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!
Korbin continued his story, weaving the fabric of a romantic tale forged from the elements. Fire and ice, as opposite as they may be did dance together beautifully, on a night in winter, at the center of a camp on the mountainside. Aisha thoroughly enjoyed his tale, especially the bit about fireplaces in Halo, interjecting a question as he finished, "Is that true?" she asked, referring to the law. If it was then it was a strange convention, but possibly necessary.
Of course the raven boy asked for a tale in return, though reluctant as she often was to speak of home, this seemed a worthy moment. And a painless one, when told with such elegance any truth could seem a fairytale. "Sure thing, bumpkin," she agreed (obviously having grown very fond of the nickname and unwilling to let it go), with a debonair flick of her spotted tail.
"Five kingdoms ruled by five monarchs. The queen in the east was the oldest of all the monarchs, and yet she was the only one without an heir. She was unable to have children, and spent many years praying that she could. The longer the eastern kingdom went without an heir, the more restless the other monarchs grew. They would rather go to war and conquer than see an outsider upon the eastern throne. As they prepared to fight, the old queen grew paler and weaker.
On her last day she prayed to the god of life one last time, to spare her people and give her an heir. And the gods heard her, as she passed into the night a baby was placed next to her, a daughter so radiant she put the stars to shame. The people of the eastern kingdom claimed the child as the heir, believing she was a miracle and a blessing. All the other monarchs accepted the baby as the new queen, all but one.
When the young queen grew, the king in the north claimed false heritage, that the eastern queen was illegitimate and didn't deserve her crown. He went to war, with every facility and order to rain hell upon her people, but the queen of the east was blessed, she had the power to shift into any and every animal. With her blessing, her and the eastern army crippled the north, and the northern king bowed at her feet," she finished her tale with a sigh.
"There, happy? That's the one everyone knows, the story of the demigod queen. Told by your's truly," she said, a playful tone laced in with her thoughts. It was a nice one, one that her mother had told her many times with a lot more gusto and embellishment as a child, but also one she had little faith in. She wasn't as confident in the divine of her world as other's had been, it'd always seemed a rather boring subject.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
The raven returned the favor and listened with rapt attention, intrigued by the cadance and tone of her telling as much as by the tale itself. Things about it nagged at him, though, and Korbin was quiet for a while after she rounded off.
"A lovely tale, and beautifully told," he praised her. "That... is not a story from Caido, though, is it?"
He asked the question rather gently, not sure if he was correct. Many of the parts could be from here - the gods were known to meddle and demi-gods were not unheard of - but to his knowledge, few put real stock on bloodlines.
Of course, he could be wrong. Halo was isolated, and his tales of the outside world were few and vastly outdated.
Aisha noticed his pause, though wasn't sure what to attribute it to. She'd felt pretty good about her storytelling skills, having heard it so many times she had felt comfortable in getting it right. So narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to respond, and when he finally did she didn't really get to savor his praise for she could hear the 'however' that was yet to be said.
Korbin asked if it was a story from Caido, and she felt just a bit worried that he wouldn't like the answer. She tipped her head, sunglow eyes still gazing up at the blackbird, "You wanted a story from my home, yeah?" she asked, trying to keep it light despite her momentary hesitance.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
He sensed her hesitation. Felt it, saw it, and wondered if he'd managed to step in it again. The raven spread its wings, leaped off the wall and drifted down in a swooping arc, to land on the ground next to the big feline. He felt dwarfed next to her, and instinct told him to return back up on the perch where it was safe. But he ignored it, and walked over, to within the reach of her mighty paws.
"That I did," he agreed, the thought he sent her as mild and reassuring as he could make it. "I am merely curious... songs and stories is an interest of mine. I did not mean to pry, or cause offense."
For once. Oh, he was quick enough to pull the Outlander card as an excuse for when things didn't go his way - they were a very convenient scapegoat - but the more time he spent with people from other worlds, the more he was beginning to understand how narrow minded that thinking really was.
There were plenty of things to blame for their presence in Caido... but they were not one of them.
Aisha's defensive response was met with reassurance, the raven taking wing to meet her on the ground. He hopped within her reach, a death sentence for any bird but him, and perhaps if his answer had not been in kind (just a kidding thought). As he replied she felt herself relax, the genuine tone he took sending a wave of relief over her.
"It's ok, I know naturals don't always like people like me so I was about to have to bop you on the beak," she said teasingly before adding, "But thank you, you're very sweet Korbin." And that was the truth, or at least of what she'd perceived. It was her turn to convey her words with sincerity.
"I prolly still might bop you though, beware," she said, giving a sudden jolt as though she was about to attack, just for the hell of it. Just for the 'messing with the deaf and cursed' hell of it.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Well ouch. The boy did have shame enough to look away, rather awkward at being called sweet when he really was just one such natural. "Not because of you, kitten," he tried to reassure, wanting to both keep her from worrying and explain his own standpoint a bit. "It's more... well, like having relatives come to stay in your house without being invited, because their own homes were destroyed? You can't say no, and it's not like they have anywhere else to go... and you don't necessarily want them to either. But things do get messed up around the house. Your routines are changed, they keep taking over the kitchen and rummage in the larder, and it takes time before everyone has settled on new ways to do things."
Inevitably there would be bickering. Whining. Tension on both sides, as old traditions and new ideas warred for dominion. Especially in a place like Halo, where they had been left to do their own thing for centuries, only to be more or less invaded by outsiders. Caido naturals or outlanders didn't matter much there - anyone from somewhere else became a source of annoyance there.
The topic was perhaps less fun than their previous banter, and Korbin was glad when he was pulled from the brooding by her play charge. With surpreme aloofness the raven leaped into the air, sailed a few meters away and settled down again, casually rearranging a feather gone astray in his wing.
"Ah. Well. Gotta catch me first," he told her, and winked.
The explanation Korbin gave made sense, and she could tell he was speaking from experience. But his reassurance was comforting, and she was glad that he held nothing against her. It put things more in perspective for her if anything, of the naturals must feel, especially somewhere like Halo. "Well I promise not to take anything out of your kitchen," she replied.
At her charge he fluttered away, she allowed him the head start and gave a low rumble at his wink. She stood fully, dropping into a playful crouch then bounded forwards, not aiming to grab at him but to come just so close as to provoke a reaction from her feathered boy.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
"How very gracious of you," he teased. Again she pounced, and again the raven took flight. This time he stayed aloft and circled above her, swooping and diving in tempting arches around the feline. Tempting her to try again.
"So where do you come from, if not Caido?" he asked, prompting her back into the pleasant talks they'd been having.
04-27-2020, 03:41 PM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2020, 03:42 PM by Aisha.)
AISHA
i doubt its your style not to get what you set
Korbin flapped up into the air as she landed, a shadow of a bird circling around her head. Her ears perked, the black of her pupils wide, she wriggled for a moment before leaping lazily into the air, swiping just near of his tail. She landed gracefully, as cats do, then paced back and forth, stalking as she listened to his thoughts.
"The eastern kingdom," she started, "I lived in the capital city of Angchor." Pictures of the savannah metropolis danced through her head, the thick jungles, plains and russet stone gorges surrounding the jewel of the empire. She pounced again, this time with more intent, hoping to gently swat at his wing tips.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Oh, she could jump very well indeed! But once he got wind under his wings, Korbin was both elegant and dexterous. He easily darted her paws and swooped for her tail, meaning to pinch it teasingly with a nip of the beak. "Are you even trying, kitten?" he taunted pleasantly, making a swift bypass in front of her nose.
"And what what kind of place is that?" He couldn't really see the pictures, just felt the emotions that came along with them.
04-28-2020, 07:51 PM (This post was last modified: 04-28-2020, 07:51 PM by Aisha.)
AISHA
i doubt its your style not to get what you set
His snide comments brought another growl to her throat, rumbling playfully as she paused to glare up at him, "Of course not, I like messing with the cursed not maiming them," she teased back, leaping to swipe nearer his beak this time, twisting and landing on her feet.
"Not like Halo. It's warm, always sunny. It's all very bright, the sun loves the east. Sunrise and sunset is way more colorful there than here," she said, memories still vivid in her head. "And the city is way bigger, more light and more lively. There are people and markets everywhere, the more colorful the stand the more likely the peddler gets visitors, so it usually looks like an artist exploded on the streets."
Aisha described the good of her city, forgetting the rougher edges to favor the cherished center. She wanted to remember it for how she loved it, not how she wanted to improve it.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
The raven cawed a laugh at her response. As she leaped this time, it let her graze the inky tailfeathers with a paw before he darted off, tumbling through the air like a windswept piece of stormcloud, like a smidge of midnight menace gone astray into daytime.
When he returned, it was to try and land on her back, taloned feet dexterous and wings half spread in the effort to balance on her supple spine.
"It sounds like Torchline," he remarked, struggling to picture such a place. "Do you miss it?" His land was one of white and gray, of blacks and browns and piercing, vivid blue when the clouds parted. Monochrome, stark, simplistic in its harsh beauty.
A polished dagger, all steel and no silk. That was Halo.
Korbin gave a guffawing crow in response to her tease, laughter in raven speak. She two grumbled her amusement, the cat's voice far deeper than the birds. Her leap landed a hint of purchase, she could feel the feathers at her paws, and watched the inky black part to her claws. It was barely a graze though as he tailwinded away, and upon returning thought it smart to land on her back.
Aisha wouldn't let him settle that easily, she bucked playfully in an attempt to throw him from her back. She scoffed at his question, "Hell yeah I do, have you seen the Hollowed Grounds? It looks like an eternal funeral here." It was a joke of course, but also entirely true. She missed her home plenty, but had ceased wishing she could go back. It wouldn't happen, and so she was looking on the bright side and trying to make a life here. As bright as the ruined and rebuilding city could get.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
He had barely landed before she shrugged him off. Korbin rose back into the air and darted off, making his way back towards the Temple. If there were people around who looked strangely at the leopard and the raven frolicking in the street, he couldn't care less.
"Why don't you go somewhere else then?" he suggested lightly. "I don't like the portals in general, but if you don't like it here, you don't have to stay, kitten. There are other places."
His heart belonged to Halo, and likely always would. It was his home, and he belonged there. But if she was made for heat and sunshine, for the colors and the thrum of life, then she should not stay in this gray place.
"Have you seen Torchline? It's too hot for me, but perhaps you might find it to your liking."
Pausing, the black bird circled, to see if she would come after him. If not, then he might start to think about withdrawing. Playing games was fun, but he had come here for a reason. And once it was done, he had a long way to go before he was home. Wings or no wings.
