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!
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Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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"From my grandfather," she admitted cheerfully. "He was a wise man, when he was in the mood." Which was most of the time, at least when she was around. "But if you don't want to change, then don't. If you like what you see, just keep going. Either someone will catch up along your way, or they won't."
Maea broke the hold and the dance, and slipped her arms around his waist for a real hug. He sounded like he needed one, for all that he kept joking... or maybe she was the one who needed it. Didn't really matter.
"I wish I could solve this issue for you," she sighed. "Not the dry spell, before you get smart with me, but.. the rest. Wish I had any real advice... but my relation just fell down on my head from nowhere, so I have no idea what to say.
"Go swim in rivers more often?" A light shrug, a sheepish grin; it had worked for her.
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
"He sounds very wise indeed." For once, Amun's voice wasn't teasing, just gentle. As Maea gave him more advice, though, he grinned. "You're sounding like your grandfather already." He waggled his eyebrows, eyes bright and mischievous.
When she broke off the dancing, to give him a hug, he hugged her back eagerly. Physical touch might not do anything for him, but the gesture did. "Don't worry about me. I'm good at breezing through life until the next opportunity comes my way." And that lifestyle didn't bother him. Even if there were parts he would change, overall he was content with his lot in life.
Laughing outright at her suggestion, he reached up to poke her in the nose. "I'll do that. Probably in Torchline, though. I'm not sure the rivers in the Hollowed Ground or Halo will result in me finding many fish in this particular sea."
Maea grimaced a little. "Not sure I've the wrinkles for it yet," she told him, and reached up to touch her face, as if regretting that the only thing she found was smooth, youthful skin. "Wait a few decades though, and I'll get there. It'll be something for you to look forward to."
He returned the hug, and for a moment she indulged in the simple comfort of holding, being held. She wasn't usually a touchy person, rarely invited to intimacy like this, but Amun made it feel natural. A bit like Sunjata, but in a very platonic way. (Sorry, brother and all that.) "As long as you're happy. That's all that matters to me," she said. Looking up, she got her nose booped again and scoffed, then retaliated by poking his cheek.
"I wish they would lift the ban for you so you could go to the Greatwood too," she said, reminded of it when he excluded the territory from his list of options. "I'd have loved to see you at the Midnight Gathering."
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun reached up with his hands to push Maea's cheeks up, leaving her face sillily smushed. It was only a facsimile of wrinkles, but it was close enough. "Looking forward to it." He was cheerfully teasing, though he very much didn't dwell on the fact that he'd look exactly the same as she aged.
As she poked his cheek, he grinned and just folded her back into the hug again. "Aye, I'm happy. Seems silly not to be, all things considered." He shrugged, hoping she'd understand that he meant in the face of all the tragedies of Caido, smiling seemed the best form of resistance.
"Me too." He chuckled, the sound dark and low. "But we had our own gathering, which was fun enough. Maybe I'll wrangle you an invite next year."
She poked her tongue out at him when he squished her face, adding another level of sillyness to her expression. His comment made her laugh. Nuzzling into his shoulder as he pulled her back into the hug, Maea wondered at the level of mental strength her friend possessed. It was so easy to let the chaos and danger of this world get under your skin. Not even the natural born people was always able to stay strong, but Amun did it like he'd been born to it.
It struck her that perhaps this was the kind of person The Voice had been meaning to find all along, when she created the device. Resilient, adaptable, strong in himself and ready to meet any challenges. She was rather glad that Amun was a friend... having him as an enemy would be all kinds of terrifying.
His invitation to join the Ascended at some other gathering gave her some pause. For a moment, all the old prejudice reared up its ugly head, bringing something cold and a little uneasy to her stomach. So many sharp-toothed, silver-blooded individuals in one place... But then she shook the notion right off, and nodded without lifting her head. "I would be honored," she simply said. "Not sure that Wessex would be thrilled to have me there, though... I'm no favorite of hers."
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea stuck her tongue out, Amun chuckled. Releasing her cheeks, he simply hugged her gently. When she revealed there was bad blood between her and Wessex, the potter raised his eyebrows. "Well, good thing it's not her party, then." Gently tilting the Loreseeker's head up, he grinned. "Unless you have bad blood with Rexanna too, in which case you're out of luck." Obviously his tone was teasing.
Then, however, he gave her a slyly considering look. "I am curious what exactly happened between you and the Wraith." Although he was speaking casually, there was more than a hint of a question in his voice, and his eyes were quite curious.
"No, I like Rexanna," she said with a shake of the head, happy to let him lift her chin as he liked. "I wouldn't go so far as to say there's bad blood, it's more..." Maea chewed on the thoughts, tried to put them into words. "We've never had much to do with one another? But whenever I'm present, Wessex looks at me like I'm this terrible waste of space, and nothing I do or say is ever good enough."
Untangling a hand to rub at her nose, the girl shrugged. Not sure what more to add. "I don't even know what I'm doing wrong, so I can't correct it. If I could I would, because she is formidable, and I'd love nothing more than to be even a bit like her." But maybe she simply rubbed the Wraith the wrong way, or it was this willingness to alter herself to fit the wishes of others that was the problem... Or maybe Wessex just didn't like the color of Maea's hair, she couldn't tell.
"All I know is that I feel very inferior when she is around." A good summary to a difficult, barely existing relation.
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun burst out laughing as Maea revealed what the issue with Wessex was. "Is that all?" He gave the Loreseeker an incredibly cheerful smile. "Wessex very much thinks of herself as superior, so she looks at everyone like that. Even me." His smile gained a rueful edge. "Especially me." He waggled his eyebrows at Maea. "And I think I'm one of her best friends!" It was clear he wasn't bothered by that particular treatment.
Reaching up, he ruffled her hair playfully. "You just gotta ignore her glowering and her judgment. Challenging her directly isn't ever going to work, but if you just kinda ignore the criticisms she's not too bad. Don't stand your ground, just like, don't let her push you around." He shrugged. "Assuming you actually wanna befriend her, that is."
02-14-2020, 08:28 PM (This post was last modified: 02-14-2020, 08:28 PM by Maea.)
MAEA
Frowning, Maea tried to fit that kind of thinking into her head. "I think.. I think I do? Not that I agree with everything she does, and I... I'm not fond of your Voice. Probably never will be." Biting her lip, she searched his face to reactions on that, because... well it was a very fundamental difference. Maea was loyal to the Old Gods. He to the New God. If ever they were forced to pick sides...
"I just... can't tell what she actually thinks. And I've no wish to impose on someone who doesn't want me around." She generally wasn't proud, but at least she had enough integrity to not crawl to someone for their favor if it wasn't freely given. Only her gods would see that kind of submission from her... and even that was questionable.
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun laughed outright at Maea's bashful admission that she didn't and never would like The Voice. "Yeah, no, I got that." Not particularly worried about that divide, he slung an arm across the Loreseeker's shoulders. "I'm okay with it, but Wessex is a bit of a fanatic. And given that she probably thinks everyone who isn't her or an Ascended is an idiot, and given that you don't like being talked down to, it might be best to just avoid her."
Shrugging, he tilted his head to the side. "Shouldn't be too hard. She's called the Wraith for a reason, after all." He had no qualms about teasing her for a frankly slightly ridiculous epithet.
It... felt a bit like avoiding some unpleasant task that really should be seen to, but one of the lessons Maea learned this season was to pick her battles. Perhaps forcing interaction with Wessex wasn't the best way to go, not when she'd only approach it half-heartedly and more for Amun's sake than her own.
"You're probably right," she sighed, slightly ashamed to be so relieved of the necessity to try. "Last time we spoke it wasn't too bad... she told me and another person of the Fae traditions. Like a proper Elder... I guess leaving it at that is good enough." None of them had died, and it was as good an outcome as Maea could ever hope for.
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Grinning, he nodded. "Of course I am. I'm usually right, and the sooner you accept that, the smoother your sailing will be." He shot an an outrageously smug and pleased expression.
However, it was soon replaced by legitimate surprise. "Wait. You got Wessex to talk about the Fae?" Whistling, he gave her an impressed look. "She loathes the Fae. Especially Delah. So that must've been a fun conversation." He arched an eyebrow, as if asking her for more information.
However, he gave her a comforting pat on her shoulder. "It's no big deal. There are lots of people who aren't Wessex, who I'm sure you get along with just fine."
The look she gave him was deeply amused. "Of course. And I'll remember you said that, just in case you ever forget."
His surprise took her aback slightly, but Maea was quick to shake her head. "Oh no, I didn't 'get' her to do anything. She quite volunteered. Related the story about capturing the sun to me and Libbs... even answered questions about it, and showed us some gifts she was planning to give. It was unusually forthcoming, I take it?" Maea had been surprised too, but for different reasons.
Thinking about the other Ascended, she rubbed her neck. Thought of Rexanna and Nate, of Sam. For a moment, her memory even reached back to recall Kristopher, and Lucas, both dead now. Did she know of any others? Not really. Did she hate any of them? Well.... no. Quite the opposite.
"...well. Your family is my family, I guess? As long as you're find with me not loving your mother. Sam tried to tell me a bit about what kind of future she's trying to make..." It was clear from her expression that the girl wasn't convinced. It hadn't been a detailed explanation, but... the gist of it was enough to give her chills.
I'm an angel bored like hell And you're a devil meaning well
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
"I won't but I appreciate the sentiment." As Maea went on to explain her encounter with Wessex, however, Amun grew slightly less playful. "Huh. Weird." He shrugged. "Well, she's been in a good mood recently. Maybe she's finally learned to how show a little heart. And not by like, ripping it out of someone's chest." Smirking a bit, he glanced slyly at the Loreseeker.
However, then Maea had to go and bring up The Voice. "We're fine with it, so long as you don't expect us to love your gods either." Giving her a considering look, Amun squeezed her shoulders where his arm was draped over them. "It's just a future. It's not the future, since that's going to be what we make of it."
