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!
In my brightest reverie I can see her walking next to me I feel her breath upon my cheek
Ru equally has no qualms with feeding Boreal bits of their meal, so she will be pleasantly doted upon between her and Sunjata. She meets Sunjata's foreboding stare with a shameless grin, practically inviting him to enact his own revenge.
The blink hare is not only disruptive and distracting, it makes her predatory instincts leap to the fore with the desire to hunt and chase, which doesn't help her productivity with how she has to grapple those back under control. She still feels a bit restless by time the work is done, but she subsides into a measure of calm as Sunjata puts his arm around her shoulder, leaning into his side bonelessly. "Sounds like a plan," she agrees, though her voice is soft and slurred with exhaustion. She sleeps soundly that night, worn to the bone.
Morning has her looking far more rested than she'd been even the morning before, her last journey to Halo effecting her less with each passing day. The joke has her huffing pretentiously, though her lips twitch to hear Sunjata's rumbling laugh, pleased to see the tentative beginnings of acquaintanceship blossoming among her loved ones. So perhaps this one time she'll let the short joke slide.
Though she does, in fact, use the ladders.
- - -
Ru puts up walls (and does use the ladder).
the valkyrie
speaking gentle words to tame the beast
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
The bare bones of the building were slowly but surely dressed in split timbers, sturdy enough to withstand King's End's wild ways. Though hopefully those ways would grow less wild over time, now that it was starting to get a more civilized air to it. Hotaru and Alys made a good team, getting the siding of the first floor walls hammered into place ahead of the boys, who followed behind and worked on getting the walls up to the second story in place. With everyone having slept soundly the night before, the work went swiftly and well, without distractions (though Boreal did interrupt a few times for pats and the treats that she had discovered were to be found from Sunjata as often as from Hotaru and Alys).
Tal and Sunjata both had to use the ladders, too, in the end, but both were agile enough to climb up and down them without mishap. The extra trips up and down meant they worked a little slower than the ladies, but they kept up a steady pace, and the experience of working together the day before stood them in good stead for the teamwork needed as they each held up one side of a siding plank and hammered it into place against the sturdy frame they had previously erected.
After lunch time had come and gone with another pleasant picnic in the shade, Tal stood up and dusted the grass off his butt, practically vibrating with uncharacteristic excitement.
They were getting so close.
"Right, if we c'n get th'roof an' windows in before dark, Alys an' I can finish th'rest later." He looked to his partner for confirmation of his optimism, his grin bright and a sense of perked ears and wagging tail lingering just out of sight at the edges of his silhouette. "I figure, two on th'roof, one t' fit th'windows in th'spaces we left for th'frames, an' one t'build the chimney?" Hopefully everyone would agree, because the courier was already rolling his sleeves back up and heading for the pile of raw materials, ready to dive back in!
Last round!
Two to build the roof on
One to place the windows and nail the frames into place
One to build the chimney from the provided river cobbles
the first cut was the deepest, but it healed up whole
Soon enough, everything starts to be pieced together, the walls up in the second story closing in the space enough that it was finally starting to look like a home. The steady pace made work quick, and before he knows it they’re breaking again for lunch. Content to sit there as Petronella bounds around through the tall grasses trying to chase Boreal, Sunjata’s arm remains glued around Hotaru’s side for the entirety of the lunch.
Even still when Tal stands and offers the rest of the instructions, after the quick confirmation with Alys. “Think I’ll take the roof, do you want to join me this time?” He asks, his voice dropping quietly toward Hotaru after announcing the next task he’d take, nose brushing her jaw. The second he gets confirmation, he dives in to claim that chaste and playful kiss, withdrawing to stand, flashing her a wink over his shoulder as he steps over to collect the materials they’ll need.
It takes a bit of work to get them up there, but when they do Sunjata easily slots into position to start hammering down the base of the roof, sure that Hotaru could follow along to place down the shingles. It’s mostly silent work at first, until a little game begins between them, where each time Hotaru catches up to him in her rows of shingles, Sunjata leans in for a kiss.
A little bit of motivation for the two of them and their hard work these past couple of days.
Sunjata takes the roof with Hotaru!
the flood
and the next one was a soft touch, but i bled out below
totally sniped from odd ilu
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
In my brightest reverie I can see her walking next to me I feel her breath upon my cheek
Ru stands and stretches in the wake of lunch, until her arms quake and her eyes are scrunched up with effort, leaning sideways into Sunjata. The physical work isn't much of a drain on her personally, but it leaves a nice ache in her muscles that tells a story of the work they've done so far.
Her laugh is soft and tittering with affection as Sunjata noses against her jaw, his words quiet and intimate. "Of course, hart koning." She trails her nose up the side of his cheek, her smiling lips brushing his skin in its wake. She is still smiling as he kisses her, and rolls her eyes with a fond laugh as he winks over his shoulder while he goes to gather materials.
Clambering up the framing of the house is a bit of a process, but luckily Hotaru has impeccable balance (which certainly isn't because of her low center of gravity, shut up). They find a solid rhythm within the first couple of rows, and Hotaru arches up on her toes to kiss Sunjata with a smile every time she catches up to him, confident that this is the best task they've had so far.
- - -
Ru is a romantic nuisance and also helps Sunjata with roofing!
the valkyrie
speaking gentle words to tame the beast
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Tal wrinkled his nose at the shameless PDA happening on the other side of the picnic blanket, but the expression held a similar fond exasperation that was often turned on Boreal. He might not know Sunjata hardly at all yet, but it was good to see Hotaru relaxing so much and looking so happy and comfortable, even if she was being, well, schmoopy about it.
He shared a grin with Alys as the happy couple headed up to cloud nine - or as close as they could get, on top of the two-story structure that was starting to look definitively house-like.
Tal headed over to the chimney, where his strength came in handy for shifting the largest river rocks into place at the base of the structure. He had plenty of experience by now in mixing up mortar, for that matter, and he applied it liberally as the cobblestone fireplace began to rise along the outside of the building. He used a ladder once he got to shoulder-height, extending the chimney all the way to the roof that was nearly complete by the time he reached it.
Alys handled the windows with deftness and care, and not a single pane of glass was cracked as she secured them into the framing that they'd built in earlier. By the time the sun was going down the exterior of the building was complete, with plenty of room downstairs for a pair of shops and a generous living area with wide windows on the second floor. As a finishing touch, Tal and Alys hung the front doors to their two shops. Though there was still plenty of work to be done inside, the building was now safe and secure from elements and animals alike.
"Thanks," Tal offered Hotaru and Sunjata, gruffly awkward as he reached out to squeeze Ru's hands and offered Jata a shy smile that made him look ten years younger. "Anytime y'need us t'return th'favor, all y'gotta do is ask."
