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 pulled slightly on his hands to stand, Pim rising as well. His pink wings spread wide, conveniently blocking the side of her nearest the edge of the bridge. But even so, she winced ever so slightly as she finally pulled herself up to her feet. The tugging of skin over her knees pulled and pressed painfully on fresh and old burns, but it was only momentary. She pulled her face back to a neutral expression, still holding his hand as she nodded at his words. With the moment of despair past, it was easier for Phoebe to focus on making her way back home, putting one foot in front of the other as instructed, still holding onto his hands as if he might disappear if she let go.
"What kind of tea do you want?" she asked softly. He would know well she had enough various prepared leaves to make just about any imaginable sort of tea, medicinal or otherwise.
It's clear she's hurting, likely from the burns and the stiffness of sitting so uncomfortably for a while, but Harper isn't carrying his normal triage supplies. An oversight but he honestly hadn't expected his walk to take very long this time. As soon as he can get them both back to the clinic though they can surely figure something out.
"Hmmm...peppermint I think. Nice on this hot day." He smiles crookedly at her, boyish and sincere. Hands squeezing gently at hers and pulling slightly towards himself as he takes a step back, encouraging her to begin walking.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
No doubt, at the clinic he would find a great many things with which he could treat her self-inflicted injuries. It was a place of medicine after all. But she didn't mind, the pain was a good distraction from any other emotion she might feel at the time that would detract from the progress he wanted her to make.
"I've plenty of peppermint tea." she said nodding, taking the first few steps forward. Her knees stung, but she focused instead on his easy smile and tone, mindlessly moving her feet to take her back towards home. "And...maybe tomorrow you can show me how to do a flip?" she asked tentatively, going back to one of the very first things they had planned to do together, but hadn't gotten around to due to all that had occurred between then and now.
It's sure to be a decently long walk back to the clinic, and Harper eyes Phoebe's knees critically, unable to stop old habits from rearing their heads. "Would you like me to carry you instead?" Setting her on his back would be more than easy enough to do, he's not quite sure from his angle how badly her knees are burned. Not like he's going to kneel down and invade her privacy just to find out.
She clings to his hands and he lets her with a smile, a silent I'm not going anywhere. "If you can get your knees in good shape, I'll teach you some flips. You'll need as much flexibility as you can get." Stiffness is the worst thing to carry into learning gymnastics after all. Precisely why stretching is so important to eradicate even regular body tension. If her legs weren't in proper shape, Harper wouldn't put her through the hoops.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
02-06-2020, 08:52 PM (This post was last modified: 02-06-2020, 08:52 PM by Phoebe.)
PHOEBE
She shook her head immediately. But as they continued, the pulling of each little circular burn mark made it hard to focus at all - which was great when she was feeling over emotional, not so great when she was trying to walk home. "Actually, maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea." she said with a soft, defeated sigh. It would be better in the long run. And whether Harper picked her up piggy-back or bridal style, the length of her skirt was bound to hike up enough to show all of the cigarette burns littering her knees - and he if he was particularly astute he might notice how small she had gotten, withering away from her sadness.
"I'm flexible." she said, shrugging a little bit. She wasn't very strong, but she was quick, and had surprisingly good endurance. It was actually her lack of strength that lent itself to her flexibility. "I want to learn to fight too." she said offhandedly, quiet, almost distant.
It seemingly doesn't take long for her to change her mind, no more than a few steps that he's sure ache and pull uncomfortably. It's no problem to him, even if she was at her heaviest weight he has trained with enough body dummies to pull civilians from battlefields that it wouldn't bother him in the slightest. "Come on then, up we go." Harper turns and takes a knee, waiting for her to climb upon his back - and as she suspects, easily noting her decrease in weight - before he secures his arms beneath her legs and continues walking onward towards the clinic. As badly as he wants to, he doesn't look at the wounds. Not yet. Not when he can do nothing to fix them in that moment, it will only make him upset to be useless.
"Flexible yes, but it could pull the healing skin on your burns." He doesn't want to deny her the chance to do something fun, but Harper refuses to take part in anything that will worsen her wounds, no matter how minimal they may be. "There are barracks in town, but I can teach you some hand-to-hand? I've instructed quite a few fighters." He recalls the times fondly. Fresh faces and eager eyes, seeing it dim into frustration and determination every time he put them on their asses on the mats. They had all shone so brightly. Losing what few he had had been agony, but they would have been so much more vulnerable untrained. With that knowledge, he can't deny Phoebe the desire to train.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
As he took one knee she carefully hopped up, hands on his shoulders helping to lift her up into position on his back. It did help, having her legs relaxed, and she sighed a bit as she rested her head on his shoulder. Phoebe glanced towards her knees as she mentioned them, how the training could hurt them even more. But even though she was taking a moment to give them a break, the thought of hurting them more didn't bother her. "There are worse things." she said quietly, shrugging a bit.
But he did concede a bit, offering to train her in hand to hand combat. It seemed the most logical thing. She was small, and a bit old to start learning to wield a weapon. At least her hands and feet were things she was accustomed to using, and had been the main source of her fighting against the mud monster. Even still, she remained silent a moment longer, before nodded slowly, her cheek rubbing against his shoulder. "I just don't ever want to be the reason people die again." she said quietly. Death was not new to her. Midwifery was a rife with death as it was life. But she had put her all into practicing the craft, so that no mother or child ever died due to her own negligence or inability. But this instance, fighting a monster, failing to stop it before it reached the crowd and killed so many, that was blame she could not keep from her shoulders. She had never tried to have combat skills. She had never trained or practice at it. And in the end, when she threw herself into the fray, it had left too many dead, her own nephews included.
She relaxes upon his back swiftly enough, and he's careful not to jostle her too much as they begin the trek back along the Bone Bridge towards town. Though she's more than correct that there are worse things - things they have both experienced surely - Harper nonetheless hums in soft disagreement. "But why worsen things intentionally? Flips can wait until all you feel is fun when you try them." It would be a shame to taint such an innocent, delightful learning experience with self-inflicted pain and pushed physical boundaries. More than just the stretch and flex of muscles and tendons to support the body in such contortions.
There's no way to hug the sadness from her tone, so instead he gently squeezes his arms down against her thighs in a mimicry of it. "It is no more your fault than a landslide's. And every fighter at your side that day could be saddled with the same amount of blame, if that's how you want to perceive it." But they have done enough arguing (convincing, confessing, any number of adjectives) about these dark things. Harper does not want either of them to dwell in that shadowy place any longer than necessary. "Training does nothing but improve your chances, your strength. As soon as you're in fair condition we can start okay?" Careful as ever to add in that little clause, lest she try and maneuver past it as she is attempting to with the gymnastics.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
She sighed, eyes fluttering closed. He sounded much like she had when they first met, reminding him of all the complications that came from overworking an injury. Of course, these were of very different degrees, her pock-mark burns nothing quite so severe as a dislocated limb. But because it was more or less the same arguement she had used against him, she knew it was mostly pointless to argue. Even Pim was sending her chiding emotions through their bond, as he trotted alongside the pair. "Alright." she said softly, conceding the arguement for now.
It was in that sort of comfortable silence that they would make their way back to the clinic. Once inside and set down, she would move to the stove. "You still want peppermint tea?" she asked softly.
At her acquiescence Harper smiles, though he knows she can't see it, and squeezes his arms gently around her legs. "Thank you. I promise I'll make it worth it if you wait." He'd plan a good few hours of fun teaching moments, exercises and games that would hopefully help draw Phoebe's mind away from the darkness that lingers within.
At least he can do that much. And this - carrying her, getting her home safely, talking her down from the literal ledge. The clinic is as familiar to him already as his old rundown safehouse from his previous world. Setting her down so she can bustle around, he leans against the counter out of her way and soaks in the comforting aura of the first place to house him in Caido. "Yes please," he says softly in reply, smiling crookedly at her. Feeling bad for imposing after everything. "Then we can get cozy and be lazy bums for the evening." Immediately winking as he grins at her, content to pile together with Pim on whatever comfortable surface is closest.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
She would have thought it impossible, but somehow, Harper reached through the cloud that shrouded her mind. He pulled her forward for the briefest moment, and the barest hint of a smile reached her lips. "Oh you will, will you? I didn't know you were thinking of that kind of gymnastics." she said a bit dryly, but the glimmer of teasing humor was there.
But she was busy then, setting a kettle to boil and prepping fresh bags of peppermint tea. "That sounds nice..." she said, lips twitching as though she might smile. Carefully she prepped the tea cups, remembering exactly how it was he liked his tea prepared. "I don't remember the last time I was...cozy or lazy."
Harper can't help the strangled laugh that escapes him at the unexpected innuendo. With how crushed and downtrodden Phoebe is currently, it seems impossible that she would even have the wherewithal to comment on his words. "I really do leave myself open to those too much, don't I?" Chuckling he grins shyly at her, running a hand through his curls. Harper pulls on them idly, seeing how long it has gotten recently and knowing he needs a cut sometime soon. "Gonna have to stay on my guard with you, you little minx," he chides playfully with a waggle of his finger at her. Not that it does anything to hide the gleam of amusement in his eyes.
As she attends to the kettle, he drifts closer and props his hip against the counter once more. "Well that's a shame. Being lazy and cozy - especially both at once - is truly the epitome of self-indulgence." Certainly something he'd had to learn as an overly energetic person, but rest and recuperation have their place. "Don't worry, I'm an expert. I'll show you how it's done."
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
She glanced at him just in time to see the little shy grin cross his lips. It was...strange...how it seemed to melt a bit of her sadness. It was...cute. Handsome even, when he smiled like that. It had been a very long time since she had seen such a sincere expression on a man, far too used to Sunjata's near sneer of a dark grin. "You really do. Frey would have a grand time teasing you." she said, looking back at her work, carefully pouring the hot water into the cups.
"But if you're on guard, I won't get to see you smile like that anymore." she said, corners of her lips twitching in an attempt of a soft smile.
"Is it really?" she said, handing Harper his cup. Then, a tiny, barely there smirk of mischevious curved her lips, the briefest glint of something other than nothingness sparking in her gaze. "Are you going to make sure it is worth my while too, Mr. Expert?" she said, teasing once more.
The mere mention of Frey makes him groan playfully even as his cheeks heat. He isn't inexperienced exactly but certainly far too bland and innocent for someone like Frey. "All the more reason to not end up in their clutches," he chuckles. While he's sure to respect any deity he comes across, Harper is more likely to combust upon meeting Frey than have any sort of enlightening conversation.
"I'm surprised that's a concern of yours with how much I smile already," he teases instead. Only further emphasizing his point with the soft smile he aims her way. Gratefully accepting the cup she hands him and the warmth it exudes as he herds her towards the couch immediately. Making a strangled cat noise at her teasing, he dips his fingers in his tea and flicks it at her playfully. "Stop that, I'm gonna faint on your floor and you'll have to lug my fat body through the clinic." Or just leave him where he falls, it would probably be easier for her. Sitting down he sets his cup on the table before them and pats insistently at the cushion next to him, giving her the best puppy eyes he can manage to coerce her into sitting with him.
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
