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!
all the skeletons you hide show me yours and i'll show you mine
She walked home at sundown, back to the inn and it's roaring fire within. Aisha had spent the day finishing up some duties with the Shields and making sure the guild was going to operate smoothly while she was gone. Then it was to the markets, gathering supplies for her trip. She was headed back to Torchline, to meet with Deimos for a hunt before going across the sky ships to a new city, to Stormbreak.
It was a mission of sorts, to learn more about dragons, to talk to Ronin the original monster hunting guild master. She'd been on plenty of missions and adventures before but they were always a bit nerve racking, especially when it was somewhere new. Even the wilds felt easier, at least then she wasn't interacting with an entire new set of people on her own. She'd been with friends, family, and here she was about to leave that behind once more for another journey however short or long that may be.
With a pack of rations at her side, the woman noted the smoking chimney up ahead and felt relieved. She would take the little comforts like this, the things that reminded her that all was going according to plan.
The injuries to the wing was healing well. Shelter and food and the protection from predators had sped up a process that would have taken months in the wild. The raven had to admit that being back in the Citadel had its advantages. For all the pain it brought him, it was good too. In a wistful, melancholy kind of way.
Stretching said wings wide, the big bird glided over the rooftops on quiet winds. Not yet Hale enough to shift, nor so mended that returning to the Tundra would see him anything but dead, the Attuned stayed within the confines of the city even when exercising. The humans moving about their business on the streets below were awarded little attention.
Until, that is, one shock of gilded curls jumped out from the drab background. The raven turned in the air, and came in to land on the roof of the old inn. Blue eyes watched her approach, torn between a need to disappear and... memories. They had laughed together, once.
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
05-14-2021, 03:28 PM (This post was last modified: 05-14-2021, 04:13 PM by Aisha.)
AISHA
she grabbed a razor for me and she did it, just like that
All would not go according to planned, it seldom ever did and it was a silly trick she played on herself to believe that it would. She walked up to the inn, scraping her boot against the edge of the bottom step to the porch. Some fluttering above against the gently paling orange and pink sunset caught her attention. A glance up would find the raven perched at the edge of the roof, looking down.
She watched him for a moment, unable to stop the faint swell of happiness at seeing him there. And yet that happiness hurt her, a reminder that they were unresolved. They'd caused each other pain.
Aisha sighed, tossed her pack up to the top step of the inn then moved back down to where she could see him again. She stared up to his blue eyes, then began to change. Clothes and sheath and hair and skin became fur and claws and teeth. The golden cat's pelt gleamed in the early eve light, and quietly watched him through her yellow eyes.
when she want something she don't wanna pay for it
Gold hair melted into gold fur, and when gold eyes turned up to meet blue, the raven was still there. A shadow against the blazing backdrop of setting sun, the bird was merely a vestige of the boy that had once tried to laugh away his troubles. Solemn and quiet, he regarded the leopard. Moved not at all, and whether that was for good or bad, he had not yet decided. In this moment, it merely was.
That was how a human called Korbin had learned to endure. By shedding everything that was not strictly necessary to survive. Memories had been tucked away, friends discarded, duties and illusions of needs shed like so much down until only the raven remained. Living in the present, allowing instinct to take over and carry it from one heartbeat to the next.
But it seemed that this thoughtless existence was no longer possible. A hunter would not allow it... and this princess had been willing to fight him over it. Now she looked at him and the raven feared to read too deeply into that molten gaze. He didn't want to see the blame that no doubt would be there.
The raven blinked slowly, and averted its gaze.
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
she grabbed a razor for me and she did it, just like that
There would be no blame to be found if he did look at her, she wished he would see that. Wished he would see her and not need to look away. It hurt her the most to know that the memories he had left of her bruised and scarred, they caused him pain to remember. She wanted to see him smile, it was all she wanted from any of her friends really, especially from those that so seldom had happiness to share.
He wouldn't come down on his own, so she shifted into the bat and fluttered up to the top of the roof. Gave him his space, hovered a few feet away before shifting back into a leopard once more. She landed and sat, curled her tail around her and crouched down, rested her head upon her front paws and watched him. If he dared to dip into the attuned bond he might feel that she was content, that there was something around her that was akin to happiness but oh so faint.
when she want something she don't wanna pay for it
Ravens did not smile. Jesters though they were, fun loving and playful by nature, a beak was too stiff to bend. This raven in particular had no mirth to share. He had, once, been both light of heart and quick to jest. But it seemed a lifetime ago. There was no music in his heart, the songs had withered in his throat, and old fury coated the tongue with ash in an oily black layer that would make even the gentlest of words taste bitter.
Korbin did not smile anymore. He tensed when the sun-beam of a woman shifted her way up onto the roof, and shuffled up the shingles to maintain the distance. So torn... the bird wished it was not so torn between flying away and staying. It was not Aisha's fault that seeing her tore bloody ribbons in the chest. He should leave, or laugh. Stay away, not bother her, let himself forget... But the sunshine memories with her refused to fade.
"Aisha..."
The whisper was barely more than a sigh across the void. Solemn, weary... full of regret.
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
05-25-2021, 01:33 PM (This post was last modified: 05-25-2021, 01:34 PM by Aisha.)
AISHA
she grabbed a razor for me and she did it, just like that
A voice, that same voice that she'd heard so long ago in the temple. Her name, it was croaked out, a gentle breeze against her mind so faint that she could've imagined it. And yet it was so sweet a sound, her ears shot up, sunbeam eyes widened as she watched him. A bit of the fear that'd cloaked her faded, shed from her and allowing her to shine brighter in the sunset light. He remembered, fuck all the regret and solemnity, the memory was enough.
The woman was timid as she uttered his name, Korbin, her voice was low, cautious, but there was no question in it. Please tell me if it's too much- she started, cut off by the pain of something you need to say but didn't realize would recoil and bite so cruelly. She couldn't hurt him again, not like she had then when she thought she'd lost him for good. Never again.
when she want something she don't wanna pay for it
Still he would not look at her. The blue eyes, so unusual on a raven, kept studying the snow under its feet. The heavy bill fidgeted with a misplaced down on his chest, tucking and untucking without much success. Only the quickest of glances darted her way as her voice came echoing through, and the bird made a visible effort not to flinch away from it. Sidestepped, then came back. Wings unfurling, stretching. Flapped a few times... only to settle back against inky dark sides.
The silence that followed was profound. In truth, everything was too much. The sheer volume of memories and emotions threatened to overwhelm him, to the point where many long hours were spent staring off at the Tundra. Beyond the Citadel walls, where time did not exist and a boy named Korbin could be allowed to disappear. He had promised to stay, to try, but... it was hard.
"I miss... the music," came a whisper, after an eternity of thought. Or just a moment - it was not easy to tell. Even his thoughts were hoarse, and unsteady. More images and feelings than words, as if it was a struggle to make them coherent. Fingers plucking on lute-strings, a dark-haired woman throwing back her head in laughter, the reflection of himself in a hazy mirror where everything was distorted. Times long since passed, that would not return.
Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way
