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!
A machine where your heart once was Slowly takes the place of you
Anju's disapproval was a swift reminder of why Liam was a soldier - not a leader - and he instinctively bows his head to accept her disagreement. Fortunately, none of this was his concern. He had never aspired to be anything more than what he was, and he'd been a damned good Dragoon. He was content with that. "To be fair, I don't think he approached Phoebe directly," reported Liam. "I ran into him and he discussed it with me. I brought it to Phoebe."
As Anju began to sit, Liam's brows snapped together and he leaned forward, torn between helping her up and chastising her for her attempts at movement. She was, in many ways, still his ranking officer, and it went against every instinct he had to tell her she shouldn't do something - even if, in this particular instance, he was sure he was right. "You need rest," he said gently. "You'll do no one any good if you leave in this condition."
Only hold the memories now Of a love I thought I knew
Anju frequently comes off harsher than planned, but Liam has never averted his gaze or bowed his head to hide something like hurt or discontent, and it's something she hates cherishing because she shouldn't know the difference at all. It is why she had turned down leadership of Stormbreak - too certain that her brisk, gruff ways would only spell the downfall of the city. Though she disagrees (and wishes to debate the topic further) that thought stills her tongue, reluctant to be exactly that kind of overbearing.
Liam's hesitation quietly stings for exactly that reason, unaware as she is to deeper instincts he still holds. Riya, meanwhile, crawls further up the bed to plant herself more firmly on Anju's chest to force her back down with the weight of her body. Grumbling at the two-pronged attack, Anju concedes and lays back against the pillows. "Fine. But only until morning," she decrees at large. She can't be gone much longer. Won't. Stormbreak needs her, even if she is not its queen. However, as the exhaustion pulls at her once more, Anju reaches for Liam in a moment of weakness and wraps her hand around his wrist. Her grip is weak, but her eyes beg. "Stay. Please. Just for tonight." Or at least until she's asleep, when she won't notice him sneaking away to his own rightful rest.
A machine where your heart once was Slowly takes the place of you
A nearby clock ticked away the seconds as a momentary silence consumed them. Liam held Anju's gaze, firm and unyielding in this, and nodded once at her decree that she would leave in the morning. His thumb resumed its gentle caress against the backs of her fingers. He spared a grateful glance to Riya, under no illusions that had it been him alone, he likely could have begged her on his knees and it wouldn't have been enough to keep her for even another hour, much less another night.
Her grasp on his wrist surprised him, but he knew better than to regard her with anything like concern, knew what it cost her to ask this of him. So he simply nodded, a faint smile turning up the corners of his mouth, and settled into his chair at her bedside. "I'll be here," he murmured. Until she sent him away.
-FIN-
Only hold the memories now Of a love I thought I knew
