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!
"Frey's balls!" Tal didn't jump a foot when Dantalion appeared in front of him like a drop bear out of legend, but he did bounce back about four inches as the fanged grin leered its greeting. "Who the fuck're you?" Showing his usual charm, Tal hurriedly straightened up and pretended he hadn't just been scared out of a year of his life, glaring at the handsome blond with a scowl firmly in place.
At least he didn't have to ask what the other man was. The horns and tail made it pretty clear, and Tal looked around quickly for sight or sign of Fox, but alas, the other Ancient was already out of sight.
"...Fine, I guess," he muttered gracelessly to his new partner's notions of working together. "Y'ever caught one o' these things before?" Because the courier certainly hadn't, but he'd caught a number of other critters over the seasons (no few for Flora), and he figured he could make do with the provided net and a partner to help flush their prey.
When they came to the branching path Tal scowled harder and scuffed the ground with his foot. Decisions, decisions...
"I'm goin' this way," he announced after thinking for a few minutes, and headed off to the right. Talyson goes right!
07-16-2023, 11:13 PM (This post was last modified: 07-16-2023, 11:17 PM by Jude.)
Jude
come on, come dance with me
If Jude is expecting anything, it's certainly not his brother. The mouthed 'we'll talk' makes him step towards Edmund with a desperate lurch, only to be distracted immediately after by Koa. Oblivious to a truly hilarious amount of things - like Koa not knowing he's the one dating Sohalia, or that the breakup between those two hadn't ended peaceably - Jude can only grip his net tighter as heat climbs in his cheeks and his head spins with how swiftly his heart goes from aching and concerned over his brother to rabbit-fast and flustered. Taken or not, Koa is charming and deathly handsome (and so close). Bumping his shoulder back in return, Jude eyes the wisps in Koa's net and smiles.
"Maybe I do, you're clearly better at this than I am," he laughs quietly, holding up his solitary wisp in his own net. The path before them diverges into three, and Jude bashfully tilts his head towards the center path. "I'm going this way, but you don't have to follow me if you don't want to." Clearly Koa's instincts are already good, Jude would hate to lead him down an unlucky path.
I hear the music, I feel the beat And for a moment, when I'm dancing, I am free
The first wisp is easy enough to catch, though Soleil feels like it's barely a dent in the general population that's swarming around the woods causing chaos. Not to be daunted however the wolf-girl continues her stalking, peeking behind fronds and popping out from around tree trunks in the hopes of surprising or sneaking up on the spirits. She doesn't find any more - though she does find Hadama, who she waves cheerily back to when he nods to her - so she looks at the available pathways and shrugs her shoulders.
Without thinking too hard about it, Soleil takes the left-hand path. Net aloft, she practically skips down the pathway, surroundings lit up by the solitary wisp glowing in her spiderweb net.
from the mornings you ease to the evenings you quiet I'm always thinking of you, I'm always dreaming of you
Hotaru only manages to catch one so far, though as she looks up from her success she sees Isla and smiles in return, even going so far as to lift her hand and flutter her fingers in a little happy wave. "Share some luck with us darling!" she calls across the field with a wink, pleased to see that some of the others are doing better. Good, maybe they'll be able to make a dent in the chaos the will-o'-wisps are causing in the Greatwood.
Undaunted by her lack of immediate success, the Valkyrie takes the right-hand path almost subconsciously due to hearing Talyson ahead. He certainly doesn't need her protection (unless Dantalion's flirting counts as a threat, which it might to the courier) but Hotaru trails after him nonetheless.
- - -
Ru takes the right hand path!
the valkyrie
say my name, say I'm yours promise we'll never be oceans apart
totally sniped from odd ilu
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.
Edmund is certainly surprised at his luck, eyeing the small creatures in his net with barely concealed wonder. It's painful to see Jude's reaction, especially since they seem to be going in the same general direction. Perhaps the Ancient would be better off turning off of his current path. But this way he can keep an eye on his little brother. Keep him safe.
Trying not to grow too distracted, Edmund refocuses on the wisps. They're flighty and if he's not careful, he'll never get his net around a fourth or fifth. And the Ancient has a hunch that this isn't a challenge to be careless about.
Oh well shit, nobody expected Koa to do this well in the drop this quickly especially not me. But fueled by his finely toned physical prowess (lol) and determination to impress a cute boy (more accurate), the young Dragoon successfully catches a whole damn netful of wisps.
"It's all in the wrist," Koa teases softly, reaching around Jude to capture the other boy's hand. "See?" He guides him in a swishing motion, the lesson far an obvious ploy for flirtation than attempt to impart actual useful information, his chin nearly on Jude's shoulder, their bodies dangerously close.
But then there's a choice to make, and Koa grins good-naturedly. "What kind of bodyguard would I be, leaving you now?" He's perfectly contented to continue with Jude along the center path - it's worked well enough this far, right?
He's not doing great, but it's better than nothing, Fox thinks. And given this is his first time in the Greatwood, maybe the Ancient is a bit distracted by the change in surroundings. Yeah. Yeah! That's it. Able to spy movement through the trees (such is the case when a net filled with will-o-wisps turns you into a walking flashlight) walking in different directions, Fox is left with a decision to make.
Huffing out a long breath and glancing to his single wisp, he considers asking for its opinion before dismissing that idea as silly. Then, after a long moment of silent consideration, the hunter decides on following the left path.
Surprised by her own success, Isla is double counting the wisps in her net when she hears Hotaru's voice, the Remedy letting out a laugh and nodding to the Valkyrie. "Please take some with you!" she calls, offering the other woman a wave before considering which direction to go in.
Eventually she settles on the left-most path; if Hotaru is headed right, the wisps likely don't stand a chance. Better to spread out and cover as much ground as possible; besides, Isla would be lying if she said she isn't enjoying this jaunt through the forest. The addition of catching fairy-like lights only makes it better.
"Not at all!" Danta says, of Frey's balls and any of their other appendages. "Just me." As for who the fuck he is, the Ancient sweeps into a flamboyant bow, flourishing his net (and coincidentally catching two wisps by doing so, wonderful). "I am Danta, who the fuck are you?" he asks.
Deciding, evidently, that they are now hunting partners, he falls into step with the courier and waggles his net in response to the other man's question. "Oh yeah, all the time," he drawls. And then it comes to their pathway-choice, and almost as if the dice decided it by fate, Danta is already also heading to the right.
"Yep," he says brightly, forging a path onwards.
Danta goes right!
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Like the end of a Hitchcock movie, a little dark and a lot confusing
In a series of unfortunate events that not even Lemony Snicket could make up, it's our heroes who choose the right path who end up staggering into trouble. Dantalion and Talyson seem to be doing well, at first, and with Hotaru at their heels why shouldn't they? Alas, that luck comes to an abrupt end when the ground becomes suddenly soft and boggy beneath their feet. They're stuck and can't make it any further! Oh dear.
As for everyone else, further wisp capturing takes place, and the forest seems strangely brighter. Up ahead, a large tree has fallen and blocked the way, but an animal (or something) seems to have dug a tunnel beneath it. Of course, one could always climb over instead.
As more wisps joins the others in his net, Edmund keeps moving. Upon coming to the fallen tree, he pauses. Running a tongue over his fangs in contemplation, he walks the length of the tree for a moment. There's nothing obviously wrong or suspicious about the fallen giant. Yet with the magic in the air, the Ancient is cautious.
Crouching down, he runs a hand over the entrance to the tunnel. Under a tree seems like a good hiding spot for wisps and he thinks he can fit. Edmund tightens his grip on his net and shimmies through the tunnel under the tree.
Jude flushes so hard he feels a little faint as Koa steps up behind him, boldly taking his wrist in hand to make the motion. He can't take his eyes away from the difference in their skin tone, the callouses he can feel on the Dragoon's palms.
Wait, what had he been saying?
"I'll give you perfect marks on my review," he manages to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth the tease back, but only because Koa finally releases him. It's clear he didn't listen to a single bit of advice given his flustered brain-haze earlier, because the amount of wisps in his net only marginally increases while Koa's gets fuller and fuller.
With the fallen tree ahead, Jude pales at the idea of going under the tree. What if he gets stuck in there? While injury may be more of a risk in climbing over, he'd really rather not get buried alive. Slowly clambering his way up, Jude shoots a smile back at Koa. "Don't lose the ones you have," he jokes, only because he's worried about it himself. Turning his anxiety into cute one-liners may just be something he has to turn into a theme.
I hear the music, I feel the beat And for a moment, when I'm dancing, I am free
Simultaneously mostly-alone and happily traipsing through the woods, Soleil doesn't overthink the amount of whisps in her net nor the path she takes. There's a fellow who took the same left hand path as her who she waves slightly at (though he looks rather focused) and the other woman is conversing with her godmother (interesting!). At least she can't say the rescue efforts are boring.
The fallen tree in front of her presents a new challenge, but as a wolf-girl at heart she doesn't even think twice at seeing a den hole. Beaming, she wriggles straight down into it, enjoying the damp cool earth against her skin.
Is Koa taking advantage of his position to steal motes that should have wound up in Jude's net? Noooo, he would never. It's entirely through good luck high skill that the boy is able to rack up such a thorough collection, his net glittering and chattering with a growing mass of wisps.
Koa's choice is an easy one: broad shouldered and dummy thicc, his odds of getting stuck in the narrow tunnel seem dangerously high. So he opts to go over, waiting for Jude to lead the way ("Don't worry, I'll watch your back!") before following suit, his pack of little captives held carefully close as he scales the fallen tree.
