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!
Yeh’d have to be blind to miss Nate ridin’ the giant-ass chicken through Haulani, an’ most of the more sober patrons of the Hanged Man had climbed up to the roof to watch it all, cacklin’ with glee to see their compatriots flailing around with the chicken.
Some drunk starting goin’ on about Nate bein’ the Lone Free Ranger and by the end’a the night, they’d spread the nickname far ‘n wide.
And the eggs? They didn’t go unnoticed either.
On Raza’s day off, she coils Hoa around her neck an’ shoulders and sets out for the beach, sandals pattering steadily against the city’s cobblestones as she strolls easily through the streets. Sweat begins to bead between her shoulder blades as she reaches the baking sands and Hoa seems to absolutely delight in the heat - or maybe it’s the sight of such big eggs? Which are entirely too large for him to get his mouth around, but that doesn’t mean he can’t daydream of being in a food coma for days, the glutton.
Chuckling at her companion, Raza strolls up to one of the eggs and puts a hand - and her ear - up to the shell.
red pill in his hand paranoid cutie with a dark past
Moving the eggs is not an easy task, and Harper - still living at the Inn with Phoebe’s things until she calls him to Stormbreak - admittedly doesn’t have anywhere to put one. Officially. It doesn’t mean he isn’t going to absolutely try regardless, as made obvious by the tarp and straps he has gathered in a vain attempt to secret away such a large object.
He’s not the first one at the Egg Stonehenge, but luckily all three seem intact. Good. Potential friends still safe. The woman is recognizable to him as someone who lives in Torchline, but they’ve yet to meet individually - another potential friend then, what a score.
“Morning!” Calls out across the sand as Harper jogs to meet Raza with wind-tousled hair and a bright, boyish smile. “I see nobody has tried to mess with them yet. I’m hoping to steal one and try to hatch it.” All thought of lying out the window - there’s three, plenty to go around right?
it's that type of dangerous thing when he feels like the boy next door
Ray approached the trio of eggs, bag filled with various sampling tools and rope. And a half-formed plan in her mind, can't forget that. As she got closer she recognized Raza and one of the guys who helped her lead the chicken out. "Morning Raza." She nodded her head at the woman before turning to her fellow chicken wrangler. "Morning. I didn't get a chance to catch your name earlier. I'm Ray." She held out a hand as she eyed him. First impressions aside, he seemed rather friendly, maybe a little naïve.
His earlier words as Ray had approached had not gone unnoticed. "So you want to raise one? I originally came here to move them further away from Torchline. The mom might come back or the hatched chicks might cause just as much damage all on their own. I don't want to have to deal with another giant chicken, especially not a trio." Ray explained her intention, trying to appeal to reason. "Not to mention, but regardless of if they hatch or not, they'll attract predators. And if a giant snake or weasel shows up, we'll have a serious fight on our hands." Ray hoped that Raza at least would agree, but she wouldn't put it past the woman to try and sell the eggs. As long as they ended up away from Torchline, Ray was fine with that. The man however, in his hope of having a baby chicken to raise seemed like the biggest obstacle in her path.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Honestly, she’d just come to see what the fuss was all about - see if maybe there was somethin’ incubation’ in them or if they were gonna start stinkin’ up the sands.
“Hey Ray,” Raza replies with a lazy wave, before turnin’ her attention to the man who had just announced his plans to hatch one of the eggs. Pullin’ away from the sun-warm shell, she raises a skeptical gaze towards his (admittedly) handsome and eager face. Ray beats her to speakin’ - but what she hears from the girl’s mouth is also a bit of a surprise.
“Wow, y’all are really invested in these guys, ain’t ya?” Shifting so that she leans a little more on the egg at her side, curious and amused eyes dart from one person to the next.
“I just don’t want ‘em rotting ‘n stinkin’ up the sands.” Raza shrugs, happy to let these two duke it out for a while or concoct a plan. But as far as she’s concerned, there’s more ‘n enough to go around. One for eatin'. One for hatchin'. One for - uh, whatever's left after that.
red pill in his hand paranoid cutie with a dark past
They're soon joined by another - the girl that had helped corral the chicken back into the jungle with him and Nate. Her hand is accepted easily, calloused fingers giving a firm shake at odds with his sunny smile. "Harper, nice to meet you." Not that she seems to feel the same with how she immediately outlines all her perceived flaws with his hatching plan. Luckily Harper is not easily offended, and merely gives a smile and a shrug.
"I'm sure they're not fertilized, or we all would've heard a giant rooster crowing every morning. But a guy can dream, right?" His grin is playful, and doesn't ease at all as it's turned to Raza, whom he winks at. "We could always break one open, see what's inside? Saw off the top so it won't spill?" At least then they'd determine if there's a yolk or baby inside - a necessary sacrifice since they can't exactly hold each egg over a light to determine if they're fertilized. Harper isn't sure if the sun would even work, and there's certainly no giant spotlight in Torchline. Hands open at his sides in a gesture of compliance, he gives an easy-going shrug. "Either way it'll be easier to transport then."
it's that type of dangerous thing when he feels like the boy next door
Raza brought up a good point. These eggs would certainly make a mess if they rotted. And perhaps Ray was overthinking this, still coming down from her adrenaline of the chase. She turned to Harper, returning the handshake with a firm but gentle hand. As Harper began to speak, it became clear that Ray may have judged him too early. He seemed bright. "You've got a point, I haven't heard any giant roosters. Thankfully."
Ray walked over to one of the eggs and laid a hand on it curiously. It didn't feel warm, just like the kinds of eggs she'd find at the market. An idea occurred to her. She sent a grin towards both of her companions. "Let's crack one open. If they aren't fertilized, how does a trying to make a giant omelet sound?" Ray was certainly curious as to if an endeavor was even possible. It might be as much of a mess as wrangling the mother was. But at least he'd be less destructive. Hopefully.
Breakfast? Her stomach suddenly rumbles loudly at the thought and Raza looks down at it, realizin’ she ain’t eaten much today (heat does that sometimes, then it’s just drinkin’ and oops, everyone’s a hot mess.) “Yeah, why not?” she agrees, pushin’ away from the one she’s leanin’ against and lookin’ up at the top. She and - Harper, is it? - are about equal height, so she looks at him and then to Ray.
“A rock might work if we ain’t got a saw,” the proprietress suggests, and then back to Ray. “Harper, right?” but there’s barely a pause between askin’ the guy’s name and turning back to Ray with another idea. “We’re about the same heigh an’ you’re probably lighter. If we boost ya, think ya can figure out the shell?” It seemed better than letting it spill out all over the sand.
If Haper agrees, she’ll interlock her fingers and wait for Ray to step into her palm.
