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 little higher, Aidon." The Nightshade directs to her companion who is currently holding a target, large wings flapping as he gains more altitude. Maeve takes a few steps back, head tilting to the side as she measures where the distance in her head. Deimos had left a good training yard behind, but she thought it could do with some more long distance targets. "Perfect, right there. Lower it down." He places the target on top of the beam inside, making sure it's balanced before he lets go.
"Alright. Two more and then we can actual practice."
No one wants you when you have no heart and I’m sitting pretty in my brand new scars
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Considering Melita’s usual routine of target practice was to make the most janky looking outfitting of rocks, sticks, twigs, and anything else she could get her hands on, the training grounds was far more awe-inspiring. She spied and watched for a few minutes as Aidon seemed to be adjusting things, eyes going towards some targets she recognized (fairly certain more than one was Sunjata), and then approached with her two companions trailing behind. “Hello,” she uttered to the Queen and dragon. “What are we working on today?” Specifically – what weapons and armaments – she could do a great many things with distance, speed, and refinement.
If one of them looked like Sunjata, the Queen paid no mind, unaware of the Sword's distaste for the Demigod. "Hello, Melita." The Nightshade greets easily, a deep croon come from Aidon towards the three as he set the target down and swooped to grab another. "I wanted to continue working on my distance." She motioned to where her companion was placing a target in the rafters next. "And what about you?"
Glancing back at the Honeybee, Maeve raised a brow, assuming that she would likely be doing the same as her. Usually they worked in tandem. "Maybe we could practice using each other to extend our range?" Think the Amazon's jumping off of each other's backs and shooting arrows because that's what's in my head right now.
No one wants you when you have no heart and I’m sitting pretty in my brand new scars
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
She didn’t say it, but considering the way the outcome had been forged amongst the landshark debacle, Melita thought both of them probably needed work on distance. And accuracy. Leaving it behind for the sanctity of the upcoming challenge anyway, she watched as her companions crooned and grumbled their own greetings to Aidon, though the Honeybee’s head tilted slightly again as targets were maneuvered. “Precision,” she mentioned; not needing to say why.
Her eyes went towards the rafters, understanding managing to dawn – she’d never had to shoot at something from that range, save for a few irritating Hels. But the insinuation was lost there, brow arching as her focus returned to the Queen, uncertain of the plan or plot. “What do you mean?”
Precision was something high on her list, too. Thankfully, they were on the same page with that. Glancing towards Melita, the Nightshade hums, leaving Aidon to continue placing the targets about. "I found this book that had a few different fighting styles in it. Apparently there were places that would use things like shields or ever each other's backs as a jumping point to launch themselves into the air." It was hard to explain without a visual representation she knew.
Whistling for her companion, Maeve waits for him to swoop down, offering his back in the way that she'd been practicing with him. Grabbing her bow and one of the arrows, the Nightshade draws back slightly, getting a running start. The large dragon dips his head, giving her a large area to launch herself from. One foot finds the center of her back and she leaps, flying through the air and releasing her arrow, sending it sailing towards the target. She's not sure if it's luck or simply skill, but the arrow finds the target in the rafters, sinking deep into the wood just as she lands.
No one wants you when you have no heart and I’m sitting pretty in my brand new scars
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Melita stared at Maeve. Blinked a few times, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously, as if trying to peruse through why this would be a thing. Sure, she’d climbed quite a few trees, stumps, logs, cliffs, to get better vantage points, but launching from them while shooting hadn’t been a thing. Concentration honed within the motion and movement of the bow, the line of her sight – if that was interrupted…
And then she watched as Maeve…stepped onto her own dragon, leapt off, and hit the target in the rafters.
She looked at Fangorn. Too squishy. She looked at Sila. Too young and small. She looked at a bucket nearby, and went to overturn it.
Gods this felt dumb.
But she’d snag at her bow, take her running leap, feel the bucket underneath her give way, slide under her foot, and cause her to misstep, sending the arrow clinging to a different portion in the ceiling.
Still, they both tried their hand at it. Shooting arrows and jumping off of things and trying to hit the target in the rafters as if their lives depended on it. Which, this time it didn't, but in the future it very well could for all Maeve knew. The world of Caido was an unpredictable place. They couldn't know what the Ascended or the world itself was going to throw at them. They had to be prepared for anything. So they trained and they trained and they trained until they finally got it.
It was a start and that's all they could ask for.
~FIN <3~
No one wants you when you have no heart and I’m sitting pretty in my brand new scars
