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!
Remi is sick. Feverish and delirious, according to Ronin - and the broken glass all over their bedroom floor, and the deep cut in the Alchemist’s thumb, and whatever the hell else he’s gotten himself up to in the time it’s taken Vai to come outside. It’s for that reason that she’ll be unable to cover the clinic today, and she’s come to their neighbour’s house to explain as much to Nate. She’s reasonably sure he will understand, given the circumstances; Remi is stronger than he has any right to be these days, and one second without an eye on him could spell trouble.
So she reaches out to knock the door, her dark curls already pulled up and off her neck in a messy bun to cool her down. It’s approaching midday and the sun is already scorching, the witch wiping her brow with the back of her hand as she turns to squint back across the way to the Taliesin house. Remi hasn’t flown away or hijacked Ronin’s nimbus yet, so that’s a plus.
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
Things have been hectic since Hotaru’s return. What might have arguably started as a quiet season has been turned on its head, and to make matters worse, so, so much worse, Nate’s darling duo are sick, confined to bed and buried under mounds and mounds of blankets. Exhaustion might not be able to touch his body, but his mind is stretched thin, what feels like exhaustion making the world warp and drag at the edges.
The knock at the door comes while he’s making soup. The knock at the door comes while he stands before the stove, staring at the element and the shimmer of heat rising from it, the steam rising from the soup. The knock at the door comes just in to keep him from trying to grab those shimmering lines, wanting to feel the warmth desperately, to grab the shapes swimming there, calling to him.
Nate opens the door like he's afraid of it, his shoulders dropping when he sees Vai on the other side, though his brows pull together as he looks at her. His eyes are bright, unfocused, and a pearly sheen coats his face, making him look greasy. ”Vai?” His voice is small, distant, even as he shuffles forward, the call of the sun tugging him out in a way Nate could swear is physical. ”What... brings you over?” Words seem to be a struggle, if the contortion on Nate’s face is anything to go by.
The door clicks open and pulls Vai’s attention away from whatever the fuck might be happening with Remi back at the house, and it absolutely stays on Nate at the mere sight of him. Honestly, she doesn’t have all that much experience with Ascended, but she’s still never seen him looking like this. Or acting like it. Her hands come up as he moves, apparently drawn into the bright and scorching sunlight, landing gently on his chest as if to guide him gently back into the house.
”I just thought I’d drop by to see how you all are,” she says slowly - from experiencing Remi, she doubts he’ll remember what he’s said in a few minutes, so lies didn’t really count. ”I was about to go down to the clinic, but... you don’t look very well. Is everything alright? And is something burning?” It smells like it might have been soup, once upon a time.
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
His trek into the sun is stopped by pressure on his chest, a short huff leaving him as his face twists, his one good eye focusing on Vai. There’s another ripple over his face, another wave of confusion that he tries, and fails, to fight off. ”We’re... okay.” Nate takes a step back now, no matter how the sun sings to him, no matter how much he wants to venture out into it, he cannot pass the wall that’s stopped him, that Vai has made. ”Ru and Sunny’re... sick. A fever. They’re,” Here he grins, leans in conspiratorially, ”a bit loopy.”
For all it might look like he’s taking on her words, there’s very few things that actually stick out properly, a few words tugging at strains of sense. His mouth opens, ready to argue, when he pauses, looks out over her shoulder. ”You should come in.” Nate says it like a suggestion, but there is no room to disagree with the way he pulls Vervain inside, shuts the door behind her, a lock clicking before his arm is around her, leading her into the kitchen.
”Coffee?” Comes the offer, an obnoxious accent overtaking Nate’s words. ”I have soup on too, but it’s not done yet. And I... need it, I...” Theres another bubble of confusion, Nate pausing, staring at Vai like somehow she can help him pick up the scattered threads of his thoughts. He moves closer to her again, drawn and desperate for something he can’t put his finger on, something he knows he cannot get from the woman before him, no matter what he might want. ”I remember how you like it still.”
09-05-2020, 08:18 PM (This post was last modified: 09-06-2020, 09:10 AM by Vervain.)
Vervain
Vai stifles her surprise in the form of a slow, deep breath and a warm smile. Hotaru and Sunjata are sick as well, and Nate - ever the dutiful doctor - is taking care of them. How effectively remains to be seen, with his current state, and Vai is silently thankful that she decided to stop by. ”Ah, I see,” she says, slanting a grin in his direction and allowing him to usher her inside. (She notices the lock click in place, but Nate hasn’t given off the serial killer vibe yet, so she doesn’t worry too much).
”Coffee?” she echoes, moving into the kitchen with him, her eyes widening at the sight of the stove. Vai thinks the soup might have been done some time ago - whilst the broth is still simmering, the smell suggests that whatever was in there has burned to the bottom of the pot. A far cry from not done yet.
Then suddenly Nate is moving closer to her, and Vai reaches up to grasp his upper arms, steadying him, guiding him back towards a seat at the kitchen table. ”Shall we sit down a second? Remi has a fever too - I’m worried there might be something going around.”
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
A soft chuckle leaves Nate, just enough to shake his shoulders as he walks Vai inside, though by the time they reach the kitchen he can't quite remember what was so funny, what they'd been talking about in the first place. Doesn't really remember letting Vai in at all, though it doesn't phase him, as he's not really seeing Vai anymore.
"You don't have to have coffee." He says, a frown pulling his face down, his brows together, as he searched his mind for something else to offer. "There's... water, too?" He tries, letting himself be moved by her easily, just waiting for someone else to take the reins, someone else to be in control. "Whatever you want." A grin spreads over his face anew as he sits, watches Vai closely, his head tilting to the side when she sits as well.
Even when she speaks, Nate doesn't move, his one good eye all but glazed over, until the word 'fever' jolts him back into the kitchen properly. Blinking, he takes an unnecessary breath before responding, words harder to summon now than they've ever been for him. "Remi too? I... is he kind of... strange, too?" It's a burst of lucidity that doesn't last, gaze that had been bright for a moment clouding again, his brow furrowed.
”Water would be great. It’s hot out,” Vai says, though she doesn’t make to move from the table just yet, content to let the conversation bubble and flow like the soup just behind Nate. It’s like braiding hair, she thinks - trying to make the threads meet in a way that coheres, finding meaning in the scattered thoughts and bits of conversation that hopefully piece together to form one picture.
Nodding to him as he speaks about Remi, she scoots her chair a bit closer, laying a hand on his forearm. ”Nate, look at me?” she says softly, a sad smile curling up the corners of her lips. ”I know this might be hard to hear, but from where I’m sitting, I think you might be unwell, too. Do you want to take a break, and I’ll help you out here? We can figure out what’s going on together.”
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
Nate's one-eyed gaze snaps up to Vai's face, her smile prompting one of his own, though it's wider, easier than the one on the healer's face. "Why would you think that?" The words come out as warm as anything else he's said, but there's a sudden edge in his eye, a furrow in his brow that has nothing to do with confusion. "I'm as good as I've ever been. How would I even get sick?" He's ascended, made to be immune to these kinds of things.
But, at the same time, a break sounded almost nice. He'd been growing ragged, not tired, but run down. Every waking moment was filled by something. How long had it been since someone had taken care of him? Since someone had had to? His eye flutters, and the image of Vai grows soft, blurry, the arms of delusion wrapping around him again. "You do this every time." The words are soft, almost petulant, a pout overtaking Nate's face, though he makes no effort to pull away from her yet.
”I don’t know,” Vai admits, which is part of the reason for her worry, really. ”You shouldn’t be able to get sick, but...” Carefully reaching out, she lays the back of her hand against Nate’s forehead (providing he doesn’t swat her away). ”I think you have a fever. I don’t know what from, though.” Rising to her feet, Vai surreptitiously turns off the stove - she will deal with the soup later, probably - and places a hand on Nate’s shoulder, trying to guide him up and onto his feet again.
If she manages it, she will lead them through into the living room, eyes sharp for any sign of the other occupants of the house. ”What do I do?” she asks Nate, partially to keep him talking and partly out of curiosity. ”Here, it’s more shady in here at least.” And a couple of windows are open, which will hopefully stop the LongHeat temperatures from burning them up too much.
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
A wide eye follows every movement of Vervains hand, and still Nate jumps when she touches him. His brows pull together, and his grin falters the slightest, the gesture affecting him in a way he hadn’t expected. He can’t be sick, but, if he was... it’s a line of thought he doesn’t get the chance to follow, a hand on his shoulder startling him off the tracks. ”It doesn’t make sense.” He mutters, rising to follow her.
”You... you come in like you can fix things, right at the end.” Shaking his head, Nate coughs out a humourless laugh. He lags after Vai, though he doesn’t hesitate to follow, to be led by her. ”Every time.” Another scoff, before he shuffles to a chair and sits heavily. Nate’s gaze lifts from the floor, following a wandering path around the room, over blankets strewn about, bowls with half finished meals in them. The thought that he should clean drifts through his head, before finally his eye settles on her. ”The shade is nice.” He concedes, mumbling quieter than his accusations had been, like he’s embarrassed of his words.
”No, it doesn’t make sense. All the more reason for us to figure out how to get you well sooner rather than later,” Vai says, letting him sink down into the chair and following his gaze around the room. It’s on autopilot that she tidies up, folding blankets and opening windows and drawing curtains - anything to keep the sun out and the cool air flowing in. ”Do I?” Her smile is unabashedly crooked at his accusations, the witch glancing over her shoulder to Nate and returning to sit with him on a chair close by.
”I certainly don’t mean to. I spent most of my life causing problems, so maybe I’m trying to make up for lost time,” she says, brow furrowing as she gazes at him. She’s worried and it shows, mainly because... how was one supposed to help an Ascended? They weren’t meant to get sick. ”Shade and rest is a good start, at least. How are Sunjata and Hotaru?”
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
It takes everything in Nate to not roll his eyes when Vai looks back at him, the gesture saved until she turns away again. A mistake maybe, with the way it makes his whole head spin, nausea rising up in the back of his throat. His head is nearly between his knees when she sits again, giving him no choice but to listen before he responds. "You didn't cause them." Nate's head rises slowly, the act of sitting upright costing him more than he expects. "You never did. He did. I just..." He wets his lips, on the edge of continuing, before dropping his shoulders and sighing.
Even in the state he's in, Nate can tell when someone is leading him, can feel the tug of Vai's words. Can't help but want to follow them, a line out of the strange tangle of memories that drag at him. "It's not really rest, you know." It feels contrary to point out, satisfies something in Nate to say, if the little grin that crosses his face means anything. "Sunny and Ru, they... they're resting. I was..." He turns to look towards the kitchen, brows furrowing. "Ru got it first, she... I don't know. Was fine, then..." Both hands rise in front of him, mimicking an explosion at first, then simply hanging in the air, like he's forgotten to drop them.
”He did?” Vai echoes, mentally kicking herself for leading him on that line of thought. Asking questions might run the risk of further agitation, and as she’s already seen with Remi and others - it doesn’t take much. With a sigh and a soft smile, she rubs at her forehead, trying to figure out where to go from here now that they’ve at least moved on from setting the house on fire. Nate speaks again and Vai nods, her smile becoming apologetic. ”Of course not. What do you do, normally? When the rest of the house is asleep?”
Ru got it first. Vai wants to get to her feet, to check the rest of the house and the state of the people in it, but the Ascended before her has her full attention for now. Reaching out, she carefully lowers his hands, trying to meet his gaze. ”Do you remember where Ru was, before she got sick?”
I know that Most feelings are fleeting, but I could make a home from this one
Thought it might not be her intention, it’s the echo that has Nate’s eye narrowing when he looks at Vai, his face hardening. ”You always do that too.” He frowns, searching her face, his expression dropping more when he doesn’t find what he’s looking for. There’s no surprise though, not anymore. ”He’s not even here, you don’t need to... pretend.” This time, he does roll his eyes in front of her, or at least closes them and throws his head around in the motion of it.
More questions, dragging strings away from his focus. But Vai is smiling, and Nate lets himself mirror the expression. ”I... I read, sometimes. Or... prepare food.” Again, his head swivels towards the kitchen, confusion blooming on his face. ”I use... nonna’s recipes, when I can remember them.” Theres more, but he’s distracted himself now, the thread fraying dangerously.
Nate jumps when hands touch him, flinching back, then, in an immediate show of regret, reaching out again, scrabbling to take hold of one of the witch’s hands, to squeeze it tight. ”She was... she came straight here. W-after the um, the ring. All... burned, and...” Blinking, Nate tries to banish the tears suddenly swimming in his vision, swallowing hard. ”And sad.”
