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!
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
Growling in annoyance, Luciana scoured her workstation for any sign of paper. Unfortunately, it appeared she'd run out. Tapping a foot, she finally pressed her lips in annoyance. It would be faster to go to her supplier herself than wait for the next order to come through or for her to put in a special request.
So she grabbed an empty bag, locked up, and headed down to the Plaza. Despite the season, it was actually cooler outside than it was in her workshop. Maybe because of the season: it could get oppressively hot inside the smithy during Longheat, what with the fires blazing and the backbreaking work. Her clothes were practically soaked through and covered in soot and small burn marks. Regardless, she fanned them against her skin, sighing at the breeze it created.
Ducking through the crowds, her attention was entirely focused on her destination. She wasn't really looking around, both because she wasn't in the mood to talk to or expecting to see anyone she knew and because here, of all places, she wasn't in any danger. Marching through the marketplace, she took as straight a line as she could.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
09-18-2020, 04:49 PM (This post was last modified: 09-18-2020, 11:06 PM by October.)
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
You too have supplies to gather. It's one of the only reasons that you leave the Tower at all. When you do have reason to go out into the world, it's much easier in this form. Attuned aren't as common in Stormbreak as in other parts of the world you understand, but this is the only life you've known. It's rare for you to meet another, rarer still to share silent conversations and emotions through the bond. The magic of being an attuned is somewhat lost in this place, but again, you've never known anything different.
So off you go, weaving through legs and offering up the occasional bark of disagreement should someone think of you as a stray.
Spying Luciana in the crowd but thinking little of it, you realize after a few moments that you're likely going to the same place given how you both intuitively weave the same patterns through the throng of people. You aren't sure if she's seen you in this form before; it isn't a secret (unlike your other shift), but being relatively unsocial, it isn't something you flaunt about either.
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
Although Luciana wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, she started to get the nagging feeling that she was followed. It wasn't anything she could put her finger on, exactly, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. So she stopped in her tracks and turned around.
When she saw it was just a dog, she breathed a sigh of relief. Not recognizing or putting together that this particular dog was an Attuned, and not just any any Attuned but Tobi, the Hammer smiled down at it. Crouching down a bit, she held out her hand for it to sniff. "Well aren't you cute." The craftswoman's expression was far softer than any she'd show to a human.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
You absolutely are cute in this form. It is both a blessing and curse to have this shift; it has the ability to make others feel instantly at ease, but also to get too comfortable with you (as a dog) too quickly. Sometimes there is lingering awkwardness for having scratched and pet you, not realizing that you were indeed a woman. Would the same be true of Luciana? You hope not. She's never struck you as the type to be embarrassed or easily regretful of her actions.
And so as she offers out a hand, you accept it with a small huff of appreciation under your breath, dipping your head so that her palm moves between your ears. Your tail thumps contentedly on the ground, and though you know that you've somewhere to be—and presumably the Hammer does as well—you let yourself enjoy this quiet moment.
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
As the dog moved forward, Luciana laughed under her breath. Scratching at the canine's head and then shifting to under its chin, the Hammer just let the cares and worries of the day leave her for just a moment.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stay and play with the nice dog for long. Giving it one last scratch between the ears she smiled. "Good dog." Then the craftswoman straightened up from her crouch.
She winced as she did. Grumbling a little, she rubbed her lower back, lips pressed together. Turning to head towards the paper sellers, she shifted to massaging her shoulder, groaning and grunting in pain as she did.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
Things might have gone any number of ways from that moment. You might have wandered separately off on your errands. There might have been an awkward moment once Luciana realized who you were beneath the tri-coloured fur. Would it have led to embarrassment? Sex in an alley? Never speaking again? Who could say. The moment had endless possibilities. That is, until it only had one.
The clatter of scaffolding rings out through the square as the second-floor balcony of a shop collapses onto the street below. Instantly you bark loudly, honeyed-eyes trained on the Hammer's receding form as if you might call her back by sound alone. Weaving through bodies as if you were some agility dog and not a completely out of shape doctor, you arrive at the scene. It seems as though there are two bodies trapped beneath a mound of rubble and wood. There might be some superficial wounds on those who had been nearby, but from the smell and sound of it, they are your priority.
Instantly you shift, now in scrubs with your hair piled atop your head, glancing around for anyone with the strength to help you start to move the collapsed balcony.
09-19-2020, 05:40 PM (This post was last modified: 09-19-2020, 05:40 PM by Luciana.)
Luciana
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
The sound of breaking stone and wood was unmistakable, as were the screams of the injured and afraid. Having only taken a few steps towards her destination, Luciana swore and spun around. For a moment, she was transfixed by the wreckage and mayhem.
Then adrenalin poured through her veins. She grabbed two onlookers by the elbows, a man and a woman, and shook them. "You get the Dragoons and you get the doctors." They stared at the Hammer wide-eyed and she barked out, "Go!" They finally took off.
When they did the craftswoman dashed forward. She skidded to a halt next to Tobi, who was blessedly already there. "Where do you need me?" Luciana fell silent, chest heaving. Still, she started moving pieces of debris as well.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
You're focused on your task, but not deliriously so. This is what you've been trained for, and though it's true you see most of your patients inside of the clinic, it will take more than this to raise your hackles. Even so, you appreciate Luciana's swift action. Calling for the Dragoons is probably overkill, but you'll happily take the muscle.
"We need to remove what we can, but slowly. Carefully." You explain. "If something is too heavy, it will make things worse for those trapped below if we shift it only to realize we can't move it, and let it fall back on them." This might be common sense, but it's worth repeating. You've no way of knowing how the older woman's mind works in a crisis. "Slow and deliberate is what we need."
So saying, you continue to move the pieces of rubble that you're sure you can manage. All the while you're speaking to the two who are trapped below, letting them know who you are and that help is already here.
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
Nodding at Tobi's instructions, Luciana glanced at the trapped people for just a moment. Then the Hammer moved to the other side of the wreckage. Bending down carefully, she selected a piece she knew she could handle. Hoisting it up, she and placed it carefully to one side.
She gritted her teeth against the slight burn in her muscles. Returning to the pile, she paused before grabbing another chunk. "I might be able to get something that can help us move the larger pieces." She patted the belt she wore almost all the time. Only then did she grab another piece of debris and move it aside.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
You glance sidelong at her, nodding. Perhaps it's because she's older, or it's her accomplished position within the Order that sets your mind at ease. This isn't an overly complicated task, and though the stakes are high for those beneath, you find yourself allowing quite a bit of easy trust to flow toward the Hammer.
Whatever she is doing you ignore for the time being, offering more soothing words of reassurance to those trapped below. You think you can hear the general outcry and cheers that herald the arrival of the Dragoons but you can't be sure, and you aren't going to waste time turning around to check. "Do me a favour, if that's who I think it is, don't let them just take over." You grumble under your breath. The last thing you need is some captain storming in and thinking it will sound good over dinner to talk about how they'd saved lives that morning when really they did nothing but get in your way.
cause it makes me that much stronger makes me work a little bit harder
Working with Tobin in mostly silence (aside from the occasional grunt or groan), Luciana cleared the rubble that she could on her own. Leaving the injured to the doctor, the Hammer just tried to clear the area. When the other woman spoke, the craftswoman glanced at her. Luciana nodded once before straightening up.
Turning to face the captain (who was, unsurprisingly, a man who was already preening and puffing out his chest), she pressed her lips together. "Captain, Doctor Hart and I have the situation under control out here. All we need is for you and your Dragoons to clear the spectators from the area and check to see if there's further danger inside the building." When he began sputtering at her, she narrowed her eyes. "Now. Don't make me repeat myself."
Turning her back on him, she knelt by Tobi's side. "Do you need help clearing the larger pieces?" The words were spoken in a whisper.
After glaring daggers at the Hammer's back for a while, the captain eventually realized she wasn't going to engage with him. He cursed under his breath, then ordered the Dragoons to do exactly what the craftswoman had told him to do. She allowed one corner of her lip to curl up for the briefest of moments.
it makes me that much wiser so thanks for making me a fighter
