’re willing to help, Sarissa, it means the world to me.” *** “That’s the thing about power,” Sarissa said with a bittersweet smile. “It makes you like it. It makes you want more.” She moved off her seat to go and sit beside Eretria. Although she knew the girl could be prickly, she wanted to offer a shoulder or a hug if Eretria wanted it. “I’m happy to help. And I’ll do what I can to keep that demon at bay.” *** “Hard to resist when it's just so damn good feeling. Even though I know it's bad. That power any way.” She shrugged a bit. Ere could be as prickly as a rose, but she nudged Sarissa gently, acknowledging the support while not quite giving in to a hug. “Thanks. We'll figure it out. You're smart, I'm stubborn” she smiled. *** Sarissa laughed and hugged her back. “I’m not sure about the smart part, but we’ll figure it out,” she told her. “I’m confident we will.” |