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!
Arialla circled over the jungle, catching glimpses of movement between the trees, in clearings. The flight here from Stormbreak had been long, and she was hungry -- besides, she liked hunting in her eagle form. Gore had never bothered her; as a priestess of Apollo, she had gutted plenty of sacrifices. And now, doing violence upon the world around her felt good.
So she didn't need much excuse to strike when she found a clearing with a deer standing alone, oblivious to the bloody intentions of the speck in the sky above it. She dove, wind screaming past her feathers, talons out. It was a good, clean kill; she snapped the deer's spine in the first impact, then pierced its heart with her talons. For a moment she closed her eyes, talons still embedded in flesh, to offer a brief prayer of thanks to Frey -- once it would have been to Artemis -- for nature's bounty. Then she disentangled herself from the deer and began to carve with her beak, an efficient and remorseless butcher.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ray was stalking through the forest, enjoying a day in her shift. Sometimes it was nice to shed her human form and give in to the panther. The Attuned had been stalking a deer, claws digging into the earth, ready to pounce. But then a flash of talons and feathers, and her prey was stolen.
Frustration and annoyance tore a snarl from the panther. Her stance turned from stalking to an aggressive crouch, hackles raised and fangs bared. Feline eyes locked on the eagle she leapt closer, front paws landing just a foot from the deer. Another growl slipped from her. The panther's fur was bristled, anger painting ever feature.
Arialla hadn't even seen the panther when making her dive -- the other predator's camouflage worked well, far better than the poor deer's. Now, confronted over her kill, Arialla turned and mantled her wings to make herself look larger, screeching in fury. She couldn't battle a panther on the ground, she knew -- if the cat tried to strike, she'd have to get back in the air. But that didn't mean she intended to flee over just a hard look and some growling, either.
This is my kill, she projected. The idea of the panther being another Attuned hadn't actually occurred to her; she'd just gotten into the habit of speaking at other animals this way, even though she'd realized they didn't understand her. Get your own!
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
The panther snarled at the display, lips curling back to reveal sharp canines. Ray would not be chased off by some wild flapping. Anger rolled through her at the stolen kill. But Ray's snarl cut off at the voice. She too hadn't considered that the eagle might be a fellow Attuned. Her aggressive posture relaxed, ears twitching curiously.
Hello? You're another Attuned? Sorry. Ray's head tilted as she eyed the bird. I thought that a wild eagle had swooped in on my dinner. Her voice through the bond was easy-going and not at all accusing. It was fair for the eagle to not have spotted Ray in the shadows after all. And the panther was for more inclined to share with a fellow Attuned then attack them.
07-05-2021, 03:33 PM (This post was last modified: 07-05-2021, 03:33 PM by Arialla.)
Arialla screeched again, her wings moving powerfully as she prepared to ... take off, and leave her kill to the panther, because she knew that if she couldn't scare the other predator off, she couldn't face it in a fight either.
Then the other Attuned's voice came through, and Arialla paused in confusion. It took her a moment to adjust, to set aside her eagle's pride and let human thoughts assert themselves. Part of her was still miffed at the panther's attempt to steal her kill. But she could definitely see that sharing was a better solution than fighting.
If it was your dinner, you should have gotten to it faster, she offered, not without a hint of humor. But, then, in a more conciliatory tone, she added, I'm not going to eat it all. Why don't we share?
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ray's ear twitched at the humored jibe. was about to leap. I have to be a bit more stealthy in my approach then an eagle that can come from above. Her amused tone held a hint of wounded pride. Maybe she should have been more quick to pounce? No, the might have startled the deer into fleeing.
The offer to share pulled the Attuned out of her self analysis. Ears perking up she trotted over. I'd love to share. Thank you! The panther stayed a bit back, letting the eagle get first dibs. It was Arialla's kill after all. Even if Ray had almost beat her to it. Almost. The feline would continue to practice her hunting another day.
What's the saying ... 'you snooze, you lose'? But Arialla's tone had turned humorous now, dropping the edge it had once possessed. Now, with the conflict tamped down by the promise of food for both of them, she could see the funny side of the situation.
You're welcome. Arialla turned her attention to the dead deer, deciding which part to make her dinner, and moved down to sit on its chest, where the nice heart and lungs were. She was the one who had actually made the kill, after all; it was only fair that she get the best pieces. Besides, as an eagle, she'd eat far less than the panther would. Probably there'd even be a lung left over for Ray.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ray's chuckle carries through the bond. Yup, I'm pretty sure that's it. But I don't recall being asleep. The panther waits patiently for the eagle to take her spot at the dinner table. Once the bird is settled, Ray makes her way in to enjoy a nice deer liver. When Arialla grows full, the panther will eagerly finish what's left.
Stomach full, Ray stretches before flopping into a sunbeam. Thank you for the meal! That was delicious. Beginning to clean off her paws and muzzle, she started up a conversation. Your voice is really familiar, have we met? I'm Ray. The panther Attuned couldn't recall anyone she knew with an eagle shift, but the other woman's voice was definetly one she'd heard before.
It's the principle of the thing, Arialla replied, with a prim tone that didn't at all suit the blood and gore running down her beak as she tore away and snapped up gobbets of meat. Mm ... Delicious. Any compunctions Arialla might once have had about eating raw meat had long since fallen away when she discovered how much the eagle body enjoyed it.
With her own appetite sated, Arialla stepped away to preen. She was running her beak along a tail feather when Ray spoke, but she raised her head to look at the panther. Hmm ... I don't recall meeting a panther, but you do sound familiar. My name is Arialla.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Stretched out languidly on the grass, the panther was as happy as could be. The name the eagle gave had no meaning for a moment until memories of water and encantados crept up. Arialla? We did meet once! Remember with the encantados at the Isles? The ones that put me in the bubble of water? You had to help me get back to dry land.
That had been an interesting day for sure. Being flung through the air and bouncing along the waves had been fun at first. Until things got a bit rough and Arialla had had to help her escape from the overly playful pod. It was still a fun memory for the Attuned regardless.
Arialla tilted her head, the picture of a curious bird. That was you?
Right -- they'd spoken telepathically, so the woman she'd helped that day must have been Attuned. If she'd had lips, Arialla would have smiled. Well, I did say something about meeting under drier circumstances, didn't I?
That day remained a bright spot in Arialla's recently-darkened mind, a moment of carefree fun in a past that looked so much brighter than the present. Her life had been so much simpler then, so much easier. She'd thought herself haunted by homesickness -- she'd had no idea what was yet to come.
Thoughts like that made her voice a little more solemn when she added, I hope you haven't had any more trouble with encantados.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ray chuckled through the bond as she began to groom the blood of their meal from her fur. Drier indeed. I much prefer a meal and sunlight to being nearly concussed in a water bubble. Her companion's shift in tone had the Attuned pausing in her grooming to eye the eagle.
The panther's eyes glinted with concern, though on the feline the only physical shift was an ear twitch. I haven't had any issues. But are you alright? Clearly something was eating at the eagle, but Ray had no idea what. And dark thoughts on a full stomach were never a fun combination, you just ended up nauseous.
07-15-2021, 11:00 PM (This post was last modified: 07-15-2021, 11:00 PM by Arialla.)
It looked pretty fun to me, Arialla joked. But then, I did have blubber to protect me.
At Ray's expression of concern, though ... Arialla sighed, cursing herself a little. Couldn't she just have a nice, normal conversation? Did everything have to come back to her feelings. I'm fine. I just ... haven't had many chances to go swimming lately. I don't live in Torchline anymore.
Of course, Stormbreak was close to the ocean too. But it had cliffs, not a beach, and while her eagle form might have made navigating them possible, she hadn't really tried it yet. The ocean around Stormbreak didn't smell of home the way Torchline's did.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Ray sent a small chuckle through the bond. I never thought I'd be jealous over my lack of blubber. But I really could have used it then. Maybe then she'd have gotten away with less bruises. The panther had ben rather sore for a few days after that incident.
Ray caught on immediately that this was a topic that her fellow Attuned would rathe avoid. Ah, I see. She felt the need to distract her companion. I actually recently got my second shift, a bush viper. I woke up trapped in my blankets and only realized after I managed to escape what had happened. It's funny how scary some blankets can be when you're suddenly so small. How did you discover your second shift? Hopefully that topic would be one that was less painful.
