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 second Amalia's arms and wings reach for her, Ray latches on. This situation has gotten so completely out of hand. It's with rising horror and awe that she realizes where they are. They're in a a waterspout of all thing and she has no idea what to do. Ray cautiously reaches one arm out, the other in a death-grip around the demigod. The outstretched hand tries to push past the water to freedom. But the vortex is too strong and the water only feels like a wall to her palm.
The horse's triumph is the only silver lining. At least the sphere is free, at leas that's what Ray is assuming from the sound. Annoyed, the Attuned tries to find the Ceffyl Dŵr with her eyes so that she can glare at it. Glare and silently demand it put them back on dry land now. Because otherwise, Ray has no idea how they'll get there on their own.
Ray will be able to see the Ceffyl Dŵr: it's all around her; it is the waterspout, a flurry of hooves and snorts and water, so much water, carrying them up and up and up. The girls can hold onto nothing but each other, and Amalia does so, clinging to Ray protectively while trying to quell the rising panic that presses on her chest. "I can't swim--!" but the words are half lost in the raging water that seems to be carrying them away from the lakefront, toward...
...toward...
The Leap.
Hold on tight! Amalia cries mentally, as though there were another choice. I'm going to try something-
And with a spread of wings and a pop of sunlight, Amalia and Ray will find themselves back on the bank of the river, wet and bedraggled as the Ceffyl Dŵr roars toward and over the falls.
Ray's not sure how they ended up on shore, but she's incredibly thankful. Tightly grasping the demi-god she turns the desperate hold into a hug. "Thank you for getting us out of there." The herbalist is shaking slightly, adrenaline crashing from the stress.
Glaring at the Ceffyl Dŵr, Ray watches happily as it goes over the Leap. "Good riddance you psycho pony." The herbalist makes no move to let go of the demi-god, and likely won't unless Amalia pulls away. She was too shaken up to end their hug. Letting out a deep breath, she tries to regain some composure. "So what now? Did we even fix the problem?" In all the chaos Ray wasn't sure if the sphere was freed or not.
Amalia returns Ray's hug with a similar desperation, though the way she clings to the other girl is almost feral for now. She's shaking, though whether from cold or fear or strain is a mystery; the large wings that wrapped so carefully around them have long since vanished back into the tattoo on her back.
They cling to each other a little while longer, Amalia peeking up from under Ray's dark hair to see the last of the flash flood disappear over the edge of the Leap. With a slow, shuddering breath, she pulls away slightly from the entanglement of limbs - only so she can sit up and actually look around, her damp hair plastered to her face. "I don't... know," she answers slowly, voice stuttering in time with her heart. "I didn't see--"
Something washes up from the still wild water, something metal and long with curled mechanical fingers that have recently been disengaged from a glowing sphere. Amalia blinks, reaching towards it then stopping, hand hovering a few inches away. "Is that... an arm?"
Ray loosens her grip on the Demi-god as the arm washes up. Grimacing, she kicks it away. "It's an arm." She confirms, scowling at the piece of metal. "There was a glowing orb in the water. It was trapped in those weird metal hands. The damn horse was trying to free it from them." The herbalist explains, still seething slightly at the Ceffyl Dŵr.
"The Ceffyl Dŵr got impatient with my slow progress of freeing it, so it kicked up that whole mess of water." Ray adds, before pausing. "Well, if one of the arms is here, I'm going to assume the sphere was freed and that our job is done. And if it's not, let the horse deal with it. I'm not helping it any further then that." Nearly drowning was not fun, and doing it again was not on her list of plans for the day.
"An Ascended arm," Amalia breathes, peering at the offending object as though it may come to life and snatch at them. It's a strange, inhuman, unsettling thing, and just being near it makes her skin crawl. "I wonder how long it was down there. It must be what was making the water so upset."
But then Ray kicks the arm away, out of her reach and out of the river. Amalia follows it, her eyes tracking as it vanishes behind a stone before rising to the once-ailed water that now has settled down into some semblance of calm. She cocks an eyebrow at Ray's refusal to help any further... and then, unbidden, begins to laugh, the sound a rolling alto of bells as triumph and relief surge through her blood. "But you did it!" she manages between breaths, a fierce, vibrant smile slicing her face. "You were- gods, you were so brave! And the creature--"
Shifting onto her knees, Amalia inches close enough to place a palm in the lapping water, her dark eyes fluttering closed. "It's not in pain anymore," she murmurs, as much to herself as to her companion. "It's grateful - and it says it owes you a boon. Well, us, but you most of all."
Ray glances at where the arm had vanished with new interest. "That's what that was? Wow." An Ascended arm. She'd never seen one quite like that before, but what else could it have been?
The sudden laugher from he Demi-god startles the herbalist, but soon she joins in, relief and joy filling her as well, as the adrenaline crashes. A slight flush paints her cheeks from both laughter and from the praise. "I couldn't have done it without you! I can't breathe underwater, remember?" Ray chuckles and smiles warmly at her new friend. "Thank you though."
Hearing that the dangerous attempt had worked has Ray sagging with relief. "Oh, thank the Gods. I'm glad we did it." The mention of a boon however has her perking up in confusion. "A boon? Like what?" Did that mean that the crazy horse owed her a favor or something?
"Well, I can't even swim," Amalia counters between her laughs, not about to allow Ray to downplay how pivotal she's played. "I probably should learn, now that I don't have an aquatic shift," she adds to herself as much as the herbalist, shivering slightly at the idea, her dark eyes speculative as she eyes the lake.
As for what the boon would be, Amalia doesn't know. Shrugging, she rises back onto her knees, looking back at Ray. "It's gone, but... I imagine like a favor? Or maybe it won't try to drown us again."
At last she rises to her feet, wiping her hands on her thighs. The laughter and adrenaline have subsided; in their wake Amalia feels awkward, a sheepish smile on her face. "Gods, I'm sorry though- you came here for a reason. Are your supplies okay? Are... are you okay?"
08-01-2021, 12:55 AM (This post was last modified: 09-02-2021, 06:56 PM by Ray.)
RAY
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods
Ray gives a small nod. "I think I might look into getting an aquatic shift of my own if possible." A shiver goes through her, both from the memory and from the last tinges of adrenaline. "I don't want to deal with anything like that ever again. Not unless I'm certain that breathing under water won't be an issue." That loss of certainty and control had been more terrifying then anything else. It was not an experience that she anted to repeat ever.
The Demi-god's explanation pulls a chuckle from the Attuned. "Not trying to drown us is certainly a boon in my book." Rising to her feet as well, Ray stretches out her stiff muscles before giving Amalia a tired smile. "I left my supplies on top of the Leap so I can just swing by and grab them. They should be untouched."
Letting out a harsh exhale, she feels the exhaustion of the adventure tugging at her. "I'm a bit banged up and tired. We should get back to the city and take care of our scrapes. Come on. I'll take you to my apothecary and we can have a snack too"
With that, Ray and Amalia made their way to the Lunarium Apothecary. After a few bandages and some much needed cookies, they parted ways for the night.
