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!
"Well, bein' worried 'bout it won't miraculously fix things, will it," Jack reasons, and it's unclear whether it's the curse talking or whether the captain would be this blase regardless. "Besides, I didn't fall all the way, an' I got these back." He stares at her over the rim of his sunglasses. Yeah, he might be a bit unreasonably proud about that, too. Still, off they amble with Aurelia wrapped and fussing around him like a limpet (in Jack's opinion anyways).
They stop so she can look at the wound on his head, something that would worry him in more than one way if he'd had all of his faculties. Shit like head wounds tended to aggravate the more volatile side effects of his magic, and Jack doesn't honestly know what a concussion would mean for him right now. There's a real risk he might end up replying to Aurelia's thoughts, and given that he's not clouded with pain like he should be, that is cause to worry.
"How'd you figure that?" he wants to know, finding the knife in his lap without quite realising how it got there. "I don't keep all that many friends. How'd you make the cut?" Turning the blade in his hands, he reaches out with fingers far steadier than hers to catch at her wrist. "You're panickin'," he says. "Slow down."
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
03-23-2021, 05:50 PM (This post was last modified: 03-23-2021, 05:53 PM by Aurelia.)
Aurelia
How come silence is so loud in the shadows? I wanna scream 'til it's on
The sunglasses being retrieved is something she was only vaguely aware of, mostly because she's fussing over him almost like a mother tiger might fret over a lost cub. It could certainly be worse, though, she thinks. It offers a little relief, but nothing impactful. There is still adrenaline coursing through her from mere moments ago, when she'd thought she'd have to go dive off a cliff for him because there's no way in hell she could live with it if she didn't.
"Shut up, Jack," she breathes out, though she doesn't really mean that and there's a pang of regret for saying it that nags at her heart. If anything, he should keep talking. I wonder how hard he hit his head... Still, she bites back the sorry that wants to come out.
The question he airs isn't answered right away, as she shakes to wipe away the blood. It smears, all over the cloth, brings up a different time and place for her. For a second, because that's truly all it takes, Aurelia's gone. The air between them feels like worlds away and she's back in that nightmarish plane of existence where she did nothing with her life but spill blood (which isn't literally true, not that she'd say or think that).
The only thing that sucks her back to the present is the feeling of Jack's fingers advancing around her wrist. In that instant, she remembers the first time she met him. When he'd fastened his hand around her wrist in this same fashion, but the meaning and the emotions behind it were very different.
Her gaze travels downward towards the rocks and she makes a conscious effort to ground herself to him. Even if she doesn't move to touch him further, his hand is enough. "Sorry," she swallows, eyes a little wide, "you're the one who's injured and I'm over here losing it, it's not helpful. I know," she shakes her head and pauses. Normally she's stronger in situations like this but, then again... she didn't have very many people she cared about before, either.
Things change, though.
"I always thought we were friends." It's a quiet admittance, but it is the truth. There's certain lengths you go to for business partners or employees, and this isn't one of them. He showed her kindness even when he wasn't feeling kind, and she doesn't know how to ever thank him for that. He probably wouldn't want her to, would he? "Let's get back... so someone who actually knows what they're doing can fix you up."
Tell my feet they should run but they don't follow
"No, you shut up. I don't want your apologies, and I ain't gonna die from somethin' as stupid as this," the captain snarks back. Did he respond to the apology she said out loud or the one she was thinking about? Who knows, honestly. Either way, they're both plunged into a past that's speckled black and crimson, blood and darkness, and although Jack can't feel pain in his current situation, he does recognise when he's at risk of passing out. With vision beginning to cloud, he rakes his mind out of Aurelia's and presses his eyes shut, waiting for the moment to pass.
And it's a good thing he is holding onto her wrist at this point, otherwise he might end up sliding to the side and back onto the ground. Look, teamwork. Blinking his eyes back open (one side of his face is red by now, and it's not really a good look for anyone), he huffs out a laugh and shrugs his shoulders. "Your loss, then. You ain't ever had a friend like me," he murmurs. She says they should head back though, and he couldn't agree more - slinging an arm back around her shoulders, Jack gets his feet back under him and squints out into the jungle.
"You're gonna have to lead the way. Reckon you remember how to get back to shore?"
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
How come silence is so loud in the shadows? I wanna scream 'til it's on
He tells her to shut up instead and, for a while, it works as she descends into that darkness within herself. She has no idea how aware of it he is, tries to shake it off using his mild support and pretend nothing is wrong specifically with her. She aims to focus more on him, on getting him back to Haulani or.. somewhere, to someone who can help. Ray crosses her mind as an option, the girl seems more than capable of handling something like this.
The laugh at her admission of thinking of him as a friend, it disturbs her a little. All she can really focus on is how fucking bloody his face is now. So she presses the wad of cloth into his hand, because clearly she can't do it, and uses her grip on his wrist to push that same hand into the injury. "Just-just apply pressure to i-it and.. you'll be fine," she stutters out, moving to stand more fully as he puts a shoulder around her. "You'll be fine."
One hand wraps around his waist and the other hugs the arm on her shoulders tighter, and she determination blots out everything else swarming around in her mind. They set off at an awkward pace at first until they figure out how to best maneuver this way, though by no means will it be an easy trek. Aurelia will do her best to get him back in a timely fashion regardless.
"Don't fall asleep, whatever you do. I don't know if you can feel it but... focus on staying awake. I'll do the rest. And Jack?" She might as well tell him now, while he probably won't remember. Green eyes peer over at his good side. "You're... a better person than you think."
FIN!<3
Tell my feet they should run but they don't follow
