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!
"Yes, I believe she has a snow leopard shift." Sam said casually, as if he had not been stalked and nearly attacked by said snow leopard not that long ago. "She works in the council with me, so I know her rather well." It was still up in the air how public they were making their newfound sibling relationship, so he refrained from mentioning it for the moment. "You're...close to the Gods then, if you're Attuned? Amalia is very devout."
Aisha's answer was fair enough, he supposed. Sam had only shifted very few times and had usually found it awkward to manage as he had often not done so for very long in the unfamiliar limbs. "I see. Sorry, I'm just...curious. I've always thought it must be wonderful to be able to change into an animal whenever you'd like."
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
A snow leopard, that grasped her attention, at the mention of the animal a sweet memory wafted to her thoughts. Her mother's shift had been a snow leopard, one of the only ones in her family of leopardkin, and she had always admired her mother's wintery looks. She would love to meet Amalia, if not for all the other good reasons, than to see her shift, and reminisce about the family she missed so much.
"I wouldn't say I'm close, I haven't met them or anything. But I'm gonna go visit a shrine soon, just to see what it's like," she said, still in the beginning stages of drawing a stance on the deities of this world. She'd been given advice from Oliver and others, her friend was extremely fond of Safrin, not so much Frey. Aisha didn't have a specific opinion on any of them yet, but knew that she certainly didn't align herself with The Voice.
Samuel apologized, Aisha gave a friendly hum, "No no it's ok! I'm happy to talk about it."
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
"Oh. I..hope it goes well, at the Shrine." Sam wasn't sure how much to say, not wanting to put Aisha off or scare her, but also knowing that it could go very wrong very quickly at the shrines and he didn't want her to be caught unexpectedly. "Is there a specific God you're hoping to speak to?"
Really, he wasn't sure why he was asking: His lack of expertise in any of the Old Gods would be a red flag that he was Ascended. But the question was out now so he kept his smile frozen on his face, hoping she might either know enough to not need his help or know so little he could skirt by on what he did know.
05-03-2020, 06:42 PM (This post was last modified: 05-03-2020, 06:43 PM by Aisha.)
AISHA
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
His well wishes were appreciated, as it seemed for this kind of exploring she may need them. She'd heard the horrors of curses but the miracles of blessings too, and the disappointments of being left alone with your tokens. Aisha hadn't put much thought into which god she would pray to, "Any of them I guess, I know a lot'a people like Safrin, but I'd like to figure it out on my own," she said, an independent spirit.
"Do you have a favorite?" she asked with a playful timbre, not knowing how acutely Samuel wanted to avoid the subject.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
"Safrin, oh." Sam had never seen the moonlit Goddess, though he was mostly certain that she had been behind the sun that had burnt him at the shrine the one time he had tried to pray to the Old Gods. He didn't have any evidence of that, but from what he'd heard she could be rather...vengeful. "You must be sure to take an offering for her."
Her question was one that he couldn't really avoid - with a deep breath, he decided to stop hiding. "Yes, well...I pray to the Voice, personally." He said with an awkward smile, waiting to see what she would think of that.
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
Sam's response to Safrin was new, usually people seemed kindly inclined to the lady of stars. She quirked a brow, eager to hear what he had to say. It was simple advice that he gave, advice she'd heard before, but it sounded like it was from experience. Her curiosity begged to be obliged, she she stroked it's spine for just a moment, prying into the other in hopes of a good story, "Have you had a bad interaction with her then?" she asked, interested in a counter argument to Safrin's benevolence.
The answer he gave to her other question did halt her to blink a moment. He prayed to the voice? People did that? From what she knew, the voice was the bad guy, so to hear the man before her say he prayed to her, she had to know why. It was obvious that she didn't have a hospitable opinion of the new goddess, in the way her nose scrunched up a bit at the idea. She didn't mean to come across as rude, but sometimes her sass got the best of her.
"Whaaa... hm," she held the vowel, trying to think of phrasing that didn't sound judgy. She didn't do that great, "Why her and not the other gods?" Her personal opinion of Samuel hadn't changed, she just didn't understand what he got out of praying to the voice. It was a prejudice that maybe he could help her with, as new and malleable as her point of view was.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
Sam paused, unsure how to answer Aisha's question, but after a moment chose to be diplomatic about it. "No, I haven't personally, I've heard she can be quite easily offended, though." He'd certainly heard of many people that had gotten on the wrong end of her temper and paid the price for it.
It was clear Aisha had not been expecting his answer and Sam would have held his breath if he had it to hold as he waited for her to speak. While Aisha was obviously not thrilled with the idea of praying to The Voice, he was happy to see she opted to be more curious than judgemental and tried to think of the best way to explain his loyalties, speaking steadily and with as much confidence as he could muster.
"Well, I've been Ascended since I was a teenager." He didn't mention for the moment that he was forced into it, thinking that might not help his argument. "The Voice certainly has some...controversial methods, but her overall vision for Caido is one I would love to see: for everyone to be connected and free of pain. She is a very loving Goddess to all her Ascended, as well."
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
Quite easily offended, that she'd heard too. But it seemed almost like a given with gods, that you have to tread carefully with what you say and do. Only a fraction disappointed that he didn't have a good curse story to tell (is it rude that she'd been excited to hear one?), she nodded in agreement, "I've heard that about all of them, gods I guess," she replied playfully, with a wry shrug.
Her initial shock and confusion, was replaced with intrigue as he began, bringing up the word ascended. She hadn't met one of them before, the 'vampires' as her brain deftly labeled, or at least she didn't know if she had. Whatever she'd expected of them, it wasn't Sam. He seemed too normal, too unassumingly moderate. She obviously knew very little about his race, but was happy to learn and stow her preconceived notions away.
"So you've met her then?" she asked, hand drawn to rest on her hip.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
Aisha was obviously taken aback to meet someone like him, which Sam supposed was fair enough...some Outlanders weren't bothered by the existence of Ascended at all, others felt like it was a world-shattering discovery. This particular Outlander seemed to come somewhere in the middle.
"Oh, I've met her...many, many times. The Voice isn't like the Old Gods: She's nearly always happy to see the Ascended." Sam smiled; it had been very rare he'd been rejected by his mother and it was usually because she was busy. "...She..." He paused, almost about to say something about the less savoury things the Voice had done, but then thought better of it. "...is really very easy to meet, if you ever wanted to."
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
Aisha nodded, brows narrowed slightly though she met his smile with one of her own. "And how does she feel about people like me?" she returned, wondering if the goddess's benevolence stretched further than her own kin. She'd heard that the old gods weren't fond of the ascended, it felt natural that it was vice versa for the new.
"What could she give me that the other gods couldn't?" she asked.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
"About Attuned..?" Sam thought on this, a finger placed to his chin. While he'd never heard the Voice specifically say anything about the Attuned, he certainly knew she wasn't fond of the Old Gods. "..Well. She might...be sad about your connection to the Old Gods, but if you came to her with an open mind I don't think she would necessarily be rude to you." It was always hard to tell, with his Goddess. Sometimes she could be very fair and sometimes she was almost cruel; the pattern was impossible to guess.
As for what the Voice could give Aisha...well that was a harder question to answer. "I assume you don't want to Ascend..? Honestly, past that...I'm not sure she could offer you anything, as an Attuned." It was honest, though he struggled with saying it, feeling like he was admitting a fault in his Godly mother.
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
Another nod, this time affirming his question. Sam tread on carefully, Aisha's scrutinized his pauses with a feline curiosity, noticing how he worded things to keep a positive connotation. Would she be sad about her connection, or angry? The latter seemed more like the kind of thing you'd expect from a god, wrath over disappointment. She picked over her own response with care, "Do you think it would be safe to visit her?" she asked.
The idea of ascending, well she didn't really know what it entailed, and hadn't thought of it as really even possible, or something she would face. She was surprised at the notion, and a hell of a lot more interested. "What exactly are ascended?" she asked, figuring he'd be the best to tell her.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
"Safe? Oh yes. I might advise going with an Ascended to increase your chances of getting an audience, though." The Voice was unlikely to appear to an Attuned with no intention of Ascending, he thought...though with that said, she had not appeared the last couple of times that Samuel himself had prayed.
What exactly Ascended were was a complicated question and Sam tapped a finger to his chin as he considered it. "Well, the Voice would say we were improved humans. We can live much longer and do not need to eat or drink or sleep. Instead of blood we have what she calls 'fluid', and we can gain abilities by having 'upgrades' added into our bodies. Like..." To show her, Sam held up a hand before himself and slowly made it invisible, so Aisha would be able to see his face again through it. "...This is one of my upgrades."
d is for delightful and try to keep your trousers up
Maybe she would seek audience with The Voice, sometime in the future. But not before visiting the old gods, and seeing what they had to say. It was an interesting position she'd been placed in, having no personal ties to a side and yet being chosen by it. While she was technically the old god's creation, her opinions of the divine were her own to forge. She nodded to his answer, moving on to the next topic.
Improved humans, upgrades, 'fluid'; they all had a sort of mechanical grind to them, vampire no longer felt like the proper word. Her brows furrowed further as she looked him up and down, searching for some kind of give away. He didn't appear an emaciated sleep deprived being, and he didn't look like an android either. He lifted his hand, and in a moment it was gone, Aisha's eyes widened.
And so did her smile.
"Holy fuck," she chuckled, reaching out to touch where his hand had been.
i think you should know you're his favorite worst nightmare
