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!
When Amalia had asked him to come out to pick apples Sam had been surprised: he and his newly-discovered sister had been spending some time together lately, but it had almost been entirely accidental: the meal they were meant to be having had not yet transpired and he had not asked her anywhere in fear of rejection.
Waiting at the edge of the woodland with a basket in his hands, a red and white teatowel lining the bottom, he rocked from the ball of his feet to the heel, making a face as the still-wobbly ankle clicked. No pain, but uncomfortable, and it reminded him of the ill-fated gourd quest, which had been Amalia's idea and had ended terribly. He sighed. No point in holding it over her - her optimism and desire for peace were good qualities, even if they did sometimes lead her to silly conclusions.
As he saw her approach he raised a hand in greeting and looked back into the woods. "Good morning! Do you know where the apple trees are...? I don't think I've seen any from here.."
Inviting Samuel on this particular adventure had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, one Amalia had made before she had a chance to think too seriously about the myriad of ways this could go horribly wrong. So instead of giving herself time to think she'd simply dropped a note off at his house the day before... and spent the night agonizing over what would be worse, if he came or if he didn't.
When she does see him waiting, well, the thing that catches in her chest is not so different from happiness. Raising a tentative hand up, the Shield waves to her waiting brother, mirroring his own greeting with a hesitant, genuine smile. Dressed in a simple green tunic and brown breeches, she is barefoot, feet protected by leopard pads. She doesn't carry her shield - it's tucked into her bracer - but her staff is in her hand, and a basket not dissimilar to his hangs over her elbow.
"There's a few by the old farms- Rory's and, and Maea's." Her voice falters at the last name, clouds passing over the expressive face as her dark eyes fall to the ground. Another loss she hasn't had time to properly mourn. Biting her lip, she looks back up at Sam. "Are you... okay? After last time I, ah... well. I didn't see you after. I hope you weren't too badly injured."
Amalia knew where they might find some trees thankfully so Sam gestured for her to lead the way, ready to follow on behind. He was quiet as well as thoughts of Rory and Maea came to mind: not that Rory was dead, but it had been so long since Sam had seen him he may as well have been. Maea...well. He hadn't really been sure how to feel about the young woman's death. He'd thought they were friends of a sort, Sam having taught her how to make books and her teaching him to make baskets...yet apparently notes had gone out after her death and he had not received one.
Maybe they had not been as close as he'd thought.
"I'm...alright, yes. I heal quickly." Sam was still a little wobbly on that leg, but nowhere near as bad as he'd been had he not been Ascended. "That quest...didn't go quite right, did it?" He looked over to her with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she'd admit her hope for peace with the gourds had proven to be a foolish one.
She leads him through the woodland and toward a well-known apple grove. Frowning at his wobbly gait, Amalia pauses, looking back over her shoulder. "Did you get any healing? I can look at it, if you want." Indicating the staff with a tilt of her head, she waits for a response.
A cloud passes over her face when he brings up the failed quest. With a rueful grimace Amalia drops her head, staring at the ground. "Yeah I... I hoped to prevent more loss of life, but..." He knows exactly how poorly it went; she doesn't need to rehash that. "Maybe if I'd... I don't know. Gone about it differently. Made a better offer. But I'm learning more and more that I can't win... well, most of the time."
"Oh, well...The Voice didn't answer me at the Shrine this time, but it did help a little." Sam looked down at his ankle and shrugged. "I...don't think you'll be able to heal me, Ama. Loren can't, since I'm Ascended...it's alright. I'm not in pain - I don't feel that." He gave her what was meant to be a comforting smile, though he wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that for Amalia, an inability to feel pain might be something unnatural and disturbing.
He'd been feeling a little smug about the whole quest and how he'd been right that no peace could be brokered, but hearing Amalia talk about it his attitude melted away and he sighed, reaching to pat her shoulder. "It's not a bad thing to want peace. But sometimes...you can't get it with everyone. I don't know if the gourds are even intelligent enough to consider it."
"I'm not abandoned. It's different " Amalia resists the urge to roll her eyes, slightly miffed at the implication that she doesn't know how healing works for Ascended. "The magic in this seems to work on anyone, regardless of race." But it's up to him- and the comment about not feeling pain makes her face curl in obvious distaste.
The hand on her shoulder is both very unexpected and very awkward; Amalia has no idea how to respond to this, their first shared physical contact in her memory, so she simply nods stiffly. "I'm learning that, too."
Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Amalia turns away, leading Sam further toward the apple grove. "So... How is Loren, anyway? I saw him briefly... I can't imagine he took Maea's death well."
Pretending like he didn't see the way her face changed when he mentioned not feeling pain (that was a part of being family, he supposed, putting up with the little annoyances) he shrugged when she informed him that she actually could heal him. "If...you think it might work, it would be nice to feel stronger on it. I just...didn't think anything you got from the Old Gods would work on me."
Obviously he'd overstepped by touching her so he drew his hand back, feeling very awkward about it: he'd once been very anxious about physical contact, but he wondered if in his efforts to overcome that he'd become too eager now to give it: Jigano certainly didn't always seem fond of his hugs. The rules for when these sorts of things were acceptable still seemed to evade him, even as he learnt other social lessons.
The question about Loren (fair enough, since he'd mentioned the name) drew a sigh and he shook his head. "I don't know. We um...we broke..well. We didn't ever really have anything official. But we don't have anything now...I ended it. He can't commit to me the way I wanted him to." Fiddling with the handle of his basket, Sam stared at the ground, trying not to think about the fact that Amalia was soon getting married.
"Remi made it, actually." Her voice is quiet, stumbling a little over the name: she has no idea where Sam and Remi currently stand, but remembers his frustration with the Alchemist on their last encounter. "Here. Give it a try." Extending the staff toward him, she waits for him to take it or decline.
Whatever awkwardness may have lingered from the physical exchange swiftly morphs into a new discomfort as Amalia realizes she has well and truly put her foot in her mouth. A small, petty part of her cannot help feeling vindictive: she'd known that dating Loren would only end poorly, that it was a terrible plan, that he would fail Sam. But looking at her brother's downcast face, she cannot find it in herself to say I told you so.
"I'm sorry, Sam," Amalia says softly, twisting her hands uncomfortably and digging her toes into the dirt. "That... gods, what an asshole." The vitriol is unusual coming from her mouth, but Amalia's irritation with the summoner has only been rising of late. "You deserve a lot better, anyway. Loren's a mess, and an idiot."
"Oh." Sam said flatly, not really sure how to feel about that: it wasn't like he could claim to be bias against all things Remi had made, the patch that gave him his feeling still residing beneath his skin. "Alright...so I just..." Taking the staff, he tried to bonk the end against his ankle, hoping that might do the trick: he was not used to working with magic.
He was a little surprised by the venom Amalia directed at Loren and immediately felt a need to defend the man jump up in him, though he softened it after her kind words and the way she held back from gloating. "...He...He's having a hard time after Abasi died. I don't know if either of us did anything wrong, just that...perhaps we aren't good for each other at this time. I don't know if I'm good for anyone." He sighed, shaking his head.
The staff pulses warmly in Sam's hands, the red of the luxere antler emitting a soft glow. As he holds it, the Ascended will indeed feel some of his injury easing: soon enough, his ankle will be not so far from normal. Watching the magic work on her brother, Amalia cannot help a soft remark, almost too low to be heard. "Maybe you don't need the Voice as much as you thought."
Wincing at the reminder of Abasi's death, Amalia's mouth twists into an unhappy line. She has far more thoughts on the matter, primary among them being if he wasn't over Abasi he shouldn't have pursued you, but Sam's final comment stills her tongue. Knitting her brows together, the Shield steps forward to peer at Sam. "Why would you say that?" She shakes her head. "It's not your fault that Loren's a mess. Even Remi..." Well. Amalia doesn't know all the details of that sordid affair, except that there was a great deal of memory loss involved on both sides.
Sam was surprised to feel the staff working, the awkward click in his ankle fading away; he handed the staff back with a smile, though hearing Amalia's quiet comment it dropped. "The Voice doesn't only heal my physical injuries." He replied, just as soft, just as passive aggressive. He wasn't here to preach for his Goddess, but he wouldn't stand by while she was insulted either.
He really hoped they'd reach the apples soon, because he could feel Amalia's judgement over his relationship woes: though he didn't expect what she said. Could she not see that the common thread in all his relationships was his own failures to make people stay? With a sigh, he shrugged. "I just don't seem to be able to interest anyone enough to have them stay with me. Loren, Nate...in some ways Remi too. ..I'm very jealous of what you have with Deimos." Sam smiled sadly, looking down at the ground. "Someone that loves you and wants to be with you forever..it must be amazing."
04-21-2020, 01:23 PM (This post was last modified: 04-21-2020, 01:25 PM by Amalia.)
Amalia
I took the stars from our eyes and I made a map
She turns away from him, both to lead on toward the waiting apples and to keep from showing more of the displeasure that passes over her face at the mention of the Voice.
"Nate?" Amalia repeats, glancing over her shoulder at Sam. For a moment she's confused, thinking of the wrong man entirely, eyebrows raising in surprise. "You dated Nathaniel?" She can't picture the tall, stoic man with her brother (or anyone, really). And she really can't picture him breaking Sam's heart. "What happened?" She doesn't comment on her own relationship except by coloring a warm shade of rose.
They're near enough their destination now that her animal senses can smell fermenting fruit on the breeze; she inhales happily, eager to snack on the fruit. Drawing to a stop beneath one of the trees, Amalia sets her bag and basket down, rolling up her arms in preparation to climb.c
Sam was surprised to see Amalia react so strongly to Nate's name, tilting his head in confusion. He hadn't thought the two knew each other at all, only had mentioned the name for the completeness of the list in his own mind. Her use of Nathaniel did nothing to take his mind off the Ascended Outlander, Sam often using that full name to refer to him.
"I...did, yes. He arrived last year around Longnight..we met in the Atheneum, and he kissed me right away." Despite the less-than-stellar opinion he had of Nate now, Sam laughed at this: it had been so bizarre. "I offered to let him stay at my house since he had nowhere else to go. Things..well, one thing led to another." He looked off and let that trail away, sure Amalia didn't want to hear about how he'd ended up in bed with Nate.
Of course, the latter half of the story was far less happy and he put down his own basket to climb a tree, pausing with his hand on the trunk before he looked back to speak to her. "I asked him to Ascend. I tried to make sure I told him all it entailed first, though now I wonder if he got a skewed view of it, because I have more abilities than most Ascended.." With a sigh Sam shook his head and began to scale the tree, awkward and stiff and slipping more than once, not wearing the right clothes and hardly having much tree-climbing experience. Once he'd reached a 'V' he could stand in and reached some apples, he continued.
"The Voice gave him an upgrade that let him diagnose patients by biting them. I assume--" He reached out for an apple. "--That you've never been bitten? Do you know um..how it feels for people?"
He arrived? The confusion is obvious on Amalia's face; still thinking of her Natural acquaintance, she struggles desperately to figure out what is going on. It isn't until he gets to the part where they lived together (and the implications therein) that a lightbulb goes off in the Shield's head: this is a different Nate.
It's a good thing that she's caught in her own thoughts, because it distracts her from the full implication of Sam's next set of statements. To have convinced an Outlander - an Accepted - to become Ascended just so he could have a boyfriend... later Amalia will process through this and her opinion of Nate will change.
For now, though, Sam is fortunate, as she rejoins the conversation fully at the point where the other man's infidelity is revealed. Pressing into an apple to test its ripeness, Amalia shakes her head with an indignant snort. Of course she hasn't been bitten, but she does know what it's meant to feel like. "So he... started biting other people? Which is basically like sex with them?"
