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!
A delivery for the caretaker of the Celestine, from a healer in Halo. As far as Tal knew it was a sealed box, packed with small jars of unguents and medicine for the healing of luxere; but all that mattered was that it got safely to its recipient.
Which was why it was packed quite carefully into his Bag of Holding as he walked through the Celestine, looking for one Lena Magnus.
"Do you know where I can find her?" He'd asked a passerby along the carefully tended path.
They'd hurried on in annoyed silence but, "Yes!" chirped a voice nearby and Tal had turned in surprise to see-
A squirrel?
"Follow me!" chirped another, popping up beside it. They encouraged him excitedly and bounded deeper into their forested enclosure and after a dubious look around - no one else was nearby - Tal decided to follow the best lead he had so far.
They waited for him when he fell behind and kept just out of reach ahead of him, moving with such confidence that Tal began to feel quite cheerful about this stroke of good luck. He'd found a shortcut!
His good mood lasted until he stepped on something soft and yielding that ROARED. The squirrels, safely up a tree, chittered gleefully and abandoned him, but the molten tiger with its bandaged eye? It had no intention of letting him go after that indignity to its copper-striped tail.
Tal didn't try to argue, he just ran. He ran through the briars, and he ran through the brambles, and he ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go. He ran so fast he didn't watch where his feet were going, feeling the heat on the back of his neck from the jaws that snapped ever-closer.
And then he was flying.
Wait, no, make that falling.
And then there was the splash.
"H- help!" He managed, bobbing up once as he struggled in his boots and heavy jacket and pack, arms and legs striking out frantically in an effort to keep himself afloat in the wide, deep pond when he'd never been in water deeper than a bathtub before.
The Celestine, magical as it is, places Finn some ways above Talyson when he plummets into the deep pond. With his nose in a book and his thoughts elsewhere (on murder, if you really want to know, but in the clinical sense, not the personal one), it's only the sound of a human voice piercing the air that draws his attention. Up and over the railing into the enclosure, as it happens.
"Oh--!" He drops his book, stormy eyes wide, and it doesn't occur to him to think if he recognises the man struggling in the water. Only that he's drowning.
This is the part where Ronin a braver man would vault into the enclosure and plunk neatly into the pond to rescue Tal from his fate. But that's not Finn, and so it seems like an absurd amount of time before he blurts out the inevitable.
"Gods, Frey, help!"
Finn kneejerk reacts and channels Frey!
Accepted Channeling: Allows an Accepted to channel a deity or lesser spirit during a time of crisis (1x a season)
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
Asking for help is a very mature thing to do Finn, well done.
What Finn will perceive versus what Talyson will is likely to be completely different (or maybe not, wouldn't that be interesting). Naked as the sea and every bit as powerful and beautiful, Frey's characteristics will smoothly shift and change based on the most carnal wants and pleasures of the two men.
Scooping up the fallen courier from the depths of the water, Frey will deposit Tal onto the ground wrapped up in a towel. That a picnic complete with candles, wine, and foods that also happen to be aphrodisiacs has appeared is probably just coincidental. (But should this turn into a salacious romcom where Tal feels compelled to thank Finn for saving him, Frey wouldn't be disappointed).
Not one to play the hero but instead happy to leave that for Finn, Frey vanishes.
One minute he was surrounded by water and still trying to process going from Death by Tiger to Death by Drowning in 3.4 seconds, and the next he was being lifted in strong, smooth arms and settled on dry ground with a fluffy towel.
Shock (and unexpected desire; maybe the adrenaline had something to do with it?) had him speechless for a few minutes to say the least as he gazed on the naked physical perfection of the departing god who had saved his life. He clutched the towel closer instinctively against a cold that wasn't nearly as biting in Stormbreak as it would have been in Halo - and then, realizing how sodden all of his clothing was, he groaned and set the towel aside to begin wriggling out of his coat.
Which was about the time he noticed the candles. And the wine. And the food.
And Finn.
"Uh..." Tal managed glibly, blinking up at the sexy librarian guitar-playing ex-researcher. "Th... thank you...?"
They're both staring at Frey, and Finn gets the idea that the deity probably doesn't mind. Swallowing hard, his tongue feeling too big (and his pants feeling too small, coincidentally), he can do little more than mumble a thanks and a farewell to the departing god, blinking in their wake as though the image has been burned against his retinas. He's still standing dopily next to the candlelit picnic when Tal speaks, and Finn jumps a bit.
Had he forgotten the other man was there, or why he'd called Frey in the first place? Perhaps.
"Oh. Oh-- n-no, it's fine!" he blurts, cheeks pink and fingers flustered, the ex-Spyglass not having a clue where to look. "Are you alright? I... do not know why we are expected to eat after you almost drowned. Are you hungry?"
While Finn was talking Tal set aside the wet, heavy coat once he'd struggled out of it, and after a moment's hesitation he stripped off his tunic and did the same with it. Wrapping the towel back around his bare, skinny chest he rubbed his arms through the fluffy fabric and looked around at the picnic a little dubiously.
Mostly he was trying to pretend that the shivers he felt were from the cold and not from almost dying.
And that there wasn't an awkward half stalk conveniently hidden by a fold of the towel.
"I mean... I'm definitely not thirsty. I dunno if I'm hungry. Kinda just... uh." He shook his head, flinging water drops everywhere as he scowled past a candle, a little shocky still. "Fuckin' hail that was close." Luckily he hadn't swallowed more than a mouthful of pondwater before Frey had wrapped him in their strong, sexy arms, but that did beg the question...
"So. Uh. Not that I'm complainin' but... why Frey?" He slanted a quick peek at Finn from beneath dark lashes, warily curious.
"I am not sure either," Finn says, but the way his mouth is still dry and clumsy does lead him to reach for a bottle of something sweet (it's got sparkling water, figs and honey in it, so at least it tastes good). Uncorking it and managing a small sip, he's at least a bit more capable of answering Talyson with something else to focus on that isn't the memory of a golden skinned deity.
"You ought to sit down," he says, belatedly realising that the man before him has been through quite a shock. As for why Frey? Awkward though the ex-Spyglass may be, it is only around his son that he tries to shield the truth. So alas, Tal will get the uncensored version. "I used to work at Mother Molly's - a brothel in the Silk Houses," he says, carefully seating himself between some chocolate coated strawberries and a plate bejewelled by pomegranate seeds.
"It has just become habit," he admits. "And Frey has always been kind to me. I am not comfortable in the water, so..." So this made sense.
Food might have been an uncertainty but sitting? Sitting sounded amazing and Tal nodded vigorously (with some more water being flung around in the process). He sank down gratefully on the sensually soft blanket next to a shallow, iced bowl of oysters on the halfshell and frozen chocolate covered bananas on convenient skewers.
Tal picked one of the mussel shells up, eying it suspiciously, but didn't try to eat it for the moment. "Haven't been down to them, yet. There's so many... y'know... people in that area," Tal admitted, scowling at the thought of all that humanity crowding around and jostling. He tucked a fold of the towel under his arm to hold it in place and poked at the soft, squishy mussel meat with clear misgiving. "Didn't y'get cold, though?" Probably hard to flaunt the wares in a full parka and snow pants.
He just nodded at Frey's kindness; he'd experienced it himself firsthand just now, but Nature-Frey had certainly helped the people of Halo out before. "Water's something you walk on," he agreed, with all the fervent belief of a native Halovian. "That much unfrozen stuff is just weird." You could take the courier out of Halo, as the saying went.
But getting Halo out of the courier was going to take a few more seasons of work.
"It can be rather crowded," Finn agrees of the Silk Houses in general, let alone the nooks and crannies inside Mother Molly's. In another situation perhaps it would bring back some traumatic memories of the place - in any other situation, actually - but with the memory of Frey so fresh in his mind, and perhaps the shock of almost seeing another man drown, he's remarkably calm and happy on the blanket with his sparkling water.
"Cold? I suppose you would be if you were outside," he murmurs. Molly's girls and boys didn't need to walk the streets, though - their custom came to them. Still, Tal's steadfast opinion on unfrozen water is enough to have him raise his eyebrows, the ex-Spyglass stifling a smile as he takes another sip of his drink. "I daresay those in Torchline feel the same way about ice and snow."
Tal wrinkled his nose - whether at the crowdedness of a brothel or at the mussel was a bit of a toss-up. It could have been both, really. He set the cold, squishy bivalve aside and reached for a chocolate covered banana instead, intrigued by the combination of sweetness and fruit.
Even if the shape was a little... well. Not like he cared what anyone else thought. But his stomach gave a queasy shift as the adrenaline drained out of him and the water he'd swallowed gave a warning slosh and he settled for just spinning the treat on its stick for now. One hand reached up to pull the towel tighter around his shoulders as he let Finn's voice ground him and distract him from what might have been.
"Yeah, I guess they don't usually have it there? So weird... except this year," he added, remembering gathering stones for, well, Frey on top of Apopo with Melita. "It felt kinda homey. But... I guess I wouldn't want them to end up like Halo," he admitted with a sigh. "Has Stormbreak's weather been weird, too?"
The weather was traditionally a good topic after a near-death experience, right? At least in Tal's family.
One might suggest that even twirling the banana on its stick is suggestive enough - it's certainly enough for Finn to hurriedly avert his eyes, the ex-Spyglass clearing his throat as if the bubbles from his water have suddenly become stuck there. "Mm...? How do you mean?" he asks of the strange weather going on down on the coast. For Finn's part, much of his Flowerbirth has been spent traversing the world to get back to Stormbreak. And he'd been much too world-weary to notice anything off with Torchline as they'd boarded the skyboat home.
Not unlike Tal, Finn is also comfortable discussing topics that are expected of small talk. He isn't a fan of it in general, but knowing the social lines he's meant to walk is no bad thing. "No, Stormbreak has reacted pretty much as expected," he says with a small shake of his head. "I wonder if this is something we ought to worry about, with the war on its way..."
In another situation Tal would have been absolutely aware of the optics and have looked hurriedly for a thin excuse to set the phallic fruit down. In the moment, however, he was too distracted by his near-death experience and adrenaline shakes to process the implications of the slowly spinning banana on its convenient stick.
And so the idle twirling continued, the courier oblivious to his companion's discomfort.
He shrugged off Finn's question, eyes cast down to the food in his hands but not really seeing it. "Torchline? It's all... Deepfrosty, still," he tried to explain. "There was snow on the volcano, an' rime on the beaches an' frost on the plants at night an' stuff." He scowled, twirling the banana the other direction. "I mean... Halo ended up like it is because of somethin' real bad happenin' a long time ago, right? Mebbe if the gods get involved in another big fight some other region'll end up fucked out of their seasons, too." His scowl deepened. "The White Lady's always willin' to lend a hand after shit hits the fan... for a price.."
It's quite alright - in no way the sort of person to draw attention to Tal's somewhat phallic choice of fidgeting (or, gods forbid, to say something about it) - Finn merely continues his side of the conversation with a suddenly fascinating part of the picnic blanket. "Oh, that... yes, that is unusual," he says with a furrow of his brow, taking another measured sip of his sweetened water before finally placing it down.
Since he's pointedly not looking at Tal, he has no choice but to gaze over the other delicacies on the blanket, absently picking up a chocolate covered strawberry but not putting it anywhere near his mouth. "I'm afraid to say you might be right," he agrees of any potential war's effect on the regions. "The White Lady, you said? Is that the Eirachi?" He has studied seasonal deities, naturally, but has never given them much thought beyond what had happened at The Climb.
The four-way conversation - Finn, the blanket, Tal, and the banana - continued, with the courier finally sighing and setting the banana down again so he could start rubbing himself dry more thoroughly with the towel. The shakes were easing, but at Finn's question he shot the other man a sharp look.
And then hesitated, wrinkling his nose as his scowl lightened to bemusement. "Uh... yeah," he admitted, a little sheepish. "Guess it doesn't matter if y'say her name here. An' in Flowerbirth an' all." Letting out a slightly shaky breath he even managed a weak laugh. "Is that why you left Halo?" A little forlorn, maybe, though trying to hide it.
