Maude drinks in Cress’ story with the same sort of interest she listens to most: ears perked, eyes earnest and wide, and her mind turning over each detail of the tale as if it were a shell, or a stone, searching for the parts that were most interesting, or beautiful. So, what Maude hears is that, essentially, her newfound friend had flown into a magical discordance, which had slowly (and craftily, it sounded!) brought her here, to Novus. That the blue jay tells a tale that is mostly mystical with little terror eases Maude’s worries even further. It seemed that, for the time being, she was safe from horrible, shadow infested places that endlessly rained and rained, and that, perhaps, there was some chance that she could be happy here, after all, even if…
She tries not to think of Helovia, she does, but it slips up on her regardless. Getting better at ignoring the sudden, overwhelming sorrow that threatens to drown her whenever she does remember it, however, the girl manages a smile, and bobs her ginger muzzle.
"Maybe that’s how I got here, too," ponders and grins the maiden, the expression all more genuine as she adds with a giggle, "well, except the flying part."
Grinning as Cress explains that she would walk to the Dusk Court, the young healer nods her head, inwardly chiding herself. Of course the pegasus would, she thinks; most people were nice, after all, as far as Maude had experienced in her life. Smiling even wider when the blue bird complements her, the cream-haired youth leans towards the gentle gesture of the winged mare, and playfully lips at the pegasus’ shoulder in return.
"Thanks! Everyone in my family has antlers, even Uncle Bart…" cheerfully begins the tree-maiden, before quieting slightly. Maude quickly changes the subject from precious, dear faces she may never see again, emotion flooding her words as she continues. "They took ages to get this big. When I was little, they were just little…lumps."
Having never asked her pegasus friend, Gawen, about his wings, the girl curiously asks of Cress what she had always wondered quietly to herself.
"Were your wings small once, too?"
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