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!
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
It’s a wild, ancient dance between the hunter and the hunted, made even more unusual in that the prey isn’t used to being in this position. Its agitator is too quick for it to get a handle on, so the Ursur roars its displeasure and swings around in wild circles, trying to create a safe perimeter.
Wessex has range, however, and it allows her to stay away from the serrated tusks and massive paws. She slinks around the beast as well, crouching low, electricity crackling in her open hands. To its credit, the Halovian predator will not go easy. It eyes her and snorts, pulling back on legs the width of tree trunk for a moment before charging the demigod, its shaggy hulk thundering across the Tundra, and throwing up snow in its wake. The Wraith fires off two of her electricity balls, aiming for the Ursur’s head. One hits, another goes into the shoulder, and the Ascended sprints to one side again, to give herself a hot second and plan for the third ball.
Pihu hoisted the sack she held over her shoulder up a bit higher. Shivering against the frigid air, she muttered a curse under her breath. Glaring at the frozen hellscape all around her, she picked up her pace. Already, she was regretting her decision to try and move some goods that were a little to hot for her to sell in Torchline.
However, she was distracted from her grumbling by the sound of an animal roaring in the distance. Instantly she dropped her bag and shifted. Taking flight, she headed in the direction of the noise. What greeted her sight shocked her so much she nearly toppled from the sky: a single woman lobbing balls of electricity at what appeared to be a bear with delusions of grandeur.
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
With all of her focus on the Ursur, the bird in the sky goes unnoticed. Wessex needs blood from the beast, and since she can’t exactly turn herself into a mosquito or attach herself like a parasite, and with political leanings such that they are in Halo, going into full on kill mode seems like the best option.
The Ursur roars and swings to follow the demigod, in pain and fucking pissed about it. Wessex offers it a macabre grin and shoots the third electricity ball at one of its legs, and the smell of burnt hair and charred flesh finally overwhelms the frigid, ice-sharp air. The Ursur falters, stumbling on its injured leg and that’s when the Wraith stares it down; seeking its gaze so she can bore lasers into its eyes and its head, it’s a short but noisy and painful death until her lasers meet the brain and it’s all over.
Taking a moment before she approaches the Ursur, Wessex finds herself unexpectedly upset, and crouches down to try and stifle it, staring at the trampled snow in front of her.
From her aerial vantage point, Pihu can see the whole spectacle unfold: the Ursur roaring in pain and anger, the strange woman discharging what looked like lightning at it, before there was a flash and the beast collapsed. Circling in the sky above, the raven croaked. Not descending right away, she made sure the creature was really dead before swooping down to land a decent distance away.
Shifting back to human, she cupped her hands to her lips. "That was quite the show ye put on! How did ye manage to best one of those things all on yer own?" Tilting her head to one side, she narrowed her eyes. "Wait. I've heard of ye, haven't I? The Phantom, or no, the Wraith?"
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
When you see something out of the corner of your eye, turn to look, and see nothing at all, what should you conclude? That you were having a hallucination? Or that your peripheral vision is perhaps not to be trusted. Ask yourself, are you tired? Drunk? Under the influence of something? Is the lighting good? Are there lots of moving shadows about? Are there reasons you have to think that your mind is playing tricks on you?
Because...well, because it would be absurd to think that out of the corner of your eye you had just seen a house. A house with a figure slamming its hands against one of the upper windows with enough force to shatter it, and then...
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
To say that the sudden appearance of someone else surprises her is an understatement; Wessex leaps up at the sound of another voice, activating her talons and pulling them in front of her in a defensive stance. Halo is no longer the ‘safe’ place for her that it once was, and the person could be -
Anybody. Technically. But they aren’t. Or, rather, they are. It takes a hot second or five before the demigod relaxes, realizing that the voice isn’t recognizeable and neither is the person who stands in front of her. “Sorry,” she mumbles, bringing her hands to her side and sheathing the talons again. “Reflex, I guess.” Then the questions finally register and she shrugs. “Yeah, the Wraith. Most people just call me Wessex. I’ve got a lot of powers, I guess.”
Which is a humble understatement, but she’s not exactly in the bragging mood. “You are…?” She's about to extend a cautious hand when there's another flicker at the corner of her eye and the demigod curses quietly. "Again?! Fucking hell. Did you see it too?"
04-13-2022, 11:15 PM (This post was last modified: 04-18-2022, 02:14 AM by Pihu.)
Pihu
As the Wraith pulled out talons that would put any Attuned shift to shame out, Pihu's eyes widened. She backpedaled and prompted tripped over a snow drift. Landing on her ass, she held up her hands to show she was unarmed. "That's an understatement!" She stared at Wessex's talons before the raven realized she hadn't introduced herself in turn. "Oh right. I'm Pihu, but ye can call me P."
Freezing (metaphorically, though with the temperature close to literally), at the sight of the creepy house, the Attuned grimaced. "Aye, the house with the person that's not there? Yeah, I saw it and I've seen it. Gives me the jitters." Standing up, she brushed the snow off her legs and body.
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
“Careful!” came too late, as Pihu tumbles backwards over the snow, but Wessex quickly has a non-taloned hand out to help her back up.
At least she isn’t crazy. Or if she is, she isn’t alone in being crazy. “Oh. Good to know it’s not just me, then -” Well, her and Amun. That would make it something Ascended-specific, and they don’t need something like that right now. Wessex chortles awkwardly to herself. “Seemed like a place I’d seen before.” Pausing briefly, the demigod flashes a cordial, close-lipped smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Unfortunately, Wessex is out here for a reason. She turns back to the dead Ursur and unsheaths her talons again, making a slash in its flesh and holding the bottle until it fills, at which point she’ll restopper it and place it somewhere in the depths of her cloak.
Taking the hand the Wraith offered, Pihu allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. And if she held onto Wessex's hand for a few moments more than strictly necessary, well, the raven could hardly be blamed for that. Clearing her throat, she nodded and ducked her head, trying to hide her blush. "Thanks." Hopefully the General would write it off as a symptom of the cold.
"Nope, not just ye. Though I gotta ask, what types of places do ye frequent that a creepy house seems familiar?" The thief's eyebrows rose. "Nice to meet ye too."
Watching as Wessex cut the ursur and began collecting blood from it, Pihu jerked her chin at the Wraith's talons. "Ye seem pretty handy with those. Maybe I should look into gettin' a pair. Cause, last scrap I got into I had my nose broken by a man a full header shorter than me. Feckin' asshole" That last part came out in a muttered whisper. "I assume ye need the blood for somethin'?"
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
The first question makes her laugh aloud and almost slosh some of the blood out of the bottle. “You ever been to the Feverlands? Creepy swamp area. There was one of ‘em there.”
Up until now, she hadn’t really questioned how the woman had snuck up on her. Narrowing her eyes slightly as she now considers the comment about claws, and the fact that Piho obviously (no offense) isn’t Ascended, the demigod comes to only one conclusion. “They’re pretty useful. I owe Eirachi a debt, gotta get some stuff for her.” Could she have gotten the blood without killing the bear? Maybe. Probably? But this way was a one and done and she could take the beast back to the Citadel for food.
She pats the bear, as if to thank it, and begins to consider how to best get it back. “You Attuned?”
"Nope." Shivering, Pihu pulled her hood closer around her face. Breath puffing out, she grinned at Wessex. "Unlike ye, I try not to deliberately go to creepy places."
Brow furrowing, Pihu cocked her head to one side. She swayed back and forth a bit, actually stepping from side to side as she did. "That's one of those seasonal deities, yeah?" She looked around at the snow blanketing the ground and falling from the sky. "I'm gonna guess Deepfrost." Chuckling, she rubbed her hands together.
"Ye caught me. Guilty as charged." Now rubbing her arms, she frowned at the other woman. "Only got one shift though. Why do ye ask?"
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
A chuckle that comes out far too bitterly has Wessex’s spirits nonetheless a little lifted. “Aye, well. Hazards of being a demigod, I guess,” she quips back. Gotta go to the places and do the things others don’t want to. Adventures, yes, but also trials and tribulations. Gesturing to the world around her, she nods in affirmation. “Yep, Deepfrost. She lives here in Halo. Tanau of Longheat is in the Climb, the Mathair, of Leafchange is in the Greatwood, and Ghilio, of Flowerbirth, lives in the Oerwoud. usually. “
Anyway, that’s enough of a lesson for today and she waves away Pihu’s question. “Oh I just didn’t see you approach. Figured it had to be an animal or I’m gettin’ really rusty.” And judging by the way Pihu rubs her hands together, it isn’t one with a fur coat. “You’re getting cold, right? Better start moving around. Bad shit happens when you get too cold for too long.”
Cocking her head to one side, Pihu narrowed her eyes at Wessex. The raven jerked her chin at the Wraith, then pointed at the Ursur. "Seems like ye get some perks, too, though. I'll take those over spooky houses any day." Grinning, the thief took a step closer.
"Huh. Makes sense I guess." She looked up just a bit to meet the demi-god's eyes. "Have ye met them all then?"
Giving a thumbs up at the other woman's explanation for the question, the Attuned grimaced at the instructions to keep warm. "Bossy, aren't ye? An' not even an offer to warm me up." Snorting, she nevertheless jumped up and down a few times. After coming down and almost stumbling from the uneven footing, she switched to punching at the air in front of her. However, her blows were pitiful, with a terrible stance and no power behind them.
Like you're hanging by a thread But you gotta survive
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
“Just Eirachi and Tanau.” Probably best not to say any more about the Mathair… that’s another path with a big ‘ol X on it when it comes to strangers. Do not enter. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. And if it isn’t obvious that she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, she tries to make it so by letting the matter drop completely in favor of physical activity.
“Very bossy, but a shitty heat source, so…” trailing off at the stumble and poor form, Wessex shakes her head is gentle dismay. “Wider stance and power the punches from your hips, not just your shoulders. Like this.” Stepping out, the Wraith demonstrates what is hopefully easy to copy, taking care to exaggerate the extra bit of momentum and force she gains in her upper body from a little twisty hip action.
