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!
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
Had Soh known what Phoebe was thinking - that no man would want her in the long term - she would have protested. Phoebe was a lovely person - kind, nurturing, beautiful - and she deserved every bit as much happiness as Soh had found with her son. But alas, Soh was not a mind reader, and so each of them were left to navigate their own worries about their relationships with Jude.
Still, despite the nerves that fluttered in her stomach when she considered why Jude might be hiding her, she laughed delightedly at Phoebe's acceptance. "Thank you," she told her friend, her heartfelt sincerity evident in her silver eyes. She absolutely adored Jude, but she would never want to come between him and his family, so Phoebe's response was a welcome relief.
"But enough about me!" Soh exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "What's been going on with you? How are things here? Are our mangroves doing well?"
There were many insecurities that Phoebe had that Soh wasn't privy to. She didn't want to burden her young friend with them.
Key change!
Soh flipped the conversation to her and Phoebe laughed. "Still a backwater settlement but I am making some progress. I just need to build a good communal space to rule from that fits the nature of the Greatwood." she said, leaning her chin on her hand. "The mangroves and other plants are doing well! They have already integrated with the greater forest." she said. "Are you sure I can't convince you to move here?" she said with a grin.
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
"Oh, that sounds interesting! Do you have any ideas? Is there anything I can do to help?" A communal space to rule from was a perfect next step, in Soh's opinion, and she was more than willing to assist her friend, just as she had done with the mangrove trees. The harder part was building something that fit in the Greatwood, which was such a magnificent place in its own right.
Once upon a time, the prospect of living in the Greatwood might not have been so bad - but Soh was younger then, and she hadn't been ready to settle anywhere, as given to exploring as she was. It hadn't been until she'd reached Stormbreak that she'd felt truly at home, with Torchline now being a close second. Honestly, if Jude had asked her to move, she probably would have - but, thankfully, they had both been content to make theirs a long-distance relationship for now. And, since she'd spent most of Longheat in Torchline, that had yet to be put to the test for any real length of time.
She grinned back at her friend. "If I could only split myself and make more of me," she laughed. "Then I would happily send one to you."
"I am thinking of repurposing one of the older buildings built into one of the larger trees." she said. "And I would love your help. Frey knows I can use as much of it as I can get." she said with a laugh. Though the Fae presence wasn't nearly so strong anymore, she felt it only appropriate to honor their heritage in creating the Sidhe Village. Using one of their old buildings would be a good way to do that.
At the thought of splitting herself, Phoebe laughed. "Frey did it, why not you?" she teased with a grin. "Well you always have a home here if you wish it." she said. Really she was always welcome, and the forest seemed to enjoy the girls' presence too. She had never gotten lost in the wood to her knowledge - and that was saying something.
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" exclaimed Soh, her eyes lighting with excitement. "I just love the way things are built into the trees. It's like - nature all around, all the time!" It was one thing that she felt Stormbreak could use a little more of. "Just say the word, and I'll be here," she promised. "And so will Jude." She couldn't fix his omission, but she could at least drag him along to see his mother more. She had to use her power for good, after all.
Soh was touched by Phoebe's insistence that she had a home here, if she ever wished. "I will keep that in mind," she said with a sweet smile. Phoebe had been kind to her, and she suddenly felt bad that she hadn't made more of an effort to see her more often. "I should visit more."
Phoebe nodded in agreement. "It is a symbiotic relationship that the Greatwood has with its residents. It only makes sense to incorporate it into the architecture." she said, looking around. The Fae really had mastered mixing man made with nature. "Though I have considered having architects from Stormbreak out to help modernize a bit. Maybe more people would want to live here then." she said with a small smile.
"If you bring Jude to the Greatwood more often then I would be eternally grateful." she said with a light laugh.
"You should visit more. Jude has two homes you know. And I would let you two share a room on your visits." she said with a mischievous grin. She didn't know how far along they were in their physical relationship yet, but even cuddling was good for relationship building.
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
She knew a little about the Greatwood from her time spent there when she'd first emerged from the Hollowed Grounds. It was, after all, the first place she had spent any significant amount of time, and to this day it remained one of her most well-mapped locations in Caido. But she had to admit that she didn't know everything, and so learning about the relationship between the region and its residents fascinated the girl. "Hmm," she said, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask around and see if I know any architects. I wonder if we couldn't help each other," she mused. "Stormbreak could use a little more green space."
Soh took a moment to take a sip of her lemonade - at exactly the wrong moment, as Phoebe chose that moment to say she'd let them share a room, a mischievous grin on her face. Soh choked, turning red as she fought to clear her throat. She wasn't sure why that was her reaction, when she and Jude had shared a bed so many times before, but the implication of Phoebe's statement was very much more than just sleeping and cuddling. "I don't - I mean, w-we haven't -" she stammered, suddenly very interested in the food set before them. "I mean, we sleep together, but we haven't, um..." You know.
06-15-2023, 11:31 PM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2023, 11:31 PM by Phoebe.)
i am a brutally soft woman
Phoebe tilted her head in consideration. "A few enchanted trees wouldn't hurt Stormbreak. They would have to consent to it though - the trees I mean." she said. And so would the citizens of Stormbreak she supposed, but somehow that seemed less important to her. The sentience of the forest was too often overlooked.
As the girl choked and stammered, Phoebe trilled a laugh. She sipped her wine and continued to near cackle at Soh's expense. "Not yet, eh? First he doesn't tell his mother, then he does her status as a demugoddess of Frey a fault by not wooing his woman." she tsked, but the Cheshire grin remained. "No, no. That is your business. I just meant I wouldn't be a prude and separate you." she said, sipping her wine again. "That said, I am a demigoddess of Frey and a midwife. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer. In full confidence of course." She wouldn't share such things with Jude unless she wanted her to.
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
If anything, Phoebe's laughter made Soh blush even more, her eyes growing round as Phoebe teased her, not unlike a deer in the headlights. While she appreciated that Phoebe wouldn't separate them - she'd grown quite used to falling asleep tangled in Jude's arms - it was a whole other thing to consider that aspect of their relationship - especially in a conversation with his mother.
And then Phoebe offered to answer any questions she had, and Soh again wished she could sink into the floor. As if it wasn't bad enough to have surprised her boyfriend's mother with the news they were dating, now she was offering sex advice? Oh, gods, why have you forsaken me?
But the practical part of Soh's mind realized this as an opportunity. As an orphan from a young age, she had very little in the way of sex education. She knew the basics of how it worked, of course, but she'd never really considered it in relation to herself until recently. And it just so happened that even though she knew what happened during sex, she didn't really know what to expect. She bit her lip, toying with her lemonade glass. "I, um... well..." Her face flushed - and likely to remain that way through the rest of the conversation - and her voice rather small, she asked, "Does it... hurt?"
Phoebe was getting quite the kick out of the turn in this conversation. Poor Soh looked like she was going to melt into the dirt itself. Her reaction was far more satisfying than Jude's. He had kept his composure mostly. Soh crumbled to bits in the face of the demigoddess.
But the quiet question emerged and she smiled warmly at the girl. The poor thing - she had the same worries as any young girl entangled in love's first tendrils. "It can the first time or two." she said honestly. "But so long as the male partner is gentle and takes time to ensure his female partner is ready, it shouldn't hurt more than a dull pinch at the very start." she said. Phoebe leaned forward and took a chunk of flesh between her fingers on Soh's arm and squeezed firm for a second. "See? Nothing to be afraid of." she said with a smile. "All uphill from there."
06-16-2023, 12:00 AM (This post was last modified: 06-16-2023, 12:01 AM by Sohalia.)
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
Phoebe's amusement did nothing to calm Soh's nerves, which were once again fraught and tense. It was, however, oddly relieving to have someone to talk to about this, given that she never had before. She took a shaky breath and a sip of her lemonade, trying to regain some semblance of her composure. She'd always been shy about this sort of thing, and up until she met Jude, she had been mostly touch-starved; even now, she didn't much care for physical contact with people she didn't know well. So whiel she loved to touch Jude - and be touched by him - she had no idea what she was doing when it went beyond what was considered chaste.
She watched as Phoebe reached across to pinch her arm, and she relaxed slightly, a crease between her brows that she hadn't known was there smoothing out. That had been her biggest concern, really, aside from... "What am I supposed to, um, do?" she asked, then added hastily, "I mean, I know how it works, b-but I want to be..." She searched for the right words. "Good at it?" Gods, if she could just melt into the floor. But who else was she supposed to ask if not her boyfriend's mom Frey's demigoddess?
Phoebe tilted her head, sensing Soh's discomfort. Though it meant reigning in her own amusement, she became more stoic. A mentor rather than a tormentor. She sipped her wine, nodding slowly at her concerns. Well, she wasn't going to like the answer to her question
"No one except Frey thenselves was ever good their first go around." she said, setting down her empty wine glass, ordered another, then clasped her hands in front of her. "It is all about trial and error, because everyone is different. The best advice I can give you is to have a drink before if you can, to calm your nerves and inhibitions. Let instinct take you. And if your partner makes you feel badly or self conscious by a bumble, end it right there. They don't deserve you."
Breathe in all the colors Never dream in black and white
Soh appreciated how patient and kind Phoebe was being to her. After all, the demigoddess could have ended their lunch as soon as she found out that Soh and Jude were dating, but here she was, offering advice that, in Soh's opinion, no mother should have to give their son's girlfriend.
She chewed on her lip in thought. She supposed that made sense. "So, people like different things," she clarified. That wasn't so bad, then. If Jude was as inexperienced as she was, then maybe they could learn together. If she could ever get past her nerves to talk about it, anyway.
"Um..." she said, thinking. "I think - just one more thing. I know you're supposed to use protection. Where would I... get that?" Even if they weren't at that stage in their relationship yet, there was no harm in being prepared, right?
Phoebe nodded at Soh's conclusion. "Exactly. No two people like the exact same things so it is something you must explore with your partner." she expounded. Really, had anyone ever talked to this poor girl about sex before? She worried that perhaps their conversation wasn't comprehensive enough, but she could only answer what was asked. Anything else would overstep her bounds.
She smiled and tilted her head. "Well we have taught Jude that it is always his job to provide protection, but..." she paused taking a sip of her wine. "Most every store in Torchline sells it. Doctors usually have it. And I can prescribe you a tea to help prevent pregnancy if you wish." she said.
