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!
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
He’d helped Zeph with prepping for monsoon season, but there was still a fair amount of trash on the beaches. Only, differently from normal, Felix doesn’t venture far from where they’re staying – passing by the lighthouse and following it down to the ocean on a blustery day that hasn’t quite rained yet but the threat of it was clear enough. There’s a bag in his hand, prepared to fill it with the remnants of LongNight parties, focused entirely on that and nothing else.
Of course, he steals glances toward the choppy waters of the ocean as they crash along the beaches, pausing now and then to inspect and admire seashells that have washed up on shore. And he even takes a few moments to start to fill his bag before he gets distracted again, this time by a crab as it runs through the edge of the water before a wave begins to tug it back to sea.
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
There is rarely a point to coming so close to the shore, with the sole exception of the few days immediately after Longnight. The mouth breathers were usually still trying to recover from the week of pitch merrymaking, and there was always so much left on the sands, things that could be traded back for favours, better items, or simply kept for her own personal use. The lighthouse provided a beacon to more than simply ships, it gave her a point to head towards, promised a beach to sweep over, while the tide rose.
Today though, there is something far more interesting than some forgotten trinket, there is a flesh and blood larvae, wandering around unsupervised. This is an opportunity that comes very rarely, but that could work out very well indeed, if she plays her cards right.
The first step is the mystery. She notices the way the boy glances at the ocean, then returns to his task, and she times her appearance just so, settling on a rock in the choppy surf, as shallow as she can go, in one of the moments he's looking away. The tips of her tentacles glow where they rest just under the waves, and her pale eyes are fixed on him, while she reaches out and gestures him closer.
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
He likes to think that he’s a diligent worker as he focuses on picking up the garbage and trash left behind. But he is distracted easily, watching the crab disappear under the pull of the waves before he continues and picks up a few more pieces of broken bottles and small half buried bags of half rotted food. Felix doesn’t mind, not really, but then – there!
Another quick glance has him looking out toward the water again, and there he spots a woman among the sea, along the rocks within the choppy surf and he stills. His brows furrow together, spotting a slight glow beneath the surface of the water, and his intrigue is peaked. “Hello!” He calls out, dropping the bag with a wave and a wide grin.
She gestures him closer and Felix has half a mind to stay on the beach… But… She’s telling him to come closer, so it’s gotta be for a reason right? So he does as she’s suggested, stepping into the sea and letting it soak his clothes without a single care in the world. “Hi, I’m Felix!” He chimes as he starts to get closer, dual-toned gaze focused on her.
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
What a lovely, trusting child. He comes right up to her, abandoning his bag, his sense on the beach behind him. The smile on Nerissa’s face only grows, and she reaches out with her magic to calm the waves around his feet, to keep ocean tame for him until he’s fully within its, within her grasp.
”Hello, Felix.” She coos, reaching out to take one of his hands in both of hers, to pull him closer, while glowing tentacles and Scylla both swirl around his feet. ”What a lovely name that is. And for such a lovely boy. I am Nerissa.” There is a note of matronly warmth in her tone, in the round apples of her cheeks when she smiles, perfectly hiding the worm within.
Slowly, her expression changes to one of curiosity, one of a quiet wonder. ”Are you cleaning the beach all by yourself?” Nerissa asks, letting her watery eyes sweep accros the beach before returning to him, almost too intense in their predatory focus, the only crack in her otherwise perfect act.
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
He’s not quite familiar enough with people to spy the edges of a mask. Not experienced enough with people that wish to possibly harm or cause some sort of destruction – whether physically or emotionally – and so he’s caught completely unaware as he nears Nerissa, the waves around him soothing and making it easier to find his movements within the water.
She reaches out to take his hand, and he lets her, finding himself ever closer to those pale eyes and an almost motherly air about her. He doesn’t miss the glowing tentacles, however, nor the companion that swims around them. “Hi Nerissa!” He says, offering her a boyish smile.
At the question of him cleaning the beach by himself? His head bobs a bit enthusiastically, the motion causing the water to ripple around his body. “Usually I help Zeph but he’s busy today so I thought I wouldn’t go far from home.” He offers, that same grin on his face. And a thought occurs to him, one that Olavi had grown upset at him with, but he can’t help it from asking. “Do you like treasure?”
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
This is so easy it nearly isn’t fun. Every little tug closer she insists on, he follows easily, until water is nearly up to his knee and he stands just before the rock she’s situated on, close enough to grab and fall back into the ocean with, if she so chose. When she so chose. It was all prepared, all ready to fall into place.
Which is what made it such a buzzkill when he answered her question eagerly, a childish bob of pride accompanying the words. ”Zeph? She asks lightly, snarling inside. If he is who she thinks, then it wraps the child up in a lot more complication. It would be interfering in her own business if she did something to irritate the man, because she knows Jack has some fondness for the man, cares about his opinions.
Though, that doesn’t necessarily mean she can’t mess with him, as long as no actual harm comes from it. As long as it’s something she can explain away as inter species confusion. Nerissa lets her eyes go big and doe like as she nods, a toothy grin spreading over her face. ”I do like treasure. And I know where to find all of the best treasure too. But,” she lifts a hand to her cheek, drops her gaze to the side like she’s considering something, ”I don’t know if I can tell you.”
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
He’s a naïve child, aimed toward learning and absorbing everything he could, only familiar with the dangers of the animals in the Greatwood and rarely through people. Maybe if he’d paid attention more in the stories Vai had told him growing up he might realize how this looks, but he’s too excited and enchanted by her and her otherworldliness that the young man can’t help but to give into it wholly. “Yeah, Zeph. I’ve been helping him a lot lately. He’s friends with my mom.” He explains easily, a lopsided smile crossing his face.
But then she answers what he considers the most important question of all. Treasure. And then a bit of a let down when she says she doesn’t think she can tell him. He shifts in the water a small amount, face shifting to something of curiosity and perhaps a bit of sadness before he speaks. “Why not? I’m good at keeping secrets! I wanna see what kind of treasure you have.” And he does, too, wondering what the merfolk even considered treasure. Did she have some hoard of neat things that were commonplace in his home? Did she have things from people that had fallen from ships?
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
It's not exactly a confirmation of identity, but honestly, what are the chances there's a second man with the same ridiculous name as the one she knows of? And the important thing, more important than his identity, is that he's close with this child. Well, at least she can still entertain herself.
"Well..." Nerissa hums, then raises a tentacle, Scylla rising in a carefully controlled bubble of water so she can make a show of whispering to her companion in the mer language, her glee barely contained. "I suppose I can share some secrets with you, as long as you promise to keep them. But you must... Sea Swear." It's one of those things that would sound ridiculous, if it came from anyone else, but in the heavy melody of her voice it sounds like a sombre and serious ritual.
Of course, the moment Felix agrees, because of course he will, of course he will, a wave will sweep over them, dragging them both under the waves, though Nerissa is careful to keep a bubble of air around the childs head. The point is to scare him, not kill him. And though she can hold him steady in the water, can keep control of where he moves, she still holds his hands tightly, pulling him deeper into the water.
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
The boy doesn’t know Zeph’s last name, had never asked. It hadn’t occurred to him that there might be people roaming around with the same name – having grown up as isolated in the Greatwood as he has. But it doesn’t matter, not as she’s mentioning that she’s unsure if she can tell him, and he protests, throws a small fit, tries to promise that he can be trusted and keep secrets.
It seems to work, as his grin grows wide and she considers it, entertains him as she thinks of whether or not it would be as big of a deal. And poor, naïve Felix, doesn’t know the trap as it’s laid, doesn’t know that as she rises her companion and raises a tentacle, and agrees just how much further south it could go. “I promise!” He chimes, edging a bit closer in the water, an agreement easy.
And for a moment he thinks his foot has slipped, with the way he’s shifting after just stepping a bit further in the water, but that’s not quite true either, is it? No, not as he’s suddenly downed by waves and the panic sets in with a shriek, gulping for air as he sinks into the waves, there’s a bubble of air around him, and he panics so hard as she’s taking him through the water, thrashing and suddenly reaching for that bear shift of his, turning boy into a wet rag of a bear, claws extended to try and search for the surface while his heart thunders at a rabbits pace.
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
What a good boy he was. Shitty trait to have in a place like this though. A rush of cruel delight swept through Nerissa as he was swallowed by the wave, as she dragged him deeper, meaning to show him the bottom of the ocean, the treasures that lurked there before returning him to the surface.
All that delight bled away in an instant, literally and figuratively, boy shifting to some fuzzy beast and flailing around with sharp claws, catching her side shallowly, shocking her more than actually hurting her. She releases him, and a glowing cloud, an automatic reaction to what felt like danger. For a moment, shock keeps her still, but anger soon rises to send her moving again, dashing after the shifted boy in his mad dash to the surface, reaching out with her magic as she does.
The bear is caught in a fist of ice, bobbing on the surface of the sea, Nerissa rising after it. The water around is dyed red and glittering, a bloody galaxy that only makes the anger on her face more menacing. She very nearly starts screaming, very nearly gives him a reaosn to be truly afraid, before she decides on a different tactic, something gentler.
"Didn't you say you were ready?" There's a soft chastisement in her voice, as if she is every inch disappointed in him. "I was taking you to show you what you wanted. And this," her hand shifts to touch her side, the blood still sluggishly spreading into the water around her, "is how you act?" She shakes her head and turns away from him, melting the ice away to let him swim freely again, reoriented.
and whatever happens please remember all the laughter, stitch it together kid, i know you better
The boy is too trusting, too sure that nobody could or would want to cause him harm – that the sudden feeling of claustrophobia encapsulating him when he’s in the water seems to erupt and spark the bear out of him – clawing and attempting to fight his way to the surface, and if he were still he might be shivering like a leaf. He was a boy of the woods, wild and untamed and feral in some aspects. Perhaps the ocean simply wasn’t for him, not with those that were attuned to her better than he.
Perhaps she was far more dangerous than she’s let on, too. Perhaps the treasure isn’t really worth this after all.
She catches him, because of course she does, he’s inexperienced in the waves and feeling as though he’s fighting for his life as he gets pulled to the surface, clawed and encased in ice that bobs around the waves as the thundering echo of his heart vibrates painfully in his chest, and the sheer feeling of how truly terrified Felix is leaks like a pipe through the attuned bond toward Nerissa.
I-I… He stumbles, noticing the red water, the way the ice begins to melt away until he’s just a wet mop within the waves, fighting to control his breath and panic. I didn’t think… That was a sea swear. He manages, despite the way he’s unsure whether Nerissa can hear him. Ears flat against his skull, eyes wide and terrified, and he tries to spin in the water just enough to try and pad back to the shore.
07-29-2020, 05:26 AM (This post was last modified: 07-29-2020, 05:26 AM by Nerissa.)
On an ocean floor I'm found As just one of the million other
There is some satisfaction that comes from the the terror that leaks from the boy, even in his big, dangerous shape. He deserved to feel scared, if only to make up for the pain stinging through her side. It wasn't quite enough to completely remove the snarl from her face, the sudden ice in her eyes, as opposed to the limpid stare she'd had before.
Well you didn't ask, did you? Her silent voice betrays so little emotion, it would almost be more comforting if she sounded angry. Now look what you've done. A red stained hand stretches out towards him, just before he turns away, begins his frantic dash back to shore. Once his back is turned, Nerissa slips back into the ocean, debating shifting completely for a moment, before deciding against it, and reaching out for the boy one last time.
Stay out of the ocean, little one. There's an otherworldly note in Nerissa's voice, howling like the wind that blows over Aumakua. She will always try to devour you, now that you've spurned her trust. With her "curse" laid out, she begins the slow swim back towards the underwater city, foreseeing Olavi fussing over, and his presence lingering at her shoulder far more often now.
