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!
Raelyn thought about that for a moment as she blew on her tea, waiting for it to cool before she could take a sip. "Never tried training monsters," she said, and her mind was immediately transfixed by all the questions such an endeavor would pose. Would monsters react to the same training principles as her other animals? Would it be like training a wild animal? She'd used some of the methods she used with her horses to train a deer before, and she thought it likely that a wolf would react similarly to the dogs' training, if she ever had the opportunity to work with one...
Realizing that she'd been silent for a beat too long, she shook herself. "Sorry. Yeah, we have a little bit of everything when it comes to monsters." Her tea had cooled, and she took a sip, humming happily to herself at the pleasant taste. "I'll keep that in mind, about the Greatwood. What about the other regions? It's been hard to get news, since it seems like everyone stays away from the Grounds."
"Never say never," Danta drawls, because of course he's the first to volunteer other people to put themselves in danger for the sake of curiosity. They fuck around, he finds out. Everyone wins! "Animal trainer, beast tamer... they're kind of similar, right?" Baring his fangs in a grin, he turns to peer back out the window at the dogs and horses. The view occupies him enough that he barely realises the silence has stretched out, glancing over his shoulder at the sound of her voice.
"Mm, they do stay away, don't they. Even though there's a port and a skyport," he mutters, seeming vaguely unimpressed by that knowledge. "Only really been to Torchline and the Greatwood. Torchline's people are probably more dangerous than the animals, though. You should go and see - maybe you can train some of the merfolk."
'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
There was probably a joke that she could make about beast taming, given that, as an Ancient, Danta might as well be part beast himself, but it didn't cross Rae's mind as she was busy contemplating whether such training would be possible. Now that the idea had been presented to her, she had a natural curiosity as to how it might work and whether it was something she could do. Perhaps she'd have to try it out. "If I get anywhere with that, I'll let you know," she told him with a wolfish grin.
She was pleased that he seemed to be able to see the Grounds' potential, and she nodded. "Yup, you can reach us any which way," she agreed. "Maybe we need something to lure people in. We could turn the Labyrinth into a game," she added with a snort of amusement. "See how long it takes people to get out."
As for the Greatwood and Torchline, she shrugged a shoulder, unimpressed. She'd never really liked sand, and from what she understood of Torchline, it was mostly beach. At least with the Greatwood she'd be among trees. "Maybe," she said dubiously, though from what little information she had, the merfolk were just people with fins. Maybe he'd meant it as an insult for some reason that she didn't quite understand.
Let it be said that Danta also thinks there could be a joke in there about taming beasts, and he's somewhat disappointed that Raelyn doesn't take the bait. Looks like he sucks at beast taming, then. (Or maybe it's that Rae isn't at all a beast, and so obviously wouldn't take bait like an animal). Whatever. "Please do. I'd love to see you having the monsters out there heeling next to you, like the dogs." He grins.
Having never been to the Labyrinth, the Ancient tilts his head curiously and peers back out of Rae's window, as if the strange maze would suddenly be visible. "Isn't that the point of a labyrinth in general?" he wonders. "Does yours not let people out or something?" What dangerous lines you tread, Danta.
'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Rae grinned in response to Danta's request. How entertaining would it be to have a pack of monsters at her heels? It would certainly set the neighbors to talking, that was for sure.
Of the Labyrinth, though, Rae said, "The hedges move." She thought of getting lost in it when she was a child, when such things were seen as a right of passage of sorts, an adventure to be had, much to the chagrin of any parents who might be trying to keep an eye on their children. "I suppose it could be dangerous, but I always made it out alright. After a fashion. I haven't been in ages, though," she added. "I'd be happy to take you to see it, if you were interested."
"They move?" Danta repeats before he can help himself. "You mean, by themselves?" His brows furrow; he half believes Rae is pulling his leg, but the Hollowed Grounds do seem weird enough to potentially have something like the Labyrinth. One might expect him to feel less inclined to visit a place that could be dangerous, but of course, the opposite is true.
"Well, I must see it for myself," he tells her with a fanged grin. "I'll be sticking around in the Grounds for long enough to visit. Maybe I'll drop by in a few days and you can be my tour guide." Finishing his tea, he sets the mug down on the table and offers her a nod. "Thanks for letting me clean up. I'll leave you to your dogs for now."
'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
All in all, it had been a strange day. Rae had never met an Ancient before, but Danta didn't seem to be too odd, for all his fanged grins and horns. She watched as he finished his tea, sipping at her own. "Yeah, they move on their own sometimes," she said nonchalantly, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. Honestly, Grounders tended to forget that it wasn't normal. It was just the way the Labyrinth was.
As Danta prepared to leave, Rae gathered up the mug with a little wave. "Thanks for cleaning up," she said teasingly. "Can't have you scaring the villagers." Then, with a friendly smile: "Come back any time. I'm usually on the farm, and I'm happy to play the tourist with you." With Danta gone, Rae went about her business as usual, ruminating on her unusual encounter and wondering if she would indeed see the Ancient again.
