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!
As far as Nerissa is concerned, the season hasn't truly begun, no matter how bright it might get, until business has started moving again. And considering how little it had moved the year before, she's expecting a busy season, and a lot of explanation. For now though, she doesn't let the thought touch her mind, doesn't do anything but languish in Olavi's arms beneath the waves, Scylla watching the horizon for her, closer to the surface.
Patience may be her strong suit, but even Nerissa has a limit, quickly approaching, and then, as easily as the tide, flowing away, her companion sending out an alarm that a ship was approaching, and who else could it be? As soon as the image of a ship became more than merely a suggestion on the horizon, it was time to move, Scylla returning to Nerissa's waiting arms while the smuggler tugged at the water around them, a pillar freezing, lifting out of the water into an impossible to miss tower, tall enough to loom ever so slightly over the decks of a ship. A bubble of liquid sea remained on top, large enough for her and Olavi both. It was all theatrics, but what was the point of any of this without a few theatrics?
"Jack, darling!" Her voice coils in the space between them, belying the smile that clings to her lips, even at this distance, though not the hardness in her pale eyes. "It's been so long!"
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
Olavi was glad to be back to work, having found the Longnight boring: he'd even resorted to socialising, which really was a telling symptom of just how mind-numbing it had been. Usually, he could go for weeks speaking to no one but Nerissa. His role wasn't to talk: it was to look threatening in the background, to protect and glower and watch the goings on; he was comfortable there, and very happy to slip in that role once more.
Effortlessly following along behind Nerissa, he stayed for the moment a couple of feet behind in the bubble, watching Jack closely with crossed arms, clearly there to be the muscle (and possibly flexing his muscles, just a little bit). Unless his services were needed he was content to be a background element to the meeting, simply Nerissa's insurance that she wouldn't get hurt.
The pillar of ice rose out of the ocean like a sceptre, and Jack knew even from this distance who it would be. He whistled sharply to the men, relaying orders and bringing the Ark about to sail alongside the merfolk, the captain approaching the rail along the side of the ship. They were out from under the cover of the rain now, and the skies were blue and breezy, the seas calm (for now).
And Jack was in his element, his shirt half unbuttoned, the bruises along his jaw mostly gone by now, a mere whisper of unpleasantness that he had happily forgotten. ”Nerissa,” he rumbled, leaning against the rail to grin out at her, the cloak before the dagger. ”It’s been an eternity.” Looking up, he jerked a nod in Olavi’s direction; a silent acknowledgement of the present muscle.
”Apopo went and decided to blow her top,” he called out. ”Hard to make a Leafchange voyage when everythin’ is covered in ash.”
kiss you like a whiskey fire, turn around, leave your heart in a riot
I don't remember saying we ought to change course. Eloise thought loudly. There was no need for shouting; a relationship beyond words at this point. At least in one direction. Oh, she saw the pillar of ice, she just didn't know why in the blue fuck it mattered. It was probably Saiden working on an ice-dick.
Hearing Jack sing like a songbird over the railing was more than enough to fully grab the illusionist's attention. She expected to see either someone of phenomenal beauty (man or woman) and if not, that meant they were extremely important. Perhaps both?
Eloise hoped for both. All she'd seen were the ugly faces of the crew for far too long.
Slipping herself against the rails, Eloise peered down to Nerissa. Not conventionally attractive, but then, that made her all the more exquisite in Eloise's mind. Having come from a world of candy-coated beauty and symmetry, it was refreshing to see someone real. Glancing out towards where Olavi lurked, the illusionist snorted under her breath. "You're really takin' strong and silent all the way up to 10, huh muscles."
lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash, i'm a lady like that
An eternity feels like an understatement. Things have been piling up on her end, and she's been left in the dark, when they were supposed to be some kind of partners. The grin was returned though, niceties to be made before she can begin to vent. "It has been. I see you've made some," pale eyes move to Eloise, looking her up and down before returning to Jack, "changes." Mouthy ones.
Other changes are wondered about as well, kept silent. The mottled shadows on his jaw, the other new faces wandering the deck of the ship. None of it pertains to their business, and so none of it is voiced.
"Yes, yes, the volcano." It's not the eruption she's scoffing at, but the amount of effort he'd really put into getting moving again. After all, things had bloomed below the waves in the wake of the disaster, why would it be so different above? "Did it stop you from reaching out as well?" There is a lull in Nerissa's voice, belying the upset in her voice. "You said it yourself: it's been an eternity."
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
As Jack came forward and looked at him, Olavi was perfectly content to have his contribution to the entire meeting be silent glares and threatening cracks of his neck or flexes of muscles, but then Eloise actually had to come and talk about him.
He glanced to Nerissa: she was in her element, chattering happily to Jack in the back-and-forth way people like them often did, a thousand deals made and said in the words that he struggled to follow. As long as she was safe and there was no imminent threat, he allowed himself to take his eyes off her for a moment and turned to the woman that had addressed him, just the slightest hint of a smirk on his lips.
"It's my job, miss. If I were strong and loud, I'd make a crap bodyguard." He said quietly, making sure not to disturb Nerissa and Jack.
With a sly and sidelong look at Eloise, Jack left that conversation for after the current business was resolved; his navigator still had a lot to learn, mainly in that the seas were unpredictable. This only proved as much, the menfolk glittering above them on pillars of ice and water. He let her get acquainted with Olavi while he conducted the other business, the captain ducking his head in a nod that acknowledged that yes - he could have absolutely have reached out.
”The volcano alone wouldn’t have stopped me so much - but the fact that it killed our Governor was a bit of a fuckin’ issue.” He raised his eyebrows at Nerissa. ”Had to wait until a new one was in place. And make sure that he knew the score with the shit we do in Torchline, if you catch my drift.” No good coming out to trade when he could get home and find out the law was cracking down on business.
”I’m here now though. So shall we talk shop, or do you need butterin’ up a little more?”
