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!
She was hungry. It was a familiar feeling these days, as she stalked the woods. The world around her was cold, but she didn’t seem to notice as she focused in on finding a decent meal. That would warm her right up anyways. As quietly as possible she stalked through the trees, looking around for any sign of life. Pim stalked alongside her, his senses much more attuned to the world around them. With a sniff, he headed off in one direction, and she followed.
Through the winding, shifting paths of the wood they went. She and Pim peered around a small bush, a small flock of pheasants eating grasses they had dug up from under the snow. The dragonling and deranged midwife glanced at each other. Then, with words unspoken, Pim opened his jaws and shot a bolt of rainbow lightning at the flock, hitting one particularly fat bird, striking it dead instantly. The rest of the flock scattered and Phoebe rushed forward, grabbing their kill, making quick work of tearing feathers from its flesh.
The wolf padded through the underbrush, moving fluidly, large paws aiming for root and stone that peeked through the frozen snow. A habit that developed as a child to keep her feet dry, it turned out to be a valuable skill in leaving as little of a trail behind her as possible. It wasn't as necessary as it once was, and she was only hunting game, not people, but old habits and all that. Even with the small harness bag on her back, Ashe moved with relative ease, breath clouding in front of her as she sniffed the air... and she smelled death.
She set off immediately. There was pheasant, mouth-watering on its own, but there was no denying the scent of decay, the earth. The blight. It didn't take her long to find the afflicted, and she stood entirely still behind the shadow of a tree when she did. The woman was hunched over, savagely ripping feathers from a dead pheasant, and a pink dragon crouched with her. Was that...?
Ashe shifted, making a point to make noise before stepping out, adjusting the straps of her harness bag. "I never took you for much of a huntress, Steadman," she said warily, staying near the tree. The midwife looked like shit, a far cry from the friendly, warm woman who had eased her mind for an evening and got her on a healthy plan. How many were infected now? She knelt slowly, so that she was Phoebe's level, eyeing the pheasant before looking up at her face. Ashe was a fan of raw meals herself, but she was a carnivore. Phoebe? Phoebe was not. "Do you want to cook it first?"
Phoebe’s head shot up, wide-eyed and feral upon hearing someone speak. Her blackened gaze caught on a woman – Ashetta – her mind pulled from the depths of her memories. But Phoebe didn’t like the way the woman moved. She stalked, low and predatory, not coming closer but certainly not leaving. It made her lip curl as she growled out a warning. This was her meal. Pim had helped her catch it. She couldn’t have it. Pim joined her, wings splaying out so he appeared even larger as he roared at the other woman who might try and take his companion’s kill.
Quickly, Phoebe set to devouring the pheasant, still warm and limp, blood and blackened blight dripping down her chin onto her dress. It was delectable, much better than any of the prepared meals others had tried to make her eat in recent days. Still, her eyes remained locked on the other woman as she ate as quickly as she could.
The sound that came from Phoebe did not belong in an Accepted. "Just an offer," she grumbled back. Ashe's eyes darted to Pim as he rose to the defense of his master, but her attention was focused on the midwife. What could only be dread wound tightly in her chest, trying to see warm brown eyes instead of the sunken and black gaze on her now. She thought of Ronin, and her heart raced a little faster.
Aand then the midwife began to devour the peasant's corpse.
Blue eyes widened a fraction, her brows rising. Ashe had her fair share of such meals, devouring her kills while they were still warm and wet and steaming, but this... those were the teeth of a girl ripping into the flesh of the bird. "You'll throw it all up if you keep eating that fast," she said steadily. You'll likely throw it all up anyways. "And you look like you need the meal, Phoebe. And a blanket. A bath."
Ashe watched her devour the meal, making no move to stop her. She slowly removed her bag, eyes never straying from the feral, blighted woman, and set it down in front of her to reach into it. "Here," she said, and from the bag she tossed a small silver flask to the ground near Phoebe. "It's just water."
Phoebe snarled again at Ashetta and her offer. She didn't need it. This kill was fresh and perfect, steaming and delectable. The girl continued to gorge, eyes locked on the other woman, watching for any sign that she might move forward to take her food. That she might get sick from it? Ha! The blonde tilted her head back and laughed, teeth and throat a digusting mix of red blood and blight, her laugh cold and mirthless. This wouldn't make her sick, not like her cooked foods did. This was her meal, she didn't need blankets nor a bath. She was better now than she had ever been.
But then the girl threw something and she startled, jumping back and snarling in a clearly inhuman fashion. But...it was just a metal thing. She sniffed and slowly moved forward, eyeing Ashetta warily as she snatched it up, opening the top and casting it aside. Phoebe sniffed the contents to confirm it was water before drinking from it, holding it with both hands.
