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!
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
Sohalia joined the others in mopping, and between the lot of them, they made quick work of the puddles throughout the structure of the observatory. The floor was, perhaps, still slightly damp as they finished, but it was a great deal better than it had been before, and it would no doubt dry more quickly than the rest of them, who were still soaked from their efforts in the rain. With the pitter-patter of raindrops to keep them company from above, Soh and her friends took a breather as the mops were gathered and put away, buckets were taken outside to be emptied, and everyone returned to the center of the space for additional instructions.
"We'll need to let things dry a bit before we get into more of the structural work," Soh called out after conferring with the lead builder. "Why don't we meet back here tomorrow morning, and we'll continue from there?"
The next morning dawned as stormy as the last, but with somewhere dry to gather, their group was blessedly rain-free and ready for more work. Soh stood in the center of the space, chatting with the workers, her blonde hair piled on top of her head, revealing the burn scar along the side of her neck from the battle that had destroyed the Spyglass to begin with. Once everyone had gathered, she turned to them with a clap of her hands. "Thank you all for coming again!" she said. "Now that the roof is repaired, hopefully the rest of our work will go easier. Now, here's what we need to do..."
------
Onwards! We need to finish cleaning up the space. There is a variety of debris - broken glass, wood beams, etc. - that need to be picked up. Let's do that now! No post order!
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul
Grateful for the opportunity for rest, recuperation, and to tend to her other duties for the day, the Caretaker waved to the rest of her fellow comrades –
Only to return the next day, bright-eyed and ready. She’d long since tucked her hair back as well, recalling the plights of yesterday’s weather, and gazing over the area they were due to clean once more. “I’ll try to pick up as much as glass as I can,” she offered with a beam of a smile. Snagging at some gloves, far better prepared in this interval, she placed them on her hands and began picking away at the remnants and debris, carefully, and dutifully, with much attention to detail to ensure no one, including herself, was harmed by the serrated edges.
--
Lena goes to pick up glass!
and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
Their work for the day mercifully complete, Koa grabs ahold of Ever as they head out - determined to try and get a drink, or at least some food, into his friend.
The next day dawns rainless, a mercy that the young Dragoon is supremely grateful for. Flush with new enthusiasm and determination to finish this damn thing up, Koa and Pipsqueak show up armed with coffee for everyone. They are the picture of bright eyed and (literally, for one of them) bushy tailed, and they waste no time in getting to work, hauling beams and other debris out to the assigned waste zones.
Returning home, Everest was sleepy but pleased with the efforts of the day despite the things that hadn't gone entirely to plan. Though he felt as though he could have dozed a good deal longer, when his alarm rang, the aviator was wide-eyed and ready to tackle the remaining tasks needed to complete the restoration of the Spyglass.
Wearing almost precisely the same clothes as he had the day before (they were his rain clothes after all, and before this season he hadn't needed anything stronger than what he was currently wearing), Everest arrived with coffees for everyone.
Reaching for a push broom so that he could sweep up some of the larger chunks of wood, Everest began to whistle under his breath as he worked.
Ever brings coffee for everyone, and works on the wood debris!
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
There was no shortage of coffee when they all arrived in the morning, and they all got to work with admirable zeal. It took a while, but the cleanup of the day was made easier by the lack of rain and damp, and after some time spent picking up debris, the group was able to look out over a relatively clean observatory. There would be more cleaning later, after they'd finished renovating, but for now, the group would be able to move about without stumbling over old debris.
Soh was practically vibrating with excitement; they were so close to completing the work on the Spyglass that she could taste it. Or maybe that was just the coffee. She should have brought donuts.
She shook her head, focusing on the task at hand. "Things are looking great, everyone!" she beamed. "Now let's do some renovating. There are some new light fixtures to be hung, so let's start there."
------
Light fixtures need to be prepared and hung!
1. Two people to put the fixtures together on the ground
2. Two people to hang them on the walls
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
Great minds and all that jazz. Maybe one of them had implanted the idea in the other's head the night before; regardless, Koa is thoroughly amused when both he and Everest show up armed with enough coffee to fuel a small militia.
Cleanup goes well, and before too long the observatory is looking, if not pristine, at least no longer like it's been recently attacked by a giant moth. Koa sips his second cup of coffee as they break before the next round of tasks, snorting self-deprecatingly as they're announced. "Well we all know what kind of carpenter I'm not," the young man declares with a laugh. He rolls his shoulders to loosen them, muscles glistening under a thin sheen of sweat. "I'll help hang things - if I put them together they'll likely come out looking as messy as the stars."
"Oh." Rather than finding it humous, Everest just feels as though he should have coordinated better with Koa. Next time they're on some sort of job together, he'll be sure to double-check who is bringing the morning coffee. Actually, he'll just be sure to double-check who was bringing the morning coffee each and any time he ventured out to any group meetings indefinitely. That seemed safest.
Taller than both Lena and Sohalia, Everest opts to join Koa in hanging things as well. "The stars?" He wonders, brows furrowing slightly as he waits for the lighting fixtures to be put together.
Ever will also hang!
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul
Freshly caffeinated, they all seemed to hustle and bustle, and Lena was thankful for the additional burst of energy – though, wondering if she too should’ve brought some kind of food arrangement. A lesson for next times and other opportunities.
Nonetheless, they persevered and carried on, with light fixtures to be arranged and hung. The Caretaker didn’t mind either task, and as the younger men carried on, she smiled, turning towards Sohalia. “Looks like it’s us,” and began the meticulous process of ensuring the fixtures were well put together – for she didn’t want any issues or problems on this portion either.
--
Lena helps put fixtures together!
and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
"Bet we'll put them together faster than the boys hang them," Soh told Lena with a wink. Thus she began the careful process of putting together lighting fixtures - which had been meticulously selected for just this venue by none other than the Luminary. Somewhere in the crowd of workers, someone began to sing a song to accompany them as they worked. Soh smiled, humming along softly to herself. As they finished each light fixture, they passed off their handiwork to Koa and Everest, leaving the men to hang the fixtures in even spacing along the walls.
Fortunately, hanging lights seemed to be something straightforward and simple, and they made short work of the task. When they were finished, Soh stood with her hands on her hips, admiring the way the sconces flared and flashed, illuminating the dim interior of the observatory.
"I think we're almost done!" she crowed to the crowd, who cheered. "We just need to fix up the telescope and finish our cleanup. Let's split into teams."
------
Let's split into teams! Team A is on telescope duty and Team B is on cleanup!
Team A: check the telescope for damage.
Team B: make your way to the top of the Spyglass to begin cleaning.
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
Much as Everest liked cleaning, he'd absolutely picked up the need to understand and fix things from his parents in differing but equal measure. "I know a few things about telescopes." He offers with a rather bashful shrug, before glancing around to see if that was going to conflict with the general consensus of the group.
Finding it wasn't, he nodded and made his way towards the telescope with his breath slightly held. If the lens itself was cracked...But, at least on first glance, it just seemed as though part of the casing had been bent. "Luckily the lens looks alright. I just think we need to straighten this part out here." Gesturing to where a few screws needed to be removed so that they could adjust things, all in all, Ever thought that actually given the Mothman's attack, this could be at lot worse than it was.
Ever is on Team A!
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Lena grinned and worked together contentedly with Sohalia, and eventually, the luminous glow began to resound and brighten the expanse. While the wonder wouldn’t surpass the Celestine’s beauty, it was still something to behold, and a great improvement over the broken remnants of before.
And truth be told, she wouldn’t know the first thing about telescopes. “I can help clean,” she offered instead, but instead of simply meandering up volumes and columns of stairs, she permitted any restless eaves to unfurl from Attuned shifts and wings, hastening upwards in a state of silver and pink, before beginning to the next interval of washing and scrubbing.
--
Lena flies up and then shifts back to clean!
we are more weather pattern than stone monument sunlight on mist; summer lightning
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
"Y'know - like constellations. Chaotic, but they kinda make recognizable shapes if you draw lines. And squint." It's something his father once said about a young Koa's work, and he parrots it now with grin that keeps the sharp edges of his feelings at bay.
Things hung up as assigned, Koa tilts his head Everest's way as the next set of tasks comes out. "Well, Hart, what do you think? We've been a good team so far." Like an obedient pup he pads after the aviator, ready to follow any directions or fetch supplies as needed. Though he may not be particularly adept at using them, Koa is rather well versed in the names of most tools, screws, lathes, and other mechanical doohickeys. Obediently he'll gather whatever it is that Everest requests, and even hold bits of the telescope in place - just don't ask him to actually identify what's wrong with the thing.
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
To absolutely no one's surprise, Everest volunteers to look at the telescope, and Soh sends him off with a smile and a nod, Koa padding along behind. They were an interesting pairing, the Heart decided. Not, perhaps, a friendship she would have predicted at first glance, but a strong one nonetheless. With the boys occupied, Soh shifted and followed Lena into the rafters, intent upon her own task.
The telescope team successfully identified a bent part that was preventing the lens from focusing correctly. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be anything more serious wrong, and as long as they were careful in removing and repairing the bent part, the telescope would be back to normal in a jiffy.
The cleaning team worked together well, but the Spyglass was quite dirty, even with all their earlier mopping and debris-gathering. It was going to take some time to get things back to the way they should be.
------
Team A: try to repair the bent piece of the telescope.
Team B: keep cleaning!
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
"I think...that sounds right." Ever agreed, smiling with actual warmth as Koa came to join him at the telescope.
"Right here, you can see where the casing has bent. It isn't letting the lens focus and so the aperture is too narrow. That's why everything just looks black when you look through. Telescopes work by..." And so Koa was treated to one of Everest's mini-lectures regardless of whether or not he'd signed up for one. Often Ever would pause to ask for something, "—a crescent wrench, please—" or to get Koa to hold something in place. Once or twice he even had to stop talking altogether while he concentrated. This was when they were actually bending the casing back into shape.
"Well. I think that should work." He said with far less confidence than the situation was owed. "Want to take a look and see if it works?"
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
