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!
It’s not terribly early, all things considered, but it still feels early. Feels like he should be hidden away in some dim room for at least a few more hours, at the very least, but time to waste is not a luxury he really has anymore.
There’s a pair of sunglasses jammed onto Nate’s face, the ascended not bothering to remove them as he steps first into the temple, then the infirmary. He does reach up to try to take the unkempt mess of curls on his head, his borrowed shirt tugging at his shoulders with the motion and making him wince.
Nate doesn’t announce himself. He simply looks around the infirmary, taking in the things that have changed, the way that it seems so much more clinical, with everything new like this. It doesn’t take long for things to start to look used, lived in, but for now it’s strange. He steps deeper into the room, sitting on an unoccupied bed and reaching out to tap audibly at the wall.
Time is meaningless here in the infirmary. There are windows, but Isla is careful to avoid the pools of light that stream in through them. And things are quiet at the moment, hence why Nate is so easily able to find an unoccupied bed, why the echo of his knuckles against the wall draws attention so quickly. Isla emerges from the stock room across the way, a small box of medicines in her arms, and as her eyes fall on him, sunglasses and curls and all, she can't help but smile.
"You came," she says by way of greeting, setting down the box and moving to come and say a proper hello. "You look how I'd imagine you'd look if you were hungover," she remarks. "How are you doing, Nate...?" It's not a question she necessarily expects an answer to, but it needs asking nonetheless.
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
Brows lift over the edge of the sunglasses when Nate turns to face his fellow doctor, questioning her greeting silently. His judgement doesn’t stop him from rising to meet her with a hug, his arms right around her for a breath before he’s stepping back.
The laugh that leaves Nate isn’t quite bright enough, and it exposes a few too many of his teeth, but it’s still an improvement from the last time they’d spoken. At least he’s putting the effort into trying to hide his cracks this time. “I imagine Sunny is probably feeling how I look then.” He drawls lazily, licking his lips and pushing his sunglasses up into his hair.
“Never better, Isla.” Comes the noncommittal answer, something in Nate’s voice trying to lay the topic to rest before it even has a chance. “Looks like you’ve done a lot of work getting this place back up and running.” Bright eyes lift to look around the infirmary before settling back on Isla, his head cocked.
Her arms move round him in return, clasping him close for a moment before Isla is stepping back again. How a smile as manic as Nate's can still be contagious she doesn't know, but she finds herself flashing him one in return at his remark about Sunjata. "That explains why you are visiting without him - though I don't really see Sunjata as a budding medic either," she says warmly, gesturing for Nate to follow her.
"That's good to hear," she says of the lie Nate feeds her, smiling over her shoulder. "Yeah, it wasn't... well, if you could have seen it after the fire." She winces - it's obvious what it might have looked like simply by how new everything is, and Isla shows him the new ward, the treatment rooms, her office and the operating room. "I'm not sure how to make it more fireproof than it already is," she murmurs, before turning to him.
"I do have some very interesting news though, if you'd like to hear it."
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
“I think he’d surprise you in that regard.” Nate grins, not seeming to connect the interest in medicine with himself. He follows after Isla without complaint, hands finding a home in his pockets as he looks around once again, taking in the tour. Everything shiny, and new. As for improvements though? Nate’s as much at a loss as she is. “Don’t know how to improve on stone really.”
Isla turns towards him, and Nate brows rise, interest immediately obvious on his face. “Obviously I wanna hear it.” Hands pull out of his pockets to rub together, Nate leaning in as if it helps make their conversation more private.
"Mm, I think I'd need to ask the Voice for anything more, to help reduce the risk. Get a way to keep the place lit up at night and warm, without fire..." Isla nibbles at the inside of her cheek, tugging at her sleeve and adding that to a list of potential needs and wants that lives solely in her mind. Speaking of their goddess, though, Nate's leaning in to hear her news and Isla grins, lowering her voice to add to the idea of the secret.
"She's given me a new quest. The Voice, I mean. If I complete it, I should be able to heal Ascended. The same way that some Abandoned can heal others, the same way that Azrael does. I'd have to be... y'know, touching them, of course. But it could happen" Her excitement is palpable, but her smile isn't entirely carefree. "It's not easy, though. Obviously there's a lot to do."
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
Nate looks around the infirmary one last time himself, nodding along to Isla’s out loud ideas. “I’m sure She’d have some idea of how to help, if you asked.” A shrug accompanies the words, blue meeting blue as Nate’s gaze locks on Isla’s face, the smile fading for a breath as he looks at her.
“That’s wonderful Isla!” Much as he might not want to think on it, war is coming, and having a blade like that presses to your throat is enough to change anyone’s mind on magical healing. “What do you have to do? Can I help?” Nate leans in even closer, pushing at the edges of Isla’s personal space in a bid to be useful, as much as he can.
Humming her agreement, Isla abandons, for now, the thought of a future visit to the Voice in lieu of the one she's already had, and she gazes up at Nate as if relishing his approval. Because, like her fellow doctor, she's also not much of a fan of magical healing unless absolutely necessary. But as Nate has already deduced, this is absolutely necessary with war coming so imminently to their doorstep.
"Well," she gushes, "I need to observe injuries in all types of our brothers and sisters. Hybrids, born demigods, demigods like yourself and so on." Easy enough - it's the final thing that's the stickler. "But I also need to perform a craniotomy. It isn't something I have ever performed merely for the sake of research, especially on an Ascended... I'm not sure I would be able to find anyone to volunteer." She laughs - because it does seem absurd.
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
The Voice’s instructions, as always, seems practical. As practical as divine magic can seem at least. There’s a logic behind it. “That sounds simple enough.” His head nods as if this act of agreement will make it that much easier. But, and there’s always a but, craniotomy.
It’s... a lot to imagine.
Nate’s unblinking eyes seem to crystallize, focused utterly on Isla. “Sure you will.” He says, after nowhere near enough time has passed for him to have actually thought about it. “I volunteer.” Just like that. A hand lifts to push his hair back, gaze never leaving his fellow doctor, even as his grin grows. “Just don’t mess up my hair too much, right?”
It does sound simple enough, and practical - which is precisely why it isn’t, once Isla looks at it too closely. Ascended don’t tend to get hurt by proxy, and asking her brothers and sisters can I cut you so I can see what happens doesn’t earn you many friends. It earns you more than can I cut out a bit of your skull to take a peek inside but either way. Not as easy as it looks. Only Nate does make it look easy, and his I volunteer sparks equal parts joy and horror in her.
Because Isla knows he can’t possibly consent to this. Right? Right. Surely not. ”Nate, I’d have to remove a section of your skull, I - I don’t think a haircut is going to save you at that point,” she says hesitantly, because he has still volunteered whether she likes it or not. ”Are you sure? What about Sunjata - this could be dangerous.”
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
It's the look that flickers over Isla's face that dampens Nate's grin, schooling it into something a touch more restrained. That sparkle stays bright in his eye, though, one that his fellow doctor might recognize as a reckless pursuit of something. "No, of course, but... it isn't as if you're removing it forever. Just long enough to look at things, right?" It's not a big deal, he's willing to do it, and she needs it.
With a gentleness that seems at odds with Nate's hands, he reaches out to gather up Isla's in a firm grip, his smile almost pleading now. "What would be dangerous about it? I trust you, you know what you're doing. Or at least, you're a very good liar." Nate laughs, bright and not nearly loud enough to fill the space that should have held an answer about Sunjata.
"Well, yes, of course. It would just take an incision here," Isla reaches out to trace a line from Nate's hairline, following the path her scalpel would take, "and I would remove a small section of the skull to observe brain activity in an Ascended. I've done extensive reading and I've been starting to test it on..." She catches herself and shakes her head, letting her hand drop as if worried that she might actually leave a mark on her fellow doctor.
And no sooner has she done so than Nate gathers her up in his arms, Isla finding herself hugging him tightly in return. "Don't say that, you make it sound very doable, and I am partial to compliments." Aren't they all? Sighing deeply, she finally offers him a gentle nod. "You need to promise me that you'll tell me if you change your mind at any point."
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
Fingers brush along his scalp, drawing Nate into the touch, as if he too can feel the marks that would be left behind, the intention in the line. "Sounds like you're more than prepared then, doesn't it?" With the research behind, the planning. All that was missing was him, and here he was.
"I make it sound doable because it is doable Isla. Especially by you." Nate lets the words croon out of him, over the top and honeyed with honesty. He leans back, smile sparkling down at his fellow doctor when she gives in. "Of course I will." The promise is as sincere as a shotgun wedding vow, one of Nate's hands disentangling itself to grab Isla's, bringing it up to his lips. "Just as long as you promise to treat my brain gentler than my heart, huh?"
"As prepared as I can be. I don't like going in blind," she mumbles, voice a little muffled against his chest. "I suppose my upgrade will help as well, so I'll be able to see what I am doing even before I make the first incision..." They make it sound so reasonable, the two of them, and she draws back enough to be able to offer him a self-deprecating smile as he steals her hand for his lips.
"I promise," she vows. "Your brain will never have been in safer hands. I couldn't risk something so brilliant, even for the sake of research." Huffing out a long sigh, she gives his hand a squeeze and guides him back towards the operating theatre. "I can show you around, but we don't have to do it now. It can happen whenever you are most comfortable..."
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
