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 doesn’t matter what time they decide to go to the Celestine - the deeper they walk into it, the more it becomes twilight regardless of the day outside. Stars sprawl overhead and Finn strolls (not scurrying, not loping or striding, strolling, that his companion might keep up) to find a place to sit and play. It has been about a week since they made these plans, and even in that time, the Spyglass looks a world away from the man who returned from Apopo.
True, he does need to keep a flask of hot springs water on hand, just in case, but he’s been eating and exercising and getting back to his real work - the stuff he’s good at. And with his glasses missing, Falke and Tobi on hand, and enough medication, he’s even getting deep and restful (and regular) sleep. There might even be a slight tan to his skin as he adjusts his guitar over his shoulder; playing ball in the LongHeat afternoons will do that.
”How about here?” he asks, nodding to a stone bench carved into a semicircle. Overhead, Artemide hoots her approval. He assumes it’s approval, anyway.
You had a dream where Finn asked you back to the Celestine. To see the unicorn, he'd said. Only..when you came to the enclosure, it was empty. That's when he pushed you inside, dangling a ring of keys. Now I'll never hurt again, he'd laughed. You tried to tell him that he didn't need to lock you up to keep himself safe, to which he responded, no he didn't. but wasn't it so much easier?
You'd woken up with tears on your cheeks, not knowing what it had meant.
So despite this having been your idea, you can't shake the strange sense of foreboding you felt that morning waiting until it was time to go. Strangely, you also couldn't wait to leave. Luckily Finn probably won't notice that you're a touch jumpier than usual.
"Here is great!" You chime, bright as ever. Though as Artemide adds her own opinion, you finally shoot Finn a wry look. "I know I have a bit of a one-track mind, but I have noticed the owl." Sitting down with a smirk, you unpack your array mbira from a velvet sack that you carry it in, before shooting the Spyglass a so?? explain?? look.
It’s true; whilst Finn is usually observant by nature, he’s a little distracted by the star spangled twilight and the prospect of music in their near future. So, sinking onto the bench with her and shrugging his guitar off his shoulder, he’s oblivious to the fact that October’s usually energetic nature leans more towards nerves today. Raising his eyebrows and glancing up at the pale wings that circle overhead.
”Oh, well...” He smiles across at her, his hands already plucking at the strings of his guitar to tune it. ”That’s Artemide. I was asked to look after her, by Safrin.” His eyes are firmly on the instrument now, flicking every now and then to the array mbira as if wondering if it really does sound like rain.
There's nothing really for you to tune, and so you simply settle your instrument next to you on the bench. Turning to face Finn, one leg crossed before you to more easily engage with the strange metal contraption you're going to play (this is easily done in the leggings you're wearing), you adjust it just so. Placing your fingertips against the metal just as you might do with a piano, Finn's words cause you to abruptly stop what you're doing.
With dark eyes full of surprise and eager anticipation, you let your lips fall open slightly waiting for Finn to fill in the gaps. He doesn't though, his eyes on his guitar and his attention on tuning his strings, so you clear your throat loudly. "And??" You prompt, laughing brightly as you look to the owl as if she might have something more to say for herself.
”And?” Finn echoes, smiling down at the guitar strings. ”And what? I went to pray at the shrine, and she... appeared. She offered to make me something for my guitar, in exchange for taking care of Artemide. She’s no trouble. She keeps to herself, mostly,” he says, happy with his tuning at last and glancing back up at Tobi. Artemide is still circling overhead, but the pale bird soon swoops down to land nearby, as if sensing that they are talking about her.
”So shall we play?” he asks, the Spyglass somewhat predictably bashful about his encounter with an actual goddess. Honestly, it doesn’t even feel real a lot of the time, and if not for the pale owl, Finn would think he’s dreamed it.
"You. At a shrine?" You expel a happy burst of air that makes your bangs flutter as you shake your head with surprise. 'She...huh." You don't bother to hide the confusion that you feel, your nose wrinkling slightly as you try to piece together why Finn, why an owl, and why Safrin.
Taking Finn's redirection as a cue to let the subject drop, you nod. "I'll start, since it's harder for me to change key." Rolling your shoulders slightly and adjusting yourself one more time, you take a deep breath and play.
You start slow, your fingertips plucking the metal. The melody starts off wanderingly; not lazy, but with no direction quite yet. You'll wait for Finn to join in before you'll know where the two of you are going on this musical journey. That's the strange thing about playing with someone, is that the give and take needs to be so intuitive that you aren't really thinking about it, only noticing where you are by where you've been.
”Yes. I have been known to attend, and after being given the water from the hot springs, it seemed right to give thanks to the Old Gods for making such a thing exist.” He shrugs his shoulders, though Tobi might see the hint of a blush on his cheeks at being caught out doing something so comparatively fluffy, given his usually logical self. She brings Finn around, at least, by swaying their concentration towards the music, and he nods and sits back to let her start.
And he’s predictably caught by the music, as she might have known he would be. It really does sound like rain, Finn watching her hands play over the metal, plucking and harmonising in a beautifully soft melody. He almost doesn’t want to interrupt - but when he does join in, it’s with a gentle, low strum to complement the tone of the array mbira, filling in the spaces and following her lead until the Celestine is filled with their music.
"And what about my thanks." You protest haughtily, the expression one utterly foreign to your features such that it almost immediately dissolves into a sugary smile.
Finn's additions really are perfect. The hum of the guitar fills in all the spaces left by the self-contained bubbles of sound leaving the mbira. It's like a warm wind during a rain shower, and as they meander together through the sound, a pathway begins to form in the melody. You follow it of course, letting the music go where it will. This not being your primary instrument you can't quite keep your eyes closed as you would do with the piano, but still, your body sways effortlessly, and at times your fingers feel as though they're moving of their own accord.
You don't even really realize that you've started humming, but you have. You aren't the world's greatest singer (though not the worst, either), but there is something wordless and gentle about the music forming between the two of you that you think language might complicate.
He realises with a stab of guilt, of course, that he hasn’t really thanked her for all she’s done for him, and though he can’t say so now with the melodies spilling out between them, Finn makes a mental note to make up for it. For the time being, at least, he throws himself into the music with a soft smile on his lips, stormy eyes flicking up to gaze at Tobi every now and then; the guitar is his one and only, of course, so he barely has to look at it to join with her playing.
And as she begins to hum, Finn adds a beat to the song; a soft rap of his knuckles, or a knock with the heel of his hand, until there’s a much more complex collaboration happening than when they began. He’s absorbed in it, the combined sound of their music soothing him in a way that nothing else really can, and he doesn’t even notice that others have stopped in their strolling to watch.
It might have all gone so well. Just a lovely afternoon of something easy and full of the sort of intimacy that didn't need words. Maybe that was why it was interrupted. Or maybe it had nothing to do with it at all. Either way, on soundless wings the pale owl suddenly dives. Her talons grip the long metal tines of Tobi's instrument before her strong wings pull her up and away with it. She heads out of the Celestine and toward the Tower.
Shocked out of the musical reverie you'd fallen into, you jump nearly out of your skin as the owl makes away with your mbira. "Nnnn...hey!" You cry, alarm and surprise making your voice squeaky and ruffled sounding. Heart in your throat and cheeks suddenly pink with colour, you look accusingly at Finn for just a second before glancing open-mouthed at the canopy of ivy and stars overhead. Blinking uncertainly and exhaling a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding onto, you laugh a trifle nervously. "Well..I didn't think my playing was that bad."
Finn, too, is lost in the simple enjoyment of what they’re producing together, and Artemide’s sudden dive and theft is both unexpected and... quite rude, frankly. The music halting instantly as the Spyglass gazes up and after the bird, there’s an expression of outraged surprise on his face, and there’s already an apology ready on his lips as he glances across to Tobi. ”Your playing was perfect,” he says, already getting to his feet and shrugging his instrument back over his shoulder.
”I’m sorry, Tobi. I know that instrument is important to you. Let’s go and get it,” he says, brushing his curls out of his face and seeming uncharacteristically frustrated. He’s already turning towards the Tower, just about spotting the lumbering shape of the owl with the instrument in the distance. What kind of a creature steals something like that anyway?
The turn that this is taking, from enchanting to upsetting makes you think of your dream, and for one horrifying moment, your mind plants the seed that perhaps this is all planned. Some plot worked out between Finn and the owl. It can't be though. If Finn wanted you in the Tower then why invite you all the way out here? No, you're just unsettled, and with a quick inhale to fight to soothe your mind back toward rationality.
'She certainly didn't seem to think so.' You quip the lightness in your voice only partially hiding the panic you feel at having such a valuable instrument in the talons of a bird. Even if it's retrieved there's no doubt the metal will be bent and out of tune now at the very least. 'It isn't your fault.' Your smile is reassuring as you grab the bag your mbira was brought here in, following after Finn and leaving the crowd who had gathered around you to their own devices.
As the pair leave the Celestine, it will be to see Artemide flying a few stories up the Tower, before darting in through an open window. And if they count, they'll find the floor she's entered is the one belonging to Cian.
”She is a bird, and as far as I’m aware, has little knowledge about musical composition. I am not inclined to give her opinion much weight,” Finn mutters, barely giving the crowd a second glance (which is probably a good idea, because the thought of having an audience is tantamount to hell for the Spyglass) as they head out of the Celestine. His long strides make it easy to head back for the Tower, his eyes peeled for Artemide as he tries to keep track of her. And when he sees her head for a very particular place, and a very particular window, he finally slows down.
A groan escapes him. ”But of course,” he mutters, feeling remarkably as though he has been set up by something. By some force of the universe, perhaps. Or maybe just by Safrin, though he doesn’t know why at all. ”Would you like to head back to the medical wing?” he asks Tobi. ”That is Cian’s office, if I saw things correctly. I imagine he will not take well to a crowd.”
You aren't as tall as Finn, but your legs are more than long enough to keep up. That, and the adrenaline blooming out of your chest and down through the inside of your thighs to your feet makes you want to sprint.
"What?" You ask, having not counted the windows as Finn must have just done. "What?" You repeat once he's explained, swallowing hard, your gaze roams from the Tower back to Finn with a sinking sort of horror. "N...no, I can't let you go alone. But, it...well it isn't like we can go there." Gods, your heart is thundering now, cheeks flushed, and if you're being honest, a light sheen of sweat on your lower back and below your hairline. Good thing you didn't decide to sprint. "If anyone should go, it's me. How are you going to explain an owl and a strange metal instrument?"
