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!
I want a snowfall kind of love the kind of love that quiets the world
Across the bond, her approval and understanding are felt more than spoken. I’ll remain up here for now, I’m much harder to spot. I’ll focus on trying to get a gauge for their population numbers. Drifting on the higher currents with Boreal not far, she keeps her movement as minimal as possible, seeking to blend in as she scouts from above.
It’s a decently sized colony, and with her acute hearing she can marvel at the strange sounds they make. Creaking and cracking ice indeed, no wonder they’d startled the hunters. It’s not entirely strange to see them live more communally than other foxes, but it’s still something she makes a mental note of as she observes them, content to observe the breadth of their tunnels and living grounds while the men examine them up close.
The kind of love that keeps you in bed all day won't you bury me in your quiet love?
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.
Despite any earlier fumblings or the unknown expanse, the three (or four, if including the dragon ahead), had managed to regard the foxes in a singular harmony. Nothing seemed to bother the wayward foxes as they marched and wandered about, stocking up on their food supplies or hastening to stretch, join, and play amidst their brethren. Deimos, from beneath his cloak and sitting amidst the field, had to muffle several snorts of amusement as one collided with another, or rolled off down the side of another knoll out of youthful foolishness.
He took notes, quietly gliding the charcoal across the open parchment of his journal, listing off the numbers, the outcries, the way they hoarded and lived together, applying it all to their monster hunter parameters, wondering if they’d bother with these creatures at all. Hardly a threat, and more of an addition to a populace striving to unfurl from war and ice.
Only then did one seem to take the opportunity of Talyson’s closeness – or the wind had shifted, permitting the courier’s scent to drift their way. The Sword grew very still in his own respects, watching as one little kit ambled near, darting towards where the Natural remained.
Lacking the security of Deimos's invisibility, Tal didn't dare move enough to take notes, but he was used to memorizing messages for delivery and landmarks for his courier trails, and this wasn't so different. The foxes didn't appear any larger than their un-frosted cousins, and nothing he was watching seemed to indicate dangerous abilities. They looked, well, fairly harmless and pretty cute, actually, and the young man grinned to himself behind his masking tufts of tundra ferns as some of the playing pups came into view.
He didn't expect one of them to come towards him. The sudden curiosity in the lump of furs and leathers concealing a human had him holding his breath. Without access to Attuned senses he had no way to ask if the others had finished their observations, but if he was about to be discovered... aw, hail, why not?
Moving very, very slowly he crept his hand forward to grasp a long plant stem tipped with a fuzzy old seedhead from the previous spring. He twitched it teasingly towards the kit hoping to distract it from the rest of him and give it a new game to play.
I want a snowfall kind of love the kind of love that quiets the world
It's a peaceful display to witness from above, and somehow being so removed from it makes it more special. Her sharp ears can still hear the crackling of ice that seems at odds with the figures making such sounds, and the picturesque family units and venturing kits are a joy to see from the skies. Circling loosely - and ensuring she leaves plenty of room for Boreal as they both fly - the Valkyrie feels her amusement freely as she watches Talyson be approached by one of the foxes, wondering how he might be reacting internally.
I think aside from the disturbing nature of their sounds, they are as unobtrusive as any other foxes, she casts down towards Deimos, wondering when he would call them back from their various vantage points. Hotaru certainly wouldn't complain if he let the time spool out before them, loose and structureless. It is a beautiful day, and the pastoral view below calms her in a way she is content to soak in for many hours more.
The kind of love that keeps you in bed all day won't you bury me in your quiet love?
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.
And so it was; peaceful, rather than baleful or malevolent. The foxes continued their icy serenade, or batted at Talyson’s extended plantlife, giving way to more information about the elemental creatures. Deimos afforded himself one sigh of relief – perhaps because this seemed to be an animal not meant to be monstrous, but another source of plentiful life across the frigid world.
With that, they could continue their notations and play, their observations and bountiful inspections, calm and tranquil, amidst explorations of venturing wildlife. Agreed, the Sword rumbled towards the Valkyrie, and whether or not she opted to join them in the serene sphere was up to her, before they eventually departed for home.
