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 question caught the hunter off guard. He oscillated back towards the raven, eyebrows knit together as he pondered his answer. "I think so." He did, truly, think so. Was he absolutely certain? No. Did he realize now that having that woman out of his life was better for him? Yes. Was he lonely, and his bed suddenly large and cold and foreign? Also yes. Grieving the living felt different than grieving the dead, and grieving the loss of love and affection and passion felt far more different.
He still felt the same desire to share his bed with a woman, to start a family and be wholly together. It just was not with her, and it hurt to think about how that desire was twisted and contorted and how the love they had shared -- broken and tarnished and devouring -- was no more.
Glacier eyes finally bounced back up towards the raven, and he turned back towards the door to the processing room. He disappeared within, rummaging around some before reemerging with a plate full of cured and dried meats and fruits for himself, and a second plate with luxere meat that was not yet through the drying process. He did not think the boy was ready to return to his human form, so he fed the raven what raven's would prefer. He set the plate down, settling with his own and taking a bite of a hunk of luxere sausage.
It could have been comical. A solitary man, sharing dinner with a bird. It could have been awkward. Meat consumed in silence, as memories and sentiments bounced between the walls. It could even have been sad, how the raven so easily pecked and tore at the offered morsels. A foot on the meat, while the beak ripped away slivers and scraps, easily tossed back into ravenous gullet. The separation from a boy who had been almost picky in his tidy eating was startling, and showed how right Noah had been. Korbin was not ready to return. Might not ever be, in truth.
Yet, as minutes ticked by and the crackle of the fireplace was allowed to fill the room, the feeling that followed was none of those things. There was an easing. Unwinding of taught muscles, of breaths withheld. There was a lowering of guards, crumbling walls... and even a glipse of something warm, when the raven sidled stealthily towards the hunter's plate. One step at a time. Until he was just close enough to dart in and steal a piece of fruit. It was devoured in a single gulp, and there was a look to the raven's eyes. Almost a glitter, as if challenging the man to object.
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
The differences in who Korbin was in this moment and the Korbin that Noah remembered from growing up were easy to see. Noah mused over it for a moment as he worked on his own food, slowly and savoring each bite. He left room for Korbin to ask more questions if he wanted, but sitting beside the raven he was not uncomfortable in the silence. The two had been here before - in each other's company with no words going back and forth. They had been this way in trial and trauma and happiness and work. It was a part of them.
Noah leaned back some as Korbin approached him. Noah's face lifted with the curiousity before the realization set in at what was about to happen. He opened his mouth to protest but the raven had already taken what he wanted. "Hey," Noah chuckled, an animated gesture following. He pulled his plate and and rested his arm across the table between it and the raven. He hunched over the plate, glancing sidelong at the bird. "I haven't had to eat like this since Ezekiel was little."
Oh, the raven was definitely having fun now. From the open beak a raucous sound issued forth, grating and rolling in a fair mimicry of human laughter. He tried to cross the barrier of arms, but found the treasure beyond well guarded.
Once that became apparent, the Korbin raven simply stepped up onto Noah's arm instead. Strutting up from forearm to upper arm until he reached the shoulder like this was his private perch, he eventually made himself comfortable and settled in, nestled against the hunter's neck. There he would fall asleep, and nothing Noah did for the coming few hours would be able to wake him.
It would seem that Korbin had come home to stay.
- FIN
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
