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!
11-17-2022, 11:42 PM (This post was last modified: 11-17-2022, 11:53 PM by Sah.)
Sah
IN SNOWCLOAK
The war was over and although the victory was certainly bittersweet. Sah often found his thoughts going to those that they had lost but also to the blessing that was each and every survivor. But today, there was no time for such thoughts. Today, Sah had to deal with the other price of having companions. Puppyhood.
Lilly raised her nose in the air, following her nose to try and find her draconic friend. This was a task that only Boreal could help her with after all. The wolf really didn't know what to do with her new brother sometimes.
Skidding to a stop in front of a door, the wolf pawed at it urgently. Letting out a small howl, she tried to get the dragon's attention. or maybe even Boreal's idiot bonded. The sooner this was fixed the better. As she sat waiting, paws tapping on the snow with excess energy, her own idiot finally caught up.
"Lilly! Where are you even going? I'm pretty sure Noah is with Deimos at the moment." Sah asked, confused as to why his companion had chosen to come here of all places.
The War was over and the smoke from the funeral pyres still curled up from the embers, but life went on. The world had changed but humans still needed to eat and the able-bodied were rebuilding from the ruins and hunting for food. Tal and Boreal were no exceptions. The courier had a mouth full of nails and a hammer in hand as he rebuilt another shelf.
He hadn’t seen much of Sah since the ice had cracked apart; less a War than a cataclysm to those outside of the Draig. After assuring himself of his frenemy’s survival and checking in with Ru, he’d gone to take care of his sisters and repair their home and store. The next few days had passed in a whirl of digging out and shoring up, but the building was sound again and they were able to focus on the inside—
Boreal gave a small roar of welcome from the back yard, and Tal almost swallowed a nail at the surge of welcome came through the bond. She shed the puppies she’d been playing with back to the watchful eyes of the rest of the team and spread her wings, going over the top of the building to meet Lilly at the front door.
Tal opened it a moment later, rubbing his sore thumb surreptitiously as he looked out cautiously at these most unexpected guests.The dragon was already greeting the wolf as he sized up Sah and gave a cautious nod of welcome. “Hey. Everything okay?”
Sah should have known it'd be Boreal. With Pad stuck in a tree, again, wings were a necessity. But no, instead of going to Noah and Eira, Lilly had chosen her dragon friend.
The Abandoned had heard that Tal was ok and that he'd gotten out relatively unscathed. Still, it sent a small burst of relief through him to see it was true. Giving Tal a nod, Sah opened his mouth to explain but was quickly interrupted.
After very enthusiastically greeting Boreal, Lilly had raced out into the snow and glanced back. Letting out a howl to make her request clear, the wolf was off again. As she raced away, back towards where Pad was, Sah let out a heavy sigh. "For fuck's sake." Gesturing in the direction his companion had disappeared, the Abandoned addressed his frenemy. "Lilly wants Boreal's help." With that defeated statement, he began to head after his wolf.
Tal was paying more attention to Sah than Lilly for once. He was used to the companions playing together and while they were in the back of his mind he'd expected the answer to come from the hunter rather than the wolf. It just meant that he was even more surprised when it was Lilly who 'answered' his question. Boreal seemed as surprised as he was that she was in no mood to play, and the dragon's bright greeting shifted to a croon of concern as her friend howled and padded away in a clear gesture for them to follow. The dragon went after her without hesitation while Tal raised a questioning brow at Sah.
Well, that wasn't an answer.
"Yeah? With what?" he asked curiously, shutting the door behind him and falling in beside the slightly taller man. With his Frostbite Cuff on he didn't need to stop for his parka, and since it looked like Lilly was the instigator of this little visit he probably wasn't going to need anything but his conveniently opposable thumbs.
It was good that Tal had his own way of staying warm. With Sah's natural (read; passive) resistance to cold, he hadn't even considered that the courier might be cold with how distracted he was with his companions' antics.
The hunter didn't say a word as he followed the companions, only slowing down when the two men caught up. Lilly was walking laps around an evergreen tree, eyeing a branch high above. It was hard for the humans to make out, but high above a pair of green eyes watched them.
Lilly yipped at the wolf pup somehow in the tree, only to get a stubborn bark in return. Sah rubbed his temples as Pad puffed up his fur at the sight of the dragon and the stranger. "Pad. Stop being stubborn, please. Don't make me use my telekinesis on you again." The wolf pup just snorted and bit the nearest branch, bracing himself should his bonded try to do what he threatened. The pup wasn't leaving his tree without a fight.
Lilly meanwhile walked over and touched noses with Boreal before her eyes returned to her foolish little brother. Sah sighed and glanced tiredly at Tal, "I have no idea, ok? He likes trees. I have no idea how he gets up there but he's too small to get down on his own."
Pad gave another stubborn bark and Sah added, "Not that he wants to." How Pad took after him so strongly was a mystery. A stubborn, stubborn, black-furred pup who liked heights. Though the Caido wolf lacked wings, the resemblance was clear. Was Sah this much of a hassle when he was little? His poor mother.
If Sah wanted to play at being silent and mysterious, Tal could roll his eyes and huff quietly in annoyance. He didn't really mind the quiet walk, and he was far happier about lending Lilly a helping hand, but he was increasingly curious as to just what she needed from him - or rather, Boreal. He was used to getting from one place to the next without having another human soul to speak to or answer his questions so he padded along beside the hunter until they reached the tree and he looked up and up and--
Oh.
A puppy??
Tal's eyes lit up at the same time that Boreal's did, and he grinned unabashedly up at the little wolfling. "Hey, lil guy," he crooned up, voice quiet and coaxing, far gentler than it was with other humans. "What're you doin' up there?" He slanted an ironic glance at Sah as the hunter finally elucidated the reason behind the little jaunt. "An' now he's too high up for your magic to reach?" he guessed, amused.
Boreal licked Lilly's nose reassuringly and then spread her broad wings, leaping into the air. No swift little falconiform, the dragon was big and boxy and worked hard to get her bulk off the ground and up, flapping heroically to lift up past Pad and higher still, seeking an updraft she could glide on while she studied the pup's position and how best to get him out of it.
"Wait... Lilly... and Pad?" Tal blinked in surprise as he put the two names together and then his grin broadened as he slapped Sah's shoulder. "Sure y'don't want t'secretely move to Torchline?"
Pad growled at Tal, his fur fluffing up in a terrifying adorable display. Sah couldn't blame Tal for his reaction, the pup was precious. But it was still funny to hear the courier's voice change so fast. He was honestly surprised the courier's voice could get that high pitched.
At the question, the Abandoned shook his head with a sigh, "Nope. And even if he wasn't, I don't want to hurt him by tugging on him while he's holding onto the tree." Pad barked around the tree branch in his mouth, "And he's figured that out." The pup had climbed up before Lilly could stop him, and by the time she ran and got Sah, Pad was already too high up.
When Boreal approached, the puppy growled, biting onto his branch with more force. He did not like the big flapping scaley thing. Even the sensations of calm and reassurance being sent to him by Lilly and Sah did nothing to soothe the small pup's rage at possibly being removed from his perch. Or the wariness of seeing, you know, a literal dragon.
When Tal smacked him, Sah tsked and gently smacked the courier on the back of the head. "Don't be ridiculous. Lilly is named after her coloration and one of the younger kids in the family came up with idea for Pad. She was so excited about her little joke that I just went with it." His wolves could be a pun if it made the pups in the family that happy. Sah didn't mind.
"So I'm gettin' the sense that this isn't the first time?" Tal drawled, grin not fading an iota. He didn't baby-talk the pup, and his voice was soft rather than high, but he didn't really care what the other man thought of it. His dogs meant a lot more to him than most people did, and their opinions mattered a lot more. "Y'might just have to wait 'im out. When he gets hungry enough he'll want down an' then maybe he'll let Boreal carry 'im."
The dragon in question had come to a similar conclusion. She crooned reassuringly and angled her flight to bring her in to a lower section of the tree, bending soft-needled branches as she pushed through them to broader boughs which would hold her weight. Perching there, she looked up at the pup a dozen feet above her and blew a puff of friendly smoke his way.
Tal ducked his head to avoid the return smack, grin widening. "Oh, sure, blame it on the kids! So where'd y'find this little guy? Companion, I'm guessin'?"
"Unfortunately not. Whenever Lilly or I look away for a fucking second, he zooms up the nearest tree. Or building. Whatever is tall enough that he can climb." It was a never-ending cycle of 'where did he go?'. At this point it was almost a game, even if it still stressed Sah and Lilly out most days.
Tal certainly had a point, "That might be the case. But he's stubborn as all hell. I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed up there well past dinnertime just to prove his point." Again, the similarities. Fuck, Sah loved the little shit.
As Boreal tried to befriend Pad, Lilly sat at the foot of the tree and wagged. She tried to coax the pup out with friendly yips and sending waves of reassurance through the bond. Boreal was he friend, and she wanted her to be Pad's friend too. At the moment though, the younger wolf was having none of it. His growling hadn't stopped but he hid have to let go of his branch for a moment to sneeze at the smoke. The force of his sneeze made his eyes scrunch up and his ears wiggle.
Sah rolled his eyes, "I'm not blaming. I'm simply giving credit to their creative genius. And yes, he's my companion." The Abandoned smirked, "And you'll never guess where I found him." He started sarcastically only to finish with a deadpan, "In a fucking tree while out hunting with Noah."
11-19-2022, 02:01 AM (This post was last modified: 11-19-2022, 02:04 AM by Talyson.)
Tal laughed out loud at the enumeration of the pup's adventures and looked up again to give the little scamp a salute. "Keep given' 'im hail, Pad!" he encouraged the little black wolf. "You're doin' great!" He wasn't usually inclined to encourage bad behavior in dogs - er, wolves - but for Sah he'd make an exception. That, and the opportunity to make friends with a companion who bullied Sah the way Boreal sometimes bullied him was too great to resist.
His laughter trailed into a chuckle as he looked over to the hunter again, this time with something almost like sympathy in his eyes if there wasn't so much amusement there, too. "Are you tellin' me you can't outstubborn a pup?" he teased. He looked up again just as Pad sneezed and Tal's heart contracted with the familiar silent awwww! that he would never admit to another human. "Boreal could probably grab him while he's sneezin," he mused thoughtfully instead to cover it, "but I don't want 'im strugglin' while she's flyin'. An' if she does that, he'll never trust her again. Have you always used your magic t'get him down before?" There were several ways they could get him down in a hurry, but none of them ended with a happy Pad and he'd never let Tal and Boreal help him again if they cut down his branch right now. "What's his favorite treat?" If you can't coax them, bribe them, right?
Sah shot Tal a dirty look, "Keep talking like that and I'll use my telekinesis to throw you up there." He probably couldn't but between his air magic, telekinesis, raw strength, and mageglass, maybe? He'd at least be able to get the courier off the ground. He'd have to test it sometime.
"You try sitting under a tree for hours listening to a pup howl because he's hungry but too stubborn to come down, and just angry about it all." It was painful to listen to, both for the eardrums and for the heart. But Pad was always determined to have the last word.
"Noah's Eira got him down the first time. He struggled the whole way. The other times, I've either used my telekinesis if it wasn't too far up and he wasn't holding on. Sometimes something down below will catch his attention and he'll jump down if he's able. Other times, I've just climbed up myself if he was holding on and or I couldn't use my magic. But those branches he's on right now are too small to hold my weight and I don't want to risk dropping him." Usually Pad behaved once Sah got his hands or magic on him, but the little pup had chosen a tree far too tall for the Abandoned to reach this time.
"He likes ursur the most. But if he's really hungry, you can sometimes coax him with luxere." Stubborn, stubborn pup with a picky palate. Sah tsked, "And of course the only meat I have in my bag at the moment is moose."
Suddenly, the Abandoned paused and glanced at Lilly. "If we don't have his favorites, maybe we just have to make him want to come down another way." A mischievous grin stretched across his face, "How about we tempt him down with some fun?" Lilly caught on and after sending a quick bark up at Boreal, raced over and leapt onto Tal's back in attempt to knock him to the ground
"Yeah? Why don't you use it t'throw yourself up there?" Tal taunted back, looking entirely pleased with himself at earning that dirty look.
The smugness faded to a faintly sympathetic grimace as Sah continued and the courier heaved a reluctant sigh at the mention of tragic puppy howls. "Oh, I have. My sis breeds dogs, remember? Every coupla years one of 'em welps a mountain goat instead of a pup an' we get t'do this. But they aren't companion-smart so we can usually bribe 'em down with treats." And thank goodness for that! Worst case scenario, Boreal could carry them down, but they were used to her mothering them and Tal didn't have to worry about them trying to hold a grudge.
Companions, on the other hand...
He listened to Sah's usual list of remedies and nodded in agreement at most of them. Then he heard what Pad's tender palette preferred with brows that rose steadily and whistled in appreciation. "Well, you can stay here an' play with the kids, an' I can run back t'the store--" he started to offer, but then a prancing wolf was on his back and Tal staggered forward, teetering as the breath was knocked out of him.
"Oof! Lilly, no--!" He landed in the snow but not before Boreal had wriggled her butt like a cat and nosedived out of the tree to return the favor to Sah, claws carefully blunted for play. Tal tried to push himself up and dislodge the wolf while his dragon 'helpfully' tried to knock Sah down next to him.
Sah raised a brow in confusion, "Sled dogs climb trees?" From Noah's reaction, the Abandoned had assumed that wolves and dogs in Caido generally kept their paws on solid ground. Maybe the dogs in Tal's family were just weird. It'd explain Tal's strangeness at least.
The courier's reaction of Pad's preferences was understandable. The pup was ridiculous. Only some of the most dangerous meat to acquire, met his requirements most days. Bring him the meat of any basic creature like Gods forbid a rabbit, and he'd look at you like you just cursed his entire bloodline.
Sah cackled when Lilly's playful attack worked, and they both crashed into the snow. But he had little time to celebrate as Boreal quickly returned the favor. He buckled under the weight and momentum of the dragon and landed in the snow next to Tal. Playfully tussling with Boreal, Sah let out a slightly wheezing laugh. "How could I have forgotten how much you like this game?" Meanwhile Lilly attempted to turn Tal into her new throne, adjust her paws to keep her balance.
It seemed the plan showed promise if the slight burst of curiosity that came through the bond from Pad was any indication. If any of them looked up, they'd see a very confused head-tilt going on in the tree.
Tal snorted. "Puppies climb trees. Some of 'em. Rarely. An' the ones that do don't usually become sled dogs." He grinned up at Pad again, admiring the little guy's stubbornness. "The good news is, they do figure out how t'climb down on their own. Eventually." Though Pad looked young enough to still have some growing to do in that regard.
Boreal was pleased as punch to have someone to tussle with! She was big and muscular but could be surprisingly dainty when she put her mind to it, and she was courteously careful in her play-mauling not to actually hurt Sah. Her tongue was rough, however, and she gleefully showered the hunter with kisses whenever his face or ears came in reach of it. Her chortle at the human's laughter was smoky but not unpleasant, even as next to them Tal realized what Lilly was doing and - because it was Lilly - decided to play along.
"You're pickin' up her bad habits, huh?" he asked the wolf as he shifted and wriggled beneath her, trying to throw off her balance - but not too hard. He was grinning, too, as he pushed himself up to his hands and knees but kept his back more or less flat, and gave himself a shake like one of his dogs. "Shoulda brought Bell along if I'd known this was gonna happen. At least she'd be on my side!" he mock-complained to wolf and dragon alike.
