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!
The days are getting warmer and with it, Felix has expanded his hunting grounds. Only this time, he’s gathered what he needed much earlier than anticipated, and with a pathway that leads closer to the red waterfall and the berries that grow along the trial, he can’t help but to feel a little bit mischievous. He has a new shift that’s perfect for it, anyway.
And being a hunter, he knows just how to make the perfect spring trap – using a combination of twines and springy, fresh twigs, he fashions a little tripwire complete with some of the red lichen. The goal is for anyone to come walking this way to get drenched in a coating of red. And why is that? Because he’s still a bit young mentally and incredibly playful and he thinks it’ll be funny.
It helps he has a shift that keeps him essentially invisible in plain sight, too, so he settles alongside the tree in his peryton shift, standing as still as he can to stay invisible so that he can see the trick in action. A front row seat, the best in the house.
old man, i'm done always abidin' by the plan and oh boy, we knew you never really had a choice
Ronin is usually the one doing the tricking, and as a result, he's become what one would consider complacent as he swans through the Greatwood. No one ever decides to pull a fast one on him in return, so it's safe to assume that he's not expecting... anything. Anything at all. He's headed towards the waterfall to leave a little something at the Frey shrine as a sort of apology for what he'll soon be doing to the deity's newest demigod, and so his attention is absolutely turned inward when he activates the tripwire.
The splat! is spectacular as he's drenched in bright crimson, Ronin yelping - loudly - and letting dragon wings all but explode from his shoulders as he claws at his face. A snarl rips through the air in his surprise, the Huntsman clearing some of the lichen from his eyes and nose before he realises exactly what it is.
Oh he doesn’t expect it to be Ronin of all people. Yet excitement keeps his heart in his throat, awaiting for the trap to work and spread the lichen across Ronin. Only, Felix doesn’t quite calculate the splatter radius, and when it comes to fruition, the splatter coats him, too, specifically as he watches the wings spread out and fleck more of it out onto the bushes around them.
And Felix can’t stay still anymore, a roaring cackle of laughter leaving him through the Attuned bond as the peryton shifts into himself, the boy become a spitting image of his father, snickering with his back against the trunk and an arm around his middle as he bends forward. “That was amazing!” He cackles, tears in his bi-toned eyes as he lifts them to cast another glance at a red coated Ronin.
old man, i'm done always abidin' by the plan and oh boy, we knew you never really had a choice
The cackle sounds exactly like Devrum, even though the bear-man had been more of a sinister rumbling sort of guy. Nevertheless, Ronin is left watching as Felix drops into view, also splattered with red but still not looking nearly as ridiculous as he does. "You fucker," he hisses, though there is a grin on his face now as he realises what's happened.
A trick he can laugh off. An actual assault by sentient red lichen not so much. With a beat of his wings, he tries to slop more of the crimson algae at Felix, wiping it off his face. "How long have you been waiting for a sucker to come and set off that trap, mm?"
His gaze lifts to Ronin to spy the grin that spreads on the demigod’s face and Felix can’t help but to let the barking howls of laughter continue to leave him, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes, even if it smudges the red lichen all across his face and his newly sprouting beard. “Gods!” He gasps for breath, rising up a bit higher to straighten his back and try to catch his breath, precisely at the time Ronin’s wings splatter more onto him that he tries to avoid and completely does the opposite.
“It’s been an hour!” He crows, sucking in a bright breath, trying to calm his laughter, before he pushes off the tree to approach Ronin. “It was good though wasn’t it?” He chimes, flashing a bright grin.
old man, i'm done always abidin' by the plan and oh boy, we knew you never really had a choice
"An hour? Okay, you definitely didn't get that patience from your father," Ronin echoes, finding Felix's laughter contagious now and shaking his head as he tries to clean himself off as best he can. "It was pretty good," he concedes, trying (and failing) to peel some lichen out of his hair. "What would you have done if it had been Remi taking a stroll through here, huh? Or worse - what if it had been your mam?" His eyebrows raise, the threat of Vai worse than that of the Lullaby.
Still, no harm no foul, he supposes, the Huntsman giving his wings a final shake before he lets them melt back beneath his skin. "Well, I wasn't planning to take a dunk in the Stonesong this afternoon, but I reckon you decided it for me. And for yourself." He nods to the state of the boy, having been caught in the splatter zone.
“Yeah?” Felix asks, having never met his father in times that he can even remember, but he does sidle up a bit closer to Ronin now that the amusement is bright between them. There’s a bolstering pride that lingers within him at the concession of Ronin, a playfulness that lingers within the attuned bond. “I’m sure Remi might have thought it was funny! Maybe after…” However long after, probably once he’d done one of his spooky demigod things and scared the shit out of Felix, but that’s beside the point.
As for his mother though, that does sober him up despite the goofy grin that’s still plastered to his face. “I got a deer I was bringing back, I’m sure she might have forgiven me!” He pauses, only to mutter to himself. “Or grounded me… But…” So saying, the young man lifts his head back up flashing Ronin a grin and reaches up to peel another bit of red lichen off the Huntsman before he nods along. “I think you’re right about the Stonesong. At least it's warmer today!” He agrees with a soft laugh, slipping behind the tree to grab the little sled/wagon he’d lugged the deer he’d caught onto, and starts slipping down the trail toward the Stonesong, pausing just long enough for Ronin to catch up.
“Do you think she would’ve been really mad?” He asks suddenly, still stuck on the idea of the trick getting played on his mother.
old man, i'm done always abidin' by the plan and oh boy, we knew you never really had a choice
"Yeah, your dad would probably have gotten bored and tried to bring the trick to someone after a few minutes," Ronin says easily, nudging his shoulder against Felix's as he steps up beside him. "And you're right, Remi would have found it funny after. After the trick, though, or after he put you up on the highest tree in the Greatwood?" Raising his eyebrows, the Huntsman grins at the Attuned. "I can't really answer that." Luckily it wasn't his husband, and it's just a slimy Safrin demigod that Felix gets to contend with.
Following after his fellow hunter and admiring the deer he's managed to take down, Ronin falls into step towards the Stonesong and snorts as he considers what Vai's reaction might have been. "I my experience, your mother doesn't get mad, she gets even. So I'd have been watching my back for the rest of the season if it had been her."
They step out along the banks of the Stonesong only a few moments later, and Ronin doesn't even bother to take off his clothes before swamping into the river, letting it drag the lichen away from him. "Much better."
The tidbit about his father does have a small crooked smile crossing his face, a surprisingly deep rumbling laugh leaving him. He can only imagine it, how his father might have just dove in head first. He supposes he got his patience from his mother. “I’d bet after I got put in the highest tree.” Felix chimes with another little laugh, strolling through the path and lugging the sled with the deer on it behind the two of them.
His question over his mother has him slowing down just enough as they start to reach the Stonesong, the sound of rushing water infiltrating his ears and calling to the bear shift within him. “Gods, true. Well, I’m glad it was you.” Besides, the Huntsman looked like he needed a bit of a pick-me-up even if it was at his own expense.
Felix sets up the sled in view of them and when he turns back to look at Ronin, the demigod is cleaned up of the lichen and soaking wet with the water and Felix takes little to no time to trot through the water toward the demigod, sinking down to get all the lichen out of his hair and sprouting beard before he stands up again and looks quite similar to a wet dog. “At least it’s easy to get out and it doesn’t stain. I could have used pomegranates! I saw some in the market earlier and thought about it.” He protests with a wide grin, splashing a bit of water toward Ronin to get an extra little lichen off his side where he might not have been able to see it otherwise.
old man, i'm done always abidin' by the plan and oh boy, we knew you never really had a choice
"I wish I could say the same, but maybe next time I can be hiding in the trees with you and we can trick someone else," Ronin drawls, grinning over his shoulder at Felix and scooping a little water up and over his head to help wash the lichen out of his dark hair. The smile lingers on his face as he watches how the other man sets up the sled where it's in easy view - when Felix has become an adult is beyond Ronin, but he can't help but feel a little proud of him.
Then, of course, he's splashing water at him and even if it's to help, Ronin takes it as a challenge. "Pomegranates or cranberries," he agrees, all the while swatting water back at Felix. "I bet you could even use snow in Deepfrost too." Is he giving him ideas? Yes. So sue him.
The two hunters while away the afternoon a little longer with their plotting, before finally Ronin needs to get on his way to the Cataract, and he leaves Felix to haul his prize home to Vai.
