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!
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
They have been back in Stormbreak for a couple of days now. Everest has reunited with Mateo, they have taken a look around the Pacifist Plaza, and they have selected an apartment above a bakery, which naturally makes for a very cozy atmosphere indeed. Still, even though he awakens (that's a technical term, he didn't sleep) to the smell of freshly baked bread, it's on silent, bare feet that Finn approaches the windows.
Drawing back a curtain, he finds himself staring down and into the Pacifist Plaza as though he doesn't recognise the place at all. His glasses are still tucked away in his belongings somewhere, but he swears he can see something out of the corner of his eye anyway. It's probably the lack of sleep, in all honesty; the trek through The Climb and then through Torchline took more mental fortitude than he had given it credit.
He ought to go back to sleep, or at least to try. But instead, because it is Finn, he heads to the kitchen instead to make a pot of coffee.
Quietly, but not so quietly that her presence might go unnoticed, Tobi follows Finn into the kitchen once it becomes clear he isn't planning on coming back to bed. Like most canines, October is an excellent sleeper, but so too is she able to wake up without a trace of drowsiness when needed. This morning she's mostly awake, despite the yawn she hides with the back of her hand.
Pressing her fingertips against Finn's sides that he might fully register her presence, Tobi slides her hands around his chest as she places her cheek against his back. "Morning." She mumbles against him, nuzzling between his shoulder blades. Knowing better than to ask how he slept (or if he slept), she merely marks the time of day and makes a mental note to suggest that they nap that afternoon. "Yes you woke me, but I don't mind. I like having coffee with you in the morning." Tobi adds with a soft smile as her fingertips lace together around Finn and she gives him a gentle backwards hug.
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
Finn's breath hitches sharply at the feel of her hands on his sides as she slips up behind him, but he's used to it enough these days not to drop the coffee pot. Quite when they began to push his boundaries as the norm is beyond him (is this some sort of treatment, Doctor Hart?), and while he doesn't enjoy it, he tolerates it from Tobi. "Good morning," he says softly, pouring them both a mug of coffee and opening his mouth to ask the inevitable, but she beats him to it.
"Ah - I'm sorry," he says instead, glancing over his shoulder at her. "I'm glad, though. I have missed the coffee from Stormbreak." Everything from Halo seemed harsher somehow; Finn understands it, but that's not to say he hasn't been craving his home comforts. "Is Everest still asleep?" It's one thing to wake his girlfriend (gasp, he's saying it to himself now and everything) but worse still to wake their son.
With a sigh to cover up the feeling of inadequacy followed immediately by the mental reminder that Finn would always be who and what he was, Tobi swallows her disappointment, releases the former Spyglass, and instead accepts a cup of coffee from him. 'He is. He's been sleeping so much more soundly since we came back.' Smiling, pleased that at least one of them was feeling more at ease, Tobi blows softly over the rim of her mug as she moves to the other side of the kitchen to lean against the cabinets.
"Weather reports say it's supposed to be a nice day today. I was thinking of going to see Ronin to see if he needed any medical assistance anywhere." Surely in the season since they'd been gone October had been replaced, but there was almost never a surplus of medical staff. "Have you given any thought to what you wanted to do..?"
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
Swallowing hard and letting his shoulders relax away from his ears as Tobi steps away, Finn flashes her an apologetic look that borders on confused, knowing he's not reacted well but not knowing what he's meant to do about it. Still, the relief that floods his expression to know that not only is Ever still asleep, but that he's doing better... it doesn't fix everything, but gods it's a good start. "I'm glad," he says. "Has he started speaking to you again? I think I discovered what the notes were for."
Blowing the steam from his own mug in an unconscious mirror of Tobi, Finn lets his stormy gaze drop towards her toes. "I imagine Ronin would be very pleased to have you back," he says with a soft nod. "I was going to head to the Collegium, to my old office. It... I feel a bit lost," he admits. Lost and raw and fragile, perhaps, but not knowing if it's something that will heal on its own or if it's a prelude for another bumpy ride in his mental state.
"He has." Taking a sip—albeit a quick one, the coffee was still quite warm—Tobi nods. "In very measured sentences, but it's already more than all of last season combined." Raising her eyebrows before catching herself, the doctor gives voice to the gesture. "What did you discover?"
Mmmmmmming softly under her breath, Tobi nods. "You've had to deal with a lot of unexpected change with very little certainty. I'm sure that has made it hard for you to plan or form any sort of concrete expectations about the future." Tapping one of her fingers against the side of her mug, Tobi tilts her head. " Is there a different sort of research that you would be interested in, now that your skills are no longer pointed in such a specific direction as they were under Cian?"
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
Feeling more tension unspool in him to know that their son is actually speaking again too, Finn gazes now into his coffee. "I heard he and Mateo talking with each other outside the bakery a day or so ago. Their voices are breaking," he murmurs, rolling his mug between his hands. "I imagine Ever was worried that it would happen while he was speaking with us. Also I think I have caught him watching me while I am shaving."
This, of course, is hilarious in all the most endearing ways, but Finn doesn't understand that, such is his way, so when he looks back up at Tobi, he is completely deadpan about it all. As for his difficulties, although it's true, he does feel somewhat guilty, like he ought to be better than all of this by now. "Prior to leaving, I was interested in researching and solving the crimes being committed in Stormbreak," he says, though it sounds like a distant memory. "I think perhaps I would still be good at that."
Tobi frowns slightly, confused, though she doesn't interrupt Finn. That their son's voice was cracking didn't immediately provide an explanation as to why he'd stopped speaking. To her mind as a mother and a doctor, what he was experiencing was entirely normal, and though their son wasn't, it still didn't register as a reason to stop speaking. "He..?" Letting go of her mug with one hand and rubbing it against one of her temples, Tobi gives up on any attempt to understand and simply nods. "Oh. Do you think he saw what he wanted to? I assume he wanted to learn to shave, or...to...?" Frowning and falling victim to her own imagination, Tobi shakes her head.
"I think you would be very good at it. And with Ronin now leading Stormbreak there might actually be an opening for that sort of thing." She agrees, unsurprised at her bOyFriEnD's matter-of-fact tone of voice. Smiling to herself as a small bubble of amusement wells up in the back of her throat, Tobi gives Finn a girlish smile over the rim of her cup. "Maybe you can be called the Magnifying Glass now."
You know, because magnifying glasses are the paradigmatic tools of detectives? Oh nevermind.
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
"Well," Finn says slowly, looking into his coffee mug as if it might hold some answers, or at least would be able to tell him if he'd done the right thing. "I did... angle the mirror a little, so he could see better. And perhaps I explained what I was doing out loud." Shaking his head - it sounds absurd now that it's leaving his lips - he glances back up at Tobi for help. (They're in the same boat here, unfortunately). "I wonder if it would be better to speak to Mateo about it. Ever seems to speak with him more."
A pink flush dusts across his cheeks at her compliments - Finn will never be accustomed to being told openly that he is good at something - and the ex-Spyglass places his mug down and steps away from the counter to hold out his hand for Tobi. "You always believe in me, and I am never sure why," he says, the whisper of a smile curling at his lips. "Thank you, for that."
As for being the Magnifying Glass, Finn's brows furrow for a second before stormy eyes light up, and his smile this time is enough to dimple his cheeks. "I understood that joke," he tells her, proudly.
Chuckling under her breath, Tobi can very clearly imagine Finn narrating his actions to their son. She can also see him continuing to do so long after Ever had disappeared back into his bedroom or wherever else. It's so adorable that it makes her want to scream, but instead, she simply smiles at Finn and keeps her gleeful squeals on the inside. "Sounds like you did the right thing." She says, before tilting her head to the side. "Talk to Mateo..about shaving? Or just about Ever in general?"
Mirroring his motions, Tobi puts her cup down so she can slide her hand into his. "I can list the reasons if you want. In order of importance or alphabetically." She means this as a joke, having heard many an argument between Finn and Ever about the proper way to catalogue certain files.
As for understanding her joke? This time Tobi isn't able to keep her delight fully contained, and it's with a happy dog-like whine of joy that she leans forward to press her lips softly against his. "You are the most clever man I know." She gushes in a whisper, beaming up at him with dark and shiny eyes.
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
"About him in general," Finn says slowly, unsure if that's weird or not. It isn't to him, obviously, but that means a great deal of nothing when it comes to the rest of the world. "I feel as though Everest tells Mateo the things that worry him, that he might be a lot more open with his friend than with his parents. At least if we knew that his concerns were, we could open a conversation...?" Because it does sting a bit, to try to make Ever's upbringing as painless as possible, given his own, and still have his son struggle.
His blush grows all that hotter on his cheeks at the suggestion that Tobi essentially give him a list of compliments, Finn quickly shaking his head. "I think I am... what is that saying? That the mystery is part of the fun?" He scrunches his nose. It doesn't sound right, and he's about to rephrase, before Tobi's lips are suddenly on his.
Melting against her is a study in opposites compared to their initial interaction, Finn slipping his arms around her waist to hold her comfortably close against him. "That is ridiculous," he tells her warmly. "You have not conducted a single test against my IQ compared to the other men you know. I could be disappointingly below average." Way to flirt, buddy.
"I wonder if Ever would feel like we were going behind his back to get information." Tobi says, trying to frame her objection as gently as possible. "But I think if we wanted to ask Mateo if everything was okay that would be alright." She adds. Careful not to say something like, I'm sure you told your friends things you didn't tell your parents when you were a boy...Tobi instead tries another tactic. "Maybe we could have a weekly family talk. Just an open forum for each of us to say what's been going on. That way Ever might not feel like he's being put on the spot and he wouldn't have to try and find a good time to speak to us, if we're regularly providing one."
Snorting now, Tobi rolls her eyes. "I'm almost positive that isn't how it goes, but have it your way." I love absolutely everything about you, Tobi thinks to herself as she relaxes against him, before half-closing one eye and raising her eyebrow. "Oh? You're sure of that are you? I've known you for quite some time now Finn. You don't think I could have done an IQ test without your knowing? And compared it against the hundreds of files that were once in the Tower?"
you are a terribly real thing in a terribly false world
Finn's lips part to say that he doesn't think so, but he is cognizant, at least, of his past at Mother Molly's. Rumours and digging for information were secondary only to breathing, and Tobi undoubtedly has a point. "A weekly family talk," he repeats. "I think perhaps he would like that. We will have to make a list of our own topics to talk about, otherwise he may be too shy to speak." And thus Finn will start to construct a list of topics for Weekly Family Talk Time, and there is no stopping him.
Fully prepared to have it his way because it's a luxury that he can finally afford himself, Finn tilts his head down at Tobi as she explains, his stormy eyes widening. "That is a violation of your privileges as a medical practitioner, Doctor Hart," he informs her in a low voice. "I thought I knew you."
Apparently the consequences of his outrage are more kisses, because he leans in to close the distance between them again with a crooked smile.
