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!
Ianto stepped into the clearing on bare feet, his toes wiggling against grass still warm from the day's sun. It was twilight and the trees were darker, the shadows taller, the woods louder and yet more silent than ever. Ianto had left the wagon but a few moments before, and his feet knew to take him here. He was not only without shoes; no, he did not don any of his usual accoutrements. No coat full of treasures and tricks; no bejewelled fingers, no studded ears. No colour or vibrancy could be seen on his person beyond the copper of his hair and the gold in his teeth.
His only accessory was the collar around his neck.
Taking a long, deep breath and letting it out through his nose, the fox settled on his knees in the middle of the clearing, surrounded on all sides by statuettes and offerings. He placed his hands on his thighs, palms up, and directed his gaze to the ground.
"I bring craftsmanship, song, fabrics and favours," he said, his accent wrapping around the words like music.
Thunder, high and holy, vibrating through the earth in a song so ancient that even Caido has forgotten its name.
Thunder like hoofbeats, like heartbeats, like wardrums, echoing, reverberating in wild circles, higher and lower and louder and louder and
Gone.
"Sweet merchant." Her voice sounds like honeysuckle, like the smell of grass after a storm. All around her the will-o-wisps dance and cluster, lending her ample figure a warm glow.
With hair like fire and eyes as deep and hot as molten gold, she is Longheat incarnate. She is Rae's breath and Vi's tempest. She is fey, and yet she is Fae.
"You have forgotten one, Ianto."
Nature, nurture heaven and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
He heard the thrum in the earth, heard nature move and stretch and roar with her coming, but he schooled himself not to move. Every part of him screamed to run, to shift and bolt away into the undergrowth, even to close his eyes against the terrible beauty he knew stood before him. But he dared not do anything. Her words ghosted over him like a balm on a burn, only to bite at the last moment.
She said his name and his breath froze like ice in his throat. Forgotten one?
She surges forward as if walking on air, grabbing the fox's jaw not with fingers, but with talons. She jerks his head up, forcing their eyes to meet. "The midwife," she hisses. "Your job is to accept trade, not to deny it." Suddenly her voice is like a razor, and beads of blood begin to spring up from the dimpled skin beneath her claws.
"The fabrics and the crafts mean little to me. Keep those, and make better deals next time. The song and the favour, though... make it so." Releasing him, Arduinna steps back. Talons become fingers once more, and a soft, pink tongue darts out to lick the blood from them.
Nature, nurture heaven and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
Ianto inhaled sharply, feeling the breath of air across his skin just before being grasped in the kiss of talons, his head jerking back to meet his godmother's gaze. He felt his eyes prickle, half pain, half panic, and his hands flinched momentarily into fists before he forced them to relax again. The midwife... Of course.
"Apologies, godmother. It is my first time trading with those beyond the barrier..." He felt his voice try to crack in his throat, gritting his teeth and making himself take slow, deep breaths when she finally released him.
He nodded quickly, gazing back at the forest floor. "I will set it in motion. Thank you."
Like winter into spring, her anger melts away. This time when she cups Ianto's cheeks it is with maternal softness, stroking away the injuries caused with soothing, careful attention. And they really do heal away under her touch, leaving the fox unmarked - leaving no evidence of what transpired, however briefly. "Of course it was, sweet boy," she whispers, caressing his face and fussing over a lock of copper hair.
"It must have been so long since you saw them last. People like you - people from your land. It is no surprise that you were jarred." Carefully, she presses a kiss to his forehead, stepping back once more. "But now you have learned, haven't you? And this will not happen again?"
Nature, nurture heaven and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
Ianto didn't want to relax into the touch, didn't want to enjoy the hands that had caused him pain only a moment before - but he knew the steps to Arduinna's dance very well indeed, and found himself leaning into it regardless. He ignored the tears that sprung up behind his closed eyes, merely appreciating her closeness and her calm, her pity and her kisses.
"It has been a long time," he agreed, swallowing hard and nodding as he felt her step away again. "Yes, godmother. I've learned. It won't happen again." Ianto heard his own reassurances as though it was someone else who was speaking, the fox taking in slow, deep breaths and letting them out again.
He cannot see her smile with his gaze directed on the ground as it is, and perhaps that is for the best. For hers is the sharp-toothed smile of a predator, of one who holds every card in the game, one who is assured of victory. It is not a pleasant smile. And yet he speaks with gratitude and subservience, and that in itself is a thrill.
"Good," she says, and the warmth in her voice evaporates to arctic temperatures. "Do not disappoint me again."
Without any further conversation, she is gone. Petals flutter in her wake, alongside white and downy feathers. Like that of an angel.
{END}
Nature, nurture heaven and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
