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!
Oliver seems content to talk, leaving Amalia to listen quietly, her eyes distant as she remembers her friend. The pleasure he seems to take in the cake causes her to smile with pride, but she doesn't interrupt. Instead she returns to the pumpkin soup that bubbles on the stove, tasting and stirring and adding in spices while the blond recounts his experience. It's laced with expletives, causing the Shield's lips to quirk. No surprise they'd gotten along.
Turning back when Oliver fades out, Amalia can only nod. "That's good advice," she agrees softly. And then, because it feels like what he needs, and because Adam isn't here to check in on the boy, Amalia adds, "And are you? Proud of yourself, and open?"
04-22-2020, 01:33 AM (This post was last modified: 04-22-2020, 01:34 AM by Oliver.)
OLIVER
Amalia seems to understand exactly when to speak, allowing the moment where Oliver fades out to continue on naturally. It's honestly a blessing and more often than not, he doesn't have that sort of luxury. No wonder why she had been seen in the eyes of Safrin as something so spectacular and nice... she truly radiating with that kindness. Just giving him cake was enough to prove that, but the way she spoke, the way she handled their conversation, it only solidified to Oliver that she was someone he could trust. Someone worthy of the title she had been given.
Her question earns a smile on his face and he nods. "Honestly, yeah. I never really thought of it as something to be proud of or something that others would think of my highly. I guess I just thought it was embarrassing... but yeah. I try not to worry about what others think and I think I really needed his advice." No matter how many times he heard it, Adam had managed to strike right where he needed to. While Oliver still had his problems here and there, he did find himself growing steadily more and more confident with time and he did attribute it to Adam's fantastic advice.
"There are times where I know I need to work on it... I'm far from the most useful person here, but I'm trying my best and all I can do is try to keep going." Hah. Oliver really needed to listen to his own advice when it came to certain activities like weapons training.
It's bittersweet, seeing this boy so keenly affected by a single encounter with her friend. Unsurprising - Adam had that effect on people, and Amalia, while the first to call him and idiot, will also be the first to comment on his virtues - but still bittersweet.
Because all that idiocy is gone now, frozen beneath the mountains of Halo and guarded by a dragon.
She reaches up to rub her face and is surprised to find her lashes damp, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. Hoping Oliver doesn't notice she hastily wipes them away. Clearing her throat softly, Amalia tries to swallow down the lump of emotion she hasn't quite been able to clear since the day he died.
Sliding a box with the rest of the cake to Oliver, the Shield smiles crookedly through the sadness in her eyes. "I'm glad to hear it," she tells him quietly. "Keep pushing forward and hold on to that memory, and when you see him again in Mort's realm I'm sure he'll offer you a drink. And... come back soon."
The cake box was placed right in front of him and to say Oliver was surprised would be an understatement. Wide, blue eyes stared at the box before he slowly shifted to stare up at Amalia. Clearly, someone was confused. Was this a test? Was Amalia just trying to see if he'd actually take the cake? It felt like way too much- why would she give such a thing to him?! She hardly even knew him!
Now that he was practically staring at Amalia, it was easy to see that she wasn't feeling the best. Nice job, Oliver. "Yeah... I'll try to live by his words for the time being." He offered her a soft smile, pushing away those negative thoughts that had surfaced due to her comment about Morts realm.
A hushed silence rested for a few moments before finally, Oliver broke it. "Would... would it be okay if I asked you about my second question? I... I was told to come to you for questions by Safrin."
He doesn't leave. Instead he sits in silence a second, before proposing a question she does not expect- but really should, at this point. Told to come to you for advice about Safrin (by Safrin, this time) is a line Amalia has now heard more times than she can count, and though it used to catch her by surprise, now she finds comfort in the normalcy of it.
"Of course." Your expression relaxes a little bit, and you try to push away troubling thoughts of Adam. "What, ah... why did Safrin want you to see me?"
It was a bit of a surprise that Amalia was so willing to hear him out. Maybe he had overthought the interaction, under the belief that she would reject him for some odd reason, so he was more than thankful to be allowed to speak with her.
Running over his thoughts momentarily, Oliver paused for a second before finally breaking the silence and speaking. "Well... it's a lot, but Safrin told me a lot of my questions are to be best asked to you- or one of the other protectors." He wasn't exactly using the right terminology, but his mind was also racing a mile a minute, incapable of formulating straight thoughts at this time. "I wanted to know what to do- how I could help... and all she told me was that a couple of my ideas were good, but some wouldn't work. She mostly said to me that I needed to make sure everything was ready for LongNight... to prepare properly... and then she told me to make sure nobody goes outside." His voice trails off and he finds himself turning to look away from Amalia, now staring at the table and tapping his fingers nervously.
"I've been... thinking about it a lot... and I don't know what to do." He couldn't admit his fear to Amalia- no. It'd be weak and be a bad show to one of the most important people in Caido. One of the people he had to impress couldn't look at him as weak... it'd be the end of him ever showing to her that he was worthy of Safrin's love.
Again Oliver has a lot to say, and Amalia listens quietly as he voices it all, trying not to wince at his apparent anxiety. It takes her a moment to figure out what, exactly, he is wanting to help with; when he finally says LongNight, she visibly relaxes.
Nodding quietly, the Shield tilts her head. "Is this... your first one? LongNight, that is." Not that being concerned is surprising, whether it's his first or fiftieth. Running her hand over her wrist, the Shield fixes her eyes on the small shrine in the window. "Helping to prepare is... it's great. It will be appreciated, for those who don't leave." There's ruefulness in her tone: although she'll be one of them, she still wishes there were fewer.
"This year... it's the first time we've been allowed to go elsewhere. And honestly... the best thing you can do is go. Go, and take whoever you can with you, so that those of us who remain have fewer to protect." Her eyes are sharp and serious when she turns them back on Oliver, voice earnest in an attempt to impart the importance of her words. "The fewer souls the monsters claim, the better. If you can keep yourself from being one of them... then I will be grateful."
Had Amalia been at the Temple with him? Honestly, he wasn't sure. All of the memories were a massive jumbled up mess and were not helped by the fact that those from the Guild had to come over. It made things all the more confusing to deal with. It means that he also didn't hold it against her. Rather than immediately responding, he allowed her to speak, listening intently to what she had to say to him.
The advice is wise and he nods along. If Amalia tells him to leave, then surely Safrin wont hold it against him? He can just help to make sure everyone else is safe and do his duty to prepare, so that way he won't feel too bad about not staying around to protect.
It's finally when she finishes talking that a small smile is brought back to his face. "Thank you, Amalia... I came here during Deepfrost. I didn't really have much time before LongNight happened... and it was honestly awful. A lot of things happened and I made a ton of mistakes." Shaking his head, he tried to move on to brighter topics. "I guess I'll be heading to Torchline, in that case. I will stay here as long as possible to help prepare, but when the time comes I will be going to Torchline and I'll also have someone else with me. So one less person to stay around." It was a lot to say, but hopefully it'd reassure Amalia that he was being wise and that he was bringing another person along with him on the ride.
Slowly standing up, he offers her a bit brighter of a smile. "Thank you again, Amalia for everything. It really means a lot to me that you sat down and spoke with me." Running a hand through his hair, he grins at her. "If you need me to help you with anything, come find me. I'd love to help you out whenever possible." And then, if she didn't have anything else to say, he'd make his leave very happily with the cake in hand.
