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!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
The black bird croaked a hoarse laugh that sounded eerily human. "Struck dumb by the sheer presence of me too... Why, if you keep flattering like this I might start to like you." It came out as more a threat than promise.
Conversely, his own humor faded into more of an embarrassed squirm at the pure joy Loren sent his way. It felt strange to be so... appreciated. Not that Weaver wasn't voicing approval when he did things, but it wasn't the same as feeling it. The raven had an awful suspicion that Loren had been right, the healer really was growing on him. There was no end to the chagrin he felt at that thought.
"Benefits all around," he mumbled - if thoughts could indeed mumble. "If you end up hating me showing up for work, I will remind you that this was all your idea."
Your dumbness is contagious, yes. Loren was perfectly happy to fling teasing insults at Korbin for as long as it took. I wish I could say the same for you. However, the growing joy and contentment inside the healer betrayed his words.
Not minding the hints of discomfort from the hunter, the Launceleyn nevertheless toned down the volume of the emotions moving through his link to the other man. I'm happy to hear 'I told you so' as many times as it takes to sink into my admittedly thick skull. However, it was clear Loren wasn't overly worried about that particular possibility.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
The raven was buying none of it. "That's rich, coming from the guy who's been stalking me for weeks," he offered genially. "Maybe I should ask the Captain for protection to maintain my virtue..."
Riding an updraft, Korbin's amusement kept filling the bond, his demeanor decidedly sunny at the prospect. "'Don't say I didn't warn you!" he said cheerfully, and put on another burst of speed, enticing the goose into a chase. Not quite sure where all this energy was coming from, but in too good a mood to question it.
I couldn't help it. You're so ugly I had to keep confirming that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Again, Loren thoughts were cheerfully teasing. His amusement only grew as Korbin brought up Morgan. Go for it. She'd probably call you an idiot to your face and tell you to deal with your problems on your own. Although the Captain was good at her job, she was terrible with people.
When the hunter began to pull away, the healer just watched for a moment. Then, comprehension dawned, and he found his wings beating more powerfully. He found an updraft and began to rise up towards the raven, fully intending to catch up as much as possible.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
"You gotta stop testing those medicines on yourself, man, the hallucinations are affecting your judgement," he retorted. "And being called idiot by the captain to my face is a compliment; you should hear what she says about you behind your back!" Entirely teasing, of course; he had talked to Morgan, but Loren had not really been a topic for conversation.
Ravens were not known long distance fliers, more prone to bursts of speed and acrobatics than prolonged endurance races. Slowly but surely the goose began to catch up, and Korbin knew he would probably win eventually. He didn't mind all that much but just enjoyed the speed, the thrill of flying, of riding the wind.
He'd never really thought he would get company while doing so. It was an entirely new experience.
Awwww are you concerned for me? Loren couldn't help himself at this point, too deep in the teasing to back out now. Oh so you and the Captain talk about me? How sweet. This felt good, and right, to be playing around like this, even if it was with Korbin.
Geese weren't fancy fliers, but they made up for that with sheer stubbornness. Or maybe that was the healer. Slowly but surely, he crept up on the hunter. A fierce sense of triumph built in the Launceleyn, yes, but mostly he was just happy to have found someone willing to be silly with him, and willing to go for a flight. Or a hunt. Or whatever scrape the two of them might find themselves in next.
He found this whole experience exhilarating, if he was being honest. And he found no reason to lie, or to hide that.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
As he sped along, Korbin still kept an eye on the surroundings, to make sure there was no trouble. The sky remained clear, the air cold, and aside from a herd of Luxere plodding along on the ground below, nothing was moving. No trouble stirring, aside from their banter back and forth.
"Concerned about your patients, not you," he corrected meticulously. "And we do... Need to keep track of all the lunatics. For the safety of Halo." Entirely untrue of course, but Loren didn't need to know that.
The goose was about to win. There was no doubt about that. And because he was a gracious competitor and not at all a sore loser, the raven suddenly tucked its wings and dropped into a steep dive that saw him plummet several feet. With the same elegant ease as in the woods, he looped and twisted, making minute adjustments of tailfeathers and wings as he just played with the wind.
Not at all forfeiting the game once he knew he'd lost.
It was beautiful in both the sky and down below. As savage as Halo could be, there was a stark beauty to it as well, one that Loren was increasingly coming to appreciate. Still, he didn't mind when his quiet contemplation was interrupted by Korbin's latest quip.
So concerned about my patients that you've never set foot inside my infirmary, huh? The gentle teasing was still there, for now at least. However, as the hunter mentioned the lunatic, thing, the healer's thoughts were tinged with a totally mocked annoyance. Careful. You're trapped out here with a crazy person. Who knows what I might do? He began to angle closer to the other man.
Of course, before the Launceleyn could do anything, Korbin dove. Seeing as geese weren't designed to do that, except when they had to dive bomb cannibals, Loren just pumped his wings all the harder, descending while moving forward, trying to cut off the hunter's escape route.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
"Don't have to, since you don't have any patients in that infirmary to begin with!" the raven cawed wickedly. Perhaps too close to the truth, but what the heck. Anything goes in times of war, or so he'd heard.
Still laughing, he didn't answer the last quip, just dove, glad that the timing lined up so perfectly for the sortie. The goose came barreling after him, of course, but out in the open like this he had no doubt he'd be able to outfly the other. They weren't fighting this time, and he made a point of watching his tailfeathers closely as he let the other bird inch closer. Just to see what Loren would actually do.
Trapped, was he? Korbin was never more free than when he was out here!
Now that was a low blow and he wasn't going to stand for it. Only because you lot are too stubborn to seek treatment, Loren retorted, which was both a joke and not too far off from the truth.
Honestly, I bet I could go into any house in Snowcloak and find people nursing wounds that they're too proud to take a short trek up to the Palace to have me treat. He was more than a bit exasperated at the state of things. However, he sent a plse of amusement to Korbin to let the hunter know the healer wasn't too upset by this.
As he got close to the other man once more, the Launceleyn's excitement grew. However, he didn't actually want to hurt Korbin. So instead, Loren just adjusted so he could fly past the hunter, more than willing to take the lead in their chase.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Loren was... not wrong. On either count. "Well, then maybe you should haul your ass from the Palace and go down where you're actually needed, instead of waiting for something that won't happen," he threw back... and sighed internally, when it came out more as that advice he was supposed to give rather than a quip. My, wasn't he eager to start working.
The goose did... absolutely nothing. Which was boring, so as it flew by, the raven reached out a heavy beak and snapped after Loren's tailfeathers. Just to yank them a bit, see what would happen. It had to be more fun than just watch the long-necked bird cruise past unmolested.
04-24-2020, 09:59 PM (This post was last modified: 04-24-2020, 10:00 PM by Loren.)
LOREN
Maybe I should. Loren wasn't bothered in the slightest by the suggestion or the tone. Actually, I was planning to set up shop in Snowcloak every once in a while. Get used to people seeing me, give them a taste of what I can offer, that sort of thing. Unsurprisingly, he was excited about that prospect.
As he felt the grip on his tail feathers, he twisted his long neck around and honked at the raven. Then the healer remembered the other man couldn't hear. So the Launceleyn reached out with his talons and tried to grab a handful of feathers on Korbin's neck. Loren's grip was firm, but not tight. However, webbed feet weren't the best at grasping, so the hunter shouldn't have much trouble wriggling out.
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Aaaand there went the fun. Shop talk wasn't really Korbin's idea of a good time, so he just offered a general positive vibe and let the matter drop. If Loren already was on the right track, then his job was already moot.
And maybe that was just as well, because things derailed rather quickly. No sooner had Korbin yanked at the goose than it twisted in the air, honked - which he indeed couldn't hear - and grappled at him with webbed feet. The raven was startled to be caught around the neck by them, and instinct kicked in before he could even react properly.
Being held around the neck in mid flight while speeding down towards the ground... was not good. It yanked Korbin off balance, and suddenly his wings found no traction anymore, lost all the lift. Unless Loren held on, he would drop like a stone, plummet towards the ground with a jolt of fright.
Loren didn't have any intention of letting go of Korbin. However, with the healer's head turned, he saw the hunter lose control of his flight. Immediately, the Launceleyn sent an apology through the link. Sorry! I wasn't thinking. Here, let me help you recover. He tried not to let his own fear and panic leak out, especially because he didn't know how to actually fix this.
All he could do was keep flying himself. Facing front again, he tried to climb a bit, which was hamepered by having to hold on to the other man. All Loren could do was keep them steady as possible and hope Korbin could figure something out.
