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!
Sohalia had left Stormbreak before receiving Flora's letter, but even without the forewarning she'd tried to prepare herself for the worst. After all, the meteor had crashed so close to the coastal region, and there was no dodging a tidal wave of that magnitude. She hadn't even been able to make it by skyship. The captain had gotten them as close as he could, but in the end, Soh had shifted into her snowy owl form and flown, leaving her hastily packed duffel bag behind.
Still, no amount of mental preparation had been enough for what she'd seen when she finally arrived. She landed in a side street, shifting quickly back to human, and made her way through the streets to Flora's place. She didn't even know if the new queen would be there, but it seemed like as good a place to start as any. Easier, at any rate, than searching an entire ocean for Hadama.
Gods, what would the impact have done, if anything, to the Mer? Would they have been protected, under the waves, or would their city have been just as devastated as Haulani?
Upon reaching Flora's home, the Luminary would see Flora instructing a group of Torchers with words as well as gestures before sending them away. Holding a few strips of leftover bandages, the queen rubs at a brewing headache above one eye before turning away, only to halt suddenly. "Soh?" The word was more of a croak than a greeting, and gods if Flora wasn't so bone-tired she might have started to cry. Instead, running on less than fumes and bolstered by the knowledge that for the last few months she'd been fighting precisely to lead Torchline even in moments such as this, the Doubletake staggered from her doorway and toward her friend.
"Gods..what are you..?" She begins, sounding a touch delirious. "Soh it isn't safe here!" Aqua eyes wide, Flora glances behind the Heart as if expecting to see a hoard of dragoons with her, if only to keep her safe.
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
Flora looked terrible. I mean, she was still a stunner - anyone with eyes could see that - but it was clear to Soh, maybe as a fellow leader, that the queen had suffered, as expected, from the meteor crash. The Heart took a step towards her friend, moving as though to wrap her arms around Flora. ”Thank the gods you’re safe,” she whispered, her relief nearly palpable. ”When we saw the meteor…” Soh had been so afraid.
But Flora stared at her, surprised, and Soh swallowed hard at her friend’s words. She knew she didn’t have much to offer Torchline in their time if need, but for Flora’s first concern to be about her safety made Soh feel both loved and perhaps a little ashamed. Was she really so weak that all her friends thought she should stay somewhere safe and protected? So useless that they couldn’t think of any way she might be able to assist?
”I wanted to check on you, and Hadama, and to help, if I can,” she explained, carefully tucking away the little part of her that ached at the implications. Neither Koa nor Flora thought she should be here. She wanted desperately to prove them wrong.
Already spreading her arms to receive her friend, when Soh paused, Flora could only search the Heart's face for some explanation as to why. Seeing nothing, although gods she was so very, very tired, the Doubletake simply took a few steps forward and tugged Soh close. "I know it's selfish, but gods am I glad you're here." She all but sobbed against the Luminary's shoulder, feeling far too tired to pretend to be brave.
"Come inside, I...I don't want to talk about it out here." Out here where she had to be strong and be a queen and couldn't have the teeny tiny little mental breakdown that she felt entirely owed.
Reaching for Soh's hand and tugging her along, the Doubletake smiled politely to those still milling about her front door and dragged the Heart inside.
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
Soh wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed, relieved and relaxing as Flora welcomed her. She released Flora long enough for the queen to tug her inside, shutting the door behind them with a click. This, at least, she understood: the desire to be strong, to be steady, to be the face of calm in an otherwise chaotic world. Hopefully Flora knew that she didn't have to be a queen with Soh. They could face this together - as equals and friends.
She steered Flora further into her home, depositing her on a couch before making her way to the kitchen. She searched in the cupboards until she found a pair of cups and filled them with water. "Here," she said to her friend as she sat nearby. "When was the last time you ate?" she asked gently. Flora would need to keep her strength up for this - for everything this meant, and for all that was to come.
01-08-2024, 08:02 PM (This post was last modified: 01-08-2024, 08:03 PM by Flora.)
flora
Flopping down gracelessly into her couch and all but willing the cousins to part and swallow her whole, Flora glanced up a touch numbly as Sohalia appeared with two cups. "Mm, thanks." She murmured, unsure what to expect when she lifted the cup to her lips. Though a shot of something strong wouldn't have been unwelcome, the water was cool and refreshing and just what her body needed.
"I don't...I dunno." Giving her head a little shake before drawing her legs up against herself in order to rest the bottom of her mug on the top of her knees. Biting at the inside of her cheek as she stared blankly at the table, the new queen swallowed thickly. "It's really fuckin' bad." She whispered, before glancing apologetically at her friend.
"Like...we don't even know how many people have died. The coast is fucked, the skyport and docks are gone...even our stupid new fountain was ruined."
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
Sohalia watched with satisfaction as her friend downed the water, sipping on her own drink as she joined Flora on the couch. She tucked her legs to one side so that she could face the queen more comfortably, toying with her glass as she listened, sympathy on her pretty face. She made a mental note to hunt through Flora's cabinets in a few moments, once she'd ensured that her friend was as well as she could be, to search for something simple and quick to prepare in terms of food. If Soh had to guess, Flora was going to need her strength.
At the admission that even Flora didn't know how bad things were, Soh winced, reaching out to squeeze the queen's free hand. "I'm so sorry, Flora," she murmured, nothing but sincerity in her silver gaze. "Anything that you need from me, it's yours," she promised. "I have people in Stormbreak gathering supplies to send - it might take a bit longer than usual, with the skyport destroyed - and I know quite a few of our people have volunteered to come and help however they can. We are at your disposal."
She paused, thinking. "And if all you need right now is a shoulder to cry on, then that's fine, too." If the roles were reversed, Soh knew that she would need a friend more than perhaps anything else, if only so that she could have a private breakdown before showing a brave face to the world.
Though Flora still thought she was well-suited to lead Torchline, this did seem like a very unfair shove off the deep end. "People have been sending in reports from all over the island with tallies and whatnot, but...It's almost not worth reading." She murmurs, staring into her cup. "With how much it keeps changing." Flora adds with a small shrug. More dead; that's always what it was. More dead. More damage. More destruction.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it. Is...Stormbreak's okay, right?" Soh wouldn't be offering all of their aid if they weren't, but it seemed like the sort of thing she should ask.
Smiling as tears began to pool in her eyes, Flora opened her mouth to say something before panic and exhaustion twisted her lips into shapes unable to speak. Hiccuping, the Doubletaken lets herself just tip to the side that she might rest her head against Sohalia's shoulder. When finally she had her breath back, she uttered a humourless little laugh. "Last time we were like this, we were talking about boys." She recalls before grimacing at the sudden pit in her stomach.
My house of stone, your ivy grows
And now I'm covered in you
