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!
This makes her own brows lift towards her hairline, head tilting to the side, "Do you visit her at the Halenani too?" Because Paige knew what kind of stuff happened at the Halenani even if it went on behind closed doors. Her mother, while not giving her all the details, didn't keep things from her. Not in that way. Paige giggles as he sweeps into a bow, nose wrinkling with her laughter, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Amun. My name is Paige." And then after a moment she adds, "Berkley. Paige Berkley." She dips into a curtsey that isn't all that good, but does the job well enough.
"What makes him so special?" The Attuned asks curiously, eyeing the landshark just as much as he's eyeing her right now.
A snake might do, but a racoon would be better. They have hands. "Yeah, we'll probably have to go far. That's why I brought my backpack." It was full of all the essentials. A bit of frayed rope, candy, some sandwiches wrapped in wax paper made by her mother, and a canteen of water. "Uh huh! I know how to track!"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Shaking his head at Paige's question, Amun barked out a laugh. Chuckling, he cocked his head to the side. "No, I've never been to the Halelani. She was helping me with a little Hel problem." He pointed at one of the birds flying in the distance behind them, closer to Torchline; although it wasn't necessarily a Hel, it was a seabird in the right general area.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Paige." Zhanshi circled around the girl's head. As the landshark flew up and down her body and all around her, the potter grinned. "For starters, he's a landshark that can fly. Also, I'm the only person I know that managed to bond with one." The Ascended's companion flew back over to Amun to brush against the potter's palm and nibble on his fingers. Laughing, the Ascended pet Zhanshi.
Smiling as she boasted about her skills as a tracker and showed off her supplies, the potter nodded. "Seeing as I can't track at all, why don't you lead the way? I'll try to clear the path and bring up the rear. Sound good?"
See? That sounded like code as far as Paige was concerned. The look she gave him said as much, too. Her brows lifting and her lips twitching as she huffed out a breath. "Mhmmm. A Hel problem. That's what they all say." Funnily enough, a few of them do actually say that. The Attuned adjusts her bag on her shoulders, bouncing on the toes of her boots slightly as she follows the line of his fingers. She knew what Hels were, Amun. She lived in Torchline. Those rats with wings were everywhere.
"Nice to meet you too." She chirps, offering a small smile as she watches the landshark circle around her, giggling all the while. "I guess that does make him pretty special." Paige finally says, taking a step forward to press deeper into the jungle. "Just stick close to me. The jungle can be kinda tricky."
Was this child aware that she was a fourth of his age? Somewhat. Did she care? Not really. As far as she was concerned, she was the one who knew all about the jungle and how to properly navigate it. Not him.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Amun burst out laughing at Paige's comment. Shaking his head, he grinned at the girl. "I don't know about the rest of those folks, but I had an actual Hel problem." He inclined his head to Zhanshi. "A whole flock decided Zhanshi here looked like a tasty snack and Maeve stepped in to help fend them off." As the potter spoke about the encounter, the landshark snapped his jaws at the bird in the distance before diving underground.
Standing up, the Ascended nodded at the instructions. Stepping right behind her, he'd use his machete to either hack or pull any greenery that tried to impede their progress. Otherwise, he'd follow her deeper into the jungle.
He laughed and she felt her stomach go all fluttery, grinning at her own joke, proud to have said something funny enough to warrant such a response. "If you say so~" She sing songs even as he proceeds to explain himself, smiling all the while as she moves to skip past him, using her staff as a little walking stick. "Well, they do like fish. I guess it makes sense as to why they would go after him since sharks are fish and he isn't the same size as an actual shark." The Attuned muses, glancing back over her shoulder at Amun before continuing forward.
Now, the girl knew that finding a racoon was perhaps unlikely. Snakes were much more common, but that wasn't what she wanted. Not that snakes were bad, but it wouldn't be able to help her steal things. Maybe there would be something else out here that would be better suited if a racoon was off the table.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Letting out a few final laughs Amun pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. The only reason they weren't there was because Ascended didn't really cry. As Paige tried to work out the Hels' logic, the potter gasped. "Don't let him hear you. He's sensitive about his size!" Snatching up Zhanshi, the Ascended hugged the landshark. The potter's companion promptly chomped down on Amun's fingers, though not hard enough to break the skin, before wriggling out of the hold and diving underground.
The Ascended snorted. "Kidding." Waggling his eyebrows, he held up a screen of vines so that the girl could get past them. "We should find a stream." He spoke in a quieter voice, trying not to startle the very wildlife they were searching for.
However, he probably didn't need to worry too much about that, since some wildlife was about to find them. A colorful blur darted past them about eye level. It landed on a branch next to him and started humming. It turned out to be a feathered and winged lizard of all things, and it gobbled up a beetle before turning a wary eye on the intruders. "What in the world?"
05-20-2022, 12:45 PM (This post was last modified: 07-06-2022, 07:39 PM by Paige.)
Paige
Paige is set off in another fit of giggles, shaking her head at the Ascended as his companion bites at his fingers before promptly disappearing all over again. With a skip to her step, Paige sets off down the trail, glancing back occasionally to make sure that Amun is following along behind her the way he said he would.
The mention of a stream has her nodding, "Wishtide is somewhere around here..." Paige murmurs, knowing that particular body of water rather well. If she found that she could always make it back home. It was one of the first things she learned coming out here. Before they can make it much further, Amun comes to an abrupt stop behind her, eyes locking onto a creature in the branches above.
Her own search for a moment before finding the Treeflit. Her grin grows, "That's just a treeflit. They like beetles. Sometimes they'll take shiny things from you and leave them in return." Was she speaking from experience? It was hard to tell, but Paige had always liked the little creatures.
It wasn't what they were looking for. Not even close, but it's at least something. The two explore for a few more hours before Paige finally has to turn back and head home.
~FIN~
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
