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!
Ronin leaves one last time, taking both compasses with him. He had been kind enough to ferry them to Halo one by one, and so Finn can only be grateful for that act of kindness. He'd also pressed a letter into Everest's hands before vanishing (from Mateo, of course), and had handed Tobi a list of useful places and tidbits of information he'd picked up. Hopefully that, along with the ex-Spyglass's extensive research, would be enough to get them started.
He doesn't want to be the first one to say I'm cold - they'd at least managed to barter and trade for one warm outfit each to get them started from Stormbreak's markets - but... well. He is. Instead, though, Finn glances across at Tobi and offers her a nervous smile that's all rosy cheeks and stubble half hidden by the scarf wrapped around his neck. He shifts his guitar case on his shoulder and holds out his hand for her. "So here we are."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Tobi has no such compulsions, and as Ronin leaves them to it, she turns to Finn and playfully squeals, "It's so cold!" Adrenaline and excitement are keeping her warmth enough, but having never experienced the cold like this in her life, Tobi is as amused by it as she is freezing. There's a thick purple scarf wrapped up so high that it almost touches her lower lashes, but gods it hardly feels like anything compared to the briskness in the air. Still, Tobi is nearly on the balls of her toes she's so excited.
'I can't believe we're really here.' She mumbles behind her scarf as she reaches for Finn's hand and tugs him to her. Pressing the tip of her nose against his (and hardly able to feel it), Tobi emits a muted sort of scream in the back of her throat as she beams up at him. "Thank you, Finn."
"I didn't do anything?" Finn's eyes crinkle with his smile as Tobi presses an Eskimo kiss against his nose; he has no idea why she's thanking him. "We are here, though. And we had better start walking, before our toes begin to freeze." He gives her hand a squeeze through the gloved layers between them, corralling Everest on his other side and starting to crunch through the street.
"This is Snowcloak," he explains. "It's the town inside the Citadel. Over there is the Palace, but it used to look a lot more impressive." He points up at the broken, icy shard of a tower overhead. "I suppose we ought to find... somewhere? Is there anyone we can speak to about finding a place to live?"
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"Yes you did." She'd have whispered it if not for the thick layer of purple wool which would have caught her words. At her side Ever is trying to take notes despite his gloves, and to say it isn't going well would be an understatement.
Not really one for architecture, Tobi gives the Palace a fleeting look before tucking herself in against Finn's side. "And I thought the Tower was a depressing thing to look at." It's perhaps a bit too soon, but just now she's too cold to feel any guilt. 'Is there...a bar or something? Or a meeting hall, or...?' Realizing that perhaps they should have asked Ronin to make the appropriate introductions for them, Tobi glances around for any signs that might point to an official building.
It's hard to catch anyone's gaze given how bundled up everyone is, but after a few attempts someone mumbles directions to the Kraai. 'I bet it's warm, at least.' Tobi says hopefully, trudging along with her little family in the direction given.
Slipping his arm around Tobi as if it's the most natural thing in the world (and this is a Big Deal, even if it doesn't seem like it to anyone else watching) and gently keeping Ever from wandering off as he fails to take notes, Finn can only tilt his head at her remark about the Tower. It's much too soon, but like the doctor, he's also too chilly to make a comment about it.
"There are barracks and a council hall within the Palace, but unless we intend to be soldiers or part of Noah's new leadership, I don't think that would be ideal either..." And if it isn't obvious, Finn hasn't stepped out of the Order to be sucked into some new cabinet position elsewhere.
The Kraai, at least, looks like a bar, and as they trudge in through the doors it absolutely is warm, Finn breathing out a sigh of relief. The scent of mulled cider and roasting meat is thick on the air, and there's a table close to the fireplace that he makes a beeline for. "You're right," he says. "This is better. Maybe they'll have rooms, like at the White Hart? We could stay here a couple of days while we figure things out."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
“Let’s start with Plan A. Maybe plan S can be becoming soldiers.” Tobi says with a warm smile, not missing at all the ease with which Finn’s arm had wrapped around her, but not needing to draw undue attention to it either. Even so, she felt all the warmer for it.
Their son isn’t the sort of boy who needs to be corralled or told to keep his eyes and hands to himself, but Tobi is still pleased to see the way he politely shadows Finn before plopping down at the table. “It might be nice to get an understanding of things before committing to any one area.” Raising her eyebrows, Tobi imagines to herself what it might have been liked to have inadvertently moved into the Silk Houses rather than somewhere near the Collegium, in terms of Stormbreak. It’s only then that it occurs to Tobi that she and Finn are going to get a house together. This wasn’t just going to be him moving in with her because it was easier with the baby, and then staying because that was easier too.
Not wanting to send Finn into a tailspin, Tobi instead looks towards the bar and nods where a server is leaning lazily against the counter. “Ningo fingers? And…maybe some grilled cheeses and soup?” She says after listening quickly to what the bar had on offer. Pulling out his notebook, Ever is already recording almost everything that has happened to them thus far, before tilting his notebook towards Finn and pointing at the corner where he’s estimated the current temperature to be -25. Raising his eyebrows in a silent is this right? the boy waits expectantly, pen in hand.
"We can't have Plan S until we go through Plans B through R, so I hope you have a lot of other ideas," Finn says in what would be dry humour if it weren't for the chill to his voice that strips it of the little amusement it contains. He nods his agreement with Tobi - understanding, then committing is what Finn is all about, after all - and settles at the table with the doctor and their son.
Ningo fingers sounds horrific, honestly, and Finn's raised eyebrows say as much, but he's nowhere near confident enough to complain or alter her suggestions (and he'll almost definitely like them). "Sure," he says. "We'll probably be able to think a lot better when we've eaten." That, at least, is a biological truth that won't change regardless of where they are.
Glancing down at his son's notebook, Finn gives a quick glance over the calculations and estimations that have led to Ever's conclusion - and honestly, he was hoping it was a mistake - before nodding. "It's pretty cold, huh," he remarks.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
“I am a doctor Finn.” Or..she had been, at least. “I always have other ideas.” Ever glances up with an expression that’s drastically more horrified than Finn’s, and yet the pair look nearly identical. Rolling her eyes at them both Tobi nods to their server to confirm that yes, she really does want the things she has ordered despite the responses from the men at her table.
Nodding with his lower lip out, Ever draws a sad face next to the temperature reading, which is about all the complaining the boy will do. As their food is brought out, the boy leans forward with a skeptical curl to his lip. “Why…are they called fingers if they have just come from a bird.” Ever wants to know, resisting the urge to poke at one with his pencil as he looks between Tobi and Finn.
Reaching for one, Tobi waggles it at her son and then her…er, Finn. “Because when you do this it looks like a finger. Now hush and eat your poultry phalanges.” So saying she takes a large bite out of “finger”, revealing steaming white meat within. “It really is very good.” But there is also the grilled cheese if the pair need something more basic for their delicate stomachs and sensibilities.
"I see," Finn says, which is his way of being vague and non-committal on his opinion of Tobi's alphabetical plans. But their order is placed, the temperature has a sad face, and the ex-Spyglass is left to gaze around at the Kraai as he awaits the arrival of ningo fingers and whatever else Halo calls food. And when it does arrive, he's similarly sceptical of the poultry phalanges (the change in name doesn't help, and in fact makes it markedly worse), instead picking up a knife and fork to cut his grilled cheese into bite sized pieces.
Those pieces are neatly and meticulously dipped into the bowl of soup, and although it's difficult to tell whether it's good or not (Finn would never complain either way), he does look as though he's enjoying it. "Do you know, at Deepfrost the days here are much shorter than usual?" he says, in what is supposed to be a conversational way. "We will need to make sure we make the most of the sunlight."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Now that Tobi has learned at least some of what makes Finn tick, she opts not to try and do something to smooth out the blank look on his face, and instead offers him a sun-shiny smile. “We’ve got this.” She says, turning her attention towards Everest who, like Finn, is unimpressed. “But…” He begins to protest, before a single arch from one of Tobi’s eyebrows silences him. Reaching for his notebook Everest scribbles something down (his time of death, probably), before grabbing a single Ningo Finger and taking the world’s smallest bite of it.
And oh, would you look at that? It’s absolutely fine. Eating as quickly as politeness would allow, the boy rather happily tucks into his food as Tobi rolls her eyes.
Of course what Finn says comes across as procedural instead of conversational, Tobi nevertheless leans forward. “Does that mean people sleep here more during the colder months? Or are do they just have more things to do indoors?” Though her tone of voice doesn’t show it, the doctor can already think of several ways of passing the time indoors, though….perhaps not with Ever within earshot. “I thought maybe once we’re all settled…we could go skating as a family. Have you even been, Finn?”
We do got this, is what Finn would say were he a less uptight individual. He might even grace Tobi with a half smile or a squeeze of her hand across the table. Instead he merely nods, but the tightness in his shoulders does seem to ease, and with a soft exhale of breath, he reaches out to follow in his son's footsteps and take a ningo finger to go with his cheeses and soup.
"Well," he says once he's meticulously finished his bite of food, "fire plays a large part in the city's culture. I imagine here it is less of an issue, particularly with the dome around the Citadel to keep the worst of the Deepfrost weather at bay. But prior to that, conserving heat and energy would have made sense. At the Celestine, the ursur would hibernate in the colder months."
Despite the dry nature of their conversation (compared to some, anyway), Finn does sound interested, and the words that tumble from his lips provide some much needed ease and comfort in an otherwise unknown situation.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
To anyone watching the little family, not that anyone in the Kraai was terribly interested in people-watching, they would see a mild-mannered trio who, though slightly stiff looking, appeared to enjoy each other's company. Food came and went, and it was only when the youngest member of the group began to rub inconspicuously at his eyes that the adults began the preparations of paying for their meal and seeing about a room.
Adventures were not the sort of the thing that the Rosencrantz-Hart family had, and yet they found themselves right in the center of one. What would come of it had yet to be seen, but we might assume that from the quiet and loving looks passed between them, that they might do alright.
