Ayl continues painting

Wordlessly, Ayl turned away and retook her brush. Her face was still flushed and her head was wild with emotions so she did the one thing that always calmed her down; paint.

Maia sat on the ground just behind Ayl, enough to the side to maintain a full view of the canvas. Although it would have never occured to Maia to spend the day simply watching someone paint, in this moment, Maia couldn't thing of a single thing she would rather do. Fortunately for her, basic Ri cycling exercises didn't require movement.

The two of them spent many hours in relative silence. Maia was cycling Ri much fiercer than before, finally feeling the drag of her Ri on the stationary air. Even through her cycling, she never stopped watching Ayl paint her masterpiece. The frozen tree now sported a canopy of icy leaves, the ends of nature engaged in a duel once again. Off in the distance, well beyond the tree was a city of towers, magnificent and obscured by a faint mist.

"Maia. Oh Maia" a sweet, foreign voice called out.

Maia shook her eyes open, awaking from an unanticipated nap.

"You must not be fit for waking up this early, yes?" Ayl continued after giving Maia a few moments to clear her thoughts.

"Oh. Um. I'm sorry Ayl. I didn't mean to doze off." Maia managed to get out.

Ayl giggled audibly "You really are a fool Maia Eidola, this much is known. If you truly wish to apologize you would either need to do so for interrupting my painting to begin with, or for letting me continue to paint. Your choice, yes? Either way, you have apologized incorrectly."

Maia wasn't sure what to say. "Letting her continue to paint? What alternative was there, unless...". Her thoughts were interrupted by Ayl's voice once again. "I am glad that you are here. Your presence is a comfort that I would now like to repay."

"What do you mean 'repay'?" Maia asks without thinking.

Ayl handed Maia the finished painting. "Art is meant to be shared. Now you will always have something to remember me, even if we drift away."

Maia noticed a tear forming in Ayl's eyes, not quite falling as she turned and walked away, easel and painting supplies in hand.

"As if I would ever forget someone like her"