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!
It was right at the time of day that Delta could attempt to swim around the city. The light was shining in, creating beautiful sights around her that she would otherwise savor, but at this point all she could do was try and get everything done before she lost this moment. Strung along her shoulder was a sack, filled with a couple of jars. Right now, she was trying to collect some things that could be used for various purposes, such as healing or creating specific concoctions. One of which was a form of paint that lasted for a long time underwater, a complex thing to make that took much time and dedication.
Whilst doing this, her head was the opposite of empty. Everytime she passed by someone, a pit formed in her stomach. What if they had a knife and wanted to stab her? Or what if they knew about her curse and planned to curse her even more? Or what if-
So many what ifs and the voice was far from silent. He was much louder than she'd like, whispering in her head and requesting to go to the surface. The tugging was obvious, but she could ignore it for a bit longer. She had to make the most of this before it was too late.
She has always been curious about the merpeople, but her visits to Torchline have been so few as to give her scant opportunity for actual investigation, or meeting the elusive folk.
Today, though, Amalia hopes to address that lapse. In the blush-colored guise of the encantado she moves through the water with relative ease, finding herself far more comfortable with the expansive ocean when wearing a skin that belongs within it. She has heard tell that there is a city dedicated to the mers deep beneath the waves, and it is this she seeks now, following a pod of similar dolphins, Jyoti swimming at her side.
When the distant city does come into view it is breathtaking in beauty and magnitude. Pulling up short, the Shield has to take a moment to stare at it in wonder, never having imagined anything like this beneath the sea. It takes her a second to compose herself before she inhales and begins to descend, the lungs of the dolphin well-suited to diving, curious and cautious as she approaches the city with closely baited breath.
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
Swimming along, it was extremely easy to spot all of the creatures around her. Her eyes search around and she sees very familiar sights- a few schools of fish, a turtle, all the usual, but then she spots something slightly out of the ordinary. It's an encantado- which is absolutely normal, but it's not really the creature itself that spikes her interest: it's the creature with it.
Alongside the pink porpoise is a gorgeous whale, something that Delta has yet to see with her own eyes. She slowly inches forward, eager to get even closer, before things go awry. Annoyingly, the curse chose now to force her to shift into her form. Thankfully, she was fully submerged and had no problem with swimming forward a small bit. Her movements were far smoother than before, showing that unfortunately, she was growing very used to this shift.
While she swam, she would try as hard as she could to get a good look at the beautiful whale, desiring to get much closer but also understanding how scary she must look right now.
Delta rolled a 19 so now she's a shark.
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Still unaccustomed to the movement of water and the creatures of the sea, Amalia does not notice the great predator approach. She is focused on the city, enraptured and curious, trying to decide if she ought to try and swim down to its spires, meet its denizens. She will have to surface first to breathe; until then perhaps she can go closer, get a better look at it all...
It is Jyoti who senses the great white shark. Finely attuned to the changes in air currents the little whale feels well at home in the water, easily transferring her knowledge of the sky now to the sea. A low note trills from the starry calf's lungs as she senses, then sees, the larger creature, carried along the ocean waves in a mournful, beautiful tone.
Surprised, Amalia spins awkwardly to face the direction her companion has indicated, not yet comfortable enough with this body to move with fluidity or grace. The sight of the shark catches her wholly off-guard: black eyes and sharp teeth paint a dangerous picture, and suddenly the Shield is somewhere else, staring at monsters in the dark. Panic surges through her, a hit of adrenaline that requires all her willpower to soothe. Hello, she calls, mental voice quivering, communicating more in emotion than words. We won't hurt you. We don't mean to trespass. Please, we aren't prey.
Gods, let the creature understand her, and not be another murderous trick.
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
A voice rang out through the water and Delta wanted to look around and try to figure out who exactly was speaking to her through the bond, but due to this shift she was unable to really turn her head all that much. Instead all she could really do was make some massive assumptions.
One was based purely on the reaction of the encantado who seemed rather alarmed. Then again, she was also kind of a gigantic shark. Still, might as well try? Hello? Are you talking to me? The big shark? Who knows, maybe there was a gigantic squid right behind her that she couldn't see due to these stupid shark eyes.
Are you... the encantado? The pink dolphin? or are you the star whale? What if it wasn't? Should she cover all bases? Or are you a fish? I'm sorry- I didn't mean to scare you, wherever you are.
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Yes. Well, that's something of a relief. The voice and its inflection makes it clear that this is a humanoid; animals are not nearly so eloquent in their speech. Now rather more at ease Amalia lets herself inspect the shark, curious and fascinated by the aggressive looking beast.
The question if who she is has the Shield smiling warmly through the bond. The encantado, yes. My name's Amalia, this is Jyoti. The starwhale again croons a note, boldly swimming around the shark with obvious curiosity.
Less frightened, more surprised. I've never seen anything like you. You're... beautiful. There's a genuine awe and admiration in the girls mental voice, as well as a slight flush. Are you... A mermaid?
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
This shark shift was a curse- both literally and not. Her sightlines were reduced and quite frankly- it was annoying as fuck. It was far harder now for Delta to get a good look at the girl who identified herself as the encantado. You- you're an attuned... am I right? She had never heard of an attuned becoming one of the porpoises. Hell, she didn't even know it was feasible feat for the humans.
The shifting of the words was clearly shocking, evident by the shift in emotions felt through the shared bond. Delta expected Amalia to possibly correct her on the emotions... but not to be called beautiful. You... you think my shark shift is beautiful? Someone actually liked it? It was hard to view it as anything other than the curse it was, but... Amalia liked it?
Her voice came out a bit softer now, as if she was embarrassed. Well yes. You see- And just like that, as if on cue, she shifted once more. Taking over the place of the mighty shark was a much smaller girl- almost. It was Delta, yes, in her usual state, but there were a few modifications to her body. Normal, humanoid teeth were replaced with sharp shark ones. A fin protruded from her back. Along parts of arms was a gray skin, the shark skin. Otherwise, she seemed like your typical mermaid, her lion-fish tail fanning out in the water. And this- this is what I almost look like... almost. An awkward laugh left her lips, sounding a bit like a fluttering hum sound.
08-10-2020, 01:23 PM (This post was last modified: 08-10-2020, 01:24 PM by Amalia.)
I am, Amalia confirms again, letting a wave of otter fur briefly cover her like some sort of strange were-dolphin. She doesn't expect the sudden shift of emotions, the way the mermaid responds to the comment, her dark eyes blinking in surprise. It's incredible, she confirms, open in her sincerity. I've never seen anything like it.
The mermaid shifts then, reclaiming humanoid features but with some noticable differences, like the grilled tail and sharp teeth. Never having met a mer before Amalia takes the sharp smile in stride, replying in kind through the Attuned bond. Nice to meet you properly, then. I'd show you mine, but... I'm afraid I'd drown.
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
There is a clear blush on her face now that she's no longer a shark and she moves to adjust her hair before trying her best to appear nice and professional. Thank you... that really means a lot to me to hear that. Amalia really had no idea just how much Delta needed to hear such praise. I cant say I've really seen anything like your companion either. A small smile before it dropped. A flash of realization as her eyes widened.
She had been so wrapped up over suddenly shifting and the compliments that she had neglected to properly introduce herself! How rude of me! I didn't tell you my name, did I? I'm Delta. Nice going there, way to make a good first impression.
A knowing smile returns to Delta's face and she offers the dolphin a small shake of her head. Don't worry, I completely understand... it isn't often that attuned have aquatic shifts from what I can tell, so this is already a special thing for me. The last one she remembered was Sunjata and his whale shift. Otherwise, there weren't really many that could swim with her.
Finding herself pretty relaxed, Delta continues on. Soooo.... what brings you here? You're a bit far from the surface world.
Delta. Amalia stores the name away, nodding as best as she can without a neck. The comment about aquatic shifts surprises her a little; she would have expected the Attuned of Torchline to have a large quantity of aquatic forms at their disposal. I have two, Amalia replies. Well. Sort of. Swimming up toward the surface she waits for Delta to follow, not wanting to shift again this far below the waves.
I'd actually hoped to meet a mer...person. Her mental voice is a little sheepish, embarrassment coloring the words. I'm not from Torchline, and I've never actually spoken to one before. But I've heard incredible things.
Reaching the surface of the water Amalia lets her body shift, shrinking down as thick, water-resistant fur springs up over her form. The otter who floats upon the waves is a far cry from the encantado; with a sheepish smile Amalia waves, then gestures to herself. See? Sort of aquatic.
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
Following on up towards the surface, Delta could hardly hold in her excitement. Wait- really? I mean... I'm glad you got to meet us... but what stuff have you heard about us? Delta knew about all the rumors Mers had about humans, but what about the other way around? It seemed like an exciting thing to learn about... so why not ask for more? Meanwhile, her mind ran rampant with so many ideas and possibilities for what Amalia could possibly be. Another aquatic shift? Oh oh ! What could it be? Maybe she was a turtle? Or or maybe she was a penguin! So many possibilities and it was all so exciting.
All of those possibilities were exciting, but the feeling when she saw what Amalia actually was could only be described as ascending to a higher level of existence. Massive eyes stared at the otter. "Oh my gods!!!! You- you're an otter!" She let out a soft squeal, one that really did reveal just how young she was.
"Sorry! I've just... I don't get to touch fur really... ever... no animals that have fur ever come to the ocean I can only see them from super far away- and I could never get a shift with fur... I don't know why, I just- cant?" She felt compelled to explain herself, clearly growing embarrassed over her little outburst. Any mer would say she wasn't acting like a princess- that they wouldn't want someone like her as their future ruler.
Amalia nearly balks at the reaction to her otter shift, grateful that the thick fur prevents her from blushing scarlet. I... I am, she confirms bemusedly, grateful for Jyoti who comes and dives around her, enjoying being the larger of the pair. It's not my usual shift, but... The little otter shrugs, wiggling her tail.
Delta's desire to touch her is nearly palpable, and who is the Shield to deny her that? Paddling with her hind legs the girl approaches the mer, belly exposed and available for scritches, the waterproof fur already soft. You don't seem like much of a shark, the girl remarks, not unkindly, looking upside-down at Delta. How did you wind up with that form?
