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!
”Why not?” Finn asks, glancing over his shoulder to Tobi - he’s already setting off again, mind knitting together the layout of the Tower and the fastest route up to get to where they need to go. ”That instrument doesn’t belong to Cian,” he points out. ”And neither does the owl. It isn’t as though we will be there for long.” Not if the Spyglass has anything to say about it, anyway.
So in through the large double doors they go, his feet near silent on the stone, and he pauses at the corridor which would lead into the medical wing. ”It’s up to you - you can wait here for me, or come with me.” Who knows what it is which has roused Finn into such a state of (perhaps reckless) decisiveness. Clearly, the music gives him more than mere reprieve from the world around him. It bolsters him up, too.
'But it isn't as if we can just stroll in." No, Cian's offices weren't off-limits, but there was no red carpet either. Especially not for Finn. Property rights stopped mattering when it came to the Eye's privacy. Of that you're pretty certain. But seeing as Finn seems just as certain, you're at a loss. So, tugged along in the wake of the Spyglass's shocking motivation and confidence, you follow him into the shadow of the Tower, and inside.
"No, of course I'll come. Someone has got to be there to pick you up when this all inevitably goes wrong." You say with a nervous laugh, wishing the words didn't sound as prophetic in your ears as they did.
Up you go. And up, and up. By no means are you worried about impressing Finn or not making an ass out of yourself, so it's probably just raw shame at how out of shape you are that you try and hold your breath so as not to pant quite so much as you climb the Tower stairs. This is obviously a bad idea because it makes you want to gasp for breath more, and eventually by the time you reach the third floor your legs are burning and you sound as if you're about to choke on your own spit. "Sounds like..someone needs to play..some more..ball." You wheeze, flashing Finn a grin as if you meant the comment to apply only to him.
Oh, Finn knows the bear trap he’s about to walk into. But a memory of blue silk tied around his cast, of subtle threats and warnings... do they motivate him more, to put things back as they should be? Or are they simply a reminder that he will never do right, so he may as well do wrong? Really, it’s probably the strange protection that having a Safrin-owned owl swooping into Cian’s offices brings. How much trouble can he get in for that?
They’ll find out. But first, they have to get there, and if Finn had the breath the spare, he’d tell Tobi that he definitely needs to play more ball. Unfortunately he’s focusing too hard on not passing out for that, and when they eventually arrive at the correct floor he has to take a few moments to catch his breath, so Tobi is in good company, at least. ”That wasn’t so hard,” he pants, not believing it in the slightest.
Eventually straightening up, he listens hard for the sound of wings, or footsteps, or out of tune instruments.
Patting Finn on the back in a gesture of self-deprecating moral support, and noting that at least she isn't alone in being sweaty, she leans against the wall until her heart rate is at a more manageable pace. "I"m going to have to talk to Sera about getting some sort of magical staircase in here."
Tilting your head to the side now that you're able to hear something more than the roar of blood in your ears, you, like Finn, notice that...there's absolutely nothing to hear at all.
Not a single sound. And Gods if that isn't the most terrifying.
"What do we do?" You whisper as if you're two school children about to break into the headmaster's office to steal something out of their desk.
Magical stairs sound great, and Finn would say so if it weren’t for the fact that he can’t form words right now. He leans on the opposite wall, having to take off his guitar (he leaves it leaning there, by the entrance to the stairwell, so he won’t be so encumbered). ”We go look for it, I suppose,” he whispers back with a lopsided smile, straightening up once he’s caught his breath and stepping forward.
It isn’t so much of a surprise that the Spyglass is relatively quiet on his feet, his many years of research and library haunting lending a softness to his steps. Being a whore probably helps, too, reminding him to watch where he walks and not to brush up on anything. Still, even if he’s trying for silence, he’s not trying for sleuthing, and so it’s with a deep breath of courage that he finally calls out.
”Hello?” A hand raps against the door, as if to check if anyone is there.
There is not a single solitary sound from within. Finn's knuckles rap against the door and it echos hollowly, before the sound simply drops away leaving the pair in utter silence. "I can't tell if it's better or worse that he isn't here..." You say under your breath, hovering behind Finn, watching nervously over his shoulder.
"Is it locked?" Because if it was, that would end your search surely. You couldn't fly, and unless Finn was suddenly a burglar (though it might not surprise you to know that he could pick locks in all honesty), there was nothing more you could do.
But if it was open? Gods the idea of trespassing into Cian's office makes your legs turn to jello even more than the stairs had done.
It isn’t surprising for Finn to hear the silence, and it closes around them like a tomb. The Spyglass narrows his eyes a fraction, leaning in to listen at the door next, in case there is something going on within that isn’t quite so obvious. Because it wouldn’t surprise him for the Eye not to be in his office. It would surprise him even less to find him present, but merely ignoring the sound of Finn’s voice.
”I don’t know,” he says, furrowing his brow. It would make sense for Cian to leave his door locked when he’s not present, but equally... it would very much seem like the Eye to leave it wide open, too. He’d probably know if someone set foot in there. Either way, there’s only one way to find out now, his hand closing around the doorknob to try and twist it open.
It twists easily, groaning a warm brassy sound, the door pushing open almost invitingly. That's the most foreboding thing of all, you think. How the door seems to welcome you in to a place you know you shouldn't be. Hesitant as you are, once you see Cian's shoes on the ornate rug, and the man wearing them prone on the ground, you breeze past Finn without thought for the Spyglass or the consequences. Not even your instrument is on your mind, just the health of Cian, who is nothing more to you right now than any other patient.
"Cian? Can you hear me?" You ask, dropping to his side and reaching toward his neck to find a pulse. Finding one, a fairly strong one actually, you sigh slightly with relief. "It's Doctor Hart. Cian?" Holding his cheeks between your palms, you wait to see if he'll respond on his own or if you need to take more drastic measures.
Finn peers into the room as the door swings open, and though he has been in here once or twice before, it always surprises him, how warm the place feels compared to the cold, harsh man who resides within it. Then he sees Cian on the rug, and before he can so much as part his lips to call for Tobi, she’s striding past him into the room. Finn follows, of course, and whilst it’s true that another man’s wellbeing (yes, even when that man is the Eye) has invaded the forefront of his mind, he does glance around to see if he might spy what they came here for.
”Is he alright? Breathing?” he asks. He doesn’t get too close, knowing better than to crowd someone unconscious (it’s been him often enough as of late), and instead he moves to the desk, trying to see if he can spot anything that might have led to Cian’s current state. Drugs, alcohol, a magical item, or an unlikely combination of all three, perhaps.
"Yes." You mumble, fully in doctor-mode now. Having checked his vitals, you're now pulling at his eyelid to see what sort of pupil response you get and checking his temperature. It all seems..."..magical." You whisper under your breath. That, or a very, very subtle sort of poison. But glancing around you see nothing to indicate it. No needle marks, no discoloration, and nothing so obvious as a broken bottle or even cup of tea.
Reaching into your pocket you pull out a device that you're almost never without. Not even on a day like this where you'd intended just to play music with Finn. Pressing a button that illuminates a disc, you turn back to the Eye, calling his name again and again. "The nurses are on their way." You say, glancing over your shoulder spying Finn silhouetted against the window as he stands at the Eye's desk. Were it not for his curls, you would have had to look twice, so similar does he look for just a moment.
Artemide gives a single hoot, pulling your dark gaze towards her. Frowning, you look back to Finn. "Do..you think she knew?"
Perhaps even being in the office has Finn unconsciously mimicking the Eye’s posture, his movements; but he’s still and silent before the desk, and his eyes are nowhere near October or her new patient. No, Finn is looking at a very, very familiar pair of glasses on the desk, a pair that he hasn’t seen in some time. And a book. He also sees a book. Oh, and Tobi’s instrument - of course.
”Hmm.” A strange response to hear that the nurses are on their way, and he glances up at Artemide as she makes her presence once again known. Clicking his tongue at the owl, he smiles despite himself. ”I believe she knows a lot more than she lets on.” He believes perhaps she is responsible for more than she lets on, too.
”Will the nurses be able to treat him here?” Finn asks, already carefully scooping up the array mbira - and perhaps the book makes it under his arm as well. Curiously enough, he leaves the glasses exactly where they are.
With silent eyes full of starry wisdom, Artemide watches the Spyglass. What he's supposed to do though is entirely veiled within the depths of her penetrating gaze.
"No, they'll bring a stretcher." You mumble, your hand softly patting one of Cian's cheeks to try and rouse some colour back in them, and some life in the man on the carpet. Reaching for his hand, yours slipping easily into it, your fingers go to his wrist and your eyes close as you start to count.
Many feet can be heard on the stairs outside and soon 5 nurses enter the room. They mumble things to one another as they come to your side, and quickly and efficiently you debrief them on what you know. With many hands, they're able to transfer the Eye onto the stretcher and begin the process of carrying him downstairs. "I'm really sorry Finn, but I have to go with them." You mumble apologetically, glancing down at the mbira in the Spyglasses hands with a sad smile. "I can..uh... pick it up from you later? Or if you want to drop it at the clinic..?" But you don't really stay long enough to hear what Finn has to say, pressured to follow the nurses as you are.
And that just leaves Finn and Artemide secure in the knowledge that, for the time being, Cian won't be around to catch them.
”You don’t need to apologise to me. I understand,” Finn tells her with a quiet nod, following her gaze down to the instrument in his hands, and the book hidden beneath it. He watches the nurses crowd in and flood about the Eye, lifting him like a babe onto a stretcher. And he watches as they leave with him too, the Spyglass amazed how much power flees a man when he is no longer in his body to employ it.
When they are left in the silence once more, he tilts his head at Artemide. ”I have a feeling that you have more to do with this than you are letting on,” he informs the owl, before gesturing to the instrument in his arms. ”Next time, please don’t be so rough with something like this.”
And without further comment, Finn leaves. Everything is left exactly as he found it, with the exception of one little book entitled The Plan.
