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!
Alina scoffed at the interloper's complaint. "That sounds like your problem, not mine." Eyes narrowing, she continued to glare at him, not willing to budge an inch or say more than she already had.
At yet another whiny comment from him, she smirked. Flying up and away from him, she brought her spear up. "You're free to go." Then her smirk deepened. "Assuming the woods let you out." With that cryptic comment, she took to the sky again.
However, she didn't go far. Flying just above the canopy, she looked down on him. She was fully intending on following him from the air until he reached the edge of the Greatwood.
Alina let him go with the definite air of a challenge, but Josh did not give in to her pressure. "I didn't say I was going to leave the woods." He said up as she flew away, shrugging as she disappeared in the trees and walking in a random direction further in, interested in what else he could find in this place. After all, he had no home, no base here; there was no reason to immediately return to the place with the Black Obelisk.
Stepping over a tree root he came across a small brook and a pond and knelt to put a hand in the water, slowly raised it to his mouth and sucked the water off his finger as if testing it for something. Nodding, he pulled out his notebook to make a quick note and then stood back up, looking around him for Alina - he could sense he was still being watched, but if she didn't want to make her presence known again he wouldn't ask for her.
Alina just glared down at Joshua. However, the Fae didn't say anything further to the interloper. She knew that the Greatwood would take care of the newcomer if he tried anything, so she continued to fly up and away, until she soared high above the treetops.
Circling above him, her eyes narrowed as the man knelt down again. However, when it became apparent that he was just drinking some water and taking notes, she sighed, and readjusted her grip on her spear. Then she checked that her arrows were still strapped in and her bow was still in place. Both were secure, and so she went back to her distant surveillance.
It seemed the Fae woman either had decided to leave him alone or was laying low for the moment, so Josh continued as if she was not there - besides, there was a chance she wasn't, even if his instincts said otherwise (a lot of investigators were keen to tell you their instincts were never wrong, but Josh knew all too well how misguided human perception could be).
There was a way to tell...perhaps it was a mischievous streak in him that really made Josh want to do it, perhaps it was curiosity if the woman would really care - and he really did want to gather some things to look at later. Reaching down to the ground he took in his thumb and forefinger the leaf of a plant growing by the roots of a tree and after a moment, snapped the leaf off, standing up and placing it in his pocket.
As the intruder plucked a leaf off of a plant far below (at least, that's what it looked like from up here), Alina scowled. However, she made no move to descend or to attack. After all, leaves fell all the time in the Greatwood.
She did slide her spear into a holster specially prepared for it and nocked an arrow on her bow, though she simply held it ready. Still flying far above him, she simply watched him like a hawk. Every once in a while, her fingers twitched on her bowstring, but she didn't pull it back fully, just held the arrow in a practiced manner.
After waiting a moment to see if he'd find himself dead and discovering that he was still very much alive, Josh shrugged and began to walk in a random direction; further into the Greatwood or out of it, there was no way to tell - wherever he ended up he was sure there would be more to look at.
As he walked, he became aware of something and yelled up to the trees: "Hey, do you all piss in the woods? Is it against your laws if I do?" After all, the animals had to do it, right?
If the little man down below wanted to play games, he'd be sorely disappointed to find that Alina was a much more patient hunter than he was. Indeed, the only response to his question was a contemptuous smirk. Still circling in the skies above him, she spat down at him to let him know that bodily fluids of all kinds were welcome in the Greatwood.
Of course her gesture was snatched away by the wind almost immediately. Instead of descending or responding verbally, she simply continued to circle far above him. Her bow still had an arrow nocked, and she kept her gaze trained on him, though she still didn't draw it back.
Catching sight of a smile in the trees and hearing Alina spit but not seeing it land, Josh shrugged and went ahead undoing his pants and turning in to face a tree that seemed a little mossy already (no point ruining a perfectly good tree). Soon he was watering the plants and he stood still waiting until he was done, casually looking off into the distance.
Assuming Alina didn't stop him from doing this, he then shook himself off and buttoned up his pants again, stretching his arms up. "Yknow...if you showed me the way out of here, I would just leave." He offered up into the trees, but how true this claim was even he wasn't entirely sure.
As the interloper took out his dick and peed on a tree, Alina rolled her eyes. Men. Honestly, why they saw the need to be vulgar to prove a point was beyond her.
When he called out for her, she scowled. Still, she put the arrow back in her quiver and the bow on her back. Only then did she slowly descend to sit on the branch of the pee tree. "And why would I show you the way out? You got yourself into this mess. Seems to me you should get yourself out of it too." She grinned down at him, though there was something decidedly predatory about the expression.
Alina was just determined to be difficult (as was Josh). Rolling his eyes, Josh shrugged and began to walk in a random direction again. He wasn't prone to panic, but he was beginning to try and plan for what he would do if he couldn't find a way out. Perhaps this was some kind of trial? He'd heard tales of Fae in ancient Earth mythology; they often trapped unwitting humans in forests for fickle rules and puzzles...
Looking up, he asked: "Do you collect people's names? I heard that was a thing." May as well gather as much info as he could while he was stuck here. "Are you going to keep me in here until I starve for your own sick amusement? I don't mind. I just want to know."
Scoffing, Alina jumped off the branch she was seated on. Flying just out of reach of the interloper, she smirked down at him. "From who? What would I do with your name?" Her tone was equal parts amused and annoyed, as if she couldn't believe he'd asked that question.
Snorting, she gestured around at the forest with one hand before returning it to the haft of her spear. "Me? I'm not going to do anything but watch you and maybe talk to you a bit more. Either you'll get out or you'll die." It was clear that she wasn't particularly bothered by the latter outcome.
Alina's smirk seemed like she'd managed to pull one over on him or make some kind of wonderful joke, but Josh just stared up at her blankly. "Stories from Earth. Used to say Fae could control you or keep you in the woods if they got your name. Don't know how it'd work." Fairies had never been something he'd believed in or looked into, but he had some vague memory of hearing it.
He nodded at her plans. "Well, at least you'll talk to me." Beginning to walk again, he headed towards what looked like a clearing in the distance.
Still smirking, Alina gestured at the forest surrounding them using the point of her spear for emphasis. "And are you on this Earth that you speak of?" Her tone was mocking, and her expression matched as she sneered down at him.
Snorting, she pushed off the branch she was currently sitting on. Hovering in the air above him, she began to practice with her spear. "I said maybe." With that, she fell silent, at least for a little while. Instead, she began to focus on aerial maneuvers, flitting about and jabbing as she did. However, if Josh was watching, he'd see that her practice always seemed to carry her in the path that he followed eventually.
Josh looked about as if considering the question, then shook his head. "No, but I was wondering if the story had a comparison here. I take it it doesn't, then." Disappointing, really. He'd wanted to know how name-stealing worked.
He walked for a while without looking at her, pausing at one particular tree to grab a fruit that looked similar to an Earth's apple and bite into it, hoping it wasn't poisonous. If it was, he'd at least have an interesting learning opportunity on his hands. Holding the fruit in his hand he kept walking until eventually he thought he could see through the trees the Outskirts where he had begun.
"I'm gonna go now." He announced up to the trees, unsure if Alina was still there. "I would say it was good to talk to you, but it wasn't."
