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!
It was a lot, but she said it anyway, knowing it was preachy, knowing it probably didn't give him anything. But it was her meaning, her purpose, the reasons she got up in the morning... and she didn't think it would hurt.
"Then... you pick what you care to listen to, take the advice that make sense at the time, and do your best with what you've been given.
"It is still your life, and no one can live it for you. Help and offer advice yes, but... in the end, it will always come back to you."
Hence her insistence on giving him choices when Maea offered her help. She could nag and hound him forever and it would get them nowhere unless he was willing to try for himself. As long as he did that, then she would be there.
"Just... try not to give up. It'll be rough, but good things can still come to you, if you only let them."
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Nodding slowly, Loren sighed, and hugged his arm to his side again. "And, if, like I said, I don't...I don't see a way forward? A way out from...everything that happened?" He sounded lost again, and he stared at Maea with an almost desperate expression. "If my best isn't good enough?" Because it so rarely was.
Letting out a strangled sound, he buried his face in is hands. "I don't believe that. That good things will happen again." His voice was almost apologetic, and he felt tears prickling in his eyes again. They leaked through his fingers, though as always, he was silent as he cried, the only sign the water coming streaming down his cheeks.
Such difficult questions. Who was she to answer them? Maea could only shrug helplessly and offer the wisdom of others. "When we cannot go back, the only way left is forward," she said, offering the riddle her brother had given her as a child. Only, Loren was given the answer right away, because she didn't think he was in any mood to appreciate even the simple challenge of solving it right now. "You don't have to see it, or even believe it to move on, or stay right where you are now. Either way, it's what you choose to do. And that makes it good enough for me."
He buried his face in the hands, and Maea made a soft sound, closed the distance between them and held out her arms, tried to pull him into a hug. Like most people, Loren was too tall for her to reach his head, so slim arms around his middle would have to suffice. Maea wanted to cry too, and rage against this inability of his to open his eyes and see that the world wasn't as pitch black as he thought it was. But that wasn't something she could do for him either. Only Loren and time would help... and perhaps another healer, to do for him what he couldn't for himself. Ease the weight on his mind for a time, let him rest and breathe and leave a little sunshine to filter in.
"Then... I'll believe it for you, for now," she offered, voice thick, full of emotion. "And when you're surrounded by them and happy again, I get to say 'I told you so'."
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea spoke something that sounded ridiculous to Loren's ears, he shook his head sadly. However, he stilled as she continued speaking. "So just...keep going. And that's enough?" His voice was still full of doubt.
When her arms slipped around him, he stiffened. However, slowly, he lowered his own hands to wrap around her. "I hope you will someday." However, again, he sound far from certain that day would ever come.
With that, he gently tried to extract himself from her. "I think you said something about me needing to get cleaned up, eating, and resting." He glanced towards the exit from the roof. "If we stay up here for too much longer, I imagine someone might come find us."
"Yes," she just said, plain and simple as the answer. It was all anyone could ever do. Put one foot in front of the other... and before you knew it, the scenery would begin to change.
Holding him, Maea tried to instill some small measure of her hope into him. But whether it worked or not, whether any of this meant anything in the end, was impossible to say yet. It was all up to Loren to try, to her to keep supporting him, and then hope that the world did not have any more curve balls to throw at him. Maea sent up a prayer to all the gods she knew the names of, fervently asking for a break for her friend. Lest he shatter even more.
When he freed him from her, Maea let him go, nodding consent to his words. She'd been on the way to leave a while already, but this had been more important. "Indeed. Best to avoid starting any gossip. People might think you're getting soft or happy if they see you around me." She poked her tongue at him. "Would hate to ruin your image for you."
Of course, there were more serious aspects to the risk of being seen together too often. But they were both aware of them, so it didn't have to be said aloud. Better to invoke Zariah's name as little as possible.
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Letting out a huff of humorless laughter, Loren shook his head. "You make it sound so easy." Clearly, he was being sarcastic. Taking a deep breath, he held it for a moment before letting it out. "Alright. I will...see what happens." He gave Maea an almost inscrutable look, though flickers of gratitude might've been in there.
"Well we can't have that," He quipped automatically. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll find some way to disabuse them of those notions in short order." Heading towards the exit from the roof, he used just a whisper of his power to gather up some water, which he used to wash the worst of the damage from their fight off both of them.
This time, the girl did not try to contradict him. This state of mind really was the best she could hope for, given the circumstances, and Maea was content to leave things at that. Anything else and he might start to spiral again, and any good she'd done would be unmade. Such a delicate balance... how long would she be able to keep this up?
She endured his quick rinse without complaints, collected her things and followed him towards the exit. "Oh, I've no doubt you will. This will be your last day of freedom though, so better make it count. I'll see you tomorrow."
And with that semi-ominous promise, she gave him a half smile and vanished down the stairs. Suddenly in quite a bit of a hurry, if she was to make it through shower and breakfast in time for classes.
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- FIN
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
