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!
The ritual is familiar; greet the dawn of Flowerbirth with a frenzy of activity, presumably to make up for having to stay so still and quiet (ha!) during LongNight. And so the Wraith does, stretching her legs and having a proper zoom around the Hallowed Grounds. It feels good to stretch her legs, to put her artificial lungs and muscles to the test again.
Aside from the rubble that is now the Guildhall, there was fairly little destruction in the Settlement, and she’s about to pass on towards the ruins when something unnatural catches her eye. Woah now. Backtracking. Amidst the melting snow and slush is the edge of something hard and shiny - and they don’t have a lot of hard and shiny lying about. Coming closer, Wessex reaches out to grab it - but finds that it is stuck, held tightly by the mud. In fact, if anything, the mud seems to tug back at the board.
Whaaaaaat.
Rude. Brushing the rest of the slush away, the Queen discovers that the item is actually Bastien’s hoverboard, which must have been lost when all that monster bullshit went down. A sly little smile slinks across her face - if she can get it from the mud, then finders keepers.
11-04-2019, 05:47 AM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2019, 05:36 PM by Peter.)
Peter
There’s a whole handful of things Peter wants to do the first day after Longnight, his first day a flurry of seeing people and putting things back in order, but somehow, he hadn’t seen himself wandering through the settlement the first night. It’s amazing what a difference the moon and stars make in the darkness. Just enough light to see by, to find his way to the guild with. Peter hadn’t had any reason to visit during the day, but now, under cover of darkness, and away from prying eyes, he could think of a fair few more reasons to make his way to the burnt out husk.
Being quiet isn’t exactly easy in the mud that seems to be everywhere, each step accompanied by a sucking squelch as the mud tried to hold Peter fast. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice Wessex right away, too preoccupied with his own steps, with keeping his skeletal companion out of the sucking more to notice the near silent struggles of the Queen.
In fact, it’s not even Peter who notices her first, a mental prod from Apricum prompting him to look closer, the shape of a person finally jumping out at him, and nearly making him jump back. By the time his surprise wears off, he’s realized who he’s looking at, and bows shallowly, careful of the creature in his arms and the tips of his scarf. ”Good evening.” He calls politely. ”Have you um... lost something?”
I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain
For once, Wessex doesn’t notice the other person until they make their presence known, so engrossed is she in trying to release the board from the mud without getting stuck as well.
It’s proving to be a rather futile task, as the mud seems to be trying to cling to her clothing and climb up her legs, causing the Queen to look more than a little undignified. She lets out a little sound of frustration. It’s not the dirt and the muck that bothers her, it’s the way it’s besting her. Wessex doesn’t mind feeling dirty. She minds not winning against an unsentient thing.
Pulling back from the board, Wessex chuckles quietly and ends up with her hands on her hips, turned towards Peter. “Hey Peter. Yes and no. Trying to get this board from out of the mud and it’s surprisingly difficult.” She shrugs her shoulders in a ‘whatcha gonna do?’ way, and then purposefully changes the subject. “How’s your new companion?”
Wessex didn't respond to him right away, and Peter waited patiently, watching her straighten and turn towards him, a quietly respectful look on his face. He leans, looking past her at the board in the mud. It certainly doesn't look that interesting to him, there's maybe a glint of shine to it, peeking through the mud, but other than that it just looks... normal. Boring, even. Not that he was going to give voice to that thought.
"Maybe I can..." He began, cutting off his offer of help when the Queen changes the subject, and Peter looks down at the skeletal creature in his arms. Apricum, for it's part, stares at Wessex, the blank bone and hollow eyes giving away no indication of emotion. "I named it Apricum. It's happy." Peter says, delicately setting his companion down in the mud. It takes a few cursory steps, then falls still, unwilling to fight the mud and shaking its antlered head in distaste.
Peter's eyes move back up to the muddied royalty, his head cocked to the side. "Did... did you have a... safe Longnight?
I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain
The Wraith wouldn’t be surprised if Apricum didn’t like her - she’d been full of sass and didn’t follow it’s directions during the LongNight excursion. That it had chosen Peter was a bit of a surprise, but even shy, stuttering men deserve friends. There’s a lingering hunch that Peter isn’t like the rest of the Launceleyns, that in the world the family originally came from, he wouldn’t fare well… and it makes him a little more likeable.
“Mmmm… that’s good,” she replies rather absently. Happy is great. As long as everyone is happy… As for his next question, she gives him a bit of a baffled look. “I’m still here and the Temple is still standing. Safe enough.”
Let’s not talk about the Rath. Or Ezra, who was the only one snatched from inside. It was easy-ish for her group, and Wessex chalks it up to a number of things that don’t need to be talked about for another nine months. Hopefully it’s very clear that she doesn’t want to talk about LongNight or anything else that consumed her attention for a whole season. “Can you give me a hand?” the Queen asks, gesturing to the board and the mud. She resumes pulling at it and is able to clear more of the length from the muck, but some help would be greatly appreciated.
A somewhat humourless huff of laughter escapes Peter as she replies to his question, though he cuts it off quickly, his teeth closing over it. He takes a deep breath in through his nose before he nods, and speaks again. ”It was... it was better than the Guild then, so... that’s good.” It was a stupid question, and clearly one asked too soon, so hes very glad when Wessex turns her attention back to the board she’d been fighting with.
”Of course!” It’s almost like he’s been waiting for permission (he had been), quick steps bringing him in close. Peters lends the ascended his, admittedly negate, strength, but brawn isn’t where his help truly comes from. While they fight and tug, he pulls at the water in the mud with his magic, trying to force it to release its stubborn grip and give up its prize.
It seems to help, at least a little, though there is still a lot of tugging to be done. ”What um... what is this anyway?” Peter asks, readjusting his feet so they don’t slide out from under him.
I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain
Peter’s magical assistance is actually quite helpful, so between his efforts to dry out the mud and their efforts to tug the fucking board from its clingy grasp, they are successful. The piece of metal comes out with a final sucking sound, sending Wessex stumbling backward. She catches herself with one hand and then looks to see if the boy is ok before returning to look at her prize.
Well, prize is a strong word. She wouldn’t really be caught dead riding this thing, but she knows someone who might want it back - and someone who might want to take it for a joyride. Either way, she’ll get something out of it.
“This is a hover board. It’s Bastien’s.” Doing her best to sluice the rest of the mud off of it, she manages to uncover more of the shiny, rounded metal. With a low chuckle she adds, “I might make him do something for me if he wants it back… he really should be more careful with his things.” Like not take them out during LongNight. It’s easy to lose valuables in the dark.
The pop is the only real warning he gets before the board comes loose, sending them both back. Peter lets go, stumbling in the mud, but catches himself, and even manages to keep from getting any dirtier than he already was. It feels a little like a win. And, he managed to not embarrass himself in front of Wessex, an even bigger win.
Now that it’s clear of the mud, Peter leans in to actually examine the board, his head tilting to the side when it’s described as a hoverboard. ”Didn’t know there was um, stuff... stuff like this here.” He says softly, absently trying to figure out why Bastien sounds familiar despite the utter lack of a face he has to put with the name.
There is a part of him that wants to ask how it got out here in the first place, and how she knew where to find it, but Peter isn’t quite that bold. He’s come, he’s helped, and now, if she has no further need of him, he’ll bow and take his leave, and he says as much to her, albeit in fewer, more awkward words. ”Did you um, I mean... is that all you needed help with?”
I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain
The Queen smiles and holds the board out to Peter, in case he wants to take a closer look. “From what I understand, the Voice has access to a lot of technology like this, she just saves it for the Ascended to use. A couple of us have some cool stuff.” Wessex, personally, is rather secretive about what The Voice has given her - some are well known, like her metal claws, and others have been hinted at, but she imagines no one really knows what they do, other than make people feel like shit. Some might know she can see through illusions and hide from the LongNight monsters, but no one save for Sam knows she can translate anything that’s written in another language (probably - the limits haven’t been tested.)
Is that all she needs help with? No, she wants to scream, she needs a lot of help, but there’s nothing that he, specifically, can do for her. So not unkindly, she says, “I think so. Thanks, Peter. Unless there’s something I can do for you?”
Tit for tat. That kind of thing. Or bigger. Whatever.
Peter is glad when the board is held out, because yes, he would appreciate a closer look, though he is careful to keep his hands at his sides. There's no telling how it might react to his touch, if its gifted from a goddess for one race only. "Cool stuff." He echoes, the start of a smile on his lips. It fades when he looks at Wessex, and he wonders what other 'cool stuff' she might be hiding, that any other ascended might be hiding. Maybe he'll ask, though not right now, an not Wessex. He is still appropriately terrified respectful of the monarch after all, and doesn't want to bother her too much.
The almost smile is back again when he's thanked, and Peter nods. Of course he'd help. There was no question. Her offer of reciprocation gives him pause though, and he looks at her, clearly confused. "I... I don't need anything. I'm just... happy to help you. Now and um... and whenever else." It's the kind of thing he knows he should say, but also, surprisingly, something he means. He is happy to help, should she need anything he could help with.
But, it seems like she doesn't at the moment, so with another nod, he takes his leave, returning to the wandering he was doing before helping her.
I don't wanna live that way
I do not wanna live in pain
