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!
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Ever is having dinner at a friend's house. That friend, Finn has learned, is Remi Taliesin's son. Once upon a time, the mere thought of it would have had the Spyglass holed up in his office, or in his attic, paralyzed with the inability to think past it.
Now, though? He has enough research to keep him busy possibly for the rest of his life. He has all but given up the Spyglass's attic space, though it still houses his books and his blackboard and a few personal effects. He has dinner to pick up, and company at home. He has a life.
It's weird, and Finn tries not too hard to think about it.
The lock clicks into place as he nudges the front door shut, a paper bag in one arm with toasted subs inside, and a few folders tucked beneath the other. "Hello," he calls, his hair a little damp from the rain, and he shifts to juggle everything out of the way so he can shrug out of his coat.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
Tobi has taken to motherhood quite naturally, though that isn't much of a surprise. Her caring nature makes her an easy and effortless parent, leading her to offer smiles and advice of "make sure you clean up after yourself and use your manners" when sending Everest off to dinner dates, rather than Finn's want of background checks and convenient strolls by certain houses.
"Oh, hello." Tobi chimes brightly, as if she were some shopkeeper welcoming a potential customer and not Finn's whatever-she-was-and-they-were. Beaming at him from over her shoulder, she nods her head to the "arrangement" (if it could be called that) of wildflowers she was trying to shove into a vase. "From those twin girls who broke their legs, you remember?" She asks with no expectation that Finn does remember.
Deciding that the flowers will just have to remain as wild in the vase as they were in the fields, the doctor shrugs and turns, offering out her arms to help Finn with his things if he needs it. 'Is that dinner I smell?' She wonders, her keen sense of smell ever the ruin-er of thoughtful surprises.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Finn pauses for a moment to watch Tobi wrestle with the flowers in the vase, and he wonders briefly who is winning before the doctor abandons the fight and the blooms are declared the victor. "Two compound fractures to the tibia." He hands off the bag to her when she comes to help him out, leaving the files on the coffee table and hanging up his coat. Of course Finn remembers the legs but not the girls. "Are the flowers intended to make you a better medical professional?" he wonders.
Nodding, he peeks into the bag she is now holding, pointing out the neatly packaged sandwiches with their names printed on the paper. "I got you a chicken salad," he says. It's never a surprise, because he always gets her a chicken salad. "It was to apologise for being late tonight." As if suddenly remembering, he glances up to meet her eyes. "Sorry I am late home tonight," he says with a boyish smile.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
'Aww, you were listening." Tobi coos, delighted. Reaching for the bag, she glances at Finn through a thick curtain of bangs with a smile she desperately tries to keep reined in. No Finn, it was a thank-you gift you boob, someone else might have said. Instead, Tobi shrugs thoughtfully. "Maybe. Do you think it's working?"
The warmth from the toasted bread and the smells already wafting up out of the bag have Tobi's mouth-watering. Though it's true she knows precisely what to expect, she's nonetheless thrilled with this choice. For other couples, a preemptive apology-sandwich might be met with a frown, or an eyeroll, and a how about you stop being late. Tobi however realizes just what it means that someone like Finn might have understood ahead of time that he'd done something she might not like, and had taken steps to make up for it. He was a far cry from the man who would blunder through rather mundane situations and somehow cause hurt feelings as he went, which made her appreciate simple gestures like this all the more.
"Thank you." She doesn't tell him that he doesn't need to apologize, because it wouldn't change anything. "Was it work?" Tobi wonders, already reaching in for her sandwich—and his—offering it out once his hands were free before plopping down onto the couch.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"There is very little evidence to suggest that cut flowers are capable of such things," Finn says somewhat breezily, leaning down to arrange his files neatly when Tobi takes the bag. "Some herbs have been said to increase focus and energy. But I am not sure your patients intended for you to eat your flowers." Straightening back up, he accepts the sandwich with a smile before settling himself on the couch beside her. "But if you believe it will help, perhaps the placebo effect will come into play. Personally I think you are a fine medical professional already."
For anyone outside the little apartment, it is perhaps the most they would have heard Finn say in a conversational setting. But this - along with the comparatively minor distance between them on the sofa - is just one of many small tells that demonstrate the Spyglass's comfort with the doctor at his side. "It was," he says after a small bite of his sandwich. "I am attempting to track relics which may have been located, but not yet discovered..."
He pauses, furrowing his brow. "I am worried that I will be called back out into the field." His glasses have remained quite safely in their case, in a drawer in the attic, and his stability without them is unmistakeable.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
'That suggests that there is some evidence that they are capable of such things.' Tobi points out with a knowing bob of her eyebrows while her cheeks grow round with the amusement she's trying to hold back. The fact that her patients were little girls made it not unlikely she was meant to eat the flowers, but of course, Finn had a point. "Awh, thank you. There is always room for improvement, but I'm glad I don't need to resort to eating flowers just yet."
Curling one of her legs beneath her and resting her other foot on the coffee table, Tobi begins to inhale her food with as much decorum as is possible. "Located but..not discovered?" Tobi repeats, swallowing down a bit of crust that has her coughing under her breath. Putting her sandwich down, she disappears momentarily into the kitchen to get them each a glass of water. It's lucky she does this perhaps, because though she is on her way back to him, when Finn says he might be called back out into the field, Tobi stops in the hall as her heart takes a moment to decide if it plans to stop beating altogether, or run away in a gallop.
Swallowing hard, she fixes a smile on her lips as she returns, setting down a glass in front of him before sinking back down onto the couch. "Maybe Amalia can go if you point her in the right direction. She's been so keen to help you with your work, after all." Tobi suggests as she reaches for her sandwich with fingers that don't tremble by nature but are instead quite stiff.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"Only if it is something you'd like to do," Finn agrees of Tobi eating flowers - like it or not, he's seen the shenanigans she gets up to as a canine, so it's not entirely implausible. He's about to offer her a drink when she's already getting to her feet, and so he focuses instead on another bite of his sandwich, much slower and more deliberate than the doctor. "Mm," he says, nodding. "Places which seem to be drawing an unusual amount of activity. Almost as though there will be a race to see who discovers the relic first."
Hence why his specialty would be useful; being able to know who had been sniffing around certain areas with any sort of frequency would help to paint a fuller picture of what to expect should the Order want to intervene. Murmuring a thanks for the water set before him, Finn reaches out to take a small sip. "I am sure she would relish the opportunity," he agrees. "But Amalia cannot do the things that I can do. I do not think Cian would allow it." But perhaps they would end up going together.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
In an effort to not to show signs of her distress, Tobi ends up biting her lip instead of her sandwich. Yelping a cry of pain and frustration, the doctor pulls her food away from her mouth and presses her knuckle to her lip for a moment as tears claw at the back of her eyes. "Of course." She mumbles around her finger where a small dot of blood has appeared. "That makes sense." It did. Of course it did, and of course Finn would go, because of course Cian wouldn't have it any other way.
"Where are some of the areas you're looking into? Or..are you not allowed to talk about it?" Tobi's heart has decided it would prefer to thump in her chest instead of gallop in response to her thoughts about Finn leaving, Finn being in danger, and Finn never seeing his son again. It makes her want to shake something (Cian), bark, or tear at part of the furniture. She does none of these things of course, instead focusing her attention on her sandwich and the bright taste of basil on her tongue instead of her rising unhappiness that Finn might go away again. She'll miss him if he goes of course, having grown much closer despite their rather unconventional relationship. Moreso though, her worry when he leaves, is what sort of state he'll be in when he returns. One day, she reasons, based purely on past experiences, he'll come back entirely hollowed-out. It's a waiting game to see when it happens, not if, and gods how she hates Cian for it.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"Are you alright?" Finn lowers his sandwich that he might glance across at Tobi - it is very unlike her not to be concentrating on her food, and even the Spyglass, with his social awkwardness, can tell that much without needing to say it out loud. "Oh, places like the Oerwoud, and the Sea of Glass in Halo. It isn't so much that I am not allowed to say more, and more that there is very little else to go on," he says, letting his fingers run through his curls.
He's no Attuned, and he's famously bad at all of this, but long enough living with Tobi has taught him to recognise the cues at least. Clearing his throat, Finn puts down his sandwich and turns to face her a little better on the couch. "No one has asked me to go anywhere yet," he says. "And they might not ask at all. But I understand that this would be a disruption to everything happening here."
Wordlessly, he holds out his arms for her to slip into them, if that would make her feel better.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
"Yeah, I just got too excited and bit my lip." Tobi murmurs, forcing a smile that easily becomes genuine once she notices Finn's gaze on her. Giving herself a mental shake and forbidding herself to let selfishness take over, Tobi swallows down her upset and listens properly to what Finn has to say. "I've always thought the Oerwoud sounded beautiful, if not for all the deadly things." She notes with a hum of amusement. "But the Sea of Glass? We'll have to find you some very warm clothes and better shoes." Falling into practicality has her settling somewhat. Not as much as she'd like, but it's a start.
It's the small things between them that seem to speak the loudest, and as Finn once again not only notices something but takes it upon himself to do something about it, Tobi feels her heart shiver with appreciation and guilt in her chest. "Sorry." She whispers as she sets her own sandwich down and tucks happily in against his side. "My mind ran away with me and all I could think of was you dead somewhere." She says with a frank honesty that has her laughing under her breath at herself.
'I know you're always as careful as you can be, and especially if Amalia is with you, you could probably be in no safer hands." The demigoddess could heal after all, so really, what danger could there be? Even so, Tobi wraps one of her arms around Finn's body and hugs herself close, not consciously allowing herself to crystalize this moment in her mind just in case, but subconsciously doing just that.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"What is wrong with my shoes?" Finn wants to know, though he offers a small smile to her and lets his arms fold around her when she tucks herself close. "I have always wanted to see the Oerwoud as well. Halo is beautiful, in a bleak sort of way," he explains, though his mind is only half on the conversation; mostly he's concentrating on the feel of Tobi against his side, the warmth radiating off her in all the places where they touch.
Raising his eyebrows, he can't help but smirk to hear her honesty, however hyperbolic it might be. "I have travelled before," he reminds her gently. "Halo, Torchline, the Climb, the Hollowed Grounds, the Greatwood... I even went into the desert that time, if you recall." Quite when Finn became such the seasoned traveller is a surprise even to the Spyglass, but his point remains the same; statistically, he isn't likely to wind up dead somewhere if it hasn't happened yet.
"Well, we will have to see what Cian decides," he says of Amalia. "How is your lip?"
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
"A lot of things." Tobi chuckles in response, both loving and hating Finn's overly practical dress sense. Despite the relative normalcy of this embrace, the doctor stays still for a few seconds that Finn might have a chance to adjust to the fact that his personal space has been invaded. Slowly though, one of her fingers begins to sway against his side, moving lazily but predictably back and forth in a small gesture of affection she hopes he'll find bearable.
"To rescue me. Yes, I remember." She says with a huff, as if sulking. "I know you have. But there's Everest to think about now, and ... it might just be my instincts, in fact it very likely is, but...could we just talk more about it if the decision is made for you to go? Not about whether or not you do, just about...the possibilities." Of death. Of returning shattered mentally. Of pulling a Remi Taliesin and coming back with children, or no soul, or as a demigod.
"It's fine." Tobi mumbles, sitting up slightly and pressing a finger against it. It only throbbed a little and the blood had already clotted. "I think I bit it instead of biting you. Or Cian." She admits with a guilty chuckle.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
He does find it bearable, in a way he has never expected he would. Partially it's thanks to the strange orb of memories locked up tight in the attic space that now doubles as a music room, but it's also just Tobi. Even before all of this (all of this being Torchline, Ever, the strange living situation they currently find themselves in) the Spyglass had been closer to Doctor Hart than with anyone in a very long time, and it shows now in the ease of his embrace, in the way he reaches up to gently tuck a lock of dark hair behind her ear.
"Alright," he agrees with an easy nod, glancing over her as she straightens up, as if to double check the state of her lip. "I am glad you decided not to bite me - less so that you decided to injure yourself instead," he murmurs. With a smile that only has any business being as playful as it is in Tobi's presence, he gestures to their abandoned sandwiches. "Might I suggest taking out your anger on your dinner?" he suggests, shifting that he might pick up his own food once more.
"Is Everest sleeping over at the Greatwood tonight? Or are we expecting him home?" he asks in a way that might almost seem casual, were it not for whose house their son was having dinner at.
When you're standing at the crossroads & don't know which path to choose
Tobi's grin is bright and quick, tinged with laughter and shame. "I would never bite you." She murmurs apologetically, pulling her slightly swollen lip between her teeth as if to check the swelling based on how much it hurt. It wasn't bad, not bad enough anyway for Finn's suggestion of more food not to make her grin and nod in agreement. "I think now that I've had a few minutes to think it over, I'm not angry. But I am hungry." Easily able to admit when her emotions get the better of her or when she's done wrong, Tobi just shrugs the moment off as she reaches for her food.
"He's still in the Greatwood." Tobi replies with none of Finn's trepidation. "I honestly thought he might come home early faking a stomach ache or something, but he seems to be handling it quite well." As a doctor she'd seen any number of children brought in "feeling funny" on the heels of their first sleep-over. Given that Ever's was all the way across the continent only made it more likely, but they hadn't heard a peep from their son.
'He and Mateo seem like fast friends.' She says gingerly, hiding her smile behind her sandwich before taking a large bite.
Let me come along, 'Cause even if you're wrong, I'll stand by you
