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!
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
The list of people to inform about his return grows shorter as days pass, though it had never really been that long to start with. Arguably, Wessex should have been one of the first faces he’d reached out to (not that anything happens face to face, the Wraith receives a note passed from hand to hand that simply says VlamVloed) but there is a certain amount of petty vinegar in Nate that he just wouldn’t be the same without.
So, the waiting. The note. The way he’s not actually in the bar, but rather tucked into a niche nearby it, a space that holds flowers and a single small chair in warmer times, but that right now gives Nate some refuge from the snow while he watches people pass and scribbles into a notebook.
He looks much the same as he has the entire time, save for the motion, the new scarring around his beleaguered eye, barely visible with the way his face twitches and shudders from one expression to the next. The restlessness doesn’t stop him from whistling sharply when he sees Wessex, catching her attention before she steps into the bar and out of the snowy evening. “Hey boss.”
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
She’d heard that Nate was back. And… given everything (death, fucking Jata, trying to sort out the Relic bullshit, her own guilt, whatever), she was just fine with not being one of the top five or whatever. She’s not avoiding him, exactly. Just waiting until he makes the first move. And it comes, predictably - she sends her affirmative response - and then shows up at the VlamVloed.
One hand is almost on the door when she’s halted in her track by the whistle. Turning, a half-grin ekes its way across her face at the familiar voice. “Nate,” she says, warmth flooding her voice as she abandons the predictable path and surges towards him, pulling the other demigod into her and shamelessly using her superior strength to her advantage. The hug isn’t very long, and she soon abruptly lets go, perhaps surprised by the outburst of emotion.
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
The hug is the absolute thing Nate expects, and he sinks into it like a drowning man wrapping around a life preserver. Presses into it like an oxygen mask on a falling plane. He'd been trying to keep everyone at arms length, to only let certain people in, but to have someone who wasn't Sunjata just waltz up and insist on it reveals the true fragility of his already cracked mask. "Wessex." He breathes back, letting his hands liner on her shoulders for a moment before they drop.
"Good, good, I mean... I feel great." Obviously, his hands patting down his front as if to demonstrate, or appease her. It doesn't hide the glassiness of his eyes any, just pure misdirection. Maybe he'll get away with it. "Got some uh... questions, I guess?" He grins apologetically, almost a wince, and lifts a single shoulder in a rolling shrug. "Heard you traded something for me."
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
He feels great. Great. She can’t tell if it’s a reasurring reply or not. “So did I, when I came back to life.” Which is to say - to remind him - that she does in some way understand what he’s going through. Though they may have been in very different places when they died, that sudden needless gasp, the jolt of consciousness, the confusion about where they are. It’s not something anyone should get used to. And the loss of time is - well that’s the worst part, isn’t it? Particularly now, when time is at a premium.
“Oh, I’m sure.” Staring at the VlamVloed for a moment, she jerks her head away, out toward the quiet of the night. “Let’s skip the bar. Too many people.” Which is actually perfect, because his first question, which isn’t what she expected for his first, should be revealed very much away from others. It draws out a huff of amusement and a crooked smirk as she turns to lead the two of them away. Her voice drops to a conspiratorial level before answering. “Ah, yes.That. You’ll love the one we pulled over on the them. Not even Jata knows, so - give him our apologies. It has to stay between the four of us.” Speaking freely for Isla, Wessex has a feeling the Remedy won’t mind her telling Nate the truth behind his retrieval. They all need to be on the same page again.
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
Truth be told, Nate had forgotten Wessex had at one point died as well, though he’s not sure the rekindled knowledge is enough to actually shift his attitude one way or the other. He steps out of his niche and glances around quickly before following after the Wraith, all too eager to agree to leave the VlamVloed behind.
All at once the switch flips, and Nate leans against Wessex with a greasy ease, an arm (a real one) wrapping around her shoulders to hold them close together. “This does sound like a good one.” He murmurs, licking his lips and keeping his face pointed forward. At least this way it doesn’t look like they’re sharing secrets. “It better have been something good, if you decided against blowing me up.”
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
“Y’know, I really wanted to,” she starts with a straight face. “But when the Voice deferred to Jata’s wishes, I just kinda went with it. Only seemed fair.” Since he is next of kin by way of husband status, or whatever. It was the respectful thing to do. “If I die, you let her do it. No sentimentalities, no body retrieval unless it’s easy. Just blow me up at an advantageous moment.”
The Voice already knows all this, but it would be good to have a person know, too. To keep everyone else from being an idiot.
Where were they? Oh, yes. She wraps an arm loosely around his waist and gets back on track, unable to help the pleased expression that turns her lips into something more than her usual grim expression. Keeping her voice low, Wessex tilts her head towards Nate, just in case anyone might be trying to overhear. “Turns out they don’t know what upgrades look like or where they go, so I took out the Backsplash upgrade before we went and had Isla carve out a useless one in front of them - one that went back to the Spire Demon. Gave that to them. Ronin hit me, nothing hit him back… and they were satisfied. None the wiser.”
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
“I’ll talk with him about it too.” It was a conversation Nate didn’t want to have, not after the heaviness of his waking, but it was an important one nonetheless. And when Wessex says she wants the same? “Oh, obviously.” Nate agrees without a second thought, squeezing the Wraith’s shoulder tightly. As if there was any other option. Maybe it’s wrong to be so open and callous about their deaths, but there’s no other way to be able to handle it, not really.
They snap back to the matter at hand, the question Nate has been very patiently simmering over. He tilts his head in, just so, to play into the little game they’re playing. The gleeful grin that spreads across his face does break the facade somewhat, but he can’t help himself. “Oh that’s fucking worth it.” He laughs around the words, biting his tongue to keep from being too loud.
Nate wouldn’t be able to explain the leap if he tried, but all at once there’s an edge in his grin, a bite he’d been keeping muzzled since he opened his eyes. “I should have fucking killed him. I should have been smarter about it.” Wessex is the only person he can say this to without worry, the only one who can truly understand the intensity of his grudge.
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
She has to disagree that his death wasn’t worth pulling one over on the old god demis, but their anger and their confusion will be the highlight of whatever battle they’re pulled in to next.
It’s a consolation prize, at best. They’re both too pessimistic to truly think otherwise. But what else can she say, when his attitude so quickly changes? No, she’d rather keep her mouth shut and see Nate happy, if only for a minute or two. “You have another chance to,” she reminds him, gently. “And we’ll strategize better. Maybe if I never look like me… can take more hits. I don't know.” Or she finds a way to heal them. Something like that. The name of the game is outrun and outlast and… be smarter.
“I’ve got something to match the starbolts,” she whispers, a vaguely feral and predatory fire sparking in her usually cool, blue eyes. “Look.” Summoning an electrical orb, she lets it sit and buzz merrily in the palm of her hand.
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
Nate's lips purse as he considers the placation, the thought of another chance. "Too bad we can't just nip them in the bud." Bright eyes flick up and away from Wessex, a glare aimed past the clouds into the cosmos. "This won't happen again." He's not stupid. No matter how it seems, he only needs to be beaten once before he learns what to change for next time. He's just not smart enough to not poke and provoke.
The Lone Ranger drinks in the crackling blue orb, the light cast off it reflected back like a ripple by the light under his own skin. "That looks like it'll hurt." He mutters lowly, gaze not leaving the electric ball right away, his feet slowing with the distraction. Nate catches himself after a moment, pressing a hand up through his hair and glancing around them as if to ensure no one is looking too carefully.
"I uh, I've been doing some thinking. There's something, somethings I want your help with, when it goes dark." Truth be told, there had been no thinking. At least not beyond the simple, spiteful urge to destroy something.
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
It does look painful, doesn’t it? Her lips curl upward in a grinch-like grin as she consideders the orb for a moment longer. “Yep. And super effective when added to water, I imagine. Neron’s got plenty of that…” He generally uses it for ice, but maybe the last Launceleyn would be willing to give water a go.
Wessex dismisses the orb by closing her hand and brings herself down to match Nate’s pace and furtive energy. “Oh?” she murmurs in return, always curious about the trappings of her brother’s mind, which is so different from her own “I’m all yours if I can actually help.” Honestly, he could have asked for the moon and she’d have contemplated, at least for a moment, how to get it for him. This probably isn’t nearly as difficult.
i got a number on me, i got a number won't make it through the high noon sun
For a single shining moment, Nate's eyes light up completely, visions of electricity surging through a fragile body flashing in front of his eyes, a parade of crude imagined caricatures suffering in glorified violence. "We have to try that." If there's a note of wicked glee in his voice, well... he supposes she can try judging him, not that it would do her any good.
There is not a single doubt in his mind that Wessex will be able to help with what he has planned. "I feel like it's a little bit crowded around here." A hand swirls between them before it raises up, around. "I feel like maybe... maybe we could take advantage of Longnight and do some ah, remodelling?" Nate cocks his head, the grin angled towards Wessex positively feral, his tone cut clipped and sharp by it's edges.
i was a hero early in the morning i ain't no hero in the night
06-14-2022, 01:48 AM (This post was last modified: 07-14-2022, 04:57 PM by Wessex.)
you wouldn't even recognize me anymore
not that you knew me back then
His wicked glee is only matched by her own, dreams of vengeance and victories dancing like cloud wyrms in her eyes as she glances once more back toward the orb before snuffing it out. Her fangs linger in their devilish grin as she nods decisively - they will be trying it out at some time, come hell, and hopefully high water.
And then it’s time for him to surprise her. Or rather, confuse her. Wessex doesn’t fully catch on to his meaning, tilting her head as she tries to follow his veiled meanings. It’s clear that he means to do something big, but it could be to any number of… things. “I have some plans during LongNight, but you can have a night or two. What d’you want to do?”
