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!
"I am sorry to hear that," Finn murmurs, his fingers growing still on the strings - the change in melody and mood has started to dim the sunshine, and fingers of cool air are beginning to wend their way through the warmth. "You should go and see your father," he says suddenly, glancing across at Tobi. Very rarely does Finn speak with so much conviction, but its a warm sort of resolve that vibrates through his words.
As for the colour of his eyes? He nods. "She did," he says. "They both died when I was about eight years old." Old enough to remember the colour. Too young to remember any specifics of his childhood, now that so much time has passed. Or perhaps he just doesn't want to remember the time before his parents' death, to feel that sting of loss afresh.
Trust Tobi to bring the mood back up, and Finn blinks and straightens in his seat. "Oh," he echoes, lending a little thought to the ridiculous question, and seeming put out that his logical answer doesn't count. "The scales?" he asks after a few moments.
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
If Tobi is surprised to hear such conviction in Finn's voice, she doesn't let it linger for long. Letting her long fingers gently move across her own instrument, the doctor shrugs non-commitally. "I'm sure you've bumped into him at some point." She says, biting the inside of her cheek and casting her gaze toward one of the far windows. "He's a researcher, like you. Although, he's limited himself to just Outlander lore for the past few decades." This is said not with embarrassment, but with the acknowledgement that many disapproved of what her parents had dedicated their lives to. Most in Stormbreak considered themselves far superior to the Outlanders even before they had started showing up in waves. "It can be hard to see him. He...doesn't really acknowledge that she's gone." Tobi lets this statement hang in the air, not looking at Finn. She doesn't want to pressure him into familial conversations that might make him uncomfortable.
'Well, you can see her in your mirrors, then. That's something she gave you." The doctor replies with a sweet smile, nudging Finn's shoulder gently with her own, before steering the conversation into decidedly more absurd waters.
"That's clever. But I'd say that's something they have in common, not what makes them different. Try again." Sunnily said, her voice sounding more musical, Tobi encourages her friend with a broad grin, as if her enthusiasm might lead him toward the answer he'll surely never find.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
Finn doesn't look at Tobi - he watches her long fingers move across the mbira, and the relative silence in the wake of the previously springy music is almost deafening in its stillness. "Oh?" He perks up somewhat to hear that her father shares his profession, though he also understand the difficulty in focusing on something like Outlanders and their lore and contributions. (Stormbreak's opinion, generally, being that there wasn't any). More difficult still is the snippet into the window of the elder Hart's grief. Finn taps out an absent rhythm on his guitar.
"People cope in different ways," he says simply; both he, Tobi and her father are evidence of that. "Perhaps he would benefit from an appointment with Falke," he suggests, as is his logical way. It's all he's got, to navigate these difficult waters, and whilst he smiles at the reminder that he can find his own mother in the colour of his eyes, it isn't as comforting, knowing how she ended.
The nudge to his shoulder and the return to joviality is enough to give anyone whiplash, but Finn grasps onto the riddle like a lifeline. "There are a lot of differences between a piano and a fish," he tells her, his tone growing wry and just a little amused. He's circling his original answer again, naturally. "...Pianos cannot swim, for instance."
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
'Mm.' Tobi agrees with a wistful sort of huff. It sounds like the sort of thing Falke would say, and the doctor can't help but wrinkle her nose as she realizes how much her counterpart has likely rubbed off on Finn over the years. "He probably would, if he'd ever go. Not a big talker, that one." This is said with an affectionate laugh. Perhaps it's why she doesn't mind Finn's long stretches of silence. It had always been she and her mother who would carry the conversation, whilst her father sat stoically with his nose in a book, or hidden behidn a glassy stare as he imagined other worlds.
'Can't they? You've never seen mine. Maybe I have the only swimming piano in the world.' Tobi counters with a sunny smile, laughter bright enough to cause frowns from those trying to read quietly in another part of the sitting area. Unbothered entirely by this, Tobi just shakes her head, beaming at Finn. "Want to try again, or do you give up?"
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
"I can relate," Finn says wryly, unintentionally matching himself to the thoughts that Tobi is already having. "Though, I am learning to talk. Not necessarily through conventional means, granted. Someone is teaching me to try and take some control over my life." Trying on a smile for her, he gives the guitar a little strum, as if to demonstrate his preferred method of communication. And so far his attempts to make those changes have been going well - this meeting would never have happened a season ago, after all.
Swimming pianos have him tilting his head, acknowledging that she may very well be right, though he does doubt it. And whilst he does notice the disturbance from the others nearby, he does his best not to let it dampen their conversation. "I think you have me quite stumped, Tobi," he confesses. "Pray tell, what is the difference between a piano and a fish?"
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
"You talk plenty." Tobi chuckles reassuringly, though there's a provocative air in her tone. "I bet if I asked you to tell me the history of guitars, or explain how the library is organized, you'd never shut up." Scrunching her nose to imply she finds this rather adoring about her friend—as she does about her father—Tobi laughs at his third-party assessment of her advice. "Well that person sounds incredibly wise." She adds. Though Tobi is happy to laugh it off, not wanting this rather public conversation to turn into anything too weighty, she really is pleased with the progress Finn has made. It's nothing at all to do with her, she's quite sure of that.
"No need to involve the gods." Tobi says with a shake of her head, before turning toward him and raising her brows, ready to impart the great and wonderful answer to the riddle. If Finn can't already tell that this is going to be absolutely ridiculous, her tone and bright eyes will soon key him in.
"You can tune'a piano, but you can't tuna fish!" Her mouth is open slightly, waiting for him to burst into laughter and tears and all the other gut-splitting reactions that this wonderful joke obviously entails. She is also fully aware that Finn will likely just slow blink in the wake of her ridiculousness, but Tobi hardly cares. She lives for stupid jokes.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
"Well, that explains why you have never asked me about those things," Finn says, his voice an amused rumble in the relatively quiet space. There is something that seems to warm up about the Spyglass, as they continue to speak and nothing comes to spook him back into himself. He's absently adjusting his grip on the guitar as they speak, playing chords without actually strumming them; it's an automatic reaction by now, something he doesn't need to think about.
Which is good, because apparently he does not want to miss this all important fact that the doctor is about to impart to him. And when the answer comes, Tobi gets exactly what she expects - Finn holds her gaze for a couple of seconds, as if to ask if she's completely serious, before he scoffs out a laugh that surprises himself as much as anyone else. "That was terrible," he informs her, sounding quite pleased about it. "Please remind me not to play a game of riddles with you in future."
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
"It does, yes." Tobi says gravely as if Finn has just made a very astute observation. In reality, there is so little time for such frivolous conversations between the two that its just never come up. "I would actually like to know more about guitars though." She doctor adds with a bubbly shrug.
'How dare you!' Tobi's feigned surprise is as outrageous as her terrible joke had been, and not for the first time does she nudge Finn with her shoulder. This is one of the moments where her personality might properly be described as puppy-dog, given how easily excitable and enthusiastic about such silly things she can be.
'One, I will absolutely not remind you of that, and two, that is one of my dad's favourite Outlander jokes, and three, let's see you do better." Challenged given, Tobi crosses her arms (awkwardly, given the placement of her mbira) and pins Finn with a teasing and playful stare.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
"Are you sure about that?" Finn enquires regarding her wish to know more about his favoured instrument, and the secretive little smile is about as close as he'll get to jovial as she'll ever see. Still, he's carefully taken the guitar from his lap by now, leaning it beside them so he can focus better on the conversation - even if it is on about puns. If he weren't in such a good mood he almost definitely would have offered an apology for not enjoying her father's favourite and terrible joke, in fact. But then Tobi throws down the gauntlet.
"Oh. Uh..." Does Finn even know any jokes? One might not believe so, but whilst his childhood and adolescence were not ordinary in any sense of the word, he did have an education eventually. And thus we have his version of a bad joke. "Alright. What's the difference between a cat and a comma?"
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
'With you I'm never sure about anything, but I think I'll take my chances." She really wouldn't mind hearing more. But, just in case that was a little too close to a compliment, Tobi adds: "And I can always fake a medical emergency if you won't stop."
Waiting with bated breath, looking properly apprehensive and eager as Finn puts down his guiter in favour of her challenge, Tobi raises a brow and listens. "A cat..and a comma.." Tobi narrows her eyes as she looks at Finn, as if the answer might be hidden in his lashes or the pores on his nose. "A cat, so..whiskers..pouncing..yarn? Something about spinning a yarn?" She waits and watches as if Finn, master of keeping his composure, might just give it away. "And..a comma...so..writing..paper? uhmm.." Biting her lip as her face twists into all sorts of perplexed expressions.
"Can I have a hint?"
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
"Good luck with that. Usually I am the medical emergency you use as an excuse to get out of something, I imagine," Finn quips back with unexpected wit, absently pinging one of the strings on his guitar before glancing back to Tobi as she accepts his challenge. They sit in comfortable silence, snow beginning to fall softly out of the window, a gentle murmur of voices from someone meandering through replacing the music that filled the space just a few moments prior.
And when the doctor doesn't seem to get anywhere close to the heart of the riddle, of course Finn gives away absolutely nothing. But he isn't cruel enough not to offer a hint, stormy eyes settling on Tobi as he starts to recite part of the answer. "One has claws at the end of its paws..." He trails off, waiting expectantly for her to pick it up.
02-17-2021, 10:53 PM (This post was last modified: 02-17-2021, 10:54 PM by October.)
October
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
Tobi flashes Finn a wry smile. "Oh! That reminds me!" Reaching over she grabs for the sparkling beverage she'd made, as if thoughts of medical emergencies were tied to what she had brought. The goldenish liquid bubbles into the glasses, nearly fizzing over. Clearly Tobi hasn't much bartending experience.
Finn's tone is leading enough, but Tobi isn't a writer. Unlike medical students of today shut up shark, Tobi's knowledge is nearly all practical. If her charts and notes are ungrammatical or even illegible, so what? And so, despite what would actually be near the correct answer, it's said with a complete lack of confidence and confusion.
'..and one has paws at the end of its clause? Err, pause?" Tobi looks adorably confused with her head tilted slightly to the side, like a dog with its ears perked when you tell it to do something it completely doesn't understand.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
It catches Finn predicably off guard, the Spyglass blinking and tilting his head right back at Tobi as she produces the bubbling liquid. He at least has the sense to hold the glasses still while she attempts to spill it everywhere pour them each a drink, and he nods his gratitude. "I am worried that this reminds you of medical emergencies, but I trust you enough to take a sip, as long as you do as well," he says.
The doctor has a go, and the way Finn's smile dimples his cheeks says that it's a close enough approximation to be passable; he nods his head to her and raises his glass in a cheers. "That's right. One is a pause at the end of a clause. I would have also accepted one is a cat, and the other is a comma." That would have only been fair.
02-18-2021, 04:20 PM (This post was last modified: 02-18-2021, 04:20 PM by October.)
October
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
'Oh, well if that's the case...' Tobi reaches out and promptly switches their glasses with a sunny smile, as if one were poisoned or some such nonsense. It might be a little too close to events that have actually transpired in the Spyglass's life, but this is Tobi. She might threaten to bite Cian and defend Finn against the worst of his monsters, but in reality, she's incapable of hurting anyone innocent. Lifting her glass to her lips and offering Finn a reassuring wink, Tobi hums a note of utter contentment as the liquid sparkles against her tongue.
Listening to the answer, Tobi grumbles cheerfully under her breath before adding on an elongated "-Finn!!!-" for good measure. "That wasn't a joke." She protests with a smile. "That's a writing lesson you've tricked me into listening to."
Pouting cheerfully, Tobi scrunches one eye closed before brightening with inspiration. 'Okay, how about this one: What does a clock do when it's hungry?"
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
