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!
Henry's return to the Grounds is worse than he could have ever expected.
He hurries along that dirt road that leads to the farm, but when he can't see that familiar rise of the roof from the barn, his heart clenches in his throat. His pace quickens, until it's a full on run.
He only stops when he reaches the entrance, that stone path which once wound and led its way up to a charming little farmhouse. Only, now... it's just a stone path with no destination. But his feet carry him onward in spite of it anyway.
The farm is gone. Everything is gone. It looks as if it's been burned to the ground because it has. Even the dust is blackened by a healthy layer of soot. His breath clouds in his throat until it comes out in pained gasps, his face twisting into an expression of disbelief. This is worst-nightmares-come-true.
"No..." it's a whisper against the destruction and war that's been raged against the land, everything a mess of ash and burnt remains. A single plank of wood, soft and flaky in his grasp, is all he dares to touch. "No," this one is more pained, louder, as if it might make a difference. He slumps to the ground, where he remains for a long time.
It's impossibly hard to lose everything you have, everything you ever were. His heart breaks into a million pieces and he can feel it physically bore a hole in his chest. Nothing would have survived a fire like this... nothing but bones. But he doesn't want to look for them. He knows the truth without having to see it.
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
03-02-2021, 02:54 AM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2021, 03:01 AM by Aisha.)
AISHA
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
Aisha did not expect a warm homecoming. She did not expect to come back to the grounds to find it in the state she'd left it in. That wasn't how it'd been last time, and she'd lowered the bar to keep from getting hurt.
Somehow, it still stung like a bitch.
Having spent her first Flowerbirth days free of the curse, preparing for exciting new adventures, and helping dig Halo out of it's icy prison, she'd figured it was time to face the damage. So she'd left note that she was leaving and she packed her things, headed for the grounds. She could've waited for the warden to return and relieve Deimos of his duties, when things were settled for sure.
But with everything looking in up in Halo, a dark seed had buried deep in her mind and whispered that karma would balance out the good with desolation. The pain was almost tangible as soon as she stepped from the spire, there was smoke on the horizon. Her nose screwed up as her eyes began to water. The burnt air was foul, and concerning. She let her worried heart guide her through the outskirts, to where the leopard sensed a familiar aura.
And that aura was sullied with misery, something akin to last time they'd met. She sped up, through the fields that turned to soot the further she went. Whole gardens blackened and broken, where there should've been the brooding shoots for Flowerbirth's rebirth, there was nothing but death. The woman didn't care about that now, she followed her heart further and further into the unfamiliar provenance.
Finally, there he was, amid something that surely wasn't the settlement. She stopped when her brain processed where she was, and what should be here. When she realized that the sunken figure crouching upon a pile of ash should've been Henry, and the ash should've been his home, she let out a short breath, one she didn't know she'd been holding.
It broke her heart, and she wasn't sure if that was what he needed to see, but it was what he would feel radiating from her as she came nearer. "Henry," she started, but didn't know how to finish. She was so afraid to hurt him more, the fear made her steps timid and her voice quiver.
03-02-2021, 06:54 PM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2021, 06:55 PM by Henry.)
HENRY
He hears the approach of a familiar set of feet, can feel her presence as it hones in on the bond, but he doesn't dare look up. Whatever feelings she has of empathy and heartache for him are drowned out by a storm of his own. For how still Henry is, his mind is aflame.
No doubt she will feel it as her word - his name spoken aloud - aggravates him. There is no room left for the goodness in Henry, not here, not now. Considering how she feels is not on his mind. How happy he is to see her? He knows he is, truly; he's missed her the entire time she's been gone and he should be. But somehow it isn't there. It just doesn't cut it. Nothing does.
"What are you doing here, Aisha?" It's a low rumble of a question, but he still doesn't look at her yet. He stares at the piece of wood in his hands, his grip on it tightening until the pieces fall with a snap. "Why would you come back?" The words come out with more animosity than necessary, and he suddenly gets up on shaky limbs. He tosses the remains of his home to the ground and turns on her with a snarl on his countenance. "You wanted to leave the Grounds, didn't you? Go live up in Halo, where you're safe and you don't have to worry about all of our little bullshit problems here! We don't matter to you. So then why. are. you. here. now!? When it doesn't matter!" His jaw snaps shut, breath heavy as it clenches. His gaze seems to stare straight through her, though. "Why weren't you here when it would've made a difference? You act so fucking tough but you weren't here when it all went down. You ran. You fucking coward, you ran!" His words end in a roar.
They echo across the emptiness, splitting the deathly still air. His jawline quivers with his anger, and he already regrets what he's said. He looks away sharply. "Just fucking leave."
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
Aisha had snapped at him once. Bared her teeth and snarled in the hopes that he'd leave. As he turned on her now, it shouldn't have hurt as badly as it did. She should've understood that protective edge to his anger, that he was shielding his pain from view as though he wasn't fragile glass. She didn't want to tap, to risk a crack in the sheer and cause him hurt. But his words dug into her like shards, he'd maybe shattered already.
Her canine teeth grew sharp, dug into her lip as she worried at it. She bristled, she burned, she quivered. And she stood still, let the man erupt and pierce her with every word sharper than the next. Coward, she knew she was, but he couldn't know. He shouldn't. It's not fair. It was funny how only a season ago he'd convinced her that she was brave and strong, and it'd taken so much to do make her believe it.
It only took one word to know the truth, to collide with the fear that'd gripped her for too long. She'd failed, again. It hadn't been enough.
Her nostrils flared, her brows narrowed, her eyes came to settle on the charred wood that'd fallen from his hands. She breathed, then nodded, "I know. I'm sorry." The words were a trembling whisper.
03-04-2021, 12:09 AM (This post was last modified: 03-08-2021, 01:32 AM by Henry.)
HENRY
Henry's not here to be her pillar of strength anymore. He can't be, not even for himself. He's never done this to anyone before, not even when they made him so angry he wanted to punch something. But anger isn't enough to encompass what he feels now. Cursed, cheated, chewed up and spat out. Powerless. He always knew he was weak but he never thought it would be the downfall of his entire family. His father had been right all along.
I should've listened to him, He's too awash with emotions, I should've stayed here.
Aisha doesn't leave but he's not waiting to see if she does, pulling away from that golden gravity she possesses, that axis of spirit she has that just wants to rein him in. No. He doesn't want to be around anyone right now.
So he trudges up to the house, where he dreads and fears and hopes all at the same time. Something, he only wants to find something. Some token of what his family had spent so long building, some little trinket to uphold their memory. There had to be something, right?
Only, as he sifts through the ashes and debris, he finds nary a thing. Simple folks, the Walkers. They didn't keep much that would survive a fire. "Why didn't I stay here..." his gaze shudders down along the place where the foundation of the house once was, tears filling his eyes.
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
Aisha was there for herself, trusting and loving until a moment like this when she'd lost. That was when she spiraled, when she needed help. Deepfrost had been a bitch, the flame cursed to be ice, nothing had hurt quite like this; like seeing the ruin of both home and of spirit. And of knowing she might've been able to help if she hadn't sought solace elsewhere. She'd admit her faults now, allow him that truth, and build on it. Forward was the only way, she knew that now.
The man didn't reply to her reluctant acceptance, she watched him walk away towards a home that only he could imagine, walking through invisible walls and echoes of hallways. The leopardess looked away, sniffed and jut out her jaw as she composed herself, refusing to give into the allure of defeat. Not again, only forward. And right now, forward was to him.
So she blinked away the tears that'd welled in her eyes from the moment she'd left the spire, and she too trudged through the rubble. Once again she stopped away from him, not wanting to encroach on the protective space he might need. The final fragments of his sentence were caught, a slow and collected breath was drawn past her lips. She didn't reply, not wanting to feed any misery and ire. Instead she just pressed into their attuned bond, comfort and love.
If he could know how deeply she cared, how badly she wanted to save him from this nightmare. But she couldn't, she could only offer whatever he might need, and let him know he was not alone.
03-08-2021, 01:44 AM (This post was last modified: 03-08-2021, 01:45 AM by Henry.)
HENRY
The blades of his shoulders ripple with tension as he pulls back from the rubble to straighten against Aisha's stubborn presence. She pulses something towards him through that attuned bond but he thrusts it back at her, rejection in his forceful wake. In the back of his mind, he might appreciate it, but at the forefront, it's just pissing him off.
He doesn't want her to see this, he doesn't want it to be known. He knows it needs to be, but it's too painful, too fresh, too... close.
"Just go already!" He snarls, swinging his arm to point her in the direction of 'go'. As if she might need an indicator. His jaw hangs open, angry huffs of breath steaming out, but there are swells of tears in his eyes. Pulling back, he wills himself to walk away, to take off in his shift, but his feet remain firmly planted. As if his body remembers the time when he was there for her, during her darkness, to place a hand on her own shoulder. His darkness is threatening to swallow him like an endless void, and deep down, he wants to reach for her help.
"I don't want you to see this, Aisha..." his voice is still stubborn, but it's filled with defeat and honesty now. The edge is lost, the anger fades, and he shakes. "I thought they'd be okay..." He eyes her, brows pressing together, "we've always been okay, every Longnight. There came a point where I started to think... it was more about everyone else. I stopped thinking it was possible... that this was possible," his throat clenches as he swallows everything down, trying to stay strong, trying not to let his tears fall, "but they're gone... and I'll never..." it's a whisper into the cold, empty air.
Never get to see them again, never talk to them again, never see the disappointment in his father's gaze, never see the pride in his mother's, never see the admiration in his brother's. Never deal with the stubborn fucking goats. Never listen to his parents' wisdom, never share it with his younger brother. The opportunities to make his family proud are gone, because they'll never see what he's become. Never again. It's all gone. They're all gone, and in the end... how he feels just doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, does it?
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
Aisha took the snarl, he lashed out again and she refused to be hurt by it. His pain was tangible, it clouded the air just like the smoke it was born from. Maybe it would be best to leave, though her heart told her not to. She wanted to cover him and hold him tight, but she knew better.
She nods for a moment, stepping back and away, maybe making to leave, or maybe not. She didn't get far before he spoke again, but there was no anger now. He poured his thoughts, his horrible and yet sincere thoughts. Things that would never be done, said, or felt. People who would never smile at him again. Aisha had lost her family too, but not like this. Knowing the fate they suffered, Aisha couldn't dare bring herself to compare the two, she couldn't imagine the grief he felt.
"I'm so sorry Henry, they didn't deserve this," she spoke, voice raspy and low. Throwing optimism or positivity in now would be wrong, a false narrative. It wouldn't help now, not when the wounds were so fresh and deep.
03-09-2021, 04:58 AM (This post was last modified: 03-09-2021, 04:58 AM by Henry.)
HENRY
Aisha's strong, to stand in the face of his misplaced anger and stubbornly wait for it to subside. For the truth to come out, that this hurts - bad, and that he needs someone like her by his side now more than ever. But even then, he doesn't want to admit that anymore. "I'm sorry, too..." He chokes on the words, tugging his gaze around at the ruins of his family's farm.
He takes a slower step towards Aisha, not sure what he needs, not sure what to ask, not sure. Not sure...
Everything is so blackened and it's all nothing but ashes. There is no hope here, only darkness and death. He could never truly blame anyone for leaving this desolate place. Not even someone with a light as strong and inspiring as Aisha's. All he can do is step towards it, but his motions falter because he will never leave his home, especially not when it's in shambles.
"I don't know what to do... Aisha..." His eyes are glassy, his strength fragile, so fragile, as he looks up at her. Tears roll down his cheeks and he murmurs softer, "I don't know what to do."
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
She didn't want his apology, he had nothing to apologize for. His words would not cut as deep as the pain from losing his family. This was his grief to bear and express how he may, Aisha could only be there to take it. She shook her head, watching as he took a step towards her, timid or weak or something in between.
Instinctively, the girl steps forward too, but hesitates. They are closer now, but still she's unsure of what he wants, of what he needs. She never was good with these things, with opening up and being vulnerable, sharing the sorrow to ease the pain. But she would try, for him.
It is not the man she knows that she sees, but perhaps the boy he once was. So fragile, teetering on the verge of shattering. She won't let him, never, and so breaks the static between them. She closes the distance, and gently touches his forearm, a test, to see if he would accept her touch.
03-25-2021, 06:51 PM (This post was last modified: 03-29-2021, 12:04 AM by Henry.)
HENRY
It's such a tragic end to this part of his life. He'd always wanted to fly from the nest eventually, but not because it was burned to the ground and all he knew was gone. He could never return, there's nothing to go home to. Not even a home.
Aisha hesitates to approach him and it hurts, even though he knows it shouldn't. He'd shouted at her, he was angry at her, even blamed her. But it's not how he wants to be towards her. The fact she's still here breaks his heart even further, until it's in nothing but pieces. He can feel it breaking, can feel the pain deep in his chest as if it's been hollowed out. That pain locks his steps, sealing his leaden feet to the ground and he lurches, pulling his hand up to his heart.
The gentle touch along his forearm stills his breath and welcomes another flow of stormy tears. He holds her gaze, his own tremoring with such sorrow and longing. That hand against his chest goes towards her, open and welcoming yet so lifeless. "They're gone," he repeats it, but this time it's a broken whisper against the ashy air.
"What am I supposed to do, Aisha?"
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
She watches him stagger, anguish, and then finally reach her touch. His skin is cold, not at all like the smoldering soot that insulates the ground. Her eyes linger over their contact, carefully she investigates and worries over every inch of the skin there until her hands close around his arm, keeping him sturdy, not letting him fall. Her own hands are not soft, the hilts of many swords had calloused her palms, the cold in the air left them dry. But she would provide as much warmth as she could, through the space they inhabit.
Henry reached out for Aisha, and this gave her the confidence to embrace him. She grabbed his out stretched hand and tugged him closer, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. She looked up to him, "I don't know. There's no easy way out of this," she said softly. "You keep living, you remember them, and you fight to be happy again. No matter how hard it is," and that was the best advice she could give him. It was what she'd done, what she'd tried to do.
He half-leans into her firm grip, but tries to keep himself steady, to not bring them both down. The embrace is stabilizing as his hands move around to return it, pulling her in just as she is him, and he sighs into her shoulder. Her golden strands of hair fall across his face, but her warmth is comforting and he lets them tickle his nose without much care.
Aisha tries to look up at him and he leans back to look at her, so numb that he can't feel the tears anymore, but they continue in a steady, silent stream. Her advice isn't wrong, and he knows it, but he doesn't know if he's strong enough for this anymore. He squeezes his eyes shut, lips trembling, and leans his head up towards the sky above them.
"What if I can't?" The question is a shaky reflection of the defeat he feels deep in his soul. He sniffles and blinks back down at her face, at the sunlight of her gaze, and shakes his head. "They didn't deserve this," he grimaces, brows furrowing hard into his nose, "I should've been here!"
wherever you run, you see all you leave behind you lies inside anyone you open
03-30-2021, 12:44 AM (This post was last modified: 03-30-2021, 12:46 AM by Aisha.)
AISHA
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
Henry's hands find their way around her, he returns the embrace and Aisha finally feels as though she is helping. In any capacity, at least she can hold him, be a steady figure to lean on. Do not worry about weight or strain Henry, Aisha wouldn't let you fall. All the training, all the fighting and striving to be stronger, it would not be worth it if she was too weak to hold you steady.
He looked to the sky, sharing the moment with someone else beyond Aisha's perception. She in the meantime had moved her hands up to his shoulders, softly rubbing against his tense muscles. "You can," she asserted, tone not as gentle as her fingers. When his gaze returned to her, she met it, as his brows creased her fingers went up to carefully soothe the points where they scrunched, press against his forehead, wipe under his eyes.
"There's no should've or would've, you can't get stuck dwelling on what might've been," she'd figured this from experience, days wondering whether or not she could've avoided this whole world by being in a different place, imagining different courses of her life and how even the slightest choice could've changed it. But this was the painful reality they were in, this was the one that mattered.
"And even if you had been here, that doesn't mean things would be different," you might be dead too, but she doesn't say that last bit out loud. She runs her fingers down his face, cupping his jaw and rubbing circles there with her thumb, light and gentle as her war weathered hands could be.
