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!
Finn has always known that the Falling is a hotbed for shady dealings, violent crime and suicides. He knows that last one quite intimately, in fact. And yet, somehow it still comes as a surprise that one of the first cases he's called to investigate is up here, and the newly minted investigator has to stop from locking himself in the bathroom to count the tiles on the floor rather than brave the brisk winds and steep heights.
He manages it, just about, but that's more because of his unofficial partner than any merit on Finn's part. "Thank you for doing this with me," he murmurs to Tobi, his hand clasped in hers as they head up and past the Skyport towards the site of the crime, his coat flapping around his heels. "I do not think this will take long. It is just a cursory look for evidence."
It was an easy yes on Tobi's part, even if it hasn't been an easy ask on Finn's. As a doctor she'd likely be able to provide some insight should this crime scene have been witness to an act of violence or self-defense, and as Finn's girlfriend hopefully she'd be able to provide comfort as well as a strong hand to keep him firmly away from the metaphorical and literal edge.
'Well, they say two heads are better than one.' Tobi murmurs, squeezing Finn's hand before laughing outright at the absurdity of what she'd just said. "I wonder if whoever came up with that phrase ever considered two-headed Ursurs or dragons." She adds, chuckling to herself and trying to straddle the line between remaining upbeat and cheerful while respecting the fact that this was a crime scene.
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
"Well I suppose it is better for the ursur or the dragon," Finn says softly, managing a faint smile as he casts a sidelong glance at the doctor, though it doesn't reach his eyes. No, those continue to reflect the stormy seas back out at the Falling, and he inhales a breath that doesn't seem to fill his lungs, no matter how hard he tries. Focus.
Slipping his glasses from the case with his free hand, he slips them on and swallows hard. "A witness said they heard screaming, and saw a figure run from around that bend," he explains, nodding up ahead to a sharp jut of stone. "But there was no body and no sign of a struggle. So I suppose I will be relying on these." He adjusts his glasses, trying to focus solely on the rock and not the way it drops away only metres from where they stand.
For all the times Tobi wishes Finn was an attuned, this is not one of them. Thankful that he can't feel the cold surge of adrenaline that crackles through her veins as he pulls out his glass's case, Tobi takes a breath and exhales it with intentional calm.
"I'm right here." Tobi whispers soothingly even as she lets her hand fall out of his so that he wouldn't be encumbered. Turning, the doctor doesn't bother to shift her nose to try and find any unusual smells (Finn's glasses would be a far better indicator of where they should look than her keen nose), but instead to try and imagine herself here as the victim had been hours before. To try and see as they would have.
Glancing over her shoulder at the Falling, Tobi turns and begins to walk in the direction the assailant had purportedly run.
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
"Thank you," Finn says, and he means it, even as she releases him and steps away. With the glasses perched upon his nose, it's as though the whole world is reduced back down to nothing... and yet so much more than nothing. Finn stands motionless, fingers tingling, his coat billowing around his heels, and he doesn't have to imagine what happened, here. He sees it.
He sees the vibrant threads of an Attuned aura, all fresh grasses and verdant fields, along with the darker, velvety tones of an Accepted. Both auras intertwine on the way around the bend, but only the Accepted's leaves. The Attuned... well, that goes tumbling over the Falling. Finn swallows hard and instinctively turns away, only to nearly stagger on the... stone?
"Tobi, does the ground feel strange to you here...?"
Tobi notices the ground before Finn mentions it. As she walks, imagining herself running away from something, she stumbles slightly, only when she looks down, there's nothing at all that could have caused her to trip. Frowning, she takes an experimental step only to find that the ground beneath her feet feels...
spongey?
"Yeah, almost like..." Keeping her feet on the ground, Tobi bounces on the balls of her toes, feeling almost as if she was standing on moss rather than solid stone. "Do you see anything?" She asks, meaning of course with his glasses rather than just his unfathomably handsome blue eyes alone.
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
It might be funny to anyone watching, as Finn and Tobi uninentionally mimic each other bouncing on the not-so-rocky ground. Of course, then Finn the Brand New Detective goes and ruins it with the truth.
"Oh, yes," he says, still frowning at the rock beneath his feet. "An Accepted and an Attuned came here. The Attuned fell - or was thrown - over the Falling. The Accepted left. I do not know the motive yet, but I could track them from here."
But more about this. "I... do you suppose this is just a natural phenomenon?" he asks, crouching down now to run his fingers over the rock. "I do not think I have ever heard of anything like this before."
Closing her eyes and letting her teeth settle against one another for a moment, Tobi exhales. "I meant about the ground." She clarifies smoothy, trying not to flinch or tense up at the idea that someone might have jumped or been thrown from the cliffs.
Unable to decide if following a potential murderer, the path of a victim, or identifying a change in the topography was the priority, Tobi does something a touch surprising perhaps, and drifts back towards Finn to let him decide. "If by natural you mean something the gods have done, then maybe.." Biting at the inside of her lip, Tobi peers towards the edge of the Falling.
"Is there any chance the attuned might still be alive? That maybe there was a skyship waiting below, or...that they had a flighted shifted and flew away? Or an aquatic one?"
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
"Oh. Sorry," Finn murmurs, before shaking his head. "I can only see who has been here, and I do not know if they would have tampered with the ground." Sighing and straightening up as Tobi draws close again, the detective focuses on her rather than the suggestive swirls of colour all around - not that it makes it any easier, because Tobi is on fire with her own aura through Finn's eyes.
"I suppose there is a chance," he says, of the Attuned. "I could not see far enough to make it out, though. We could ask the Accepted but I imagine they would lie..." Regardless, he looks past Tobi to where the velvety aura sweeps away from the Falling, and back towards the skyport. "Or they may have even already left," he says defeatedly.
Knowing what her question would entail and that Finn would feel compelled to agree, Tobi silently considers for a moment as she reaches up to adjust the collar of Finn's coat. "Would you please look? As a doctor, I need to know." She whispers as her eyes dart towards the edge of the Falling. "If the path leads straight down, or up and away, or disappears..." Swallowing, Tobi looks down where her fingers have begun to clutch at the long scarf she's wearing. '...if we don't know they're dead, it means they could still be alive. There could still be time."
It wasn't impossible to survive a fall from the cliffs, not for an attuned. It was bleak optimism to say the least, but gods the thought of someone suffering as they were battered by the waves, just waiting to die, had Tobi's stomach tied into knots.
"Just a glance over the edge.."
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
No, Finn wants to smile sweetly to the woman he loves. No, I would really rather not look. But of course that isn't who he is, and Tobi is a doctor as much as she is everything else (especially to Finn). And so even as his spine turns to ice and she so gently adjusts the collar of his coat, he bows his head and nods. "Alright," he says, stepping back and away from her.
"You stay here, okay?" To keep safe, he wants to add, but he keeps that caged behind his teeth. With slow steps towards the edge of the Falling and his heart hammering in his throat, he wonders if he's about to pass out and follow his mother plummeting over the edge of it. And so it's with a squint rather than a full glance that he peers out over the naked edge of the cliff, stormy eyes seeking desperately for a glimpse of green.
"It goes straight down," he confirms, his tone bleak and quiet as he stumbles back.
Knowing better than to argue with Finn when his mind was already so saturated with thoughts and swirls of colour, Tobi simply nods and remains where she is as he slips away. Watching him go with her breath held and her shoulders tensed up by her ears, the doctor strains all of her senses that she might somehow will Finn into seeing a flourish of green flying away on the breeze or swimming away in the current. When Finn's posture doesn't change Tobi knows before he has to say anything that his news isn't good. Still, as he confirms her suspicions, Tobi has to force herself to smile appreciatively as she murmurs a dull thank you for looking.
Taking a deep and slightly shivery breath, Tobi stretches her hands forward to plunge them into the pockets of Finn's jacket. "Well my detective, I'm not sure having a doctor along with you is going to be of much help now."
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it
Tobi's fingers stretch out and Finn steps in and against her willingly, though as her hands move into his pockets he slips his arms around her to clutch her close, eyes pressed shut against a slosh of dancing colour and slate waves. He swears she'll feel his heart fluttering like a hummingbird in his chest, and although there's more to do, he finds himself needing a moment or two, spongey ground or otherwise.
And despite himself, he smiles a bit to hear her call him a detective. "You help more than you will ever know," he tells her, blinking his eyes back open and gazing determinedly away from the Falling. "This is manslaughter at best, then. The Accepted... they headed towards the Skyport. Do you suppose there might be time to catch up to them? They may well have already gotten aboard a ship..."
