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!
Juniper stood on the edge of the Drop again, wings fluttering to keep her balance in such a precarious spot. All right, so they needed more water. Easy enough. Pulling back from the precipice, she looked around the forest, waiting for her fellow Greatwood residents to meet her.
She'd brought two buckets, though they were cumbersome in flight, and now she picked one up and began to consider the best way to fill it. Should she tie a rope to it and lower it into the Drop, or just fly down and dip it into the water? She thought of the monster rumored to live in the pool below -- perhaps it would be best not to get too close.
"It's okay, I'm pretty sure Remi is off elsewhere today." Ronin grins as he approaches Juniper, his hands resting in his pockets and a breeze ruffling through his hair. "Some of the kids seem to think that he's the monster at the bottom of the Drop. But honestly, even if he was he'd just be taking a nap to get away from his chores." Remi Taliesin; leader to some, terrifying beast to others, lazy so-and-so to Ronin.
"I have a sense of deja vu doing this," he remarks, having brought a couple of buckets and some rope with him. "Last time, tying the rope and tossing it down into the Drop seemed to work. We did pick up a few fish on the way, though!" Maybe he'll save a few this time and take them back for dinner.
Enzo may not be as self-conscious about his non-existent relationship with Ronin as his sister, whose sensitivity is something her cherished and protects equally, but standing between the Dragon and the Guardian he finds himself feeling rather small. Instead of ruminating on that feeling because it sucks, Enzo peers over the waterfall with hands on his hips, eyes big. “Would you die if you jumped from here? Or would it just really hurt?” pops right out of his mouth before he can think to reign it in (except he doesn’t in the first place, because death is a weirdly normal topic for his family).
Spinning around, the boy smiles cheerily at Juniper. If he doesn’t look at Ronin, the man doesn’t exist. It’s exactly what the Star does to him, so surely it must work! “Can I be the bucket thrower? Hauling it up seems like it’ll be hard.” Arguably he’s the same size as Juniper so maybe he’s pushing his luck but hey. Ronin’s the demigod. Maybe they’ll just have him do all the sweaty stuff.
The beauty I have was a gift from birth the cornerstone of all my worth
Juniper laughs at Ronin's reference to Remi, and nods at his suggested method. "That sounds like the safest way to do this ... just in case Remi has river-monster friends down there."
Enzo's question makes Juniper frown -- it's a bit morbid, isn't it? She can't tell if the boy is scared or if he's just doing something she remembers from her own childhood: asking questions about death casually because he's too young to fully understand its significance. Either way, Juniper considers the question and answers, "I think it would depend on how you landed and how well you could swim. And whether Remi's feeling merciful today, of course." This last part came with a joking little smile. "Let's not find out, though."
She hands Enzo the bucket, happy enough to let him take care of that part if he wants. "Give it a good throw, all right?"
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
In days gone by, it's true that Ronin would have really struggled being in the presence of one of the twins. But he's made a concerted effort since then to work on himself - and especially to not allow children to pay the price of his own failings. So although he doesn't expect Enzo, he does greet the boy with a warm smile as he appears. "I think Remi will feel merciful if it's you who takes a tumble down there. I do think you should try not to fall, though."
Throwing buckets, though? That's fine by him. Ronin has brought two with him, so he makes sure there's a good length of rope tied to them and also sets them down by Enzo to throw. "You let us know once you hear the splash, and then we'll work on hauling them back up here, okay?"
Enzo makes a face at the mere notion of swimming. "Bleugh, no, it's too cold to swim already." Early autumn may be, but the great shadows cast by the towering trees are no joke. Though he does warm up a little (inside, of course) at Ronin speaking directly to him. That's certainly a change, though he hasn't seen the man since the Dragon's unfortunate day out with his sister. Flora does seem to enact change wherever she goes.
"Aye aye!" he cheers, green eyes practically glowing in his grinning face as not one, but two buckets are handed over from each adult. The first one is snatched and launched with a huff of exertion, and he leans over juuuust a little to watch it splash satisfyingly down at the bottom. Only then does he gleefully chuck the other one off the edge. When that one has also hit the surface audibly, Enzo plucks up the rope and eagerly shoves it into Ronin's hands. "Okay, go go go! I want to do it again." Wait. Would just the two buckets be enough? He sure hopes not, throwing things off cliffs is way more fun than skipping river stones.
The beauty I have was a gift from birth the cornerstone of all my worth
Juniper nods at Enzo's assessment of the weather, then watches the boy throw the buckets, covering a smile with her hand. He's certainly exuberant, and she's glad to see that he's enjoying himself. She isn't privy to all the details of Ronin's strained relationship with the twins, of course, but she can imagine, and it's good to see them getting along.
"All right, try these," Juniper says, offering Enzo the two buckets that she had brought, which she'd now securely tied to one of Ronin's ropes. "Try not to hit the ones coming up."
She turned to Ronin, eyes sparkling with humor. "Well, it looks like you'd better get to work." And she leaned back against a tree, apparently happy to let him do all the work ... At least for a moment before she laughed and started hauling up the second bucket.
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
"Are you sure? It might wake you up," Ronin says brightly, a hint of mischief in his blue eyes as he lingers next to Enzo and watches him gleefully toss the buckets into the Drop. The rich splash is like music to his ears, and he seizes the rope (both of them) to begin dragging up the water when Juniper hands the boy two more.
"Lucky for you both, I'm used to being the brawn," he says with a chuckle. He's joking, actually - Remi is much more bulk than he is, these days, but at the same time, this is hardly beyond him. Setting down two full buckets of water beside them and reaching out for the rope to haul up the rest with Juniper, he flashes her a grin.
"No fish this time, either," he remarks when all of them are stacked neatly on the Drop. "I think that will do, what do you think?"
Ronin’s brightness is met with a playfully stuck out tongue, and no further witty commentary because throwing buckets is far more fun than wordplay. Juniper provides him with further ammunition, and Enzo is happy to send those hurtling off the edge as well with only a brief moment spared to consider things like aim.
From there it’s far less interesting to watch Ronin be a workhorse, but all in all Enzo decided quests are delightful if they look anything like this. The question is asked at large but the boy slaps his hands on his hips and gives a kingly nod of satisfaction. “It is done!” he proclaims dramatically, face splitting in a boyish grin moments after. Easy peasy!
The beauty I have was a gift from birth the cornerstone of all my worth
Juniper nods in agreement with Enzo. "Excellent. Good job, Enzo -- very nice throws. We'll just get these back to the Guardian's treehouse and we'll be set."
She picks up two buckets, with some effort -- water is heavy. She can't fly like this, but she'll give trudging through the Greatwood with them a good try. Unless ...
Juniper looks at Ronin. "I don't suppose you want to carry all these?" she jokes. Well, she makes it sound like a joke, at least, but she might just be serious. Hey, what's the point of having a demigod around if you can't put him to work?
- FIN
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
