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!
Tal was silent for a little while as Cordelia talked, finishing the lantern's simple dovetail joints and then picking up a piece of thin, waxed paper, fiddling with it awkwardly in his fingers. "You couldn't be with her every second of every day," he said gruffly at last. "An' if she was determined to go... wherever she went, she would have found a way eventually. It's not your fault." That was the sort of thing people said in these situations, right?
He sighed at the return question, finally gluing the plain white sheet into place for one wall. "No. Well. Dad's wasn't. He was a Shield, and when the cultists attacked that Deepfrost... well. Fuckin' Neron." He scowled down at his lantern, pressing the paper onto the frame with more force than necessary. "Mom just... never got over it. Died a year later of a broken heart and a fuckton of alcohol." A second piece of plain paper was stuck to the opposite side and then he stared down at the two remaining sheets, looking a little lost.
The words, while perhaps harsh to some people's ears, Cordelia knows there isn't any ill intent behind them. It is simply the truth. Her lips twitch into a slight smile, a spark of some unclear emotion in her honey gaze, head dipping in acknowledgement as she carefully secures the first panel of paper to her lantern's frame. "That sounds like Aino." The Attuned finally says, holding the paper in place as it slowly dries.
Neron. Neron and the cultists and all of the lives lost. A growl rises in her throat, real and feral, jaw feathering as she holds another piece of paper in her hands. "He'll get what's coming to him." And he would. If he ever came back here she knew that Noah wouldn't let him get away with all he's done for much longer. It didn't change what happened, but sometimes knowing that there were others willing to put a stop to someone, even if they were for different reasons, was comforting. "Still, I'm sorry for your loss. Heartbreak is just as deadly as the cold."
Tal gave a sharp nod, knowing it wasn't enough but also knowing that nothing would be, short of the miraculous reappearance of the lost cousin. It was Caido, and stranger things had happened...
But not usually in Halo.
The white dragon they'd just seen was proof enough of that.
But for some things vengeance was a possibility, and Tal looked up at Cordelia's growl with startled eyes. Pale eyes that warmed at finding a kindred spirit, and he gave a lopsided, sharp-toothed smile. "Hope I'm there when it happens," he said gruffly. It was a little easier to look down at his papers afterwards; to sketch, on one, the outline of a shield before gluing it more gently into place.
"What was Aino like?" A hesitant question, an anxious glance, unsure if he had any right to ask it. "Only if y'want to talk about her, I mean."
To most, Cordelia was a fairly shy thing. Quiet and reserved, often keeping to herself, hardly speaking out beyond what was necessary to get by. There were few who saw beyond that, but occasionally, something would slip out. A flash of heat in her eyes, a downturn to her mouth, a comment that was perhaps a bit too cutting. This time it was the growl at the mention of Neron, surprising even herself that it had slipped from her lips, but the look he grants her in return soothes any unease she might have felt. "I hope so too."
The words are more than a breath, honey brown eyes dropping back to her lantern, focusing on the next portion of wax paper as his question is aired. Her muscles tense, that familiar broken hearted feeling rising in her chest, settling there and freezing into place. It stung, making her throat tight and her eyes blur, "Headstrong. She did what she was going to do. No one could stop her. She was loving too, though. Willing to take in anyone that needed family."
Tel kept his eyes on his own lantern for the time being so he wouldn't have to see the pain in Cordelia's face. It was bad enough to hear it in her voice, but that was the reason for the season, after all. Working through the hard memories and hopefully finding a sense of closure... or at least feeling a little less alone among others enduring a similar sense of loss.
His hands stilled over the side meant to represent his mother, but then he carefully began to glue a small crow feather to the paper. "No wonder you miss her," he murmured awkwardly, groping for the right words and, as usual, coming up empty handed. "Was she a hunter, too?"
Carefully, with fingers that hardly shook at all, he glued the last wall of his lantern into place.
His fumbling reply isn't lost on Cordelia, but she doesn't mind it. The hunter shook her head, huffing out a breath that might have been a laugh, "Gods no. Aino didn't hunt." She wasn't the type. Not that it bothered Cordelia any. The attuned never expected her to be. She was more than capable of going on her own. "She would stay with me when I cleaned up my kills, though." Which meant a bit more to her than going on the hunt in the first place. Perhaps that said something about her as a person. Her willingness to stay when things were messy.
Cordelia fixed the final piece of wax paper onto the last exposed side, placing it on the table with a sigh, "Either way, she was something else. I didn't really know anyone who was like her." And she likely never would.
Tal listened and nodded to show she had his attention when she looked at him, but otherwise he stayed quiet and let Cordelia do the talking. His fingers worked over his lantern, checking the fit of the wooden slats and pressing the structure onto the lightweight base with its wire for holding a candle. A few more pieces of slender wire bent and twisted easily into a handle from which the Leafchange creation could hang.
He looked over at Cordelia's sigh, and offered a sad, lopsided little smile. "Wish I could have met her." He looked down at his lantern, slowly turning it over in his hands. "But I'm glad I got to meet you and hear about her, at least." With a sigh he rose and began to put the remaining supplies away. "I gotta get going but... thanks. For bein' here today." Awkward as always, Tal flashed her a rueful grin and headed out to take his lantern home.
