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!
There's just too much comradery going on for Noah to really focus on the way his heart worried. However, time was waning and a man with such a sense of purpose and duty could only play in the water for so long.
Noah chuckled but made his way to crouch at the water's edge, looking towards the pair of Wardens still waging playful war before him. Noah was drenched head to toe, but the warmth of the spring and the surrounding rock kept him from shivering.
Resting his forearms on his knees and giving the pair a half-cocked smile, Noah nodded his chin towards their buckets which had lost their original purpose. "So are we gonna take any of this home in buckets, or just in my hair?"
walked from revelation to revelation came back storm-drenched
The Sword wouldn’t have time to ponder over Evie’s next motions, though, perhaps in hindsight, he should’ve known something was coming. Distracted by Noah, there were only a few moments before the Evergreen’s hands were clinging to his back, and the devilish implications began again.
So he ducked his shoulder and bent downwards, permitting her ample opportunity to slide either forwards or off his side, intending for a plop into the warm water.
With the juvenile and impish grin still tethered along his mouth, he raised his head from watching the debacle, blinking momentarily at the Sentinel, as if he’d forgotten the mission entirely. “Suppose we could do both,” he rumbled with a slight wrinkle to his nose and another laugh following through. Finally using the bucket for its intended purpose, he dipped it below the bubbling springs, snagging at its full potential, before making long strides towards the other containers.
through shattered mountains and aching famine stronger than all of it
Noah is not the only one who can’t justify too much time spent frolicking, but if anyone needed the break in the first place, it’s the three of them. As Evie collides with Deimos’ broad shoulders, air leaving her in an oomph of noise, she scrambles against slick skin unsuccessfully and plonks into the water over his shoulder with a laugh interrupted only briefly as she is submerged.
Popping back up just in time to hear Noah’s question, the Evergreen pushes her slick hair back and past her shoulders as she wrinkles her nose in habitual, playful scorn at the Sword. “If we didn’t have company I’d take your shorts again for that,” she teases in only half-concealed decibels.
Following Deimos’ lead, the Evergreen wades after him to retrieve her own bucket with a flick of her hand and a tug of magic. Dunking it is easy, and she holds her hand out in silent request for Deimos to help her out, automatically stretching up to kiss the corner of his mouth in thanks. It’s usually difficult to resist on a good day, but when the warmth of relaxation and humor is bright in his eyes, it’s nigh impossible.
Noah laughed again at Deimos' response. He stood and gathered up his buckets again, chuckling to himself and filling them. He lifted another, though his head shot up at the comment about Deimos' shorts. Noah's mouth opened quickly to encourage the woman to try and that he would help her, but he stopped short.
The kiss caught Noah off guard. He had heard rumors, seen the glances, but Deimos had never explicitly said anything to him about his romantic endeavors with the Evergreen. But immediately he twisted himself into the role that Deimos himself once held. He made a gagging sound, holding his stomach. "I don't think Frey wants this contaminated." He said, an exaggerated gagging noise echoing out from the Sentinel as he stuck his face in an empty bucket.
walked from revelation to revelation came back storm-drenched
Evie gained another snort and an eyeroll for her blunt measures; if they had more time, he likely would’ve started a subsequent rally and volley of watery mischief. Instead, however, he helped and assisted, dragging over the buckets with the Evergreen, ensuring the rest of the container was filled.
Expectations hadn’t been in overt rounds of affection, but he could only laugh, thoroughly amused, when Noah responded in turn. Deimos had taunted and teased the Sentinel and Cordelia thoroughly years before (and they’d deserved it), so he could only accept the inevitable as the tables turned. “Too late,” he shot back, wrinkling his nose and ensuring a bout of laughter for their ridiculous antics, nudging Evie with his hip just to see if she’d faceplant in the springs from the impact.
Thereafter though, they could inspect the amount they’d snagged, drifting in and amongst the warmth and enjoyment. “Think this is enough?"
through shattered mountains and aching famine stronger than all of it
Noah's response is unexpected, especially given that Evie's only understanding of their playful antagonism comes from Deimos' stories of the hopelessly in love pair in the Wilds. It makes her laugh all the same, because Deimos is always due a bit of teasing in her book. Laughing alongside them - and shoving back ineffectually at Deimos when she quite nearly does end up back in the spring - the Evergreen shakes her head fondly. "I've told enough boys I can heal cooties, I'm sure Frey will enjoy the deception if I have to do my 'magic' with the water." It had gotten her hilarious amounts of service in the Grounds, schoolboys shilling out their pocket savings for remedies that did little more than moisturize their skin and leave them smelling pleasantly - which, ironically, only made the girls they loathed more persistent.
Looking over the buckets all of them wield, Evie smiles warmly. "I think this is perfectly enough. Now we just have to make sure not to spill any." And, given the journey they'd have to make back to Halo, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Good thing Deimos has water magic.
