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!
Phoebe had always been accepting of the fact that she wasn't the fighting sort. She served many other purposes in life besides being physically strong and capable. She was a midwife, she knew basic first aid that could save lives, she was a helper. Even if she wasn't perfect at it all the time that was her lot and she was content with it. Or she had been. You see, as of late, she had been babysitting her nephews quite a lot. And one such occassion they had been playing knights, and as usual, Cormac and Jax were valiant knights out to slay some evil-doer played by Rhett, and she a helpless princess to be saved. She had even worn the crown Frey had given her at their insistence and so they called her the Honeysuckle Princess... and in one exchange between Cormac and Jax, a seed of doubt was sewn in the back of her mind.
'We really do gotta protect her though 'cause she can't she is helpless.' Cormac said.
'Yeah the Honeysuckle Princess is real weak.' Jax agreed.
'Not the Princess, Auntie Phoebe, Jax.' Cormac told his brother.
It was more than a game. Children six year olds thought they were more capable than her. She knew nothing mean was meant by it, but it was elucidating to a bigger problem she had never addressed. Was she really such a liablity that children had reason to be concerned for her? Clearly the answer was yes. And furthermore, given the number of children in her life, and that would be in the future, if she remained so vulnerable, wasn't she just putting them in danger too? Caido wasn't always the safest place, and with the barrier down and trouble brewing...Phoebe just couldn't sit idly any more.
So she would turn to the divine for help. She didn't need to be a valiant warrior like Roana. She didn't even need amazing weapons or powers like Remi had. She just needed to be able to defend herself and those around her if such a time came. Images of Long Night, the monsters, the terrified children clinging to her legs and being able to do nothing...not again.
Phoebe came to the shrine of Rae and Frey, a big basket of what she thought were Frey's favorite fruits and honeysuckle woven into the handle in hand. Frey would probably find this...boring. But Frey had helped her grow as a person before...she could only hope they would be willing to help her again. They couldn't control life or death, but they had bestowed a gift that could protect in a way before. She placed the offering on the shrine and knelt, bowing her head. "Frey, I hope you will grant me a few moments of your time...I am seeking a way to...be less of a liability to those around me and hope you will help me." she said.
"You aren't a liability honeybunch." Frey said. Behind Phoebe, the deity lazily floated in the water. Belly-up, their arms stroked the surface with languid and fertile movements, their body seeming to hover in the ruby liquid rather than properly float in it. "Everyone has a choice. If they choose to be around you and that brings harm to them, well," Frey shrugged sending small ripples outwards from their body.
Glancing over and eyeing Phoebe for a moment, Frey returned their head back onto the water and looked up at the sky. "I feel like we had a chat once about worrying too much about others. Are we going to have to rehash that?"
Phoebe startled a little, hearing Frey's voice from behind her where she had not expected it. She turned, the picture of wide-eyed surprise for a moment before it melted into a small smile. Frey looked perfectly in their element, floating on (or was it in? Around?) the red waters. Seeing them here made it all the more clear why this shrine was dedicated to them and Rae. The young midwife shifted then to face them, kneeling at the water's edge. "Hello, Frey." she said with a small smile. "It is good to see you again, thank you for coming. I hope you have enjoyed your reunion with Rae." It was a sincere welcome, and she was indeed glad to see Frey. They had helped her grow as a person, they saw potential in her - even if her insecurities were irritating - and perhaps more importantly, there was no pretense. It was refreshing.
The slide chiding did cause her to glance down. "No...well not in full anyways, I remember...it's just a hard habit to break. I am working on it." she said, glancing back up at them, a bit mesmerized by how they hung in the water without really seeming to be in it at the same time. For Phoebe, growth seemed to be a sort of two steps forward, one step back scenario. But she was stubborn enough to pick herself up, dust herself off, and keep trying. "I'm...more concerned about those who would look to me for protection; children." Her nephews. Chris and Milly. Her own, someday in the near future. Almost instinctively her hand rested on her lower abdomen. "Is it wrong to want to protect those I helped bring into the world or am charge with the care of?" she asked, a genuine question. She thought worrying about others and their thoughts and opinions one thing, but worrying about those she literally was tasked with looking after different. But Frey, who begot wildlife simply by walking across the grass might think differently.
"I know I'm not likely to ever be powerful, but I just hoped there might be something that would help me be less of a sitting duck...and by proxy those with me." she said, glancing back up at Frey. "A shield or...something to hide with...Probably something to hide with." Phoebe had to be real with herself, she wasn't likely going to be able to hold a shield up. And even if she could, then what. She needed something that could aid in an escape. Something to hide her and the children, or make some escape portal or something along those lines.
Frey raised a brow and then shrugged, continuing to languidly and lazily bob on the surface of the water. The red colour caused reflected ripples of light to highlite the contours of Frey's form, shading pink the the lighter areas and maroon the darker.
"No, it isn't wrong to want to protect them, but that isn't what you said. You said liability my little duckling. Now I am not normally such a stickler for words, but you're never going to get yourself anywhere if you can't even say what you mean." They said sitting up in a physics-defying display of surface tension and abdomen strength.
"A shield huh? So you can just hunker down and take the beating?" Frey frowned. "So that your little ones can hear the sound of violence all around you, while you hide behind some magical bit of nonsense?" The god yawned and leaned back again.
Oh. She had, hadn't she? She chewed her lip as she considered why she had made that word choice. She wasn't a liability in a general sense, but having no defense systems when faced with danger made her one in certain situations, and being so meant the children with her would be unsafe. Adults had a choice to be around her, knowing she was useless in a fight, but generally children didn't. They relied on her...and she needed to be worthy of being relied on in all capacities to a certain extent. And...perhaps in a way, it was recognition that she needed to protect herself too, even if the primary purpose was so she could protect the little ones in her life. "As usual you're right. I will work on being more direct and clear." she said softly, adding it to her ever growing list of things to work on. Some might be frustrated with such a list, but Frey's advice had always helped her become better in some way. She wouldn't discount them any observations they had to offer.
Besides, she didn't want to disappoint Frey.
For a moment she simply appreciated watching their physics defying posture on the water, taken not just with their pleased appearance but unfathomable abilities. But boy, was their next observation a doosey. Her expression fell into one of pure horror at the picture Frey painted. Immediately she thought of Chris and Milly, the nightmares they suffered from hearing what happened to their family during Long Night. "Oh no...no no no that would be awful that was a stupid thing to suggest." Phoebe said quickly, her hands pressing to her cheeks as she rapidly shook her head. She was trying to take things into her own hands, to get the tools she needed to not have to rely on someone else to do the protecting (as it became ever clearer that she wouldn't always have that luxury) but her lack of knowledge of how to even go about defending from violence meant she had some serious oversight.
"Maybe...maybe something that would make a portal or something to get away through? Oh but then whoever would probably just follow through..." she started, then immediately found the problem with that solution. Her brows furrowed and cheeks puffed up as she tried to think of what was actually going to be useful. Something that could give them protection but the ability to control where they went and how quickly and where to stop. Frey wouldn't give her the answer, they simply directed her down a path and it was her responsibility to take it and run with it to the destination they wanted her to reach - it wasn't their responsibility to figure everything out for her after all, she was blessed to simply have a few moments of their time and attention. "What about...what about something to make us invisible? Like...an invisibility cloak or something? I could fit them under and we could get away from whatever the danger is...or if I couldn't go with they could at least use it to get away. What do you think of that?" she asked, hoping she had thought through the possible pitfalls unlike with the shield idea.
"Sure was." Frey agreed with a slight smirk, pulling their arms across the water Frey began to glide in lazy circles staring up at the clouds.
"Shields. Portals. Cloaks. Sounds like you've been listening to your fair share of stories sweetlips." They said after a moment. Sitting up on the surface of the water, physique appearing carved from marble as rivulets of water streaked down their shoulders, they stared at Phoebe for a moment. "Getting what you want is nice. Getting what you need is far better though." They said languidly, feet suddenly dipping below the surface of the water as if the lake was a dock beneath them.
"Figure out what that is. Talk to a few people and find out what they would have found useful in their times of danger; cloak, shield, or portal? Maybe find some danger of your own and see first hand."
Phoebe must talk to at least 2 people who have encountered serious danger and see what type of defense they would have liked. Then she needs to get into some trouble of her own!
