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!
"Nothing. I'm just bored by the Greatwood and tired of people like you." Jiao said plainly, turning her chin up. It was true that the Fae hadn't actively done anything against her, she'd just grown bored of all of them and their stupid attitudes - which Alina was showing in full force. "You wouldn't have to deal with them? You just used it! What are you having to deal with?"
She nearly rolled her eyes at the second part. "What's wrong with thinking about myself? I'm the only one that's ever cared about me."
"So you ran away from home like a petulant child because you're bored? You insult our traditions and our ways, ways that have kept us safe for generations, simply because they aren't exciting enough for you?" Alina's incredulity and anger were equally on display. Nostrils flaring, she glared at her fellow Fae.
Then the huntress had to actually grit her teeth at the woman's next statement. "If the Voice had stayed within the barrier, hadn't spread the Blight, hadn't destroyed the Mathair to open a portal, we could've stayed within our borders. The world would've remained as it was, as the old gods willed it to be." Alina's voice was bitter and annoyed.
"I care about you, you stupid girl." It came out practically shouted. However, the Fae could only tell the truth. The huntress, abrasive as she was, cared about all her kin, even the wayward and stupid ones like Jiao.
Alina's outrage was beginning to pettily thrill Jiao more than anything else, and in response to her offended questions the younger Fae just nodded, purposefully putting on the most 'vapid' smile she could. "Yep. That's exactly why." After all, wasn't she allowed to leave somewhere for whatever reason she wanted? It wasn't like she'd ever promised to stay in the stupid Greatwood.
"I want the world to change." She crossed her arms and stared directly at Alina. "And you would too, if you weren't so boring and dumb. What's the point of having all this time if we aren't going to move along with it? I don't even like The Voice, but you're all so...so stuck in the mud."
As for Alina caring for her? She just wrinkled her nose and shook her head, disgusted by the concept and not believing it anyway.
Snarling, Alina found herself taking to the sky again, flying towards the other Fae. Although the huntress wasn't threatening the other woman again, it wasn't a friendly approach. "And did it ever occur to you there was a good reason things were the way they were?" The huntress' tone indicated that she very much doubted that was the case.
"I don't mind change." The words were practically spat out. "But not if it comes at the expense of our people's well-being." And too many of the changes recently had brought harm to the Greatwood and to the Fae. It was impossible to deny that fact. Jiao would know every word out of Alina's mouth was the truth.
Jiao did not in fact know that Alina's words were truth. In fact, she felt they were anything but: over-dramatic, jingoistic rhetoric would be a better phrase for it, and she found that she was swiftly running out of patience to listen to it anymore.
"Well, my well being is just fine, so don't worry about me." She said with a roll of her eyes, then went to fly past Alina and away, very tired of this conversation, which had only served to remind her of everything she'd hated about the Greatwood.
Gritting her teeth at the other Fae's words and general behavior, Alina whirled around as the other woman flitted past. For a moment, the huntress' eyes narrowed dangerously.
Then her anger at the other Fae finally boiled over. Lunging forward, Alina swept her spear out and clipped off the top of one of the other woman's wings. Swooping down, the huntress grabbed it from the air before it hit the ground.
She immediately took to the sky, trusting her flight to keep her safe from her fellow Fae's retaliation. "If you won't listen to reason, don't expect the rest of your people to do you any favors." Speaking in a scornful tone, Alina flew away, fully expecting Jiao to come crawling back one day, humbled and broken by the outside world.
Jiao had been expecting a shout, maybe an attempt at another near-jab with Alina's spear, but she had not been expecting anything that would cause actual pain. Screaming as her wings were ripped again, the second time in only a couple of months, she fell from where she had been in the air, smacking into the sand below with some force.
Alina had just sealed in stone that she would never return to the Greatwood, not whatever she thought she was doing, but Jiao couldn't bring herself to respond in words, curling up in pain as she tried to think through it.
