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!
How were there so many of these damn things? Where did they all come from? She was starting to think that Ronin's prediction of a giant mother pumpkin somewhere out in the Wilds was totally plausible at this point. How else could there be so many of them? Maeve whacks another one off of her gate where it was trying to climb over and into the garden of the Halenani. It hisses and snaps, vines waving around wildly, undeterred by the Madame's efforts. "Get down you bloody bastard!" She huffs, hitting it with her broom and sending it rolling.
She wasn't going to use her bow. She wasn't interested in actually fighting, but the damn things were persistent. At this rate, it would take a small army to get rid of them or at least another set of hands to help her keep them away from the Halenani.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
Aurelia is drawn by the sound of a familiar voice, thickly accented as it is. She comes around to find the Halenani, for all intents and purposes, under attack by a bunch of gourds. She'd seen a few of them ruckus'ing around the city but this many? It's actually a little concerning!
To find that it's Maeve, of all people, shouting profanities at a pumpkin and waving around a broomstick, well... Aurelia can't help the shit-eating grin that warms her features.
"Well, I'd offer some help but it looks like you got this handled!" As she shouts this over to the Madame, a rather hefty pumpkin comes barreling toward her, swinging it's vines at her like floral whips.
"Hey!" She snaps at it, jumping away after it lands a decent smack against her hand. At the commotion, it would seem more of them are drawn out from the sands, and Aurelia has no choice but to find her way over to Maeve's side, fighting back reaching vines and pumpkins all the way. She glances over at Maeve and nods at the broom, "Got anymore of those?" She offers a cheeky grin at this.
Will I reach the end now or ever?
At least if I fall down it's familiar
It's a sight to see, that much is for sure. The Madame is already wearing black, dark curls blowing in the breeze as she brandishes her broomstick and all that she really needs is a pointy hat to fit into the children's tales she looks like she's sprung from. Her eyes lock onto Aurelia, spotting the grin and despite the situation, a laugh bubbles up in her chest. It falters when one of the pumpkins they're defending against comes bumbling up to Aurelia, lashing out with its vines, teeth gnashing as it hisses. "Looks can be deceiving. These little shits are stubborn." Maeve huffs, offering Aurelia her hand to help her over the fence whether the Arbiter needs it or not.
She whacks another, smaller gourd off of the fence, sending it sailing into the packed earth where it cracks open to spill its guts in the dirt. "Don't have another broom, but there is a shovel over there." A jerk of her head motions to the shovel that's leaning against the side of the building, ready to be brandished as an impromptu weapon, perfect for weeding out hoards of hungry vampire gourds.
It's all a bit silly. Fighting off pumpkins with a broom, defending her garden like some cranky witch whose spell went wrong. A smile tugs on her lips and she feels a lighter than she has in days.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
It's a quick movement that gets her over the fence, and the hand offered is gratefully accepted. She's quickly discovered that, when you're under fire from a bunch of sentient-ish pumpkins, a helping hand is much appreciated and absolutely necessary.
She watches with widened eyes as Maeve mercilessly sends one of the pumpkins wheeling through the air until it lands and cracks open. She soaks up the information and darts over towards the shovel with a loud whoop of excitement and surprise. "I didn't know you had that in ya!" She calls over her shoulder as she picks up the shovel, which is perfectly well-rounded for swinging.
Coming back up alongside the Madame, Aurelia brushes against Maeve and asks with a flirtatiously low growl, "What else're you hiding up your sleeve, huh?"
It's just then when a sizeable pumpkin manages to climb its way over its fellow squash and scale the fence. "Ay- I got this one!" She declares confidently, striding up with the shovel poised for a mighty strike.
Only, when she brings it down to punt the thing, the blade of her shovel gets jammed into the orange flesh. While the life force of the vampire gourd itself perishes beneath her blow, her shovel is caught and she struggles to free it as more of them threaten from the fence.
Will I reach the end now or ever?
At least if I fall down it's familiar
07-07-2021, 02:54 AM (This post was last modified: 07-07-2021, 03:40 AM by Maeve.)
Maeve
Despite the situation, Maeve laughs, bright and bubbly. It's one of the first laughs she's had in ages it feels like. She tosses Aurelia a wink, sending another small pumpkin plumenting from the side of her fence, "I'm not just a pretty face, love." Maeve shoots back, eyes raking over the other woman as she grabs the shovel and it occurs to her that this probably isn't the best time to be ogling her, but there is a fire in Aurelia's eyes that the Madame can't help appreciating.
The growl catches her by surprise and her cheeks flush, the color travelling all the way down her neck as a shuddery breath pushes past her lips. It takes her a moment to gather herself, but she manages it quickly enough to quip, "Guess you'll have to stick around and find out." Maeve purrs, a smirk curling on her lips, but the moment of tension is ruined by a big fuck off pumpkin climbing over the fence.
Aurelia takes her swing only for her shovel to get lodged in its side, striking it dead in the process, but Maeve is there for backup. She smacks another two off the fence, buying her enough time to help Aurelia with her little shovel problem. Maeve moves behind her, fingers curling at her hips as she plants a foot on the pumpkin and pulls.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
Aurelia lets out a heartfelt laugh at Maeve's quip, and oh how ironic her words actually are. It appears as though Aurelia will stick around - quite literally. Her shovel gets caught inside the pumpkin almost immediately after.
She tries to pry it out but, what she isn't expecting is the hands at her waist. Pumpkins go flying, seeds are spilled out onto the sand, but the fingers that tighten around her waist come as a shock. She's very wrapped up in the goal of defending the Halenani from pumpkins, however, and so she accepts the aid readily. They both pull, tug, and finally with one vigorous jerk, Aurelia frees the shovel.
And the leverage it gave the both of them is suddenly lost. That, in combination with the surprising strength behind Maeve's grip, sends the both of them careening backwards. The shovel goes flying as she tries to catch not herself but Maeve. She'd try not to land with all of her weight on the Madame if she can help it, and with quick hands she's able to soften the blow of the fall almost supernaturally.
Only she ends up looking down at Maeve, their faces close and chests together. This prompts a cocky grin to slide across Aurelia's lips and she nods once at Maeve, looking at her through a half-lidded, amused gaze. "Y'okay, little miss warrior princess?" It's a tease - a terrible, facetious tease - but she airs it without hesitation.
But- right- gourds!
The sound of vines swishing after them pries a throaty battle cry from Aurelia as she jumps back to her feet, grabbing Maeve's broomstick and using it to swipe through the wave of little pumpkins that's taunting at just an arm's length away. Like little bowling bowls, they go rolling into one another.
Will I reach the end now or ever?
At least if I fall down it's familiar
Part of her should have known that they'd end up on their asses with that particular move, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Especially when Aurelia's shovel was stuck and Maeve just wanted to help. Okay, maybe she also wanted an excuse to touch her, but could you really blame the woman? Maeve tugs just as Aurelia does and they both go flying backwards, a yelp of surprise rising in her throat, eyes going wide as she tries to catch herself. Except Aurelia is suddenly catching her.
Arms wrap around her thin form, body cradled in the Arbiter's embrace as they tumble together to the ground, a laugh bubbling up in her throat when she realizes that they're both fine. It quickly tapers out as she blinks up at Aurelia, lips parting and eyes going wide, agonizingly aware of the heat of her against her body. Were her eyes always this green? A cocky grin curls on the woman's lips and she can't help that her eyes dip down to them before flicking back up to hold her gaze. Maeve opens her mouth to speak, but the Arbiter beats her to the punch, tossing that pet name at her so casually.
Her cheeks flush red all over again, heart fluttering in her chest as she manages a nod, but before much else can happen the Arbiter is springing into action all over again. Maeve's left there reeling, drawing in a shuddering breath before she pushes herself up, grabbing the discarded shovel instead. She uses it to stab downwards at those approaching the fence, spearing through the tops of their heads before they even manage to start climbing, reigning death from above.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
As the pumpkins keep coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming, Aurelia struggles to keep up with them. Especially when, inevitably, the broom breaks. Fortunately and unfortunately, the mob of pumpkins have decided to bombard past her towards the Halenani.
"Maeve!" She calls out, but a frustrated grin darkens her features because the pumpkins are moving pretty fast and she can't quite keep up. At this point, they've grown tired of her antics and, without her broom in hand to brandish as a weapon, she is... boring?
Impulse tugs at her sharply, and suddenly she is gone. In her place? A fuzzy little creature with a long, red-ringed tail. It swipes through the air in an arc as she pounces in front of the throng of toothy squash. One nips at her tail, grasping some of her fluff. She lets out an angry bark and takes off in the opposite direction of the building.
Much to her surpise, and perhaps.. demise.. this little mob has given chase to her now. Better her than the Halenani, she guesses?
as long as you are brave enough to bring yourself home
There were a lot of things Maeve expected from today. Learning that Aurelia had Attuned was not one of them. She blinks in surprise when the Arbiter disappears and in her place is the fuzzy little creature that she has never seen the likes of before. It all happens so quickly and before the Madame can even blink, Aurelia is taking off with a horde of gourds hot on her furry heels. "Oi! You leave her alone!" She calls out, hurrying up the steps to grab her bow and quiver off the porch, using the slightly higher ground to her advantage.
Maeve is quick to pursue, knocking arrow after arrow, taking down many in the process. First one gourd, two gourds, three gourds, four! Then five gourds, six gourds, seven gourds more! The Madame shoots and shoots and shoots until there is nothing left to shoot. Instead they're left with a hard full of slain vampire gourds, arrows sticking out of a good number of them, guts littering the ground.
"Since when could you do that?" She calls out now that the imminent danger has passed, trotting down the stairs towards Aurelia, hesitating to reach out and touch her. Is that rude? It seems rude. So for now the Madame keeps her hands to herself.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
07-09-2021, 10:21 PM (This post was last modified: 07-09-2021, 10:22 PM by Aurelia.)
Aurelia
The gourds are catching up to her pretty fast, too fast. Aurelia does her best to get away from them, bounding across the sand with paws that claw for traction desperately. Suddenly, something sings through the air and punctures the hide of the gourd closest to her. With a surprised stutter in her steps, she glances back to see an arrow lodged firmly in the pumpkin.
Maeve? She wonders, awe striking her when suddenly it's almost like there's a whole fleet of archers in one as the Madame fires away. Once the initial shock is over, Aurelia does her best to bait the pumpkins into perfect firing range for Maeve. Which does require a great deal of trust, for the Madame not to shoot her.
When it's all over, Aurelia bumbles over towards the bottom of the stairs to meet Maeve halfway. She's panting and breathless, but now that it's over she plops down onto the backs of her haunches in a way that's quite human, with her back paws put out like feet.
At Maeve's question, she shifts back into herself, sitting almost exactly the same way. Awkwardly, she clambers back up to her feet and smiles. "You weren't the only one Safrin saw something in," she teases, booping Maeve right on the nose. "And hey!"
She nods to the bow, "Since when could you do that?" There's admiration and awe that lathers her gaze, her voice, even her expression as he starts to beam almost proudly at Maeve.
Will I reach the end now or ever?
At least if I fall down it's familiar
It's easy to make quick work of the Vampire Gourds when Aurelia brings them into her range, ducking and weaving through the line of fire and Maeve doesn't come close to grazing her. She's been practicing and her aim has improved tenfold. By the end of it, there is a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and she's panting, reaching up to push a few arrant curls from her face. A smile tugs on her lips as Aurelia sits in a way that's very human like, furry legs sticking out in front of her before she's suddenly shifting back into her very lovely human self, trotting over her and booping her nose.
Maeve blinks, a huff of a laugh pushing past her lips as she seizes Aurelia's wrist, tugging her closer until they're almost nose to nose. "Really shouldn't be surprised. I've always seen something in you." She purrs, eyes glinting playfully, teeth catching her bottom lip as a smirk curls on her lips.
"Told you I had more tricks up my sleeve." She brushes her thumb across the inside of Aurelia's wrist, pressing against her fluttering pulse for only a moment and it's incredibly reminiscent of their first meeting. When she took her wrist to bring Aurelia's cigarette to her lips and set them on a path they couldn't have ever predicted, but now they're here. Pulled back into each other's lives, trying desperately not to collide in a way that will push them from one another all over again, but instead dancing with each other as partners.
I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'Cause I am picturing you beside me So let me be everything that you need
Aurelia is caught in the Madame's web almost instantly when she reaches out to brush her fingertip across the woman's slender nose. Suddenly, she's pulled in until they're nose-to-nose, and Aurelia has to suck in a sharp breath of air while Maeve purrs like a cat that's caught its prey.
The brush of Maeve's thumb pulls her right back to that first night they met, and Aurelia remembers vividly the way she'd broken through every wall as if it were made of paper. Only, instead of ripping through, she seemed to want to take a pencil to each and every one, to rewrite the story there.
At least, that's what Aurelia might say of it, were she not suddenly shifting, shifting, back into the panda. Maeve's grip on her isn't forced away, no, instead Aurelia throws herself into the woman's arms, hoping to be pulled in there against her chest. Where she'd nuzzle the top of her head against the underside of Maeve's chin, and twitter happy notes - even if Maeve had perhaps wanted something... not quite this.
fin!
as long as you are brave enough to bring yourself home
