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!
Oh hels. Lovely birds really. But truth be told, Phoebe was a little scared of them. She was a bit put off by all birds actually. They were creepy the way they stared at you out of their beady little eyes. Bird shifters were different entirely though. Those were people under those feathers, not creepy, who knew what they were thinking creatures.
So instead of doing this job herself, she employed the help of her companion Branbast. She walked alongside him on the port as he jumped from roof to roof to ship to roof. All the while he collected shed feathers from Hel nests or those he scared off (read: pounced on). Phoebe would take them from his mouth and place them in a little lidded basket where she was keeping them safe from the chilly breeze.
10-07-2022, 07:07 PM (This post was last modified: 10-07-2022, 07:09 PM by Ray.)
RAY
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods
Ray walked along on the edge of the port, carrying her basket of recently traded herbs. She'd had a good haul this morning, trading the one's she'd harvested for a few rarer varieties found elsewhere. The herbalist couldn't reach every corner of Caido after all. With no aquatic shift, most of the aquatic plants were out of reach for example.
It was as she was walking that a hel landed in front of her. Before Ray could even process this fact, a small cat pounced on the bird. She watched with startled amusement as they began to pull the feathers off. "Building a nest of feathers? Or just a collector?" She asked the cat conversationally, looking around to see who's companion this was.
The seer cat looked up at the woman who spoke to him, a mouthful of feathers in his maw. He elegantly tucked the feathers into his pink and yellow polka-dot necktie before looking at her again with such disdain and judgement one might melt in embarrassment. "None of your business." he harrumphed at the woman.
"Branbast be nice!" came a woman's voice. Phoebe hurried over and plucked the feathers from his tie. "I told you just shed feathers not to pluck them!" she huffed at the cat before looking at the woman. "Sorry about him. He can be rude to strangers."
Ray blinked for a second when the cat spoke before doubling over in laughter, "Oh Gods... you are exactly how I imagined how any cat capable of speech would be."She wiped her eye, still chuckling as she turned to Phoebe when the woman approached, "It's ok. Cats will be cats."
How could she ever judge them when her very first shift was a panther? Something about being in a feline body just granted sass. It only made sense for those born in such forms to be the pinnacle of it. Gods, she should really adopt one sometime.
"I really needed a laugh today, thank you." Ray adjusted her basket and held a hand out to Phoebe to shake, "I'm Ray. Nice to meet you."
The Attuned sent Branbast a Cheshire grin, "And nice to meet you too, Branbast."
Branbast looked unamused at the laughter. He had been very serious after all, so laughing in response was clearly an error on the human's part. Alas, humans made many such errors.
Phoebe for her part sighed in relief. At least Branbast hadn't insulted a stranger again. The cat came over and gracefully clambered up her back to lounge across her shoulders. "Well I'm glad he made you laugh!" Phoebe said with a light laugh of her own. "I'm Phoebe. It's nice to meet you, Ray."
Branbast opened one orange eye to look at Ray again, then sighed dramatically. "It is nice to meet me."
Phoebe placed her free hand over her eyes. Clearly he was in a particularly sassy mood today.
"Nice to meet you too." Ray watched they dynamic between Phoebe and Branbast with amusement. She grinned once more at the cat's continued sass, taking it in stride. "Yes, yes, it is." Despite her clear amusement, the words were sincere.
The herbalist eyed the mass of feathers that the pair had collected, "What do you plan to do with those, if you don't mind me asking? I hardly ever see people collect just the feathers from the hels." Usually, she saw people either go after the birds for being pests or to hunt them for food. Just harvesting the feathers was a new one.
Branbast seemed appeased by Ray's acceptance that it was indeed good to meet them. The orange eye closed and the cat snuggled down on Phoebe's shoulders for a good nap. This was going to involve a conversation and frankly he didn't give a single solitary damn about it. People were just so noisy.
Phoebe looked down at her collection of feathers then back to Ray. "Oh these?" she said. "They're for Frey. I need to collect Hel feathers for a quest they've sent me on." she explained easily. "Though Branbast was only to pick up shed feathers. Seems his baser insticts got the better of him."
"Oh, I adore Frey. They've helped me out quite a bit in the past." Ray smiled warmly, "I'm glad you got your feathers, despite some being more forcibly acquired. May I ask what your quest is for?" She was curious as to what other things Frey had up their sleeves. No doubt it was something interesting.
Ray held up her own basket, "I've just finished trading for some herbs. I run the Lunarium Apothecary in Haulani. Though I often find myself being the emergency first aid person on the street." She rolled her eyes playfully, "So many idiot teenagers and drunkards. I actually ended up putting a small infirmary in the back of my shop because of it." Though three beds and fully stocked emergency kits wasn't large, small might have been stretching it.
The Attuned deepened her voice into a terrible impression of a teenage boy, "No, no, I can't go to a doctor. They'll tell my mom! Can't you please just fix my broken nose here? I heard you sell medicine."
Ray shook her head, "It's as hilarious as it is tedious." Maybe if she stopped helping, they'd stop coming. But then Touchline would likely need a plastic surgeon from all of those improperly healed noses.
Phoebe lighted up at the news she shared. Adored Frey? What a refreshing reaction! "I am actually their demigoddess." Phoebe revealed with a smile. "It is so nice to hear someone speak pleasantly of them without it being about orgasms and dildos." she said with a light laugh. "Frey will be imbuing me with the power to teleport once I am through with this quest." she said with a small smile.
The Nightingale appreciated that the woman was talkative, it meant she didn't have to do it all on her own. "Oh I know the type." she said with a laugh. "I used to run a medical college and infirmary in the Hollowed Grounds and was the first Madame of the Halenani." she said with a grin. Oh yes, everyone wanted their secrets hidden. And no one knew a town's secrets better than the local doctor and the local brothel owner.
Ray perked up, "Really? Wow!" She hadn't expected to run into Frey's Demi-god today to say the least. Phoebe's next words made the herbalist cackle, "I can only imagine. I swear homicidal and horny seem to be the two core personality types in Caido." She shook her head in mock exasperation, lips twitching with amusement.
The herbalist's eyes widened at Phoebe's words. Teleportation? That's amazing! Congratulations." Being able to go just about anywhere at the drop of a hat sounded incredible. "Frey helped me craft a wand that heals minor injuries. It's been incredibly useful."
As the Demi-god spoke, Ray smiled warmly, feeling a burst of solidarity, "You get it." Chuckling slightly, she glanced up as a hel flew overhead, "Do you want help getting any more feathers?"
Phoebe laughed at the woman's surprise and shocked words in amusement. She supposed the woman was right about the personality types - especially in Torchline. It seemed to call out to the roughest sorts of people in Caido and drew them in.
"I'm going to use it to take my son to and from the Greatwood so he can spend time with his father here." she explained. Perhaps a mundane reason for something fantastical, but it was her reality. Were it not for Jude, she likely wouldn't be pursuing this gift at all. "That sounds very useful in your line of work." she said of the wand, a smile curving her lips. It seemed this woman really understood Frey as the well rounded god they were.
"A few more feathers couldn't hurt." Phoebe said with a smile. She was enjoying the woman's company and didn't see a reason why she ought not extend their time together.
Ray's smile turned gentle as Phoebe explained her motives, "That's super sweet. I'm sure your son will appreciate it." What kid didn't want to know that their parent loved them enough to go on an entire quest just to make their life a little better?
"It is. I'm grateful every time I use it." Not only did it make her job easier but being able to take away the small aches and pains often helped boost the morale of the patient. And that always seemed to make recovering from major injuries easier.
Ray grinned, "Awesome!" She gestured grandly to the path before them, "Lead the way!"
"I'm sure he will. He is a sweet boy." she said. Just like his father, which pulled at yet tender heartstrings. But she kept a brave face, now was not the time to drown in nostalgia and tears. She had just met this woman after all and she had a quest to be working on!
"It might sound a bit gruesome..." But hopefully being in the medical profession would help her find it more fascinating, "Frey gave me a plant that can grow body parts. So if ever someone is missing an ear or a nose tip, I can get you a replacement." she said with a laugh. It was both comical and serious. Given the number of street fights in Torchline, such injuries weren't unheard of.
Phoebe gladly led the way down the boardwalk. Most of the feathers were up high on the rooftops of shops where Hels frequently sat.
Ray's eyes widened as Phobe spoke. The concept of regrowing body parts was astounding to the herbalist. "That's incredible..." The words are nearly whispered with the weight of her awe. "Do you know the limits? Is it just small body parts or can entire organs be grown?" If so, the implications for repairing internal damage were game changing.
As they walked, the Attuned spotted a nest in the upper corner of a building's balcony. Within the nest there was a surplus of downy feathers that had been shed amongst the branches. Ray pointed, "Look. Do you think that'll be enough? I can fly up and grab them for you." With her shangyang shift's large talons, the Attuned would likely be able to grab all of the feathers in just a trip or two.
