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!
Alea tilted her head as Sah described the idea of companionship, but she didn't really understand it. The closest thing she'd ever experienced was her bond with Ludo -- the puppet, at least, if not the god. As one would imagine, that tended to be rather one-sided, even if Alea's imagination provided the god-puppet's responses. But Alea did look down at Lilly and come up with a verdict: "It sounds nice, to have a companion."
One thing decided Alea in favor of hunting: her stomach growled. She was usually a little hungry, but the pangs were becoming acute enough to require action. So she reached up and settled her Ludo puppet firmly in her hair. "All right. Let's go hunting. Where should we start?"
Sah chuckled and ruffled Lilly's fur as he regarded Alea, "It is nice. Maybe next time you see Ludo, you can ask for one?" He wasn't sure if kids could be bound to companions but at the very least the god might provide her with a friend. A creature that she could one day make into a companion.
The Outlander nodded and stood once the child was in agreement. "Let's stay in the Wildwood but out of Ludo's woods. We'll probably find more options there." Gesturing the child to follow, Sah began to lead the way. Once they were deeper into the Wildwoods proper and away from Ludo's section, Sah started to look for a trail.
The Wildwood was full of life, and it didn't take long. "Found one." He nodded towards a small section of grass and shrub that had been nibbled on. "See this?" He pointed to the indentions in the flora and the hoofed tracks surrounding it. "It looks like a deer has been through here and eating some of the plants. You can track animals by looking for these kinds of signs." Sah tried to give a brief but vital lesson to Alea.
"Maybe!" Alea says cheerfully. It doesn't really occur to her that she hasn't prayed at a shrine in a long time; she makes little distinction between speaking to the actual god Ludo at shrines and chattering to the puppet on her head. In her mind, she could ask Ludo right now, and she does think about it, but no, they're going hunting.
Alea nods when Sah suggests a location. "I don't think Ludo would want us hunting in his woods. And the Fae wouldn't like it either." A graveyard is not the best place for a chase.
As she follows Sah through the forest, Alea is very quiet. When she's not singing, she knows how to move without making a sound, which should help her with future hunting endeavors. It's something she's picked up from using her barn owl shift ... and from hiding in the woods -- from predators, from strangers, sometimes for no reason at all.
Sah points out the signs of the deer's passing, and Alea nods solemnly. "Yeah. Like when you see mouse droppings, so you know there's a hole there. You just have to watch and wait till it comes back."
Sah smiled softly, "That's what I was thinking." It seemed disrespectful to hunt on top of graves, so he was glad that Alea agreed to his plan. As they walk, the older hunter is pleased to see that the child already knows some basics. The silent walk is crucial and her ability to already notice some tracks is great.
"That's exactly it. You can either wait for it to see if it returns or if it's something like a deer, you follow the trail to find where they are currently", Sah explained in a quiet voice, not wanting to startle any nearby wildlife. The Abandoned continued to lead them along, only to crouch down as they came to a bend, gesturing to Alea to do the same.
"There." He pointed to a deer that was grazing a small distance away. "Here's the plan. You and Lilly will swing around the other side. Once the deer is in between you and me, you make a loud noise to startle it towards my direction."
Sah silently drew his sword, "I'll take it down and after I can show you how to prepare the meat and even how to make some snares to catch rabbits and such."
Alea nodded, listening closely to Sah's instructions. He definitely seemed to know what he was doing, and as goofy as she could otherwise be, Alea knew to take hunting seriously. There was nothing funny about an empty stomach.
"OK," she said as Sah outlined his plan. Then she frowned, wondering if she should fly over as an owl instead of sneaking in human form. She'd be even quieter then -- but she'd have to leave Lilly behind. Ultimately she decided to retain her human skin. It was Sah's plan, and she didn't want to start making edits. "See you soon!"
With that, Alea started to sneak around to the deer's other side, stopping every so often to make sure the animal hadn't heard her.
Sah quirked a smile as the child ran off. Her enthusiasm was adorable. Soon Alea was in place and the plan went into motion. On the Abandoned's signal and Alea's noise, the deer startled. Turning away from the hidden threat they had heard, they raced towards Sah's position.
Bracing himself until they were close enough, Sah then lunged out with his sword. Lightning crackling along the blade, he quickly took down an elder doe. Once the herd passed, he let out a whistle, "You can come out now Alea. Good job." As the child approached, he quickly made sure that the deer was dead, mummering a quiet 'Thank you' to the fallen creature.
Once Alea had joined him, he got to work. "This is how you prepare the meat." Taking his knives, he skinned and took apart the deer with efficiency. He went slower than normal so that Alea could keep up and learn, explaining things along the way.
