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!
09-01-2023, 04:37 PM (This post was last modified: 09-03-2023, 08:41 PM by Talyson.)
The Whitebrim Waystation still served as a wilderness stop for his sister and other couriers who still made the sled runs out to the Tundra tribes, but Tal had found that with his expanded Caido-wide courier enterprise and the capacity of the Peregrine he needed a place of business that was within Snowcloak itself, and not merely run out of a corner of Seawright's Sundries.
It had taken some time to decide on the right location; not least because he was traveling so much that he hadn't been able to really put the time into the search that it deserved. But now, at the start of Deepfrost, he finally had enough of a lull that he had located a likely building near the Docks and had sent out requests to friends for help, as well as posting a notice.
The building was had two stories and had been damaged in the previous War from a dragonstrike. Tal didn't know what had happened to the original tenants, but it had been abandoned ever since. For a young bachelor who spent most of his time traveling it would do just fine for his new headquarters, he'd decided with some satisfaction.
Of course, it needed a lot of fixing up first.
Tal and Boreal were starting things off strong by hauling out the bits of broken windows, shattered masonry, and cracked timbers when their helpers began to arrive.
This is a PQ to refurbish the first floor of a damaged building into a new courier depot!
just because you're screaming for my attention Does not mean I will waste my time
Still as yet unaware of Talyson occasionally tailing her, it should still be seen as remarkably funny that this time she is the one to show up unannounced and unexpected to a construction effort. Given, he had put up a notice, but Soleil still hopes for a decent reaction as she pops up near Boreal and Tal with a cheerful, "Mornin'!"
Looking up at the two-story building, Soleil politely hides her skepticism. It looks a little...rough. In the damaged sense, not the empty kind. "Where do you want me?" And, just because she knows he's the type to get flustered, Soleil shoots him a wink just to be a pain.
We're only dreaming, what's your problem baby? I don't mean to break your heart
If Talyson needed help doing something, Alys was absolutely going to be there. As one of her two best friends, the courier held a special place in her heart, and she was absolutely determined to help him bring his dreams to fruition. So it was that she arrived with metaphorical bells on, a warm smile on her face for her friend and a cautious one for the strange girl she didn't know. The seer raised a brow when the young woman winked at Tal, not knowing that she was just doing it to be a pain; Alys's eyes flickered to Tal, just to see his reaction, for she, too, knew him to be the type to be easily flustered.
Still, there was work to be done, and Alys echoed the young woman's sentiments. "Just let me know what needs to be done," she said, rather cheerfully for her. Then, because she couldn't help herself, she added, "It looks like there's a lot." Her eyes sparkled with mischief, a teasing note in them that wasn't typical for the seer. Still, this was Tal, and she adored him enough to be herself with him.
Alys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Tal didn't jump when Soleil arrived. The fact that he tripped and almost fell over a stray brick was entirely unrelated to her cheerful and completely unexpected greeting. Of all the people he figured might show up to lend a hand, well... his adventurous new guildmate hadn't been high on the list.
And now he felt a little bad about that. But it was still weird seeing little Sol all grown up and--
"Uh... hi?" Her wink left him feeling more than a little flabbergasted and only the broken chair in his hands kept him from reaching up to scrub furiously at the back of his neck. Aside from the fact that he was, like, three times her age - er, had been? - the fact that she was Sah's daughter added an extra layer of weirdness to the interaction, and he turned to Alys with painfully obvious relief for the distraction she offered. "Alys! Have you met Sol? She's Sah's daughter," he offered by way of introductions as Boreal dropped the chunk of wood she'd been carrying dangerously near Tal's foot so she could pad over to the Seer and press her head against Alys's thigh, rumbling a happy greeting to her friend.
"Yeah, it's gonna take some work, but it's not too bad," the courier assured them, setting the broken chair down outside and looking back with keen eye for the potential of the building. "The bones are still sound, mostly. It looks worse'n it is. One good day's push should get it ship-shape! First thing we gotta do is get all the broken stuff out, though, so we can start fixin' what's left."
Round 1:
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," Alys said, shooting the girl a half-hearted smile. She wasn't social at the best of times, and meeting someone who seemed so... uninhibited made her feel a little uncomfortable. Still, if she was Sah's daughter, and Sah seemed nice enough, then maybe she was judging too quickly. In the meantime, Alys scratched Boreal's head affectionately. She had grown quite fond of the dragon.
As for their jobs, it seemed that the first task was to simply clear out the building, so Alys got to work quickly and efficiently, starting with the smaller items to clear way for any larger furniture. Anything that seemed to be damaged beyond repair was placed in a trash pile, while things that might could be repurposed were set aside. Hopefully everything would go according to plan, although gods only knew what they would find buried beneath all the junk.
------
Alys begins clearing away debris.
Alys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
just because you're screaming for my attention Does not mean I will waste my time
Grinning like a she-wolf at having gotten some sort of reaction, even if not the type she'd expected, Soleil spins on her heel to regard Alys as the woman arrives and steals Tal's attention away. Though Soleil doesn't have any romantic notions just yet, she still thinks Talyson is cute. I mean, she has eyes. It doesn't need to go anywhere for her to let him know she thinks it. Maybe it will even boost his normally dour mood!
With this chipper thought in mind, Alys' uncertain side-eye far from effects Soleil (though little ever does). "Heya! Nice to meet you," she shoots back in turn, energetic as ever. "And it's Soleil," she corrects with a grin, pleased Tal was comfortable enough to use her nickname but not wanting to confuse Alys over time. "But you can totally call me Sol." With introductions out of the way, Soleil turns her attention to the first command the courier gives them. Dramatically saluting Talyson, she marches straight inside, fearless despite the questionable nature of the building's exterior. Leaving the door open so they can begin to cart things out, Soleil hums to herself - not bothering to do it under her breath - as she hauls out debris, entertaining herself.
We're only dreaming, what's your problem baby? I don't mean to break your heart
A little confused at Soleil's salute, her cheerful attitude nevertheless started to work on the courier as she'd hoped and Tal gave her a tentative salute back. Her humming was oddly soothing - and definitely not because he was used to Sah doing something similar when they were working together. Between the wolf-girl's sunny disposition and Alys's comforting and comfortable presence at his side, he actually began to relax and enjoy the work!
Tal wasn't lying about the building looking worse than it actually was. Once the team started shifting things out, it quickly began to look salvageable. Alys's plan to clear the small stuff out of the way first turned out to be just what they needed, the Seer making a path so Tal and Sol could drag or team-lift heavier items, and the pre-sorting making for lighter work later.
But of course, nothing ever goes exactly to plan, does it?
They were down to the last broken bits and bobs when Soleil uncovered the next set of problems as she went to shift a large painting that had fallen off the mantelpiece, partially blocking the hearth. The picture saved her from the initial explosion of angry feathers as an aggressive ningo flapped, fluttered, and squawked at her, beating its pudgy wings to gain some air so it could dive bomb her head!
Alys and Tal fared a little better as they were coming back in from their last load. They were treated to the sight of two more ningo scampering around the newly-cleared floor, clucking in dismay and confusion at how drastically things had changed. Two nests with a handful of eggs were tucked into the hearth among the cold ashes.
Round 2! Mo' ningos, mo' problems
- Get rid of the ningos!
- Clean their nests and eggs out of the hearth.
No posting order, and feel free to double up on ningo duty! Boreal will 'help' as needed.
just because you're screaming for my attention Does not mean I will waste my time
Soleil has to bite down amusement at Talyson's hesitant returned salute. Gods, everyone in Caido is so cute, and Soleil has enough love for all of them but never enough time. It's honestly devastating.
Case in point, now she has to actually work instead of weaseling her way into Alys' graces or teasing a smile out of Talyson. Yawn.
Of course, fate must hear her complaining in her head, because it rewards her with action and drama abound in the form of a possessed ningo. It dives at her head, and Soleil yelps and wields her painting - still in her hands - like both a shield and a giant tennis racket, hoping to stop it from pelting her and perhaps smack it out of the sky in one motion. Which sounds very well-thought-out and put-together, but is really more instinct than forethought.
- - -
Soleil plays baseball with the ningo featuring her canvas painting.
We're only dreaming, what's your problem baby? I don't mean to break your heart
Clearing out debris wasn't the most interesting task, but it was enough to keep Alys's mind from wandering terribly. She'd been antsy recently, not quite sure of her place in Halo. Not that she wanted to leave, of course; this was her home. But with Tal traveling often for work, and with Ru traveling often for her own reasons, it left Alys at a bit of a loose end. At least when she was busy, she didn't feel quite so anxious.
And any lingering worries were quickly banished with the appearance of the ningos. Having seen enough of the birds and their leavings when she helped repair the walls of the Citadel, she wrinkled her nose with disdain, though she couldn't help a snort of a laugh as Soleil swung a painting at the ningo that had attacked her. Using her illusion magic, Alys crafted a dragon that swarmed up Soleil's form to swoop at the ningo. Perhaps that would scare it off - if the girl hadn't knocked it silly first.
In the meantime, the nests needed to be moved; perhaps the ningos would follow their eggs out. Alys hurried over, carefully picking up a nest so as to protect the eggs within, and carried it outside, finding somewhere safe to settle it before returning for any lingering nests.
------
Alys tries to help Soleil with her illusion magic, then tries to remove the nests.
Alys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Let no one say that becoming human dulled Soleil 's hunting instincts. Her improvised racket caught the birdie dead to rights in Halo's most exciting game of badminton yet. She smacked the silly thing halfway across the room in a puff of white feathers and a surprised squawk of indignation. Lightly concussed, it looked back to see not one but two whole dragons swooping at it. With a strangled noise of terror it fled out the door ahead of Alys.
Alys had no trouble scooping up a nest with the distraction provided by Boreal, who was no illusion. She gleefully pounced towards the hens, chasing them around the inside of the building until one of them flew out the door. She bounded after it with a belch of fire as soon as she was outside. Alys made it out without further trouble from the remaining hen, who had scampered back around to the hearth only to find her nest gone and had set up a panicked clucking while she ran in circles.
Tal dodged around her to grab up the remaining nest, then shooed her towards the door. The first hen had disappeared give or take some feathers lingering suspiciously from Boreal's chin but the male ningo and the second hen soon found the nest Alys had relocated (and Tal had surreptitiously tipped the eggs from the second nest into) and settled down to brood over it.
The courier shook his head in resigned annoyance at the birds and turned around to look at the exterior of the building with a frown. "Looks like th'wooden sidin' needs replaced there," he said, pointing to an area a few feet wide where some wood rot had clearly set in and the siding had turned cracked and soft. There wasn't a hole in the wall yet, but that spot would only last another season or two before crumbling if it wasn't replaced now.
Heading back in, the newly-revealed fireplace was lit up with some convenient daylight courtesy of some actual holes where the river rocks used to build it had fallen out of their mortar. "Those need t'be replaced an' mortared back in." Whoever chose that task, he would point to the mortar bucket that just needed a little water to thin up. The missing stones would be found on the outside of the fireplace in the little backyard.
"An' now that we've got the crap out, th' place needs a good sweepin' an' scrubbin' out. 'Specially after what those ningos did," he added with a grimace, going to fetch the broom and mop from where they'd been waiting outside with his other supplies.
Round 3:
- There are stones knocked out of the fireplace that need to be replaced and mortared back in
- The exterior wooden siding on the front wall has been weathered and started to rot. It needs to be replaced before it becomes a hole
- The downstairs room needs to be swept and mopped out.
Fortunately, removing the ningos seemed to go rather well. Soleil, as it turned out, had not needed any help, but it still make Alys chuckle as the illusion of two dragons rather than one made the silly birds lose their minds. She was pleased that the ningos found the nest that she had removed, and that Tal had placed the other eggs into; so, too, was she relieve that two of the three ningos seemed to have made it out relatively unscathed.
Once they were back inside, Alys looked around. The place wasn't really in bad shape, all things considered, but there were a few things that still needed doing. Of the next round of tasks, Alys decided to tackle the fireplace. She gathered the bucket of mortar and thinned it with some water, gathered some stones from the little backyard, and set to work. It was slow and messy, but she tried to be methodical about it. Hopefully it would turn out okay!
Alys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
just because you're screaming for my attention Does not mean I will waste my time
Soleil doesn’t knock the ningo out of the park, but she certainly knocks it silly, and given it flees the building posthaste she’ll consider it a home run. In fact she sets her painting down and whoops enthusiastically, celebrating their success - even if it’s short lived, Talyson directing them to further tasks.
Still on a bit of an adrenaline high, it’s probably for the best that Alys takes the mortar given Sol’s last experience with it had been mildly disastrous (as Tal will likely recall). Deciding she can’t mess up cleaning too much, Soleil hums cheerily to herself in a mishmash of unrelated songs that pop into her head in the moment as she descends the rickety stairs to the basement. It’s creepy, but not enough to dissuade her, so she starts sweeping and dusting before she focuses on any heavy staining or areas that would require solvents and suds.
- - -
Soleil cleans the downstairs!
We're only dreaming, what's your problem baby? I don't mean to break your heart
It was just as well that Alys chose the mortaring project; if Soleil had moved towards it Tal might have had trouble holding back the mild panic from his expression. But he trusted his friend's good sense and efficiency, and he gave her a brief, grateful grin before she went to grab her supplies. The mortar, as it turned out, needed more than a little water to thin it. At first it was too thick to serve its purpose, the stones not fitting quite right back into the places. All it took was time and a little more elbow grease stirring extra water in, however, and eventually the Seer was able to get the chimney patched up good as new!
Soleil 's luck was really quite impressive, from a certain point of view. Luckily she had chosen a task that was very hard to catastrophically fail at, so instead of anything breaking it just took her a lot longer than it should have to do the cleaning up. Little gusts of wind from the warped door that didn't quite fit in its frame and the broken windows kept stirring up her dust piles and blowing the grit off her pan before she could dump it outside. The water slopped out of bucket and splashed everywhere, taking extra time to sop up and redistribute evenly across the wood floor.
But her singing was a cheerful counterpoint to the other work that was happening around the building. Tal took the siding, cutting out the old, damaged boards and replacing them with new ones with economical taps of his hammer. He was careful to seal the edges flush with the remaining boards so no further gaps would let cold air in, and as he worked he occasionally hummed along with Sol - at least until he realized what he was doing and hurriedly cleared his throat back to silence.
Until the next time he relaxed into the work and it happened again.
Finally they finished their work and as they gathered around Tal looked around with admiration. The rooms on the main floor were now clean, with sturdy walls and an intact chimney. There were just a few things left to finish it up...
"One last push an' I think we can call it done for t'day," he told his helpers, almost cheerful with how well things were moving along. "Just need t'replace the doors an' windows, an' slap a fresh coat o' paint on th'walls, an' that'll be it for the downstairs. Boreal an' I can finish th'rest on our own after that."
Last round!
- With the wall repaired, the place just needs a fresh coat of paint!
- The window glass (two windows on either side of the front door) needs replaced (the frames are fine but they need new panes)
- The front and back door are warped and new doors (provided in the supplies outside) need to be hung on the existing hinges
The mortar was a bit of a pain to work with, if Alys was being honest, and her first attempt at loosening it up failed spectacularly. She scowled at the bucket as she added more water, struggling at first to stir it because it was so thick. Once she had enough water added, though, it was almost a pleasant job to fix up the fireplace. She couldn't help a small smile as Soleil sang through her work, charmed in spite of herself by the young woman's good cheer. Her fingers itched for her cards, curious about what a past-present-future spread might reveal about the girl and how she'd come to be the way she was, as well as what she might yet face.
But there would be time for such things later. For now, she should focus on the tasks at hand. Alys elected to help with the windows, making her way to the front door and pulling out the old window panes, carefully replacing them with new glass. If all went well, they could soon celebrate Tal's new space. And even though he said that he and Boreal could handle the rest, Alys would stay until the work was done. What were friends for, after all?
------
Alys fixes the windows!
Alys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
