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!
If there was one person Phoebe could count on for training, it was Ronin. She could count on Remi too but Ronin had been a trained soldier. Though her skills leant themselves to healing, she knew for this upcoming war she would need to brush up on some fighting tactics. She couldn't depend on others to keep her safe - she would have to fend for herself.
And it was all the more important now that she had Jude to think about.
So the midwife came prepared in a tunic, leggings, and boots, arriving at one of the Nest's training grounds a bit early. She planned to run through a few warm-up exercises Harper had taught her once upon a time to make sure she was ready when Ronin arrived.
Ronin is busy completing his own warmup when Phoebe arrives, but she'd be forgiven for not noticing at first, given that he's running the track around the perimeter of the grounds. They won't see each other for a few minutes, though when his fellow demigoddess does come into view, the Huntsman's steps slow and he raises a hand in a wave.
In a tank top and a pair of sweatpants (the sun is already getting high and he can feel a bright, hot day ahead), he's catching his breath as he slows into a trot to bring himself close to her. "You look very spritely," he remarks with a flash of teeth, opening his arms for a hug for the Nightingale. "It's been this long, and the first thing you want to do is beat me up? I could start getting ideas, Phoebe."
Phoebe looked up from her stretching when she heard someone jogging over, grinning to see Ronin. She laughed, throwing her hair up into a messy bun atop her head. "I'm a little tall to be a sprite, don't you think?" she said jokingly.
She closed the distance between them and hugged the Huntsman tight. Despite the time that had past and all that Caido had put them through, Ronin still felt safe and familiar. The original Outlanders from the Hollowed Ground bubble would always share some connection that way, good or bad. "Well I came out of a garden that I was apparently lost in for a year to find war is upon us and I couldn't think of a better teacher than you." she said, laughing at the idea of beating him up.
"Frey wants me to stay in the safe haven with the children." she explained - so no heavy battle for her. "But I want to be prepared in case something happens." It was Caido after all. Something always happened.
"Hey, I haven't seen all that many sprites in my time. It's not for me to judge how tall they can get," Ronin says with a sly smile, giving her a squeeze as they embrace before stepping back to raise his eyebrows incredulously. "You must stop going into gardens," he informs her. "They clearly aren't good for you, even if I know Frey seems to like them." Indeed, gentle stroll seems to be dangerous for Phoebe.
Tilting his head and nodding to hear her reasoning, Ronin gestures to one of the training areas. "That is a very smart idea. What kind of things do you want to practice today? There are wooden weapons, or we could try hand-to-hand, or you can even practice some of your woodsy Frey magic if you like."
"Yes, I don't think I'll be wandering much beyond Stormbreak and Torchline for awhile." she said. At least the magic in Stormbreak was crafted and controlled, unlike that which seemed to sprout up wildly in the rest of the world. "Next time I will bring my son Jude to visit and meet his Uncle Ronin." she added with a smile. Her son. The words still felt surreal to say.
"I've never tried to use a weapon before. Unless Pim counts." she admitted. But her woodsy magic? There was an idea. "I can create a shield now that I haven't had the chance to test..." she said, thinking about it. Then she smirked. "Unless you want a spontaneous orgasm. I'm sure that would stop an attacker in their tracks."
"Your son?" Ronin echoes the words, raising his eyebrows and grinning. Leaning in for another quick hug, he gives her a smooch on the cheek of congratulations before finally stepping back again. "I would love to meet him," he says with a gentle nod. "Though I'm afraid he can't join in on training until he's a bit older. Er... unless he already is...?" Frey stuff, who knew?
Weapons, Pims and woodsy magics - all a recipe for a fine afternoon regardless of what they plan to do with the time. "I think right now I'd prefer my orgasms pre-planned," he says with a grin, leading them over to an open, sandy sort of training arena. "A shield, though? Go ahead, I'll see if I can break through it. Don't hit me with it though, okay?"
Phoebe hugged him back, grinning from ear to ear. Her son. She would never get over those words. "Well he recently grew from a one to an eight year old." she said with a light laugh. It still stung but...that was Caido for you. One magical misfortune after the other.
She followed Ronin to the center of the field, laughing at his comment about pre-planned orgasms. Frey would probably say that was awfully boring but she figured it took a lot to get the god truly excited. "Alright." she said, nodding. Shield it was. Phoebe took a few steps back before lifting her hands to engage the shield. A ray of rainbow light encased her as she prepared for Ronin's attack.
"An eight year old? Hey, that's old enough to hold a practice sword," Ronin remarks with a grin, which softens as he realises the implications of it all. "He will love you no matter how old he is," he says softly, knowing that much from experience and then some. (Sad, but true).
Rolling his shoulders, Ronin forces himself to focus on the matter at hand, though he imagines he and Phoebe could wile away the afternoon with tea (or wine) and good conversation. And his eyes widen at the sight of the brightly coloured shield, a grin flickering across his face. "Look how far we've come," he murmurs.
Darting forward, it's with the brute strength of his fists that he tries to break through the shield, and it's a lot stronger than he gives it credit. It's true, it does shatter and fall away on impact, but the Huntsman is left shaking out his hands and laughing. "Damn, Phoebe. Look at you go."
Phoebe smiled a bit at Ronin's assurances. It was comforting to hear it from a parent that had experienced the same thing. "Well maybe I'll sign him up for swordsmanship classes with his dear Uncle." she said with a grin.
The slight look of awe on Ronin's features as she raised the shield was enough to make her chest swell with pride. She would likely never be the powerhouse that Ronin was, but that she could still do something impressive to him was validating. She winced though as he swung a punch, not yet wholly confident in the shield's strength. But it was for naught, as she felt nothing at all even as it fell away.
The Nightingale beamed, bouncing in place ever so slightly. "It worked!" she said with a pleased clap of her hands. "Oh but this is when I would counter attack...right?" she said, hoping to the gods she was using the terminology right.
"More of a brawler myself, but I'll do what I can," Ronin admits with a flash of teeth, but of course if Phoebe does bring her son along to Stormbreak, of course he'll teach him whatever he wants to know. But that's for later.
For now he's still shaking out his hands, having clanged against her shield and feeling it vibrate up the whole length of his arms. "It did work," he agrees with a chuckle, "and yes, this isn't really a time to be bouncing on your feet and enjoying yourself."
Because of course Ronin is going to take advantage of it, even if he's careful not to go at her with full strength this time. He does step in, though, attempting to grab her in such a way that would knock her off balance and to the ground.
Phoebe tries to dodge, but let's be realistic boys and girls, Ronin is over twice as fast as her so she stood no chance. The Nightingale was snatched up with ease. They might both be demigods but by comparison Phoebe was naught more than a normal person. But it seems the grab is short lived and she is instead sent tumbling backwards.
The demigoddess - with a rather pitiful 'eep!' of alarm - reached out to try and snatch at anything. His arm, his shirt, hell the waist of his pants - anything in hopes that she can at least take him down with her.
Is this a good strategy? No. But Phoebe was a lover not a fighter.
It almost happens in slow motion (the irony, considering how quickly he's moved). And whilst Ronin might be a tactician, a strategist and a soldier, having Phoebe try to dodge away from him - badly - and then try to use him to stay upright is... well. It isn't what he expects, put it in that way.
And so it goes, that the Nightingale manages to grab the waistband of Ronin's pants, pulling them down to his ankles on her journey to the ground. It's such a swift pantsing that Ronin promptly overbalances and trips over himself... and inevitably, down he goes as well.
"Is this how all of Frey's demigods fight?" he wants to know, his voice muffled from the dirt, his star-spangled boxers on show for all to see.
She managed to clasp fabric, but it wasn't nearly taut enough to right her balancing point. So down she went, landing on her bottom with an 'oof', long legs sprawled ungracefully forward. Then then fabric tore loose from her hands and she looked up to find both Ronin and his trousers down.
Phoebe couldn't help it. She laughed.
Not a drawn out laugh but a girlish giggle. Whoops. There were apparently unanticipated hazards to training. "Only those of us who don't know what we are doing." she said - meaning she, herself, and her of course.
She used the surprising turn of events to her advantage - she hoped. The Nightingale pulled herself to her knees then attempted to tackle Ronin, arms hopefully wrapping around his neck, as though her weight alone would be enough to keep him down.
Caught literally and figuratively with his pants down, Phoebe isn't the only one giggling - but just as Ronin manages to get his hands under him (and with nowhere near enough time to pull his pants back up), she's on him again. "Hey, this is sexual assault!" he blurts out, only because - and he feels like he'll never live it down - she fucking succeeds, but the Huntsman manages to get his knees under him to stop her pinning him down completely.
"Well, I feel like you should at least get to know how Safrin demigods fight, then," he informs her with a grin. Which is about the time a second Ronin appears behind her, the Huntsman using his astral projection to try and get his arms around Phoebe, pulling her off him in a bear hug.
