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!
Her voice lilted and offered refrains of the number until it could cease and desist. “Ready or not, here I come!” Vaulted in return, and then she and Fangorn set off – no longer leaning upon the boulder, righting herself into the midsts of fog and mist.
Now, Melita had zero extra senses – human through and through. But what she did have was a sneaky little companion who wouldn’t mind helping. With a nod, both of them parted ways for a little, just enough to be in each other’s sight, as they began searching. The honeybee was quiet, delicate, in her approach (a different experience from anyone who knew her long enough), tiptoeing along the arches of dirt, soil, and warrens, breathing in the lake air, trying to relish any sights, any sounds, that seemed out of place.
The gourd, however, could scent and follow trails, and his little vines pushed him off the ground as he rolled this way and that, until he came to the edges of a tree. And there the aroma seemed to taper off – confused, for a moment, there was a silent grumble, an echo of companion bonds, that turned and twisted Melita away from a particular patch of brambles and thorns, and back towards the pumpkin. “Did you find something?” was a delicate whisper.
Up in his roost, Sah swore he could hear a distant whisper. But he couldn't make out any words. It might have just been the wind in the trees, but just in case he froze. Trying not to move a single muscle for fear that the trees rustled beyond what the wind was causing. Any unnatural twist in the leaves would alert anyone down below that there was something up above.
Sah slowed his breathing to quiet it as much as he could. Straining his ears to listen for any further indications of Melita's location, he waited. Although waiting was difficult, Sah had had years of practice. But then a stray leaf fell and tickled his nose. Eye twitching, he tried to resist the urge to scratch. He managed for a moment but then it became too much of a nuisance. Giving in, Sah slowly reached up to tend to the irritant before returning to his prior position. He hoped that the noise and slight rustle in the leaves was muffled enough by the fog.
Fangorn’s low grumbles took effort to piece together, but in the end, Melita began to circle the tree. Glancing for tracks, for signs, for measures used, taken, and formulated in this game of tracking and catching – and really only looked upwards when the gourd’s vines began to gently creep up the trunk. “Oh,” she offered softly, before smirking, snickering, and placating her companion by slowly rising up the timber herself – fully capable of shimmying, of climbing, of clambering along with ease.
And when she got to the proportions where Sah was waiting – she giggled and grinned. “Found you,” while hooked very easily upon an opposing branch, dangling above fog and murk. “Very clever.”
Sah gave a mischievous grin as Melita became eye-level. He had heard when she had started to climb. It seemed that having known his location she had forgone stealth. And so Sah had simply waited for her to reach him. "You did." Sah agreed. And thanks." He then began to climb down with relative ease. Dropping down from the last branch, he stood up. Sah glanced up at Melita. "One last round?" His question had a hint of eagerness to it. Sah needed to get going but he wanted to play just a little longer.
Once Melita was on the ground as well, Sah began the final countdown.
She shimmied back on down, and the Cheshire grin remained firmly in place. “One more round,” like a little promise and conviction made on embers and coals.
Then he began counting down, and she decided to be a little shit.
She ran, ran, and ran, booking it towards the water, Fangorn following close behind. They were likely giving away some portion of their whereabouts, but within a matter of moments it wouldn’t matter anyway. Stepping towards the embankment, and taking the pumpkin into her arms, the youth placed her feet on the lake’s surface. Due to the anklet, the charms bobbing neatly along her skin, the honeybee didn’t fall through, but instead glided, floated, along its veneer, lightly touching, skimming, until she and the gourd were utterly consumed by fog.
The countdown went by quickly. "Time's up." He announced before turning to Lilly. The pup had been relaxing in the shade of a tree for the last bit. And although he was content to leave her be, Sah had a hunch he'd need her help this time. "Let's go find Melita and Fangorn, ok?" He whispered, getting a quiet yip in return. The two set about sweeping the area, until they found the very obvious trail left by their competition. Sah's brow furrowed at how clear it was. Why had Melita forgone any and all stealth? It couldn't be a false trail, there wasn't enough time to leave one. That meant the woman was confident enough in her hiding place that even with such a clear path, Sah wouldn't find her.
Sah felt excitement creep up. A challenge, huh? Fun. Following the path, Sah and Lilly quickly made their way to the water's edge. When the trail, both physical and scent, ended abruptly, Sah's brow furrowed. The duo began to scower the shore for further clues. They also checked trees to no avail. Glancing at the water, Sah began to have a hunch.
She was still when she needed to be – poised aloft, an immersed figure amongst the swirl of fog. She could hear his approach, but nothing else. Patience would have to be a virtue she didn’t particularly flaunt or utilize very often.
But she couldn’t move. Couldn’t allow the veneer, the surface, anything to stir, to ripple, to glide. Couldn’t puncture, pierce, or give away a sign.
If he was already at the edge, he must’ve sensed something was afoot. But he couldn’t walk on water like she could, right? The dominion caused her to wonder, and for half a moment she pondered if she should sink into its depths for a true disappearing act.
However, she settled back to the immobility – like a nymph, enclosed and encircled by nothing but her elements of nature.
Sah walked along the edge for a bit until he was sure his hunch was right. Smirking he sat down and crossed his legs, staring across the water. "So I know you're right in front of me, somehow on the water. But given that I can't walk on it, where doe that leave us? I could use my lightning and shock you to shore but I don't want to hurt any creatures in the water."
Sah gave an overdramatic sigh. "Loathe I am to admit it, I guess this means you win. Again." He grumbled, but a playful grin was still present. "I may be new to this, but I'm still pretty sure this counts as cheating."
A loud giggle exuded from the water as his hunch slunk along the eaves, and she materialized out of the fog and mist, feet still pressed upon the water, Fangorn tucked under her elbow. It might’ve been an ethereal image, save for the raucous growling of the gourd, and her Cheshire grin flickering along her features. More embers for the stoking. “Outsmarting people shouldn’t count as cheating,” and she winked, gliding over the veneer until she reached the shoreline.
From there, she stuck out her hand for him to shake. “A good game, all around.” Her nose wrinkled, head tilted, and eventually she stepped along the rocks and soil once more, back and grounded to earth. “You still did very well.”
Lilly wagged happily as her new friends reappeared. Sah gave a small snort of laughter. "Sure, let's go with that." A smirk came to his face. "I'll have to remember that one for later." He teased as he shook her hand. "Good game." Sah looked down as Lilly pawed at his leg. Sah gave a sigh, turning a regretful smile to Melita. "Looks like it's time for us to head out. See you around." He returned her Cheshire grin. Try not to torment too many people."
With that Sah and Lilly turned to head out. After a few steps however, Sah paused and looked over his shoulder. A playful smirk in place. "Oh and Melita? You've kicked my ass at two games now. That makes us friends." And with that, Sah and Lilly were gone to the mist.
