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!
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
The girl jumped, oh so agile and prepared. It was electrifying, to spar with such an unexpected adversary, someone who would present a pleasant challenge. Aisha would not let up easy after all, her swipe was quick and hit something there, Siri having not completely avoided the attack.
The girl and her dagger pressed in, aiming for Aisha's softer parts but staggering on the foot that'd been cut. Aisha took that slip up to put herself at a distance again, not wanting the knife anywhere near her body. The hilt knocked her side as she sidestepped, she let out a soft growl at the impact, and in retaliation she brought the pommel of her own blade around to meet with the girl's back as she maneuvered her way behind Aisha.
Just as she thought long steps had led her out of harm’s way the force of Aisha’s blow knocked the air out of her lungs. If Iris wasn’t coughing, she’d be impressed. As it stood, she squinted her suddenly watery eyes to clear away blurry vision. The girl’s blow pushed Iris farther than she’d intended to go, stopping her momentum, weakening the grip on her daggers and putting her just out of range for an effective counterattack.
Staggered and needing to catch her breath, Iris slipped behind the trunk of the tree who’s canopy unwittingly marked the edges of their arena. The warrior was good at keeping the hopeful rogue from getting cocky. She moved like water, flowing from one attack to the next with surprising vigour. And somehow, despite the pain, Iris was having more fun than she’d had in weeks.
What she would give to watch Aisha beat somebody else up - and take some notes.
Iris rolled her shoulders back, as if to work away the stinging pain, wincing as she allowed herself to lean against the tree, if only for moments at a time. Listening intently for the warrior’s footsteps and moving to stay out of sight, she was betrayed by the breaths she’d only begun to steady. If her incessant avoidance provoked Aisha into coming closer and attacking, Iris was geared up to slip around the other side – administering two quick steps and a dual strike. One aimed between her neck and left shoulder blade, hopeful to incapacitate from a new angle, the other aimed at her lower back, just below the ribs.
If the nimble warrior doesn’t come looking round the edges of Iris’ cover, well… she would have to think fast.
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
The leopard at her heart purred, proud of the hit it'd made and the maneuvers she'd chosen. The predator was born to fight, perhaps it had swayed Aisha's path a little, or maybe she'd come to this of no instinctual accord. Whatever the reason for the course, she was glad to be on it; a swordmaster, a warrior, and a good one too.
Siri coughed, and after the satisfaction of knowing she'd made her hit she briefly wondered if she'd gone too far. She let her slip away behind the tree, giving the other space to recover and make a decision. And so wait she did, and wait, and when Siri did not make a reappearance she called, "You good?"
Iris listened, but even as her breaths steadied there would be no approaching footsteps on the damp grass, no steel swinging towards her, no target for her blades.
She didn't respond right away, wondering why Aisha would hesitate. "I'm," fine, was what she was going to say, her breath coming up short and unleashing a dry cough. She emerged from behind the tree trunk, leaning against it with one hand while the other reached behind to feel for the bruise that was going to color her back in the coming days.
"Had enough?", Iris deposited her daggers in their sheaths with a lopsided smirk on her face. Her pride took that hit harder than her back. "Let's never speak of this. And get drunk immediately."
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
The voice that called back to Aisha was breathy, obviously winded. The leopardess hadn’t realized she’d put that much of her strength into the blow, but still she was a bit proud of it. Mostly though she was ready to finish and let the other woman rest, she could use some too.
Siri came from around the trunk, smirk on her lips and daggers poised back in their pouches. Aisha did the same with her blade, burying it in its leather holster for some other battle some other day. For now, the other young woman’s proposition would not go unanswered. She grinned, ran a hand through her mane of curls, and nodded, ”Cheers to that.”
From there it was al good spirits, both literally and figuratively.
