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!
07-10-2020, 04:57 PM (This post was last modified: 07-10-2020, 04:58 PM by Aisha.)
make your next move, strike em right between the eyes
It was her first trip back to Torchline since she'd been there for Longnight, part of her had been hesitant to make it. There was so much cleaning and work to be done in the Grounds, but today she'd felt she needed a moment. To return to the seaside region, to see it when the sun was up. Beautiful, just as before, but with so much more hope now. The months to come, there was life to live and things to see, and today Aisha chose to be happy.
She found herself wandering up, further from Haulani and up an old mountain. She'd heard about Apopo, it's recent eruption, and she wanted to see more for herself. She lived through experience, and she'd never experienced anything like this. The ground itself still bore the remnants of the explosion, no vegetation grew where she walked, the floor was chalk and stone.
Amalia, too, is hiking up the mountain, her bare feet black from soot and ash. She finds she likes these places more than town: the quiet areas far from crowds, where she does not have to worry about flinching at every loud noise or bright light.
Where there are few faces in which she finds the boy staring back at her, his eyes wide in pain and terror in those seconds before his death.
The sky is dark with the threat of rain, but none falls as the girl climbs, her ascent slow and steady. She is wearing a light grey shirt and trousers, a long leopard tail extending from her lower back for balance, her staff glowing faintly in her hand. It might be easier to pick through this path as a quilin, but Amalia finds she likes the work. The ache of muscles is a welcome distraction from the whirling in her head. Never has she seen anything so dead and devastated: it reminds her of the scar around the Grounds, causing her to shiver. Did the Voice cause this disaster, too? It happened so soon after the portal opened; she would not be surprised.
She has stopped to stare up at the crest of the mountain when the sound of feet upon dead earth alerts her to another. Turning around swiftly the Shield regards the other woman, recognizing her distantly from the Grounds but unable to place a name to the face.
07-12-2020, 03:43 PM (This post was last modified: 07-12-2020, 04:03 PM by Aisha.)
make your next move, strike em right between the eyes
That she wasn't the only one to make the ascent was a bit of a surprise, especially when she recognized the woman she came upon. Another grounder, one she'd encountered but never really talked to. Curious, that they'd both chosen to wander the ashen mountain today, it seemed like more than a coincidence. Had Aisha been in one of her sulky moods she might've just given a nod and continued on her own way, slipping into the skin of the leopard or the fox to avoid contact. But she chose to interact, and offer her presence instead.
The girl waved, a soft smile at her lips, then made her way towards the other woman. She came to a stop a few yards from the other and placed her hand on her hip, "You're Amalia right?" she asked.
It seems she isn't the only one to recognize her companion, though the Shield has to admit to some amount of anxiety at being identified so easily. It feels like everyone knows who she is these days- a far cry from the relative anonymity of her late adolescence, and something to which she has never truly acclimated.
Nodding confirmation of her identity, Amalia offers up a soft smile, her stance shifting slightly so her weight is on her staff. "I am," she confirms in her low alto voice, taking a step closer to the woman who she recognizes but does not know. Perch building and landsharks and encounters in the street, but never a true conversation shared. "I'm, ah, I'm afraid I don't actually know your name...?" Time to correct that, the girl supposes, strange as it feels to be doing so this far away from home.
make your next move, strike em right between the eyes
It was totally fair that Amalia didn't know her name, compared to the infamous baker Aisha was just a girl with a sword. They'd once scolded Amun the potter together for his unethical treatment of the luxere, but that was besides the point, "Aisha Khai," giving her last name for... some reason. She hadn't done that in a while actually, it felt kind of nice.
Aisha shifted her stance as well, something more comfortable and stable on the incline, "You here to get away for a day too?" she asked with a soft smile in her eyes, friendly and hoping to provide nice company. Recently she hadn't made the best companion, a mix of emotions from all the consequences of Longnight, of her own internalized failures. Time to rectify that.
"Aisha Khai. Good to meet you properly." Amalia smiles brightly, her eyes still shaded but the rest of her warm. Leaning against the glowing crimson staff, the Shield resists the urge to shuffle her bare feet, to push her hair behind her ear, to otherwise fidget and fret. It's hard, when anxiety lurks in her breast like a sleeping serpent, ready to awaken at any footstep, any sound.
A day visit? No. "Longer than that. We're actually here for our honeymoon." Flushing slightly, Amalia does give in to her instinct, reaching up brush her hair back with slender, delicate fingers. "What about you? Already tired of the Grounds?" Her smile is playful, but perhaps with a hint of understanding. Gods know that Amalia was more than ready to leave the Grounds behind for a time.
