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!
What an unusual afternoon, that Ronin finds he has some time to kill. Of course, it's never really killing time when it's time spent finding out more about the city in which he's chosen to live, especially when it's to do with that city's defences. The Star had heard about 'hand mines' from a few of the Dragoons, and though it had piqued his curiosity (in a kind of what the fuck way), he's reserved his judgement until he can investigate for himself.
And so that's how the bright and breezy Flowerbirth day finds him; Sugar soars overhead, swooping and diving and generally practicing the rotations she and her bonded have been working on while they train, and Ronin kneels in the dirt. "Where are you," he wonders about the hand mines, fingers brushing over the earth as if he might reveal one of the strange and sentient stones.
It might well be a fruitless exercise, given that he isn't an abandoned and thus stands no chance at drawing one of the mines' attention, but still. Ronin is nothing if not committed.
"Did you lose Remi already?" Amalia's voice is warm and a little sardonic, one brow raised as she stops beside the Dark Star, head tilted to the side. At her side Jyoti croons a greeting, swimming around Ronin before investigating the ground curiously, as though Remi may well be hidden underneath a stone.
Snorting at her companion's antics, the Angel kneels down next to the pair, her fingers spreading over the dirt. She focuses on it, reaching out with her Attuned senses for what lurks beneath. "You've been busy." A faint smile teases over her lips as she looks back up at Ronin. "The Dragon of Stormbreak. It has a ring to it."
become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone
"Yes," Ronin says emphatically, more than happy to play along with the familiar voice. "He has developed a terrible habit of burying himself in the dirt out here. I suspect it is a protest for us having to live in Stormbreak." Glancing up now, he offers a cheerful enough smile to the Archangel - because unlike in recent seasons, Ronin actually does feel cheerful lately. Offering a coo of greeting to Jyoti (Sugar offers a trill from between the clouds), he turns his attention back to the ground, pressing his palms against it.
His smile turns a little more calculated, perhaps, to hear Amalia address him by his Order title, and he shrugs his shoulders. "Everyone has to pick a side, eventually," he says. "I find I am better kept out of trouble if I'm busy. Like right now - I've heard there are things in the earth here called hand mines - they grab Abandoned if they get close to Stormbreak. Isn't that..." Cool? Weird? Your choice, Ama.
Should Remi have popped up out of the ground right then and there, Amalia would not have been too surprised. But Ronin's tone is facetious enough that the girl catches the joke, snorting back and tapping on the ground as she might a door. "It's okay Remi; you can come live with me in the fancy tower instead of the musky barracks." She wrinkles her nose as she says it, never one for the smells of the shared space when she has to endure them during her training sessions, and sticks out her tongue at Ronin.
Amalia nods at the mention of hand mines, for once already informed. "I'm still not clear what they do to the Abandons," she admits, equally curious about these bizarre little things. "I guess our magic doesn't count, since it comes from the Gods." Once again she reaches out through the Attuned bond, pressing her mind delicately against the countless organisms in the soil. One in particular seems to respond, and the Angel focuses on it, humming slightly as they silently commune.
About five seconds later a set of stone fingers emerges from the earth, grasping for the Dark Star's fingers while Amalia grins in mischievous delight.
become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone
"Hey," Ronin says, his protest muffled by the way he pouts at Amalia. "I'll have you know that I am not subjecting my husband to living at the barracks any more. We have found a lovely little place in the Pacifist Plaza. It even has an apartment and a shop. Though, don't ask me what the shop is called because I really don't think Remi has given it a name yet." Grinning at the mere thought of his husband working behind a counter (and it's not sass, Ronin really is thrilled), he turns himself back to the subject at hand.
Whilst he might be able to reach out with his own Attuned senses, Ronin doesn't know what the heck Amalia is doing and so he wisely leaves her to it. Even when she hums. Still, when the weird and stony little hands erupt from the earth, it's enough to make the Star jump and scarper to his feet pronto. "Nope," he says. "Nope, I'll have nothing to do with that, if you don't mind. Come on, Amalia. I imagine you must know some good books with pictures of those things instead."
Still giving the hand mines a very bemused glance, Ronin starts to walk back towards the city gates, beckoning Amalia as he goes. Sugar trills her laughter above, the meaning clear in the sound:
