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!
The courier was quiet as he headed out to the Tundra with @Delia, a glum expression on his face that only lightened a little while he rode the runners of the sled, dogs racing ahead as they flew over the icy, hard-packed snow. As soon as they slowed near the stand of gnarled pines the weight seemed to fall back over him and he went mechanically about settling them safely in place for the hours the humans expected to be gone.
"Alright, we can head out whenever," he called to his friend as Boreal soared lazily, high overhead. The dragon kept a weather-eye out on the area around them, searching for any opportunistic predator that might try to turn the hunters into the hunted. "Where d'you want to start?" Delia had directed them out to this area, but Tal still wasn't clear on what they were hunting today. Aside from ningo and snow hares, he'd usually left the big game hunting to the professionals of the Citadel.
Well, aside from that ursur he'd slain for Frey. But he shied away from the memory of that with a wince and a stubborn set of his jaw as he glared at a particularly stunted little tree at the edge of the grove.
She'd noticed his somewhat dower mood when they were leaving, but decided not to comment on it until they were well away from the Citadel. Whatever it was, Delia had a feeling speaking it aloud within the walls there wasn't something Tal was keen on doing. With a glance his way and a soft smile, the Shrike gathered her bow and quiver, checking the knives in each of their sheathes before she tugged her gloves on a bit more securely. "We'll start by finding a trail. There is a heard of Luxere that have been moving through here recently."
Motioning for him to follow, Cordelia set off through the snow, eyes peeled for any variation in the powder. "You okay?" She finally asked, glancing back towards him with an arched brow, already making it clear with her eyes that she wasn't going to believe any lie he attempted to feed her.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
Luxere, huh? Tal managed to look a little less lost in his own thoughts at that. They sure beat ursur or frost giants, at least, and he figured even he couldn't screw up a luxere hunt too badly. Or at least, the worst that would happen was they wouldn't bring any meat back from the hunt. Bad enough, but as long as no one got hurt that was what mattered.
Following his friend and teacher, the courier looked from side to side as Delia did, though his eyes weren't really on the snow. The frown was already falling back into place as he padded along over the crust in her wake, and only the throwing axes in his hands kept him from jamming them into his pockets.
Her question came out of the silence and startled an answer out of him before he had time to think."Yes," Tal said automatically and a bit defensively before remembering who he was asking. "I mean...No. Well. Maybe?" The scowl turned down in full force as he started to raise a hand to rub at the back of his neck and belatedly realized there was an axe in it. "Y'ever... y'know. Have a fight with a friend?" There were only a handful of people he might have admitted it to, and it was just his luck that Delia was one of them.
Her brow arches and she bites back her smile at his automatic response. Not bothered by his defensiveness, the Shrike gives him a knowing look, "Yeah. With Sah." Literally just last season. Both of them having said and done things they didn't mean out of anger. However, the question does give her pause, steps slowing until they're walking side by side. "Don't tell me this is your first time getting into a disagreement with a friend?" The Shrike wasn't sure Tal really had a bad bone in his body and it was hard to imagine that he had a fight with anyone.
Except for Sah.
Though, that had passed too. Keeping her steps light, she doesn't allow more than an inch of her boots to sink into the powder as they walk.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
He'd known of the argument, of course. Hail, he'd gotten Sah drunk and let the Jester talk it out over LongNight, because that's what. Uh. Fellow Halovians did for one another. Not friends. Definitely not friends. Mostly. But it had been half a year since then and so much had happened that he'd almost forgotten. The reminder startled Tal out of his blue funk for a moment and he flashed Delia an understanding grin - a hint of his more usual energy - before her question stiffened his spine in reflexive defensiveness.
It wasn't personal, but he was touchy about his lack of social graces when things had gone as wrong as they had.
Delia didn't mean anything by it, he knew. She genuinely didn't know, and after a few minutes of frosty silence the courier thawed enough to give a miserable shake of his head. "First ever? Nah. But... Um. Last time I had any close friends was... eight years ago, or so?" He grimaced and focused on stepping in Delia's footprints, not deepening them more than a centimeter. "I met lots of people, doin' the Tundra run. Didn't really stick around anywhere long enough for any of 'em t'stick t'me." And before Frey had blessed the Citadel, they'd spent their Deepfrosts snowed in to their own homes with their families. "So... haven't really had any friends to argue with til this past few seasons." Not even a year yet.
Cordelia didn't take offense to his defensiveness, allowing it to roll off her back without a second thought, glancing over her shoulder as he followed behind in her footsteps. She was proud to note that his feet didn't sink into the snow further than her own had. That was good. The Shrike is quiet for a moment, allowing the words to settle between them, a noncommittal hum slipping past her lips. "Eight years is a long time." She commented softly, pausing to crouch down, gloved fingers brushing away snow to examine some hoof scratches in the ice that seemed fairly fresh.
"Who was it?" Cordelia asked gently, rising once more and adjusting their path to follow the direction of the hoof marks, keeping her bow in her hands as they pick their way across the tundra.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
"Yeah, well, it didn't seem so bad," Tal mumbled. Those eight years really hadn't been unhappy. He'd had his aunt at first, teaching him the route and passing along her wisdom of the trail. And then there had been Boreal, that stubborn, laid-back soul that nestled so close to his own. And there'd been Bella and the other dogs, of course. He was never really alone, not in his heart, and he spent every Deepfrost with his sisters...
But maybe it hadn't had the best effect on his emotional and social growth.
He paused after Delia had moved on, bending down to examine the same tracks that she had, learning from her even as they talked.
Though at her question his scowl returned and he ducked his head, shoulders hunching. "I... I'd rather not say," he muttered, stiffly formal in his embarrassment. "I just... I dunno what to do about it. He went away mad at me an' I... I'm just worried about him, Delia. How did you an' Sah fix things?"
"I'm sure it wasn't bad, Tal." The Shrike replied easily, "But it doesn't change that it was a long time." Cordelia didn't have much room to talk herself. Not when she had sequestered herself from others for years, choosing that instead of allowing herself the connection she desperately needed, thinking it was better that way. Still, there was no judgement coming from the Attuned.
His response is enough for her to put the pieces together. Much like herself, Tal didn't associate with many people. In truth, she could count them on her hands. Noah, Deimos, and Sah. Maybe Hotaru, but given that the younger man had said him it easily ruled out the Valkyrie. Her brow arched and a noncommittal hum pushed past her lips, "Well, I avoided him for a while. I didn't know what to do." She admitted, lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug. "But I owned up to the fact that I was wrong with how I reacted. I acknowledged what I did and I apologized. It wasn't easy, but I tried to see it from his side of things."
She'd talked to Deimos and Tal both about it. How she felt about what happened. How she struggled to accept that there was nothing Sah could have done to prevent it. How much it all hurt. The Attuned paused, turning suddenly to face him and making him stop short before her. "I can tell you this, though... Whatever happened isn't worth just leaving alone. If you care about him and I know you do, then you should talk to him again."
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
10-18-2022, 06:03 PM (This post was last modified: 10-23-2022, 07:10 PM by Talyson.)
He could only nod in response, glumly accepting Delia's patience and grateful for it, in his own stubborn way. It would have been harder, coming from Sah or his sisters, and he wasn't close enough to Noah to even bring it up with the former Warden. He would have been far too embarrassed; and besides, Noah was far more Deimos's friend than the courier's. But with Delia... and maybe Ru... he could talk about things a little without bristling up and going silent.
Well, most of the time.
Still, he listened avidly to how things had worked out with Delia and Sah, trying not to look like he was hanging on every word when he very much was. When she finished he took a deep breath and tried to figure out where his own situation fit within what she'd just described--
And then she was facing him and he had to stop abruptly or risk running into her. He blinked wide, pale eyes at the sudden turnabout and at her intensity. His jaw clicked shut and he swallowed hard, stumbling over his words. "I... I want to but... what if he's still mad at me? An' doesn't want to talk t'me? He's the one who walked away! An'... Delia, I'm not mad at him!" Tal scowled and glared down at his boots in the snow. "Everythin' was fine until--" He snapped his teeth shut on the words, shoulders hunching in a quiet agony of indecision.
Her expression remains soft. Neutral even. Head tilting to the side as she regards him, "Tal, I was sure that Sah didn't want to talk to me. That he didn't want to see me." She pauses, considering her words, "I knew that he felt worse about how things were left. That he was already blaming himself. I knew seeing me would only bring forward the guilt. It was part of why I avoided him for so long, but ultimately, he was my friend. He's family." Her shoulders lift in a vague shrug, taking his frustration with a grain of salt, not allowing it to phase her.
"Sometimes there are disagreements. Changes that happen that make it feel as if we've lost that person. Especially when we try to point out things they don't want to hear. It's a delicate balance showing them that we care without crossing a line."
Cordelia reaches forward, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "Talk to him. Tell him how you feel and apologize. I know you, Tal. I know you weren't trying to start a fight and I imagine that they know it too." She finishes, releasing him and allowing her hand to drop back to her side once more.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
Tal listened, but at each word his chest tightened a little further. For his friends - well, for his friend and Sah never let the Jester know that he'd thought of him as a friend even for a moment or he'd never hear the end of it - things had been different. More serious, over the death of a family member, for one. But also the weight of both anger and forgiveness had rested in Delia's hands.
For Tal, it all rested with Deimos. It wasn't the Sword's fault, and never had been. Tal blamed the interloper, not his friend. But it was never that simple.
Delia continued and Tal's shoulders drooped as he nodded in miserable agreement that it felt like he'd lost his friend. That he'd pointed out things that Deimos didn't want to hear... but that he'd crossed that line with his usual social clumsiness, too.
Her hands closed around shoulders as tense as ice-covered stone as he swallowed back his immediate protest. He started to reach out and then hesitated, bringing his hand back to wrap tightly around his glaive again. "How do I apologize without lying?" he asked, stubborn and wounded and proud. "I told him--" he hesitated only a moment before barreling forward. "Told him I didn't like his... his new girlfriend. And why. And I still don't like her. Everything was fine until she came along an' now it's all..." He scowled fiercely down at his feet as if they were to blame as well. "'Course I want him to be happy! Just... just not with her!"
All of the pieces fell into place then and Cordelia purses her lips, attempting to keep quiet as he unloads it all in a span of a few moments. The Shrike fixes him with a firm look that would make even the fiercest of Halo's inhabitants wither. "Talyson Seabright, you do not get to decide who he is happy with. That isn't your place." She says firmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she huffs out an icy breath. "Whether you like her or not doesn't matter. Not a single bit. What does matter is that he found someone."
And she does know who he is talking about. She knows how long it has been since Deimos dared to open his heart up to another. The fact that he was doing so now made it clear just how serious it was.
"Deimos has been alone for years. He's a guarded person. He doesn't let just anyone get to know him like that. The fact that he has now? Tal, that's major. He deserves to be happy. With her or anyone else." Cordelia sighs, pausing to chew on her bottom lip as she considers him, "I don't know what problem you have with Evie, but it isn't your place to determine if she's good for him or not."
The Shrike shakes her head, rolling her shoulders as she straightens slightly, feet shifting across the snow and ice. "If I was with someone you didn't like, but they made me happy and treated me well, would you do this to me too? Would you tell me I shouldn't be with them even if I was happy?"
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
The glare might have been more effective if Tal hadn't been scowling down at his feet, but then again he was used to shrugging off the glares of three older sisters. He stiffened as Delia - Delia! - used his full name and his head snapped up to meet her gaze with a glare no less fierce than her own.
Hands clenched around his weapon and he stood ramrod straight as she went on, telling him things he already knew in a lecture that raised his hackles and turned his hot gaze cold. Brick by brick her words built a wall between them until her points were lost in the hurt and resentment that swirled sickly through Tal's gut, but he stood there and took it until she had finished.
"You're right," he said stiffly. "O'course you're right, an' I wouldn't dream of tellin' you anythin' you didn't want t'hear. Don't worry, it won't be happenin' again." Twice now he'd been honest with people who had asked him to be, and twice now he'd had only regrets afterwards.
There wouldn't be a third time. Deimos wasn't the only one who had gone a long time without opening his heart to others. Tal had gone six years without it, and he'd been better off before he'd started letting people get close enough to hurt him again.
"Good luck with your hunt, Miss Limore. But I'd best be gettin' back t'my own work." He kept his tone distant and professionally polite, but there was ice in his voice and atop the tight fire in his chest. Turning on his heel, the courier stalked back towards his sled and the dogs waiting for him there.
She knew his feelings were hurt. As soon as he looked at her she knew, but he needed to hear it. Still, there was backlash and she flinched as he closed himself off from her so quickly it was staggering. Delia doesn't let him get far. She surges forward, attempting to grasp at his wrist, "Tal, stop.. Please.. I'm not trying to upset you." And she wasn't. The pleading edge to her tone and the gathering moisture in her eyes was enough for that to be clear even without a bond to connect them. "But you haven't told me why you don't think he should be with her. All I know is what I see."
Cordelia swallows thickly, breath thick in her throat, "I see him happy and I know it's because of her. I know you're unhappy because of her too, but I don't know why. I want to help and I want to support you, Tal." She stops short, feeling the tears freeze on her lashes and cheeks. "You're like a brother to me and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings by being honest. I don't want to hurt you." Delia didn't want to hurt anyone. Despite being a fierce hunter, the Shrike was an incredibly gentle soul, yearning for peace more than anything else. "But I don't think you're being fair, Tal... Not to Deimos or Evie or me or even yourself." She finishes softly, letting go of his wrist if he hadn't wrenched it away from her already.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
