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!
Amun rolled his eyes at Maea's concern. "Yes, I'll get hurt." Then he waved his right hand in the air. "Good thing I heal from most injuries, and The Voice heals me from the ones I can't." It came out gently.
Then he glanced past her as his eyes narrowed. "Besides, I'll get hurt way worse if the tide rolls in, and this way you might avoid the worst of it." Obviously not worried at the thought of taking the brunt of the damage, he reached for Maea, attempting to pull her in close to his chest. Assuming he was successful, he'd lean back and fall into the hole in the ground into the roiling water below.
She hated it. Hated that he thought he had to sacrifice himself to protect her, that he was willing to get hurt in order to help her, hated that she had no choice but to comply. It showed on her face, in her clenched jaw, the anguished look she gave him... There was just no other choice. Because her magic was running low and her options were too few at this point, and there was just no time to think of a better option.
He grabbed her, and she wasn't quick enough to pull away, and before Maea knew it, they were falling.
There was a swooping sensation in her stomach, a dreadful pull as gravity took hold over them. It was all she could do to cling to Amun and close her eyes, to expend all her remaining resources into drawing the churning ocean up to meet them, in a giant heaving tidal wave that was meant to catch them, carry them over the jagged edges of the rocks, and then wash them out through the cove below. Into the ocean beyond.
Meant to... But with no eyes on what happened, no real control over this deep and raging sea, and she found herself knocked almost senseless from the impact with the water. Rattled, shaken, with water rushing in from all directions to swallow her up...
But all her thoughts were on Amun, and what this was doing to him.
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 ♦
Maea could get as upset as she liked, but the fact of the matter was, they didn't have a choice. Amun just held her close as the water came up to envelop them. Despite the fact that he didn't feel pain, the shock of the blow was almost enough to make him lose his grip. Somehow, he managed to cling to her.
Of course, his back was battered and cut up as they slammed into rocks. Gritting his teeth, he did his best to use his legs to kick away from the worst of it, and to lead them towards the ocean that hopefully waited for them. However, even though he could see in the dark, it was chaos down here, and he had little control over their movements.
Maea was blind, deaf and mute, her hands full of her brother's battered form - who was holding on to whom, at this point? - but at least she could still breathe in the raging churn of the waves. She used her magic to guide them. Kept them away from the worst of the rocks, but was not able to avoid all of them. Inevitably she got both cut up and bruised, but with the steady surge of water she soon had them clear of the surf.
The safest thing seemed to be to steer them out to sea a ways, and then angle off along the coast until she found a place to beach them. As soon as the water began to calm, Maea brougth them up to the surface, to breathe air, and she shook saltwater from her burning eyes to look Amun over, worry plain on her face.
"Are you alive?" she asked him, voice hoarse and ragged from so much salt lacing her vocal cords.
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 ♦
By some miracle, they made it out to the open ocean. Amun did a quick scan, and winced as he realized exactly how much damage he'd sustained. However, at Maea's question, he chuckled. "If I say no, will you let me just float here for a bit and not do anything?" Despite the lingering fingers of fear, his voice was oddly cheerful.
It might have a little something to do with the fact that his wounds were already knitting themselves closed, and that he couldn't bruise. Making sure his grip on her was secure, he began towing them both towards the beach, legs kicking in an assured and practiced way. "How are you holding up?"
If magic counted as miracles these days, then, yes. Miracles galore. But Maea had used up the last of her energy with this last feat, and she could no more bring them to the shore than shoot fire arrows under water. "Fine by me, if I can join," she said, exhaustion adding yet another layer over her voice.
The girl couldn't scan herself, but a quick examination revealed no broken bones. She had scratches on her arms and legs, had hit a rock with her hip which would have an interesting bruise for some days to come, and as she breathed in deep, she flinched at the pang in a rib.
"Not... awful. Might have cracked a rib, but not too bad," she replied. "It'll be better soon enough... I've coughed them off worse." Which was not a fun experience. "You're good at swimming." Turning her head, Maea watched the rugged coastline sail past, trying to stay as still as she could, so as not to disturb his movements.
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 chuckled at Maea's reply. "I'll think about it." Giving her a very (very) careful squeeze, he continued to pull them closer to shore.
Nodding slightly distractedly at her self-diagnosis, he made sure to place as little weight and pressure on her ribs as possible. "We'll get you to a healer then." He himself would probably need his liquid replaced after this, but it wasn't incredibly urgent, he'd just be weakened until he did.
"I'm a sailor. Of course I'm good at swimming." There was almost an indignant tone to his voice, though his eyes sparkled with mischief, and the smile he shot her made it clear he wasn't actually mad.
"It's not urgent," she tried to assure him. "It can wait, until I'm back in Halo. The Grand Healer calls me for regular checkups anyway." Though, she had a nagging suspicion that Loren wouldn't be impressed if she waited so long to get herself help. Not that Amun needed to know that.
"How... how bad is it? Your injuries?" Maea both wanted to know, and didn't. The way he held her made it impossible to see, and he moved smoothly enough. But that was hardly an indicator, when someone lacked ability to feel pain. "And I've heard that there are plenty sailors that can't swim. You're supposed to be on the boat, right? Not in the water. If it's wet, you're doing it wrong."
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 ♦
Chuckling at Maea's comment, Amun shot her a quick grin. "Ooooo fancy." Despite the teasing tone, there was a gently concerned expression on his face. "How are those check-ups going." Though he had to devote most of his attention to swimming them to the increasingly close shore, he tried to keep her in his peripheral vision.
He shrugged slightly. "Not too bad. Nothing I can't heal on my own." From his tone, it was clear he wasn't worried about the damage he'd taken.
Smirking, he continued kicking. "Accidents happen." Winking at her briefly, he licked his lips. "Besides, sometimes you don't want to or can't touch down in port for one reason or another. So you learn to swim." His tone was quite self-satisfied and smug, though he didn't stop swimming as best he could given his awkward grip on her.
"They help," Maea replied earnestly, keeping her head above water. The salt stung her wound something fierce, but she was not complaining, or even wincing that much, even though Amun inevitably bumped her ribs and other mangled bodyparts from time to time. "I haven't been sick since I started going regularly, which is... incredible. I feel like a whole new person."
Humming her relief, Maea found one of his arms and squeezed it gently, relieved that it wasn't worse. "That's good. I'm glad. Thank you for being alright." For not dying, she could've said, but.. that would be morbid.
"Oh? What reasons would those be?" she asked, sounding really quite innocent. As much as she ever did...
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 ♦
Smiling at Maea's comment, Amun continued to bring her closer to shore. They were almost at the point where he'd be able to stand, though he wasn't sure if that would be better or worse than moving through the water. "That's excellent news." he couldn't keep the relief from his voice.
As she thanked him, though, he shrugged. "Not sure I like the implication that I'm anything less than excellent." He grinned at her to let her know he was just kidding.
At her too casual tone, he chuckled. "Maybe there are goods you don't want the authorities to see. Or maybe you don't quite have the right paperwork to go through the proper channels." He whistled innocently, though his eyes were wicked.
The water grew more shallow. A sandy beach had come into view, and with the last dregs of her magic, Maea gave them both a gentle push with a wave, that lifted them up in a surge and settled them down on the sands, before sighing back out to sea. Very normal ocean waves rolled up to lap at their legs, and Maea coughed, bringing up seawater, salt and sand, to hack it out of her mouth with a grimace.
"I think... that would be considered piracy, brother," she commented weakly. "Or at the very least, smuggling." But curiously, the girl didn't sound very accusatory, or even all that upset at the idea.
She began to try and sit up, pawing wet hair from her face.
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 ♦
A wave appeared and deposited them on to the sand as they got close to the beach proper. Before Amun flopped onto the sand, though, he patted Maea's back as she coughed. Then he just lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, feeling tired even though he knew it was an illusion conjured by his mind.
However, he did another scan and discovered that while he couldn't feel pain, he'd taxed his body today. It was already healing, but by Ascended standards it would take a while. "Aye, so it would. So what? Nothing wrong with some honest smuggling, and some people deserve to be stolen from." Staying right where he was, he flashed her a smirk and a wink.
Small affections, small tokens of sympathy and concern. They were all welcome and appreciated, and as Amun flopped onto his back, Maea fell down to lie beside him, a hand reaching for his to offer her own gratitudes. The water from his clothes and hair leeched away, and for her as well; she didn't know if it bothered him at all, but at least there would be no chafing of wet sand on him. If only Maea knew how to heal...
"I'd be a hypocrite if I said there was anything wrong with that," she muttered under breath, but with a lopsided smile. Thinking of what kind of scoundrel she was currently dating... There would be no end to the trouble she'd get in if she started to question things like morality and adherence to laws.
Brushing a battered, scraped hand over her equally roughed up and bruised face, Maea sighed. "So... your impressions on Rae's Fingers?" she asked, something deeply amused in her tone.
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 ♦
