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!
Maea laughed and waved him off. "Spare me, please, you're starting to sound human!" she told him, with a playful grin.
When he came back, she set aside the sketch she had begun to work on - a goose in flight over a volcanic landscape - and reached for the first map he had made. Maea compared it to the new one, and her eyes widened with the same kind of excitement as she took her own and made a third sketch. Not as neat or precise as his, but legible enough. And the location she placed the islands... was right between the first and last measurements.
"They are moving, " she concluded, with something like awe in her voice. She offered Loren the papers, to see for himself
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 ♦
Waving a hand, Loren had fur ripple down it followed by a wave of feathers. "Only partly." Shooting Maea a quick grin, he went on his quick little jaunt into the air and back.
Nodding at her remark, he leaned forward to take a closer look at her work. "That's my guess as well." His brow furrowed as he traced his fingers along the path the islands had supposedly taken. Astra peered over his shoulder, and he reached up to give her an affectionate scratch under her chin.
"The sailors must have a way of tracking how the islands move, or at least navigating them as they do." He sounded pretty certain at that, but the glance he gave the Loreseeker was anything but.
Maea agreed, following the movements of his fingers over the paper eith a thoughtful expression. "Possibly. Or they have navigators that can read the paths they make quickly enough to make it through. Either way, it must be a challenge to sail waters like those."
She thought of Amun and the boat he was building. Perhaps it would be fun testing it with him there...
"I don't know much about the sea," she admitted. "Was there one in your homeworld?"
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 ♦
Nodding thoughtfully at Maea's guesses, Loren drummed an annoyed beat against the ground. "Maybe both. Definitely a challenge." Sighing, he shrugged. "Guess the only way to find out is to ask." He shot her a look. "Got any contacts in the area?" It came out excitedly.
"Me neither." Giving her a chagrined look, he ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't even learn to swim until recently."
Flushing faintly with embarrassment, he glanced out at where the sea lay, though he couldn't see it through the tree. "Northwind did, yes, but I never saw it. There was a sea in Northaven too, but we didn't really have boats and there were sea monsters if you went too far out."
She didn't think it strange, only hummed acknowledgement of his talk about the oceans and not knowing how to swim. "I've only really swam in the Oasis before... well you know what the Ground looks like, no other place for it. Sunjata offered to teach me pretty much the first time we met... but I think he was put off when he realized I have water magic. I use it to cheat," she admitted, an impish look of guilt and mischief on her face.
Her expression fell a little when he asked about contacts however, a small frown appearing between her brows. "I... might have one," she admitted. "But I would not recommend it.. It might get pricey."
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 ♦
Letting out a huff of laughter at Maea's comment, Loren nodded. "Yes, I've heard that one before." He gave her a smile that was part amused, part embarrassed. "For what it's worth, he didn't seem to mind when I used it. Then again, I also got my ass kicked by waves and dolphins." For a moment, an exasperated expression crossed his features, and his tone was more than a bit annoyed.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Alright. I have one that might work out. I'll talk to her and let you know how it goes." For a moment, his cheeks flushed, and he couldn't meet Maea's eyes. Astra head-butted him gently and he pressed his lips together, clearly embarrassed.
Her mouth twitched like she was about to laugh, but white teeth nibbling at the bottom lip kept it behind lock and key, left to sparkle in her eyes instead. "By dolphins? I think it's still a little better than having a Cloud Manta drop down on you... not to brag, but they are quite a bit heavier than they look. I still have bruises left, and it was days ago." She rolled her eyes, clearly thinking nothing of it.
Besides, she was distracted by Loren's expression. Leaning forward, Maea fixed her gaze on him, a wickedly amused look about her. "Why Loren, you are blushing! Who is this lady friend of yours? I'm intrigued, tell me more!"
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 ♦
Sighing, Loren gave Maea an annoyed and embarrassed look. "Technically they were Encantados, but yes, I got beat up by dolphins. Pink dolphins." Despite his exasperated tone, there was perhaps a glimmer of amusement in his eyes and his lips might have twitched.
However his eyes narrowed at Maea when she mentioned something about a Cloud Manta falling on her and lingering bruises. "I'm sorry, what?" His voice came out flatly, and he was already reaching out a hand to lay it on her shoulder and heal her.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her teasing. "Is it so hard to believe that I might have a friend, lady or otherwise?" The words came out more brusquely than he'd intended, and he immediately gave her a guilty and apologetic smile.
"Well... I mean, it's still a step up from squirrels," she offered, still grinning. Shoulders shaking from quiet laughter.
Maea tried to wave him off when he reached for her shoulder, somewhere between a grin and a wince; she knew it would hurt if he actually did touch her, just like it had to have his arm about her shoulders and back earlier. But she was so used to it that it was hardly a bother by now.
"It's fine, I'm alright. No need to waste your magic on this, it's already healing," she said.
His tone had changed so much, and it seemed her comment was not taken well either; Maea held her hands up a little defensively, offering a placating smile.
"Of course not, I'm sorry. I was just playing with you. It's so unusual to see you talk about other people, is all... I got curious."
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 ♦
Loren raised his eyebrows at Maea. "Hey now, neither of us got beaten up by squirrels. We vanquished them and successfully navigated the Labyrinth." For just a moment, he smiled fiercely at her.
It shifted into a concerned look almost immediately. "My patient, my magic, my decision." However, his hand hovered just above her shoulder, not touching just yet.
Flushing, he shook his head. "No, I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just...it was um, from my drunken philandering days. Well, earlier than that, but that's when I ah, saw her last. Most recently." Suddenly, he found he couldn't meet her eyes, and his cheeks had turned an even more furious crimson.
She gave him a dubious look. Maea recalled having tripped, fallen, being swarmed by the pesky rodents, and then subsequently saved by this grinning idiot and his magical dragon. She wasn't sure that she could be counted into that generous 'we'. "Right... if you say so," she said, nevertheless. Not wanting to take away his delusions, if they made him look both proud and confident for a change.
His concern felt rather unnecessary however, and she did roll her eyes a little at him. Setting her pen aside, MAea reached up and unfastened the buttons at the back of her neck, making the dress come undone down to the middle of her shoulders. Pulling her hair away over a shoulder, she turned to show him her back.
"See? It's healing. I'm fine."
Except... it did not look very fine. The skin at her neck was peppered with bruises. Some had the distinct look of hickeys, but the further down on her back they went, the bigger they became. And the color was a spectrum of blues, greens and fading yellows, painting her marble skin like some artist had splashed color all over her. The bruises disappeared down under the fabric and it was hard to tell how far down the damage went, though by the careful way she shifted, it could be quite extensive.
Still with her back turned, Maea bit her lips and flushed slightly. Understanding what he meant, of what nature this 'encounter' had most likely been. "Ah," she said delicately. "I see. Does this lady... have a name?" So she knew who not to bring up the wrong kind of conversations with.
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 do!" It came out brightly, yet also in a tone that brooked no disagreement. However, the corners of Loren's lips might've twitched in amusement.
As Maea protested, he actually rolled his eyes right back at her. "Seeing as I am the Grand Healer and you are my lowly patient, I'll be the judge of that." Despite the drawl his voice came out in, his eyes were gently concerned. On top of that, the hand he laid on her shoulder was gentle and soft, and he sent a pulse of healing magic through her to soothe her aches and erase her bruises.
"Eloise Teralux. I knew her...from my old world. But she didn't come to the Hollowed Ground with the rest of us." Though her back was to him, he shrugged. His tone was still clearly more than a bit embarrassed.
How unusual, for him to speak without hesitation, to be so determined. The look she gave him was startled but more than a little pleased. Satisfied, almost, that he held his ground, and Maea bowed her head in graceful acceptance, her eyes glittering.
He continued to speak in the same manner as she showed off her bruised back, and perhaps it was that which made her hold still when he placed his hand on her. "Lowly?" she protested, if a bit weakly. The touch was soft, very light; the pulse of magic made her skin tingle, and as the colors of the bruises began to fade, goosebumps spread along her neck and down the back. Maea sighed in quiet relief when the constant, dull ache she'd lived with since the incident began to lift. "Alright, fine... that does feel good," she grumbled.
Leaning into his touch slightly, she threaded the pale hair between her fingers, listening as he told her the name of his contact. It made her frown, because... "I know that name," she said slowly. "I think... she is an, eh, acquaintance of the contact I made? A man called Saiden..." Turning her head around until she could glance over her shoulder at Loren, Maea raised a brow. Wondering, if he had heart of the cook.
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 ♦
Nodding almost solemnly at Maea’s feeble protest, the corner of Loren’s lips twitched again. ”Lowly patient, yes. Everywhere else, not so much.” Smiling faintly as she finally admitted she’d been a stubborn fool, he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. ”Listen, I have one job in the frozen wasteland that is Halo, so I’m going to do it and I need you to trust me to do it well. Don’t fight me on that, okay?” His tone was lightly amused.
Nodding, he took a moment to burn out any burgeoning infection in her body and replenishing any weak parts of her immune system. His brow furrowed as basically no energy left his dwindling reserves. ”I’ve heard of him. Met him briefly, I think. He’s from my world.” Glancing up from where he’d been examining her body, he gave her a quizzical look. ”Why do you ask?”
