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!
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
Thank gods for Lily, able to help her navigate through the sudden influx of so many people. There’s so much to do, so much to get a grasp of, to ensure the safety of those within the Temple – but there’s something that triumphs over it all. Bastien. She won’t rest, won’t stop even if it means running into people until she can find him. It’s made infinitely harder by the fact that without her eyes, she can’t see where she’s going. But Deimos had made her a bandana, to hide the darkness, though streams of black seem to have stained her cheeks, like some sort of garish mascara that has traveled along her skin.
She looks like hell, clothes a mess, pale raised scarring under her brand by about five inches, right to the right of her sternum. And if you followed it through completely, you’d find a similar starburst pattern on her back – an entry and an exit. And she knows that it’ll scare him, the way she leans on others, to have to be dependent when she had gone for so long trying to be the pillar, the stone of strength. But she needs to see him, she needs to see him now.
Guidance has brought her to where she could meet with Bastien, and she stands in the doorway, a pillar of darkness and broken pieces, broken wrists that hang from arms at her sides. “Bastien?” She utters into the pitch black, lip quivering in her sudden fear of frightening him. She can remember the look on his face when she had returned from the blighted pumpkin, when her fluid had covered every inch of her. But she had been healed then, only weak.
Then the look on his face when she had returned from the Mathair, healed and new but so damn exhausted.
She’s suddenly so thankful she can’t see at all.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
10-29-2019, 01:14 PM (This post was last modified: 10-29-2019, 01:15 PM by Bastien.)
Heroes always get remembered
But you know legends never die
As Bastien became aware that those who had been at the guild were entering the temple, he flew towards the door, only one thought on his mind. Rexanna. Had she come with them? Was she well enough to have made the journey? He had horrendous visions of her left in the guild, which he was hearing had been the victim of a fire, burning away alone.
Feet hitting the floor faster than he knew they could, he saw her in a moment of heart-bursting relief coming through the door from the dark and he rushed to her -- stopping just a few feet before her, as he took in just how broken she looked. A bandana over her eyes, her clothes in a tattered state that showed the scars and wounds beneath. Taking in one gulping sobbing breath, trying his best to keep his composure, he walked forward.
Slowly so to not hurt her, he touched her arm. "Love. It is Bastien, you are safe now." Bastien pulled her close then lifted her up, carrying her in his arms so gently until he could place her down somewhere comfortable and away from the noise of the arrival. As he walked with her he whispered little comforts, tried to keep his voice steady as much as he wanted to scream.
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
She can hear exceptionally well, at least. Her other senses adapting and making it easier for her to deal with having no sight. And she can hear the feet they hit the ground as soon as she utters her lover’s name, her husband’s name. She can hear the briefest of a shaky inhale, and she knows that it’s him. And when he approaches, the softest touch extended to her arm. She does not flinch, not like she had with everyone else. She knows it’s Bastien, knows his touch, knows his smell (however dulled it may be because of her broken nose), she knows him intimately well.
And she’s not afraid, never of him.
He pulls her close and she wraps her arms around him, pressing her broken face into his chest as her lip quivers again, and a small sound leaves her. He’s safe, she’s safe, they’re okay all things considered. He lifts her and she’s melting in his arms, purely willing to let him take her anywhere, the scent of paints lingering in her sudden bout of comfort. And she leans into him, into his whispering comfort the best she can.
When they find a place and he sets her down, she bites down momentarily on her lip. She doesn’t know what words to say, what she can say. “I’m sorry.” She starts at first, letting it settle. She’s sorry for scaring him, sorry for making him worry, sorry for being so incredibly unlucky to always end up in these situations, sorry for being the type of person that does it again anyway.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
At least Rexanna was enough herself to lean into him; as he sat down he did not let go of her, holding her in his arms on his lap and stroking her back. He did not want to let go of her ever again; he had never been a clingy lover but now he understood why some couples did not leave each other's sides.
"No, no. Do not apologise. You have been good and brave for coming back alive to me." Bastien comforted her, stroking a hand along her jaw and gently tilting her face towards him. The dark marks down her face, the bandana...it unnerved him, partly because he did not know what lay underneath. "Darling...can I see your eyes?" He was terrified to lift the fabric, but he had to see it to accept all that had happened.
Only by accepting it all could they start to heal.
10-30-2019, 05:16 AM (This post was last modified: 10-30-2019, 05:16 AM by Rexanna.)
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
In this moment, when she can see absolutely nothing at all, she appreciates the closeness he gives. The safety that exudes from remaining in his arms as she turns just enough to face him, to let him stroke her spine, the comfort that lingers by not having to worry about the monsters of LongNight or the uncertainties of being left behind in a fire (she knows she wouldn’t have been, if it had not been Jigano then it would have been Deimos or anyone else that was there).
Somehow, she realizes how important she is to people, and she’s not entirely certain why she is.
His comment does give her pause though, and despite her inability to do much, she leans into the touch along her jaw and her face, a half smile full of exhaustion crosses her face. “I will always find my way back to you, love.” She would, too. She’d do anything for him. She’d make bribes or barters, fight whatever it took to get back here with him. Whatever it took.
But he asks to see her eyes, and the smile falters. There’s nothing left, just… Dark hollow shadows where eyes used to be, and it’s garish and horrific, and if it hadn’t been for Bastien’s idea of her Ascension, she’s not sure she would have lived through it or the pain. And she nods, slowly, lifting her hands to hook a useless thumb beneath the bandana, and with the help of Bastien should he wish to, she shakily takes it off. "It's... Bad." She warns at first, tilting her head up toward him.
And she feels far more self-conscious than she’s ever been. She could be nude, standing in the middle of the Temple for everyone to see, and still not feel nearly as bare as she does now.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
"I know you will." Bastien smiled, though he wasn't sure he believed it entirely. Rexanna would always try her best to return, he was sure, but it seemed every time she went out she was hurt worse and worse...eventually there would be no more wounds she could take. He was amazed this had not been that time, but what that meant about the next...
He knew he had to see the extent of her damage, face it head on. That was the only way they could move forward together, him as her eyes and her as his soul (which was beginning to feel rather battered as the days went by). Gently he lifted the bandana, taking a quiet intake of a breath, quiet only for her sake, for really he wanted to scream.
Rexanna's blue eyes had been one of the first things he'd fallen in love with and while he loved her none the less without them, her face looked a cruel joke, a horror come true. But he could not give in to that fear, for the both of them. He took a long, steadying breath, then forced a smile to his face, hoping she would be able to hear it in his words.
"Ah...it is..." not so bad stayed in his throat. He couldn't lie. "It is hard for me to see you like this, love, but...we will grow used to it, if this is how it has to be." Leaning in, he kissed her cheek, then stroked her hair as he pulled her in closer. "You know...in Venice I knew a man that sat outside the Sanctuary and begged for coins - one day I invited him in to look at my paintings. He told me he could not, for both of his eyes were glass. Until that moment I had not known. Perhaps the Voice could make you something like that, but with her capabilities, it might let you see."
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
She wonders if he does know, that even if she were to die she’d still find his way back to him one way or another. In this life or the next, in whatever forms she could just to be beside him again. But she doesn’t comment on it, not when he asks to see her eyes – what’s left of them. And with his help, they lift the bandana to reveal dark splotches, missing eyes, carnage beneath the bandana of a broken nose and eyes completely gone.
She can hear him take a deep breath, and she bites down on her lower lip before he speaks. And she nods slowly – she imagines it is… So very hard for him to see her this way, but she’s made it back. She’s made it alive, and that’s all she can ask for at the end of the day. But he tells her a story, and she listens diligently with her head resting on his arm, a hint of surprise crossing her face at the reveal. “I would like to ask her.” She mentions, offering him a small fanged smile.
“I need her help to fix my wrists and ribs anyway.” Perhaps more could come of it? Perhaps the Voice’s capabilities are enough that her eyes would look exactly as normal, exactly as the ones he had spotted when he fell in love with her. She would like to see again too – to see his face light up when an idea comes to mind late at night and he can’t rest, the way he becomes so focused on the smallest of things as though they’re the biggest in the world.
She wants to see the look on his face every time she tells him how much she loves him.
“I have asked Samuel to come with me, since he started this entire thing, once Longnight is over.” She doesn’t know if he wishes to come with – if he would trust that Sam could take her or not.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
Rexanna had always been so forgiving of his dramatics; where others might have told him to stop his stories at a time like this she seemed to understand them for the comfort they were meant to be. "She inhibits our whole bodies, can instil anything in us. I am sure, cara, that she will be able to help you." He had to have that faith, or he would despair.
Gently he stroked her hair the way he always did, hoping that the familiarity might bring her some comfort. It was important to him she knew that this did not change anything about them. He loved her and always would, he would just need to do some more paintings, invest in new colours for her eyes.
"Samuel?" He asked, confusion clear in his voice. "I am surprised you can stand to be in the same place as him right now. Do you not think it's best to let him go by himself, since The Voice will surely wish to punish him? Either way I must come with you." Normally Bastien did not insist on anything with Rexanna, but he had to be there. To beg The Voice for her healing if she would not give it willingly, to carry Rexanna there if she needed it.
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
His confirmation of the Voice’s capabilities mimic her own thoughts, and she nuzzles her head into his arm with a small managed smile. “I think so too.” But she doesn’t admit whether or not she thinks the Voice might not offer it right away, seeing as she had been relatively stupid throughout the whole ordeal… and well, she couldn’t blame her. They are her children, now, and perhaps there are some lessons to be learned.
Still, she doesn’t voice these uncertainties. Instead, all she can do is nod gently at the surprise in his voice, the admission that he will be coming too, and she relaxes a bit more at that. “I think a good punishment might be having Sam see what his actions cause. Whether or not she can fix me.” If she can’t, it’ll be a deep sort of punishment as he knows what he’s done. And if the Voice can? Well, there is a lot of fixing to do.
She’s sure he’ll see the expanse of his actions whichever way the meeting goes. Still, she told her head up to him with a soft smile. “I’m glad you’re coming, too.” He had been there for her Ascension, after all. And if she needs to be remade, fixed, her there’s no one else she’d rather have there more.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
"I will offer anything I can to make it happen." Bastien promised without a single doubt or regret. If they were to be punished for going out, he could at least try to sweeten the deal a bit for The Voice and get Rexanna at least some healing. He was desperate to see her well again.
He wasn't sure if he agreed it was a good comeuppance for Samuel, but at the end of the day it was not his punishment to give. "Well, I hope he learns from it. You are much kinder than I would be." Though he didn't know what it was he would do, really. He knew his anger tended to come hot and fast, in angry words and dramatic statements, then rush away like the wind after only a short while.
It was only because Rexanna was hurt and not him that he was quite so mad anyway.
"Of course." He held her close, taking a moment of quiet to just close his eyes and be with her, glad despite it all that she was at least here for him to hold and speak to. He knew there had been a good chance she could have died out in the night, that the end of their story could have been Rexanna dead in the dark and him left none the wiser in the Temple.
i'm tired of the weight of mortality, i want to tear it from my veins
until i bleed silver and gold
He promises to do anything, and she nuzzles her head into his chest with the promise. He’s always been so incredibly kind to her, so selfless when it came to her, and she’s not sure where she even ended up being so deserving of it. But she appreciates him immensely, appreciates everything he does. Taking such measures to ensure her comfort, her successes. It means the world to her.
At the mention of Samuel though, she nods, still keeping her face buried in his chest briefly before she snorts and turns to look up at him through her unseeing eyes. “I… try to be understanding. I know he didn’t mean for it to go sideways.” Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. As he offers his commitment to going with her and Samuel to the Voice, she aims to reach up with her broken hand to brush along his cheek.
Once she’s pinpointed him, she sits up just enough to press her lips to his, grateful and so happy that he’s here and that he’s okay. “I love you.” She says quietly, unwilling to let herself drift down the dark hole of possibilities that she might not have made it back to tell him this.
maybe one day they'll chant our names
and name galaxies after us, and we too shall be eternal
Rexanna had always been so kind, at odds with her ambition and at times, ferocity. The balance was what he loved, the woman that hung in the middle of the two extremes; he seemed to exist entirely in one or the other instead. She reminded him to try and temper himself, to become softer. "I suppose not. We have all made errors when it comes to the Gods here."
As she kissed him he closed his own eyes and just for a second, all was normal. He cupped her cheek with his palm and replied quietly, just for her, close enough that his lips still touched hers: "And I love you with all my heart, Rexanna."
With that said, all there was to do was wait out the end of Longnight, making sure she was as comfortable as she could be until the time came to see The Voice. The best way he knew to do that was to keep her in his arms, warm and safe until the light came.
