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!
09-02-2022, 04:21 PM (This post was last modified: 09-06-2022, 11:31 PM by Talyson.)
Tal flashed Anju a grin at hearing that she liked dogs. He knew she was good people! It made helping her easier, too. He might not have been willing to drag someone who didn't like dogs, but for a fellow animal-lover he was willing to go the extra mile.
"Sure," Tal agreed easily to the volunteering of Riya. "But Boreal's trained for it, so Riya can watch us for a while." He figured Boreal's special harness would probably fit Riya. Maeve's dragon was a big one as well, but Riya's body type looked more similar to Boreal's boxy, muscular mass than the Torcher dragon's. With a little extra padding on the harness straps they could probably make it work.
Boreal returned while Anju was talking, dragging a long tusk behind her proudly like a dog with an oversized stick. She dropped it off by Tal and headed back for its mate while he tested the cloak and then moved over to the tusk to begin notching it in the place the rope would cross around it. "I'm hopin' It'll help me out with a shield of some kind," he admitted while he worked. "I'm trainin' with General Deimos an' he hits like an avalanche." Not that Deimos had ever come close to hurting Tal; he had far too much control to slip like that. But he also didn't coddle the courier, and Tal had enough bruises from those sessions to know he really didn't want to get hit by anyone who wasn't holding back on him.
The second tusk was dragged over and Tal quickly finished assembling a hasty travois, looking it over critically before laying it out beside Anju. "Right. Let's see if it holds." He offered his hands to help her shift over onto the taut cloak stretched between the A-frame tusks. "Y'ever ask It for help with anything?" he asked, hoping to distract her from the pain of moving.
The proud woman is mollified by his easy acceptance, even with the graceful way he postpones Riya’s help. Though she eyes the tusk with a plain curiosity - wondering at the size of it, and envisioning the animal it could have come from - Anju’s attention is still focused mostly on Tal. She’d heard of the Sword, of course, but had yet to meet him. “You are built for speed, rolls and sidesteps will aid you greatly in sparring to avoid hits from powerful foes, but a shield is a smart idea,” she remarks, keen eyes militaristic as they take in his figure anew, analytical yes but all in the hopes of being helpful. “Perhaps I should seek out this man myself.” It’s a hilarious thing to say while lying wounded on the sands, but never let it be said that Anju slacked in her training regiments.
The pain of shifting onto the cleverly crafted frame enforces silence, Anju biting down on most all sounds aside from deep, wounded grunts and the softest whine she wouldn’t admit to making. Distractions in the form of questions are appreciated, but it takes time for her to catch her breath before she can respond, laying limp on the fabric in a boneless heap in the meantime. “Yes, it crafted me a ring that nullifies Ascended powers - but only the weaker ones, for now. It’s this ring, actually.” She lifts one bronze skinned hand to show him the beetle ring, and the little button that is the gilded wings.
I didn’t mean to be this kind of creature The brain, the heart, the color or the features
Her evaluation of him mirrored Deimos's in spirit and Tal's opinion of Anju went up another notch. He trusted the General most of all, but hearing it from an unbiased second source certainly lent the words more weight - and convinced him that she knew what she was talking about. "If y'want to learn more about fighting, Deimos is the best!" Tal boasted on his friend's behalf. "He's the strongest guy I know - uh, who isn't a demigod," he added hastily, throwing a quick glance around in case Remi or Ronin might somehow appear from thin air to smack him. "An' one hailuva strategist." He practically beamed as he finished trussing up the travois. "I could introduce you to him!"
Enthusiasm took a back seat to getting Anju settled and pretending he didn't hear the awful noises she made, though a few more sympathetic winces still snuck through when she made a sound he wasn't expecting and he found himself apologizing under his breath more than once in the process. At least she had something to concentrate on besides the pain while he took Boreal's harness out of his Bag and helped her into it. The dragon obediently stepped into the leg loops and waited for him to do up the buckles on her chest and shoulders, then shook out her wings to settle it so he could do a final check and hook her to the travois.
Tal peered at the ring when it was presented, whistling low in appreciation. "Wow! That'll be useful in the War, I bet. Specially for Stormbreak." He offered his own wrist in exchange, showing the stone-plated cuff that was lined with ursur fur and adorned with dangling lial teeth. "Frey made this for me. So I don't feel the cold as much in Deepfrost. If, uh. If you ever want to visit Halo, you can borrow it while I'm showin' you around," he offered a little shyly. He straightened up and Boreal leaned into the harness and began to pull with a deep grunt of effort.
His eagerness - which would normally be aggravating to Anju from any other man - is somehow endearing, and her smile is small but undeniably charmed. They couldn’t be more different people, and yet it somehow works. Riya’s distinct smugness is felt like a glaring neon sign, but Anju only spares her an internal eye roll. “I would like that. Perhaps I can meet your dogs and Deimos at the same visit?” Surely she could spend a couple days in Halo, they must have an inn of some sort.
The thought of this future trip helps her through the pain of adjusting into the new makeshift transporter they’ve made, and though her mouth is still tight she manages an intrigued expression when he shows her his cuff. The offer is unexpected, but it softens her normally rigid, stoic features into something touched. “You are very kind, Tal. Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come across me.” And she will repay him for that someday, in eternal loyalty if nothing else.
I didn’t mean to be this kind of creature The brain, the heart, the color or the features
"Definitely!" Tal grinned but Anju wouldn't see it as he moved ahead of Boreal, clearing her path of rocks and debris so she could focus on pulling straight over the shortest path. Halo had several taverns which rented rooms by the night or the week - and a few by the season, for those who only sheltered in the Citadel during Deepfrost.
He came back to check on her often, though, and the grin he flashed her was suspiciously close to shy at the compliment. He reached up to rub the back of his neck (and hide the blush beginning there - or maybe it just sunburn). "'m sure you an' Riya would have figured somethin' out," he mumbled. It was a lie and the Halovian was pragmatic enough to know it, but he didn't want to dwell on it. "Here, I'll show her how Boreal's pullin' the sled..."
The trip to the caravanserai was neither short nor easy, but between two dragons and one able-bodied man they were able to bring the travois safely to shelter, water, and healing.
