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!
"No? What should we do instead then?" Tobi asks, perhaps with just the tiniest bit of flirtation in her voice. Surely too small an amount for Finn to notice. Even so, the doctor looks at him a touch girlishly as she pauses leadingly.
"Mmhm. It's part of a flight or fight response. When people say they have butterflies in their stomach around someone they like, their body is actually filling their muscles with adrenaline and pulling blood flow away from their stomach in case they need to run away." A bit strange, that.
Giving Finn's hand a gentle squeeze, Tobi nods. "Me too." Watching politely as those in a rush push and force their way off the ship, Tobi waits until the flow of passengers has dwindled before inclining her head. "Shall we?"
Oh. Finn hasn't really considered that. The Spyglass swallows hard, his mouth suddenly dry as he considers what else they might do on a sunny Flowerbirth day before a waterfall. "I have heard that on dates, people go to dinner and find out more about one another. But I think we might be doing this in the wrong order," he remarks. "What would you like to do, besides rubbing algae on your toes?"
It is a bit strange, and though they are watching the stream of people leave the skyship, Finn is still smiling to himself as he squeezes Tobi's hand back. "I am preparing to run away from you a lot," he murmurs. Ah, flirting for nerds.
He nods and leads them towards the edge of the boat. "Let's go," he agrees, helping Tobi to take her first steps into the Greatwood. Dappled by sunlight and filled with birdsong and the smell of blossoms and berries, their footsteps echo on the wooden walkways as they head down from the Observatory. Finn nods at it as they pass by. "The Fae are able to watch the stars from here," he explains. "They see starwhales, sometimes."
"You've heard?" Tobi wonders with a half-smile. If indeed this is the part of dates where they're meant to learn more about one another, then..."There...was never anyone before?" Surely some of workers at Molly's dated. Or at the very least, went out. No matter the profession, workplace romances were commonplace. And Finn, no matter how malnourished and drug-addled as he'd been, was still quite attractive. 'We could...go for a swim? Or skip rocks? Or find shapes in clouds?' Tobi suggests, blinking away the sudden imagery of their naked arms in the grass.
Glancing sharply toward Finn that she might scan his face for signs of dry humour there, Tobi thinks she reads sincerity and finds, rather appropriately, her stomach full of butterflies. "How lucky for me that you haven't." She all but gushes, chastising herself for being so easily smitten before realizing that she doesn't care.
"Really?" Looking up into a bright blue sky that boasts no stars yet, Tobi scans the heavens as if one of the celestial creatures might suddenly appear. "This place feels so...magical." She murmurs, awestruck. "I can see why Ever likes spending so much time here."
Finn scrunches his nose at Tobi's question, though it isn't so much that he doesn't want to talk about it, rather that he is struggling to find the appropriate words. "Only once," he says finally, trying to navigate the murk of these conversational waters. "And I am not sure I counted as an entirely willing participant. So this is quite a pleasant change." Indeed, as Tobi cranes her head back to look at the sky, it's even quite easy for Finn to slip his arm around her shoulders so she doesn't veer off and totter over the edge of the walkway.
"Really," he says with a smile. "There are also giant mushrooms, and in Flowerbirth the Greatwood develops memory mud - it is like memory snow, but... I am sure you get the idea," he explains, guiding Tobi over a large root before hopping down to the forest floor, where the Fae are milling about and the other passengers are beginning to stream their separate ways. "I think if we navigate to the Stonesong, we will be able to follow it to the Crimson Cataract," he says.
In the single breath between Finn's sentences, Tobi's mind runs wild. She imagines him chasing some young woman (or man), down the streets of the Silk Houses, doing drugs in alleyways, (and naively) imagines him to be having a good time. When this proves not to be at all what the Spyglass had experienced, Tobi's surprise is a hard thing to swallow and it leaves her speechless for a few seconds. 'Oh.' She mumbles softly as she adjusts her bag from one hand to the other so that she might wrap her arm around Finn's waist as they walk. "I think the last date I went on was with Dorian. Come to think of it, I wasn't a very willing participant in that, either."
Scrunching her nose to think of memory mud, Tobi shakes her head at the mention of the mushrooms. "Ohh no. Ever told me about those. He said Mateo was bouncing on one and nearly broke his ankle." Distracted by the sight of the fae—Tobi would have tripped and fallen over the roots crisscrossing the pathways had Finn not been there to guide her—she regards them with girlish wonder. "They're so..." short, is what she's thinking, but instead she opts for, "I think it would be rather nice to have wings."
Finn pulls a face that is neither disapproving nor impressed as Tobi talks about her date with Dorian. "He is quite the charismatic gentleman," he says dryly, failing not to notice her arm slipping around his waist. He can feel the warmth from her body radiate out everywhere they touch, Finn trying not to savour it too much unless he's the one falling over roots next. "What did you do on your date? I will have to make sure I raise the bar."
Far be it for Finn to judge anyone, though he can't help but smirk to himself as Tobi continues. "I think that might say more about Mateo than it does about the mushrooms," he says as he leads them across to the marketplace. They can walk near the water (though Tobi can stand on the riverbank side, thanks) and watch the goldfish swim. "They are also probably all older than you," he says breezily. "Fae do not reach maturity until they are fifty."
"He was when he wanted sex." Tobi replies dryly. "Well..." Giving Finn a sidelong glance as yet more butterflies are released in her stomach, the doctor clears her throat. "He took me to dinner, and then for what was supposed to be a walk beneath the stars. What actually happened is that he tried to put his hand up my skirt during our meal and spent the majority of his time trying to convince me that a bathroom quickie was just what I needed to relax." Chuckling, Tobi adds: "The date ended with me dumping a glass of ice water into his lap."
"I don't disagree, but I am just clumsy enough that it probably isn't smart. Especially if there aren't many unicorns around here." The logic being that while she could fix a broken bone should she shift, the scarcity of unicorns posed a problem.
Happy to be on the water's edge, Tobi murmurs something about how huge the goldfish are, before pulling in a steadying breath. "Oh, I had heard that. I uhm..I suppose I'm catching up, then." She adds, eyes on the water. "It's actually my birthday in a few days."
"They always are," Finn responds far too smoothly, and in the moment this could have easily been a conversation taking place in Mother Molly's rather than on a date in the Greatwood. "I am glad you chose to show him your feelings with actions," he continues, and if there's a hint of pride in the squaring of his shoulders or the set of his jaw, then so be it.
"There may not be many unicorns, but there are plenty of Attuned," he says slowly, as if just realising that Tobi might not understand the lack of taboo outside of Stormbreak. "You could shift if you wanted to. I imagine most might think you an ordinary horse if they glimpsed you through the trees."
Stormy eyes widen a fraction to hear that it is almost Tobi's birthday, and Finn gives her a warm smile that, while learned, is nonetheless sincere. "Happy Birthday," he murmurs. "We ought to do something to celebrate. Not another dinner party, though. Please."
"I just thought a sudden shock of cold in his lap was what he needed." Tobi replies, perhaps straightening up slightly to subconsciously mirror Finn. Stopping herself before asking what Finn's former coworkers had been like, Tobi swallows hard as the Spyglass unintentionally storms across one of the only boundaries that the doctor keeps. "Finn," She hisses, cheeks flaring as she grows stiff at his side. Nervously glancing around as if someone might have overheard, Tobi tightens her grip on her bag and tries to do her best to look as un-unicorn-like as was possible...whatever that meant.
Trying on a smile that felt heavy in the wake of her paranoia and fear, Tobi nods her head absently. "How about a dinner party with a very exclusive guest list?" She suggests, nudging Finn's hip gently with her own.
Finn is about to hiss back Tobi in a play of joviality, until he notices the doctor's discomfort, clear even with his social difficulties. "I am sorry," he says in a low voice. "I did not mean to upset you. I just meant that you would not be persecuted here." Regardless, he is also looking around to check that no one is eavesdropping on their conversation (which of course they aren't).
"An exclusive guest list?" he echoes, stumbling a bit as he's nudged. "Like who...?" Cian is quite exclusive, and he certainly doesn't want dinner with him. Before Tobi can reply, however, Finn has strayed beneath the awning of one of the stalls, and he glances at the small wooden figurines there with soft curiosity. Reaching out, he selects a delicately carved rose, trading for it with something shiny in his pocket that the Fae nearly snatches with glee.
"Here," he says, offering it out to Tobi. "I also heard that one brings flowers for their date sometimes."
Exhaling sharply, feeling frustrated but also annoyed at herself for having snapped at Finn (hissing his name, being about as abrupt as Tobi has ever been with him), the doctor shakes her head apologetically. 'No I know, and I appreciate that. It's just...someone here could recognize me. Ever or Mateo could see, or Ronin or Remi, and..." Feeling her cheeks heat up, Tobi leans into Finn, rather than pulling away. "I'm sorry. No one else knows and I was just...caught off guard, hearing you say all that out loud."
Willing her unease to go away, Tobi forces a smile onto her face (it really does work, you know), and grins at Finn's confusion. "Oh, no, I meant—" But then he's pulling away from her, leaving her wondering what he might have seen to have captured his attention. As he returns with a rose carved out of a dark wood she didn't recognize, the doctor's lips part as she inhales softly with surprise and wonder.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Tobi reaches out for the rose's stem, twirling it slightly between her fingers. "Oh! And I haven't brought you any flowers at all." She muses, her dark eyes seeming to shine as she looks from the carved petals into Finn's face. "Thank you." Tobi whispers, though actually she means I love you. Standing on her toes to gently kiss the corner of Finn's mouth, Tobi smiles softly. "By exclusive, I meant just you and me." She explains as she lets herself return back to her regular height, though remains with her face upturned towards his.
It is testament to how far Finn has come that he relaxes against October when she leans into him, nodding his understanding. "I will be careful," he assures her, and there will be no further mention of unicorns at all for the rest of the date, unless the conversation is specifically breached by Tobi. Besides, as she's about to find out, he's soon distracted by something else.
"That is alright," he says with a dimpled smile, "perhaps you can bring me flowers next time." Whenever and wherever that might be. Closing his eyes as if to savour the kiss delivered to the corner of his mouth, Finn spends a moment fishing in his pockets before withdrawing a pin that he might fix the rose to Tobi's coat.
"Just you and me? I would like that," he says, though she'll likely know that already. "I could cook for us? Or we could go out somewhere?"
It is a testament to how far they've come together, that October with near-thoughtlessness, finds physical comfort in Finn. Mumbling a sound that vaguely resembles thank you, Tobi has only a few seconds to savour Finn's presence before he's off and back again.
Watching with amusement and love as he pins the flower to her cardigan—ignoring how it causes the material to sag—Tobi smiles with a sudden radiance that lights up her face. "There's still time. Maybe I'll find some flowers for you, yet." Turning back toward the path and subtly seeking out Finn's side once more, the doctor hums thoughtfully. "Going out might be nice. There are so many places in Stormbreak I've never been." Romantic places that had seemed wholly uninviting before Finn.
Hanging snakes droop from the canopy overhead to inspect the wanderers as they stroll beneath the dappled sunlight. For the most part, they remain where they are, but should Tobi or Finn turn around, they'll see two small snakes streaking after them. "Okay, how is this for a date question: if your five-year-old self was suddenly in your body, what's the first thing you think they would do?"
"Maybe," Finn says with a boyish smile, falling comfortably into step with Tobi and finding his hand seeking hers out as they stroll along the waterfront and beside the market stalls, canopies of newly green leaves leading them forward. "There are quite a lot of places in the Silk Houses that I think you would like," he says with only a hint of hesitation - because there really are pleasant areas amongst the brothels and depravity.
He is already planning Tobi's birthday dinner in his mind, oblivious to the hanging snakes or the offers from those at the stalls for bargains and knick knacks, when the doctor beside him pipes up again. "Oh," Finn begins, furrowing his brow and failing to stifle a smile that seems almost guilty. "If it were right here and now?" he asks. "They would try and climb the nearest tree, I suspect. If it were in Stormbreak, though, they would probably go to the Needle. What about you?"
