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!
In the shadow of the soon-to-be new Barracks, Wessex sorts through the weapons collected last year by Aamu (he, too, she wonders about, but has accepted that the oldest of them was perhaps unsuited for their time) in the wake of the fire. Taking each piece in hand, she runs practiced and knowing fingers over the blades, inspecting them for rust and testing their sharpness. Then over the hilts and holding bits, noting what needs to be repaired and re-leathered or re-forged. It’s a time-consuming task, but one the General can easily get herself lost in.
Two or three piles being to emerge and a soft, nameless tune lilts around her immeidate vicinity. The Wraith hums to herself, mostly here in the present, but perhaps also somewhere in the past. Maybe with her mother. Maybe with Aamu. Maybe with the ones who trained her, who would probably turn their blades on her now.
Nikolai stretches under the moonlight, enjoying the way that the shadows around blend into the dark landscape. Before Ascending he'd never really paid attention to such small details, but now he found himself captivated by the night. Perhaps it was an Ascended thing, or perhaps it was simply him. Still, the sights were worthy of poetry in his mind.
Nikolai wanders aimlessly before pausing as the emerging barracks come into view. As he approaches a figure became distinguishable and he finds himself smiling as he picks up his pace. "Hi Wessex. What are you doing, do you need help?" The piles of weapons certainly hint at some task being underway.
Glancing up at Nikolai as he approaches, Wessex grins and nods. “Always. I’m sorting the remaining weapons from last LongNight into what’s usable and what needs repairs and what might just have to be melted and reforged into something.” Gesturing to the respective piles, he might be able to see just what she means by the state of the items in each.
“It isn’t hard, just tedious. And sometimes all they need is a little love.” Like any hunter-warrior, taking care of her tools has been ingrained in the General. Clean the blood off the blade. Don’t put it in wet. Keep the leather oiled or it’ll crack. Sharpen the blade. Take care of the weapon and it will take care of you. She hands him something long and pointy and then turns her attention to a smaller dagger to her left.
Nikolai eyes the piles curiously, trying to match the descriptions Wessex gave with the respective weapons. It's a bit difficult given his lack of knowledge on the matter but after a moment the differences register. "Huh. I can give you a hand if you want, but would you do something for me in return?" The concept of favors without payment was still difficult for him to wrap his mind around.
Nikolai gestures to the bow he had on his back, the bow Wessex had given him. "Would you be willing to check my progress? I've been practicing." He was still so new to archery so any further training was highly valuable.
There is no ‘tit for tat’ here here, not for family, so Wessex shakes her head and dismisses the idea. “You don’t need to trade things with me. I’ll help whenever you need it. Reciprocity is always nice, but -” shrugging, the General shakes her head. She can’t ask everyone to do what she does.
“How about something a little different first? Give you the basics on something else. Grab that knife to your left right there -” she gestures towards the weapon to his left with a mysterious grin, saying very little. She waits until he picks it up and then continues. “Now I’m going to shift into a panther and I want you to attack me. I’ll defend the whole time. Let’s see how you approach fighting an animal and the unexpected.” After a moment to make sure he comprehends, she shifts, morphing into a sleek, black cat.
Nikolai blinks, processing her words. A small shy smile appears and he nods slightly, "Thank you". Family, why was that still so hard to wrap his mind around? Because it still seemed too good to be true. But Wessex had seemed nothing but genuine thus far and slowly it was beginning to dawn on the younger Ascend that the Demi-god was someone that he could truly put his trust in.
Still he warily takes the knife, holding it in his hand in a familiar grip. Nikolai was far more familiar with knives then a bow, having used them in fist-fights and back-alley brawls in the past. The second Wessex mentions shifting forms, the younger Ascended takes a step back warily. The panther form that the Wessex takes is equally terrifying and majestic and Nikolai can't help but gulp.
Forcing his muscles to relax, Nikolai steps into a fighting stance, keeping his eyes on Wessex. "Alright." After a second to brace himself, the younger Ascended surges forward. Attempting to keep an eye on the cat's flaws and fangs, he goes to slash her flank with the knife as he scoots past.
Wessex takes a moment to adjust to the feline form - the feel of the muscles in her legs (the power of the tail that Ray mentioned), the smells that are suddenly a thousand percent stronger than before. She shifts back and forth before taking a step back, watching Nikolai prepare himself physically and mentally for the odd request.
Her eyes are mostly on his knife as she realizes that she now has more legs to move and naturally, her center of gravity is different. Scooting away with cat-like fluidity, she finds this kind of grace vastly different than her own heightened sense of dexterity. She is more like liquid than air, more bendy than sharp and decisive. The tip sweeps by harmlessly and her claws remain sheathed, scrabbling gently on the ground.. Once they’re clear of each other, cat!Wessex coils her muscles and waits, tail tip lashing quickly back and forth as she crouches and watches the younger man.
Nikolai feels both annoyance at his missed strike and relief over the lack of claws that had come his way. Turning around he eyes Wessex for a moment. The leopard was far more flexible and graceful then his preconceived notions were of the species. It was truly an impressive creature. That power and mobility paired with Wessex's intelligence and experience was intimidating. Nikolai feels a surge of further relief and gratitude that she's family.
Ready to try again, Nikolai charges once more. This time the young Ascended aims for the panther's shoulders, trying to inhibit that overwhelming grace. As he strikes, he tries to account for how Wessex might dodge, hoping to follow her movements and land a hit.
This time, Nikolai comes at her from the front and Wessex feels a deep urge to continue to retreat - but that alone is not a real defense. Instead, she fights it and throws herself up on her rear legs. Staggering a bit, her paws and claws are now out as she tries to bat away his knife-hand. They’re heavy and dark as they come one after the other from either side.
In the flurry of movement, something nicks Wessex and flecks of shimmering fluid go flying into the night, but the Wraith feels none of it. Even in this form, she’s shorter than the kid, so she’s falling forward, back to all fours, and trying to use the pure heft of her body to knock him backwards or even down to the ground.
Nikolai feels a surge of both pride and shock when his strike lands despite the claw rebuttal. Even though he was doing his best, part of him hadn't expected to actually land a hit on the Demi-god. It's this moment of surprise that gives Wessex the opportunity. The bulk of the panther slams into him and the younger Ascended and if he'd needed to breath all of the air would have been knocked from his lungs.
As it where, Nikolai is knocked backwards, one leg giving out and his knee slamming into the earth. No on the defense, Nikolai slashes upwards with his knife. It's a bit brutal, but he aims for the eyes. Even if he misses, he hopes that the attempt will force distance between them as Wessex dodges. It feels wrong to Nikolai to take such aim at her, but he got the feeling that Wessex would rather he fight her like he would an enemy. And in a life or death situation with an Attuned, Nikolai wouldn't hesitate to fight dirty.
As Nilokai has only a knife at his disposal right now, Wessex refrains from using her teeth to try and attack, though the animal in her now is screaming to go for his windpipe. She has to conquer the beast until she needs it, using everything in her mental arsenal to stay on the defense instead. It isn’t a familiar place for her.
They both go down and as the Ascended slashes for her eyes, Wessex pushes away, giving him the distance he wants. She lands on the cold ground and as ther’s nothing she can use to throw in his eyes or restrict his movement, she bolts towards some of the leftover building materials - sacks of crushed limestone, ladders, a wheelbarrow, and rocks - black fur against the darkness of the night. It won’t do her much good, but perhaps while Nikolai is getting up, she can find a convenient hiding place or set some kind of surprise trap from on high.
Getting to his feet as fast as he can, Nikolai scans the area to try and spot Wessex. Between his night vision, the brief time interval, and the slight movement in the corner of his eye, he spots her. The young Ascended can't manage to restrain the smirk that stretches across his face, "Hi Wessex." He gives her a little wave as well, snickering slightly.
Having thoroughly amused himself, Nikolai goes on the offensive again. Using the limestone as well, he attempts to jump up onto the stone. If he manages, upon gaining the upper ground he'll attack. Leaping down from the stone, Nikolai will attempt to stab Wessex from above.
Sorry, young padawan, but a gangly Ascended’s climbing skills are no match for a panther’s.
Wessex may not be able to hide from him, but she can out maneuver him this time, and even she’s surprised at the cat’s abilities. Oh, this is nice. Scrambling up the limestone tower of rubble, she sends a bunch of it sliding down towards him in her wake. Is she that clumsy because she’s trying to make him slow down, or because she’s not Attuned? He may never know.
It actually isn’t too long before she makes it to the top of the rock pile and then leaps on to a wheelbarrow full of heavy sacks - which makes the wheelbarrow shake and then wobble and her leaping out of it again. But that leap dislodges one of the heavy sacks and it flops from the top on to a precariously balanced ladder, which comes quickly toppling down, perhaps towards the young Ascended.
Nikolai is far too distracted by the ladder falling towards him. Still being new to the whole 'no pain' thing, he reacts as if it'll hurt him. Throwing the knife half-hazard toward Wessex he then puts his arms in front of his head protectively. It doesn't do much as the ladder slams into the Ascended and sends him sprawling.
If Nikolai had had air in his lungs, it would have been knocked clean out of him. As it was, he was merely pinned by the ladder but otherwise unharmed. Trying to push the metal off of him only succeeds in the ladder crashing onto him once more. Defeated, Nikolai glances toward Wessex with embarrassment, "A little help? Please?"
