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!
She was growing used to his surly nature. The longer they were together the more she realized that his silence wasn't a bad thing. He just didn't talk. Which was fine. Even if she wasn't the best with silence, Maeve could manage. When he extended his hand, she took it. With his help, she hoisted herself up into the limbs of the tree. Her body was tired and sore. The task of getting herself into the branches felt monumental, but with Rigby's help she was able to accomplish it. She settled into a nook beneath him, eating her fill of the berries and leaving a good amount for Rigby. Maeve tapped his leg, holding the small bag up to him and when he finally took it, she curled up a bit tighter to sleep.
The night passed quickly. She woke up still sore and tired, but at least she slept. Maeve reached up again, tapping him on the leg once more to wake him up. "I'm going to look for food,"she climbed out of the tree, arms protesting her body weight as she dangled for a moment and landed on her feet, stumbling forward from the impact. With that done, she set off up the creek, remaining in calling distance of him. It took a bit of digging, but she found some tubers and roots vegetables. Thankfully noticing their familiar stalks sticking out of the moist bank. The berries she found were the same as the ones before and she filled her bag again. Satisfied with her bounty, Maeve joined Rigby once again. "Breakfast!" The girl held everything up with a grin.
They ate in silence as the sun disappeared, the first insects of Flowerbirth emerging to croak and creak. This was a much better place to rest than the last, surrounded not by stinking bog and tar but soft grass and earthy smells. He'd never been somewhere like this before, fertile plains and sprawling meadows. It was nice, but not enough place to hide from the sun. He took the berries from her, popping them into his mouth. They weren't as good this time around, not after breakfast, lunch, and now this.
He stayed up a bit later than Maeve, repositioning and rolling and curling up as tight as his long limbs would let him. The cold set in, and he found himself shivering to sleep.
Once again he awoke to the girl patting his leg, and with a groan he rubbed his hand across his face. He yawned, scratched a bug bite at his collarbone, and made his way out of the tree. Maeve was gone by the time he hit the ground, he scanned to find her walking further down the stream. Comfortable in the distance, the boy flopped down into the grass, relaxing into the true quiet of being alone.
He'd almost dozed off again, he shot his head up at the sound of her voice. Squinting and propping himself up on his elbows, he looked over what she'd brought with her. More than berries, there were shoots and stalks of various wild veggies. Any food was good to him, his face lit with a half smile, maybe an attempt at returning her cheery sentiment. "Where'd you find this?" he asked, standing and moving closer.
Maeve sat down across from him, crossing her legs beneath her as she set the gathered bounty in between them. "They grow along the banks of the creek. Root vegetables. We have a variation of these that grow in Torchline." She explained, picking up one of the vegetables and turning it over in her hand, checking it over before biting into it. The crunch is audible and her nose wrinkled. "They're better roasted, but not bad raw." Admittedly, she's pretty pleased with herself and the small grin she earned from him. It was the first one he had actually given her with the intention of letting her see.
Botany was one of the things she was good at. One of her few hobbies that was actually useful. Maybe it was the fact that she had to scrounge so much when she was younger, but the girl quickly learned what plants were edible and what wasn't. Then when she was able to steal books or trade for them, she always picked books on plants. Since then, her knowledge has grown and clearly it was coming in handy now.
Rigby was no botanist, he had very limited plant knowledge and it was explicitly Torchline related. His skill set lie elsewhere, in distraction and subterfuge, quick fingers and getaways. In a way he was glad that she was here, he probably would've looked right over the stalks as though they were reeds. "Cool," he replied in a low mumble, sitting across from her and reaching for some food.
The stalks were crunchy, but a nice source of green. The berries didn't compliment the stalks, and there was a weird texture to the meal overall. At the mention of roasting he contemplated pulling out a match; he may not have shoes but he still had his smokes. But no, that would take more time, time that he wouldn't trade for better taste.
He finished up, not full but not starving either. The boy stood, turned around and stretched. He began to wander a bit, scouting the clearing and looking beyond, just looking for what might come next.
Cool. Another single word answer and it was the closest to a compliment she thought she would get from the likes of him. Maeve grew quiet again, focusing on eating instead of talking. She packed away what was left in her makeshift bag for later. Maeve figured she could collect some other things as they travelled today if they kept close to the creek they found. At least they would have a constant source of water today.
She stood, retying her boots and braiding her hair messily to try to keep it out of her face. It was difficult given that the tar has caked itself into the strands, locking them together, but she managed. Maeve followed after him, chewing at her bottom lip as she sidled up beside him. "We should travel along the water. It might lead out to the coast." She offered as a suggestion, already starting forward with him in the opposite direction that they came.
Another day of walking. More sore feet and heavy legs. At least they were able to stay hydrated. That was an improvement. Still, the landscape blurred and the sun burned above them, beating onto their skin without care for the harshness of its rays. She was going to have a sunburn on top of everything else. How wonderful. She wasn't sure how long they walked, but eventually they slowed again to take a break. "Any of this looking familiar to you?"
It didn't take long for Maeve to finish up and hurry to meet him, the woman falling into step with him rather than following behind. Another suggestion, to follow the creek. That was the plan, no need to point out the obvious. "Planned on it," he replied, somewhere between being rude and simply confirming the means.
Sucked to be pale, and Maeve wasn't alone in that. His cheeks and nose had an unhealthy amount of red on them, luckily his clothes protected the rest of his body (other than his feet, which were shaded in the grasses anyway). At least for now the smattering of sun blush didn't hurt, but it would start to peel at some point. Whatever, sunburn was still the least of their problems.
The sun was past noon, it slowly descended towards the horizon. Once again they'd stopped for a break, closer and closer to who knew what end. There was a nagging fear at the back of his mind that they'd gone the wrong way, that they were headed not for Torchline but towards more feral lands. He quelled that thought with a splash of cold water to his face. "Does it look familiar to you?" he pointed sarcastically, swinging his head around to look at her with dark eyes more sunken than usual.
It was always one step forward and two steps back with him. Every time she thought that they were getting closer to being at least cordial towards one another, Rigby felt the need to remind her that was not the case. His terse reply was more than enough to shut her up for the next few hours of walking.
The only sounds around them was the buzzing of the forest and meadows they found themselves in. Their footfalls almost silent thanks to the plush blanket of grass they were traipsing through. It was better than the swamp and she was glad for the change scenery even if she still didn't know where they were. Something she was hoping her companion had an idea of. Instead she was met with sarcasm and venom. His sour disposition was starting to wear her down and Maeve sighed heavily as she lowered herself into the grass.
Dread settled heavy in her stomach as she lifted her eyes to the sky above them, willing the sting of tears away. She wasn't going to cry in front of him again, damn it! Her jaw clenched, teeth pressing together so hard she feared they might crack. It was only that and a deep inhale that forced her to ease the tension holding her body hostage. "You don't have to be a dick." Maeve snapped back, her own voice icy as she dug the toe of her boot into the soft earth.
Rigby turned his head at her reply, stopping to look at her for a moment, worried she might be about to break down again. He wanted to groan and sigh, but he held it back on the tip of his tongue. As entertaining as it was to annoy and cause distress, be a beacon of chaos, there was enough stress in the earth the walked on, he didn't need to add more.
"Fine," he grumbled back, turning and walking a few paces forward before muttering, "sorry," under his breath. The words felt weird on his lips, foreign and icky. Maybe that was evident in his tone, in the way he refused to glance her way afterwards and dug his fists deep into his pockets.
And they walked and walked, not stopping for some time. This continued on for a couple more days until finally they broke the edge of a forest and came upon a long spiraling building. The Spire to be precise, not that Rigby would know (or care to know the name). A smile pulled at his lips; this wasn't Torchline, but there was a faint outline of some kind of settlement in the distance. What a perfect place to take a break, relieved at last he sat down and leaned back into the grass.
She's over this. Over him. Over all of it. Maeve doesn't catch his mumbled apology. Doesn't even care to if she's being honest. Instead she fell silent again and kept walking because there was nothing else to do. They walked for hours. Walked so much she was sure her feet were bleeding. They barely spoke besides what was absolutely necessary. Maeve wanted nothing more to do with him. By the time they broke the edge of the forest she was more than ready to be rid of him. Of this whole experience. They weren't friends. Not even companions. They were nothing to each other and that suited her just fine.
When Rigby stopped to rest, Maeve kept going. She wasn't wasting any more time. Maeve spared him one more glance, "Thanks... Hope you make it back." It was the last thing she said to him before setting off for the Spire and the way home. Finally, she was going to be safe again. Maeve doesn't even look back.
