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!
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
The worst part about this whole running errands and dropping off orders for his family, is this part specifically. The Palace. The Grand Healer had ordered more jars, and apparently his parents thought that it was the best attempt at throwing Glas right into the flame of getting used to dealing with people. Hint: It’s not exactly helping anything. But he can’t say no either.
So he arrives, cart in hand filled with jars for the infirmary and a few other small things his parents had tossed in as if to try and gain a bit more favor for the Palace doing business with them, and he asks for the Grand Healer – anxiety eating away at his stomach at the thought of how he’d always wanted to be a healer… And yet.
Yet, the boy already knows about what magic writhes within his skin, what couldn’t really become a reality. So he lowers his head a bit, staring at the tiles in the floor, waiting quietly and patiently as can be for the man to arrive to take the items.
Loren was staring very intently at a small vial that he held in place over a flame with his telekinesis. At his side, Astra was staring very intently at him. When he heard the sounds coming from the hallway, he glanced up. The vial wavered, and he sighed, then set it down.
Normally excited to see any and all new arrivals, his luxere companion shrank away from the door. Giving her a curious and concerned look, he walked to the door. As he did, he called out. "It's open!" However, he also opened it, peering curiously outside to see who it was.
When he saw it was a delivery for him, he smiled. "Oh thank you! Here I can take those." He propped the door open with his foot, reaching for the package as he did. Then the healer tilted his head to one side. "Also, I don't think we've met." His eyes crinkled in amusement. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but...." Voice trailing off, he let out a huff of laughter.
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
A door opens, and Glas quickly glances toward it to see a man standing within, claiming the door was open. Immediately, as Loren comments that he can take them and a swift, chipper thank you – he almost feels like shrinking right there. Already, there’s far too much attention on him, and so he focuses on the Luxere hiding behind the man’s legs instead, pulling the cart toward the door to hand off the packages within.
“Glas Westfall, sir.” He manages through the gnawing in his gut, lifting a package to hand off to Loren and glancing up at the other man before his head drops back to the cart and he busies himself with that instead. “I-It’s okay. These are the jars you ordered.” He manages, internally cursing himself for the stumble over the words, reaching instead for a bigger package that the jars sat atop.
“I also have… A box with drawers in it for smaller vials and things.” He says, lifting his gaze toward Loren briefly, gnawing at his lip for a split second. “Sort of.. A thank you for coming to us with a Palace order.” His voice is a bit flat, but he lifts the package anyway and hands it to Loren.
"Gods please don't call me sir." The words slipped out of his lips before he knew what he was saying. Giving Glas a sheepish smile, Loren ran a hand through his hair. "Loren is fine. It's nice to meet you Glas." Seeing the way the crafter shrank in on himself, the healer made sure to keep his voice gentle.
Taking the first package, he raised his eyebrows when the other man brought up the second. "Oh. That's very kind of you, thank you. And of course I ordered from you. Your family came very highly recommended." The Launceleyn had to slip the first one under his arm and juggle the second a bit before he had a secure grip on both, but he managed. "Here, come in while I gather your payment."
With that, he turned and headed into the infirmary. Placing the packages on his worktable, he started rummaging in the shelves, taking down various medicines. "How much do I owe you? Including the extra box?" He shot a wry smile over his shoulder at Glas. Loren wasn't going to accept charity, since that was not the Halo way.
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
“Oh, okay.” Glas replies easily, spying the sheepish smile and averting his gaze immediately to grab another box. “It’s nice to meet you too, Loren.” It’s more of an automatic response than anything – trying to prove that he can sound like he doesn’t need to stumble across all the words he has to say, favoring the ones he’s practiced.
But he grabs the larger box, handing it over to the summoner as his gaze flickers briefly up toward him, nodding at the comment that his family came recommended. It’s why they were so hard on him, as his parents often used to remind him. He had to uphold it, had to give into it, the reminder that he was supposed to be hard and gruff like most Halovian’s, like his father was – even after the cannibal attack. But no, he was as he was, shy and quiet and forced to be that way as an only child, far too protected and yet not protected enough.
“Thank you.” He replies once again automatically, following Loren into the Infirmary, looking everywhere but at Loren, hands wringing a small amount before him. The question takes him somewhat by surprise – having a plan already for the payment and when it comes to the follow-up question about the drawer, his brows lift briefly and he shakes his head to it. “T-The box is a gift, really the only payment is to keep passing the word along…” That’s what his father had told him to say, at least. As for the rest of it? “For… The rest of it… Extra furs and wood for Deepfrost preparation is all that’s asked…” A bit pricier than normal, but it is the Palace, after all.
At Glas' repeated insistence that the box of vials was a gift, Loren nodded in understanding. "Alright. If you insist." Setting the medicines he'd been collecting down, he moved to the other end of the infirmary. Scanning the cupboard there, he plucked out a medium sized leather bag.
Walking back over to the craftsman, the Launceleyn smiled. "I will certainly pass the word along. And you can pick up the furs and wood before you leave, if that works for you. Just tell the guards I approved it." Then he held out the bag he'd grabbed for the other man to take. "However, please accept this gift from me. It's just a little medical kit, so you don't have to come traipsing up to the Palace every time you stub your toe."
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
A quick nod is given to Loren, pausing from wringing his hands to push back his blonde hair from his face, ghosting along the scar. His shoulders remain a small amount hunched, however, and he focuses on drawer and everywhere else except for where the summoner drifts around the shop. It isn’t until Loren is moving back to him that his gaze drops closer to the ground this time, offering another nod, hands behind his back.
But he spies the bag that’s held out, heart lurching and gut churning with the idea of it. A start, really, to learn but… Yet… At the same time it almost feels like a small handout, and he’s not sure exactly what to do with it. He could take it back, claim that Loren wouldn’t let him leave without it, and then what? What would his father have to say? That Glas couldn’t step away from it?
Probably more along the lines of being weak, blaming it on the cannibals some more, probably drink a bit more to forget about it. And Glas’ gaze drifts up to Loren, something shadowed in the green gaze that doesn’t shy away at first from Loren when he goes to speak. “I… I want to Sir – uh Loren.” He begins, dropping his gaze again because it’s easier to talk when he’s not making eye contact. “But I can’t…” He hopes that’s good enough, as he waits, swallowing hard against the worry that eats at him.
That was...not at all how Loren had been expecting Glas to react. Sure, the healer had noted the signs of nervousness in the craftsman—the stutter, the downcast eyes, the hand wringing—but the Launceleyn had chalked it up to the typical weirdness every Halovian seemed to have around outsiders. This, however, seemed to be something more than that.
His eyes flicked to the scar on the other man's cheek before Loren met Glas' gaze squarely. "What do you mean you can't?" The healer's voice was low and gentle and kind. However, his eyes were sharp.
Lowering the bag, he smiled. "Here, why don't you come in and have a bit of tea. I've got some time to spare, and I'd love to get to know another permanent resident of Halo." Stepping aside, he gestured for the craftsman to enter the infirmary.
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
He chews on the inside of his cheek, brows furrowing as he tries his best to avoid what Loren’s gaze might hold, the way it scans over his face – the way he feels it scan across him and linger in places. He doesn’t know how to deal with it, nor the gaze he meets – quickly averting his gaze when the question leaves Loren’s lips. What does he mean he can’t? Exactly that. He can’t.
“I-I don’t have a place for it… We already have medical supplies at home.” They weren’t good or anything like this, but they were all his family wanted and required to keep things working. If an injury happened that sustained more than that? It was something they just had to deal with. Especially for Glas, whom they’d tried and tried to heal magically, when it hadn’t worked in the end – only to realize that one, he was abandoned. And two, that he had life drain of all magics.
But then Loren offers to let him inside and have a bit of tea – and honestly he wasn’t really prepared for that kind of reaction. He doesn’t know what to do, but the man seems kind enough… And he was the Grand Healer after all. "Okay." He frowns lightly, working at his lower lip once again before ducking his head and agreeing quietly, stepping in and taking a seat. His parents did say to try to get to know people, but to not get too close after all. That was why he’d been sent out to run the errands in the first place.
Frowning slightly, Loren glanced at the kit before returning his gaze to Glas' face. "I see. Still, I imagine this kit might have some things your kit at home lacks. And if not, I wouldn't mind at all if you passed it along to someone who needed it." The healer's voice was still gentle.
When the craftsman agreed to some tea, the Launceleyn smiled and nodded. "Excellent!" He rubbed his hands together. "Take a seat, then. What type of tea do you like?" Gesturing at a table in one of the corners, he walked over and set the bag on it, before heading over to his tea collection. "While it's brewing, perhaps you can tell me a little about yourself?" He glanced over his shoulder at the other man.
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
Glas keeps his head ducked as he listens to Loren, chewing on the inside of his lower lip now, shoulders slightly hunched as he nods ever so slightly to ensure that Loren knows he’s listening, even if he’s not making the eye contact with the summoner. “Okay.” He agrees quietly, figuring that if he can’t hide it, he might be able to take things from it to add to the bag back home. And so he takes it, cradling it gently in his hands, still not making eye contact with Loren but focusing instead on the bag in his hands as something else to somewhat fiddle with.
But the happiness with which Loren offers when Glas takes him up on the offer of tea, has him slightly startled, heart thundering in his chest as he moves to the designated table to sit and keep the bag in his hands, something else to focus on and fiddle with. He finally takes a moment to look at Loren when the man’s back is turned, cheeks reddening a small amount under the idea of what kind of tea he likes. “Which… Whichever you prefer is fine.” He almost says sir again, but cuts himself off, pausing to work on his lip again and focus on the grains of the table for something to do when Loren looks back.
The question Loren asks is met with a bit of surprise. And he’s really not sure how to answer that. “I- Nobody’s asked me that before.” He says quietly but loud enough for Loren to hear, heart thundering further in his chest and the anxiety eating at his stomach. “I’m not sure… How to respond to that? What – what do you want to know?” His words jumble together a bit, but he hopes it gets across.
Thankfully, Glas took the medical kit. Loren smiled at the craftsman, though it faded a bit when they got to the topic of teas. Letting out a huff of laughter, the healer shrugged. "I'm not sure what I'm feeling today. Why don't you help me pick? Fruit or non-fruit." His tone was soft.
Tilting his head slightly, he frowned a bit. "Really?" He shook his head. "Huh. Well, why don't you tell me the basics? What sorts of things you like to make in the workshop, what you do in your free time, that sort of thing." Still standing by the teas, he grinned reassuringly at the other man.
a thousand faces staring at me, a thousand times i've fallen
“Uhm.” Glas begins, biting down on his lip as he considers the options. “Not… Fruit?” Something sweet perhaps? Especially if he were to continue to run around the rest of the day dropping off more deliveries. He continues to focus on the wood grain in the meantime, until Loren’s question rings in his ear and he panics, explaining that he doesn’t know exactly how to respond to that.
But Loren helps out, and he finds himself running his fingers along the medical kit bag, shifting it in his hands to do something with it. The basics? He looks up perhaps a bit too wide-eyed at Loren, catching the reassuring grin but it’s anything but that, pursing his lips as he lets his gaze drop to the table once more. “I like to make decorative things.” He begins, slowly. The things that people were proud of, that they wanted to show off. “I sketch out ideas for instruments and things.” Another brief pause before his head lifts and a thought hits him.
“I fixed Korbin’s lute a few days ago.” It slips from his lips before he realizes it and the blush that crosses his cheeks and neck grows deeper. “I’m… not really supposed to do that, though.. My parents want m-me to focus just on the things that people need. Like making more jars and glasses and wares for the Kraai and for Deepfrost coming up.” He gnaws on his lip.
It was a bit hard to parse exactly what Glas wanted, but Loren eventually decided the craftsman had settled on fruit. "Fruit it is." The healer plucked an orange and ginger tea and placed it on a tray with a pot and two cups.
Bringing all that over to the table, he set it down. Waving a hand over the pot, he added hot water to it with his magic. Putting the tea in to steep, he took a seat opposite the other man. "That sounds nice. Other than instruments, what sorts of decorative things do you like?"
When Korbin's name came up, Loren grinned. "I know Korbin. What was wrong with his lute?" He found himself weirdly protective of the hunter's music. However, as Glas continued speaking, the healer tilted his head to one side. "I think everyone needs a little beauty in their lives." He smiled faintly. "And we don't always have to do what our parents want." There was a wry tone to his voice.
Then he leaned forward a bit. "Please don't take this the wrong way but...is everything alright?" His voice was gently concerned.
