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!
She rises from her slumber to a sky hazed with violet, to the roar of a storm in her ears and the departing wings of a dragon overhead. Humming an indulgent, mewling sound at the back of her throat and stretching her long, blood-caked limbs, she rests here for a moment or so, enjoying the smell of copper and the taste of crimson on her lips. Only when she feels it again - a thrumming call, like a heartbeat - in the porous ground, does she shift and move.
"I knew I felt you here somewhere," she whispers, rolling to her feet, all feline grace and buxom curves as she scales the strange rock and its writhing flora. Once the pulse beneath her feet grows strong enough that she can almost feel it in her toes, she drops to her knees and begins to rip at the terrain with bare hands, as if digging for something.
And when she finds what she's looking for, she grabs it - a hand - and begins to draw him out of the rubble.
let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world
Not including the heavy rubble that encompasses him like a tomb, but the need to breathe and the glimmer in the back of his mind of something akin to hunger. Different than the typical hunger Pierce is used to.
He is lucky she finds him when she does, pulled out of the earth, caked in dirt and debris, clinging to the tight curls of his hair and the panes of his face and arms. ”Sister.” He whispers back, voice hoarse as they finally get enough of himself out of the debris that he can push himself up and out of the coffin of soil.
Vibrant blues take her in first, followed by the brilliant violet of the sky above them, a pale grin spreads across his face at odds with the dirty skin, reaching for her a second after to pull her into a crushing embrace. ”I couldn’t miss out on all the fun, you know.” His voice is hoarse, a husky tone that sounds like it should spark agony into his throat, but he seems unphased. Whether that’s due to not feeling the pain or bearing through it, is anyone’s guess.
"Dahlia," she greets him, her voice an empty breath around the new name, and she draws him up to stand as if he's made of nothing, rather than the hulking form he now arguably takes. Only a moment later finds her crushed against him, and she melts into the embrace like a liquid, as if she might fill all the spaces made new by this world and his body. "You have certainly been missed," she whispers, peeling herself away only to look him up and down properly.
Dorian's appraisal would be - will be - much more critical, but for Dahlia the mere sight of kindred souls made flesh is enough. Even so, she can't help but notice the obvious. "You will be intimidating," she says, the sweetness in her tone at odds with the implications. "You will be so difficult to topple." And gods, she sounds giddy with it. "What will you call yourself?"
let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world
”Dahlia.” A quiet repeat, testing the name out on his tongue, getting used to the way the syllables play. It’s a name unassuming, gentle and soft, so at odds with what he knows she is capable of. They part, and he stands there, twisting and turning in this new form, allowing her to take all of him in as he does so himself. ”As have I missed you both.” He agrees, speaking of Dorian.
For himself, though, the grin spreads wider, toothier and hungry as he takes a deep breath, broad shoulders slumping in the movement of his following exhale, taking in her evaluation of his body and capabilities. ”Is that not the goal?” A gentle breathy tease, throat still rough and torn, joining her in her excitement over their reconnection.
His head tilts slightly as he regards her, blue eyes lifting to the violet streaked sky, testing out a few different thoughts of names on his tongue before his eyes snap back to hers and he stretches that grin across his face again. ”Pierce.”
"Do not tempt me to test it out," Dahlia says of the goal, and as she appraises him again a second time, it's with an awe-filled sigh that she finally steps back, content with her initial once over. "Pierce," she repeats, the name an altogether different sound than her own, and a step away again from Dorian's. Sharp, to the point, and with connotations of violence she knows go far beyond the word.
"I like it," she decides, before sidling up behind him and turning him gently towards the island's edges and the vast expanse of the Arclight Ocean beyond. "There are such things to see," she whispers to Pierce, squeezing at his biceps and having to rise up on her toes to press her lips to his ear. "You have no idea what you have been missing."
let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world
The strange new sensation of laughter rumbles from the man’s chest, released in an exhale that has him settling, getting used to the confines of limbs and the boundaries of what it is to become something new. The name is offered, the way it falls from her tongue a beautiful addition to the exact type of connotations he wishes it to have. Soft and gentle but with the hidden aspect of a razors edge. She claims she likes it, however, and that’s enough for Pierce to be pleased with the decision he’s made.
He rolls out his shoulders and arms, still caked in debris of the earth, spending a moment to try and brush it off of his appendages as she sidles up behind him, freezing him in place when she squeezes his bicep, when her lips touch his ear. ”What are we waiting for?” He asks out into the open air in front of him, pressing back slightly into her small lithe frame. ”Show me everything.” Comes the quieter request, turning to let his bright blue gaze scan her briefly over his shoulder.
”Though, perhaps I should clean up first. Wouldn’t want to make a bad impression, hm?” Eyes glinting with mischief, he shifts to offer his mud stained hand to her, to let her guide him.
"It would be my pleasure," Dahlia whispers, her nails - blunt for now - skating along his flesh before her fingers drop once more to her sides. "And though I rather like you dirty, he will not be so forgiving." With a catlike smile, she circles back around to stand before Pierce, her hand slipping into his own. "You may call him Dorian, on this plane."
And, knowing their counterpart to be what he is - punctual, commanding, and unlikely to suffer fools - Dahlia wastes little more time on formalities. "I know just the place for you to clean away the dust and grime." Smiling again, she draws Pierce closer - and then they are simply gone, wisps of twilight frittering through the air in their wake.
~FIN
let me put my lips to something
let me wrap my teeth around the world
