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!
Paige gave him an incredulous look, eyes narrowing as she debated whether or not to actually believe what he had to say, but his laugh made her giggle. She wrinkled her nose at him, "Hmmm... If you say so." She said in a sing song voice, sticking her tongue out at him a little as she snuggled back against Lilly more, going back to petting the wolf pup. He was fun to mess with and Paige had no plans of stopping anytime soon.
The little girl nodded, "Yep! He's the biggest god we have! No one really knows a lot about him, but I just think he's hiding. I wanna find him and meet him one day." Paige explained, knowing that as an Outlander he probably isn't too familiar with all of their history. Not that she knew everything either, but likely more than him.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah stuck his tongue out in response. "I do say so." The grin was still present but it took on a warmer tint seeing the child relaxing with Lilly. She seemed to be nearly dried now and fully recovered from her scare. He'd escort her home when she was ready. There was no way he'd let Paige out of his sights unless he knew for sure that she was safely back to her family. Lilly too was enjoying the attention of the child, sending sensations of warmth and contentment through her bond with Sah.
Her explanation of Caido was useful and has the Outlander nodded. "I see. You'd be quite the famous adventurer if you found him." A mischievous glint appeared his eyes. "Maybe he's not hiding. Maybe he just took a nap and lost track of time." Sah whispered conspiratorially. "Since gods live practically forever I think it'd be easy to mistake a few thousand years for a few days, if they were tired enough."
The girl considered his words, pursing her lips as her head cocked to the side and she nodded slowly, "Maybe he is napping. No one really knows. He could be sleeping under the mountain!" She suggested, thinking it could be a good possibility. Another breeze rustled through the trees and she straightened a little, another shiver running through her despite that her clothes were fairly dry at this point. "Are you going to help me home too? I have a long way to go."
To be honest, Paige didn't even remember how she got all the way out here, but her momma was not going to be happy when she found out. That much was for sure. She took a look around, suddenly seeming to realize just how deep into the jungle she'd wandered all on her own.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
It seemed she was ready now. Sah nodded, "Of course. I was waiting for your clothes to dry so that you wouldn't get friction burns on the way back. You know how when you walk around in wet clothes and the places where your joints are get all red and irritated? I was trying to prevent that." He explained. The last thing he wanted was to be trying to appease a child who was uncomfortable and homesick.
Sah stood up, Lilly following his lead and stretching languidly. "If you're ready, we can head out now. Where's home by the way?" He doubted she lived in the forest but didn't know beyond that. Torchline was the closest and the most likely, but you never know. Noticing her concern, Sah gave Paige a gentle smile. "If you tell me the general area, I can lead the way. Do you live in Torchline?" He may as well ask.
Paige didn't really know what friction burns were, but the way he explained them made sense and she nodded. "I got those before. When I played in the water at the beach and then ran around." She told him, taking off the blanket and giving it back to him so he could tuck it away in his bag, feeling to make sure her clothes were fairly dry before giving him another nod. "M'ready."
She tilted her head at his question, "I live in Torchline. In a really big house. It's Auntie Maeve's house. Do you know it?" Maybe he did if he knew Miss Seren. It would make it much easier to get home if he knew where they were going. Paige reached out to take his hand, sticking close to his side as she craned her neck to look up at him, eyes wide. "You know how to get back, right?"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
With the confirmation that she was ready, Sah packed up the blanket and took her offered hand. Lilly was already walking around them, excited to get going. As Paige explained where to go, the Outlander's brows furrowed. "Ok, well I know the way to Torchline and can get us into the city. I don't know where a specifically big house. And I actually don't know a Maeve." He gave the child a sheepish smile. "I've only been to Torchline once and I actually never went into the city."
Holding Paige's hand he began to lead them back through the wilderness and towards Torchline. "But I'm a hunter and navigating is easy. We'll be back in the city in an hour or so. Then we can find your house from there, ok?" Sah hoped she knew the way once they were back in civilization. If not, he'd ask around for where this 'Maeve' lived.
Her faith began to waver as Sah spoke, stating that he hadn't actually been to Torchline and he didn't know her Auntie Maeve at all. How was he going to get her home if he hadn't been there. Paige's brows drew together, lips pursing adorably as she gave him what could only be considered a look of scrutiny. "If being a hunter is easy then why don't more people do it?" The question doesn't relate to the conversation at hand, but she aired it anyway, allowing him to start guiding them along the way that supposedly led to Torchline.
"You said you don't know Auntie Maeve, but you know Miss Seren and Miss Seren is bestest friends with Auntie Maeve. So why don't you know her too?" The little girl asked, stepping from stone to stone with his help.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
07-08-2021, 06:13 PM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2021, 06:14 PM by Sah.)
yet my blood renders me a King
Sah looked down at the child with furrowed brows. "Navigating is easy, hunting isn't. It's dangerous. You often have to find your own food and shelter while you're out there. You have to find a way to keep warm dry. And you have to fight off more creatures then just what you plan to hunt. Each hunt is an adventure, a dangerous one." He explained as he led them home. And yes, they were going the right way.
The other question had Sah chuckling. "Because I met Seren when she was out on an adventure, a quest. Maeve wasn't there so I didn't get the chance to meet her." He explained as he scooped her off of the last rock and deposited her on solid ground. He eyes their path, glad to see that they didn't have too much further to go.
Paige listened closely, holding tightly to his hand, not thinking about how much smaller she was compared to him. He was a grown up. Of course he was bigger than her. "Do you get scared when you go hunting?" She asked, looking up at him with wide, curious eyes. It seemed that the girl was once more full of questions for the hunter.
She frowned, brows knitting together as she considered his words, "But Miss Seren told you about Auntie Maeve?" Paige asked, holding onto him tightly as he lifted her off the rocks just to deposit her on the shore, but she quickly took his hand again as they started walking once more.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah winked at Paige. "Sometimes, yes. Occasionally I'll be hunting something and I'll accidently stumble upon something scary. Maybe a great beast or just a scary place to walk like a sheet of cracking ice." He hummed and realized that a child from Torchline had likely never seen a sheet of ice like that. "Cracking ice is terrifying, because if it breaks you'll fall into freezing cold water."
Paige's question is legitimate but all Sah can do is shrug. "Seren may have mentioned her, but we spoke about a lot of things so I can't quite remember it all." Most of what he remembered from their last meeting was the dancing, and Umbra's attack. Though they seemed to have worked past that, maybe.
The Outlander perked up as the trees began to thin and they could just begin to make out the city in the distance. "We're almost there, see?"
"I've never seen ice before. Are you from Halo? Do you live in an igloo? Are you friends with bears? Do you make your own arrows? How do you track an animal? Do people hire you to hunt animals?" Paige went on and on and on. So many questions from a tiny little girl, curious about life outside of Torchline, and all the exotic things that there were to discover. Sah didn't seem annoyed with her questions, at least. He was willing to at least entertain her curiosity. Not like some adults who always got irritated when she asked so many questions like that.
Paige pursed her lips and she was a little confused on how that made much sense. If someone talked about their friend weren't you supposed to remember? There wasn't much else to say about it, so she let it go, instead focusing on the path, allowing Sah to set the pace and lead the way. Finally the trees started to thin and Paige could see the faintest glimpse of buildings in the distance. "Huh... I guess you are kinda okay at navitating."
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah was honestly impressed that Paige's lungs held enough air for her to throw out so many questions without taking a breath. He'd have passed out most likely. Trying to keep track of her questions and the order that she asked them, the Outlander tried to answer them all.
"Yes I live in Halo. No, Lilly and I live in a nice house made of stone and wood. It's very cozy." Sah laughed as he answered the next one. "No. I'm not friends with bears, though I would be if I could. Bears and ursurs generally want to be left alone, so I leave them alone."The questions about hunting surprised him more then they should have. Paige mentioned that she wanted to be an adventurer, so of course she had some level of curiosity about hunting. "I don't use arrows. I use my magic and my sword. But many people who do use arrows make their own. Or they let a weaponsmith make them for them."
As for tracking, Sah paused. He pointed at a small trail to their side. "See that bit of grass? How it's a little more bent then the others?" He got closer and gestured for Paige to follow him. Just as he thought there were other traces. Crouching down and running a hand over one of the blades of grass, he pointed at little incisions on it. "See this? An animal has been through here and was chewing on the grass. I bet if we look at the ground we'll see some prints." Sure enough, looking at the ground along the disturbed grass there were tiny pawprints, a rabbit's. "It's a rabbit. You can tell by the shape of the prints and the distance between them." Sah pointed out before he stood back up and dusted off his pants. "See? That's how I track. You look for what's been left behind or changed."
Impromptu lesson over, Sah continued to lead them to Torchline as he addressed her last question. "Yes, sometimes people do hire me to hunt an animal. Other times I just go hunting and then sell what I caught." her comment about his navigating skills had him playfully sticking his tongue out at her. "I told you I could."
Truthfully, Paige hadn't been expecting for him to answer all of her questions. No one ever does. She was lucky if she usually got three, but he answered all of them. "It would be cooler if you lived in an igloo." Both literally and figuratively. Paige gave him a look that clearly said she was unimpressed by his lack of bear friends, not thinking that was a valid enough excuse not to have one. He just wasn't trying hard enough as far as she was concerned.
However, he managed to distract her from her judgement of his lack of animal friends with the impromptu tracking lesson. Suddenly very interested in learning something new, Paige paid close attention to what Sah said, staring hard at the tracks and trying to see what he saw. It was pretty hard, but eventually she did make out the little paw prints. "But there isn't any grass in Halo. How do you track on ice? Do animals skate on ice? That would be pretty cool..." The last part was mostly wondered aloud to herself, but she wouldn't mind an actual answer either.
Paige wrinkled her nose and stuck her own tongue out at him in return, "You just got lucky." She quipped, tugging on his hand as she hurried forward, seeming to know just where she was going.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah shook his head at the child in amusement. "Well, if you ever come to Halo you can build one. For now, I'm going to stay in my house." He teased, but if she really did show up and try to build one, the Abandoned would for sure help.
Her continued questions about hunting and tracking pleased the hunter. Sah was more than willing to continue her lesson. "Well, it's the same concept but the signs are a little different. Fur and claws leave little grooves and smudges on the ice and snow. That's how you track there." The image of skating animals pulled a chuckle from the Outlander. "Well, they don't really skate, but when hooved animals like luxere try and walk on ice, it does look like they're skating." Especially the little ones who's legs were still wobbly to begin with. They often slid more then walked on the ice.
Sah scoffed but let Paige drag him into the city. "Lucky? Ouch." The child seemed to know exactly where to go now, which reassured him. The Abandoned hadn't been looking forward to asking strangers for directions.
