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!
The list of things that Isla still doesn't know is as long as her arm and then some. (And honestly, it excites her more than it frustrates her, given her love of knowledge). Even so, she is quite certain that a tree like this does not belong in a climate like Torchline. People are gathered in Haulani under the lights, though the square is emptier than it might otherwise be. It is that dead, late time of night where things go quiet. Witching hours, they call times like these.
Either way, the sapling is a funny little thing, quivering when one brushes a hand over its needles, and it looks more as though it belongs in a snow scene than in the middle of an island. Isla is crouched before it, and there's a reflective glint in her eyes that suggests something other is going on. Indeed, her bio-upgrade is at work, trying to see into the sapling, to figure out what's inside it. Does it have bones? Does it run hot or cold?
So many questions.
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
Haulani is one of those places that doesn’t really go quiet, and that buzz of life in the city fuels Nate, as he takes his longest night time sojourn in weeks. Maybe more, but he's not really willing to devote any more focus to the thought than he needs to, and he doesn’t need to give it anything.
Normally, Nate doesn’t spare a second glance to the types of crazies that exist in the streets, anything more than the slightest brush of concern burnt out of him, and he would be content to point that same shield in the direction of the woman crouching by a tree, if not for two things. One, he knows a fucking pine tree when he sees one, and he should not be seeing one here, and two, there’s a shine in the woman’s eyes that’s just familiar enough to have his steps veering.
”You looking for something specific, or just looking?” His voice is leagues louder than his footsteps had been, Nate bent in half to hover somewhere around Isla’s ear, his focus split between the tree and the woman.
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
"I am looking to see if this is really a plant, or if it is something else entirely." Isla speaks as though it doesn't matter that it's an apparent stranger who has asked the question. The proximity doesn't bother her either, evidently - such is the way of the seeker of knowledge consumed by an interest. "Look at this." Reaching out, she tickles at one of the branches of the sapling, making it quiver and dance under her touch.
"From my analysis, it is most definitely a plant. But it still does not explain the behaviour," she says, utterly enthralled by it. "Magic, I suppose. I do miss when things could not be dismissed so easily by magic." Glancing up, the glint fades from pebble blue eyes as she finally takes in the man before her, barely a breath away.
"Hello, Nate," she says brightly.
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
At first, Nate just hums, nods, in the kind of distant way he'd learned at school, interested but in the dark. And in the same vein, he turns to stare at the tree as she reaches out, as it jumps at her touch. "Do you think it's dangerous?" Not that the answer seems to really concern him, his own hand reaching out after hers to stroke at needles, squeezing a few of them between his fingers to release a sharper piney smell.
Definitely a plant. That's somehow reassuring, even if it doesn't exactly help with anything. "I don't think it was here last time I passed through this part of town." At least, not this big, not this active. A snort leaves him at the complaint, it was as if she'd taken the words out of his mouth. "It's still worth looking into, even if it is magic. Everything is." It was a crutch of an explanation, as far as he was concerned, but it was one he was guilty of leaning on when it was easiest.
Nate is far too experienced to let surprise colour his features, but his eyes flick over Isla's face once, twice. He doesn't know who she is, regardless of the edge of familiarity that she teeters on. "Hello." He returns, leaning back just a touch. "Have we met?"
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
Isla hums out a note of probably not in response to Nate's question, and her point is only proven as he reaches out to instantly prod at the sapling as well. "It is almost child-like," she remarks. "And you are absolutely right. I could not have put it better myself." But it's forgotten for at least the time being, especially with their sudden and unexpected (re)introduction, and as Nate leans back, Isla gives him the professional courtesy of space.
"Yes and no," she explains quietly. "A series of very strange events caused me to die at Longnight in the Hollowed Grounds a long time ago. Remi Taliesin brought me back as a unicorn. I was his companion for a while, before that, too, ended. I recently passed back into Caido thanks to the Voice and her actions at the Festival of Lights." It's an explanation that's a mouthful and then some, but how else does she explain it?
"I came to Torchline to look for you, believe it or not. I found your husband instead - he showed me to your clinic."
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
A poker face might come naturally to Nate, but even he can’t fully hide the ballet of expression that dances across his features as the quiet explanation sets in. By the end of it, his brows are stitched firmly together, and there’s a pinched frown on his face, but Nate is nodding. This is one of those times where dismissing the whole thing as magic is absolutely easiest, and really, if he doesn’t look at any of the pieces too closely, they all fit together on their own.
The only one he’s missing now is a name, but he should have that, shouldn’t he? He was close with Remi, they’d lived next to each other for gods sake! It’s was... Isabel? No, more unusual than that, but close... ”Elsa!” The name is said with and excited confidence, a hand even coming up between them to punctuate it with a snap.
That she’d been looking for him sparks a touch of surprise, though a soft chuckle leaves Nate. ”Everyone seems to run into him first. I imagine you missed me at the clinic though, seeing as we’re meeting now. Sorry about that.” Another laugh, brighter this time. ”What did you need from me?”
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
01-17-2021, 04:41 PM (This post was last modified: 01-17-2021, 04:41 PM by Isla.)
Isla
There is no spark of recognition on Isla's face as Nate blurts out a name that's absolutely not hers (but is fairly close, and he's so proud of it too); that in and of itself might give it away that he's gotten it wrong. There is something magical in the way that one's attention can be captured by their own name... and there is none of that here. "Isla. But that will do in a pinch," she corrects with a playful grin.
"I wonder how anyone could miss Sunjata, honestly," she muses - his height alone means that he likely draws attention first regardless. "No need to apologise, though - it was good to see your clinic. I was a field medic, back in my Northaven days. I had cleaned up the clinic in the Hollowed Grounds, too, and I am hoping to bring it back up to par. In short, I'd like to join the Wren Society, if you'll have me."
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
Oh, he’d gotten it wrong. There is nothing so uniquely embarrassing as being completely, confidently wrong, but Nate rolls with it, snapping his outstretched fingers and nodding. ”Isla. Sorry.” He straightens up, gesturing towards himself with a careless shrug. ”I’ve never been a whiz with names.” And with one awkward laugh, it’s behind them. Easy.
They even move onto one of his better subjects, the grin on Nate’s face widening. ”I dunno, I miss him pretty easily.” His hand moves to his chest, where his very sincere and earnest show pauses so he can focus on his newfound colleagues words. ”I... didn’t know any of that. I’d be an idiot not to have you.” This is real sincerity, a genuine moment he can’t linger in for too long. ”I wanted to expand our reach anyway, this is the perfect way to get that started. Hell, I’ll even come out and help tidy up the infirmary.
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
"Me neither. But if you have a strange scar on your body, I will likely remember you forever." Isla rescues him with camaraderie, her smile just as warm and bright as the subject moves on to something they are equally as passionate about. In the background the firling wiggles and sways, as if trying to get more of their attention, but there's little chance of that now they're talking of infirmaries and medicine.
And Sunjata too, apparently; the medic grins at Nate's dramatics. "As is husband, I would certainly hope so!" She nods, before straightening up properly and grinning to him. "I would hardly call you an idiot. I have seen your clinic, and it's very impressive," she says. And that he offers to help bring the infirmary back up to an acceptable standard? "Now I would be a fool not to accept that help. It's a deal. I look forward to working with you."
She holds out her hand for him to shake, to make it official.
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
At least he never has to worry about being forgotten then. It’s a more comforting thought than Nate is willing to admit to himself, let alone Isla, so he just chuckles, and lets his bi-toned gaze fall back onto the firling for a moment, it’s wiggling distraction enough for him to step back out from the shadow of embarrassment.
His husband and his work. Two things he got to discuss far too rarely, indulged here. The chuckle that leaves him matches his words, warm and genuine and almost surprising. Somethi bf self depreciating roses and dies on his tongue, Nate putting on a humble show instead. ”Thank you. I’ve had help with it though, and it’s still got a ways to go.” A ways that he’s not certain is even possible, not that it will stop him from trying.
Islas hand is accepted easily, the grip maybe a little tighter than Nate would usually offer. Maybe. ”I’m excited to work with you too. I can’t wait to hear what ideas you re bringing to the table.”
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
"All of us have help," Isla points out. "It doesn't make it any less yours, though. What kinds of things are you hoping to add to it?" She's got ideas for her own clinic, but if they're going to be working together as part of the Wren Society, then it would make sense to pool ideas now. Her grip on Nate's hand is strong and cool as well, and she's smiling again as their grip on each other eases back again.
"What do you specialise in?" she asks. "I was mainly a surgeon, but of course as a field medic I was responsible for whatever was dropped in my lap." She doesn't actually recall seeing an operating theatre back at Nate's clinic, but she could be wrong. "Before I died, I was looking into toxicology as well, to try and find an antidote to the Spire Demon's venom."
passing by, you light up my darkest skies you take only seconds to draw me in
I can't see much of the future Unless we find out what's to blame, what a shame
"I don't have anything set in stone yet, but I have plans for disaster response; public first aid training, and maybe some kind of research arm." The last is the most recent idea, though it ought have been the one that came first, now that he's actually thinking about it. "We've been caught out twice now, with the Blight, and the Climb fever. I don't want to be left standing with our pants down."
"Infectious diseases." There's a flicker in his grin as he says it, Nate's jaw working. "Or at least, that's what I was trying to do. I didn't get the chance to actually finish my schooling, back where I came from, but I made it most of the way through." Isla is the only person he's been quite so candid with, if only because it feels wrong to withhold something like this from a fellow professional. He's more than eager to step away from his own experience, to pick her brain as much as she'll let him. "I never knew the demon had venom."
The firling is utterly forgotten now, a hand gesturing in the direction of his clinic. "Woud you want to continue this in my offices? I wanna write some of this down, so I don't lose it." With a soft laugh, Nate takes a step back, giving Isla room to follow him, questions and conversation falling from him like a waterfall as they walk, as they shelter in quiet safety of his office, long after the sun has risen.
Fin~
And we won't be together much longer Unless we realize that we are the same
