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!
And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful
Sam, having sipped from his tea entirely absent-mindedly, looked up in surprise at the sudden question, wondering what could have spurred it. He looked between himself and Henry, over his own body to make sure he wasn't being crushed by a shelf or something...then finally looked at the teacup and understood. "Oh. No, but I also can't really feel hot or cold. It makes no difference to me." The tea was perhaps a little lukewarm, the lightest touch of something on his lips, but it was hardly hot.
"You know...I always thought there was something out there I was looking for, but..." A wry, sad smile on his lips, Sam looked down and shrugged. "I don't know if it exists. You're still you, wherever you are, after all." Though maybe that was just his experience; he knew that he was particularly neurotic, that no matter where he had gone his issues had followed right behind. "But maybe travelling will help you work out what it is you want."
I was waiting for something extraordinary but as the years wasted on...
Henry nodded, leaning forward in his seat and lifting the cup of tea back up again. There was still steam rolling off of its surface, and he could feel the warmth radiating through the cup into his hand. He could not imagine being unable to feel it. He took a hesitant sip, though he found that it had cooled enough to be at perfect drinking temperature.
"Does that ever get lonely?" he blurted out in a thoughtful tone as he stared into the cup. Lifting his eyes, he was too deep in his wonderings to realize that he was prying or being out of line. Henry could be oblivious to unspoken rules or social etiquette at times, being too bold, too curious, too insensitive, or just a bit too much.
He took note of the sad smile on Samuel's face as he talked about his own, similar experience with looking for something... more. He sat back in his seat again, absorbing the advice in silence. He took another drink from his cup, quietly thrumming his fingers over the surface as he savored the flavors. Once he was done, he let out a soft sight and tilted his head back against the seat, "It's dangerous out there. I could die without ever finding out who exactly I am. Wouldn't that be tragic?" but then he shrugged, "In the end, it'd be worth the risk. I'm not happy in the Grounds, not anymore. My family and friends will understand, or they'll just have to accept it. And so will I. I can't keep wrestling with my heart, it'll drive me insane."
And you understand with every seed you sow you make this cold world beautiful
Sam raised his eyebrows at Henry's sudden personal question, though more out of uncertainty about how to answer it than any offense. Really, of all the things about him, his lack of sensing temperature was really the least to blame for any loneliness. "Not really...being able to feel less than the average person sounds awful when you say it, but I've been Ascended for so long now I hardly notice. For a while, I regained most of my smell, taste and pain...it was good, in some ways, but bad in others." He shrugged. Truthfully, the worst thing about being Ascended when it came to closeness with others was the lack of sexual pleasure, but that was not something he wanted to tell Henry about.
It seemed that Henry came to something of a conclusion after he'd spoken, though his readiness to accept his potential death was a little concerning. "If you've survived in the Grounds, through our Longnights...I think you'll be fine. There's little out there that's worse, so." In Sam's experience, the Longnight monsters had been the worst foes he'd faced, as far as beasts went. "So you will explore then?"
12-02-2020, 02:54 PM (This post was last modified: 12-02-2020, 02:58 PM by Henry.)
HENRY
I was waiting for something extraordinary but as the years wasted on...
Henry only realized he might've been out of line when he saw the look of hesitance on Samuel's face. But he let the question suspend between them without taking it back, giving Sam the chance to speak for himself. If it was too personal, he could've just said so and Henry would know better than to ask him things that were a little too much. But instead, the man answered his question with a very interesting explanation, making Henry wonder if his experience as an Ascended was something he might like to talk about. Henry took another hungry sip of the tea.
"That's an interesting take. I can see how it could be beneficial," he licked the flavor that clung to his lips, "like going to the Climb isn't as hard on you. I probably couldn't take the heat," he let out a soft snort in amusement, "and it's probably good that you can't tell how I smell right now." A long day of staying in constant motion didn't exactly do any favors for his body odor.
Henry blinked. "Yeah, I guess it's just kinda dangerous everywhere you go. There's always that risk that today could be your last," he raised his brows at the thought, as if to wonder how he'd feel if today really was his last. The word 'unfulfilled' came to mind; a life wasted by not doing everything. So that was it, then. He eyed Samuel at the question, ready for it, and a soft smile tugged at one corner of his lips, "Yeah. I think I will. 'Adventure lies ahead', Samuel, 'without it, I'd rather be dead'!"
