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!
Last year’s Monsoon season was a lesson learned the hard way an’ Raza ain’t takin no chances this year. Not with the Hanged Man nicer ‘n it ever was before. One mornin’ she puts out the Closed sign an’ begins to set out sandbags, tarps, n’ wood t’ reinforce the unsteady bits’a the window flaps. She’s already made some predeterminations on what kinda preppin’ they need t’do this year in order to make it booth secure an’ functional in pre-Monsoon season.
Luckily, her customers are used t’this kind’a thing - the ditches, the sandbags. No one cares about AeStHeTiCs when they’re trashed.
Assumin’ that at least someone will show up to help, she’s ready to offer options to her hands, already gettin’ her own dirty by cleanin’ an’ mendin’ last years tarps.
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Up to three, please! Choose one of the following - start filling sandbags, adding more latches to the window flaps (they're the kind that can be lifted to create more of a breeze or latched to keep bad weather out), or reinforcing the door.
Ray arrived at The Hanged Man ready to get to work. The bar was a central piece of Torchline and losing it to the monsoons would be a tragedy. And maybe this would also help her with brownie points. Ray was still hoping to work something out with Raza regarding her secondary business. So yes, she arrived with ulterior motives but she did sincerely wish to help as well. "Hey Raza." She greeted cheerfully as she grabbed a handful of empty bags and set up next to one of the barrels of sand.
Working methodically, Ray went about filling sandbags. She tried to make sure they were all about equally filled to provide balanced support but were all still individually strong enough to actually do their job.
Ray is filling sandbags!
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Aurelia was fully intending on coming to the Hanged Man for a bit of a drink, but once she sees Raza busied with tarps and what looks to be prep for the monsoons, she almost instantly changes her mind. She remembers that the bar owner had helped the Ark with its latest repairs, though she luckily didn't notice the laughter at her own Hel-ish expense. So she'll help, at least to make things a little even.
"Hey there!" She greets the woman with a smile, offering a friendly wave over at Ray before glancing over at some of the other things that seem in need of doing. Window latches lay about, ready to be attached, so she goes to retrieve a few of those and the necessary tools, "want me to set these up for ya?"
Assuming the answer is yes, because it probably is, she sets to work pretty quickly.
Maeve approaches the Hanged Man with intention to work. Phoebe sent her over to help since Raza always helps them. Be it with liquor or extra hands. So she's here to return the favor. The girl doesn't work much, but you pick things up when preparing year after year for something that never fails to come. The girl gives Raza a small wave and a smile, moving a bit more slowly than usual, but not without too much issue. "Phoebe said you were starting prep early. Wanted me to give you a hand." She doesn't notice Aurelia at first, too busy with taking in what tasks are left for her to work with.
She's not the most tool savvy, but she tries and right now the door definitely needs some attention. Maeve grabs what she needs, moving towards the door to get to work. Her hair pulled back into a messy bun so it stays out of her face while she works.
Ulterior motives are welcome. Anythin’ that gets hands on deck is welcome. Raza flashes Ray a surprised grin; she doesn’t think she’s seen the younger woman in awhile. “Good t’see ya, Ray. Thanks for comin’.” Then back t’the tarps, needle an’ thick, thick thread in ‘and. Next to show up is the stranger from the Ark, and again, the bar owner is surprised. “Aye, that’d be great,” she affirms an’ then adds after a moment. “‘M Raza, by the way.”
And last but not least is an utter stranger, though she drops Phoebe’s name an’ it helps because otherwise, Raza would have no idea which box in ‘er head t’put her in. Ain’t many in the crazy makeup box, but that can kinda fit against the Halenani box, so somewhere in there the courtesan goes. “‘S kind of her,” Raza admits with a raise of her brows, introducin’ herself again an’ keepin’ just the teensiest eye on the her work with the door.
She manages t’finish with the tarps with the thread only breaking once, which allows her t’move on to the sandbags with Ray, who unfortunately, is only having middling luck with them. Seems a couple were too frayed from last year’s utter debacle and have split, spilling sand as Ray tries to pick ‘em up. Raza goes to fetch some more from the storeroom so they can begin again. @Aurelia’s time on the ark has paid off an’ she is able t’reinforce the latches on the windows hatches without much trouble other than a couple’a screws not wantin’ t’tighten easily. If she looks around, she might see that Maeve is seriously strugglin’ with the door.
Now, it probably isn’t Maeve’s fault, just some bad luck, but the wood she’s handling isn’t the kind she’s used to - it’s excessively rough and has left a couple’a splinters in one of her soft hands. The piece she’s workin’ on is bigger ‘n the regular door, which swings (minor details that should have been explained before), an’ it would obviously be better if it was tag-teamed.
To her credit, Maeve tries her absolute best to handle it on her own. She really does. Except she's still sore from her little ordeal in the Feverlands. So where she might have just been mediocre before she's doing pretty poorly. Maeve winces as another splinter drives into her palm and she hisses, setting the board down to dig out the splinter. She glances over her shoulder quickly at the others to see how they were doing. It's only then that she sees that Aurelia is there too. Maeve gives her a shy smile, "Hey.. Do you think you could give me a hand with this, Aurelia? I'm having a bit of a rough go at it." She motions to the boards and the door, a faint flush on her cheeks.
Maeve turns to evaluate the door again, trying to figure out what exactly she was doing wrong here. Boards one, Maeve zero.
"Aurelia! It's nice to more officially meet'cha, Raza."
Aurelia deals with the small challenges that come her way, affixing the latches with relatively little trouble. A few screws here and there need some extra attention but, eventually, she's able to step back and admire her work with a content smile.
People had moved in and out of the bar and worked around her, visible in her peripherals, but she'd been focusing quite closely on her work. So it's only when a familiar voice says her name that she turns with a surprised raise of her brows and parting of her lips.
A smirk crosses her expression at the sight of Maeve struggling with the door, at the sight of the flush in her cheeks. But she's not going to poke fun at her, like she might normally anyone else. Which is a weird feeling to be conscious of and so she tries to ignore it. She comes to Maeve's side, perhaps a bit closer than necessary, and notices the splinters in her hands. Ouch.
"Well, of course you are, this is a two person job!" She brushes off Maeve's embarrassment with a soft laugh. "Here, let's try this..." She offers a warm, encouraging smile before she sets about trying a different approach, lips then scrunching into a more determined look.
Aurelia, finished with the windows, is determined to help Maeve with reinforcing the stubborn door!
She's thankful that Aurelia doesn't tease her about her clear lack of experience. Her lips curl into a shy smile instead as the other girl steps into her space, leaning into her more than she needs to. Maeve ducks her head shyly, a laugh bubbling out of her. "Leave it to me to pick the one that's the most difficult." She shakes her head, moving to help Aurelia with the new approach. Maeve braces the board while Aurelia handles the tools, following whatever instructions the other girl gives her.
Hopefully between the two of them they'll manage to get it done this time!
"Good to see you too." Ray returns the greeting with a warm smile. That smile quickly turns into a frustrated scowl as they begin to work. The constant tearing of the bags is truly getting on her last nerves. The sand keeps getting everywhere and every single time she thinks a bag is going to hold, it pops. Ray is just about ready to scream when Raza brings out fresh bags. Taking a moment to stretch and calm her temper, Ray gets back to work with the new bags. She keeps the same plan as before but goes a bit slower, making sure that the bags don't tear as she works. She really doesn't want to start this task all over a gain for a third time.
Ray keeps trying with the new sandbags. Hopefully these don't tear too.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
The women, collectively, ain’t doing well. And it’s not because they’re women, it’s because all of a sudden a herald’a monsoon season comes rollin’ over the water an’ arrives unannounced at the bar’s door, strong enough to throw sand in their faces an’ if the door isn’t positioned right, throw it against its wranglers. Which is, unfortunately, exactly what happens.
When the first stings of sand hit Raza, she whips around t’protect her eyes, and unfortunately, the brunt of it hits Ray, probably because’a all the sand that failed from the earlier bags was closer t’her. The Torcher hisses as her skin is briefly pummeled in an unwanted microdermabrasion, but it quickly passes. The good news is that none of the bags they previously got done are damaged, so they don’t need to start over, the source for their sand is just a liiiiittle further away than it was before.
As for the other pair, it really just isn’t Maeve’s day, is it? With all the open hatches in the Hanged Man, the wind is funneled towards them from an unusual angle (don’t ask me how), throwing the door back onto both Aurelia and Maeve. But Aurelia’s side is more secure ‘n Maeve’s, and the edge is blow back towards her, hitting her, while the Ark member just has to avoid dropping any tools in hand on herself.
When the wind passes, Raza uncurls an’ looks at the other three. “Everyone all right?” she asks, clearly a bit concerned. They didn’t sign up for this kinda’a work, but… it’s a perfect example as t’why the bar needs to be protected. Those monsoon winds can be fierce.
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Rotten rolls all around, fam and Maeve rolled a 1 :/
It's as Aurelia's really getting into the flow of work that the wind suddenly picks up - hard. The door swings for them with offensive strength. Gritting her teeth, Aurelia braces against it, holding onto the tools and attempting to shoulder most of the impact so that it doesn't completely throttle Maeve. She'll remain like this until the wind passes.
Raza asks if everyone's alright and Aurelia doesn't really offer a response because, well, she is fine. It's Maeve that might not be, so she glances over at the other women to see. "You're okay," she reassures her curtly, offering a stabilizing hand now that she doesn't have to cling to all of the tools and make sure they don't go flying into the breeze.
In further examination of the door, Aurelia finds that the lock's become weakened. It will need to be replaced in order to stay closed in the face of strong winds.
"Here, can you replace the lock?" Aurelia asks of Maeve, finding a new one among Raza's supplies and handing it to her. If Maeve appears lost, Aurelia can explain how to do it while she moves on to the hinges.
Aurelia tries to bodyblock most of the door from hitting Maeve and instructs her on replacing the lock bc it shitty. If/While Maeve's trying that, Aurelia will work on strengthening the hinges with newer, longer screws.
Maeve's eyes squeeze shut as the sudden gust of wind kicks up sand around them. Thanks to this protective action to keep sand from her eyes, she is instead caught by the door. Aurelia manages to keep it from hitting her too hard, but she is knocked onto her ass, catching herself with her elbows. The delicate skin gets a bit scraped up from the wood, but she's overall unscathed. She grimaces as she sits up, rubbing at the raw skin as she joins Aurelia once more. "Yeah.. I'm okay," the girl confirms, taking the new lock from the smuggler and focusing her attention on the next task.
She starts with the screwdriver, attempting to loosen the screws and take off the worn out lock. If she's successful, she lines up the new lock and uses the longer screws Aurelia is using as well to install the new hardware.
Maeve tries to remove the old lock and put on the new lock, taking Aurelia's help if she needs it.
Ray hisses, brushing sand off of her skin to no avail. "I'm alright. Just a few scrapes. Guess we should hurry this up before the monsoon really kicks in." Her voice holds clear annoyance. Ray hated having her work interrupted and this was already the secodn time. She was about ready to start cursing at either the water or the sandbags.
Regardless, she metaphorically rolls up her sleeves and gets right back to it. Using the same strategy as before, Ray sets about filling and placing the sandbags in the most efficient manner that she can. The sooner that this task is done, the easier the others will be. If the sandbags are in place then the water won't disrupt future preparations. At least that's the thought that keeps her going.
Ray is losing patience but is determined to get this job done correctly.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Maybe their luck is turning; Raza and Ray are able to brush themselves off and resume filling the sandbags without a hitch - in fact, Ray’s meticulous nature and practice beforehand with all the broken bags means that she’s quickly become a pro. The two of them are able to fill the bags quickly.
Aurelia and Maeve are also able to finally reinforce the door, even though the Ark crew member seems to have a case of the butterfingers, dropping every single screw she tries to put in - oh don’t worry, they’re easily found again, but it makes for slow going until they’re done.
However, now that all four women are done, it’s time to actually build the sandbag barricade. Raza calls Aurelia and Maeve over to where she and Ray have filled the last bag - and there’s plenty, it seems. “Almost done,” she reassures them before jogging out to where she wants the bags lain. She draws a line in the sand, from one end of the building to the other. “We should have enough to get it to hip height, so just stack ‘em two deep along this line.”
