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!
09-08-2021, 05:43 PM (This post was last modified: 09-22-2021, 12:26 AM by Nate.)
- NATE -
I don’t want a world Without pain or loss
Nate can’t help but move slowly, lingering around the base of the Spire like a wraith. God, maybe he and Sunjata should have just planted their flag here, set up shop in the ominous obelisk itself. If nothing else, it would save him a seasonal trip. At least this time it should only be a quick rendezvous, all he needs is a handful of pebbles.
And yet, he finds himself lingering, staring up at the tip of the Spire and the stars beyond it, imagining that it’s tall enough to scrape into the stars, tall enough to invade Safrin’s realm and lend reason to her animosity.
Pemota notices the visitor before Nate does, beady eyes and electrified starlight focusing on the other. It’s not clear whether she warns Nate or not, but he doesn’t move either way, head tipped up and back to the fields approaching the Spire. If not for her, he might not be recognizable, his hair shorn short and a scar spanning the length of his head.
Nikolai notices Pemota first and feels his stomach drop. Even after his talk with Sunjata, the young Ascended was reluctant to speak with his sibling. But perhaps this was a blessing in disguise? He did need help locating on of their family with an optical upgrade. One of the Voice's Demi-gods surely would know, right?
Biting his lip nervously, Nikolai steels his nerves and begins to approach. He opens his mouth to call out a greeting, but clearly he left his self-preservation filter at home. "Hey dipshit, you got a minute?" Nikolai feigns nonchalance while internally the screaming has begun. Why. Why. WHY. Oh for fuck's sake. I'm going to die today.
Nikolai’s shout crashes into Nate like a wave, surprise nearly taking him off his feet. He’s laughing my before he turns to look over his shoulder, bright eyes locked on the younger ascended. “I knew you liked me!” He crows, turning the rest of the way and stepping towards the other, closing the distance until they’re close enough for his arm to wrap around Nikolai’s shoulders.
“I got all night for you, what’d you need?” Nate tries and fails to resist the urge to reach over and pinch the younger ascendeds cheek like some kind of overbearing aunt great aunt seeing him for the first time in years. Nikolai will feel a tremble in the demi-gods hands whenever they’re not moving, Nate not able to hide it with their closeness.
Nikolai already regrets his decision. Nate is far too happy to see him for his tastes. The second the Demi-god wraps an arm around his shoulder, the younger Ascended scrunches his face up in disgust. "I really, really don't. I needed information. And despite you being...you... I figured as a Demi-god you likely had it."
Nikolai is about to brush the arm from his shoulder and put distance between them when the trembling registers. Instead, he has a tiny crisis. Should he ignore it and brush Nate off? Did he acknowledge it and ask what was wrong? They were family after all, despite everything.
After a moment of consideration, Nikolai gave up. Instead of forcing the Demi-god away, he simply decided to do nothing. He let Nate stay as he was, though there was no removing the tension from Nikolai's shoulders. Or the displeased expression from his face. This annoying little shit better be thankful.
“I do know a lot.” Nate agrees, ignoring both the insult and the fact that Nikolai didn’t like him obviously he does! while he turns to look at the younger ascended. There’s something venomous and teasing lined up behind his grin, ready to be spot in the face of the others little shudder when he pauses. There’s a moment, made awkward if only because it feels like he should say something, and then Nate is slumping to rest his head on Nikolai’s shoulder.
Heaving out a too long sigh, Nate settles, his voice less sharp when he finally finds his words. “What information? I’ll tell you if I know it.” Shifting to turn bright eyes back on Nikolai, Nate cracks a small smile, the bottom tip of his scar crinkling with it. “I owe you that much, little brother.”
Nate's grin only makes Nikolai's face twist into further disgust, even as he suppresses a shiver. Why was the Demi-god so unnerving? The anxiety only worsens when Nate decides to lounge on his shoulder. Though the cause is his rapidly increasing concern for the other Ascended's wellbeing.
He's half about to ask or even demand an explanation when Nate's grin becomes a small smile. When this unnerving Demi-god calls him brother and blatantly reminds him that they are family, even if Nate is insane. Letting out a sigh, Nikolai hesitantly and awkwardly reaches up and pats Nate's head. "I'm trying to find someone besides Wessex who has an optical upgrade. I have to ask them about what it does and how it works. It's for a quest."
Biting his lip and releasing another sigh, he reluctantly offers, "If you tell me, then I'll listen to you vent." Because clearly something was wrong with him. There had to be.
Dark brows pinch together in momentary confusion before Nate simply accepts the hand on his head. It isn’t as if his hair is long enough to mess up right now anyway, grown out from its shorn bare length, but only barely. “Oh.” A soft huff of laughter leaves Nate. “I do know someone else, actually.” And before he can explain further, Nikolai is making him an offer, the corners of Nate’s grin growing sharp again.
“Hmmm...” Nate rolls the offer around his head, his lips pursing. There was something, but he wasn’t about to just share that. “I don’t need to vent. But I’ll tell you for something else.” His brows lift as he makes his counteroffer, waiting for Nikolai to start to disagree before he continues. “A snowball fight. You need to lighten up.”
Nikolai perks up when Nate confirms that he has the information he needs. On some level he hadn't expected Nate to accept his offer but he'd hoped. Nothing was free so the younger Ascended braces to hear Nate's ultimatum. It's not what he expects, nothing he could have predicted.
"What." Nikolai deadpans, not processing Nate's words. When it hits, he slowly turns to eye Nate in bewilderment. "A snowball fight?" The bewilderment is quickly replaced with offended rage. "And what do you mean that I need to lighten up, you fuck?!" Nikolai flushes and snarls. He knows he needs the information, but a snowball fight? With Nate?
After a moment, Nikolai slumps, growling under his breath, "Fine dipshit. I'll indulge you. But tell me what I want to know first." Just in case Nate tries to get out of their deal.
"I mean you act like you swallowed a seed when you were a kid and it grew into a giant stick up your ass." Nate says matter of factly, squeezing Nikolai's shoulder again. "You scared of losing?" He goads, licking his lips and meeting Nikolai's eyes.
"Yeah, that's fair." Nate agrees, pushing off of Nikolai and stepping in front of him, two holographic hands and lowering to grab a handful of snow. He starts to shape it into a perfect sphere, grinning at the other ascended. "Someone other than Wessex with an optical upgrade? That's easy." He pauses for a moment, letting the suspense build up while he tosses his snowball up and down a few times before he leans in. "Me."
A bright laugh whoops out of him, and then Nate steps back, tossing the snowball square at Nikolai's chest. The snow falls to his feet and then pulls itself together again, a perfect sphere of snow. The deal had been just to give up a name, and Nate is nothing if not a stickler.
Nikolai's eye suddenly develops a twitch. Why was he trying to be nice to Nate again? Right, for poor Sunjata. Fuck. Letting out a deep breath, the young Ascended tries to keep his temper in check. He fails spectacularly as Nate prances off like some drunk show-boat pony.
Turning slightly to avoid the snowball, it goes flying past him. Nikolai snarls with bared fangs, "You little shit." Done playing nice, he grabs a snowball and chucks it straight at Nate's face. "You absolute fuck. At least tell me how your fucking upgrade works, disphit!" Nikolai reloads with another snowball, positively fuming and ready to drown Nate in the snow. Sunjata can find a better husband.
Nate can't help the hysterical laughter that leaves him in the face of Nikolai's outrage. "I'm the little shit?" He might not have much height on the other (which is fine, it's fine, definitely not any kind of infuriating) but Nate definitely has weight on him. And Nikolai only cements his status forever in Nate's mind with his cheap little shot, the snowball catching the demi-god right in the mouth and making him sputter.
"That wasn't the deal!" Nate protests, wiping his face clean while holographic arms gather up a new handful of snow. "You just asked for who! You gotta be specific, Ni-Ni." He dances to the side, ducking behind a pile of snow and tossing his snowball blindly at the other. "Ask nicely and maybe I'll tell you!"
Nikolai scowl remains, though there might be a tinge of hurt in it now. "Yes! I came to you for help and you mock it!" The snowball that Nate throws hits the younger Ascended straight in the chest. Nikolai stands in the snow for a moment, shock taking over as he processes Nates' words. Then he explodes. "Ni-Ni?!?" The audacity of this bitch.
Grubbing an armful of snow, the younger sends it as hard as he can at the Demi-god. "Fuck you! I did ask nicely! I even offered to help you in return! But no." Nikolai dramatically throws his hands up in the air, voice dropping an octave in a mockery of Nate's. "No, I have to be a dipshit to retain my reputation. Fuck being useful, I'm going to preach about snow and anal protrusions."
"I told you what you asked to know!" Nate insists, watching and waiting for the other to react, and he is not disappointed. If they had the ability to turn red still, he's still Nikolai would be so heated the snow would melt around him, but as it is Nate simply uses his imagination.
It's not as if the loose snow can really hurt him all that much, but Nate still leans away from it, a childish shriek leaving him. He throws one last weak snowball at the other and lifts all four hands in surrender. "Anal protrusions?" Nate laughs, futilely trying to brush snow off himself. "Since you're gonna be a baby about it, fine. Mine lets me see the future. Kind of." He's not sure how to explain it better, so he simply lifts a brow in Nikolai's direction, silently asking if that's enough.
If Nikolai was still a child, he'd have stomped his foot in the ground by now. As it is, he merely snarls at Nate when the last snowball weakly hits his chest. "Not everything." His voice does not come out as a pout, it does not. He decides to ignore his older brother's cackling and just presses on. Nikolai is determined to get his upgrade, even if it means pestering the Demi-god for more information until he caves.
"What do you mean it kind of helps you see the future? How? I need more then that I think." The Voice had asked him to discuss his sibling's upgrade. Just hearing what it does likely wasn't enough. Nikolai assumes he has to know more about the 'how' or at least the limits of the upgrade. Or was he overthinking things again? He'd say that it wouldn't hurt to ask but this was Nate. It'd hurt. Mentally.
