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!
i'll love you till the day i die, even if it's just a bold face hell of a pretty lie
It seemed to be problem after problem, really, so when things finally sort of somewhat went right, Sunjata takes his break by himself. It’s fine, he expects as much, doesn’t complain when it happens. It gives him the time to drink however much water he needs, to ensure he hasn’t popped a stitch, to scan the alley toward the VlamVloed from here. It’s something, and for that he’s quietly thankful he is alone.
But it doesn’t last, because they’re not quite done yet. He stretches out his hands, moving toward the group when Deimos calls them back together, and he watches as Deimos and Jigano go to put the lower beam into place. And with it, he moves toward Aisha to grab the other beam that needs to be angled – helping where he could and remaining as silent as he could be.
Sunjata moves to grab one end of the support beam and move it with Aisha's help wherever Deimos wants it!
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Finally, the holes were finished. With a little more brute force, things got moving, rocks were displaced and earth was moved. "Whew," Aisha gave a huff, looking down at their work with a look just short of satisfaction, it'd taken them far too long for that. Jigano sidled up next to her, passing her a fruit and suggesting another outing in the future. Aisha grinned, grabbing the pear and biting into it, "Absolutely, and you can do all the carrying this time."
She'd finished her snack just in time for Deimos to announce the next task, and once again she was pitted with Sunjata. She gave a quick stretch of her arms, locking her fingers and pressing her palms out, then a shake. Back to work, she grabbed the other beam and hefted it to its placing.
Both pairs well matched, despite injuries on Sunjata’s end, things were fine at first, strength adhering through both, capable of wielding, hauling, and lifting the objects. But when it came to placing the beams within, other motions happened.
Maybe it was the ice underneath. Maybe it was the result of a hole dug nearby and not closed efficiently. Maybe it was the result of continuously awful dice rolls. Whatever the case, Jigano tripped, and despite Deimos’ best efforts to uphold the entire beam, it slipped out of his hands, crashed, and rolled to the ground, quite close to Aisha’s feet.
Which of course, spiraled into other issues.
Distracted by the nuances, noises, and possible danger, the leopardness attempted to scoot out of the way, understandable, given the art and nature of potential crushed limbs. In doing so, however, Aisha also lost her grasp, and it fell to her end, narrowly missing toes. The only one who managed to keep it together was Sunjata, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do much of anything except stand there.
Deimos blinked, then rubbed his eyes, as if he were seeing a mirage. Once he’d gnawed the frustration away, he inhaled a sharp, agonizing breath, and then carried on. “Well, we need to try that again.” Lifting up the beam once more, he waited for the pattern to continue, though hopefully successfully this time.
--
Well team, we can't dig holes and we can't put beams into holes.
Congrats Sunjata, you're the only one who could hold a beam.
This was such a powerful group of people, and yet this was also the slowest working and most accident prone group of people she'd ever been a part of. Yeowch. Things were going fine for her and Sunjata, until of course she caught a falling beam out the corner of her eye, headed towards her body.
In a surprised silence she stepped to the side, instantly letting go of her side of the beam and holding her hands close to her sides. The beam that'd attacked her landed just inches of her her feet had just been, her own side of the beam thudding against the ground and leaving Sunjata to heft his side alone. Still a bit shocked she shot a half scowl towards Deimos and Jigano, holding up her hands as if to say, wasn't me.
Whatever had occurred that lead to her almost getting hit by a big metal beam, it was obviously something one of the other two did, she huffed to herself mostly, "And I thought Starboy was the one I was supposed to look out for." Cracking a smirk at her own joke and letting that brief tension dissipate, she went back to work, lifting her side again to once again work with Sunjata in placing it where it needed to go.
This was getting ridiculous. All his training, all his work on the farm and around the Grounds and into the Greatwood, and Halo, and Torchline, all the progress he had made in making himself stronger, swifter, more sure of foot and steady of hand... All for naught, it felt like some days. There was no reason that a task as simple as lift and carry should defeat him, and yet here they were.
Somehow he tripped, balance lost and beam dropped. Somehow the beam rolled through snow to threaten Aisha, cascading the symphony of fault and calamity. The bard didn't swear aloud, only sighing as Caido took its usual turn for the worse. "Sorry about that," he murmured to Aisha, rueful and apologetic. There was nothing more to say, and he shook out his arms and looked to Deimos with a further grimace of apology. This time he made sure he was balanced, that the path was clear, and that his grip was secure before he moved to lift the beam with his partner and hoist it into place.
i'll love you till the day i die, even if it's just a bold face hell of a pretty lie
If he’s being honest, he expects to fail quite spectacularly in this instance as well – as Aisha comes over to join him. He remains silent, not adding to any of the arguments or frustrations there might be when it comes to having both Deimos and Jigano near – knowing full well their opinions on him. But he lifts his end of the beam, moving to settle it into the hole with Aisha’s help, only… Everything goes wrong.
Suddenly, Jigano’s tripping and Deimos drops the beam, while Aisha loses her grip with everything and Sunjata sucks in a deep inhale, grasping onto the beam to try and keep it from dropping. His steel gaze snaps to everyone else, there’s no amusement, no flicker of anything at the failures of the others unlike when he’d tripped and Deimos had snickered. Instead, he just grits his teeth a bit more, glancing toward Aisha as he’s directly referred to.
Gods, does he internally wince, but he flashes her a small smile regardless, remaining there to help with her to move it back into place.
Sunjata works with Aisha to try again!
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Luck, fortune, and strength prevailed this time, and their muscles, their grips, their grasps, held true, permitting the entire group to slide the beams into place. Deimos, for his part, remained the stoic, reticent beast, funneling concentration and precision back into the forefront, ignoring barbs or gestures, far too intent on completing this portion of the task to bother with rampant emotions or fleeting comments.
A sigh of relief flickered through his chest once the beams made their way into the earth, and he contorted enough earth magic to hone in on the ground around them, ensuring stability, that the beams wouldn’t budge, move out of place, in the remaining process. He’d likely have to do it again once they were completed, precautionary measures, but for now, they’d stay put.
“There. That is accomplished.” He brushed his hands on his pants, allowing for the barest moments of satisfaction to sweep across his features (because honestly, this shouldn’t have been so difficult), then glanced at the remaining beams left. There was one the same size as the other already placed, to complete the triangular formation, and then the main point of the structure, the one that would bear and hold the weight of nest, and hopefully bird. “We will repeat the process. Two for the other beam, and someone can join me for the main beam.” Directions instilled, he marched over to the designated sanction, taking hold of his end once more, waiting for the rest to follow suit.
--
We did it! Now we need to repeat the process! No post order! Two for the other beam, one more for the main beam.
It was a relief - and almost a surprise - when the beams behaved and slid into place without further loss of limb or life. As the main beam and one of the supports were levered into place, Jigano stood back to let Deimos handle the tamping of the earth, not wanting to interfere and mix up the magic.
"Looks like I owe you one," he said sheepishly, ambling over to Aisha . "Can I help you with the next beam?" Though he'd understand if she didn't want his help, given that she and Deimos were the only effective ones among their little team, it seemed.
If the leopardess accepted, he'd grab one of the remaining support beams and wait for her (or whomever) to grab the other end and then he'd steady it and hoist it into position.
Jigano offers to work with Aisha this time and grabs another beam!
i'll love you till the day i die, even if it's just a bold face hell of a pretty lie
That’s accomplished rather smoothly at the very least. But when Deimos mentions that they’ll repeat the process – he offers a quiet nod, stepping back and stretching out his hands, taking a moment to breathe before he realizes what’s happening. One, the pair matchup between him and Aisha has changed, and Jigano’s pitted him with Deimos, and god fucking dammit.
But he’s here to help, so he swallows down everything else to focus on the task at hand, eyeing the main beam as he approaches Deimos, giving him a small nod, reaching out to help grab his end and prepare to place it wherever Deimos has chosen, mentally attempting to prepare himself should anything go awry, trying to prepare himself to ensure that he doesn’t fuck up.
The beams finally fell into place, though they weren't done yet. Aisha let out a sigh, patting her reddened palms on her sides. Jigano sided with her, she gave an amused snort at his comment, and her hand clapped onto his shoulder, "As long as I don't get crushed, of course." With that the crown moved to the next beam, cracking her knuckled before she lifted it.
Muscles contorting as she lifted, she took the lead in transporting and placing the beam into it's earthen home, with the help of the bard.
Perhaps, through sheer, dumb luck, learned advantages, or just firm grips after their already meager displays, the beams slid into place once more. He ignored Sunjata completely, preferring to grab hold of the structure, hone in concentration, feats of muscles, movement, and motion, strength not giving way from either of them. Stoic and nonchalant, the Sword nodded to the other man once the beam settled into place, and then the third support threshold did the same for Aisha and Jigano. “Hardest part is done,” he informed, earthen multitudes instilling similar machinations form before, restructuring the soil to hold.
Then he stalked forward, gently easing each of the beams towards the main structure, instilling support throughout each of the mechanisms, welding them into place with fire brimming and looming from his palms.
Now, all they needed was the nest.
“Can I have you two,” pointing towards Sunjata and Aisha, then his cranium, his jaw, jutting towards nearby groves of trees. “Grab as much snow moss as you can?” Sacks would be available nearby. “While Jigano and I construct the nest, just so there’s a base before the others put things on it.” The offerings, the decorations, wanting to ensure everything was available to entice the Spark Bird to return for this sanction’s LongNight.
With that, he turned towards the Sage, unfolding the diagram and schematics once more, allowing him to look them over. “You start at one end, and I can start at the other.” They’d meet, match up the sides, and construct accordingly.
--
All the beams are in, structured, supported, and welded!
Sunjata and Aisha can go grab some snow moss, Jigano and Deimos will be working on the nest! No post order!
No more slipped grips or tripped feet, thank goodness, and Jigano breathed a sigh of relief and shared a grin of triumph with Aisha as they managed this time to complete their task without clumsy grips or stubborn ground or any other obstacle preventing their combined teamwork from resulting in success. A glance at their companions showed similar ease of undertaking, but the perch was not yet complete.
He waited by Aisha's side as Deimos continued to strengthen the structure, thoughtfully watching what the General did and nodding slow understanding of the welding and support, but holding his own fires within unless called to wield them.
It wasn't a very comfortable seat as yet, and his lips quirked up wryly at the splitting of the party, giving Aisha a wry look. "Sorry, partner. I'll see you when you get back." He had his own task, it seemed, and the bard rolled up his metaphorical sleeves as he settled in near the General once more, stroking the chord of his magic that could sing metal into being, spun from thin air and wishes.
For a time, at least.
But spin it he did, studying the plans and working diligently on his half of the nest as he sought to create a half that would meld perfectly with Deimos's efforts into a singular whole once they met in the middle.
With Jigano's help, placing the final beams was a seamless effort. She stepped back as she finished, beginning to feel the burn of brute force in her upper arms, back and legs. It was her favorite kind of hurt, the kind that promised more muscle tomorrow. She smiled at their job well done, stepping back next to the bard as Deimos welded the beams so that they wouldn't move again.
The general gave his next orders, to which Aisha nodded and glanced to Jigano with a shrug and grin, "No worries," then moved over to Sunjata. Deimos and Jigano had given him plenty of shit, but Aisha didn't have much against him. She liked him actually, but she also loved a good teasing. "Come on starboy," she said, brushing her shoulder against him and shooting a playful smile as she passed.
She moved to the sacks Deimos had provided, grabbed hers, then headed towards a nearby area with sprouting patches of snow moss. She began to carefully uproot it in strips, and place it in her sack, trying to keep it as together as possible so that when they laid it out it wouldn't be all mush and debris.
Aisha goes with Jata and a sack to collect snow moss!
i'll love you till the day i die, even if it's just a bold face hell of a pretty lie
It goes into place as expected – and Sunjata releases a quiet sigh of relief to himself with that despite the strain of muscles that move and shift the beam into place. He’d half expected to have something fall on him, crush him, hobbling home and having to explain that shit to Nate after he’d already made so many promises to not do that. Even the silence from Deimos is welcome, and he takes it and offers his own silence in response – working together to do this, even if they weren’t quite on friendly terms.
Really, the only one friendly to him was Aisha, blissfully unaware of why the other two here hated him so much.
But he takes it, as he moves back from the beams to give Deimos the room to weld them into place, feeling as Aisha walks toward him and bumps her shoulder into him as she walks by. The playful smile is a bit of relief, and he offers her his own version of it, even if it seems slightly forced. “Deal.” He offers, shifting to his bat form to slip toward the bags, grabbing one in a clawed foot before he follows Aisha toward the direction she’s chosen, picking his own path and starting along the tree up toward the top where it might be hard to reach, tearing them off and tossing them into the bag in strips as well.
Sunjata shifts to his bat form to try and reach higher places to grab the snow moss from and tosses them into his bag.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
