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!
His laughter smooths the incensed rise of her hackles at the memory of her own fury at seeing her spa fall to disrepair. Sniffing delicately, she shifts her hair over her shoulder, preening reluctantly. Of course it thrives best beneath her hand. Who else could even pretend to have her same level of perfection and eye for the business?
Deimos never directly asks, not when she isn’t ready to volunteer the information, and Ru has loved him for that in time immemorial. The twins are always a bittersweet topic - grown up and gone too soon - but she smiles warmly and stretches her legs out slowly ahead of her, the fire’s warmth licking at her calves. “Doing well last I heard from them. I send them letters frequently, and Flora brings many of her friends and conquests to the spa. Though I admittedly worry - I don’t know what they intend to do during the war.” Whether they will head to the refuge, or if they had too much of their parents in them to seek out safety. It would be hypocritical of her to demand their obedience given her own young exploits, but it worries her quietly in the late hours to know they are young adults and she cannot force them to seek shelter.
His quiet is her first sign of something big, and the Valkyrie subtly shifts to better pay him her attentions, freshly sharp-eyed.
She isn’t expecting him to mention dating.
A strangled gasp escapes her, an atrocious thing that betrays her excitement, cracking her normally perfectly composed exterior. Hererochromatic eyes gleam as she leans over the armrest of her chair, abandoning her tea in favor of pursuing this news. A hand reaches to excitedly squeeze at his forearm. “Deimos! Dating? Oh, I’m so happy for you! Is it going well? How long have you been dating now?” She does not begrudge him waiting to tell her, delighting only in the fact that he is pursuing happiness yet again after so long suffering in silence.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Eyes lifted from the mug, pondering refilling, and listening just the same. Ru and her children were always a form of news – sometimes a mournful one – but here, where she had them within arm’s reach, was likely far more of a blessing than the Helovian memories. The war stirred other motions and affects though – had they been in the Basin, they could’ve been carefully tucked away. Here; other than Sunjata’s appeals, there was naught but the certainty of circumstances. “Will they go to the Safe Haven?” His nose didn’t wrinkle at the Flood’s project, he'd assisted in it after all, but the residual notions remained. He could stand it if it was for the good, the protection, of others. But the Sword didn’t know these children at all – whether they encompassed Ru’s shrewd endeavors, Remi’s ability to overwhelm, or merely made their own paths.
With the other news though, the regret was there instantly – nearly an outward grimace, and certainly an inward apprehension, as her eagle eyes flickered straight back to him. It was the excitement and gasping and gleaming that had him almost slink to the very back of his chair, as if the shadows might follow and hide him from the inevitable. The initial string of inquiries weren’t awful though, which made him feel like he was being led straight into a snare of his own making. “We make time in between work. Going well. About a season.”
you're all bronze and bite all venom and fistfight
Having them safe and happy helps chase away the shadows of children who had never gotten to experience that. Though they are not immediately within reach, they are as close as she could hope to have them while they strive for independence, and that alone soothes her soul. Sighing softly, she shakes her head, uncertain and restless because of it. “I don’t know. I intend to ask them directly, as neither has been particularly forthcoming. Gods, I hope so.” But she knows her own influence is a curse upon her progeny. The desire to meddle, investigate, involve. They’ll turn her prematurely grey with a little more time.
Or perhaps not, because she feels downright girlish with glee as Deimos shrinks away, clearly disgruntled and reluctant. The bond is not needed to get a gauge for her emotions. No, Ru radiates joy over the prospect of Deimos dating once more. Ru had always found Amalia a little too goody-two-shoes and deceptively doe-eyed for her political stances, but she’d never wished the heartbreak that Deimos suffered onto him. It is clear he is healing from that if he is dating seriously once more, especially for an entire season, and with his fellow ruler.
It would be easy to tease and taunt, but instead she calms just a moment and squeezes Deimos’ forearm. Hoping to force him to meet her gaze if she merely stares long enough. “I’m so, so very happy for you Deimos. She’s a good woman. And quite pretty,” she adds slyly, unable to help herself at the very end.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
He made no comment about children displaying some of their parents’ personalities; though he couldn’t help but laugh a little about their lack of forthcoming capabilities. Considering the amount of furtive, secretive, deceptive nuances the Valkyrie kept well-hidden and locked away, perhaps it was just desserts. If his grin seemed smug, he didn’t bother noting it either. “Are they in the Greatwood still?” Or ventured elsewhere, spreading the proverbial wings?
But her continued escalation of grins and contentment still leave him not even remotely at ease, and the temptation to bolt could likely be seen in the way his eyes flickered around, estimating and evaluating escape paths and routes. He could feel her excitement though, the elation, the happiness, and sighed into it, rather than hide. “Thank you,” head bowing slightly, tilting ever so little, continuing to gauge where he could slide off and alternate subjects. Eventually he managed to meet her gaze, though it is with mischief and some conviction. “And strong. Capable. Puts up with me,” and he shrugged, because maybe the latter was the most difficult. “What about you?” If she managed to wind her way back to Sunjata again there’d probably be more than a justified eyeroll.
you're all bronze and bite all venom and fistfight
Humming softly, she shakes her head, one long wave of golden illumination as firelight plays on pale strands. “Mm, no. They’ve both moved to Torchline, though it eases my heart to know they live together still.” As safe as she can make them. Or as safe as they can make each other. Ru won’t pretend to have a hand in their choices anymore.
It’s far easier to focus on his reticence than her own remorse, but though her grin is bright, it is not sharp at the edges. Though she may tease him over a grand many things, this is not one of them. At least nothing more than the comment on Evie’s fairness. Truly, she is happy for him; it overflows like a plentiful spout in their bond, if he cares to look. When he does - physically, at least - look, she can’t help the little laugh at his spark of reluctant mischief. “Putting up with you is the most important bit, so I’m glad to hear she’s managed it.” Ru is all too aware of Deimos’ highs, but also his lows. The darkest shadowed parts, the grief, the loss, the ruination. Evie is far brighter a light than Ru. That is exactly what the Sword needs in a romantic partner. A contrast, instead of a compatriot.
His own question has her subsiding immediately, a little too swiftly to properly conceal despite the smile that hangs unbroken - if dimmed - on her face. She can’t fool him, at least not for long, but she knows how he feels about Wessex. Knows already what lies down that path of conversation. Support, yes. Empathy, of course. Understanding? No, not entirely. At least not for her choice in recipient for her feelings, which has always been found wanting in his eyes - and not without good reason. “No, nothing like that for me. I don’t…well, that is to say…” her elegance crumbles, trailing words a sign unto themself even as she keeps her bond locked tight and her expression mild. Shaking her head with a slight disparaging laugh, her hands return to her lap and stay there, limp. “I don’t think it’s something meant for me anymore. Not here at least. And I’m okay with that.” She’s not, but she has Deimos, the twins, Melita, a strange friendship with Remi, an even stranger friendship with Sunjata and Nate. That will have to be enough. No romance, but love all the same.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Torchline, away and gone, and now it made more sense that the Greatwood couldn’t hold its ties to her. While she might have intermingled with its winding, muddling, confusing pathways, there were other lands, other pulls, other enticements for a creature of Ru’s caliber, rather than be left to the roots, dust, and boughs. “We should be building a skyport soon. You could have quicker access to them, if need be.” An optimistic viewpoint on his rumbling voice, another ease to the way the world had shifted and melded.
His mouth parted to make another comment about the mischievous notions, but finding no way to veer the semblances away, he closed his jaws and simply rolled his eyes. Sometimes he believed he shouldn’t have been afforded Evie, and many others’, patience, fortitude, and perseverance, as they all attempted to navigate his many pitfalls and flaws without chiseling and chipping away at the fortresses he’d carefully installed. He leaned more into the spout of contentment, snorting, before winding back in her unspoken designations.
And they weren’t what he expected – for Ru had once been rarely without a partner of some accord in another time, another place. While he didn’t approve of the majority of them, it frequently wasn’t his business, and so he judged from sidelines and silence, arching a brow at each in turn. High standards for a friend and ally he considered family. The dimming of her features, the residual light flickering and then absent, caused his head to tilt, pondering if he’d tread somewhere he shouldn’t have. Gaze narrowed at the disparaging laugh, at the layers between that remained unsaid and unknown, lingering amidst the spaces of shadows and hearths. “I doubt that,” he offered with a slight smile, trying to peel and pull her out of the echoing doldrums, fingers toying with the mug.
you're all bronze and bite all venom and fistfight
The skyport is a familiar thing to her, though she had never anticipated it being capable of construction - and operation - in Halo. Intrigue brightens her eyes, but comfort relaxes the tightness of her mouth. Though her twins may not be close at her side any longer, this will certainly ease the way. “That’s wonderful. They’re delightful vessels, I’m surprised you were able to find a way to bring them to Halo. Though I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Whatever deal had been struck is not her concern anymore, only the fruits of their labor. Ah, it’s nice to be a citizen sometimes.
He tries to reach for her where she stands alone on her iceberg, and Ru smiles softly at the attempt. She is not so full of hurt as to spurn the attempt, a soft chuckle greeting his probing, hesitantly playful words. “Well if you find anyone of merit you approve of, do let me know first before anyone else, hm?” Humored by the awareness that Deimos’ own high standards - for himself and those he loves - would narrow that nearly back down to zero anyway.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Comfort where he could offer it – in words and in phrases. The small lingering smile remained as she seemed to relax about the notions of the skyport. “We asked Frey,” with a vague tilt of his head, and though not the version she preferred, figuring the Valkyrie would approve of the notions nonetheless.
“Of course,” came with a mild shake of his head – well aware of how the semblances would likely play out – for the Sword’s standards were like walls and fortresses as well. “Though you know I am picky.” He wrinkled his nose, albeit playfully, and then they could continue, content with the fact that Ru had returned home.
{FIN <3}
you're all bronze and bite all venom and fistfight
