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!
What if we're all just sleeping satellites Why do we drift so far from home
Melita gets all of a single letter to prepare herself for the storm that's coming her way, and Hotaru doesn't much care if it arrives the day before or the morning of her arrival in Torchline. After all Hadama's talk of the city she couldn't get it out of her head and with the Academy's seasonal training complete there had been nothing to stop her from taking a vacation to visit her favorite little honeybee.
Walking up the pathway with a large wicker basket over one arm, the Valkyrie pauses only long enough to look at the sad flowers in the window baskets. Whether it's the season's weather or Melita's bad luck with plants is unclear, but the lack of color simply will not do. It takes a touch of her fingers to the soil and her new, weak magic to warm up the soil and have them brighten and stand straighter. See? Who needed sunlight? She even goes an extra step and plucks the discarded watering can to give them a bit of a shower before forgoing all distractions to sweep into Melita's front door.
"Mel-a-bell! I have the best surprises for you, come give me a hug!" The fiery young woman was always half-and-half on whether she'd oblige or not, but it's clear by Ru's bright smile and typhonic energy that nothing can bring her down right now.
Why do we wake ourselves from paradise Where we will never be alone
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.
Melita didn’t often receive letters, and by the time she’d found it amidst her sad, lonely, little mailbox, there hadn’t been much time to prepare for the whirlwind that was the Valkyrie. Perhaps that was for the best, considering both of their natures, and she could hear the door open, slam behind, and then a flurry of movement and motion descended upon the house as companions and Honeybee alike moved across floors.
“Hello!” She chirped, obliging the hug, her brows creasing and furrowing only because of impending surprises. “The best?” The gilded set of her eyes maneuvered over to the wicker basket, completely unaware of the state of her window box flowers. “Like what?”
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
What if we're all just sleeping satellites Why do we drift so far from home
Hotaru sweeps the girl into her arms and presses a kiss to her fiery crown before releasing her, taking some treats from her pocket to offer to Fangorn and Silas even as her eyes never waver from the Honeybee's face. It has been far too long, and Ru is relieved to see that the girl is glowing and strong, no sign of harm or stress to be found.
"It took me ages to get it all together, so it better be the best," she laughs, and takes Melita's hand to guide her towards the table so she can set the basket down and use both hands to open the top and begin taking items out. "There's a new mead in Halo that tastes even more like honey with the Greenwing flowering, so I brought you three bottles," she says as she plucks them out and lines them up. They're rather large, more than enough for Melita to take for herself while still sharing with her friends as she saw fit. They'd cost a pretty penny, but Ru had pulled a few strings to jump to the front of the line given how crazy the citizens were going for the new flavor. "Ursur and ningo jerky to replenish your stock, too." Ru normally delivers it to her by hand so she can ensure quality unless she has hunted it herself, and given how long it had been since her last visit, she wouldn't be surprised if Melita had run out of the Halovian meat.
"And best of all, fireworks. But these ones can be aimed and shot, and they're from my friend in the Greatwood - she's an enchantress, so they're extra colorful for daylight use and have multiple shots per cartridge." Her grin is downright menacing as she procures the long sticks and wiggles them at Melita enticingly. "I also brought a small lunch if you want to go try them out now?"
Why do we wake ourselves from paradise Where we will never be alone
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.
The Honeybee wasn’t without the sagacity of family, for she had all sort of wondrous memories of them, just didn’t have the people in her life anymore. If it made for lonely days, save for the bonds with her companions, she didn’t complain – just had a overly large, inherited house tucked away into crag and rock. To be swept up into a hug or treated to special things was a rarity, and for once, she was stunned speechless.
Eyes widening, growing more and more golden as the gifts continued unfurling, she glanced at mead, ursur and ningo, fireworks to set off like an explosion of volleys and dervishes. “I don’t know what to say,” she started, fingers immediately inching towards the latter. “Thank you so much!” Taking stock of everything, she breathed in and out, while Fangorn and Sila happily munched on treats, giving Melita time to swallow down pride, grief, and whatever else began to stir.
She didn’t have anything set aside for Ru, but her imagination wasn’t running wild now.
Swept into the motions and movement, she nodded. “Sure,” a bit lost and dazed, out of her element when it came to visitations nowadays. “We can go out by the rocks, if you want.” Meander along the coastline, collect thoughts.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
What if we're all just sleeping satellites Why do we drift so far from home
It is as equal a rarity for Hotaru, whose own daughter lives so far afield, and whose house lies similarly vacant without even the patter of feet from a companion. It is why she makes a point to visit as often as she can, to reinforce familial ties neither of them had been prepared to forge but which had held strong even after Sunjata and Nate had taken their leave.
Giving Melita the time she needs to contend with everything Hotaru has just swept her away with, the Valkyrie merely watches the young woman with a smile full of love. "Perfect!" Clapping her hands together, she bustles the fireworks back into the basket on top of the lunch she'd packed and snaps the top back down. "While we walk, why don't you tell me what you've been up to?" Sweeping the girl along in a flurry of motion, she swings the door open and ushers the Honeybee and her companions out into the sunlight. "Is the Ark set to sail soon? Any other fun developments lately?" She extends her free arm for Melita to either grab her hand or elbow, the basket returned to her other arm as they step out onto the sandy bluff surrounding the lighthouse.
Why do we wake ourselves from paradise Where we will never be alone
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.
Biting her lip, and then inhaling a sharp breath, the youth forged and steeled herself again, the glimpse of vulnerability and overwhelmed proportions tucked away for a later moment. With Fangorn and Sila at her heels, she nodded, following the Valkyrie out the door and into the bursts of sunlight and warmth. “Just exploring, mostly,” being a little shit didn’t encompass a whole lot. "What about you?” Last she’d known there’d been Enzo, and the Academy, and everything else intermingled with triumph and loss.
Snaking her arm along Hotaru’s elbow, she led them all along to an outset proportion of large rocks and soft knolls overlooking the cliff, the sea, the rush of waves lapping against rocky walls. At the Ark inquiry though, she offered the briefest grumble. “Jack wants to go to the Grounds. I might’ve insinuated it would be a waste of his time.”
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
What if we're all just sleeping satellites Why do we drift so far from home
They both show the shadows of vulnerability, and Ru knows that Mel won't pry when her own eyes dart away with a touch of pain to their corners the same way the Valkyrie had given the Honeybee her own time to breathe through the torrent of her own emotions. "The Academy is doing wonderfully, far better than I could have ever hoped!" Each training full, the classrooms teeming with students keen on theory and education, the halls echoing with new life. "Not much else I'm afraid. Aside from the Academy, I've been in a bit of a rut." One she hasn't found her way out of just yet. She won't stop trying, but it has been a frustration to contend with.
The sea breeze plays with Hotaru's dress, billowing the long fabric around her calves and bringing the smell of salt to her nose. It heralds painful memories of days when this had been her home as surely as it had been Melita's, but enough time has passed that it is a temporary hurt. Intrigue has her eyeing the girl at her side, eyebrow rising. "To travel with on the boat, or for something more? Noah has been doing work there to try and support the economy, but it is not doing well - you're right in your assessment of his odds." Something she praises the girl for, as well as her forthrightness with Jack.
Why do we wake ourselves from paradise Where we will never be alone
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.
It didn’t sound like a rut to Melita, but perhaps she didn’t understand all the insinuations that came with such a statement, so she nodded, taking the information for what it was worth. Instead, they angled along towards some designated sanction and sanctum of its own, the breeze flickering and bounding along dresses and hair, wild bouts of untamed portions thriving as their mercurial existences continued to prevail too.
She arched her brow in return though, a malicious turn of her nose confronting the sea edges and winds. “Oh Jack probably just wants to make connections.” For whatever nefarious purpose – though the Honeybee couldn’t fathom many even being able – not when half the time they barely fucking survived LongNights. She held no favor with the Grounds, not after everything that had been taken or shackled or tethered, so she clenched her jaw and mulishly lifted her features to the sky. “I know Darkeye wanted to do a lot with it, but that’s way too much for one person. Or even two, including Noah.”
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
What if we're all just sleeping satellites Why do we drift so far from home
Hotaru does not even attempt to hide her snort at the prospect. "He will find stubborn, poor farmers and little else," she utters as she shakes her head. While she's never met Jack in person (that she knows of) his reputation precedes him, and his propensity for stealing Melita away from her for an entire season didn't win him any points in Hotaru's book.
"It is, but Vi commanded it. I proposed he try and fix the soil first - people will not stay where they will inevitably starve." But then again, most changes on that scale required a ruler, and it became a cruel ouroboros of a situation. The two of them had escaped and clearly neither of them wanted to return, so Ru changes the topic to something more lighthearted - reaching into the basket to procure one of the fireworks and handing it off to Melita. "Want to set it off first?"
Why do we wake ourselves from paradise Where we will never be alone
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.
The Honeybee knew and that smarted too – because the people surviving there certainly didn’t need Jack meandering in and stomping over whatever work they’d managed over the course of many years. Perhaps they’d luck out, or she’d be persuasive enough, that they wouldn’t be there long. “Right,” she muttered, as they found an applicable place to set the world alight. Even if it was only for a few moments. Better a second of incandescence and glee than nothing at all.
Melita nodded at the other insinuations, especially since King’s End was no longer directly beside it, and they couldn’t utilize that space for crops. “Good luck to him then,” she uttered, shaking her head, features wrinkling into something tempestuous and capricious.
But at least there were fireworks. “Oooh, yes please!” Her expression changed, and in rapid haste, she scurried off to an edge – and watched as its dazzling array shifted across the sea and sky. “This was the best,” she uttered to Ru, meaning it entirely.
{FIN}
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
