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!
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
It's a cold, foggy night when Finn arrives home from the White Hart, his guitar on his back and a scarf around his nose and mouth. In his hands he carries a carefully sealed paper bag with Tobi's favourite meal (and he'll be striking a mark on her list when he gets a chance), and so it means that, in order to get into their apartment, he has to sort of persuade the door open with his hip.
"Hello," he calls out as he steps inside, trying to wriggle the scarf down from his mouth so he can be heard properly. "Sorry I am late - I was asked to play an encore." And, surprising no one more than Finn these days, he had obliged.
Setting down the bag and guitar, the detective spends a moment hanging up his coat and scarf (obviously) before shaking out his curls and turning to find the doctor. Finn looks almost intentionally rough and tumble these days; his hair is a little longer, the scruff on his chin is a couple of days old, and there are callouses on his fingers. For the first time, though, one might be tricked into believing he's comfortable in himself.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
At first the nights home alone without Everest or Finn were a luxury. She took bathes, she sang while cooking, she left clothes and blankets places they didn't belong (though always cleaned up before Finn got home). It didn't take long for the sheen to wear off though, and while Tobi did her best to hide it so that Finn wouldn't feel guilty, she still waited eagerly for him to return home each and every night. (Most of the time she was fairly restrained, though there were a few notable occasions where she greeted him with paws on his shoulder and a tongue-bath).
"Hey." Glancing up from the couch where she'd tucked a thick blanket over her legs, Tobi lets her book fall closed and offers Finn a radiant smile. Scrunching up her nose, the doctor holds out a hand to beckon him near, mindful of her wine glass on the coffee table. 'What song did you do for the encore?'
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Glancing around to hear her voice, Finn offers the doctor a dimpled smile and makes sure everything is where it ought to be before padding into the living room, bringing the takeout with him. "I did not know if you had eaten yet," he says. "We can save it for lunch tomorrow if you aren't hungry." Setting the bag back down on the coffee table either way, he's equally as careful of the wine glass before sinking down to sit with Tobi.
"Your favourite one," he says, his smile growing softer as he leans in to kiss her cheek hello. It's one he learned from Tobi, truthfully, having to transfer it from piano to guitar, but it has quickly become one of his favourites too. (It's Dream a Little Dream of Me, you know it is). "Everyone seemed happy to end it on that note. I was invited to stay for a drink, but I wanted to come home." To you goes left unsaid.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Tobi, who despite her size was always hungry, sits up immediately. 'What is it?' She asks, though the smells wafting out of the bag suggest it's carbonara with extra garlic bread.
Stilling as Finn leans in so that his lips might find their intended mark without her bouncing about, Tobi sighs happily as colour springs into her cheeks. "That one's always a crowd pleaser." She agrees before her smile turns slightly skewed. "Well, that's their mistake for inviting you to stay for a drink and not to solve a mystery." Tobi chuckles, leaning forward slowly so he could gauge what she was doing, before nudging her shoulder softly against his.
"It's nice to see you." She murmurs softly, and, for all their years together now, it still really was absolutely wonderful being with Finn, no matter the oddities that came with it. "I was just reading up. We have a rather unusual surgery tomorrow that I've never assisted with." Nodding her head towards the book in her lap, Volume III. A non-abandoned's guide to healing new limbs, she shrugs slightly.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
It absolutely is carbonara with extra garlic bread, and Finn tells Tobi as much as he reaches for the bag to open it. "They provided cutlery as well, so we do not need to dirty any plates," he says, as if this is some new and wonderful invention. (He grew up homeless, okay? So sue him).
Humming his agreement and flashing her a lopsided smile as he's nudged, he removes their food and stacks it neatly where they can both get at it. "Even a mystery would not have kept me away tonight," he informs her, glancing at her from beneath his lashes. "It is always nice to see you," he counters, offering her his hand.
And in this new-fangled world, an open hand from Finn could mean anything from sweet hand holding to sex on the couch, and he is happy, most times, to follow Tobi's lead about it. "Oh? I will have to quiz you on it before bed. I am sure you will do great."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
'How nice of them.' Tobi hums, trying not to sniff at the bag as Finn reaches for it. Already her mouth is watering, but Tobi has quite the grasp on her canine instincts such that she isn't shoving Finn's hands out of the way to get to her food, even if she wants to.
"That's very sweet of you to say." Tobi offers; not only is it true, but confirming when Finn Does or Says The Right Thing has been a very helpful tool in their relationship. Remembering a time when it was always Tobi to offer her hand with a fairly low success rate of when Finn would slip his into hers, to see him so easily and readily repeating the gesture has her heart soaring and her smile growing impossibly wide.
Using her finger to trace the callouses on his fingertips before softly running her nails toward his palm, Tobi nods. "I would appreciate that actually." She says, of him quizzing her. 'Your hands have gotten so much stronger since you started playing at the Hart.' Tobi remarks as her fingers palpate the muscles running through his hand.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Smiling to hear that he has Succeeded in his attempt to make Tobi feel loved, Finn shivers a little, his fingers wiggling as her nails tickle across his palm and explore his callouses. "Then that is what I will do. You will need to show me if there is a cheat sheet or an answer section." Otherwise it will be a thrilling evening of learning exactly what Tobi is learning, so he can ask her appropriately detailed questions. What exciting lives they lead.
"Thank you," he says at what he assumes is a compliment (and he doesn't feel awkward about hazarding guesses with Tobi these days, thankfully). Wincing a little as she touches upon a slightly sore point along his hand, he closes his fingers around her own, his thumb grazing over the back of her palm. "I think I will stay home for a few days, though. At least for tomorrow, anyway, if Everest is home."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"I could make one." Tobi suggests. "Or you could just open to random pages and come up with questions based on what you read." He wouldn't; Finn would learn the material and they both knew it. But so what? "If any of your investigations have to do with re-grown limbs, you'll basically be an expert." The doctor adds with an adoring smile.
Noting the wince instantly, Tobi releases the pressure but keeps her finger where it was to mark the spot. "Tender?" She asks, peering up at Finn through a haze of eyebrows and dark bangs. It was too small of an injury for her to suggest shifting to heal him, but that didn't mean she wasn't inclined to do something. "Does it need ice, or heat?" Tobi wonders, before nodding.
"I think he will be. That's what the schedule in the kitchen says, anyways." The doctor confirms.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"Now, now," Finn says, his chastising the verbal equivalent of a kiss to the forehead (i.e. not like chastisement at all), "you will be the one answering the questions. Leave the asking of them to me." Which is all to say that she's entirely correct, and they'll both be experts by the end of the night. "That is nice to know, though I won't deny that I'll be a little worried if any of my cases involve that."
Honestly, Stormbreak doesn't have much in the way of violent mysteries to solve, for which Finn is more pleased than he will ever be able to say. Life has become almost predicable and boring which, for a man like the ex-Spyglass, is the perfect healing environment. "Mm," he says with a nod about his hand. "I think perhaps I didn't warm up my hands enough before playing. Heat might help?"
As for Everest, "If that's what his schedule says, we'll see him." He smiles. Far be it for him to judge his son that way, but it is reassurring to know when to send out a search party if he ever misses a visit.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Tobi rolls her eyes affectionately, and though the smell of garlic bread is nearly overwhelming, the doctor only has eyes for Finn. "Worried? Come now. Could be rather interesting. For instance...did you know—" Here, Tobi's voice takes on a rather academic tone as she sits up slightly straighter. "—that newly grown limbs don't always have the same fingerprints, in the case of hands, as the originals?"
Tutting softly under her breath, Tobi nods. "Here, this is a trick I learned." So saying, the doctor leans forward slightly as she guides Finn's hand beneath her shirt. With gentle fingers and a reassuring smile, she presses his palm against the globe of her breast, which is conveniently free of a bra given the hour and the fact she'd been relaxing prior to Finn's arrival.
Pressing her hand over top of his, Tobi tilts her head slightly to the side. "How's that?" She asks sweetly.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Raising his eyebrows in a no I did not know gesture, Finn listens with genuine interest to hear what October has to say. He has questions, too, ones that can likely be answered if they pick up the textbook, but before he has the chance to suggest as much, Tobi is taking his hand and guiding it directly beneath her shirt.
It doesn't matter how long it has been; this kind of attention from Tobi will always dust his cheeks pink and have blood rushing straight south, especially as his palm is pressed against the warmth of her breast. "That," he says slowly, "is a trick that you learned? I sincerely hope that you do not use it to help your patients."
He might have asked where she learned it and about its efficacy, but that doesn't seem nearly as fun as leaning in and capturing her lips in a kiss. He'll apologise for letting their takeout go cold later, for now he just wants the taste of her on his tongue.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Smiling girlishly, Tobi bites at the inside corner of her cheek, trying and failing to come up with some clever response. Luckily for her Finn doesn't seem to be keen on actually hearing an answer, because suddenly his lips are on hers and gods that's a relief because the blush on his cheeks had rendered her nearly speechless.
Pressing herself a little more into his palm while slowly but firmly reaching her free hand around to tangle into his curls, Tobi lets her eyes slip shut and imagines Finn's hands upon her, touching her with the same skill and confidence with which he played his guitar. Nudging the book from where it was currently pressing into her thigh from the couch, it thuds to the ground with a soft wummphhh which is immediately followed by a whispered, "Leave it" against Finn's lips.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Finn's lips are already parting against Tobi's as if to tell her that he'll get the book for her, and the hissed instruction has a lopsided smile spreading across his face. For her, he'll leave it. Even if he won't forget about it.
Luckily enough, though, there's something far more important currently pressing against his palm and tangling her fingers in his hair, and Finn shifts on the sofa to guide Tobi down onto it, holding himself over her with one knee awkwardly against the floor. His attention, though, is on brushing a gentle thumb over her nipple, on sinking against her just enough that she'll be able to feel the tightness in his pants.
He draws back (eventually) enough to draw his shirt over his head with his free hand, tossing it somewhere over the back of the sofa. "I'll leave that too," he assures her.
Ever, quiet as always, slides his key into the lock with near-surgical precision. Even had Tobi and Finn heard the lock slide the tumbler, there would hardly have been time to do much of anything before the boy opened the door, an apology already on his lips.
"I know I'm early, but we—" The small smile that had begun to form instantly froze and fell away as colour bloomed in the boy's cheeks. It was like being young all over again, on his way to the bathroom, to find his mother topless and his father's hands all over her. Older now what he saw was perhaps not as traumatizing, but it did reaffirm that being arriving early (badumptiss) was very bad.
Swallowing hard, Ever murmurs something that sounds like I'll come back when I said I would, before backing out, eyes down, and locking the door behind him.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
