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!
"We should," Isla agrees, her brows knitting together as she considers how they might maximise the potential to teach new people how to stitch and bandage and diagnose. "Maybe we can discuss it when you come to visit," she suggests, because as Nate says, the plans are already solidified and in place. It would be easy to lose herself in those imagined lessons, in how they can train others in the art of healing the body, but then the conversation takes a decided turn.
"Interesting?" she echoes with a raise of a brow this time, pebble blues flicking to his hand as it whispers across his chest. Before she has a chance to ask how, though, he's telling her, and Isla can barely stumble over the first revelation before he's telling her that Remi - her Remi - had gotten Hotaru pregnant. "He what?" she blurts, feeling the rise of a number of emotions for a number of reasons.
Even in the state he’s in, Nate recognizes the note of distress in Isla’s voice. Dark brows furrow above confused eyes, the doctor licking his lips and hesitating. “Remi um... got Hotaru pregnant?” The words come sideways out of Nate’s mouth for all he winces around them.
His mouth purses, and then opens again, words vomiting out of him like maybe they’ll help. “She said it was some uh... some god thing, I think. I... wasn’t really listening to her.” Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Nate tears his gaze away from Isla and focuses on the ground as hard as he can. “She’s um... not happy. Like... it’s not good.”
My legacy will never burn down What you gonna do when it's your turn now?
Isla can do little more than stand facing Nate at first, the medic blinking stupidly at him as though he's speaking a different language. But he isn't, and the words sink in even though they don't make sense, leaving her reeling all over again. "Oh," she says. "I see." Raising her eyebrows as he suddenly talks about she she tilts her head. "You mean Hotaru? You spoke to her as well?"
Running her fingers through her hair, she offers Nate an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, it... this is nothing you've done or anything like that. It's just a surprise, that's all. I didn't realise..." A lot of things, apparently. "Gods, this must be... yeah." It doesn't even bear thinking about, especially with Remi and Ronin and their relationship to think about. "Are you alright? I know you were... with Hotaru, I mean."
His one blue stays locked stubbornly on the ground, Nate working his jaw while Isla works through the bombshell that he’s dropped on her. The pieces still don’t quite fit together in his head, but it’s nothing new, nothing that he can’t handle. He just tries to move on smoothly, clearing his throat before he speaks again. “Yea, uh... yes. We’ve got her... we’ve spoken to her.” Screamed, more like, but... it’s fine.
It’s the apology that draws Nate’s gaze up again, a firm frown on his lips. “Don’t apologize. Surprise is... the most rational reaction I can imagine.” There’s a distance in his voice, the tightly clenched hands at his sides releasing suddenly. “It’s a lot.” Pressing his palms to his legs, Nate twists his face into a wide smile, insincere reassurance dripping off of it.
“Of course I am. It’s all... expected.” Arms lift in a helpless shrug, Nate forcing out a single strangled chuckle. “She’s left before, just...” The words slip away from him, ringing hollow in his own head. Shaking it to try and clear away the din, Nate tries again. “It’s easier this way, yknow?”
My legacy will never burn down What you gonna do when it's your turn now?
It's more difficult to try and help or to take note of all the invisible tells Nate's giving her when Isla is also reeling, and she works hard to swallow back all of the reactions she wants to give, all of the things she wants to say, instead focusing on her fellow doctor. Inhaling a long and shuddering breath that is entirely for show, she gestures vaguely to a small wall nearby. "Could we go and sit down, do you think?" she asks.
She doesn't need it (well maybe a bit), but Nate certainly does. "I just... I don't think anything is easy about this. This is all..." His strangled laughter and manic smiles say it all. "Gods, Nate, it's a mess." And whether he follows or not, Isla moves to sink down onto the wall, ruffling her fingers through her hair. "You should come and visit sooner rather than later. I think we could both use the distraction."
It takes a moment, few uncomprehending blinks in the direction of the wall before Nate seems to actually see it, his head bobbing in an immediate eager nod. “’Course we can.” Somehow, the way his arm crosses Isla’s back manages to seem like it’s mostly for her, no matter much support Nate himself draws from it. “I’ve dealt with messes before, Isla.”
Nate sits heavily on the wall beside his fellow doctor, his arms still around her shoulders. “I’ll have to talk to Sunny first. Things are...” A breathless little laugh leaves him, all desperation and misplaced hysterics. ”Things are hectic here right now.” His hand moves from Isla’s shoulder to gather her hands up, squeezing them with the candlelight of warmth that he can manage.
My legacy will never burn down What you gonna do when it's your turn now?
It doesn't matter, in the end, why they decide to sit or just who it is for - Isla appreciates the arm around her likely just as much as Nate does, and when he takes her hands, gathering them up as if she's the one in trouble, she can't help but to let him. "Oh, we have all dealt with messes before," she agrees with a small half-smile. "It doesn't always make it easy though, does it?"
Nodding to hear he needs to speak to Sunjata - so does Isla, but she won't let that slip given the nature of the conversation - the medic shifts a bit closer, that they might sit and watch the waves and the night slip by, as if nothing has changed and the world isn't going to shit around them. "Gods, I bet. Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes talking helps and sometimes it really doesn't, so I'm happy just to be here if you'd prefer."
“We have.” Nate agrees, squeezing her hands just a little, seeking something tactile that is frustratingly out of reach. There’s something she’s trying to tell him, or not tell him, something in the sunken edges of her smile that Nate tries to ignore. “They get easier to deal with. I’ve dealt with a lot now.” A soft laugh huffs out of Nate, gentler this time than it was before.
“No.” It’s the most honest he’s been this entire time, to both himself and her. For the moment, Nate is more than happy to sit beside Isla, pressed thigh to thigh with their joined hands sitting on their lap, staring out at the sea like it might bring some peace. Maybe he’ll have managed to find some by the time they part again, both of them returning to all manner of messes once again.
Fin~<3
My legacy will never burn down What you gonna do when it's your turn now?
