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!
Sah sat at the small table in his home, sipping coffee as he watched his three pups. The sun had only just begun to rise, spilling light through the windows. Lilly was curled up around Soleil and Luka, sleeping as soundly as the twins. Their breakfast was on the table but Sah found himself hesitating to wake the trio up.
The small moment of peace was a luxury, of that he was well aware. It only seemed right to let them enjoy it as long as possible. He'd wake them if their eggs and toast started to grow cold, but for now he'd just keep watch over his small pack.
Sleep hadn’t been easy at the Halenani. Though the workers were kind - if busy - there was far too much activity at all hours of day and night for a child that had known empty tundra for most her life. Combined with the constant tension of being in an unfamiliar world with no real guardian, rest was absent from the physical manifestation of sleep.
Now there is only warmth and the steady rise and fall of Lilly’s chest and slow-beating heart beneath her cheek. The wolf’s scent and the feeling of her brother pressed against her side is like a drug, encouraging her to stay down in the hazy depths of sleep even as the sunlight on her eyelids beckons her awake. It takes a long few minutes before she rouses, coming up onto her hands and blinking blearily around herself, hair wild and cloudlike around her head.
Soleil looks around for her father immediately, still needing to check periodically that he is near in the wake of…everything. Only settling when she spies him at the table, the food-smell a secondary thing to that. Standing and extricating herself carefully from her siblings, the girl walks over and nudges underneath his arm, trying to pull herself onto one leg by herself. “Morning daddy,” she says through a yawn, extending her arms needily for an embrace.
she is an old soul with a young heart naive enough to love, wise enough to learn
Sol stirs which means Luka stirs. Though the other pup is much slower to move than his sister. He watches as she crawls towards their father, climbing into his lap and reaching for him, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that she needs that embrace more than him right now. Sol never said it, but Luka knew that she was more scared than him. Even though she tried real hard to hide it. A few beats pass before the pup makes any moves of his own, burying his face against Lilly's side for a span of a breath before getting to his feet, wandering towards his family.
He climbs onto the couch beside them, leaning heavily into his father's side as he yawns, reaching up with a pudgy fist to rub at his eyes. "Smells good." Luka comments of the food through his yawn, nuzzling against his father and reaching for Sol in the same moment.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
Lilly awoke with the others and padded over to be near the trio. Meanwhile, Sah pulled his pups closer, heart feeling lighter than it had in far too long. He gave each of his pup a kiss on the crown of their heads. "Good morning pups. How'd you two sleep?" This morning felt surreal. Both of his pups were alive and they were here. Never in a million years did Sah think he'd have this again. There were still loved ones who were gone, but this was a blessing he'd never take for granted.
Nudging his pups, Sah gestured to the table. "Come on, let's eat before it gets cold. Then we can do whatever you two want today." He'd taken the day off from everything just to spend some time reconnecting with his pups. It was also partially for the fact that he refused to let them out of his sight at the moment. Lest they disappear from his life once more. Actually, it was largely that fact.
Her father’s arms drag her closer, and Soleil melts into his side, the raw nerves that still twinge and spark with anxiety settling anew. Her nose is far weaker in this form, but she finds comfort in his familiar scent all the same. As soon as he releases them with little kisses to their heads however she is reaching for Luka - and finds he is reaching back already. Soleil climbs shamelessly across Sah’s lap to fit herself to her brother’s side, molding close until there are no gaps to be found between them. Only then are all things right in the world, and she turns her attention back at the notion of food.
“Good!” she chirps warmly, swaying into Luka. She had tried so hard to be strong for him, to protect them, but now there is no need because their dad is here. Now she can simply be with him, as she was meant to be. Reaching for the food, she uses her fingers without a second thought, still unused to utensils and other human niceties. Dragging Luka’s plate closer and giving her twin a smile before crunching down on a piece of bacon. “What can we do?” she ventures, equal parts curious and hesitant as she poses the question.
she is an old soul with a young heart naive enough to love, wise enough to learn
Luka snuggles against his father for a moment, but his hand is already sneaking across to grasp at his sister, but he doesn't need to wait long. Soon she's crawling across their poppa's lap, nuzzling into his side and he wraps an arm around his sister, burying his face into her hair for a moment. Her scent is clean and warm, still lingering with sunshine and he smell of snow clinging to her curls in a way that only he could notice, lips mimicking his fathers in a brush of a kiss.
He's displeased to untangle himself from his sister, but it seems that she's only going to allow it for them to be situated in a single chair at the table. They're big enough to need their own each, but they both refuse to leave the other's side. She tugs his plate closer to him so he might reach it more easily, drawing a smile to his lips as he grabs for the bacon first, shoving the whole strip into his mouth. "Can we play in the snow?" It was the first thought that occurred after they'd settled in here. It was something they used to do back home often.
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet That you and I will walk together again
Sah smiled warmly as he watched his pups interact. Despite the rapid changes to their lives and ages, they were still the same. Still his loving pups who looked out for each other. Gods he was so proud of them.
As the small family settled in to eat, Sah laughed at Sol's question. "We can play in the snow", he agreed with Luka. "We could also explore or meet some of the other people in Halo." The Abandoned caught his children's eyes before continuing, "There are incredible people here that I'm sure you'll love. Deimos and Noah are people you can trust completely. Cordelia, Aino, and Ilma (NPC) are too, but they're also pack."
Sah chuckled as he continued, "And not to throw too many names at you. But outside of Halo, Hotaru and Maeve are the two you can trust no matter what." It was good for them to at least know the names of who they could trust in his opinion.
He'd have to ask what they knew about the war later. But he didn't want to overwhelm his pups too much. Giving them this much to stew over as they ate was probably enough for now.
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...
Luka’s arms don’t quite envelop her the same way as their father’s, but his embrace is more familiar - even in these new human bodies. They’d only had each other in the Halenani after all. She leans into his kiss, more nuzzle than anything as they learn these new bodies and their abilities, and bumps her head into him in familiar returned display of affection. It fills something inside her that food cannot, a hunger and need for surety and love that she will learn with time.
Humming eagerly around her own mouthful in wordless agreement to Luka’s proposal, the girl swallows as Sah begins to speak. Sparing a moment without food to try and focus entirely on the information he gives in waves. Names that are to be remembered for safety reasons if nothing else. “Should we…invite them to play?” she asks tentatively. If they’re pack it seems the polite thing to do, even though she doesn’t necessarily want to share family time with them. Her dad may call them pack, and she will accept his decision making obediently, but…well, they’re not pack to her yet. Still, Sol is too polite a child to not sacrifice her own comfort for others.
The illusion - spirit or otherwise - makes her startle hard, bumping into Luka as she jolts towards him. Her thick hair buffets wildly as she turns towards the source, only to find nothing. Shaken, but assuming it’s the last dredges of sleep clinging to her mind, her hand seeks out Luka’s shakily to cling there. Too nervous to verbally question the appearance of the disconcerting visage.
she is an old soul with a young heart naive enough to love, wise enough to learn
Sah chuckled at his daughter's words. "We don't need to. You can meet them some other time." Such a sweet pup. But Sah wants his pups all to himself for now. They've been out of his grasp long enough. He's not ready to share them yet. But he'll probably bring them to meet the others soon. Especially since Ilma will likely be their babysitter most days.
Then the illusion came and Sah pulled his pups tighter up against him, letting out a soothing rumble. "It's ok. You're safe." Once they've calmed a bit he continued. "Caido has some weird magic at times. Weird creatures too. One might have simply passed by." Giving each pup another nuzzle, he added, "How about this. We stay safe at home today and I tell you stories about Caido's gods and creatures?"
The rest of the day was spent curled up as a pack as Sah told his pups about the world of Caido. It's Gods, creatures, magic, and some fun stories about what he'd experienced thus far and the people he'd met. He told them about the war and how Safrin had ensured their safety as well.
