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!
11-01-2023, 09:48 PM (This post was last modified: 11-07-2023, 02:03 AM by Hadama.)
There was very little difference between LongNight and the rest of Deepfrost in the Underwater City, where the sun never truly reached and bioluminescence bathed the area in an eternal twilight of living stars.
Outside the City was a different matter, at least in those regions nearer to the surface where the various lights in the sky created the rhythms that landwalkers moved to. Merfolk living in the shallower coastal waters tended to either spend the week with friends and family in the City or else in Haulani's starlit canals. The parties of the Merfolk were perhaps slightly less wild than those of their landbound fellows, but party they did.
And not always responsibly.
The afternoon of the day after LongNight (because not even Hadama expected any of his people to be up with the sunrise after those parties) the Tidebreaker surveyed the state of the City's currents with an unreadable expression. A glass bottle rolled along the sandy 'street' below, one of several currently in view. Several pieces of statuary within the gardens had been damaged by what he assumed were drunken celebrants, and more than a few of the large, decorative fan corals that had been growing along seafloor paths had been knocked over by incautious tails.
All in all, it could have been worse. But there was plenty to keep a group of earnest Merfolk busy for a few hours, cleaning up the mess.
Well. Earnest Merfolk, or else those who had been assigned community service for their own hard-partying sins after being caught contributing to the problems. There were both in attendance on the King this afternoon, and he waited for the last few stragglers to arrive before beginning.
This is an aquatic-focused PQ for Merfolk only, that will also fulfill the 'cleaning up after LongNight' SE! Please post your Merfolk arriving so Hadama can get a headcount before everyone gets to work :3 Volunteers are welcome, or else your character might be serving some community service time for an undisclosed LongNight party foul.
Kaiden had in fact, not been partying during in LongNight. Like any sensible being, they were tucked away and feasting. Coming out of their food coma they went into the city to restock some basic necessities. And what do they find? Hungover mers and the city in disarray. Tail thrashing in annoyance they swam up to Hadama as the King seemed to be hovering around the worst of it, "What did you do?"
Their tone was equal parts annoyance, bafflement, and glee. Had the King truly wreaked so much havoc upon his own city? Why else would Hadama be in the midst of it all?
Andromeda wasn’t really here for the clean up. No, she wasn’t that generous. Or thoughtful. Or..well, any of the positive traits you could associate with one willing to lend their time to clean up someone else’s mess.
But this was her mess, so here she was.
Having not made it all the way home after the celebrations filled with an entirely excessive list of indulgences, Andy found herself in the arms of the headless statue in whos presence she and Hadama had once talked together. Yawning and lifting herself up, the noble ran her fingers through her glossy red hair and tilted her head towards her king. Sorry you missed all this. And she turned her head, then, to the ever-grumpy Kaiden. You too.
There were times when words alone were insufficient, and Hadama knew better than to try and force them. At Kaiden's question the King of the Mer said nothing, but one corner of his mouth twitched upwards and the edges of his eyes crinkled as humor danced in his emerald eyes.
Turning to find Andromeda waking to join them he inclined his head at his most favored and pampered noble with a regal nod that did not quite hide the amusement in his thoughts. Not all of it, he said obliquely into the Bond before turning his attention to those who had arrived or been gathered to help.
We will break into three teams. One to clean the streets and currents. One to repair the statues. And one to save the damaged coral colonies, or replace them if they are beyond help. He looked around his amusement fading to a more solemn mien at all the work still ahead of them.
Until he glanced back to Kaiden, and the old fondness for the carefree young rogue returned. Lunch will be provided when we are done, he added mildly, knowing some of his subjects well.
Round 1
Choose your area and begin your tasks!
- Cleaning the streets and currents
-- 1. Collect the lightweight pieces of floating trash before the currents send them outside the City boundary.
- Repairing the broken statuary
-- 1. Collect the broken limbs from the statues and match them with their bodies.
- Aiding or replacing the broken corals
-- 1. Identify which corals can be saved and which are too badly damaged to keep and mark each one for salvage or removal.
11-12-2023, 09:11 AM (This post was last modified: 11-12-2023, 09:11 AM by Kaiden.)
kaiden
There is no shame in survival
Only strength
Hadama's words and response to Andromeda made the King's actions quite clear. He had done this. Kaiden snickered, eying the older mer with almost respect.
Andromeda spoke and the mershark let out a grumble, Shut up, Red. Kaiden was still unsure about the brightly colored mer and on the off chance that her words were mockery, they responded in kind. Huffing, they only relaxed at the notion of lunch, Good. With a sharp nod, they then turned to address the corals. Kaiden wasn't going to pick up anyone's trash but their own, and Andromedia was near the statues. That left the mershark with the coral.
Swimming over they began to assess the damage. With how often they hunted in reefs, Kaiden liked to think of themselves as a decent judge of hunting ground health. They checked for color, the presence of snacks fish, and poked coral to ensure that they were still secure on the rocks. They marked them with different colored shells to represent salvage or removal.
~
Kaiden accepts the trade and assesses the coral.
11-13-2023, 09:14 PM (This post was last modified: 11-13-2023, 09:15 PM by Andromeda.)
Andy gave Hadama an unmatched grin before sliding towards him. She rested her elbow on his shoulder as he detailed what needed to be done. Despite her nature, the noble decided to stay because of the way the King held her with that gaze. But, she wasn't one for ignoring the other, so she shot Kaiden a look that could freeze the water even at these depths.
Gliding effortlessly through the aquamarine currents of her watery realm, Andromeda displayed a vibrant mosaic of colors with her flicking tail. Her scales shimmered as she moved, and she wondered inwardly how much of the shark's attention she could catch with such movements. She knew they were drawn to such movements, being the simple hunters that they were.
As lightweight pieces of detritus floated perilously close to the city boundary, Andromeda's lazy demeanor transformed into a purposeful pursuit. With a flick of her iridescent tail, she gathered the drifting debris, a shimmering trail of discarded treasures in her wake. Andromeda, a paradox in the currents, embraced the responsibility, however fleeting, to keep her underwater city pristine.
If Kaiden had received a tail to the face for their grumbling discourtesy, Hadama would have found a reason to have been looking in another direction. Perhaps it was just as well for all involved that Andromeda was of a more refined temperament. Or at least didn't want to get her own fins dirty with violence when her icy glare was nearly enough to freeze the water around the mershark solid.
The King cleared his throat and laid out the first tasks and they got to work with... varying levels of success.
As Andy swam off on the chase, Hadama began to swim around the Gardens with a methodical approach and an eye to detail that quickly uncovered fallen limbs and bits of stonework that had been separated from their bases. Most were near to their origin and were easy to pair up. Others took some hunting, but the mermanta had a particular knack for matching ragged ends to ragged shoulders or knees or tails and he was soon confident that all of the damaged parts had been assigned their correct homes.
Kaiden ... struggled. As it turned out, poking the coral was not an ideal way to test their health. Several that were otherwise in good shape became cracked or sprouted holes beneath the shark's prodding fingers. At first it had seemed that perhaps a quarter would need to be replaced, but by the time they had finished nearly half the coral had been damaged or knocked over.
In contrast, Andromeda was a vision of grace and color as she darted through the waves, swift over short distances. As it turned out, that was exactly the skill that was needed to pounce upon the floating husks and nets and other debris. When it came to catching things that shone, or sparkled, or billowed beneath the waves the courtier was second to none. Her bag was quickly filled with trash that could be properly disposed of, and the city was equally quickly emptied of litter from the LongNight parties.
As they gathered together to report their successes, one of the other helpers took Andy's bag from her to join the others and Hadama surveyed the remaining tasks. The statues, first, he decided after some thought. One to apply the mussel glue, and a second to hold the pieces together. Or secure them. As long as enough pressure was maintained for the powerful epoxy to take hold and bond, it didn't matter which.
And one to remove the corals that Kaiden has marked as too damaged, he added, obliquely avoiding mentioning how many more of those there were now than when the mershark had started.
Round 2!
Two merfolk are needed to repair the statues
One merfolk is needed to remove the damaged corals to someplace outside the City limits
Andromeda let her air of superiority refill her chest as another mer took her bag of trash. Smiling a honey-soaked smile in their direction, she offered a wink before turning her attention back towards Hadama. While he explained what needed to happen next, Andy felt her shoulders sink some. It took all of her self control not to roll her eyes in a dramatic flair of her exhaustion. She was already over all of this. She thought she had done her part when she cleaned up the streets, but no their king had more work for them.
Huffing, Andy swam over in a brilliant flare of red and cream. I'll take that. She said, grasping the mussel glue. It was better than the heavy lifting of grabbing a securing statue parts, to which she laid on the sultry toy of, Show me those muscles, hm, Hadama?
Kaiden merely scoffed at Andromeda's anger and focused on their task. Which they clearly should not have chosen. Coral were too fragile. Yet the red betta turned towards the statues and the shark sharply turned away. They weren't one to go where they were unwelcome. And the flirting, Ew.
The mershark eagerly turned their back on that and returned to the marked coral. Even if the coral was fragile, if the ones that needed to be removed were further damaged, it was fine. Right? Still, they focused on grabbing hold of the creatures and removing them from the area. One or two nearly crumbled with how damaged they were and Kaiden had to resist the urge to throw the power at someone. It wouldn't go far in the water and that would be too unsatisfactory.
One didn't maintain a physique like Hadama's without staying active and busy, and the Mer King wasn't one to leave a job half-finished. He raised a steely brow at Kaiden's unsubtle opinion, but since the shark was heading off to clean up the mess they had contributed to, the mermanta contented himself with a simple: Indeed.Thank you, Kaiden.
And at least Kaiden was able to make up for their previous difficulties. Their current task was perhaps a bit more suited to the shark's style as they were able to remove the damaged corals one at a time. Conversely, even though now they had little need to be gentle, their grip seemed firm and certain on the pieces they collected and they were able to transport them without further crumbling or damage.
My pleasure, the Tidebreaker murmured through the Mer bond to Andromeda, green eyes glinting with amusement at the flirtation. Unfortunately, despite their strong start at fixing the first statue they had chosen to work on, things went downhill after that. Although they'd thought they were doing well, arms and tails and various limbs soon began falling off their earlier 'patients' due to a combination of not enough glue and not being held together long enough.
Hmm. Let us try again. Be generous with the glue, and I will hold them longer, he suggested. We may take a break if you need to rest, he added, recognizing how hard Andy had been working with a grateful inclination of his head.
Kaiden, can you bring the replacement corals? She can show you where to find them, he added, indicating a perky young lionfish-mer who waved at the shark and began to swim away.
Round 3:
- Oops! Statue team needs to try again, a little more carefully this time
- Choose and collect new fan corals from the farm just outside the city to replace the ones removed last round
Kaiden was pleased by their own success and disgusted that Andromeda and Hadama had let their flirting distract them from doing their job correctly. Their disproval echoed through the bond but they still responded to the King, Ok. The mershark was eager to leave the weird older mer and follow the lionfish-mer.
Grabbing hold of the replacement corals, Kaiden tried to be gentle with them. They were still alive and although less brittle, needed to be protected. They didn't want to have to repeat their work like the other team. They forced themselves to swim slowly and carefully as they brought the corals over. They chose a variety of colors and forms to make the reef vibrant. But every blue coral was taken without hesitation. Blue was the best and Kaiden would bite anyone who even suggested otherwise.
Astonished that the attempt failed, Andy's green gaze flashed with a sharp and sudden burst of frustration. Composing herself quickly, with her betta fish tail swaying in the currents, she responded through the bond, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, Tidebreaker, it seems our artistic endeavors took an unexpected turn, didn't they?" A playful smirk crossed her face as she acknowledged the unintended disassembly of their work, but deep within her breast frustration roared at what she perceived as a failure.
Her jaw set with determination and frustration. Together, they submerged into the challenge once more, the underwater world witnessing the betta's nature of wanting perfection before someone she admired.
Kaiden's guide was a chatty young woman who, perhaps thankfully, was happy to fill the silence while she led the way to the coral farm that supplied the city with its seascaping needs. She was eager to help but lacked the strength to lift the corals and swim with them herself, so she did her best to help Kaiden choose the heartiest and most beautiful mature colonies. His focus and care paid off this time; though shifting them was time consuming, they were able to bring enough to replace the damaged colonies without further mishap.
Though the mershark's annoyance did not go unnoticed, it did go unremarked as Hadama chose instead to focus on his own task with Andromeda. He, too, was frustrated that the work would need to be redone, but he kept his expression controlled and stoic, accepting the necessity without complaint. Andy's smirk brought a rueful quirk to the corner of his mouth, however, and an acknowledging inclination of his head. At least we did not damage them further, he reassured her, his tone as bland and innocent as could be, though emerald eyes sparkled with mischief. And at least they learned from their mistakes, and with Andromeda's stubborn determination to succeed and Hadama's patience and strength the statues were finally repaired nearly as good as new.
And then only one task remained before lunch.
Last round!
Contribute to placing the new corals in the empty places left by the old ones. Whether that's by doing the heavy lifting, providing aesthetic direction on which colors should go where, or some other way is up to you!
Andromeda couldn’t help the stubborn determination that came over her. Like a wave it washed and covered her in a sea foam glaze. Her jaw set and her emerald eyes hardened as she focused on their task at hand. Thankfully, with her determination and Hadamas skill and strength, they were able to accomplish fixing the statues (at least with all the pieces they started Longnight with).
With a huff, Andy left the statue work. Flipping her hair in a way that made it dramatically wave in the water, she narrowed her eyes in on the coral. Unwilling to do any more heavy lifting (as if she had done any) Andromeda merely pointed and detailed which pieces of coral needed to go where.
