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!
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
His reassurance shouldn't have been necessary, but it soothes her all the same, and her medical brain wonders idly whether her territorialness was purely political or something to be attributed to her changing body. Something to explore later; clearly there is something far more intriguing hiding behind Deimos' mischievous smile. It's a distractingly handsome expression, but not distracting enough to keep her from supplying her own magic to filling in cracks and patching holes as they walk.
Laughing under her breath and jauntily swinging her captured hand in tandem, Evie has to skip slightly on the upswing to account for their height difference which only makes it all the more amusing. Deimos is unfairly astute, because the bubble of joy helps stave off the brunt of concern that overcomes her at the notion of demigodly changes. It's not a negative piece of news per se, but the implication of the proposition having been left unanswered makes her Abandoned heart cringe with trepidation. Surely that would be a slight, especially to Safrin of all heralds? "Dangerous game, being uncertain with Safrin on a gift of that magnitude," she murmurs, certain Deimos will understand her and know she doesn't mean it disrespectfully toward his goddess. Though she's glad Hadama performed his due diligence she wonders what relationship he previously held with Safrin, and what his hesitations were. "I'm sure you gave great advice." Her hand squeezes his, certain and proud of his status as the star-mother's champion. "What were his hang-ups?" And if her blue eyes are shrewd and slanted to the side, well, some gossip tendencies never really die.
More cracks amidst the walls summoned his attention, or because Belial scampered across or into them, and he shook his head at the peryton while simultaneously cloaking more earthen incantations into the forefront. They churned and filled, supplying more strongholds and precision to the mighty, stalwart flanks of Halo itself – head inclined every so often to snag at her attention too.
He kept the motions light and juvenile for her expense, and perhaps his own, not wanting to be tangled any further into some haze of melancholy or disarray. There were better things on the horizon than void cretins and irritated Forsakens, or Hadama’s latest plunge into the dramatics of the world.
And he could comprehend the murmur, having been amidst the ebb and flow for some time too – even in other lands. His eyes only narrowed in speculation, watching as she had to half-skip, and lowering his arm to abide the movements further. “I can understand wanting to know every detail before making such a choice,” especially for analytical minds.
The Sword arched his brow at her inquiry though and the mannerisms thereafter, the lightest grin slanting and causing a dimple in his cheek. He’d appease the need for gossip, since they were already on a tear anyway. “Most seemed to remain with his people. I am not certain there is anyone else to speak for the Mer – not as Hadama has.”
think about this you have the ability to survive anything
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
The easy swing of their hands and jaunty beat of their boots helps keep any fretting over her friend at bay, unintentionally mirroring Deimos' disposition, trusting that if he is not concerned then she need not be either. "I agree, but I suspect you always had opinions on what you would choose if it was presented to you," she refutes with a little grin hiding in the corner of her mouth. Not everyone is so certain and unswayable as her husband, so perhaps she should not judge them from the lens of his own solid morals.
"You're not wrong there. They are still as enigmatic a race as they were before they revealed themselves." Something that, unlike the Fae who had only suffered because of the humans traipsing around in their woods, may go great lengths in protecting them. "But their isolation seems to be keeping them safe, so it might not be impossible if he chooses to step out of the role." Either as king or as a Mer, if that were even possible when achieving partial godhood. "I still have not visited the kingdom itself, though I likely could with my magic alone now. Have you?" She turns her face to him curiously, idly patching a thin, surface-level crack with a bit of magic as she does.
He opened his mouth to grant and argue a counterpoint, but found himself incapable; snorting at the easily read components. So he had – as the option had been presented to him, on more than one occasion. But he hadn’t spurned the goddess, granting the foundations of his loyalty again and again, and not losing control over his own life. In some portions, perhaps, it wouldn’t have mattered, like with the war, and in others, after only knowing the bare minimum of some embroiled actions committed with Ronin, he felt far safer in those convictions. “I suppose,” he finally granted her, with another swing of his arm and a wrinkle to his nose. “Not one for impulses.”
Unless they were grounded in mischief – but that was to be expected.
Granting her a look from the corner of his eye, he said naught else on the notions, figuring she’d grasp and tug as she pleased, while his magic hovered near hers, bridging gaps and filling in holes. “Maybe. It would be nice to know that this Starfall nonsense may not reach them.” Or that they could scatter amongst themselves, gathering in other inlets and seas. That some could be hidden and tucked away, unaffected by the bedlam.
As for visiting, his gaze swung back to her once more. “Only once, and it was just to their shrine.” But notions were already concocting, especially with her growth in magic and the amount of shifts he had in his arsenal…a little mischievous grin tugged at his mouth. “Would you like to go sometime?”
think about this you have the ability to survive anything
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
Evie grins brightly, pleased to have been both astute and complimentary enough to back him into a corner with her correctness. And though her heart goes out to the Mer, she is not inclined to think about their troubles and fortunes right now, not when they have their own to contend with. Especially now that they know she's pregnant.
Visits and excursions, however, are far more enticing than ruminating on a mysterious race. His mischief is contagious, catching at the edges of her smile and turning them devilish in turn, well before she knows what he has planned. "I'd love to! Hadama took me swimming in the glade once with his own magic, and it was amazing." To go even deeper, and with someone she trusts implicitly? Evie can only imagine the wonders and experiences that might await beneath the waves.
His eyes narrowed at her bright grin; reading the formations like an open book. But rather than be irritated by the point, he broke into another laugh and shake of his head, churning over another figment of incantations as they spoke of other dreams and notions.
“And you are a much better swimmer now,” he countered, already beginning to plot instances and occurrences in his mind – some wholesome, some threaded with juvenility, and some in arches of devilry they’d both enjoy. They’d likely have to go sooner, rather than later, or well after she’d given birth, and with the counter-acting seasons, Starfall itself, all the machinations stuck in with barbs of caution. “When would you like to go?” She’d know her own capabilities and matter of circumstances; and if they had to hold off, then it would be another segment for the future.
think about this you have the ability to survive anything
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
"I am indeed," she preens, though her cheeks always flush just a tad recalling that day and the way it had tied them together, paving the way for far more meaningful entrapments. As such she is not quite so attuned to his variety of plans and considerations, though her own are sparked the moment he poses the question.
"Swimming is very good exercise for anyone pregnant, so long as the water isn't too hot and I don't tire too fast." Something they can easily fend off with magical means and a little cooperation as a couple. "Otherwise, I would have to wait nearly a season before we could go. Though it would be during Deepfrost or the beginning of Flowerbirth, so even Torchline's waters will be a touch cold," she points out. Now may be the best time, especially while the tensions of the world are simmering but not yet boiling.
As she flushed, he absorbed the regard with a haughty, proud look; enjoying the display of rosy cheeks and amusements. He figured they had naught to be ashamed of in those instances – and he hadn’t been abashed in any other since.
Listening to her minor lecture though, the grin resurfaced, mind ready to barb back and forth. “I can always alter the temperatures or carry you,” of which the former she might be able to as well, and the latter could be easily designated and designed by his bakunawa shift. They’d probably scare a few locals too, for juvenile tendencies alone.
But his mind whirled, because they didn’t know where they were going to be in the interim either – not between other manifestations coming to light with newfound information on void creatures, Dahlia, or some unknown stretch and newfound dilemma. “Then we should make arrangements sooner, rather than later.” A promise; on the nature and value of time.
think about this you have the ability to survive anything
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
"That's very true," she agrees, and her soft look is full of pride in her husband's talents and mindfulness, accustomed to being taken by surprise throughout the days with the ways she falls ever more in love with him simply for being the man that he is.
It's a tight timeline, but for a moment of resplendence, mischief, and relaxation in one before the birth, Evie is willing to shoulder a bit of last-minute packing and schedule changes. Leaning into him, she presses an idle kiss to the point of his shoulder, partially concealing her smile as she looks up at him. "I'll start on them as soon as we finish," she affirms. Given the progress they made it shouldn't be too much longer for them to finish their quadrant. Evie picks up the pace just a touch - making up for lost time spent on revelations and gossip - and tugs Deimos along behind her, goading him on with a smile. "Race you?"
