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!
Yes Edy was now a bartender but that didn't mean she wasn't completely useless.
Well. And even if she was, she was bored, and that was really what was driving this little fieldtrip. Her family had fucked off, she'd acquired a sassy cat-sidekick, her maybe-fuck buddy Koel had been gored by a boar (a fucking weird looking one at that), and apparently they weren't ever going home.
So if that was the case, Edy needed something to do during the hours she wasn't drinking on shift. Besides, it seemed like Ronin had set up a boys club for himself and Edy was keen to see if she could weasel her way in.
"Cap?" She called loudly into the large foyer of the guildhall after having let herself inside. Doors that big and ornate were not meant for knocking anyways. "Or do you go by big-papa now?"
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
A boys' club? Come, now. Ronin was hardly the cliquey type - it just so happened that all of the interest in the guild so far had been from... well. Guys. Granted he hadn't done much by way of getting the word out just yet, but that was because he'd had to clean the place up, persuade Vanya not to murder him for planning the whole thing under her nose, move them in... and then demon pumpkins had appeared, among a lot of other stuff.
"Do I go by what?" Ronin's laughter was cheerful, echoing from deeper within the guildhall. If Edrei followed the sound she would find the ex-captain at one of the sturdy tables in the meeting room, a bit of charcoal in his hand that he had just set down. The table was scattered with long rolls of parchment - most of them seemed to be rough outlines of the areas he'd explored already, along with a few notes about landmarks and things to watch out for that weren't monsters.
That wasn't what he had been working on, though. The paper on top held the outline of a woman in what looked like the Glade. A woman with starlight in her eyes. "What can I do for you? And please - just call me Ronin." He grinned.
Hearing her former captain, Edy skipped through the halls, her feet tapping gently on the floor. A few glances into empty rooms eventually led the teenager to the one occupied by the hunter. Without needing an invitation further, Edy pranced over to where he set and leaned casually and a bit obnoxiously against the table. Her eyes poured without much interest over the drawings until–
–"That is not Vanya." Edy pointed out with a delighted smirk on her lips. Leaning over to get a better angle on the drawing, Edy whistled under her breath. "She's–" Actually Edy was going to say bangable, smokin', and a bunch of other crude things, but even just Ronin's drawing had captured her likeness enough to stifle Edy's salaciousness. "...wow."
"Okay Just Ronin. So I take it my invitation is in these papers, somewhere huh? Cause word on the street is you've started a bounty hunters .... thing, and as one of your only remaining soldiers, I feel like I should have gotten an invite."
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
Ronin arched an eyebrow as Edrei appeared - he'd not gotten much of a chance to speak or train with the Launceleyn in Northaven, but in the lead up to their arrival here in Caido, and since they'd gotten here, he had to admit he'd taken a shine to the teenager. She was vibrant and sharp (in both words and mind, despite how she might come across) and he knew that, had they still been in the Guard, he'd have made her into a helluva soldier one day.
Turned out she wanted to be one helluva bounty hunter instead. He flashed her a grin - not at the mention of the invite, that would come later - no, at her interest in his sketch. "How very astute," he murmured, leaning against the table beside her as they examined the paper together. "I don't keep the ones of Vanya down here." His smile turned very crooked indeed, though he soon focused back on the goddess he'd depicted.
"Wow is about right," he agreed. "That is Safrin. She's... I met her in the Glade one night when I couldn't sleep. She called herself a god, and I'll be honest - I believe her. I suppose my mind must have wandered while I was mapping out the area..."
Ruffling a hand through his hair as she berated him for not running to get her involved instantly, Ronin reached out to snag his charcoal and a blank piece of parchment. Upon it, he wrote Edrei's full name in a flourish, followed by his own signature, with a small doodle of her stabbing some monstrous beast. "There. You are formally invited."
As Ronin spoke her name, on the parchment before him Safrin's eyes seemed to come alive. The star-spangled depths of her gaze seemed to suddenly have volume and the star shine he'd indicated with his charcoal now glistened and glimmered. All of her features were subtly improved - not that the captain hadn't done a fine job - but now the likeness of her was startling, and all who looked upon it would feel a subtle sensation of peace and tranquility.
The necklace Ronin wore changed in subtle ways as well. The darkness seemed to grow more velvety and though it was an all but black-infinity of stars, colours bloomed within in hard to specify ways.
"Ooooohhh!" Edy all but squealed with delight. She'd really only seen Ronin in a more or less professional capacity, and so to hear him talking about the lewd sketches of his lady love that might exist somewhere in this very house was a fascinating idea that sparked a bright smirk across the teenager's face. "Well done you." She cackled, before noticing that the drawing they were pouring over had suddenly changed.
Inhaling sharply, Edy almost didn't hear a word at all the hunter was saying. She was lost in the incredible features dedicated on the page, and the eyes. "Holy shit Ronin, you.." Trailing off, the teenager extended a hand towards Safrin's lips, as if meaning to touch them. Her hand hesitated of course, far too worried about smudging the charcoal and ruining the beauty before her, and so she drew back. Still. Something warm sparked inside of her belly and she had to swallow down a moan that was beginning to form.
"My mind would wander too, back to that every time." The teenager agreed compulsively.
Watching to see what it was Ronin was doing, once it became clear, rather than cackling or cracking some inappropriate joke, Edy merely stood silently, her dark eyes rather wide and serene looking. Her family was gone or missing, Koel was...well. Nothing, she supposed. Vai had taken her in after she was stealing booze, but despite all the bullshit the Launceleyn's were supposed to be, Edy was finding that none of it was true. In a land where most were happy to reinvent themselves, the teenager found she was missing what she had before. A family.
That Ronin would so quickly welcome her into his fold - even if it was the monster-slaying kind - was a kindness she didn't know she'd needed. Taking the invitation, Edy flashed the captain a genuinely pleased smile, before frowning playfully. "Obviously there would be more blood than this." She noted sassily before grinning. "So what does one call the leader of a bounty hunting guild?"
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
There was no might about it, and Ronin's wicked laughter in response to Edy's delight only proved it even further. "Well done me," he agreed and tipped her a wink, letting his gaze flicker back to his sketch of the goddess, only to have to do a double take. He inhaled softly, blinking down at the Safrin that almost seemed to leap from the paper. He felt like he was there again, in the Glade, and everything about him seemed to relax as he regarded the picture.
Holy shit was about right. "You're telling me," he mumbled, not even aware of the words leaving his lips and having to force his gaze away. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the curl of heat low in his stomach and making himself concentrate on Edy's 'invitation'. "Well, but of course - but I only had charcoal to hand." He smirked, still feeling oddly at ease - and he'd been having a pretty good day anyways.
What did they call him? He punched her lightly in the arm, then beckoned her closer, as if he was going to share a secret with her. "Ronin," he whispered when she was near enough, "They call him Ronin, Edrei."
"None of that. You're a leader again, no excuses." The teenager criticized brightly, though her puffed cheeks revealed all Ronin would need to know about just how pleased she was with her invitation.
Grinning into his physical contact - even if it was a punch, Edy wasn't picky - she leaned forward with an expectant and intrigued grin. As she heard what he had to say, she immediately recoiled with an obnoxiously dramatic scowl on her face. "That is absolutely the most boring thing I've ever heard. You could have decided to give yourself the title of The Monsteriest Monster Killer, The King of Kills, The Sword, but instead we're going with just Ronin."
Placing her hands on her hips the teenager gave him a playful scowl. " Biggest mistake of your life, Cap'."
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
There was no arguing with Edy, so Ronin didn't even try - she said he was a leader and he supposed that was that. Smirking at how excited she seemed, especially when she scowled and huffed so dramatically at his response, he could only shrug at her. Until she called him... an altogether strange if not amusement montage of titles. "The Sword," he repeated, his tone dry and a laugh threatening his words. "Edrei if I go around calling myself the Sword there's only one sword people will be thinking of. Especially since I don't carry one in the traditional sense."
Folding his arms across his chest, he leant comfortably against the table beside her. "I disagree. Call me Cap' enough and it'll catch on. I figured that was how it was supposed to work, anyway - you don't choose your own title." Glancing around, he waved an imperious hand around the guildhall. "So what'd you think of the place?"
Batting her lashes at him provocatively, had there been a cherry to burst between her teeth and tie the stem, she certainly would have done so. Instead she had to make do with bobbing her brows at him and offering up her most devilish grin. "Why captain I think that's precisely the point." She cackled with another wink, letting her eyes drop heavily towards his belt before flashing back up again. Though Edy would flirt with anything that had a pulse, she was sort of respectful of Ronin being both her (former, and now again) superior and being in a relationship to not really mean anything by her actions. Then again, as he leaned against the table next to her, she did nibble the inside of her lip somewhat as a little thrill raced through her system.
Fucker was suave as all hell.
"Well if you don't get to choose your own title, the sword it is." She trilled triumphantly.
Glancing around, Edy pretended to consider his words thoughtfully before swinging her head lazily back towards him. "Not filled nearly full of enough with dead things, or pretty things." She said decidedly.
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
Ronin couldn't help it, the laughter spilling from his lips at Edrei's exaggerated gestures and oh-so-clearly salacious behaviour. "Do you, now," he said smoothly, tucking a thumb into said belt and raising his eyebrows right back at her. "Well, I suppose I will just have to accept being the sword from now on, then," he said. "I cannot wait to tell Vanya." She'd probably cackle as well and congratulate Edrei on her wit and spill a hundred details about his, er, sword.
In fact Ronin was certain, the more he thought about it, that Vanya and Edrei would probably get along very well indeed. And that was terrifying.
He conceded that the guildhall was not covered in nearly enough dead things. Pretty things, though... Ronin motioned to the sketch of Safrin behind them. "Are you not appeased?" he inquired. "As for the dead things, you're a hunter now, Launceleyn. Your first job is to find something to put here and mount on the wall." She could take that how she would. In fact, Ronin was almost counting on it.
"Hopefully it doesn't come as a surprise to her." Edy cackled back mischievously. Had the teenager known that her former-captain was this much fun, she might have payed attention a bit more and not been such a pain in his ass.
Maybe. Oh well. Fresh start and all that.
Glancing at the drawing of Safrin, Edy fell silent once more and nibbled her lip thoughtfully. "I mean ... but if I run my hands over that, I'll smudge it." Giving him a salacious wink, she grinned. "I need something to grab onto, you know? What am I saying. Of course you do, The Sword."
The challenge of finding something to kill and mount on the wall was definitely a happy one. Maybe she could rope Elyna into killing something with her. The bloodfiend certainly seemed like she could use it. If not, Edy could do it on her own. Though as with many things, it was usually more fun with a partner. "Deal."
Glancing at the drawing of Safrin one more time, Edy meandered towards the door. Halting with a dance-like shift in her hips, she looked back at Ronin over her shoulder. "Thanks Ronin." Her voice was weirdly soft and genuine, though the effect was quickly ruined as she mimed holding a sword at roughly belt level.
EDY
Could dress up to get love. But guess what? I'm never gonna be that girl who's living in a Barbie world
"Oh, believe me when I say that it won't." Ronin winked back at Edrei, his own grin broad and playful. It was as though he'd let go of something very heavy since leaving Northaven, something that he hadn't even realised had weighed so much. It was good to laugh, good to plan for himself again for once, good to know that he didn't have to compromise any of his values if he felt that something wasn't right.
As Edy continued she drew a laugh from his lips, the ex-captain arching an eyebrow at her and nodding in understanding. "Well unfortunately my lady is for looking at only, but I imagine we can arrange some pretty faces to hang around. He hadn't realised just how flirtatious Edy could be, but then again this was the table where he and Vanya had... yeah, so he couldn't say much.
He tossed her a lazy salute as she danced away, flashing her a smile at her parting words and her lewd gesture both. Running his hands over himself in an exaggeratedly sensual way, he chuckled and nodded. "See you soon, Edy."
