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!
For a moment, he contemplates going to the shrine. Except he's pretty sure the gods can probe his thoughts and he'd just rather not deal with that right now. So he makes his way through the colorful waters, looking for little shiny things to collect to bring home to Edmund. All he's doing lately is biding his time, waiting for a shift as if there haven't been many.
But the tides of change are receding for the moment, a pause, an inhale, and he can only hope they won't wash him away with their return. So he steals the little moments, the quiet moments for himself. He spots something, no, someone familiar and he pauses, staring at the woman. She looks too familiar, too..
Much like Alex. No, she's long dead, right? It's been too long and this woman reeks of pirate and booze and she looks so much like her. He doesn't even realize he's just gawking at this poor woman.
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
Alex was about to reach the shrine when she feels eyes on her. Hand going to her cutlass she whips around and locks eyes on a man. The first thing she notices is that he's staring at her, rather blatantly at that. But the second and far more concerning thing is that she recognizes him. Locke, fuck. Of all people to run into.
Swallowing harshly, Alex has a split second to decide how to proceed. Did she act like she didn't know him, that he was mistaking her for a ghost? Or did she accept the consequences of her actions. She's about to choose the first when her eyes meet his. Fuck. Alex can't do that to him. Can't put him through that. This is Locke, her idiot brother Loxley. Her partner in crime for the first decade and a half of her life. He deserves better than her deceit.
As such, Alex takes her hand off of her cutlass and instead gives a small wave. "Hey, Loxley. So, it turns out I'm not dead." Because surely their incompetent father claimed she'd died instead of taking responsibility, right?
Either it takes her a moment to recognize him or she was seriously thinking of attacking him. It doesn't matter though, not when she waves, not when she says his name. Ghost or not, she's here. Alive. He makes a choked noise in the back of his throat before realizing he's already making long strides towards her. Not that he really registers them. All he knows is that she's here, it repeats in his brain like a mantra.
He scoops his little sister up into his arms, squeezing her. "Knew you were too stubborn to die." It's muttered into her hair before he pulls away, looking her over. "Fuck happened to you? Some kinda pirate now?" He doesn't care. He should be mad but he can't be. He only feels elation and a bone deep sadness.
"You missed so much.."
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
Alex lets out a half sob, half laugh as Locke hugs her. She returns the hug happily, letting out a snort of laughter at his comment. "Stubborn to a fault and you know it." Though in this case, it'd saved her life. The concept probably still stood though given her occupation nowadays.
Smirking, Alex reaches up and flicks Locke on the forehead, "Me a pirate? Don't be ridiculous Locke. I'm too good for that." She raises her chin before dramatically placing her hands on her hips and declaring, "I'm a pirate captain. You of all people should know not to underestimate me." She breaks into snickers that are quickly silenced by her brother's shift in mood.
The pirate is instantly wary, eyeing Locke with worry, "What happened?" His expression made her wonder if something horrible had occurred, or is she'd simply missed out on something major. She wasn't so naive to believe or hope it was the latter.
He watches her with no small measure of amusement. Despite his hatred of pirates and their ilk, he can't hate her. Even if he wants to. For not coming back, for leaving him, for becoming a pirate captain. "I really shouldn't have expected anything else. Ma named you Alex because she wanted you to be great or something'." Her face falls and he kind of shrugs, rolling one shoulder.
"Well, dad's dead, for starters." Locke should know, he did it. "We've got a queen now, instead of a governor. Appointed by Safrin.." Another shrug. "Me an' the queen have a kid. So a lot, I guess." Not a big deal or anything. "Don't make me the king though. I've tried but she won't crown me." Locke says it with a bit of a pout, hoping she ignores the first statement he made.
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
The mention of their Ma makes something in Alex's face soften, "I highly doubt she had piracy in mind at the time." The idea pulls a small snicker from her. A snicker that suddenly turns into a feral, satisfied grin at the news of their dad. "Good riddance. Please tell me it wasn't peaceful?" If that man had simply gone in his sleep, the pirate would riot. How dare he enjoy rest when he'd left her to rot?
The idea of Locke as a king is equally amusing and horrifying. "You fucked a queen? If you're not king, what are you? Consort? Concubine?" The questions are half tease, half genuine. She needed to know what term to use to mock him with after all.
He hums, "Yeah, probably not. Don't think either of us ended up where she expected." Although he's pretty sure she expected him to wind up six feet under or something at some point. But hey, here he is. Still kicking. His eyes narrow slightly, for a moment the pupils give way to feline slits but he pushes that down. "Wasn't peaceful. Wasn't pretty." Another shrug, maybe he'll tell her, maybe he won't.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Sometimes I think she don't want people to know. I wouldn't, if I was her." He says it casually, rolling a shoulder. "You'll have to meet your nephew sometime. I bet you'd like him. Smart as a whip. Musta got it from his mom."
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
Alex gives a sharp nod, "Good." It soothes something in her to know that the man who put her through hell suffered. Did that make her a bad person? Maybe. But the news was still cathartic. Maybe one day she'll tell her brother the whole story. He'd reacted surprisingly well to her being a pirate after all. Maybe it wouldn't turn out too badly if she one day told him the rest. But not today, not yet.
The pirate doesn't appreciate Locke talking down to himself and nudges his shoulder with her bony one. "I'll have no self-deprecation in my presence, thank you very much. Unless you've had a complete personality change in the last decade, you're badass. Own it. Or I'll make you do the exercise I force my crew to do when I catch them talking shit about themselves." Unconventional, very. But effective. Her crew seemed happier for it too.
The idea of meeting her nephew has Alex practically vibrating in place, "I'd love to. What's his name?" She'd probably never let the boy on her ship, but Gods did she want to meet the brat.
Honestly the pirate thing is pretty far down on his list of things he really cares about at this point. She's alive, despite everything and he could want for nothing more. He gives her a lop-sided grin, entirely too boyish on his scarred face. "I've changed a lot. Family man, follow the gods, that kinda shit. Haven't stolen anything in at least a fortnight." Or rather, anything anyone would miss.
"His name is Edmund. Maeve picked it out." He laces his fingers together behind his back for a moment, looking at her. "He has your knack for wandering off and going on adventures without telling me where exactly he's going." And no one else seems to have a problem with this but him. Who knew he'd be the protective parent..
"What about you? Any men or women I need to know about?"
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
Locke's grin pulls a mischievous one out of Alex, "Oh? Sounds like you've turned... normal." The word is stressed dramatically as if such a state is a vile disease. Still, Alex gives her brother a playful kick to the shins, "Normal, but still badass. That's my verdict." Locke may be settling down a bit, but he was still Locke, still a Moore.
"Edmund, huh?" The pirate tries out the name before smiling softly and giving a solid nod. "It's a good name." The smile turns into a smirk as Locke continues. "An adventurer? Guess I'll have to be extra vigilant about stowaways now that there's a little me running around." There was no way she'd let her nephew aboard her ship. Not until he was an adult in his own right. But the description of Edmund only made her more eager to meet the boy.
The question about her love life has Alex snorting out a laugh as a Cheshire smile stretches across her face. "No. There's nothing permanent at the moment."
