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!
Delphine hummed softly, as the man pressed on her shoulder, removing her from the path of a sheet of ice. She kept a good hold on the children.
The girls were used to their mother. Sometimes she showed them excitement, joy, but it fluctuated and was often fleeting. Bryony brightened at the man's joy, while Acantha focused on getting to where they were going, so she could let go of her mother.
"There?" She nodded towards the house he had indicated, moving towards the third house in the row. They were cute little houses, a bit plain, and nothing like what she had back home, nor like what she had in the Hollowed Grounds... better than what they currently had.
"It's kind of adorable," she stated, grinning slightly.
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
Simple. Humble. Poor. They were all variations of the same word, some could say. Noah did not mind this life he had, he did not resent that his home was small and old. He had no desire to live in the palace, no aspirations for leadership. He was raised to be good, to take care of others, and to do his best. This is what he would do, and he would make his parents proud from wherever they were.
"Yes," Noah stepped forward to open the gate of the small fence that helped keep somewhat of a boundary between his front door and the people that traversed the road. He gestured for the three to enter. Closing it behind them, he moved swiftly to then open the front door of the house. Again, he gestured for them to enter.
Inside, the home was warm. On the back wall was a rather large hearth, with a fire that was not allowed to ever die. Hanging high, just enough not to go cold, but not too close to burn or boil, was a large cast iron cooking pot. The smell of the stew overtook the home. Fur and woven rugs lined the floor and some walls, anything to keep the warmth. A few chairs were placed mindlessly around the room, though two sat half-facing each other in front of the fire. One for Noah, one for Ezekiel. On the east wall, a station for working. Knives and tools covered the surface. In the corner, a door to a small bedroom. Noah's. The west wall hosted two doors, a bedroom for Ezekiel and a dry storage room. From the dry storage room, a door that led outside to the small "yard" the Olson's were blessed to have. Their father had used the space well, and they had a small dirt cellar.
Noah smiled, and gestured for Delphine to take up one of the chairs. He took off his large, heavy cloak and hung it next to the door. He easily covered the distance from one end of the house to the other to gather bowls and spoons for the girls. He dished out three servings of stew and handed it to each girl. "It might be a little hot. Be careful."
The man was kind. And the small home he led them to reminded her of home--not her home with Bellamy, nor her home with Alder, but a home that had been filled with joy, laughter.
A mother who had painted every inch of the home, a father who had worked with his hands, always helped others... and a brother, who had not always been sour.
As they entered the small home, she allowed her gaze to wander, taking in a home that had clearly been loved and cared for, to the day. He gestured for them to take a seat, and Delphine balanced both girls on her lap, accepting her bowl of stew, helping the children rest their stew over the table, so they were less likely to spill it.
She ate in silence for a moment, before she spoke up, "Your home reminds me of the home I grew up in," the home that Alder had ruined, after their parents had died and she was left in his care.
Their parents had been healers, painters, people who helped others because it made them happy. Delphine... had been like that, until she learned that it was easier to be selfish. "It was a little bit bigger than this," she said in-between bites of stew. "But my father built it for my mother, and..." She didn't know what had happened to it, now.
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
When they settled and took the stew from him, Noah too settled. Although he had already had a serving of the stew before he went to trade in town, he still dished himself up some. It was smaller than what he had given the girls, but it would just be enough to warm him. Settling into the chair opposite of Delphine, Noah rolled his shoulders back some to relax them, and nestled in to eating his serving while she talked. He kept his attention on her, nodding as she talked about her childhood home.
Swallowing and wiping the corner of his mouth some with his sleeve, he spoke. "My grandfather built this house when he married my grandmother. My parents lived here with my brother and I. But, they both passed away when I was seventeen. Now it is just Ezekiel and I." He does not tell her that he would one day like to raise his own children within these walls, to keep the name of Olson burned well into the door frame. "Where do you come from?"
Delphine listened, letting the girls fend for themselves when it came to eating their stews. She'd probably end up with more stew on her than in their mouths, but she was trying to let them be independent. "Uhm... Northaven? It's really similar to Caido, I think. The girls were really little when we ended up here though, so they only know Caido." She explained, between bites of stew.
It was good - she'd give the man that. "Is it nice, having a brother?" She was asking because her own brother had not been nice; and he had been her only sibling (that she knew of).
One of the girls chirped, "We have a brother! But we've never met him." The girl says this sadly, and glances up to her mother. Sometimes she doubted her mother's truths.
The girls, in fact, did have a half-brother, though Aster had not yet shown up, nor had Iris or Bellamy.
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
Noah finished off his stew as Delphine spoke, and kicked himself inwardly. "Sorry, yeah. I meant here in Caido, where do you reside?" He had already asked her where she was from, but obviously he needed to be more clear when he spoke. While Noah was a generally amiable sort, to say he was a master wordsmith and conversationalist would be an immense stretch. For the last decade, the majority of his conversation was with another male. A great deal of their days together, especially locked inside during Deepfrost, was grunts and gestures and shrugs.
"Yeah, when he's here." He chuckled some, setting his bowl on the table. He got up to stoke the fire in the fireplace, setting a few new logs on top. "He's been traveling longer and further since the portals opened. I can't help but worry about him when he's gone. Since our parents died it's just been the two of us, and as the older sibling i had to take on a lot more responsibility than I had before." More responsibility than he was ready for, more responsibility than he might have wanted. He was a seventeen year old, just barely a man, now having to step in as older brother and parent, to his kid brother. Ezekiel was good company, now, and held his own in providing for their household. For a while, though, it was tough.
Delphine blushed a bright red, as he corrected her. Had she misunderstood? She hadn't noticed prior, but he had asked the same question earlier, when he was guiding them to his home. "Oh, I'm... I'm sorry." She rubbed the back of her neck, with her free hand. "Right now we're in the Hollowed Grounds, uhm.. in a cave." She snorted at the imagery.
"We've not been very social in the past few years. But I think we might leave for Deepfrost," she had not yet decided where they would go, but she had a bit of time for that.
When he mentioned that his brother was traveling further and further, she hummed quietly. "Oh. My brother had to do something similar, he's... he was a lot older than me, so when our parents died I was... mmm, really young." She was getting looks from her children, who had never heard her talk about her family. She was quiet for a moment, "I hope your brother stays safe." She finished her stew.
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
Noah held up a hand to her as she blushed, lowering his own gaze and shaking his head some. "I should learn to speak more clearly." He chuckled some, flitting his icy eyes back up to her.
"That sounds like us," He started, leaning back and crossing his foot over his knee. "Ezekiel was really young when my parents died. I was only seventeen, and I had to be the parent." Noah knew that Delphine knew how it was to be a parent, as obviously the two girls still sat with them, eating away at the stew he had served. Parenting in less favorable conditions also sounded like something that the woman was familiar with. "Halo can be an unforgiving place, but the people here are hardy and rally together. We had some support from people who knew our family, and who loved my parents." He wondered if anyone -- aside from him, in this moment -- was helping this young mother. He frowned slightly, deciding that there probably was not anyone else she could rely on to help her carry the burden. At least, not here. If she did, she might not have been so under dressed, her own needs unmet. It seemed that all her energy was most likely focused on the girls, in Noah's mind, because as he observed it, she could not even seem to think of herself.
Delphine shook her head, murmuring quietly, "I should learn to listen better." She adjusted the children, helping them set their bowls down, before she helped the two of them to their feet.
The girls quietly wandered to sit in front of the fire, watching it. Her gaze followed the children, and she smiled ruefully. "Sometimes, I hate being their mother. I wonder if I love them, if they're holding me back in life," she tore her gaze from the children, her gaze focused on the man, studying him.
"But mostly, I think that I don't connect with them. They were... one month old, just new to the world, to me... and then we ended up here," Of course she meant Caido as a whole, "and suddenly, my little babies are... three years old and growing." She kept an eye on the children, murmuring under her breath, "But there's not anyone else, no one helps me with them, or would take them. So I've kept them, raised them... Done an awful job, really." She laughs lightly, though it doesn't sound like an amused laugh.
Stretching, she raises her arms above her head, sighing. "Thank you for the meal, and the warmth. I think it's time for us to take our leave, though. We have some... preperations to do before Deepfrost. Decisions to make."
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
His frown only deepened as Delphine spoke. The sadness in her words and the harsh reality of what had happened, what was happening to her, washed over him in waves that he felt. "I'm sorry." Was all he could manage for her. He didn't have anything else to say to her. He didn't understand what she was feeling, or what had happened to her or her children. He looked down at the two girls, his heart twisting. Did they feel this from their mother? Did they understand how she felt, how she felt about them? He took their bowls and placed them on the table with his.
He stood and walked the trio to the door. Before they could leave, though, Noah placed his hand on Delphine's shoulder. "You know where to find me, if you need anything."
