Maren Abel's Links
When Maren and Andrea first met, Maren was very ill all the time. Drowning in exhaustion and paranoia, Andrea's doting and protective behavior was very comforting even if it was a little pushy. While they have nothing in common besides being Sightbearers and sharing the same friend group, they continue to be good friends to this day.
Maren being a Sightbearer is about the only thing that Andy has in common with her, but somehow she still thinks of Maren as a good friend. Andrea has a need to be protective and doting that came out a lot when the two first met, but now that Maren is a lot more independent and less sickly their initial roles are often reversed and occasionally mutual.
While her relationship with her sister is strained, Sharen continues to be the light of her life and the one person that she's spent her entire life trying to do everything for. Maren's dedication constantly being overlooked as well as her own needs has done consistent damage to her emotionally. Sharen's lack of consideration in her sexual flaunting also lead to Maren being very much sexually repulsed.
Being physically incapable of forgetting not only Sharen dying in her arms, but also the many attempts Demon Sharen had made on her life afterwards has really put a dent in how capable Maren is at hangling her sister often times now.
While bad at showing it and not realizing it until she almost lost Maren, her sister is the light of her life and she'd do anything to see Maren safe and happy. Sharen's actions growing up had the unintentional result of further isolating Maren and traumatizing them both, leaving a huge hole between them that may or may not ever be able to be fully healed.
However, Sharen eventually literally dies to save Maren only to have her soul transformed into a confused, angry demon that tries to kill her sister on multiple occasions over the course of about three years. Maren makes several desperate, failing attempts to save Sharen, only further angering the demon. Sharen is "saved" when two witches do battle in the realm of death and she is revived out of pity. Recently revived Sharen's relationship with Maren is more strained then ever.
Lady Aixa is one of Maren's very good friends. I mean, Aixa saved her life and she wasn't even a Guardian Lord yet. She had nothing to prove and nothing to gain, except maybe a little admiration. But Maren's not the type to fault her for that.
Because of Aixa's later connection to Elder Lords, Maren ends up becoming friends with them as well--except Cyrus, who she was already friends with and suddenly has an excuse to see him more often.
Lady Aixa has a "platonic crush" on Maren and finds everything about her to be pretty endearing. While unable to form a romantic attachment to her friend as much as she kind of wants to, she's very comfortable with where their friendship stands.
Maren is friends with Alvita's fiance, Aasim, so she kind of feels obligated to be at least lowkey friends with Alvita?? But despite them both being pretty genuine people, their personal values tend to not align and Alvita's insistent need to argue for why her opinions are right is a real turn off for Maren.
In a way, Alvita reminds her of her own sister. Maybe too much. So while she convinces herself it's Alvita's argumentative and bullheaded personality that she doesn't like, it's that Alvita is too much like Sharen. Way too much. While she clings to the positive traits of her sister, the Lady harbors Sharen's negative traits as well, without the emotional bond that Maren had with her own sister.
Alvita is surprisingly seemingly oblivious that Maren is not as much friends with her as she is with Maren. She could talk about her friends all day if given the chance and Maren is absolutely one of them. However, Maren's strained and confusing desire to both interact with and pull away from her is definitely a regular conversation between herself and Aasim. Maren's reactions to Alvita painted a really good picture of who Sharen was before Sharen was brought back from the dead.
An acquaintance! But he is very nice and peaceful company, so she enjoys his presence when he comes around.
An acquaintance! He rarely sees her at her most energetic, being a bit of an introverted shut in, but he appreciates her company (and her puns).
Maren thoroughly enjoys Jay's company (and cooking).
Maren is one of the few people Jay feels safe enough to just ramble to, often accidentally overloading Maren's ability to take in what has been said.
At the moment their relationship is that meme where the Spidermans are pointing at each other.
Fellow Sightbearer doesn't automatically mean FRIENDS JUST YET
Galda is the mother figure Maren always deserved, much to everyone's surprise. Maren's company gets Galda talking and joking and making puns, while other times they just quietly enjoy each other's presence. There's a contentedness between them when they're near each other that their familial bond is incredibly obvious.
Galda has been using Arn to watch and guard Maren since she was very young. This knowledge only temporarily shook their relationship, as knowing someone was spying on you is creepy as hell and rather unnerving. However, without Galda's interference, Maren would've never made it to adulthood. After getting over that temporary setback, the two of them have been closer then ever. Where there is a Maren, there is most likely a Galda not too far behind.
Initially, Galda set surveillance upon Maren due to Maren being a forged Sightbearer, born and made to be a beacon for demonic entities on purpose to eventually trap Galda in order for Maeve to achieve True Necromancy. However, over time Galda grew to warm up to Maren, eventually harboring feelings of care for the girl throughout her life, while trying to maintain her distance. This however, did not last, and the truth behind Maren's history came full force and created tension between the two, leading up to events that almost cost Galda her power and her life. Barely escaping death, Galda and Maren maintain a bond despite such a tumultuous connection.
Maren met Dyla at her regular physical appointments with Morgan when Maren was more reserved and very much grieving. Dyla's personality encouraged the fruition of Maren's real self to slowly crawl back out of the hole it had sunken into and they jived pretty quickly, soon Maren looked forward to the physicals just for the chance to see Dyla and eventually the two started hanging out on their own.
They are both really bad influences on each other and Maren is pretty sure sometimes Morgan regrets introducing them. Over the years, while they've had their ups and downs, Maren has learned a lot about what is normal and what is not because of her. Dyla is an honorary member of Maren's found family, and one of Maren's bridesmaids when she finally marries Ryo.
Maren spent her entire childhood terrified of Arn, whom she calls "Owl." Arn was her childhood guardian and the eyes Galda use to spy on Maren with, although she had no way of understanding Arn was protecting her back then. She was so scared of Arn that she figured out how to set up a weird barrier in her bedroom through trial and error to keep Arn out. While this barrier seemed to work with other demons, it did not appear to work for Galda's familiars.
Now that Maren is not afraid of Arn, she has emotionally bonded to the tiny demon and doesn't mind "Owl" perching on her shoulders or arm. Like Galda herself, Arn's touch doesn't hurt her.
Very few people make Maren shy anymore. Enzo is one of them. She's trying to get over that.
Veran is one of Maren's best friends, to the point where they are often not too far apart. She views the original Sightbearer not just as a close friend, but more like an older sister. Being that Maren was adopted as a baby and has been aware of that her whole life, her bond is her blood and not the other way around. Veran is a part of her heart, a part of her soul. Her family. And there is nothing she wouldn't do for her. Nothing.
Renatus is one of her best friends, and due to his being a Truthseer, she can touch him without pain. Most of the time. Words cannot express her love for this man, who radiates the warmth and safety she has been spending her entire life trying to find. While Roku may have extended his arm when Ryo brought her home and so she calls him dad, and she means it with all her heart, it is Renatus who she thinks of first when she thinks of a father. He may be sharp of the tongue and hardened on the outside, but she wouldn't want him to change for anyone. Not even for her. He's perfect just the way he is.