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!
Finn isn't the type of man who is particularly good at working with his hands - not in a practical, craftmanship sense, in any case (something something ex-prostitute). In comparison, though, he's very good with measurements and constructing things in his mind, and having helped to design the window in his old office with Seraphina, once upon a time, a few frames for some glass doesn't seem all that difficult.
He hasn't accounted for how cold Halo can be, though, especially at the height of Deepfrost, and even though the dome over the Citadel means that it's only as cold as, say, every other damned day of the year, it hardly makes it warm. So he's headed out to a small workshop run by a carpenter, explaining the situation and thanking him for his help when he manages to produce some suitable wood for the frames.
Now it's just a matter of putting them together. Which Finn will hop right to, you know, as soon as he can feel his fingers again.
05-15-2022, 06:00 PM (This post was last modified: 05-15-2022, 06:00 PM by Luka.)
Luka
While Finn seems to be struggling with the cold. Luka seems to be thriving. Bundled up with a thick coat and hat to cover his ears, fur lined boots on his feet that crunch through the snow as he darts along the streets, the pup is having the time of his life. So much so that he doesn't even notice the man carrying the frame, causing his to run right into the back of his legs, going sprawling across the icy cobblestone streets. His lower lip wobbles dangerously for a moment, a sniffle caught in his too cold nose, whatever snot that could be there frozen.
"M'sorry..." He mumbles, wiping off his scraped hands on his pants, grimacing as they sting when the grit is pressed further into the scratches on his palms that are already starting to well up with a bit of blood.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
Whether or not Finn is aware of it, he's a bit of a solid brick wall compared to, say, a small child, such that he barely feels it as Luka runs into the backs of his legs. Only when the sound of the boy hitting the icy streets reaches his ears does he turn, his arms still occupied with the wood from the carpenter, though his expression (mildly surprised) does soften as he notes the scrapes on the boy's hands.
"Are you alright?" he asks, not needing to respond to the apology given that he doesn't believe the boy owes him one. Placing down the lumber he's collected, he reaches out to offer him help getting back to his feet. Finn knows better than to grab scraped hands, at least, so if Luka allows, he'll get him upright by grasping little arms, plopping him back on his feet.
The man who turns to face him isn't somebody he recognizes, but then again, most of the faces he saw lately were new to him. Outside of his Aunt Cordelia and Mr. Deimos, the pup didn't know too many people in Halo. He blinks back his tears that still threaten to fall, hands stinging from the cold air against the bleeding scrapes on his palms, allowing the man to help him onto his feet. It's with wary amber eyes that he studies the individual before him, unsure if he was going to get snapped at or scolded for not watching where he was going. It wasn't that uncommon of an occurrence. Especially when you were raising unruly pups.
"Yes..." He finally manages, bottom lip catching between blunt teeth to stop it from wobbling. His voice is little more than a warble, his shoulders hiking up towards his ears as he attempted to shrink himself to be as small as possible beneath his gaze. "I didn't mean to run into you."
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
"That is alright - I feel as though I ought to apologise for being in your way," Finn says mildly. He isn't the most vibrant sort, but his humour is warm and self-deprecating in a way that might be seen as reassuring in the right circumstances. "Here," he says, reaching into the inside of his coat and drawing out a clean handkerchief, offering it out to Luka so he might be able to press the cloth against his little bleeding hands.
"Were you on your way somewhere? I can walk you, if you like," he suggests, gathering up the lumber once more to stack it neatly in his arms. He won't be able to offer any further physical assistance to the boy like this, but at the very least he can try to get him where he's going.
Luka shakes his head at Finn, still sniffling, "No, poppa says it's important to pay attention to what's around you." And as such, he was the one who was in trouble here. He hadn't been watching at all. Now he had scraped up hands to show for it. Finn doesn't seem mad, though. Which is more than he could ask for. Taking the handkerchief from the man, he gingerly presses it to his still bleeding palms, soaking up the bright beads of blood from his abused skin.
"No sir... I was just playing." Luka says softly. By playing he meant running around without any supervision, but as far as he was concerned, that was playing. "Are you building something?" His head tilts to the side, amber eyes dropping to the wood tucked beneath the older man's arm.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
"Your pa is a smart man, but accidents do happen sometimes," Finn murmurs, shifting his burden in his arms so that they don't get too tired or cold. "Playing by yourself?" he asks with a small prang of sadness. "My name is Finn, by the way. You do not need to call me sir." Another small smile, and he glances down at the lumber in his arms as Luka makes mention of it.
"Yes," he says. "I am helping with the solar device that will be made atop the city walls. I need to create frames out of this wood, for stained glass." Everything is already cut and measured so it's simply a process of fixing it together, but of course that is easier said than done with only one set of hands.
His poppa is a smart man. To hear someone else say it makes him smile, the embarrassment of this whole ordeal slowly slipping away along with the stinging in his palms. "Accidents happen sometimes." He repeats back, nodding as he says it as if that makes it more true. As for playing by himself? Luka huffs a breath, brows pinching together with clear frustration. "My sister ran off to play somewhere else and I haven't been able to find her." Something about doing girl stuff. Not that he even knew what that meant. "I'm Luka."
The mention of the device has his eyes growing wide, recalling that his poppa had mentioned it before over one of their meals. He'd asked to help, but Mr. Deimos had said he was too small to help build the tower. Maybe he could do this instead! Then he could tell his poppa that he was helping to keep Halo safe too. "Can I help you?" He asks hopefully, picking up his pace a little bit to keep up with Finn's longer strides.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
"It is nice to meet you, Luka. Hopefully if we see each other again, it won't be because you fell down," Finn says, his tone pleasant enough but never straying beyond the polite, even if there is a touch of mischief in his stormy eyes to hear about the boy's sister. At least he isn't alone. "Perhaps she is spying on you," he suggests, "and that is why you can't seem to find her."
Glancing across and down at Luka as he realises the boy has fallen into step with him, Finn shortens his strides and raises his brows. "Help?" he repeats. "Oh - well - ... yes, if you'd like to. I have everything I need to construct the frames; maybe you can hammer some of the nails in?"
"That would be better, yeah." The little boy says softly, chewing on his bottom lip as he follows along after him. The suggestion seems to make him pause. His brows pinching together as he keeps pace with Finn. "She is good at hiding..." The boy muses mostly to himself, thinking that there might be a bit of weight to the theory so kindly suggested by the Spyglass.
Nodding eagerly at the offer, Luka beams up at his new friend, a little bounce to his step now. "I've never used a hammer before. Is it hard?" Truthfully, the pup didn't even know what a hammer was. Let alone what it was used for, but he was sure he could figure it out with Finn's help.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
Resisting a small smile to himself, Finn lets Luka come to his own conclusions about his sister as he continues to lead them onwards. He's headed to a small workshop frequented (mostly) by Palace guards, but it's free for anyone to use and there are supplies of tools and nails in case anyone needs to fix something in an emergency. Stepping into the workshop, Finn sets down the lumber and begins to arrange it into the shape of the frames they will need.
"It is quite simple," he assures Luka, reaching up to grab a small container of nails and a little hammer (a larger one probably wouldn't work for the boy). "Here, if you take this, I will get another hammer and show you how it works. How does that sound?" So saying, Finn grabs up his own tools and positions a nail against his makeshift frame, tacking it in place. Once four nails make up the basic shape, he offers out the frame for Luka to have a go.
It was another place he'd yet to explore and Luka is momentarily distracted by the different tools that are hanging on the wall. There are projects in various stages put away and he's tempted to explore, but the task at hand keeps him focused. Turning his attention back to Finn, the boy takes the hammer from him, holding onto it tightly as to not drop it. "It's heavier than I thought it would be." He taps the head of it against the counter very lightly, surprised by the sound that it makes.
"Yes, that sounds good." Luka agrees easily, amber eyes wide as he waits for him to start, eager to test it out on his own.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
"Yes, that was what I thought when I first picked up a hammer," Finn agrees with a small smile as he finishes off the basic frame so Luka can have a go. He tilts his head to watch the boy tap at the table with the tool, setting out a few nails and a bit of wood for him to practice on if he wants to.
Regardless, together they both succeed in putting the frames together - even if some of the tacks are a bit wonky, and even if there are probably more nails holding them together than is strictly necessary. "I think that will do," Finn says, setting down the tools and gathering up the frames now that they are complete.
Luka does indeed practice. He carefully holds the nails in place while he taps on them with the hammer. He misses a few times and almost hits his thumb another, but mostly manages to get the nails into the wood before it's his turn to help hammer the frames. This goes just about as well as one might think, but they manage to make a product that's mostly functional in his opinion. Not that the boy knows much about frame building.
Offering Finn a bright smile as he passes back the hammer, the boy feels a swell of pride at having been able to help in the first place, "You're welcome!" He replies easily, climbing down from his stool and heading for the door after Finn. He couldn't wait to tell his poppa.
~FIN~
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
