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!
Sah shook his head in mock exasperation, "Puppies will be puppies. No matter what world it seems." Wings or not too. Pad certainly was too little to get down on his own at the moment. Being only a few months old, the pup was still in the 'my paws and ears don't fit so I trip on everything' stage.
The Abandoned was just as happy to wrestle with Boreal as she was. Despite his recent harrowing encounter with the white dragons, Tal's companion was a familiar and welcome presence. Sah attempted to dodge the persistent tongue but failed miserably, his hair sticking up even more wildly than normal. Not that he minded, playfully growling at the dragon as he was.
Lilly too, was having a blast surfing on Tal's back. The wolf was careful of her own claws, not wanting to hurt him either. At his shake, she did her own to keep standing, moving with momentum and howling triumphantly when she succeeded.
Meanwhile both Sah and Lilly tried not to look at their packmate, whose curiosity was only growing within their bond. As well as a spark of irritation at being left out. Pad let out a sharp bark, small face pinched in puppy annoyance.
Puppies and dragons weren't so different, Tal had learned. Well, some dragons. Alright, one dragon in particular. But the difference was that Boreal had wings to help her out of tight spots; even as a fledgling she could clumsily glide. Pad had no such ability (probably for the best in the long run) so it was coax and bribe and tease him down or risk hurting him by forcing the issue.
Boreal growled right back at Sah: happy little rumbles as she kneaded his shoulders and carefully avoided stepping on his soft, squishy stomach with her broad, taloned paws. Tal, meanwhile, joined in Lilly's howl with a laugh and then dropped down into a 'play bow' pose, keeping his hips up and lowering his shoulders abruptly to try and tip her forwards.
Everyone heard the bark, but no one responded to it at first, though Tal felt Boreal's nudge through the bond. "Not yet, girl," he murmured over to her, grinning conspiratorially at Sah. "He's got to want t'let you bring him down. Jester'll tell us when he's ready."
Sah playfully bared his teeth at Boreal, laughing at her antics. The dragon was heavy, but it was a nice break to tussle like this. The Outlander hadn't had teh opportunity to play and roughhouse in this manner since coming to Caido. Flickers of amusement, joy, and excitement passed to and from Lilly. They were accompanied by Pad's growing ire and annoyance in the bond.
Taking Tal's cue, Lilly leapt down in front of the courier before turning around and dropping into her own play bow. With an excited yip, the wolf took off, running laps around the small group, including the tree where Pad remained.
Pad followed her movement before letting out a sharp yip, his small claws digging into the tree bark as he stomped his feet in frustration. Sah paused in his wrestling match and glanced up at the pup, "Well? If you want to join, you have to let Boreal carry you down."
With a raised brow he waited for the stubborn pup's response. After a moment the bond filled with resigned nervousness. Sah smiled softly, "Alright pup. It'll be ok. She won't drop you."
Sah nodded at Boreal, "Could you go get him, please? He's ready."
Boreal was used to tussling with Tal, but such games had been few and far between since the War. It felt good to wrestle with Sah and really let loose, and the dragon made happy grumbles and the occasional twin puffs of smoke from her nostrils as she made her enjoyment known.
Tal, meanwhile, laughed at Lily's yip and bounced up onto his own feet, chasing her and occasionally darting to interrupt her circle and make her go around him as he jumped in front of her. Poor Pad was missing out on all the fun, way up there in the sky! And indeed, a moment later the petulant yip let them all know just what he thought about them having fun without him. Tal ducked his head to hide his smile and Boreal paused her play-fighting as Sah coaxed the stubborn pup.
And, almost surprisingly, it worked! Boreal looked from Sah to Tal and then up at Pad with her heavy, blunt-muzzled head cocked to the side as if to make sure she understood what was being asked of her from all parties. "You're up, girl," Tal encouraged her, and the dragon warbled quietly to herself as she gathered her strength and launched herself up, wings beating strongly to gain height above the tree until she could drift lightly back down in a glide.
"She helps carries the team's pups all the time," Tal reassured Sah confidently, plopping down in the snow next to the hunter. "Happiest when she gets to be the favorite auntie." Spoil the pups rotten, let them play on her like a scaly jungle gym, and then send them back to their mothers worn out and ready to nap, he meant. And indeed, the pale dragon slipped neatly between the snow-laden branches just beneath Pad and locked broad talons into the wood of the trunk, climbing the last few feet the slow and careful way so she didn't risk breaking his branch. The trunk swayed warningly but held as she crooned for the pup to come close enough to be picked up.
Sah nodded, accepting Tal's reassurance without comment. Though the mention of Boreal being an aunt made his lips twitch, "I can picture that. It's probably why she and Lilly get along so well." His older companion was obsessed with her new brother. She'd even carried him around by the scruff and presented him to her favorite people like a prize. Pad had not been amused.
When the dragon landed near him, Pad's fur fluffed up. But after a surge of assurance was sent through the bond from both members of his pack, he relaxed his hackles. Cautiously, the pup scooted along the branch and leaned over to just barely sniff Boreal. With one last glance at the ground, the pup practically deflated in defeat.
With great reluctance, Pad approached Boreal and tilted his head down so she could grab him.
Boreal would have been heartbroken to realize that Lilly hadn't presented Pad to her in such a way, if she'd been able to understand what the humans were talking about. Perhaps it was lucky for everyone involved that she was too focused on the pup in question to pay attention to the silly ramblings of her companion.
Heavy talons punctured the tree's trunk, leaving wounds that would linger for seasons, but the dragon was only concerned with Pad and his momentary ire. She blinked with reptilian patience at his puffed-up little ruff until it slicked back down again and he reluctantly came into reach. She politely sniffed him back, the top of the tree swaying alarmingly as she leaned over to return the greeting, and then she gave him a single long lick down his back to smooth his fur before she caught him up by the scruff in a surprisingly gentle mouth.
Tucking her head and her passenger safely down against her chest she pushed back and away from the tree trunk, twisting to right herself as her wings snapped open and bits of branches and needles rained down from the swaying pine as she made it into the clear and spiraled down in a slow glide.
She landed in a cloud of snow in front of Lilly, presenting the rebellious pup to his 'big sister' with a chortling croon while Tal looked on with a rueful smile. "What's his favorite game?"
Little did Boreal know that Lilly had been planning to do just that before the pup had gone and climbed a tree along the way. The dragon was her best friend, how could she not want to show off her baby brother to Boreal? Hell, Sah was half convinced that was why the wolf had gone to Tal's house. Help getting Pad down and getting to introduce the pup to her dragon pal.
The flicker of disgust that passed through the bond as half of Pad's fur was soaked by dragon affection made Sah snicker. Soon enough the pup was on solid ground and Lilly wagged fiercely. She reached out and nuzzled Boreal's jaw happily before reaching down and nudging Pad. A clear, 'Look at him! Isn't he cute!?!', as was possible for a wolf to get across to a dragon.
The pup meanwhile sulked in the snow, eyeing his big sister with betrayal. How dare she capitalize on his humiliation? The rush of disdain pulled another chuckle from Sah before he addressed Tal. "He's....weird." The sharp yip of defiance that followed made the Abandoned throw back his head and laugh before calling back to the pup, "It's true!"
Still chuckling he actually got around to answering the courier, "Pad likes to play tag like many pups, as well as chew on ice. But he also likes to uh... bury things in the snow. I tried to teach him how to hunt small mammals. He had no trouble learning to catch them. But he just...buried them alive in the snow after, instead of killing and eating them?"
Sah just shrugged, "He's eccentric to say the least. I'm not sure it's out of sadism or not just yet."
Boreal swept her scaly tail through the snow in her approximation of a wag at the nuzzle, crooning agreement with her wolf friend and leaning down to puff warm air gently from her nose over Pad's fur to ruffle and dry it.
Tal was grinning as he watched the byplay, relaxed and carefree for the first time since the War's end. Later he might feel guilty for it, but in the moment it felt so good to just be two young men and their silly companions for an hour.
"No wonder he bonded to you," he teased Sah with a nudge of his shoulder. "Takes one to know one!" But then the hunter elucidated on what he meant by 'weird' and the courier's nose wrinkled in confusion. "Y'mean, like a squirrel buryin' nuts? Does he think they'll still be there if he comes back later?" Lots of dogs liked to bury things in the snow. Tal had plenty of experience with that aspect of canine behavior. But usually those things were dead first.
Good thing most of Halo's small animals were perfectly happy burrowing through snow so they could escape once the pup left the area?
"Well, we got 'im t'come down, so now he gets to play," the courier decided firmly, at which point Sah might realize that Tal was already planning to spoil Pad rotten if he got half a chance. Hopping up, he leaned down to try and ruffle Sah's hair with a grin. "An' you're it!" And with that he was dashing away, running to 'hide' behind the tree Pad had climbed.
Sah too was enjoying the change in pace. Seasons of tension had faded for the moment, as he watched the trio of companions interact. Pad, despite himself, preened under Boreal's attention. Yes, he was spectacular, wasn't he? Smart of the dragon to notice. Lilly felt pride at her dragon friend's reaction, her point validated.
Sah snorted out a laugh, "Weird and proud of it." Some Naturals were so boring. Why would he ever be ashamed for his eccentric nature? Tal's question brought upon a shrug. "I really don't know. But he always seems pleased afterwards." The critters usually escaped thankfully. But those that weren't built for digging under the snow suffered from Pad's hobby to say the least.
The Abandoned paused and heaved out a sigh, "Oh jeez." If Tal started indulging the pup, Pad would never calm down. When the courier reached out, Sah playfully batted it away and took off chasing the other man. "Get back here!"
Hearing the commotion, Lilly and Pad looked up. The elder realized what was occurring and quickly bolted away to avoid being tagged. Pad, however, turned to race after Tal as well. It was more fun to chase than be chased!
11-24-2022, 03:32 AM (This post was last modified: 11-24-2022, 03:39 AM by Talyson.)
"You would be," Tal scoffed at Sah's proud declaration of weirdness, but he was grinning as he as he said it. If Sah were normal, he wouldn't be nearly as much fun to tease, after all! He snuck another amused and curious look at Pad and his equally weird antics with burying things. "He'll probably grow out of it. ...Maybe," he added, remembering a few adult dogs who'd had strange puppy-hobbies who hadn't grown out of them.
Heh. Sah was in for a ride with this pup, and Tal couldn't be more pleased about it.
He showed that pleasure by starting off the game that Pad had earned, and the hunter would find that the courier was a bit faster than he'd been the last time they'd wrestled. It didn't take long for Boreal and Lilly to get in on the action, confusing things further with a blithe disregard for rules and goals beyond 'pounce' and 'lick' and 'run away after.' No one was safe from their mischief; not human nor pup - and no one at all was safe from the sharp, ankle-high nips of small, excited teeth from a certain young wolfling - but all good things had to end.
A puppy's endurance had its limits, and once Pad was well and truly tuckered out and ready for a nap the men parted with a few last quips and lighter steps, their companions leading them safely home again.
