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!
11-04-2020, 01:57 AM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2020, 01:57 AM by Delta.)
Delta
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
Delta was curse free, it was a new season, and life was FANTASTIC.
No sarcasm, for once.
She was enjoying her life, sprawled out on a rock with her tail and gills covered by the water that gently lapped at the hard surface. The rest of her body was free to feel the fresh air, her head turned upward and sunglasses placed on her face. The sunglasses came from Jack, of course, a fantastic gift in exchange for his compass.
It really was a fantastic thing as she could simply enjoy herself, her tail fanning out and showing off all the frills.
Nearly a few feet away lay the dock, jutting out, and ever so slightly shading her. Today was nice and nothing would stop that.
Finn remembers another morning like this, once upon a time in FlowerBirth. All that's missing is the soft rain and the company, but the rest is largely the same. He sits at the edge of the empty dock with breakfast in hand in the form of a few soft slices of bread and some preservatives, the Spyglass watching the waves come rolling in, his feet dangling over the side. A brave thing, for him, given his aversion to large bodies of water or getting in (literally) over his head.
But perhaps he's becoming more reckless, since leaving StormBreak a second time, and so he nibbles at his breakfast and feels the heat of the sun beat down upon him as he gazes around. His eyes catch upon a rock nearby, and at a first glance it looks as though a woman has washed up from the water. Almost inhaling his bread, Finn coughs a bit and sits up to attention. "Are you alright out there?" he calls, his voice ringing through the air.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
Eyes open and Delta slowly lifts her head up before glancing around. Squinting her eyes, she tries to shield her eyes from the sun. "Hello?" Was the... voice talking to her? He sounded concerned- this wouldn't be the first time someone mistook for her a drowned moutbreather.
Taking note of what happened last time, she tried to find the human. "No- No I'm okay." Then she saw a human. Staring at him, she tilted her head. "Are you the one who called to me?" He had a familiar face, but something was off about it and she just couldn't place why. It was uncanny, for sure. "Who are you?" It was forward, but she had to know why this human looked so familiar.
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
The sound of her voice, comparatively calm in all the prickling panic he's feeling, does a lot to calm Finn's frayed nerves. She certainly doesn't seem to be drowning, the Spyglass relaxing by degrees and placing down his half eaten slice of bread onto the cloth he's spread out to keep it on. Then, on second thought, he tosses it out to sea where a hel swoops down to grab it. Easier to give it away than to have it stolen, he thinks.
"Good," he calls back, surprised by the follow-up questions and instantly regretting the opening to be social. But then what if she had been drowning? His conscience berates him enough that he's willing to re-engage. "Yes, I was," he tells her. "I thought you might be in some trouble out there. My name is Finn, what's yours?"
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
The man relaxes and Delta relaxes too- but for a different reason.
He is calm and that's all she ever needed. It's a sign that hopefully, they would be able to move on past the little blunder.
A small smile, and Delta nods. "I'm Delta!" Fluttering her tail a small bit, she lets out a small laugh. "I guess I'm the first-ever mermaid you've met, right? Didn't mean to scare ya like that- I've done it before." It's kind of hard to really not scare people when you look like a normal human on top and are in the ocean. It always looks like you're drowning!
"I try to not ya know, do that. It's just hard since my tail isn't always obvious."
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
"Mer...what? ...Oh! Oh." Finn's eyes widen as he takes another look out at the rock where the woman splashes her... tail. Finn is suddenly on his feet on the dock, peering out at her with more intensity now. "It... it wasn't the being a mermaid that scared me," he assures her with a wobbly sort of smile. "I thought you were in trouble in the water, but I suppose being a mermaid, that's not really an issue..."
Smoothing out his jacket, he doesn't really know what to do next, given that there's no way in any realm that he's going into the water. "I'm sorry for interrupting you," he calls, the strange distance between them making it a bizarre exchange to say the least. "What were you doing out there anyway?"
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
His realization earns a small giggle from Delta. Clearly, someone was amused by it.
It was always funny to see the reactions from legwalkers and honestly, Delta was happy that she was his first impression. Some merfolk weren't as welcoming as others... then again, maybe her father would be a much better first impression but oh well. "Well, I guess you're happy to know I'm perfectly okay then, right? I mean... at least I'm not stuck on land." There's another giggle, clearly an attempt at a joke. A beached mermaid would be a real problem.
The man offers his apologies and Delta waves a simple hand in the air before moving on to answer his question. "It's all good, you didn't interrupt me at all." A light shrug before continuing on. "I'm just trying to you know, enjoy myself I guess? I don't know honestly. Kinda just came out here with an open mind and I was waiting for something fun to happen and hey, you're here so it worked." Really, he actually helped her out a ton. Yeah, sunbathing can be fun and all, but this is way more interesting!
"What about you? What brings you out here?"
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
Finn tries on a smile as she speaks about not being stuck, before realising that she's probably a little too far out to see it. "I'd probably not be the best person to help, if you were stuck out there," he says instead, not that it will make a particularly great impression. It's true, though. If Delta were in trouble or - gods forbid - drowning, Finn would be the last person in the world able to help her out.
It's an odd thing, too, to be referred to as someone's version of fun, and he lets out an awkward laugh and shakes his head. "Well, I'm glad to have provided some amusement," he says. "Me...? I'm a researcher. I was just taking in the sea for a bit with some breakfast before getting to work."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
There is a faint shrug. "That's fine- I mean, I couldn't exactly help you should something happen, yeah? It sucks but I'm used to it." It's something she had to live with: the idea that humans wouldn't always be able to save her and she couldn't do the same for them. It sucked but it was life. She was made this way by the gods and just had to live with it and accept it.
Her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates when he mentions his job. "A researcher?!" Someone was very clearly extremely excited. Because... a researcher! Oh Goodness!!! While normally she'd be excited about a human eating a human breakfast, this was far better! "What kind of stuff do you research? I would love to be a researcher myself- it's so cool." Sadly, she isn't smart enough nor is she really capable of being one.
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
"Mm, I suppose that's true," Finn says, itching at the scruff on his chin. "Then again, if you were stuck on land, I might be able to help you." Another smile, this one a little easier. Perhaps it's because Delta is so far out to sea that he can relax a bit, despite the water; she's too far for any unexpected contact, and if things do get very awkward, he can always walk away. Not that it would be polite, but still.
Then, of course, it comes to his work, and he's surprised by the level of her excitement - that much is obvious by the way Finn hesitates between taking a step forward and a step back. Eventually he settles on doing nothing at all, the Spyglass grinning out at the mermaid. "Well, I research demigods right now," he says slowly. "But I've researched the lands in Caido and the races, and... anything at all." He shrugs. "What do you do?"
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
A light shrug and Delta can see where he comes from. "Thank goodness for that- you should've seen me a season ago. I was cursed and had to turn into a massive shark. It was uh... pretty hard to get unstuck from land." Delta is clearly comfortable speaking about the worse aspects of her life, a very open person in that aspect. There were small parts of her life she'd rather keep a secret, but these parts formed an open book.
Finn turned out to be a super exciting person! Oh! Studying Demi-Gods! It isn't something that Delta is obsessed with, but they truly are fascinating! "I've met some demi-gods! Maybe we've met the same ones?" Demi-Gods were pretty rare, so that was likely the case, but it'd give them something to talk about.
"I'm an Explorer! I love finding items and stuff! Being in the ocean means that people lose a lot of stuff and it's so fun to see what I can find! I also love to just learn about different places and see different things. There's only so much in the ocean and I just love to try and learn new things."
The mermaid rambled on, but it was pure. She had a grin on her face and was clearly extremely excited and happy. Never did she get the opportunity to truly talk about her passions- it just never came up.
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
Finn can do little more than blink as she mentions being turned into a 'massive shark', the Spyglass wanting to question it but feeling like her answer will only spawn further questions. He'd likely laugh, too, if he knew she found him exciting (not a word he would typically associcate with himself). Still, the fact that they have both met demi-gods is intriguing, his eyebrows raising a bit. "How did you manage that?" he asks, gesturing to the water around her. "I imagine they were all from Torchline?"
The Taliesins, most likely. Finn suppresses a shudder.
Her enthusiasm is catching, and he stands at the edge of the pier with his hands in his pockets, a sea breeze ruffling his curls. "Perhaps I ought to move my research onto Merfolk," he suggests, uncharacteristic playfulness lacing his tone. "I imagine there's a lot to learn beneath the waves. What's the most interesting thing you've found?"
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
See the light as it shines on the sea? It's blinding But no one knows, how deep it goes
There is the start of a nod before Delta pauses. "Well- I think? I cant remember where he was from- his name is Ronin! He was super super nice and he was with her daughter! She was so fun! And she was cute and she liked that I was a mermaid!" Then Delta's smile begins to falter. "I haven't seen them after... I hope they're okay. Have you met Ronin? Is he doing okay? It's hard for me to learn a lot about information outside of Torchline without hearing it from a human first." Delta's choice of words showed that she did view humans as separate creatures- not a part of her kind, but it wasn't in a negative way.
Eyes widen and Delta nods. "That'd be great! I'm always here to answer questions! Except when I'm doing business... but otherwise I'm very much free! I'd love to hear more from you and I can tell you more about myself and my kind! It can be a nice little story session! A trade!" Oh! That'd be so lovely!
"Ooo! Ooo! Let me think." A light hum and Delta tilts her head to the side, clasping her hands together under the water. "Well- it isn't much of a find... but a man dropped a compass! And then he gave me a really really cool pair of glasses in exchange! I've also found a little triangle thing. I still don't know what it does but it's really pretty and small." Delta was fascinated by the fun and weird things, often things she didn't understand the purpose of.
"Do you want to get closer? And see my tail?"
And it seems like it's calling out to me, so come find me And let me know, what's beyond that line, will I cross that line?
