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!
Finn appears in the Tower trying to juggle... everything. His coat is unbuttoned, he carries a jumble of files under one arm and his briefcase in the other hand (the tail end of a scarf trails out of said briefcase) and he's trying to tuck his compass back into an inner pocket. Fixing his glasses where they've come askew on his nose, he spends a second or two adjusting things so he might walk properly.
The last bit of information he needs is for the jungles bordering Torchline. And between all those who went exploring, two of them live in Stormbreak now, so it makes sense to do the research here. First, though - he needs to drop everything to his rooms, coat included. The Tower is comparatively stifling compared to the chill of Halo. And so, fully intending to head up to his apartment, Finn starts to head down the halls.
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
Amalia has found an alcove in the Tower, down what seems to be a little-used hall, in which she sits and sews. It's not too far from the quarters she's been given, but far enough that she has some faith she won't be easily found. It isn't that she wants to shirk her newfound duties; the Shield simply needs a moment to be with her own thoughts.
It's been a long time since she sat down with needle and thread, and the skills she was once mildly adept with have degraded in that span. But the pattern she's following is one she knows well, a simple puppet of black silk that she learned to make as a girl. It's soothing, really, to fall back into such an old habit, tapping memories of familiar times in this unfamiliar place.
She's humming a melody to herself when the man draws near, too focused on her work and her song to notice the approach. Her back is pressed against the wall, feet tucked up on the bench, hair pulled back in a long gold plait that nearly reaches her waist. When she finally looks up it is almost like a startled deer, the expression immediately warming as she recognizes the figure. "Finn?" Amalia exclaims as the song dies, putting down her puppet and rising to her feet. "You- I- How are you?"
11-16-2020, 06:57 PM (This post was last modified: 11-16-2020, 07:25 PM by Finn.)
sleep doesn't help if it's your soul that's tired
Finn hasn't noticed Amalia, but he knows she's around. It's an aura he has learned to recognise, even prior to her ascension to status as demigod. He's trying to track where she might be (though whether that's so he can seek her out or avoid her is something that's unclear) when the familiar voice rings out. Startled as well, his tired eyes drag from the stone floors up to her face, and a second or two later (just long enough to be noticeable), he smiles back.
"Hello, Amalia," he says, his voice still hoarse from Halo's chill. "I was hoping I might run into you." That answers that, at least. "How are you finding Stormbreak? I had heard you were called here be the gods. I'm sorry if it displaced you from Torchline."
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
She does notice the way he takes a moment to answer, the belated smile, the tired eyes- it reminds her of the man she met half-asleep on a beach, rather than the passionate rebel who came to her with a book of secrets. But where Finn has faded Amalia has bloomed, the flush of purpose soothing some of her innate weariness and insecurity, despite her lingering doubts.
"Me too," the girl answers easily, a gentle smile crossing her face. "Do you need help carrying things?" She glances at the things he holds, coats and books and whatever else. Looking up again at his apology, Amalia merely shrugs. "Torchline was never really home. And I can do more good from here."
"Mm...?" Finn has quite forgotten that he's holding anything, and his gaze lands on her only briefly. Amalia is quite literally too much to look at through his spectacles, all shimmers of gold and ivory, bursts of opalescent light shining out of her like tiny, jewelled fractals. "Oh...! No, I can manage. Thank you." Indeed, he's already putting down the briefcase so he can juggle the paperwork he holds, thumbing through it until he can find the file he's looking for.
There's a flickering smile on his face to hear that she's at home in Stormbreak - she's already more suited for it than he is. "I'm glad to hear it," he says, slipping a pencil from his pocket and slipping it behind his ear so it threads through his unruly curls. "Speaking of the good you might do, would you mind if I asked you about the jungles you explored? I've been tasked to research the storms."
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
She watches as he shuffles through his things, the urge to help itching at her fingertips. Instead she busies her hands with the long end of her braid, running fingers idly through it as she waits for him to extract whatever it is he seeks. When he emerges holding papers and a pencil Amalia raises a brow; "Is this a test? I didn't study," she teases lightly, her smile belying the very real anxiety she feels.
Ah, but he wants to know about the jungle she explored with Remi and Ronin. A much easier question than she might have feared; exhaling slightly Amalia nods, mischief still bright in her eyes. "Sure- but. For the questions I answer, you have to answer one for me." Quickly she raises up a hand, to try to pause protests before she can clarify. "Nothing serious. And you don't- you don't have to. I just... there's a lot I still don't know."
"A test?" he repeats, sounding a little confused and glancing up at her, before realising she's... joking? Or not? Blinking past it, Finn simply flicks through the file until he reaches a blank page so he might jot down notes to expand into a proper report later. Taking the pencil from behind his ear, Finn is already neatly printing out a heading when Amalia speaks again, and he raises his eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh... uh, okay?" he says slowly, not expecting it to be turned back on himself. Slowly, he moves to sit on the briefcase, and it proves more than sturdy enough to hold his weight. "Go ahead, Amalia." He feels as though her question might be a little more personal, and he's inclined to get it out of the way sooner rather than later.
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
He sits on the briefcase and she sits on the bench, feet on the ground this time. Chewing thoughtfully on her lip, Amalia looks Finn over for a moment, not aware she's staring or that her expression has taken on a cast of curiosity. Dark eyes go from the coats to the briefcase, the papers, the pencil, the curls that frame a face she still half-sees as Remi. Honestly she's surprised he's accepted, and now that she has to come up with a question she isn't sure what where to begin.
"Why are you called the Spyglass?" Her head has taken on a feline tilt, the edge of her mouth curled up. It's something she's been wondering since she learned about the title; it isn't the one she would have expected for him, though she couldn't say what is. "Okay. Your turn."
Honestly, he actually expects something a little more awkward, Finn tilting his head at her without quite meeting her gaze. Amalia is near blinding to look at, and his fingers stray to the glasses, to take them off. He seems dazed as he folds them away, the dark shadows beneath his eyes more stark for the lack of spectacles. "The Spyglass is my title - my role, as part of the Order," he explains. "I'm the head of research, for all intents and purposes."
Glancing back down at his research notes, he nods as she advises he can ask his question. "Do you know who has explored the jungles beyond Torchline, other than yourself and the Taliesins?" He furrows his brow, wondering if any Ascended have been a part of it.
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
She bites her tongue as another question rises immediately, nodding slowly and tucking away the answer that he gives. Research, something he mentioned before, and something she doubts she would have the patience to do. It seems like such a dull and incongruous job, so why does Finn always look so tired, dark circles starker for the removed glasses?
It's her turn at bat, and Amalia leans back, humming low in thought. "Um... they went before, with Phoebe - Phoebe Steadman - and a local man. Zeph?" She's not entirely sure of the name. "It sounds like others have gone in before, but most didn't make it out."
Her head tilts again as the ball enters her court. "What's your favorite place in Stormbreak?"
Finn writes quickly and precisely, his neat script seemingly at odds for a researcher expected to be able to jot things down without hesitation. He manages it nonetheless, writing down the names or parts of names and seeming pleasantly surprised to hear that Phoebe is involved. "Do you know whether the local man was Ascended or not?" he asks automatically, before a wry smile flickers across his face. "I suppose that is my next question for you. Apologies."
But then they are onto the more personal questions (it didn't take long), and Finn clears his throat, pencil tapping gently against the paper. "My apartments," he says quietly. "That is my favourite place in Stormbreak. A door to close against the world, should I need it." And he does - often.
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
"Cheater," she teases gently as he breaks the rules, mirroring his smile with one of her own. "It's okay. I don't know, though I don't think so- there aren't a lot of Ascended in Torchline, and none natural-born, as far as I'm aware." It would be an odd place for anyone to Ascend, for sure, given the bright and relentless sun.
She hadn't meant for the question to be so personal, more interested in advice on where to visit now that she is here. But the answer he gives is a surprising glimpse into the guarded man, and Amalia finds herself nodding, her eyes drifting down to her hands in her lap as a sad smile curls over her own face. "Somewhere free from responsibility and expectations," the Shield agrees softly. "Where you don't have to wonder if you're doing the right thing- you can just be you." It's clear she isn't actually talking about him anymore.
She comes back to herself abruptly, blinking and raising up her head, a flush settling over her sharp cheeks. "Ah- sorry. My turn. Um. What, uh- where are your apartments?" she asks automatically, scrambling to think of anything else.
He raises a hand in extra apology, making sure to keep quiet as she explains about the man - Zeph. No Ascended, then. All in all, very little indication that the Voice is involved with the reduction in the storms' intensity. He isn't sure what to say in response to her remarks, knowing them to be far too personal to be conjecture about him, so Finn merely focuses on his notes until she pipes up with a new question for him. And when he does, stormy eyes flick up rather abruptly, like she's caught him in something.
Considering his reply as if wondering whether he's going to get murdered (or worse, knocks at his door), he eventually concedes. "At the top of the Tower. It's an attic room," he explains, itching at the scruff on his chin (he needs to shave and it shows). "Uh... what did you find, in the jungle?"
we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are
"Must be a beautiful view," she muses somewhat wistfully, fully missing whatever wariness might have been in Finn's stormy eyes. "I bet you can see the whole city. It's so big." Her eyes are distant, looking at an imagined world in the distance down the hall. There's so much in Stormbreak she doesn't yet know, so much she wants to see.
Focusing back on the Spyglass, Amalia pushes a lock of hair back behind her ear. "There were creatures like small winged lizards, and vines that tried to grab us and pull us into the trees," the Shield recalls, holding out her hand and letting a small hardlight construct in the shape of the treeflits appear within. "Remi and Ronin said there was a tiger covered in fire, the first time they went. When we made it through to the end of the jungle we found a waterfall, and {insert whatever else they found here}." She offers the treeflit for Finn to look at, sorry she doesn't have a better story to tell.
