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!
As busy as the courier had been, he hadn't had a chance to spend much time at the new not springs yet. Traveling to and fro across Caido as his courier's work expanded had kept him more than busy and his opportunities to take a break felt few and far between. Soon enough he'd have a helping hand, and maybe then...
But for now he took a rare night of being home and free of other obligations to trek out to the hot springs and strip down beneath the glittering stars and bright moon, easing into the Frey-blessed waters with a wince and then a sigh of pure bliss as the heat began to immediately unknot some of the tension in his muscles. Tilting his head back to admire the stars above, Tal leaned against the side of the rough-hewn pool and finally let himself begin to relax a little while Boreal paddled happily around in the hot water, making little grumbles of draconic pleasure.
The past few months had been a blur for the hunter. Sah had found himself with hardly a moment to spare. Between commissions, helping with Halo's day-to-day, and trying not to have a panic attack every time he saw his not so young daughter, the Wild Thunder had been busy to say the least. Truly, his little sun could pass as his sister now. Terrifying.
Shaking his head, Sah paused mid-step at the sound of splashing. Pad huffed, flicking an ear in the direction as he noted the familiar scents in the air. Lips curling into a smirk, the hunter silently made his way over. Stepping into the courier's line of sight without warning, Sah called out, "You're not drowning again, are you?" Head tilted in false curiosity; the Wild Thunder fought to keep the laughter out of his voice.
Tal was able to relax because Boreal was - theoretically - on guard. Even in these quiet times only a fool lounged about in the Fangs without taking precautions, and Tal was a fool in many ways... but not that one.
Of course, Boreal was usually on Sah's side in these sorts of things. Unfortunately for the dragon and the hunter, she couldn't hide her perk of interest when he approached, though she only paused briefly in her paddling. It was enough warning for Tal to know that someone his companion recognized had arrived, and his metaphorical money was on Ru, Alys, or...
"Drowning? Please," the courier scoffed, cracking an eye to grin at his favorite frenemy without flinching. "That's so last year. I can swim 'least as good as Boreal now!" he boasted proudly, nodding his head towards where the companion was happily dragon-paddling away and making an inviting rumble for Pad to join her. "But I appreciate you carin' enough t'come check on me," he added, grin taking on the wickedly mischievous cast of a smirk. "How've y'been?"
Sah grinned, "Oh finally, so you're a capable adult." The hunter took of his shoes and settled into the water a small distance away to continue the conversation. He didn't comment on Tal's jab, simply shaking his head with a chuckle. "I've been good. Busy. Traumatized." He glanced at Tal with the face of one who had seen hell, "My daughter is a teenager now." Old enough to be his sister.
Letting out a deep sigh, he knocked his head back against the stones around them, "Truly, what in the seven hells? She's 19. 19!" As their bonded lamented this travesty, Lilly and Pad made their way into the water. The silver wolf happily jumping in and splashing all of those present, while Pad snaked in silently. With a grumbling huff at his pack sister, Pad swam over to Boreal and ducked behind her. If Lilly tried to splash him, now there'd be a dragon in the way.
"One of us had t'be, and you weren't steppin' up so..." Tal trailed off lazily with a shrug, his insufferable grin not fading one iota even when Lily splashed him. He'd heard about Soleil's unexpected 'growth spurt' and had wisely stayed the hail away from both father and daughter for awhile, letting them sort out the new boundaries and tensions that had arisen from such an abrupt and extreme change in their relationship.
But it was still good to see Sah again.
"Mmm. Could be worse. She could've asked Frey t'make her older than you," Tal pointed out thoughtfully, letting his eyes drift up to watch the stars again, though he kept glancing surreptitiously to the side without moving his head in order to watch Sah's reaction. "Least she can't be as bad as you were when you were nineteen, right? What were you gettin' up to back then, anyways?" If Tal was reckoning the years right, that was well before Sah had come to Caido.
Boreal warbled a happy greeting to both wolves and flexed her wings excitedly as Lily came to join her. Unfortunately for Pad, that put him right in the backsplash as she flopped the broad membranes a few times before paddling forward to press her muzzle to Lily's nose.
Sah's face turned slightly green as face twisted, "Don't even joke about that." Gods, Soleil older than him? No. Nope. Absolutely not. Hard stop on that treasonous thought. No thank you.
The green dissipated as the hunter's eyes narrowed. "She takes after me too much at times." Letting out a sigh, Sah reached for the top of shirt and pulled it down to reveal an old, jagged scar that was typically hidden. It stretched brutally from just below his neck and down through his right collar bone. "I was eighteen when I was nearly murdered as a result of my own temper and recklessness." In hindsight, cussing out a God who was already trying to kill you and everyone else wasn't his brightest moment.
The Outlander sighed, "I've mellowed out more than you can imagine since coming to Caido." His voice grew soft, "Nineteen is far too close to eighteen for me to not worry."
Lilly happily greeted Boreal before her ear flicked and she sent her bonded a concerned look. Pad, still grumbling from being splashed, swam over and tucked himself into the Abandoned's side without a sound.
Tal just grinned and licked his finger, marking up an invisible point in the air in front of him before relaxing back into the spring's heat. As Sah shared one of his old scars Tal whistled appreciatively - no, not that kind of whistle. He recognized the severity of the old wound and nodded at how close it must have come to ending the hunter's life. Still, at the other man's insistence that he had 'mellowed' Tal just snorted.
"She's been on Caido awhile, too, y'know," he chided his frenemy gently. "I know she's still a little girl on th'inside, an' all, but maybe she's mellowed, too?" Mostly his memories of Soleil were of her sleeping, tucked safely in her bed when he was visiting Sah during LongNight, or else helping he and Deimos with--
He shied away from the memory, exhaling a warm breath into the chilly air as he glanced back at Sah. "An' who wears a shirt in the water, anyways? It's gonna freeze stiff on you on th'way back," he pointed out with a little amused exasperation. Just because the Abandoned was immune to the cold temperatures didn't mean his clothes were!
Sah shrugged "Gods, I hope so." At least Soleil was less inclined to bite then her brother. Having said that, his little sun burned just a brightly at times. The Abandoned almost pitied anyone who got between his daughter and those she loved. Almost.
In truth, Sah hadn't even considered the consequences of a wet shirt. Not that he'd tell Tal that. Instead with a smirk he teased, "I didn't want to make you feel too self-conscious, Errand Boy. The courier was no longer scrawny, but Sah would forever hold his superior height above the other man's head.
"I can always warm the shirt up with magic anyway." Granted, Sah would have to just hold the shirt up to a flaming hand to dry it. Setting himself on fire would be faster but counterproductive and he wasn't looking to be arrested for public indecency.
"Besides finally learning how to swim, what have you been up to, Tal?"
Tal chuckled at Sah's parental angst, but it was as warmly amused as his teasing of Boreal. He figured the other man had done a pretty good job as a dad - not that he'd tell him that outright - and with that guidance in mind, he was certain that Sol had grown up into a capable young woman. Even if she'd done it a lot faster than she should have, well...
Gods, right?
"I've got nothin' t'feel self-conscious about where you're concerned," Tal teased back smugly. Sure, he was still lean and wiry, but his training over the past few seasons had really paid off, and he was a lot more comfortable in his skin than he'd been even a few years ago. He didn't look back over at Sah, though; if the hunter was the one feeling embarrassed about sharing a hot spring with the courier, well, no need to rub it in. Instead he kept his head tilted back to watch the stars, lazily lifting a finger to trace a few constellations that stood out amidst the diamond dust scatter of light in the heavenly vault above them.
"Hmm. Workin' too damn hard," he admitted with a heavy sigh. "Business has been good, y'know? But I'm scramblin' t'keep up with it all. So I'm finally gettin' myself a 'prentice t'help out... assumin' he shows up this season." He shrugged a little, bringing his shoulders briefly out of the water. "What about you? How's the huntin' been this year?"
07-20-2023, 02:26 PM (This post was last modified: 07-20-2023, 02:27 PM by Sah.)
Sah
The forest never sleeps and the wolf never dies
The Wild Thunder chuckled, "Sure", and dropped the topic. It was almost better to let the courier think he was self-conscious. the alternative was admitting that the Abandoned had flat out forgot about his shirt before he jumped in. Cold immunity was a blessing and a curse it seemed.
Sah tracked Tal's pointing finger, his eyes scanning the stars in turn. "An apprentice?" Snickering he added, "That poor soul." Though there were surely worse bosses than the Messenger. Talyson would at least worry about his apprentice's wellbeing. "Are you going to get them a pair of goggles like yours?"
Pad's head shot up at the mention of hunting and Sah's lips twitched, amusement spreading through the bond. "Hunting has been good. The damn spiders everywhere this season have been attracting more birds and they in turn have had the foxes out and about." A chain of feasts had certainly boosted the hunting this month.
The stars were certainly beautiful and Sah found himself rambling, "I've been so busy I haven't paid a visit to Safrin since the dream meeting. I feel like I should, but I don't want to trouble her with something that isn't life or death, you know? I don't have anything I need but simply going to say hi seems like a waste of her time."
Tal scowled good-naturedly at the teasing, pretending to huff at Sah's 'pity' for his apprentice. He wasn't going to admit that he'd been agonizing over it with Hotaru for the past season, ever since he'd accepted the young man's request. He knew he was a gruff and prickly nut, and Jude was just so nice he was afraid of hurting the kid's feelings on accident. "Mmm, y'mean like they used t'be, afore Safrin blessed 'em? That's actually not a half-bad idea," he mused, doing his best to sound surprised that it had come from the Wild Thunder, of all people.
Sah had lots of good ideas, but it was better not to admit it or else the hunter's head would get too big to fit through the door of his house!
Hunting was good, at least, and Tal nodded as Boreal paddled past, her long tail sweeping the water and creating a small rippling wake that splashed up against his chest. The rambling drew a chuckle from him, though, and he let his finger drift over to the Crown constellation. "Mmm. I'm gonna go see her again soon, I think," he admitted. "I wanted t'ask for somethin' that would heal me in a fight." He chewed his lip in thought for a moment before continuing. "Maybe she could make your armor better? Or y'could ask her for armor for Sol, if you're worried about her." He wasn't sure how asking a god for an item for someone else would go, but he figured it was worth a shot.
Sah nodded, "It'll help keep them safe until they gain some more experience at least." Pad then nudged his bonded and tilted his head, his request taking vague shape through their bond. The Abandoned let out a chuckle and placed a hand onto the rocky edge of the spring.
Using his magic, a platform of earth jutted out. One that Pad instantly jumped onto and curled up on. With a gentle gust of air magic, the wolf was dried off. Sah then put his hand on the bottom of the platform and began to subtly use his fire magic to warm it, giving Pad a heated place to relax outside of the water. Lilly glanced up at her spoiled brother and let out an amused and teasing huff. One that Pad grumbled at but otherwise ignored.
Turning back to the conversation, Sah let out a hum. "Healing is always valuable." A contemplative look crossed his features, "My armor could use an upgrade I suppose. But Safrin's already done so much for me. It feels....disrespectful to just show up after a while and make another request."
Tal turned his head from the stars to lazily watch Sah work his magic, lips quirking slightly as Pad insisted on being treated like princely royalty. Boreal chortled smokily from the water, pale eyes gleaming with amusement at the young wolf before she turned her attention back to Lilly and their leisurely paddling.
"You're startin' t'get not half-bad at that," the courier noted of his frenemy's magical prowess, offering the kind-of compliment in a voice that was half-teasing and half-sincere. "What're y'workin' on trainin' next?"
As for Safrin, he merely shrugged. "I dunno. I feel like I'm always askin' things from the gods, an' they never seem t'mind. I think maybe they kinda like it. Bein' worshiped an' asked for things, I mean. An' sendin' us runnin' hither an' yon on th'errands for their items," he added with a chuckle. "Frey an' Safrin are pretty great, but Ludo..." He grimaced and shook his head. "This is my last time prayin' to it, I think." It was having too much fun bullying him, and Tal was getting tired of being beat up for the masked god's amusement.
Sah smirked, "I finally figured out creation magic. Once I master it, I can start crafting magical items." Learning all of the elements and mastering each had taken time. Years of training and constant effort. But it'd be worth it in the end. He already had a few things in mind of what he wanted to create and upgrade. His sword for one. And then some things for the twins. He'd already begun writing up some ideas in a notebook.
The Abandoned let out a contemplative hum, "Really? Then I guess I'll visit her soon." Hopefully his Goddess would understand why he'd stayed away.
The mention of Ludo had Sah cackling. "Ludo is a riot. I can't even imagine what it's like doing a quest for them. Every instance where I've seen them, they're causing mischief at someone's expense."
