From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Noah finished the meat before Alys finished the vegetables, and he joined her at her station to help with the carrots while she finished the onions. She found his history interesting; her own was quite different, and sometimes it was nice to hear from people who had had a normal upbringing. He seemed particularly close with his father, from what he said, and Alys felt a sting of jealousy. She was not on good terms with her parents, and though she rarely gave it much thought, there were times that she wished things were different.
When Noah apologized, though, Alys frowned and shook her head. "It's not boring," she said bluntly. "I did ask." Then, because it seemed like a good idea to reciprocate at least a little bit, she shared some of her own history. "My family are all merchants - logical, you know? Wanting everything to be measurable and tangible. They didn't approve of me wanting to be a Seer, but they made sure I had an education, and I'm grateful for that. They wanted me to take over their shop, one day, but I'd go mad if I had to run a store all day." She wrinkled her nose. "Anyway, it's easier here. People aren't as... judgmental."
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Noah was not as skilled as cutting vegatables as he was at cutting meat. Perhaps it was more truthful to say he just didn't take the same kind of care and finesse into cutting veggies as he did luxere. Either way, the carrots got peeled and chopped, even if they were at a few different sizes. Once they were cut up he gathered them and the potatoes into a bowl and handed it to Alys to add the onions. Then he crossed back over to where he had cut the meat and gathered that on a smaller wooden butcher block. "Halovians are all about doing what it takes to survive. For some that's all physical, but some of us get the mental part of it, too." He reassured her as he led the way into the main part of the house and to the dutch oven over the fire.
Noah set his block down and used the hooking tool next to the hearth to pull the iron rigging that held the pot out. Then he scraped all the meat down into the pot. It sizzled and started smoking out immediately as the meat began to cook and shrink down. "You can toss the veggies in while I get some water." And then he did as he said he would, and gathered water.
Once the veggies were in, Noah grabbed a long wooden stirring spoon from the ceramic jar on the ledge above the fire. He gestured to a spot where Alys could sit, then, and asked her another question. "What does being a Seer look like in Halo?"
Alys dumped her onions into the bowl with the potatoes and carrots and followed Noah into the house. She was amused to find that while his meat cuts were precise and neat, his carrots left something to be desired in terms of conformity. Not that it mattered, really, not in a stew. It was all going to end up in the same place, regardless of how it looked.
She watched with interest as Noah hooked the pot and pulled it out before scraping the meat in. She didn't normally cook, living at the Academy, since kitchen space was difficult to come by. It was interesting to see what actual kitchens looked like, so that she would know what to look for when it came to buying a house. She desperately wanted a place of her own and was saving up for it, but for now, it wasn't in the cards (lol).
After dumping in the vegetables, Alys took the offered seat. "Well, I use tarot cards to divine certain things," she said. "Each card has its own meaning, and each meaning interpreted gives insight into someone's life. I've been slowly building a client base. I have a few repeat customers now, and they spread the word to others."
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
The Sentinel was no master chef. He knew how to throw things together in one pot and make it edible and nutrient dense. That was what he learned in his childhood — put as many calories into your food that you could manage with as much “health” as you could afford. Halo had little in the way of leafy greens and fresh vibrant vegetables, anyways. Stew was one of the things he could do with what he always had.
”That’s very interesting. Do you convene with the gods with these cards?” He tilted his head slightly in an animalistic way of displaying his curiosity while he added water to the mix of meat and veggies. Noah didn’t want to seem ignorant in a way that would offend the woman, but he knew nothing. Tarot was a brand new word in his vocabulary.
With their stew coming along, and nothing to do except stir the pot every now and then, Alys settled in to wait. Their meal was sure to be hearty, if nothing else, and she found herself looking forward to it. It was interesting, getting to know Noah a little more. When she thought about it, she knew far too few of her Halovian neighbors, and she could use more friends.
"No," she said, and though she used to be staunchly against the gods, her voice now held no ill will. "At least, not intentionally. You probably could use them for such a purpose, but I prefer to think of them as... messages from the universe, if you will." She wasn't really sure how to explain it better than that. "If you're interested, I could do a reading for you sometime." Although, honestly, if his wife was pregnant with twins, she could guess at what the cards would tell him.
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Even in the minutes they talked the main part of the house was filling with the robust, savory aroma of the stew. Noah could feel his mouth watering, but he hadn’t realized until it happened how hungry he really had been. As ALYS explained to him her perspective on the cards and their messages, Noah got up to retrieve some dried herbs from the cupboards that Cordelia had organized for the fourth time in the last two weeks. Rummaging around for only a moment, he found what he wanted and went back to the stew.
All the while he kept his ears on ALYS, making sure to listen carefully. He did not want to misinterpret what she had to say, and he wanted to give her the freedom to express any feelings towards the gods should she want to. While Noah wouldn’t stand for blasphemy against his god and herald, he wanted the room for debate and disagreement to still be open. Without measuring, Noah dumped in some spices. “That would be nice.” Noah said as he stirred the stew above the fire.
”I think this will be ready soon.” Even if stew was better the next day, a warm and full belly was always good.
The smell of the stew wafted through the house, making Alys's mouth water. Like Noah, she hadn't realized just how hungry she was until just that moment, upon smelling the stew's warm scent and imagining what the savory flavor would taste like when she bit into it. Noah agreed to a reading, and Alys nodded her agreement, reaching into her pocket to finger the deck of cards she always kept there. It wasn't a good time just now, of course, but she would be happy to oblige at some point in the future,
With the stew almost ready, Alys looked around the room to see what she could do to help. A stew was so easy to make that she hadn't been of much use in that regard, but she could certainly set a table. "Do you have bowls and silverware that I could set out?" she asked. "Or do you want any side dishes?" She hadn't brought the materials for such a dish, but maybe Noah had some bread or something that he would want to eat with the stew.
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
"Cordelia made some bread yesterday." Noah said as he shuffled in the kitchen. He grabbed three bowls and three spoons and placed them on the table before going back to the kitchen for the afore mentioned bread. Since the shrike had lived with him full time, there was a more orderly touch to the world of his home. Bowls and spoons were clean and easy enough to find, which was a blessing. When Noah was a bachelor, he was known to eat out of the exact same bowl for every meal and just wash it in between. His other dishes had been covered by years and years of dust, and only now were they really being used on a regular basis since the passing of his parents.
Coming in with a cutting knife and the bread, Noah gestured for Alys to take a seat at the table. "I'm going to take some of this to Cordelia, I'll be right back." He gave a tugging smile as he sliced a hefty chunk of the bread for his wife. Then he placed it in the bottom of the bowl, just how she liked it, before going back to the fire. He used the iron tool to pull the pot hanger out over the flames, and then ladled his wife a good helping. She was growing two babies, after all. She needed all of the strength and nutrients she could get. Slipping away to their bedroom, Noah offered the bowl to his wife. Alys, if she listened carefully, could hear the hushed sounds of the married couple talking. Cordelia was too tired to get out of bed, and it was easy to interpret over her tone that she didn't like that -- she wanteed to be with their guest. Noah reassured her that it would be ok, that there would be time for plenty of gatherings after the babies arrived. Then he heaed back out to Alys.
Grabbing a bowl, he ladled her a helping. "Feel free to eat as much bread as you want. It's quite addicting, so don't be shy." It went without saying for the stew, as well, since she had given the majority of the ingredients for such a dinner. Placing her bowl down, Noah scooped out his own and then sat in his seat, hardly patient enough for the stew to cool enough not to burn and numb the inside of his mouth.
Homemade bread sounded very appealing to Alys; there was just something about it that made it better than the bread one could find in shops or markets. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but the thought of it made her mouth water as she waited for Noah to take a helping of the stew to his wife. While she waited, she heard the sounds of the couple speaking in hushed voices, though she couldn't make out exactly what was said. It was none of her business, anyway, and she'd never been one to eavesdrop. Perhaps one day she would meet Cordelia. She wondered if his wife was as pleasant a person as Noah had turned out to be.
When Noah returned, Alys took her filled bowl with a word of thanks and cut herself a slice of bread. Tearing off a small piece of the bread, she dipped it into her stew to let it soak up the broth before popping it into her mouth. It was delicious: different from a beef stew, but in a way that was simply interesting rather than better or worse. The bread, though, was just as wonderful as she'd anticipated, and it was with some difficulty that she waited until she had swallowed her mouthful before saying, "This is really good."
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Noah’s eyes glinted as his smile broadened over his bowl. He was glad that Alys liked the meal. It wasn’t what she was looking for, but Noah honestly thought it better than what she may have gotten from the butcher. ”You can take some meat home with you, too. It’s good in all other kinds of stuff.” Nearly anything you made with beef could be replaced with Luxere or other deer-like creatures. ”And take as much stew as you’d like. I have been told that we’re supposed to bring food to the new festival that is coming here soon.”
He stood up and went over to the large Dutch oven. There was plenty in it for them to have their fill tonight and for each of them to have leftovers. Noah put on gloves to protect himself from the heat of the cast iron and tilted it slightly so that Alys could confirm that there was enough for everyone.
There was indeed enough for everyone, and Alys nodded with a word of thanks before returning to her meal. She would be pleased to take home some of the meat that Noah had offered, if she could figure out where to store it in the Academy. She was surprised by how much she liked it, but like it, she did.
The rest of their meal was spent chatting about this and that, discussing Alys's place at the Academy, Noah's position as Advisor, life in Halo, and all manner of things. Time seemed to fly by, and by the time her bowl was empty and her leftovers packed, Alys was pleased to find that she'd found a new friend. As she prepared to leave, she wished Noah and his wife well, wishing many blessings for their soon-to-be-born twins. When they arrived, she would have to send a gift basket with her congratulations.
-FIN-
sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is trying to convince myself i'm alive
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
