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!
Theo gave his rescuer a sidelong look. He could tell the guy thought he was an idiot. Generally, Theo didn't really mind giving off that impression; people were easier to trick when they thought you were too stupid to try anything. But he was getting kind of annoyed with the stranger's tone. As if Theo hadn't tried sleeping on rooftops and in alleys, plenty of times. Couldn't he be excused for seeking a little variety?
He could have made a lot more excuses, too -- they happened to be one of his specialties. He hadn't expected the ocean to get that deep so close to shore, he hadn't anticipated the wildlife, he'd been having a nice dream and had been startled out of it (a lie) ...
But the guy had saved his life. Probably best to just let it go. Theo let his head fall back against the sand. "Rooftops, alleys, gutters -- they're not as hospitable as you might think. But I won't make this mistake again. High and dry for me from here on out."
Theo looked over at his rescuer again, this time with a little more friendliness. "You may be small but you are a mighty swimmer! I'm quite impressed, to say the least. Are you from Torchline?"
The man's unfamiliar accent seemed to suggest otherwise, but then Theo didn't know every Torcher dialect.
A sigh and Oliver adjusts his hair once more. "While I haven't lived in such a location, I... I can understand." Oliver really tries to think things over. How to explain everything and what he could do to help. "I... actually offer homes to people in the Hollowed Ground. Maybe someone could help you here?" No way did this guy want to leave and go to the Grounds, but Oliver would at least try a bit.
The blonde shakes his head and offers the other man a faint smile. "Thank you, but no, I'm not from Torchline." Honestly, it seemed a bit obvious to Oliver seeing as he was pale as a ghost, but whatever. "I'm an Outlander, not really exactly sure where I'm from. I keep saying the word Irish so that's all I know for sure." He cracks a small grin before continuing. "I lived in a sea-side town, larger than Torchline and far more advanced. I learned how to swim seeing as, ya know, it was easy to fall into the ocean even if you tried to be super careful." Oliver had a lot to say but at this point, he had already spoke too much, causing him to be quiet once again.
This poor guy wanted to rescue Theo not only from drowning but from homelessness as well? What a saint. Theo might have even taken the offer, if he hadn't already made a couple enemies in the Hollowed Grounds (he was very good at making enemies). Instead he tuned his voice to the perfect mixture of "embarrassed by his circumstances" and "too proud to accept help." "I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather be in Torchline than over there, especially in the winter. Especially since I hear LongNight gets pretty rough over there."
Theo offered his rescuer an ever-so-slightly wan grin and a wink. "Besides, sleeping on the beach isn't so bad. Bit of an adventure. I'll stay above the tide line from now on."
He wasn't surprised to hear that the man was an Outlander; that would explain the accent. "I'm not from around here either. But my old home was landlocked, so I never learned to swim."
Theo didn't really want to get into detail about that old home, since he was still playing his Outlander ruse -- it made certain people more sympathetic, after all. But he'd come up with something if the other man wanted further details.
The man rejects his offer and although Oliver thinks the man isn't exactly doing well on his own, he also understands why the man may reject. His explanation only solidifies it. The Hollowed Ground isn't for everyone, far from it. "Can't blame you. LongNight can be pretty nasty, I'll admit... but if you wanna come over after there, let me know. Offer still stands." It may be seen as pushy, but Oliver views it as a simple offer, a reassurance. If this man does choose to stay, then fantastic. If not, then the offer is there in case of emergencies.
Why the man cant swim is also explained and it earns a raised eyebrow from Oliver. "Well, I'd say you should learn how to swim soon. Not now, of course. Maybe wait for the daytime and when you have someone with you to teach you properly." Now this wasn't an offer, far from it. Oliver was confident in his teaching abilities in some capacity, but in this way? Hell to the fucking no. "Surely, someone will teach ya to swim if you offer them the right things." It's a light comment and Oliver simply wants the guy to be more careful in the future.
Part of him is tempted to ask about this old world, but he forces himself not to. Instead, Oliver uses his creation magic to make two small towels. "Here. I cant make anything too big, but this'll hopefully help... but don't expect it to last long." It seems all of his creations died pretty damn fast, but whatever. Tossing over the towel, Oliver works towards drying off his hair using his own. It'll hopefully make him feel a lot better to have dry hair... hopefully.
"Appreciate it. I'll let you know if I ever have to take you up on that offer -- though, actually, a name might help with that," he added, grinning. They hadn't exactly had time for introductions yet. And he wasn't lying, for once, when he said he appreciated the offer. Always good to have options to fall back on. Surely he could avoid his creditors for a bit if he really needed to. "Mine's Theo."
With a sigh, Theo let his head rest back on the sand. (More sand in his hair, but he was too tired to care.) "It's always about what you can offer people, isn't it? Well, I'm not one to complain. I'll have to add 'swimming lessons' to my shopping list, if I'm going to stay in Torchline."
And it wasn't as if he had a lot of other options, given the number of people he'd pissed off in Halo -- and even a few in the Hollowed Grounds. Besides, Torchline was nice. The warm weather, the coastal atmosphere -- Theo liked it here.
"Thanks," Theo added, genuinely impressed by the other man's creation magic. He took the towel and dried his face, his neck, and then started to work on his sand-filled hair.
A smile forms on his lips and Oliver doesn't mind the lack of a last name. Hell, he still doesn't even know his. "I'm Oliver. Just ask for me and hopefully you'll be able to find me without any problem." Oliver had decently made a name for himself so far, hopefully in a good way for most individuals. Yeah, he had pissed a few people off.... but hey, not everyone is gonna love him. That shit was something he needed to learn fast.
There is a small shrug and Oliver can't say too much. "In a place where bartering is how we live, offering shit is extremely important. Plus, over time, you may not need to offer things. It gets nice, really. You offer someone a favor for free and then they'll probably do the same for you eventually." It takes a while to build such relationships, but Oliver had decently done that with quite a few people. It was a nice thing to have and although Oliver loved it, he also understood that it's sometimes nice to properly trade for things.
Drying his own hair, Oliver glanced over at him. "You know how late the bar stays open? I may have to pop over there for a bit... I'm a bit too wet to head home immediately." Seeing as it was much colder back in the Grounds than it was in Torchline.
Theo nodded. Yep, asking around seemed to be a pretty surefire way of finding people -- something that had backfired on Theo more than once. He didn't always want to be found, after all.
If he were a slightly more angry person, Theo might have snapped at Oliver for trying to explain the concept of barter to someone who had been using -- and misusing -- it since childhood. But he was playing the clueless Outlander, right? So instead he just sighed wistfully. "Maybe I'll be able to repay you for this favor someday."
(He wouldn't. Anyone who wanted repayment out of Theo had to track him down and beat it out of him.)
Theo glanced up at the sky, but that didn't really help him gauge the time: he hadn't been in Torchline long enough to learn its stars and constellations. But it didn't feel that late. Felt like he'd barely gotten any sleep before that encantado had interrupted him. "No harm in checking it out."
Might as well join Oliver at the bar -- maybe he could mooch a drink or two off his rescuer, whom he'd already given the impression of poverty. Or maybe the bartender would spot him one for the fun story he could spin out of this incident.
He climbed to his feet, holding out Oliver's towel, which was now very sandy and quite wet. "Do you want this back ... ?"
A light shrug and Oliver lets out a thoughtful hum. "Take your time... it really was nothing. If you wanna repay me, you can. Honestly, even a few fish would be enough... so it's really not all that big of a deal." Oliver would love some fresh food to cook, but if the man needed to wait for any repayment it was fine. It was also fine if the man just didn't repay him. Oliver would love it, but he also understood that it may not even happen.
There is a small shake of his head before a sign escapes his lips. "No, it's fine... the towel will disappear in a bit anyways. They never seem to last, not anymore." It's annoying but it seems all creation magic had been impacted in some capacity. Some individuals had theirs improve back to normalcy, so Oliver would just need to wait a bit. "Use it as much as you can before it disappears."
And with that, Oliver stands on up and continues to dry off his arms. "I think I'm going to get going to the bar. Do stay safe, will you? Maybe even stay in that Inn for the night. A good rest could help ya out a whole lot." Even though Oliver's plans were to leave, he still remained and waited, just in case Theo had something else to say.
Theo almost laughed at Oliver's kind refusal of repayment -- as if he'd really intended to offer anything in the first place. But instead he said, "That's good of you. I'll see if I come up with anything. Though, state I'm usually in, I wouldn't hold your breath."
"Thanks again." Theo raised the towel and went back to work on his hair, with mixed results. He wished he had a mirror. Well, he'd just have to get used to looking like a disaster till he found his way into a decent bathhouse.
"I'll do my best." A slightly cheeky smile. Theo didn't mind that Oliver had either missed or delicately refused Theo's intention of accompanying him to the bar. Oliver had saved his life; if he wanted a peaceful, Theo-free rest of his night -- and Theo had to admit that having him around wasn't exactly stress-free under most circumstances -- Theo could hardly blame him. Besides, Theo didn't really have the energy to scam his way into a drink tonight, not after all this. "See you around, Oliver."
