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!
Once again, Amun found himself in search of new dyes. Not particularly wanting to hang out in Torchline until the fervor around the attack on Stormbreak died down, he'd left Haulani in the direction of the jungle. Zhanshi tunneled at the potter's feet. Every now and then, he would reach into a pouch at his belt and toss a chunk of meat to the landshark.
As usual these days, the Ascended wore his illusory cloth to disguise his features. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the edge of the trees. Eying the greenery, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade. The gauntlets he wore rippled and shifted until they formed a machete. Gripping it, he pushed through the hanging vines and started making his way through the underbrush.
In the jungle, the quiet jungle a girl finds her delights. This time it's the call for adventure that delights her so. They way it always does. The girl can never stay put for long and without her one of her friends to keep her in the confines of Torchline, what was a girl to do? Obviously the answer laid in leaving the clearly defined borders of Haulani in pursuit of a little excitement.
Paige holds tightly to her new wooden sword that Deimos gave her after helping with the Monster Hunter guild, setting off on her own little "hunt" of sorts, intent on finding herself a companion within the jungle to keep her company while her friends were away. The young Attuned should have been paying more attention as she went along, but as it was, she was too distracted with jumping over vines to pay too much mind to her surroundings. That was until she heard rustling ahead of her. The girl stumbles, coming to a stop just in time to see Amun conjure the machete, blue eyes widening as he slashes through the undergrowth.
"How did you do that?!" Paige blurts, surging forward with a need to get closer, curiosity getting the best of her.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
As the voice spoke up behind him, Amun froze. Although his illusory cloth disguised his features, he hadn't exactly been looking for company. Turning just his head, he eyed the little girl who'd somehow snuck up on him. Snorting, he looked down at Zhanshi. "Some guard dog you are." The landshark poked his head out of the dirt to nibble on the potter's toes before his companion ducked underground again and tunneled over to Paige.
Facing the girl, the Ascended twirled the machete. "What, this?" Winking at her, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade again. The sword transformed, this time into a bouquet of roses. "It's a secret." He tapped the side of his nose.
There were plenty of strange people in Torchline. She’s seen all sorts come and go, but she’s never seen someone be able to just change metal like that. Even Mr. Deimos couldn’t do it that way. She’s torn between watching him and the curious creature burrowing towards her. Pale blue eyes flick back and forth between the potter and his companion before finally settling on Amun again just in time to see him transform the metal into roses. A delighted gasp falls from her lips and she takes another step forward, boots crunching through the dirt, ”That’s so cool!” And it is cool. Very cool.
”I wish I could do something like that.” She pouts, shoulders slumping as her quest for a companion is temporarily forgotten. Instead too concerned with the strange man and his changing metal. ”All I can do is turn into an animal.”
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
A sudden bout of mist begins to swirl rather charmingly around your heels. It’s gone nearly as quickly as it came, followed by the indistinct sound of faraway laughter.
Amun grinned at the girl's reaction. As Zhanshi floated out of the ground and began to circle the child, the potter activated his upgrade again. He used it to pull a single rose from the bouquet and hold it out to her. "I think so too," he admitted with a wink.
Before he could say anything else, though, a mist sprang up and a now annoyingly familiar laugh sounded out. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes. "Could you give it a rest, please?" Kicking at the fog, he glanced down at the girl even as the landshark returned to bite at the swirling mist. "Don't worry, it's just...I don't know, a spirit trying to be funny and failing. Nothing dangerous, just annoying." Grimacing, the Ascended shook his head.
Taking a deep breath, he grinned at her. "Wanna know something?" He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I think turning into an animal is very, very cool." Waggling his eyebrows, he crouched so he was closer to her level. "What animal can you turn into?" This time he spoke in a normal voice.
Her hand extended, about to reach out in an attempt to pet the landshark as it floated around her, but before she managed to do so Amun was extending a single rose to her. The girl hadn’t been given a flower before. There was the one time Ever got her a bouquet of mushrooms which was probably the closest she’d ever get to flowers from him, but this was different. She blinked rapidly, lips parting in quiet awe as she delicately took it from him, gingerly touching one of the petals as if it was a living thing and not made of metal. ”Thank you. It’s so pretty…”
She murmured just as the mist swirled in around them and the laughter caused her to jump, scrambling a little closer to him, free hand reaching out to grip at his shirt. ”Are you sure? What if it gets mad that you kicked at it?” Now, Paige wasn’t usually the scaredy-cat type. No, she was the type that went into haunted houses and ran from molten tigers and lived to tell the tale. This was a little different though. Gods and spirits and heralds were serious business.
Amun was very good at chasing away that worry, quickly distracting her as he dropped his voice into a conspiratorial whisper, causing her to grin. She giggled, a flush rising on her cheeks, ”Promise you won’t laugh? It’s kinda lame.” Even if it was good for sneaking around. The girl released his shirt and stepped back, form quickly melting into that of her weasel, coat starting to turn a bit white for the upcoming Deepfrost season.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Amun smiled at Paige's response. Tipping an imaginary hat to her, he inclined his head. "You are very welcome. A beautiful bloom for a beautiful girl."
Pausing as she questioned his actions in regards to the mist, he nodded. "Quite sure." He placed his hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze. Then he jerked his chin at their feet, which were already free of the whatever it was' presence. "I've encountered it a few times now, and no matter what I did it was always the same." He shrugged a shoulder.
Holding out a pinky, he smiled at her. "I pinky promise I won't laugh. Not that I would've anyway." He gestured at her. "Come on! I'll bet it's super cool and you're just being modest." As she shifted, he beamed at her. "I was right! You were just being humble. That is an excellent shift." He gave her a little round of applause before settling into a cross-legged position.
Beautiful. Another word that wasn't typically used to describe her. Mischievous, rotten, trouble maker, brave, and loud all came to mind, but never beautiful. If she didn't have stars in her eyes before she certainly did now.
"Okay, if you say so..." And there was a pause there as she realized that she didn't have his name and no idea what she was meant to call him, but she let it go as his hand found hers and he offered another reassurance to her concerns.
Pulling back to hook her pinky with his and set her stuff down, Paige took a deep breath before she shifted into a weasel, standing tall on her hind legs. Pink nose twitching as he smiled down at her, Paige let out a little squeak, scampering forward as he sat down and wasting no time scurrying towards his back so that she could proceed to climb her way to his shoulder.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Nodding, Amun pointed at the spot the mist had manifested and disappeared. "See? All gone now." He winked at her, still crouched so he could look into her eye.
Letting out a chuckle as she climbed him, he let her reach his shoulder. "Like I said, it's very cool, but I won't be able to understand you in that form." Humming a low note, he turned to face the jungle. "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't often see young women wandering around in jungles on their own. Do you have family nearby or were you seeking out anything in particular? He held his hand up to his shoulder; if she hopped in, he'd lower her to the ground.
She already knew he wasn't Attuned. Otherwise she would have felt his emotions, but given that there was a distinct lack of anything, Paige knew that wasn't it. Not that she realized he was an Ascended. She'd only ever met one. Hopping down into his hand, Paige allowed herself to be placed back on the ground, shifting into her normal form to sit cross-legged in front of him. "My momma is working." She said with a shrug.
As for looking for something in particular? She was. A friend. A companion. "I was looking for a pet!" Because the jungle was obviously a good place to find one in the child's mind. Did racoons even live in the jungle? Paige didn't know.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Humming a few notes as Paige revealed her mother was working, Amun nodded. Activating his metal manipulation upgrade, the iron bouquet morphed back into a blade. "What does your mother do?" He grinned at the girl.
At the mention of a pet, Zhanshi poked his nose out of the ground. The potter's free hand darted forward and caught the little landshark before the Ascended's companion could launch himself at Paige. "This is Zhanshi. He's my companion, and he's going to be on his best behavior." Nibbling on Amun's hand for a moment, Zhanshi floated over to the girl before starting to make a spiral up her body.
"I don't recommend landsharks as pets," the potter fake whispered to her. The little landshark gnashed his teeth in the Ascended's direction before the companion resumed his inspection of the Attuned. Amun chuckled at the display before smiling at Paige. "Did you have any particular animal in mind?"
Paige was sad to see the flowers go, but she was happy to see that the one he gave her remained, not turning into a blade with the rest of them. Though, it would have been pretty cool if it did. Then she could have a little sword too and not just one of the wooden ones Deimos let her use. "She works for Auntie Maeve at the Halenani." That was usually explanation enough for anyone who asked.
A giggle rang out from her as the landshark appeared from the dirt, trying to dart forward only to be caught by his bonded, "I didn't know they could be pets." The Attuned admitted, reaching out to tentatively pet the top of his head before he continued his circles around her.
"I dunno. Something sneaky. My friend Mateo thinks I should get a racoon." And she kind of agreed with that. They were pretty smart and could grab things and climb really good. Paige would definitely be able to get up to all sorts of mischief with one.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
At the mention of Maeve Amun's eyebrows shot up. Breaking into a grin, he nodded his head. "I understand. Your Auntie Maeve is an acquaintance of mine. And what's your name? I'm Amun Arlun at your service." Despite the fact that he was crouching down, he bent at the waist in his best bow, sweeping the arm not holding the machete out to the side.
"Zhanshi is special," he explained. Cupping his free hand to his mouth, he whispered as loudly as possible, "Don't tell him I told you so, he's already got a huge ego." The landshark snapped his teeth at the potter before the Ascended's companion continued his inspection of Paige. Chuckling, Amun winked at the girl.
"A raccoon is very sneaky, I agree. But if that doesn't work, what about a snake?" He gestured at the jungle around them, which was much more likely to be the home of snakes than raccoons as far as he knew. "Either way, we'll probably have to venture quite far to find a suitable pet, don't you think?" Looking at the underbrush, he narrowed his eyes. "Do you know how to navigate the jungle?"
