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 paused, considering Frey's question. It wasn't the deity's habit to question things pointlessly after all. "I suppose nothing, unless you're the thing he thinks he has." she said with a soft sigh. She recognized too that even that assessment was treading in murky waters - did that make it a problem with Jata or a problem with the people he was with? In general, it wasn't a terrible thing, but being more of the mind to consider the thoughts and feelings of others, it did not sit well with her.
Sheepishly she shook her head at their question, eyes cast down. "It...it isn't really. I'm not even sure what I am to do, to be honest. It isn't as though I could stop a single Ascended from doing what they wish, let alone a group of them." she said with a defeated sigh. She had no real combat skills (though she did have small plans to work on that). Amalia was a baker. Jigano was a sage...whatever that was. Remi was the strongest of them and he was...not in a place to help anyone. She glanced up at Frey's kaleidoscopic gaze, brows furrowing in a look of shame crossed with confusion. "Why did Rae choose me?" she asked. She had never met them. As far as she knew she had no reason to even be on the high god of nature's radar.
'He isn't the one for you. Not right now anyways. So don't worry about what he is or isn't doing, or how he should or shouldn't be. You've got your own hornet's nest to straighten out honey-bee."
At this question, Frey merely shrugged. "Why would I know the answer to that? Mort and Vi made their selections, Rae had to as well. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn't." Frey had already seen this particular play centuries and centuries before. It had a boring end then and would likely have a boring ending now. Whether or not that resulted in Phoebe's death was still to be seen.
He wasn't right for her. She had her own hornet's nest to straighten out. If that wasn't the truth. Frey had a knack for making it near impossible to argue with them, for the soundness of their logic. The midwife sighed and nodded shallowly. She understood and agreed, but that didn't make it any easier for her hurting heart to accept. Though, a bit of curiousness was piqued. "Who is right for me then, in your opinion?" she said, glancing up at them once more. There was a very real possibility that they had no opinion on the matter...but on the off chance they did? Well that would be a recommendation worth hearing she thought.
That Frey didn't know Rae's reason was clearly a surprise, and it showed on her face. "Well...because you're their herald..." she said a bit dumbly to their returned question. Phoebe didn't necessarily fully grasp the relationship between Frey and Rae, but she assumed if Frey was Rae's official messenger of sorts that they would be privy to that information. And though Frey had seen this play before, unlike her predecessor portal guardian's, Phoebe was struggling to find the will to try to stop the Ascended from opening them. The more that opened, the more of the world that was available to them, the greater access to diverse knowledge they had, and the more likely they were to find similar minds to discover the answers to the medical maladies that plagued the world and brought human life to early ends.
Speaking of medical discoveries.
She looked down at her hands, still holding the parcel of things Frey had asked her to fetch to make the body-part plant. "I brought everything you asked for, by the way." she said, holding out what she had been asked to bring. The jar of magically created dirt and the three seeds from three different lands.
'Right now? No one. You aren't ready. Your edges are all jagged and rough, and not in the fun ways. You're carrying around your bitterness like a load of stones, and until you're good and ready to let the past go, there won't be anyone for you." The replied simply. "Not to love anyway. To fuck though, there are plenty should you find the dildo I gave you a bit cumbersome." They winked at this.
Glancing over at the items, the deity nodded. "So you did." The seeds whirled amidst the dirt and the soulless-essence of the summoned squirrel Phoebe had previously killed was too added into the mix. The real and the not-real. The conjured and the created. A long vine began to appear with a bulb the size of Phoebe's head at the base of it. The stalk was black with blue veins and, if cut, would bleed red.
"It will take a week to grow a body part, perhaps faster or slower depending on the size. Speak the name of what you wish into the leaves, and water it with blood."
Phoebe had not thought that her heart could sink any lower, and yet, at Frey's brutal honesty, she felt the desire to shrink down to nothingness itself. She swallowed a lump in her throat, wide brown eyes casting down. "I see." she said softly. It was conflicting, in moments like this, to feel so sorrowful and yet terribly aroused due to Frey's presence. But even that was not enough to wash away the truth. No one. Was that not the refrain she had been learning since arriving in Caido? She had no one, and anyone she thought she did have would eventually leave or die. Still, she managed a small laugh at Frey's bit of humor, glancing up at them looking very much like a puppy that had just been kicked. "Should I feel the need I am sure what you gave me will be more than enough." she said.
As Frey worked their divine magic, she watched with awe as all she had brought suddenly morphed into a vine and very large bulb. Watering it with blood though? That she hadn't expected. "B-blood? What kind?" she asked, concerned she was going to have to source human blood from somewhere. Hopefully animal blood she could get from a butcher would be just fine.
"Don't pout, honey flower." Frey warned with a tilt of their head, their fingers continuing to work their magic. "Not now doesn't mean not ever. And if all else fails, maybe you can come by another dragon and start your own little hoard. Be a crazy dragon lady who grows hearts and then eats them in front of all the men who slighted her." Frey smiled a touch at that, rather liking the image.
"Doesn't matter poppet, just make sure it's fresh. And before you ask how much, I've seen you with that greenhouse. You know perfectly well how much water plants need, so this shouldn't be a stretch."
It was hard to stay pouty when that sort of imagery was thrust into her brain. A little smile managed to curve her lips. "I think I have done enough eating of raw organs for one lifetime. But I will keep that in mind as a possible back up to scare them." she said, remembering how she had done near that exact thing while blighted. But as far as becoming a crazy dragon lady? "I'm not sure Pim would appreciate more dragon about. Maybe a crazy cat lady though." Pim at least didn't see cats as threats and wouldn't fight with one constantly. Plus they were in general much cuddlier than dragons. "If only there were cats that could talk with me." she muttered. That would really fill the void of wishing for company. A warm, snuggly, fluffy cat she could converse with.
Oh boy. She was falling down this road far too easily.
But she sighed in relief as Frey assured her it could be any kind of blood, tilting her head into their hands as they continued to curl her long locks. Hair touches were always so soothing. "Alright. I will do my best to take care of it."
'There are, you know. In Torchline. They are called Sear Cats. Their verbal speech is limited, but it's more than your plants and corpses are capable of." Frey smirked a touch at that, rising and stretching their hands over their head.
"They are tricky though. Haughty and prideful creatures who like to believe themselves in charge of any relationship. Learn about them from a local and see if you'd still like one. If so, spend some time on a ship in Torchline. If they tolerate you, they rather like the taste of Hel. You might be able to convince one that you're worth their time."
If Phoebe would like a Sear Cat she must
1. Learn about them from a local
2. Board a ship in Torchline that has one, and study it (You can use the NPC account)
3. Capture a Hel and feed it to a Sear Cat.
Phoebe blinked slowly, deliberately. "There are...talking...cats...in Caido?" she said equally slowly, the concept clearly so far fetched that she was having trouble wrapping her head around it. But then, with suddenness, she smiled. That smile lead to a giggle, which soon turned into gut busting laughter. The midwife doubled over, arms wrapping around her waist as tears rose in her eyes. It was...ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! If her mental state had been more stable, she might not have laughed so hard but...everything had a breaking point, stressful emotions included. "By now I should know better than to be surprised by all the things that exist in Caido." she managed once her laughter was under control, smiling at Frey as she shook her head.
Talking cats. Caido was equal parts fairytale and horror book.
And really, it did sound interesting. A talking cat...something she could cuddle and have little chats with...connected to her too so she could feel their emotions like with Pim? "I think I will go look into it. Thank you, Frey." she said. They always found a way to cheer her up.
Frey frowned, albeit with amusement, at Phoebe's surprise. "After all you've seen here, that surprises you?" They tsked adoringly under their breath at her naivety, laughing heartily along with her.
Sweeping Phoebe into an embrace that might have been a lifetime or just a mere flash of a butterfly's wings, the deity pulled away. "You do that." They encouraged, before vanishing into a spring breeze and hundreds of butterflies that would remain with Phoebe throughout the day.
