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!
Sam wasn't paying attention when Loren first noticed his sweat and at the hiss he jumped, flinching away and staring. Perhaps the one advantage he had here was that he couldn't sweat, even with the illness (though he still found himself, much like Loren, absolutely repelled by water. He'd taken the long way around several puddles on the way there).
A lot of their conversation was difficult to follow, fevered tangents and fragments of thoughts making for a particularly disjointed discussion that Sam was having difficulty keeping up with. He squinted at Loren, trying to tease some meaning out of his words. "But you're still sick and I'm still sick and your magic isn't working. It isn't working, Loren, and that's scary, because...because it usually works."
At least he could answer relationship questions with relative ease, Sam remembering his dislike for Nate even through delirium. "Yes. But I don't like it. He's a rude, bad person, but I like Sunjata, and sometimes he can be helpful."
Although the water had been safely disposed of, Loren glared at it. Only when it showed no signs of moving towards him again did he relax. Astra pressing her nose against his neck helped. Laughing, he rubbed her head.
Sam's words caused the healer to frown again. "I'm not sick," he insisted. Jutting out his chin, he turned so he could meet the mapmaker's gaze.
Then the Firebrand's eyes narrowed. "And magic healing never worked on Ascended. Why would this be any different?"
Still scowling, he scooted a short distance from the other man. "Really? Why do you and Sunyaddayaddayadda get along? Didn't he steal Nate from you?" Loren's brow furrowed. "And I'm mad at him. Stupid Flood." Rubbing his temple, he sighed. "I don't remember why though."
Loren insisting he wasn't sick only drew an incredulous frowning glare from Sam, who even in his own fevered delirium, could see that the Healer was very clearly unwell. Still, if that was what he wanted to say...it wasn't like Sam could help him in the state he was in himself, at the moment.
"I don't know, I...Ascended aren't meant to get sick either, but that happened." Sam pointed out, rubbing his head again where it felt like it ought to hurt, even though it didn't. Looking over at Loren scooting away, his eyes fell on the man's neck again, though with the distance between them he thought he could resist the temptation for now, the scent not strong enough to compel him.
He really didn't know how to answer the first question, though he did laugh at the...unique pronunciation of Sunjata's name. "Um..I don't know, he's...nice? I once tried to sleep with him at a bar and he said no though, so it's embarrassing." Normally Sam would keep back shameful secrets like that, but it seemed at the moment he couldn't stop himself from saying any thought in his head. "He didn't know Nate was taken...when they first got together. So it's not really his fault, I don't think...I don't know. He can have him. Nate sucks."
Loren frowned too. Glancing over, he examined Sam as much as possible without actually conducting an exam. "How do you know you're sick?" The healer's eyes narrowed. "Did the Voice actually say you were sick? Or just that something was different. Because Frey definitely didn't say anything about me being sick."
Scowling, he shook his head. "Sunyadda isn't nice. Not really." He waved a hand in the air. "He's just charming, and has lots of people fooled." Then he shrugged. "Not that I care, care. Just thought you should know." Smiling, he lifted his hand and patted the mapmaker's shoulder.
The Firebrand let his hand return to stroking Astra. "Wait. Didn't Sunyadda cheat too? On Lucy-eh and Feebee and May-ah?" His brow furrowed and he pressed his lips together. Eventually, though, he sighed and shook his head. "I can't remember."
Loren was asking some difficult questions for Sam's level of mental capability at the moment; he frowned, trying to think it over and remember what the Voice had actually said. Eventually he shook his head, unable to quite recall, and said in quite an exasperated tone: "It doesn't matter exactly what she said. We're both clearly sick. That's that."
The assessment of Sunjata was certainly harsh, but since Sam didn't know him that well, he couldn't confirm or deny it's veracity. He shrugged, wondering if Sunjata knew Loren had such a low opinion of him.
He watched Loren stroke Astra and remembered, suddenly, that he had a companion, probably lonely at home. Sam tried to stand up, immediately determined to get to Torchline, but instead just managed to stumble forwards a little. "I don't know about...Lucy. But I heard Phoebe and Sunjata were...fake...married, or something? It doesn't sound like it was very good. I don't know."
Loren frowned at Sam's words. Brow furrowed, the healer shook his head and chewed on his lower lip. "That's not that. I'm not sick. And words matter." He jutted his chin out and pressed his lips together.
Watching as the mapmaker stumbled to his feet, the Firebrand tilted his head to one side. "Where are you going?" Astra watched as well and bleated at the other man. Stroking her, Loren smiled. "Are we going somewhere? Somewhere warm?" He shivered as a chill passed through him.
"How do you have a fake marriage? You're either married or you're not. And they are, were...are? no wait were married, and then Sunyadda got with Professor Wren, which is a no-no because Sunyadda was married and Professor Wren's patient and you're not supposed to get with your patients." Nodding, he beamed at the conclusion of his explanation.
"..Hmm." Sam didn't have the energy to argue, but he thought it was pretty obvious Loren was sick. Even as ill as he was himself, he knew that something was wrong when they were both sat on the side of a road mumbling to each other.
He hadn't really expected Loren to follow; he looked back and paused for a moment, mouth open, forgetting in an instant where it is he was going to go. It slowly came back, and Sam said after a long pause: "...Home." Though looking up and down the street, at the dull Grounds architecture and roads that were meant to be so familiar, Sam couldn't quite think of where he needed to go. "I want to go home."
His journey back to Torchline more important than debating Sunjata's infidelity, he began to walk down the road, hoping it was the right way. "I don't care...Nate hurt me. So he's a bad person. But Sunjata has always been nice." Were he better, he might have had a more coherent, detailed take on the matter, but that was all he had the energy for. "You're better, though, because I don't think you'd ever cheat on anyone."
At the mention of home, Loren rocked to a halt, Astra beside him. He swayed back and forth a bit, head bowed. "I can't go to your home. He'll kill me if I do." Hugging his arms to his chest, he bit his lip.
"Just be careful. Sunyadda isn't careful with the people around him." He called out after Sam.
Then the healer bowed his head. "Neither am I though." Sighing, he san to his knees.
His head snapped up, his eyes meeting the mapmaker's. "No. No I wouldn't ever do that to someone. I make sure that I am very clear about what I want, or at least now I do, I promise."
Sam frowned at Loren's ominous statement, unsure of who would be waiting in the shadows to kill the healer; faintly, in the back of his mind, he felt he knew something that would make sense, but he couldn't quite bring it to the forefront. When Sunjata's name came up again he for a moment wondered if he was the one threatening to kill Loren....but no, that didn't sound right. Sam knew this would bother him, but he felt asking Loren about it at the moment probably wouldn't help matters.
"...I know. You're good, Loren, and nice." Walking forward, he went to hold Loren's jaw with his hands gently, tilt his head so their eyes met. Ignoring the impulse that the close scent of blood gave him, he tried to speak genuinely, his lack of guardedness bringing out emotions in him: "I could have loved you, and I know you would have treated me well."
Not seeming to realise the significance or seriousness of the statement, Sam swiftly turned after that and began to walk home, swerving and stumbling in his path but nonetheless determinedly moving forwards.
