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!
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
'Oh did that hurt? Good thing you've got a doctor with you.'
You, having never been stealthy in your entire life, are oblivious to the fact that lighting Ronin up might have consequences. "Mmmm—ah!" You croak, gripping onto Ronin for dear life as he utterly skips over go slow opting for go now instead. Bunched up in his arms, your forehead buried in the thick folds of his scarf, as he sets you down, you cling to him still as if expecting your feet to give way at any moment.
It's only as he asks you a question that you let go, blushing and stepping back. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you openly gape at the Star as he potters about. "Shouldn't you know?" You hiss, hunkering down slightly as if expecting to be caught at any moment. "How are you going to fly this thing if you don't even know how it works?"
You have no idea how you're going to explain it to Falke, when he inevitably has to come and bail you of jail. But no sooner has your adrenaline all but spiked, making you feel as though you could run a mile, you're...off. Sailing. And it's fine. It's all fine.
"Shouldn't you know?" Ronin counters with boyish glee, the fact that he has no idea what keeps the boats in the air seeming secondary to flying in one. And as they drift lazily off into the Falling, it doesn't take long for the wind to catch the sails, and Ronin stumbles a bit with the speed they suddenly pick up. "Sweet Safrin," he breathes as the full majesty of the Falling and the stars pans out around them.
The initial gust of wind lowers to a more lazy pace, leaving them suspended on nothing, flying, and Ronin absently reaches up as if he might caress the heavens, leaning against the side of the ship before realising he ought to take the helm. "Do you want to steer with me?" he asks Tobi, offering her his hand so they can walk to the wheel.
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
For a moment you think it's a real question, and your mouth opens and closes as if you were some fish gasping for breath. When it becomes clear that Ronin is just being a shit, you punch him in the arm for his troubles before holding tightly onto something lest you...fall off, or be swept away, or whatever else might happen as they race away from the docks.
You're eyes are focused on something in the distance, trying very hard not to look down. You look like someone trying to keep from throwing up, so awkward is your posture and so high is your chin. But what of it? As the ship begins to bob (float? fly? glide?) at a more leisurely pace, you're finally able to unclench your jaw and release a shaky breath.
'Wh-!" You reach for Ronin's hand automatically, despite the look of horror on your face. "You're supposed to be doing the thing!" You point out, unhelpfully. With a scolding looking that fails to be authoritative, you reach up to pivot Ronin's shoulders that you might give him a playful shove toward the wheel. "Just because I can't make jokes about your wood, doesn't mean you shouldn't have a firm grasp of it."
"Gods, Tobi. I didn't realise you were such a stick in the mud." Ronin says, pure delight in his tone even as he's punched and ushered towards the wheel. He goes dutifully, of course, taking the helm and letting them list down a bit, curving around the cliffs so they might see the ocean glittering in the moonlight. "This reminds me of when I was put in the stars," he admits with a soft smile, the breeze ruffling his hair and filling the sails again.
Ronin falls quiet for a few moments, basking in it, before his gaze finally returns to the doctor. "How are you holding up?" he asks softly, seeming a bit more grounded now that the initial adrenaline is fading. "Have you ever been on one of these before?"
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
"You don't know a thing about me." You point out, grinning at Ronin's shoulders as he's shoved toward the wheel. The path he's on though is starting to set your teeth on edge, so close as you are to the cliffs. "Maybe...the open sea? Who wants to see cliffs, anyway." You suggest, not entirely trying to hide the nervous edge your voice has taken on.
'I...literally can't imagine.' Awe-fully said, looking at Ronin know, all bone and muscle and eyebrows, you wonder if there was something in your exams you'd missed. A little piece of starlight, of the sky, inside of him. But maybe there is, with how effortlessly his blue eyes seem to hold a light all their own.
Combing your long fingers through your hair and thinking you absolutely should have tied it up, your let your shoulders rise toward your ears before sighing away the tension building through you. "I'm okay. I could do with some wine right about now. " You grin crookedly, all white teeth and nervousness. "And no, never. I wasn't exaggerating when I said I spent nearly all my time in the clinic. I...really don't get out much." You add with a good-natured wince. "I guess this is all par for the course for you though, huh? Impromptu adventures? Sailing through the sky?"
"You're right, I don't. But I'm learning." Ronin winks at her over the wheel; for instance, he takes note of the suggestion that isn't one, and spins the wheel to direct them out over the shining ocean rather than the craggy cliffs and their moody drops into oblivion. "Well... imagine or not, this is about as close as it gets," he murmurs honestly, letting the breeze fill him up, reaching up fingers like he might touch the stars above.
Grumbling his good natured agreement about the wine, he nods at the little cabin at the back of the boat. "Maybe there's some in there," he suggests. "I can even call down my nimbus if that would make you feel better. Something for you to hold onto, though I swear I'll do my best to keep our course smooth." He winks.
It's nice to get out, especially given that it doesn't sound like Tobi gets much of an opportunity, and Ronin flashes her a good natured smirk. "I did offer my dreams," he points out, before his expression grows somewhat wistful. "Actually, no," he admits. "It was going to be. We were going to travel, go on adventures, see the world, when the gods called us all to what I realise now was the Celestine. Now I'm just... I'm collecting these memories up, so I can show them to Remi and Mateo."
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
It might be strange that you feel all the more comfortable away from shore, but you do. Should things take a turn for the worst, out here, you imagine it would be easy for Ronin to swoop you up and away from danger (he has once tonight already, sort of). Rolling your eyes at the Star's antics, you edge a little closer, glancing over at the wheel as if it's some vastly complicated device. "So...that's all there is to it?" You ask through skeptically narrowed lashes.
Grumbling and folding your arms over your chest (only to immediately release them, it not helping your balance at all), you shake your head. "I don't know if you know this, but I tend not to sleep with my patients. Especially when they're still sedated and I'm supposed to be monitoring them." You grin. "There, that's another thing you know about me." Expression softening substantially to hear Ronin talk about his husband and his son, you offer him a small smile as you incline your head toward the cabin and the possibility of wwine.
'Who needs to hold on, when you can—" shift. But you don't need to say it, as you've already shrunk down, only four legs which have much more balance than you otherwise would. With your tongue lolling from your mouth, you dart away to the small cabin. It takes only a moment for you to paw open the door (you don't have thumbs that's true, but you've a lot more sense than a normal canine, and so you manage just fine). Without hands though, the best you can do (after knocking a few things off of a shelf), is to grab a dusty bottle between your teeth. Sorry, glasses not included.
Shifting back, crouched by the wheel, you reach up to steady your hand on something. That something just happens to be one of the rungs of the wheel, which you pull sharply toward yourself.
"Oh, gods no. I mean, probably not. I know how to work a ship, but I have no idea what's powering this thing, or keeping it in the air." Ronin shrugs, as if not particularly bothered by this turn of events. They're still flying right now, aren't they? Still, the Star lets out an exaggerated groan at Tobi's repeated insistence on not going dream-walking with him. How boring. Know what isn't boring, though? When she shifts into a giant, fluffy dog and Ronin is no longer drunk and punctured by a spear.
Now able to fully appreciate the canine, he grins to see her return with the wine, nodding his approval. What he doesn't expect or approve of, though, is her decision to grab at the wheel. "Whoa--!" He calls out sharply as the ship is yanked to one side, sending them careening back towards the cliffs. A sharp gust of wind snatches them, and suddenly it's a fight not to wreck the ship against the crags and sharp points.
"NOT a good idea!" he tells Tobi, fighting to get the wheel back under control and hissing out a curse as one of the sails is snagged by a rocky overhang.
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
"I just meant in terms of steering." You correct, glancing down at the wheel that stands between you and this captain (pilot?). It seems....so very simple, that all it takes is a varying degree of movement to move the big ship. You'll come to realize just how true this is soon enough.
Thrown over backwards, your feet rising over your head in a weightless moment of limbs and gracelessness, you're slammed against the side of the ship as Ronin fights to get her back under control. The bottle of wine you'd been holding is out for vengeance apparently, hitting you in the face and bloodying your lip in the process. The Star is shouting something your way, but you're far too discombobulated and filled with fear to hear him. Grabbing onto the first thing you see (a stool, not very helpful), you brace yourself for the worst.
It's a suddenly very dangerous situation, and Ronin's senses all become razor sharp. He breaks away from himself, his astral projection rushing across the deck to help Tobi up, even while he continues to try and steer them back away from the cliffs. The sail tears and hangs uselessly, Ronin hissing out a curse as he realises they've no way to catch a breeze now, but it could be worse. (A lot worse). "Hang on!" he calls to Tobi, the Star whistling up towards the clouds to summon down his nimbus - just in case.
They scrape along the side of the cliffs, leaving a nasty mark on the ship's pale hull, but Ronin does manage to wrangle them into the open air again - just about. "Are you alright?" his projection asks Tobi, having tried to peel the stool out of her fingertips so he can bolster them against the side of the ship instead.
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
This is all too new to you for you to piece it together fast enough, and so as Ronin nears, you instinctively point back toward the wheel expecting it to be unmaned. "But you need to—" steer the ship dying on your bloody lip as you let go of the stool in favour of the Star.
Swallowing hard, cheeks flushed and your hair a torrent of darkness around your shoulders, you raise a fingertip to your lip, wince, and watch as it comes away with blood. 'That wine better be bloody good.' You look toward Ronin a beat late, having just caught your own unintentional pun. "Hah. Get it?"
Having no idea just how bad the damage to the ship is (it flies, does it really need a sail? You don't know), you turn back to Ronin's projection with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I...just grabbed the first thing I saw. I wasn't thinking. Normally I'm the one who gets asked this...but how bad is it?" You ask of the ship. Your face. This adventure.
"Are you sure you didn't bang your head instead of your lip?" Ronin's projection grins to her, though it doesn't really hide the worry on his face as he reaches out to tilt her chin up that he might examine it by the light of the moon and his own fracturing starlight. Whilst he makes sure she's alright and scoffs at her pun, the real deal gets them back on course, listing around so they might limp back to the skyport.
Once he's settled Tobi on his nimbus (he doesn't ask, merely pushing on her shoulders to persuade her to sit), the projection goes to inspect the damage. A nasty but thankfully only aesthetic scrape along the hull, and a torn sail. "It could have been a lot worse," he says, ruffling a hand back through his hair. "Enough excitement for one night though, don't you think?"
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
"Long way from my heart. I think I'll live." You chuckle dryly. "See? I knew it would be a good idea to have a doctor on this adventure." But as he pushes your shoulder onto his nimbus (your limps spreading out like a frightened cat), you feel very much the patient in this situation and not the doctor. It isn't only because you're the one who was injured, but because you feel so entirely out of control in a way you rarely experience in the clinic.
"I'm so sorry. I really wasn't thinking." Trying to find a way to hold onto the nimbus (how is one meant to grip a cloud?), you eventually sit with your legs crossed, and the balled-up cuff of your sweater pressed against your lip. "I'll speak with Gus about this in the morning." Gus, presumably, being the boat-master. In a world where money didn't exist and favours were everything, you knew well what this little stunt was going to cost you.
"A very good idea, as it turns out." Ronin grins, his projection fading away to leave him alone at the helm of the ship, steering them carefully back towards the port. "Do you want me to do anything about your lip? Far be it for him to try and upstage an actual medic, but Ronin just can't help helping. At his core, that's who he is. So as Tobi talks about Gus (whoever that was, but the Star can make a good guess), he shakes his head good naturedly.
"We'll speak to him together. I can help fix this, however Gus thinks is best. It was my idea, after all." Tobi had merely been dragged - quite literally - along for the ride, and Ronin smiles to her as the docks come back into view. "No need to apologise - we lived, and no lasting harm was done, right?" He shrugs.
TALIESIN
they said it's all been done
but they haven't seen the best of me
