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!
07-15-2020, 08:11 AM (This post was last modified: 07-15-2020, 08:12 AM by Hester.)
Hester
You think you're hanging with the winners, girl
Ever since she was little, Hester has welcomed Flowerbirth with a song. It's symbolic, mostly, which is why it doesn’t matter that she’s a little late now, why it hadn’t mattered when she was young, and could barely manage a note.
The only thing that matter is that she’s standing in the most remote, unused part of the Citadel she knows of, the walls rising up around her, still hiding the scrap of dawn that’s managed to beat her awake. No matter the season, it is still Halo, so she is bundled up tight, a long, heavy coat draped around her, and sturdy boots, which have left an imposing set of footprints behind her, not that she’s looking.
For now, Hester is facing east, her fiddle tucked under her chin, bow held aloft in preparation. As soon as the sun rises enough that the first golden slice spread over her face, she begins playing, a bouncy, quick beat, the heavy boot serving as a percussion accompaniment. She’s lost, in her own little world, at least until the breath between this one and the next, the only time her eyes scan around her.
07-15-2020, 02:14 PM (This post was last modified: 07-17-2020, 01:27 PM by Beatrix.)
BEATRIX
Beatrix was exploring; bundled against the cold. She wanted to see if there were parts of the Citadel that could help piece her memories, as fuzzy as they were, together. Not because she missed remembering, but it was annoying to have pieces and nothing else.
The trip also served a logical purpose, allowing her to get to used to Halo and the surroundings. After all, she was not happy about finding out she had woken up in a village of outcasts and cannibals.
Her steps had followed music, it was early enough that she was completely intrigued, enough so to abandon her current path. Footsteps in the snow aid her in finding the music, and she steps carefully in the larger prints.
And then she's listening, watching, dark eyes curious. Beatrix was silent, afraid if she spoke the person might stop playing.
Slowly, the last note of her song fades into the morning air, and Hester pauses, pulling in a deep breath and holding it before releasing it into the air, letting it steam away. Then, she turns, face carefully guarded against whoever her audience is. The footsteps crunching behind hadn't gone unnoticed, after all, but it wasn't important enough for her to interrupt herself either.
A good thing she had made some efforts to steel herself, if only because it keeps her face from shifting when she sees the girl behind her, the Launceleyn one, all grown up. What was it with outlanders, and their apparent inability to age properly?
Hester's mouth opens quickly, an upward curl to her lips keeping sharpness from her tone when she speaks. "You looking for something? I can point you in the right direction, probably." Away, preferably, so she could continue her playing, but something told her she wasn't going to be that lucky.
07-15-2020, 11:18 PM (This post was last modified: 07-17-2020, 01:27 PM by Beatrix.)
BEATRIX
Beatrix's lips curl into a surprised smile when the girl turned around. So it was the girl from the council meeting, who had seemed so nervous and flighty. "Why are you so confident, when you play, but not when you speak up on topics you believe should be heard? You're probably more likely to be heard when you speak confidently." She uttered, ignoring the other woman's question, for the moment.
Dark eyes fell to the instrument, and she nodded toward it, "Is that hard to play?" The music had been beautiful, and the idea of leaving did not appeal to her.
Finally, she addressed the question. "Hmmm, trying to remember." She doesn't specify what she's trying to remember, because she can't specify if she wanted too.
07-17-2020, 07:00 AM (This post was last modified: 07-23-2020, 06:37 AM by Hester.)
Hester
You think you're hanging with the winners, girl
Hester's face hardened as her words at the council meeting were brought up, her confidence questioned. For a moment, she considered ignoring the question, ignoring the girl entirely, but it wasn't in her nature to not answer, when she could. "I know people want to hear what I play, most of the time. They don't always want to hear the things I say though." It seemed simple enough to the bard, her shoulders shrugging.
"Not too hard." Hester answered cheerily enough, confident enough talking about her craft to hazard a joke. "Unless, of course, you want to play it well." As if to demonstrate, her fingers rise and she rips through a scale, each note loud and ringing in the cold morning air.
The scale fizzles out as her question is finally answered. Well, "answered". Still, Hester smiles, thinner than she would normally, but not without warmth. "You let me know when you remember." She offers simply, before starting another song, all fast, cutting rhythms and tricky melodies, the song seeming to loop in on itself over and over.
Beatrix tipped her head, noting the girl's discomfort, when she mentioned the council meeting. "You should make them listen to you when you speak." She stated, firmly, "What happens when you have something important to say, with a possibility that it may go unheard?"
When the girl began talking about her music, Beatrix grinned, clearly amused. "You play very well, I don't think I've ever learned an instrument," with those words, Beatrix moved closer to listen and watch, analyze the confidence the girl exuded when she played.
It was strange, to think that someone could be so nervous yet so confident at one time.
There's a pause as Hester considers the question, her teeth moving to worry at her bottom lip. "I suppose... if they don't want to listen to something important, it must not be that important to them." A shrug rolls over her shoulders, her eyes dipping away from Beatrix. "At least I spoke up, even if no one listened." Even that was an accomplishment for her, especially in front of so many people.
Hester's first reaction is to shrink back from the grin offered by the other woman, but some stubborn part of her refuses to yield anything else to the Launceleyn. Especially this, her music the one thing she knows she owns. "When would you have had the chance to learn?" The fiddle has been lowered, but not fully, inattentive fingers plucking lightly at strings to keep any silence from settling.
Beatrix studied the other woman, her head tilting slightly. “But it’s important to you. And you should never let yourself go unheard. Do you let people ignore your music—well, I’m not sure anyone could ignore music like that, but the point is: you shouldn’t be a coward.” When the other woman mentioned that, at least she spoke up, Beatrix grinned.
“All right, at least you spoke up. But next time, are you going to make them see you—hear you?” She moved closer, lips pulling back into a wide grin as the other woman refused to shrink away from her. “You should approach public speaking with the same will that you approach me.” She declared, snorting.
“Never, I suppose. I don’t believe Mother much cared for hobbies outside of magic, and… well, there’s the missing years.” She waved a hand, as if those years meant nothing—really, anything past the recent meant very little to the woman. “Teach me,” she stated, not as a question, but almost as an order. “Teach me to play it.”
Hester raises her brow, an almost smile quirking her lips. "I don't let people ignore my music if they want to listen to it, but they have the option to not listen to it." She tries to be mindful of others, as much as she can be - hence why she's out int he furthest reaches of the citadels walls, far out of the way of most anyone else.
"It's not up to me to force them to listen to me." The words are accompanied with a shake of her head, Hester not quite understanding why this is such a big deal to the Launceleyn woman. The next suggesiton that comes from her does manage to draw a proper grin to Hester's lips, a giggle leaving her. "You're the one doing the approaching."
There's something a little sad about the admission that comes from Beatrix, something that has some part of Hester thawing, despite the snappy demand in the words. "My da was the one who taught me to play." This is quieter, mostly a buffer to fill the moment she needs to think, to consider her options. "If... if I teach you, you have to trust what I say. And you'll have to get your own fiddle." Simple enough requests, if the other was truly serious.
Beatrix smirked, shaking her head. “I’ll give you that. I am the one who approached first.” She rolled her eyes, clearly amused that the other woman had turned her words on her. Perhaps Hester had a point—that not everyone had to listen all the time. Beatrix was a force of nature, she believed what she had to say was important enough for everyone in the nearby vicinity to listen—and expected them to do just that.
It wasn’t really the way one made friends, but then, friends were something she didn’t ever remember having. She always had family… more than just her brother, technically, but not really. Jace was the only person who never left her willingly; who was always there, when everyone else was not. The things she’d do to keep him safe were… well, not really against her morals—considering her upbringing.
“Your father taught you?” She sounds genuinely surprised. Man, what is with the people she keeps meeting and the fact they had good fathers—good parents? What the hell was that? Unfair was what it was. “I…” She paused, considering.
Jace would probably say it was a waste of time. It’d serve no purpose other than being a hobby… and that was enough to make the woman nod. “I can do that.” Well, okay, Beatrix was going to struggle to listen to someone instruct her, but…
"Well, he's the one who can play, so there isn't anyone else to teach me." There's just enough of a smile on her face for the words to come across properly as a joke, and not simply a snippy tease. "Just the basics though. Near everything else was trial and error." And look at her now, fielding lesson requests.
The agreement is honestly a little surprising, though Hester knows her requests hasn't been outlandish. Obtaining a fiddle would be a pain, a special request to either be made or traded for, but she had truly thought the stipulation that she'd need to be listened to would have nixed the whole idea. While she wasn't really the type to bark out orders, Beatrix seemed the type to not at all give up any semblance of control.
"Alright." Hester nodded, words leaving her automatically, unwilling to let too much of a silence grow. It felt like she needed to be more mature, now that she'd agreed to this. "Well, when you're ready to start... you can probably find me at the Kraai."
08-27-2020, 08:44 PM (This post was last modified: 08-27-2020, 08:44 PM by Beatrix.)
BEATRIX
Beatrix nodded, thoughtfully. She'd have to find a fiddle... oh well, that was easy enough. And listening to Hester... at least the other girl had a nice voice. It'd be a pain to listen to someone whose voice she didn't particularly like.
"The Kraai." She nodded once, and flashed a slight smile. Not a grin, or a smirk, but something skin to... well, excitement, though it faded as quickly as it appeared. Beatrix was far too serious to show excitement for too long, or to really show excitement, honestly.
"I will find you... when I have obtained a fiddle." She did not ask where she might find a fiddle, or if the other has recommendations. Instead, she simply turned and started to leave.
She was a woman with a mission. Albeit, one that her mother probably would not have approved of.
