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!
Amun grinned at Lilliane. "Are you, by chance, an Outlander? If so, don't worry, you'll get used to it." Winking, he pointed at the metal he'd shaped. "As much as I enjoy the implied compliment, for all you know it's the metal and not me." He laughed under his breath, careful not to spook the ramphires now that they were close.
Nodding, he gave her a thumbs up when she asked for confirmation on which member of the herd they were targeting. Narrowing his eyes, he raised one palm, holding his arm steady with his other hand. Waiting just a moment to make sure everything was primed and ready, he sent a command through his link to Zhanshi.
At which point the little landshark burst from the earth, showering dirt everywhere as he shot towards the ramphire. It reared in the air and made a sound vaguely like a chirp, but deeper. The animal pivoted away from the potter's companion, straight towards where the Ascended and Lilliane were hiding. The rest of the herd started to scatter as well.
Stepping out from behind the tree, Amun took a breath and centered his palm on the charging ramphire. Then he fired a flashbang directly at it, hoping to halt it in its tracks long enough for his new friend to trap it.
Although Lilliane was curious about what Amun was going to do, she remained focused on her task. There would be other chances to see the many things people in Caido were capable of. So when Amun confirmed the animal which was their target, she kept her eye on it, Amun still visible enough in her peripheral view.
With the landshark chasing the ramphire further their way, the distance was no problem anymore. And the moment the animal halted because of the bright light, Lilliane threw the net. The net hit the animal, falling over it and consequently trapping it. Realizing that maybe they should hurry and make sure the ramphire didn't struggle free from the net, Lilliane rushed over to it. Though upon closer inspection, it seemed that the animal wouldn't get out at the moment. Looking around and taking in the surroundings, she laughed. "That was crazy."
The flashbang flew true. As soon as Amun launched it, Zhanshi broke off his pursuit of the ramphire to avoid being stunned. The landshark dove under the ground once more to avoid the bright light and loud sound. The potter was already in motion: as soon as Lilliane tossed the net, he was behind it, putting on a burst of maybe unnecessary speed.
Still, he got there fast enough to be able to see they'd caught their quarry. He tugged on a few of the edges to make sure the ramphire was well and truly trapped. Even Zhanshi surfaced to tug on a few links. Mostly, though, the ramphire's wild struggle just resulted in it becoming more and more entangled.
Letting out a laugh at her comment, the Ascended winked at her. "If you think that'd crazy, you might want to prepare yourself for further insanity." Kneeling down, he placed a few fingers on the edges of the metal. "Now, we should probably decide what we're going to do with this before something bigger and badder comes to investigate the noise and sound we made." He glanced up, nodding when he saw that the fleeing herd had indeed scattered some feathers in their fright.
"True, things have been quite insane so far. This trend will likely continue, for all I know," Lilliane said with a chuckle. Though with the focus back on the captured ramphire, her expression became more serious. Tilting her head slightly while looking at the animal, Lilliane remained silent for a moment.
Then she looked at Amun. "Unless you want to pluck its feathers while it's alive, I see only two options. Well, three, but the third is kind of... difficult?" She shrugged. "Either we just let it go, now that you've managed to take a look at it, or we kill it." There was another short pause. "Or you go and capture yourself one of the opposite sex and start ramphire breeding." Another shrug, though this time together with a smirk.
While she left Amun to ponder over the question, Lilliane busied herself with picking up the feathers dropped by the fleeing ramphire herd before they could get blown away by the wind.
02-24-2022, 07:44 PM (This post was last modified: 02-24-2022, 07:44 PM by Amun.)
full moon rising on the waters of my soul
Amun let out a chuckle and grinned at Lilliane. "If it ever stops, please let me know so I can copy what you did and avoid my own experience of serial escalation." Shaking his head, he snorted.
"As much a fan as I am of breeding," he responded with a wink, "We came here for a reason and we may as well follow through with it." As if to agree, Zhanshi rattled the nearest edge of the metal net. The potter knelt down and placed his hands on the ramphire's horns. Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip.
Then with as much force as he could muster, he twisted the animal's head. There was a snap as he broke its neck, then the ramphire jerked before finally going still. Sighing, he laid his hand on the creature's side. "Thank you." With that, he activated his upgrade again and the metal began climbing up his arms again.
As it did, he looked up at Lilliane. "Sooooo, do you by any chance know how to pluck an animal?" He arched an eyebrow as he waited for her response. Glancing down at the corpse, he snorted. "Probably should've asked that before I killed it."
Having gathered a small assortment of feathers, Lilliane returned to Amun. Chuckling, she then said: "Well, luckily for you, I do know how to pluck an animal." Taking a look at the animal, she then continued. "I also know a few basic butchering techniques, but I don't really know if I can apply that to these animals. So if we want to use the meat, we might want to take it to someone who can help us with that."
With the metal net now gone, Lilliane kneels down next to the dead ramphire. "But for now, let's pluck it." And as she said so, she did. "It's best done before the body gets cold." Precise, quick motions exercised with concentration. "Let's just hope your earlier mention of something bigger, badder coming by will not come true." The way she said it, it was only half-jokingly. "Oh, and I hope you have something to store the feathers in?"
Amun grinned at Lilliane. "I'm lucky you stumbled upon me, then. I'd probably make a mess of it." Chuckling, he shook his head and gestured at the direction the herd had fled from. "Well, more of a mess than I already made. And taking it to a butcher sounds good to me." He watched as she plucked it, following her movements closely.
However, he wasn't the only one. Zhanshi surfaced and tunneled over to the dead ramphire. The little landshark bit down on a mouthful of feathers and ripped them out, scattering blood everywhere. The potter knelt and scooped his companion up, holding Zhanshi to the Ascended's chest. "Let's leave it to the experts, yeah?' The landshark nibbled on Amun's neck, causing him to laugh.
As she expertly took care of the feathers, the potter's brow furrowed. The metal, which he'd reformed into bracelets, shifted again. In his left hand, a small sword appeared; in his right, a small box, which he held out to her. "Does this work?" He scanned the trees around them for any sign of movement.
"I'm lucky too. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to hunt one of them." Glancing over to where Amun had gestured, she chuckled as well. "Though I have to admit those were some unorthodox hunting methods." Noticing him watching her, she said: "The trick is to be just quick enough. Too quick and you rip the skin, not quick enough and it won't go out smoothly." At the same time, she showed him how she held the feathers as she did so.
At first, Lilliane was quite startled when Zanshi bit into the ramphire. She watched as Amun scooped Zanshi up. Then she laughed and shrugged. "I guess he wanted to take part as well." Inspecting the damage, she took the feathers around the damaged area which were still in mostly good shape. "Well, since you're making dye with these, I suppose they don't have to look perfect. Just rinse them in water." She gestured towards the splattered blood at the last part.
"That works," she said after a quick look at the box. Once the feathers have been plucked, she fills the box with them. "I guess we should leave now before a bigger badder thing decides to show itself?"
Amun winked at Lilliane. "Teamwork makes the dreamwork, or whatever it is the youths are saying these days." Glancing around at the greenery around them, he shrugged. "I use the tools I have on hand. But if you have notes I'm all ears." He grinned. "And now I know how to pluck properly. This day just gets better and better."
Chuckling, the potter made Zhanshi nod his head. The landshark twisted in the Ascended's hands and nibbled on Amun's thumb. Still laughing, he released his companion, who took his little chunk of meat and feathers and dove underground to feast. "He always wants a piece of whatever I'm doing. I love him, but he's a handful." Nodding at her suggestion about the feathers, he gave her a thumbs up.
Tucking the box under his arm, he bent down and hoisted the ramphire's corpse over his other shoulder with a grunt. He jerked his chin downhill in the direction of Haulani. "Lead the way. I'll walk you to your butcher of choice, my treat."
02-27-2022, 03:20 PM (This post was last modified: 02-27-2022, 03:50 PM by Lilliane.)
I know I'm just a girl, but can I change lives?
Lilliane smiled. "Everything gets easier when working together." Then she shrugged. "I don't really have any hunting tips, unfortunately. That was the first time I've done something like that."
As she watched Zanshi disappear beneath the ground with its snack, she chuckled slightly. "I can imagine. But it seems like he cares about you a great deal as well. And that's what matters most, right?"
Lilliane gave Amun a wide smile. "Thanks. I can carry the box if you want. I'd feel kind of bad if you go on carrying everything." At the same time, she gestured towards the box, ready to take it if Amun would be willing to let her carry it. "Also I don't really know where a butcher is, so unless you know someone we'll just have to ask around." For now, she started heading towards Haulani.
