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!
Soon enough, Angel's End leads to vast patches of The Crust that have been cracked open to reveal molten pools beneath, and the Remedy's interest is piqued enough for her to go hopping closer. The Lava Pits are aptly named, and though her face is cast in a fiendish glow and the heat is undeniably intense, she more or less appears in her element.
"You know, it's so strange to think that I spent so much of my life here in Caido afraid of fire," she calls over her shoulder to Remi with a smile, dropping into a crouch at the lip of a particularly large expanse of molten rock. Beyond she can see a pack of fyrhund pups playing, and while she knows better than to get too close, they're entertaining to watch.
Let's not get lost in the dark blue But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you
"I do not think I have ever come this far before." Though the Lava Pits were aptly named, the Lullaby couldn't recall having ever bothered to see them for himself. Glancing over his shoulder at Isla, her horns now alight not just with his flames but with the molten heat of the place, he couldn't help the way he felt himself soften at the sight of her. For someone whose history was marked by ash, she looked utterly resplendent in the flame.
"And now here you are." He agrees, coming to her side and looking down as well. Still wary of what void creatures might be lurking about, the Lullaby gives only a passing glance toward the fyrhunds before scanning the volcanic landscape for danger.
"Do your horns...can you feel anything, with them?" Sitting down at Isla's side, Remi's legs dangled over the drop in such a boyish way one might be tempted into thinking this a safe place. "Or are they just rock?" He asked, wondering if he was the only rock-headed one out of the two of them.
the lullaby
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Here we are," Isla corrects with a grin. "I haven't come out this far either." Getting comfortable beside Remi as he sits, Isla gathers her skirts to her knees and lets her legs also dangle over the lip of the lava pool, enjoying the way the light plays across her tanned skin. Letting out a sigh that has her shoulders slumping, she offers her friend a warmer smile, as if still trying to believe they've made it this far (both literally and metaphorically).
Mention of her horns has her attempting to look up at the topaz gemstone threading back through her hair - fruitlessly, of course. "A little, I think," she murmurs, reaching up to tap at one of them. "They haven't fallen off with the seasons, so I know they aren't antlers. I imagine it would hurt a lot if one of them broke."
Let's not get lost in the dark blue But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you
Rolling his eyes playfully and nodding in acceptance of her correction, the Lullaby retracts his flames entirely until he's just himself again so as not to burn Isla's clothing away. (Insert Kombucha girl meme here). Chuckling at the Remedy's efforts to try and see the top of her own head, Remi reaches up to clasp the base of one horn and give it a tiny shake.
"Ronin's shed are always bloody and horrific." He says, sounding rather amused. "So for the sake of your sheets and clothes, you might be thankful you do not shed."
"Can you feel this?" Pulsing the pressure of his palm against her horns, Remi raises his eyebrows slightly if only to let her know that yes, he was doing something on the off chance she couldn't feel any of it.
the lullaby
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Scrunching her nose at the bloody and horrific elements of Ronin's antlers, Isla scoffs and shakes her head. "And here I thought it was all serene glowing and prancing through the snow," she remarks, despite knowing all too well that the other elements of the Nova's shift - the possessive, fighty ones - are all part of it.
Her head shakes a little as Remi clasps her horn, given that he's basically steering her with it, and with a chime of laughter Isla tries to bat his hands away. "Yeah, sort of," she says with a nod - though if he'd been expecting a more intense reaction (I see you, Sunjata) he might find himself either relieved or disappointed.
"It feels almost like when someone pulls your hair," Isla tries to explain. "Which makes sense, I guess."
Let's not get lost in the dark blue But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you
"That is what he would like everyone to believe." Remi says with a snort, grinning. It was all fun and games until his husband was going for 4am runs or bolting in the opposite direction during a stroll because the vibes were off.
Quite what the Lullaby was intending from their little experiment, the adoring pulse of affection as he touched her horn, wasn't enough to reveal. Or, probably wasn't enough to reveal. Giving Isla's head one more small shake, Remi released her with a laugh before folding his hands into his lap and looking out at the lava pits.
"I wonder what would happen if we threw that Dahlia woman into one of them." He murmured softly, eyes narrowed as he recalled just how easily she'd been able to manhandle him.
the lullaby
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"I see, I see. I'll give the houseboat a wide berth towards the end of this season, hm?" Smiling, Isla is busy thinking of Ronin tearing up the beaches or trying to shed his antler velvet on the palm trees when Dahlia's name cuts through her imagined scenarios, and she swallows hard.
"Hopefully she would burn on the surface and die," she murmurs, her voice soft and gentle despite the arguably violent imagery, and she scoots to sit closer to Remi, letting her arm slip through his own. "Though I doubt we'd get that lucky."
Giving his arm a gentle squeeze, Isla tilts her head to rest it against his shoulder. "Have there been any more sightings of her so far?" she asks.
Let's not get lost in the dark blue But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you
"It be alright with me if she sunk a few feet before burning." Remi countered darkly, glancing over his shoulder at Isla and clenching his hands into fists. Relaxing his arm enough for her to slip hers through it, against her the Lullaby would feel like gently quivering stone for the violent thoughts of Dahlia inspired in him.
Trying to soften as best he could, Remi focused instead on the woman at his side and not the one who'd all but ended him. "Not that I have heard. Sunjata saw her last season. He was going to try and find out if her powers worked in the Refuge or not." Realizing a few seconds too late how his words might affect the Remedy, Remi quickly placed his hand on the top of her thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze just as she'd done for him.
"I told him what happened to me. He knows to take care."
the lullaby
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"And me as well. If you could arrange it for a certain time I'd sell tickets," Isla mutters, and for all of the tension in Remi, the feeling is certainly mutual despite the Remedy not having been there in person when it all went down at Starfall. Forcing a steady inhale and letting it out in a slow breath, there's a predictable hiccup of panic as he mentions Sunjata's plans with the woman and her claws, one that calms but doesn't disappear completely with his reassurances.
"He'd better," she mumbles. "I think regardless of personal opinions and feuds, we're all going to have to work together to stop this..." Quite what they were meant to do is still frustratingly beyond Isla, especially given that the strongest of them can't seem to stand toe to toe with the woman and her void powers.
Pouting properly now and letting her hand drop to cover Remi's, Isla watches the fyrhunds play and wrestle without properly seeing them. "I'm hungry," she announces suddenly. "Want to hunt with me?"
Let's not get lost in the dark blue But darling if we do, just find me and I'll find you
Though it was entirely unclear to the Lullaby if the purple sludge that rose in the back of his throat in response to Isla's concern was jealousy or not, he too swallowed quickly to diffuse the feeling. "I think we are all...civil with each other, now." He murmured. They'd all stood near enough to one another at enough events and no one had died. Ronin and Sunjata had even drank a beer together without any issue. "Well, finding out if the Refuge is as safe from this was it was from the war is an important step." Remi said, nudging Isla softly as if the fact that her former lover was doing something hugely beneficial for them all might assuage some of her concern.
Spreading his fingers somewhere to allow hers to fit through—gods but she had become a delicate thing in comparison with him—whatever else the conversation might have become was interrupted by Isla's sudden hunger.
"Always." The Lullaby agreed readily, shooting her a crooked grin and releasing her hand. "What sort of hunt are you in the mood for?"
the lullaby
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Grumbling and letting her chin loll against Remi's shoulder as she pouts up at him, despite the fact that he's absolutely correct about all points, Isla forces herself to put the fate of the world and the people in it to the back of her mind for a bit. It's made easier by the sudden urge to hunt and kill something, and whether it's bloodlust or a search for a distraction, she doesn't question it. Instead, fitting her fingers between Remi's and smirking at the difference between them, she gives it a few seconds before clambering back to her feet.
"I think I'd quite like to hunt in the tunnels," she tells him, stretching her arms above her head. "I've never eaten a rock slider before - I wonder what they taste like." And if they are as hard to crack open as Remi's skull. Ha ha, get it? Continuity.
Hopping across the smaller pools and heading in a slow arc away from the pits, by degrees, Isla lets her worry burn away as well. It's never quite gone, but it's a mere flicker against the rest of their afternoon.
