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!
Adam had been checking out the palace, but he was smarter than to just run about it as his tall, rather conspicuous self when there were Zariahs running around the place, just waiting to blast him with deadly lightning. Instead he'd been slithering around the edges of corridors as a snake, flying up to the tops of halls as a bird to see all of the details of the carved ceilings.
Now he was up on the battlements, perched on the edge of the roof and looking over the Citadel. Adam had always loved cities, the buzz and the life of them, the way everyone was busy doing their own thing (and thus, unlikely to notice him slipping his hand into their pockets) and how full of possibility they seemed, the promise of success only just above your head.
The drawback to the Citadel was the cold, though. In his feathers he wasn't finding himself too awfully chilled, but Adam still hunched down on the rampart, wishing he had a shift with fur and stomping his feet in an altogether human way to try and restore some heat to them.
Loren strolled through the halls of the Palace, headed towards the Infirmary. Despite appearances to the contrary, he did actually work hard at his job. Ducking outside to take a shortcut, he walked along the battlements.
However, a flash of movement caught the corner of his eye. Glancing up at the roof, he frowned as he spotted a bird there. It didn’t look exactly like it belonged, but the healer was still getting used to all the local flora and fauna.
The last thing they needed was another bird infestation in the Palace, however. So he tried to compel the bird to move. When that didn’t work, he compelled other nearby birds to help him with the task. A pair of geese obliged, dropping from the sky and trying to peck and batter the much smaller bird away.
When Adam first saw Loren walk up onto the battlements he inwardly groaned, though he supposed he should have expected to see him; he was part of Pet's 'family' (cult). Struggling not to laugh as Loren first seemed to stare at him as if trying to control his little bird mind, he hopped a few times and stared right back.
That is, until suddenly there was an aerial goose attack. Adam squawked loudly as he fell from the perch and to the ground, hopping away, but he also shouted rather loudly for any nearby Attuned to hear: Gah, fuck! If this was not enough to give him away, the fact that he ran towards Loren would, attempting to run between his legs to try and make the geese crash right back into him.
As Adam’s voice rang in Loren’s mind, his eyes widened in surprise. Of course, then the small bird started coming straight towards the healer. It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together.
Of course, he also didn’t have long until the geese slammed into him, causing him to stumble into the battlements. He released the compulsion and they honked angrily and took off. For his part, he turned to glare at the interloper.
"Adam." It came out in a hissed whisper. "What are you doing here?" Staring down at the bird, the Launceleyn grimaced. Fishing a flask out of his pocket, he took a long drink, not nearly drunk enough for this.
It seemed his voice was distinct enough even through the Attuned bond to be recognised, something that made Adam pretty happy; what made him even happier was the sight of the geese knocking Loren back, that made him hop on his light feet joyfully as he cackled, glad to have used the magic against the caster.
Not transforming from his bird shift he pottered about on the ground, playing with flying and perching on things as he replied.What do you think I'm doing here? I came to visit Pet. I mean, I thought he was just here on a trip, but it seems your weird vacuous hole of a family has slurped him in even further. He wasn't really sure how to feel or what to do about Pet's new position as Spymaster yet, but he certainly wasn't happy about yet another tie between his boyfriend and the Launceleyns.
Better question, what are YOU doing here? He asked, flying up towards Loren's face so just as he said 'you' he was at the crest of his ascent.
Yeah, definitely gonna need a drink for this. As Adam talked about his reason for being here, Loren took a long pull from his flask. Has it occurred to you that this isn’t some nefarious plot by my relatives, but that Peter actually wants to be here? From the scornful edge to his thoughts, it was clear that he didn’t think the other man had thought about that. Or anything at all, really.
As Adam flew towards the Launceleyn’s face, he reached out with his telekinesis and tried to freeze the other man in place. Regardless of whether Loren was successful, he would smirk. ”I live here. Glad to see the advocates’ information gathering efforts in Halo are going so well.” Sarcasm practically dripped from every word.
Well, that's just what one of the nefarious relatives would say, isn't it? Adam asked back snottily, refusing to get into this debate with Loren. There was no point arguing with cultists, after all; and he couldn't not see it as suspicious as Pet continued to sink further into the family given his past.
Loren did manage to suspend Adam in mid-air with his magic, making the little bird give out a 'hrggh!' and wiggle desperately to try and break free of the hold. I'm not really doing much for the Advocates right now. Now let me go, you cunt. C'mon. I was just chilling out up here minding my own goddamn business before you decided to attack me with geese - I mean, who does that?
Loren smirked at Adam’s suspicion, and took another sip from the flask. Yes, we’re all criminal masterminds who’ve ensnared Peter with a web of lies and magic. The sarcasm in the healer’s mind was overwhelming. He cocked his head to one side. Or maybe the simplest explanation makes the most sense. Peter wants to be here.
Continuing to hold the bird with magic, the Launceleyn rolled his eyes. "Minding your own business? Really?" Finally, he released the other man. Loren raised his eyebrows. "We've had a bit of bird problem in the Palace recently. I thought you were another pest." Then he smirked. "In fact, I might still think that."
Or maybe the first thing is true. Adam bit back, refusing to believe the Launceleyns were entirely innocent in the situation. Maybe trust that I know my own fucking boyfriend who I love better than you. He would have given up on this long ago if it were not for his love for Pet, which kept him concerned and wanting to keep fighting to get Peter away from another life of servitude to someone who only wished to control him.
As he was released Adam shifted midair, changing to a snake before he hit the ground. Fine, is this better? Sassily the snake raised his head to hiss at Loren, shaking and advancing forward as if he might bite the man's toes.
Snorting, Loren took another long pull from the rapidly emptying flask. And when you asked Peter, what did he say? There was a challenging edge to the thought.
As Adam shifted into a snake and feinted towards the healer's toes, he raised his eyebrows. Setting the flask onto the battlements, he shifted into a honey badger and snarled at the other man. Not really.
Reaching out a paw (careful to keep his claws out of the way) the Launceleyn batted at Adam. Still not convinced you're not a pest. Despite the words, there was something almost playful about both the movements and Loren's mind.
None of your business. Adam retorted, not quite wanting to admit he and Pet had never had the conversation as explicitly as he'd have liked. In fact, it was one of the things he wanted to do in this visit, even though he knew it would make being all lovey dovey more difficult.
Adam reeled back from Loren as he shifted. Eeww, you're an ugly fucker, huh? Smelly, too. Quickly slithering backwards, he was beginning to feel like he was in danger of at least a scratch here, and he was very quickly growing tired of Loren's attitude. But fine, okay, you win. I'll see you later, dick cheese.
Shifting back to his bird form Adam flew up and away, soaring off over the Citadel, grumbling to himself about the fucking Launceleyns.
