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!
05-11-2022, 11:28 PM (This post was last modified: 05-11-2022, 11:36 PM by Maeve.)
Maeve
It made very little sense. Ice and snow in Torchline? Maeve never thought she would see the day. Yet, here it was. Plain as the sand that lined their shores. The Nightshade hasn't gone ice skating in some time. There was a few time in Halo, but nothing in recent years. However, she imagines it is likely a skill you don't forget. Pulling on the skates that are thankfully provided, she laces them up, making sure they're secure before stepping onto the ice. She wobbles at first, trying to find her footing, but that comes quickly enough. It's easy to remember the motions. Push, push, glide. Push, push, glide. Over and over again before she's skating smoothly around the rink.
Soon feeling bold enough to try a few spins and jumps, transferring moves that she so commonly practices while dancing, finding it isn't all that different. Who knew that balancing on pointe would be harder than balancing on a blade?
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
There weren't many among the Torchers who took to the ice like a fish to water, so when the shadow of one started flying across the ice overhead Hadama couldn't help but be curious enough to follow. Broad manta wings stroked effortlessly through the gentle current of the iced-over canal until he caught the ice-blurred figure, and then he challenged himself to match her pace and direction.
The first few jumps, when her blades left the ice and he could no longer hear the high-pitched scrape of them through the water to guide him, were startling until he flipped over on his back to watch what was happening. He considered his options as he continued to be her shadow below the ice, and came to the conclusion that perhaps she had something, here...
The next time Maeve spun, Hadama mirrored a manta roll in the water beneath before stroking his wings strongly again to catch up in their silent dance.
Now, Maeve hadn't been paying much mind to what might be beneath the ice. Most of the sea life would likely avoid the canals due to the cold from the icy surface. It never occurred to her that she might need to be aware of something beneath her. Because of this, she doesn't even bother to look down. No, the first rule of this kind of thing is to keep your eyes up and look where you want to go. It helped maintain balance and to maintain your orientation after each jump or spin. It isn't until she happens to glance down, checking that her path was clear as she prepared for her next jump, that her eye caught the dancing shadow beneath her.
Thinking it was just a trick of the light at first, the ice fairly thick and hard to see through due to the cloudiness of the water, Maeve wasn't sure it was a creature at all. Deciding to test the theory, she jumped, spinning in the air and then landing and veering to the right to see if it happened to follow.
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
Manta or mer, Hadama was not a small shadow with his distinctively broad wings. And Maeve, though a petite shadow blurred to anonymity, was easy to tell apart from her fellow Torchers by the speed and grace with which she slid across the frozen water. He followed his impromptu dancing partner as she skated above, listening for the cue--
Again, the abrupt silence as blades left ice, and Hadama tucked his head and rolled forward in an underwater somersault. He heard the sharp clunk of impact as steel met ice once more and he twisted to follow the sound, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of the fleeting shadow overhead and make sure he was still beneath her. She had gotten a little ahead of him, and he put on a small burst of speed to catch up and swim along beneath her once more.
Her new dance partner didn't miss a beat despite her burst of speed as she landed, slicing across the ice on her skates, not slowing for a second. He followed beneath her, only slowing for the span of a breath before he was back beneath her. The queen couldn't contain the delighted laugh as she realized just what was happening. Here she was thinking she'd be one of the only ones enjoying the gift Rae had given them. In a way, she was, but it was clear that they didn't have to be on the ice to enjoy it as well.
She continued forward, dancing across the ice as music played in her head, eyes closing to allow herself a moment to simply exist. The Nightshade didn't know who her partner was, but she shared this moment with them nonetheless, knowing she would look back on it with a smile.
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
Hadama was not usually one to indulge in whims, but Rae's mischief had been too fascinating to pass up. Finding a dance partner on the other side of the ice had been even more unexpected, but there was no denying the simple joy of racing through the pleasantly chilled water, or the challenge of trying to stay in sync with someone he couldn't even touch.
He followed her curves and turns, gracefully weightless in the water below. There was no time to think or plan his next moves; it was all he could do simply to react and maintain his speed in their graceful duet of land and sea. When the shadow above him jumped, he dove to the bottom of the canal, rising to meet them when they landed. They spun, he rolled - or else shifted his wings momentarily away so he could spin in a watery echo of what was happening in the air above. It was a moment of bright freedom away from the worries of gods and quests and wars, and he gave himself over to the moment.
The Nightshade dances her way across the ice, twisting and turning, body contorting with her movements. Finally, she nears the end of the canal and she's left to make a choice. Either turn around or get off the ice. She braces herself against the edge, finally deciding to stop for the time being and hauls herself out of the canal to sit on the edge. The waves have broken up the ice towards this part anyway and it's for the best that she stops here.
Carefully undoing her skates, Maeve watches the dark shadow beneath the ice, curious to see if her partner is going to make an appearance. She tugs off one boot and then the other, laying them down next to her as she allows her socked feet to dangle over the edge.
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
Hadama followed where his partner led, right up until they reached the edge of the canal and he could follow no further. The manta turned at the last moment, underside of belly and wings brushing lightly against the wall as he curved away and slowed, taking stock of his surroundings as more than just obstacles to avoid in the dance. Light filtered down more brightly nearby where the ice was thin and broken, and after a moment's consideration he swam towards it and pushed his way towards the surface, shifting as he went.
A steely head emerged into the air first, followed by a dark-skinned face and shoulders as he blinked through the sun-dazzle to identify his partner.
He didn't quite crack his stoic expression to smile, but there was a flash of recognition and warmth in emerald eyes as he inclined his head in greeting to Maeve. "Thank you for the dance. I did not know humans could swim on top of water like that."
Maeve lets out a soft gasp as Hadama surfaces, jade eyes widening in surprise, "Oh! It was you." She laughs, running a hand through her hair, displacing a few snowflakes that have managed to stick in the ebony curls. "Yes, though, it isn't as common here. Given the weather." Her smile makes her nose wrinkle slightly, head tilting to the side as her arms wrap around the tops of her knees.
"I'm a dancer. Ballet. It isn't too different to do it on ice." Lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug, the Nightshade meets his eyes, "Thank you for joining me. It's been some time since I had a partner."
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
The 'you' in question inclined his head in agreement, though it was wry humor in his eyes when he looked up again at her words. "In thirty-four years, I have never seen ice in Torchline," he rumbled. "'Uncommon' is a mild way of putting it." But by the gleam in his eyes he appreciated Maeve's gift for understatement.
"It was a pleasure. I do not often... hm. Indulge myself like that. It was welcome." Emerald eyes met the Nightshade's, calm once more as the racing of his heart steadied back to its usual slow, powerful beat. What had shone in them during the dance, no one would ever know.
His head tilted in its usual curious way as he considered the other word that she had used. "Ballet...?"
It makes her giggle, the way he points out of understatement, the queen actually looking her age for once as she sits before him. "If it wasn't for the fact that I'd been to Halo and the Greatwood, this would be my first time ever seeing snow." It might have looked out of place on their sandy shores, but Maeve likes the juxtaposition of it all, finding a lovely notion in the picture of it.
"I'm glad I could help you indulge then. Good to know I still have the knack for it." A smirk curls on her lips as she lets that slip. He likely didn't know what it was she used to do before she became queen. Not many did if they weren't residents of Torchline before her rise to power. It wasn't that the queen was ashamed of her background. If anything she took pride in it, using many of the lessons it taught her to be a better leader.
Her brows knit together as he repeats the word back to her, confusion clouding her pretty features before she lifts a palm to her forehead, "Gods, I'm sorry. It's a kind of dancing. You mainly balance on your toes." She stands then, knowing it was hard to picture without any sort of proper demonstration. The Nightshade draws in a breath, centering herself before rising up onto pointe, gliding through a few dips and turns, giving him a short demonstration. "There's more to it than that, but that's the gist of it."
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
Hadama inclined his head in amused acknowledgment, but there was a spark of mischief in his eyes as he murmured. "Ah. I have never seen the Greatwood in Darkwater."
He might have been a resident of Torchline, but he had been too busy to trouble himself much with the doings of the drylanders until just recently. Whatever Maeve meant by her cryptic statement earned only a slight head tilt of confusion - one that became deeper and more intrigued at the concrete mention of 'ballet.' Luckily the Queen took pity on him, both explaining and demonstrating, and steely brows rose up in admiration.
"I did not know foot fingers were so strong," he admitted. "Ah... tows?" Not a common word in the merfolk lexicon, outside of a few niche shifts.
"If you can get over there, I would suggest it. The stars there are unmatched." Which was saying something considering the skies above Torchline were some of the clearest around.
The statement earns a laugh from the Queen, eyes bright as she clutches at her belly, shaking her head at him. "Yes, toes actually posses an incredible amount of strength." She replies, grinning at him as her laughter dies down finally. "Toes. T-o-e-s. What you referred to as foot fingers. They're called toes." It's an easy explanation and one that she'd given to Edmund before, but it isn't meant to make the mer feel childish in anyway. Her teaching straightforward and simple.
Poor little girl still waiting for her happy ending
"I have seen the sunset there," he agreed slowly. ”But not the stars.” Even if it had been through someone else’s eyes. Perhaps he could convince the nice young man to share the night sky with him the next time their paths crossed.
And then there was the distraction of a ballet, and the mer was thoroughly fascinated by the unexpected talent of human feet and the stubby flukes on their ends. He floated with his usual calmness as Maeve laughed, imperturbable as ever; though he did tilt his head at her, a little amusement in his green eyes at her good humor. ”Toes,” he repeated, making sure he had the inflection right this time. ”Curious things. Because of their size I thought they might be delicate.”
He looked up from her feet to meet her eyes again. ”What made a dancer become a Queen?” he asked more soberly, having missed the dryland political upheavals of recent years. She was not the one who had built the canals, he knew. But the succession of human rulers since then had left little impression on the Underwater City.
