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!
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
Home at last.
Winter had kept her in the clutches of the Greatwood for longer than she had anticipated. Admittedly Anju had also been reluctant to return to Stormbreak when she had yet to complete her quest for Ludo - having not been able to find the elusive Fae in the Greatwood, and still needing a companion to explore the Spire in the treacherous, Ascended-filled Grounds.
Still, she needs supplies that have dwindled after too long on the road. Her parents are pleased to see her as they always are, relishing in her story of finding Mort’s daughter. For now however Anju must buy supplies - and try to stop Riya from preying on all the unfortunate citizens she has missed.
To say the least, the citizens of Stormbreak haven’t missed the dragon nearly half as much.
Anju is being handed a bag when she turns and catches sight of Riya’s shining scales rippling in the spring sunlight outside, and feels mischief dance across their bond as the dragon spots a target walking beneath the lamp post she is perched upon. Anju - never one for conventional anyway - abandons any goodbyes with the shop owner and sprints outside, bags slapping at her hip as she slams the door open. “DON’T YOU DARE!” her commanding voice bellows, making pedestrians freeze and turn to look - but it doesn’t work at all on her companion, who dives down towards the stranger in question, embers in fanged mouth that spark playfully as she aims to pluck something off his person like a gigantic crow.
The hunter was on his way to meet Ronin in the White Hart. It was still early, so he made his way winding down the city streets. He was still trying to get himself accustomed to Stormbreak, not knowing how much time he would be spending here. It would be nice not to get turned around, however. He had left Eira to her own devices, the griffin finally at ease enough to leave the Sentinel's side for short periods of time.
Noah did not pay close attention to those around him as he walked. Rather, he focused on the architecture and the buildings around him. It was only when the woman was shouting did he stop, his attention snapping to her. His brows quickly furrowed and he opened his mouth to dispute any accusation that might fall from her lips, before he heard the dragon. Noah twisted, eyes widening as the dog-sized reptile came careening down at him. Trying to move back and away, Noah found himself at a disadvantage to the creautre's swift thievery. "Hey--" Noah grumbled, reaching out for the knife the dragon had managed to unsheathe from his belt.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
Riya strikes true, as is expected of the dragon when she is well-practiced in the art of being a nuisance to the humans around her. The man’s objections and attempted retrieval of his weapon do not daunt the winged serpent, who thrusts off the cobblestone and back into the air to circle jauntily overhead just out of reach. Moments later Anju is at Noah’s side, eyes gleaming with reprimand and scowl firmly in place as she glared up at her companion, bags swinging haphazardly at her sides.
“I apologize, she is a child in dragon flesh,” Anju aims the second half up at her companion, who is entirely unfazed and trills happily around the hilt of the knife. Cursing under her breath she turns to face the man in true, reluctant to converse but always forced into it by antics such as these. “She will return it soon, Riya is dramatic but entirely harmless. She likely only seeks your attention - or mine.” Because Gods forbid Anju spend more than three minutes in a store that Riya is not allowed into.
The dragon teased the hunter with the knife, and Noah nearly surged forward to try and grab the creature when the woman stopped him in his path. Brows knit together, Noah turned to face her. Across her dark features was a clear sign of apology and that softened the hunter. He looked to the fleeing dragon briefly before turning his attention back to her. "Companions." Noah huffed out the breath of a laugh, knowing that if Eira were here she would give him the sharpest of looks and puff out her feathers. "It is a family heirloom." Noah said, an attempt to make it known that he would be receiving it back in the state that it was taken. Heirloom may not have been the right word, but the knife had belonged to his father and his father's father before that.
"I'm Noah." He said, extending his hand out to the woman to shake. She looked slightly exasperated at the actions of her bonded. With the strictness of this world, Noah wanted to believe that was earnest--so he leaned himself into it. "Are you a dragoon?" He asked, wondering aloud because of the presence of the dragon in her life.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
The sentiment is shared if the aggrieved look she spares the man is any indication. Companions indeed. “We grew up together. If you have any younger siblings, I’m sure you can relate.” Somehow that fact had only worsened Riya’s antics, perhaps because she knew Anju had been a boring stick in the mud since she made it out of the womb. Anju still wouldn’t thank her for her misguided attempts at socializing Anju like she was some sort of half-feral dog.
At the mention of it being an heirloom she cuts her mahogany gaze towards the dragon, who falters in her preening circles and lands upon the lamppost once more, clearly doubting her choice now. Good, she should.
Anju is distracted from glaring her sister back down to street level by Noah introducing himself and extending a hand. Though the awkward blink of her eyes makes it clear she’s not very adept in the social arts, her grip is firm and unwavering as she takes and shakes his hand. “I am Anju. She is Riya.” A muffled trill from the dragon makes a muscle in her cheek twinge. Rolling her shoulders and lifting her chin with some small measure of pride at the ensuing question, Anju nods. “Aye. We have been Dragoons since they would let me wield a sword, though Riya found me long before.” Casting her sharp gaze over him anew, Anju frowns pensively. “Are you a recruit? I do not recognize your face. Though with the skyboats now, I suppose that is something I must become accustomed to.” Not everyone was a shut in like Anju, who had never had the desire to leave Stormbreak to adventure until Ludo had bid her to.
Noah looked to the dragon as she rested on her perch. He lifted a brow, before letting himself act on more charlatan of thoughts. Growing up with his brother and the Hales did not leave Noah without some trickster streak. In these days, without his brother and without the Hales, he had hardly used these skills -- but they were still there, under the surface. Noah took the moment to act and, in a flash Noah used his newly discovered magic to close the distance between him and the companion. The hunter struck out, hoping to grab the knives from her jaws, his intentions being that she would be taken by surprise and unable to react as quickly as she normally might.
Despite whatever the outcome was, Noah laughed. Bright and loud, Noah laughed. At Anju's question, though, he turned back to the woman. "Oh, no. I'm not a dragoon recruit, though I am new to the city." Noah's smile faltered some to a little smirk, pleasant and easy on his features.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
Anju carefully schools her face and tempers her side of the bond as she notices Noah's expression shift and change, unwilling to tip his hand and put Riya on alert. Whatever he intends to do, so long as it doesn't harm her sister, is more than well-earned.
Neither of them is expecting his teleportation however, and while Anju stiffens and her hand drifts automatically to her scabbard, Riya gives some draconic approximation of a squawk and half-tumbles off the lamppost. The knife is easily retrieved by the demigod, and Riya rights herself with the easy grace of a cat to circle around them with a burble of laughter in her throat. Completely unbothered and in fact relatively pleased to have been defeated in their little game.
Anju's lips quirk at the man's boisterous laughter, infectious as it is. "Ah, so you must be a new demigod then? I didn't see any item to produce such effects." She's not one to pry, but Stormbreakers are rabid on a good day when it comes to their worshipful nature of the demigods. Anju is not that way, but even she cannot avoid the social constructs around her, and keeping tabs on who is blessed by the Old Gods is the least she can do.
The knife fell easily back into Noah's possession. The hunter sheathed it quickly, then tucked on his jacket some so it fell over the knife. Satisfied with having taken the creature by surprise, Noah's smirk looked awfully smug on his handsome features.
The hunter then offered his hand out to the dragon as it circled them, a sign of truce and even affection if she were to allow it. Noah had grown up in a world that feared dragons above most all else, but he had grown used to those that were companions.
The way Anju spoke of him being a new demigod made him think that she knew the others well. "Indeed. Do you know the others?" He asked, a brow lifting as he looked to Anju despite his hand still being offered to Riya.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
Riya is a forgiving soul, and one that appreciates mischief in all forms - even when reflected back against her and her own wily ways. As such she happily swans by to nudge against his hand, bumping it up to traverse the silky scales from her nose to her brow before she must drop down to the cobblestone and fold in her wings. Incapable of flying so close with her larger body. Instead she presses up against the man's legs like a particularly giant cat, clearly seeking further pets. Anju rolls her eyes at her sister, but otherwise doesn't begrudge her the easy escape she's allowed from conversation. Lucky creature. Being human is far more of a hassle than being a dragon.
"I have met Amalia, Mildew, Remi, and Delphia - Mort's daughter," she answers easily enough, only to pause and frown slightly at how long that particular list has gotten. Anju does not readily involve herself in the lives of others, and yet here she is with quite the list of demigod cohorts. It's a strange feeling. "I just returned after awakening Delphia from a many seasons long slumber at Ludo's behest." Only giving the information when Riya exasperatedly prompts her mentally to give Noah something lest the conversation stagnate and awkwardly die. Why that is such an issue Anju still doesn't know.
11-27-2021, 03:03 PM (This post was last modified: 11-27-2021, 03:05 PM by Noah.)
NOAH
Noah stroked the top of the dragon's head as she asked for it. He felt a surge as he did so, but it was not from the dragon. It was from his own companion, coming back to him from her fishing endeavor. It didn't take long for Eira to find her bondmate. She approached with long, sweeping arcs until she finally landed, close to Noah on the other side of where the dragon pressed against him. The griffin's golden eyes turned to the creature and, though her features were stoic, she lifted her beak some. Noah instinctively let his fingers run through her crown feathers. "This is Eira." He said, smiling down at the companion for a moment before turning his eyes back towards Anju.
"That is quite a few." Noah regarded, nodding along to the list she provided. He wondered if all of the demigods were as well known in Stormbreak, or if Anju had a greater knowledge because of her place as one of Ronin's soldiers -- though she did not say she had met Ronin, Noah assumed it was a given because of her place in the dragoons and Ronin's place as the Dragon. Either way, he didn't linger on the thoughts too long. "You've met Ludo?" He asked, brows lifting with curiosity. "I've not talked with anyone about Ludo before, though I did once help my friend on a quest they sent her on." The memory of Weaver came flooding back, of one of their many successful hunts for the herald to enchant her scythe.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
Anju and Riya note the arrival of another within moments of each other, both sharp-eyed and inquisitive as the creature comes closer, revealing itself to be a griffin as it settles near its bondmate. Riya, accustomed to stoicism the likes of Gwyneverre, is not at all daunted by Eira's reticence and trills a greeting upon being found suitable enough company. "Well met, Eira," Anju offers directly, no matter how odd some people find it.
Admittedly Anju does not count Ronin, the man more her general than the Star in her mind, even when he no longer lives in Stormbreak. "Admittedly I had not noticed the ranks growing," she grumbles good-naturedly, smile lopsided as she aims for humor. Though talking about Ludo is far more enchanting a topic in her opinion, and she focuses upon it with her usual intensity. "Yes, it is a wonderful patron, and quite often overlooked. I have yet to complete my own quest I am ashamed to admit, but I was tasked with journeying into the Spire in the Hollowed Grounds, and doing so alone is risky." Not because she believed the Ascended would be foolish enough to try and stop her, but because Anju did not trust her own hatred to be tampered enough by logic and necessity to ensure she did not strike her own fires.
Eira did not mind the dragon's greeting, and as Noah gave her waves of comfort the generally kind griffin softened. She clacked her beak and inclined back on leopard haunches. Golden eyes observed the pair before them as Noah raised his voice to speak. "I don't overlook a warrior following the herald of death." Noah frowned. "I normally would be ready and willing to offer my assistance, but I'm afraid I can't this time." She hadn't asked for it, but Noah was honest and candid with her. "My place in the Order would bring me only death in the Grounds." Eira pressed against his leg, not even wanting to think of such a thing. To lose Noah would be to lose her own soul, her own life. Noah set touched the top of her feathered head once more with the tips of his fingers. "Are there other parts of your quest?" He asked conversationally.
oblivion is the name of this abode: and she is there
The eventual acceptance was like a shot of joy straight to Riya’s veins, scarcely gripping to her manners as she whirled in a tight enough circle to slap her own nose with her tail to try and burn off her excitement. Anju gives a pained sigh, stubbornly ignoring her companion’s embarrassing nature and instead focusing on Noah.
His compliment is unexpected, if that’s what it is. Anju is admittedly not the best with determining those things. Still, it causes her cheeks to warm a little, far from accustomed to being noticed (much less praised) for her choices in life. Though she was not aware of this particular problem facing those of the Order, and her jewel-toned eyes narrow at the news. “I was unaware. What is it they’ve done?” Vitriol a potent snake in the grass of her tone. Certain it is somehow an action the Ascended have taken against them.
“Exploring and interacting with the inhabitants of the Greatwood. It is only this last goal I’ve yet to accomplish. If I cannot find someone soon, I intend to go alone. Before the Greatwood I’d never left our borders - if Riya does not accompany me, perhaps I can be relatively unnoticed.” Especially if she travels in the daytime. Risky, but for Ludo she would do it.
Eira watched as the dragon spun and softened even more. She seemed to want nothing more than to enjoy herself. Her tricks and stealth towards Noah were only manifestations of her exuberance. Chirping and chittering, the griffin lowered her body playfully before springing towards the dragon and shifting to pass her, the griffin's long tail flicking in the dragon's face.
Noah chuckled softly as Eira initiated her playful dance, but kept his attention as best as he could on the dragoon. "I don't know the details, but I know if I tried to enter it would just end in my death. I assume they had the Voice place protections and wards around the Grounds so the Ascended felt safe there." Noah shrugged some. "When I went to the Grounds before, I was left mostly alone. It seems you can wander in and out without really any attention being drawn to you."
