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!
Edy swans in like she owns the place. Her fingertips touch nearly every surface not unlike a toddler might. Especially drawn to shiny surfaces (i.e., metal ones that likely have been recently sanitized, and now will need to be again), the Rapacious dances through the open spaces.
"Yoooohooooooo. Anyone home?" She calls out, pausing to dramatically cock an ear to the side as she listens. There's no one around to see it, but that's Edy all over. She's unapologetically herself even when there's no one watching.
Picking up a scalpel, Edy begins to stab at the air with her feet shuffling in a perfect line as if she were jousting. Her tight leather leggings and cropped shirt emphasize just how long her legs are and how strangely graceful her movements can be, even now when she's clearly just fucking about.
"Go fuck yourself." "Fuck me yourself, you coward."
"Edrei Launceleyn - aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" The door to Isla's office opens, and the scold dies on her tongue when she realises who has come a-knocking. Not because she doesn't think that Edy should keep the noise down and stop waving a scalpel around in her infirmary - she just knows that it's impossible to even try and suggest as much to the young Ascended.
"Come on - you can take a seat in here if you like, and stop potentially frightening my patients while they try to sleep." She beckons her through into the office; a spacious area with a desk and bookshelves, as well as a fireplace that is never lit and a couple of comfortable chairs to sit on. "Is this just a friendly visit, or is there anything I can do for you?"
"You need to work on your flattery doc." The Rapacious trills. "Ain't nothin' about your eyes sore these days." She adds, fluttering her own lashes over eyes as dark as Isla's skin is pale.
Glancing around, Edy conducts silent music with the scalpel before taking a few quick ballet-adjacent steps toward her fellow ascended. "Me? Frighten? Whatever is there to be scared of?" She wonders, widening her eyes suggestively as she bares her fangs.
Slipping into the office, Edy plops herself before the empty fireplace rather than one of the chairs. "I mean...if you're offering.." The Rapacious chuckles, raising a brow in a manner that suggests there are all sorts of things Isla could do for her.
"Go fuck yourself." "Fuck me yourself, you coward."
“I couldn’t possibly comment, Edy,” Isla says mildly, cleaning up her desk and surreptitiously checking that her fellow Ascended hasn’t squirrelled away the scalpel she’d been fencing with, before raising her eyebrows across at her. The Rapacious is dark and mischievous and all sorts of crude - perhaps frightening wasn’t the right phrase, but intimidating as hell probably covered it off quite nicely. Still, Edrei’s antics only draw a secret smile from Isla, and she moves to join her by sitting on the arm of one of the chairs.
“If it’s within the realms of a medical exam or any help I can provide you as a doctor, then of course I am offering,” she informs her, her smile growing by degrees. “In any other capacity, though? I couldn’t possibly comment.” And now the smile’s a grin. “How are you, Edy?”
"Didn't know it was that easy to make you tongue-tied, doc." The Rapacious chuckles, all round-cheeked and waggling eyebrows. She's lost her scalpel, but that's alright. Obvious weapons aren't really her thing, anyway. "I CouLdNt PosSiBly ComMeNt." Edy mimics, and given the station the both of them once held, the Launceleyn does a remarkable job of copying the doctor's perfunctory tone. 'I think you'd better do a scan. You seem to be on a loop.'
As for why she's there though? Well, it's a bit surprising, really. Or at least it might be that way, if Isla wasn't fully acquainted with all that the Rapacious is about to say. "Well. So you know this whole war we've been brought back for?" Edy runs her finger along the stone of the fireplace, inspecting the soot that grey's her finger. "Well there's this other option the bookmaker is trying to put forward." Sitting up straighter, Edy tilts her head looking quite pleased with herself all of a sudden. "One of peace."
"Go fuck yourself." "Fuck me yourself, you coward."
"If anyone ought to do a scan it's you. Who knows how many viruses you may have picked up accidentally." Isla bounces her eyebrows at Edrei, ignoring the jabs as easily as one might dodge blows, and she sits a little more comfortably in her seat as the Launceleyn finally gets into the meat of the matter. Humming out her agreement regarding The War, though the last thing she expects is for Edy to know about the idea of peace that Sam's pitching, much less sound as though she's pleased about it.
Not wanting to burst her bubble entirely, Isla tilts her head. "I had heard a few rumours like that," she says. "But I am very interested to know your thoughts. Do you think it's possible, if enough of us band together from both sides? I don't think any of us wants another war. There's been enough death." Isla should know. She's died twice so far.
It would have indeed burst Edy's bubble, though these days the Launceleyn didn't pop with just a wet POP, but rather exploded. "I'm all for death s'long as it's the right fuckers who die." The not-teenager says with a rise of her nose. "I was raised and trained to be a warrior, so it's sort of the thing I do. But Wessex? She's been a real b i t c h and after everything that has gone down, I'm not really here for it." Edy looks at her nails approvingly for a moment, before flashing Isla a dark stare. "This is my second go at life. Third I guess, if you count Northaven and whatnot as a life. I don't plan to fucking waste it taking stupid orders from someone I don't respect."
She'd lived that life once already.
'Is it possible? Sure. I don't know if it'll go down the way Sam is thinking...I don't really think we can kumbaya our way to peace." But, that's probably why Sam had let people like Edy jump aboard the bandwagon.
"Go fuck yourself." "Fuck me yourself, you coward."
Isla can't help herself as she gazes across at Edrei, and a cheerful smile starts to curl at the corners of her lips. Edy the firecracker, threatening peace as effectively as she so often threatens violence. It would warm Isla's heart, if she still had one beating. "You are getting quite wise in your old age," she informs the not-teenager, trying not to look too pleased about it in case it earned the Launceleyn's wrath.
As for her question, the medic spreads her hands and shrugs her shoulders. "I think anything is possible if enough people believe in it and commit to it. You're right that it probably won't be as straightforward and peaceful as some might hope, ironic as that is. But I would rather try for this than to wait for war. We both know that war is messy, and violent, and helps no one in the long term."
"What? No." Edy scowls. "You don't age when you're dead." Right? Right?
Pointing her fingers at Isla and pulling her thumbs down like triggers (she'll never stop thanking Adam for teaching her 'finger guns'), Edy nods and grins. "See? That's it exactly. So....can I say you're in?" Isla was already, not that Edy knew. From the Launceleyn's point of view, being able to go back to Sam and say that she'd gotten Isla on board was bound to be a fairly big catch. At least she thought the doc was a catch. Always had.
"Go fuck yourself." "Fuck me yourself, you coward."
"No, you don't." Isla grins to Edy. "Though you still get wiser, I think. You might not age but it doesn't stop time." Somehow, though, she doubts that this will make any sort of difference for Edy. The Launceleyn will still be as... Edy when she's 300 years old as she is now. And she has no concept of finger guns, so as her fellow Ascended pulls the thumb-triggers, Isla can merely give her a look.
Is she in, though? Obviously, but for the sake of Edy's pride, Isla will say it twice. "Yes," she says. "Yes, you absolutely can. And I look forward to working with you." However that might be, in whatever capacity. Isla has a feeling that peace is about to get much more interesting.
