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!
"Or you'd have gotten snow in it," he remarks, which is true regardless because they're standing around in a blizzard drinking hot chocolate. But it's the thought that counts, obviously, and he passes back the cup with little thought for the mittens that brush against his fingertips. They are forced to walk slowly, and Finn glances down as he realises his legs, soaked through from the previous jaunt through the Celestine, are quite close to what most would consider very uncomfortable by now.
He says nothing though, of course, ignoring the numb toes that will come from this stroll back to the Tower, instead turning his attention to where Tobi is looking, squinting to try and see it better. "Mm, if we aren't careful we might walk straight past it," he remarks; the whole world is hushed and quiet around them, as if they are the only two in Stormbreak right now. "I suppose I could consider a smaller dose, if it's that report on the line," he says with a gentle shrug of his shoulders.
"...Where would you live, if not the Tower?" he asks suddenly.
let me see you through 'cause i've seen the dark side too.
"Oh no, not snow." Tobi laments with a crooked smile. "Well, you're my hero for having rescued it." Now the doctor is joking, but harmlessly so, as she beams at Finn; ever the thoughtful, even when it doesn't matter at all.
'Well, keep your eyes peeled then. Your pants will be frozen solid if we do end up walking in circles." Glancing over her shoulder at Finn and his crown of snowy curls, Tobi chuckles under her breath. "Then you really will be asking me for a ride." She adds teasingly. There is an air of truth to it though; Finn's belly might be warm from the chocolate, but as the snow continues to fall the temperature will as well. Much as Tobi doesn't really want to rush back to the Tower, she also doesn't want this to turn into a medical emergency either.
His question catches her slightly off-guard, but Tobi takes it all in stride. 'If you had asked me that when I was younger, I would have said I wanted to live right on the cliffs.' She replies with a wistful sigh. 'Younger-me thought there was something terribly romantic and broody about living so close to the sea. Watching the sky boats sail in and out." Not so anymore. "Now, I supose...maybe nearer to the Celestine. I actually thought I'd end up working there and tending to the animals, seeing as I'm one of the few attuned around. But...Falke needed the help, and thanks to Cian a spot just.. opened up."
Glancing up at Finn and finding his features harder and harder to pick out as they walked farther away from the well-light plaza, she asks the same of him. "And you? Would you find one of those books in the library that you can literally just disappear into?"
When the night falls on you & you don't know what to do Nothing you confess could make me love you less
"A hero?" Finn actually scoffs to hear that. A hero of hot chocolate is about as good as it gets when it comes to the Spyglass, no matter how much Tobi wants to try to compare him to Ronin Taliesin. His stormy gaze moves down to his pant legs as he realises he's not the only one who's noticed what kind of a state his in, and he tries to stamp a bit of snow off them as they walk (it doesn't work at all, of course). "Well, here is hoping that the entrance to the Tower is as well advertised as I remember," he says, glancing up again so they really don't end up walking in circles.
Honestly, the idea of living somewhere so close to the cliffs is tantamount to a nightmare for Finn, and he can barely keep himself from shuddering at the mere thought of it. Then again, Tobi seems to have been turned off the idea herself, and though her talk about the Celestine is quaint and comforting, it does leave questions in the air. "What made you change your mind?" he wonders, allowing a wry little smile at the thought of a spot just opening up when Cian was involved. Unlikely - he probably had plans for Doctor Hart from the very beginning.
As for Finn? He ponders on her assumptions, but somewhere else has already long claimed his attention. "There is a music shop in the Plaza, that backs onto a small speakeasy with a stage. It has a little apartment just above it, but it has been empty for a long time. I think I'd like to take it over, if I had the chance."
let me see you through 'cause i've seen the dark side too.
"Hero of hot chocolates everywhere." Tobi replies in a sing-song voice, content to imagine Finn with ear-muffs of marshmallows he was given as a thank-you present from beverages saved in the past.
"Well. An offer of employment from the Eye isn't one you can really refuse." The doctor replies, her smile falling away as she shrugs up at Finn. His history isn't an open book by any means, but this part she knows the broad strokes of; slave is only one letter off from save, and Tobi is fairly certain that Cian is well aware of how close they are. 'My parents were so excited for me. And..working for the Order has its perks.." Tobi bites her lip and shrugs. "They couldn't utilize all parts of the Collegium before...and that was right when my mom started to get sick, so.."
So being in the Order was the right thing to do because her parents needed it.
'Oh yeah, I know the one. The owner's daughter helped me re-tune my piano last year.' Tobi hums with a nod. But the picture Finn paints has Tobi falling to a halt in the heavy snowstorm (it's so thick she'll lose sight of Finn if he keeps walking), smiling a joyful, and yet somehow sad smile. She can see it now: Finn, the mysterious owner. You wouldn't think it was him, to see him bustling around. He'd take to the stage on occasion, and he'd be comfortable there. The sound of song and chatter rising up from the floorboards would always put him to sleep.
"That sounds..." Tobi trails off, her smile growing more beautiful and more sad; he'll never have it. Finn will never have that life, and gods it's heartbreaking. "Well, if you ever do take it over, let me know and I"ll tend bar. I've always wanted to pour drinks and come up with snappy one-liners."
When the night falls on you & you don't know what to do Nothing you confess could make me love you less
"No, that it isn't," Finn murmurs in a tone that suggests absolute agreement, though he offers little in response as to his own employment. It's a long and complicated and sad tale, in a long and complicated and sad life. And he isn't sure that this is the time nor the place to go into it, not when his legs are slowly starting to ache with the cold. He doesn't expect, though, for Tobi to give the snippet about her family that she does, the Spyglass glancing up with a ghost of warmth in his stormy eyes. "You must love them very much," he says quietly.
He doesn't notice the way she falls to a halt, not at first, and up ahead he spots the turning for the Tower. Lips part to let her know, only for Finn to find himself alone; he turns, and the smile he directs at her is just slightly tinged with concern. "Are you alright?" he asks, only for Tobi to snap right back into his dream about the music shop. "Oh... yes, I will." He can somehow see the doctor as a chipper bartender; indeed, it's a surprisingly easy image to conjure.
"The Tower is up ahead - we shouldn't get lost, at least."
let me see you through 'cause i've seen the dark side too.
"I do." Tobi agrees, with the sort of whole-hearted warmth that can only come from someone who hasn't had everything taken from them. That sort of infallible love can only step from someone who hasn't experienced the cruelties of the world first hand. Tobi isn't ignorant of how hard the world can be, she sees first hand its violence in all forms, but she's been sheltered from it. And so, her love blooms and blooms.
"Sometimes you say things and they catch me off-guard, that's all." Tobi says with a laugh, shaking her head apologetically as she jogs forward a step or two to retake her place at Finn's side. 'I could come up with punny-names for all the cocktails." The doctor says with a smile. It's a pity the Tower is so close, she thinks. If it was a bit farther she might have tried to get Finn to lend his arm again. "Or signs that say that techinically alcohol is a solution, and other really cringy things like that." The doctor laughs brightly at her own joke, shaking her head in such a way as to cause a flurry of snow to fall from her hair onto her scarf.
A man bustles out of the Tower, not bothering to hold the door open. Within seconds he's swallowed up by the cool night (?) air and snow.
When the night falls on you & you don't know what to do Nothing you confess could make me love you less
"Oh - do I? Sorry," Finn says with a furrowed brow, not quite sure what to make of Tobi's remark. Still, it doesn't seem to bother him a great deal; if there's one thing that the Spyglass is used to, it's accidentally making people uncomfortable just by being himself. Still, there's a smile on his face that speaks of rare comfort, amusement even, at their shared experiences. Yes, Finn can absolutely see Tobi making punny names for cocktails, though he can already see himself barely understanding any of them. Or rather, understanding them but not finding them funny.
Looking ahead once the doctor has caught up with him, he raises his eyebrows at the man in an apparent rush, watching him off into the snow and wondering whether to call out a warning. In the white-out it is nothing short of impossible to get one's bearings. But the man has already disappeared while Finn is contemplating this, and so instead he is merely left to hold the door open for Tobi. "After you. I hope your patients haven't been missing you too badly."
let me see you through 'cause i've seen the dark side too.
Tobi pretends to groan, but there isn't any real emotion behind it. She is a caretaker, through and through. As enjoyable of an evening as she's had with Finn so far, its already gone on longer than she'd expected it to, and she really should get back to work.
And he to bed.
"Just be quiet, remember." Tobi says, opening the door and winking at Finn as she turns. "So we don't wake the sleeping pills when we grab one." She stifles a laugh as if they really do need to be quiet because of the pills. Given the hour they should be mindful of those sleeping though. It's a quick trip to the pharmacy-area, this having become more or a less a routine over the past few days. Finn is given his full dose (he probably shivered off all the alcohol anyway), and instructions from Tobi to take a warm shower or otherwise make sure that his legs are a reasonable temperature before hopping into bed.
"Night Finn. And..thanks again." It isn't her brightest smile of the night, and yet somehow it still shines just like all the others, as she closes the door to her office.
~FINnstahopursocute
When the night falls on you & you don't know what to do Nothing you confess could make me love you less
