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!
Observations were keen, and his laughter more so. The alterations taking shape contorted into hues and blends he’d never seen upon the Valkyrie; hazel and inky, pale and distinctly foreign. Save for the need for praise, and he snorted, opting for a put-upon sigh. “I would not have a clue as to who you were,” which wasn’t true – he’d know his loved ones anywhere – but he gave her a wink thereafter for the pretenses.
Which balked at the gods-forsaken hat she brought back upon their agreement. He reached out for it like it was something diseased, holding it outwards and waiting for it to fall apart at the seams. “Hideous,” he countered, putting the sunglasses on so he wouldn’t have to see it anymore. Tying his hair back into a bun, he settled the disturbing portion on his head, shuddering underneath it. Perhaps no one would even dare to think this was Deimos, for he’d never wear such a horrific thing. “Lead on,” was a grimace, face already impassive and slightly pained; a visible pout. “This was supposed to be fun.”
It's a very Deimos delivery of praise, but it's praise all the same, and the titter of pleasure that escapes her right before she spins to skip off the shops is positively avian. She can't recall if she had shared with him that she kept her shifts, but with all the revelations and news in her head she decides it will be discovered one way or another, and puts it aside.
His displeasure only serves to amuse her, cheeks painful with the force of her impish grin. "Exactly, so people won't want to look at it for long. You're welcome," she stresses, as if that had been the goal at any point during her perusal of the options. It's simply something she can twist to her benefit because it's true. Laughing, she leads the way as urged, resisting the desire to grab at his wrist or elbow given his pouting. No sense in inviting revenge too soon.
"It is fun!" Mostly for her. "First we need the boring things all parents forget to stock up on though. Bibs, nappies, and towels galore." Laundry is time-consuming, and the amount of rags and hand towels sacrificed on spit-up and spills had been terrifyingly monstrous when she'd had the twins. They are scarcely even glanced at as they enter the first open-air shop, which means the disguises are working perfectly. She tilts her head subtly toward Deimos while her fingers seek out the textures of various folded towels, deciding which are best for sensitive baby skin and which are best for spills, ensuring it doesn't look like she's speaking to him. "Any nursery color schemes you want to match, or are plain shades okay?" They'd be dirtied regardless, but far be it from Ru to impugn first time parent decisions or dedication to aesthetics.
the Valkyrie
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
His response was very mulish in turn, rolling his eyes at her back as they sauntered into the market square. “Sure,” came on a dry tone, but then they were maneuvering about and he could finally steel over another long breath. Behind the sunglasses he was incognito and free to shift back into shadows or nothing at all; almost a relief, because no eyes were on him (the hat was painful enough; people were probably blinded by its horrendous hues).
The Sword listened to Ru’s explanations, deferring to her expertise, but he had some understanding of them already; not wholly ignorant when it came to infants. Boring things were noted in the back of his mind though – the bibs, nappies, towels – though wondering if worst came to worst he could just make a whole lot of the disposable items. “All right,” he murmured, on the lookout as they made their way through the open-air distinctions.
For his part, he didn’t quite care if anyone saw him speaking to her – some mischievous part wanted others to think they’d arrived together simply so the hat’s presence could embarrass her too. “The nursery is a mixture of white, blue, and teal.” Finding some ivory was easy, and he snagged a few of them in his hands, all with a variety of textures, purposefully showing her. “Which of these is best?”
Hotaru wrinkles her nose and cuts him a disapproving stare when he speaks to her plainly, dragging her into the aura of eye-bleach that was the hat she'd purchased for him. This certainly wasn't what she had been counting on, and in the bond he would surely feel the fond exasperation and begrudging admiration for the smooth way he turns the tables on her. At least she doesn't look like herself, so her own reputation is safe.
"Blue and white shades are easy, perfect," she murmurs, still keeping her own voice cast low. It would do little good, but it was about the principle. As he presents a few options she turns and runs the inside of her wrist over each, the sensitive, thinner skin a better guide for what would be irritating on an infant's. "Those are okay, but those two are a no for skin." Eyeing the pile he'd pulled from, she grabs five of each of the other three options, piling them into his arms. What's the point of them being so massive if not to hold a woman's excessive purchases?
There's minimal actual baby stuff at this shop, but a few versatile goods like baby blankets and slings. As she goes, she forgets herself and her petty goal of silence, too eager to impart knowledge and be involved in this beautiful period of transition. "No yarnwork or loose weave blankets until the baby is older, their fingers can get caught and cut off circulation. This weight at the most," she picks it up so Deimos can squeeze it in his hand to feel the amount of thickness. "Furs work great too, it can actually help reduce the odds of developing allergies." He'd have far more options in Halo for that, so for now she pulls a few plain colors and evaluates their material, ensuring she has cotton only for swaddling. "Will you be making hardier slings for you and Evie? If not, you can use these for sling-carrying but then you'd want a few more." And for once there's no teasing or juvenility in her expression when she holds them up to him, her eagerness to help shining in eyes not her own.
the Valkyrie
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
A very juvenile shrug, utterly indifferent save for a self-serving smirk to follow, followed her disapproving stare. The hat had been her fault anyway – she too could suffer the consequences. It only planted further seeds of possible and potential irritation in his mind, pondering over the next whims and opportunities as they corresponded over cloth.
Ru analyzed the chosen components, and he studied the motions, doing the same after her on his own skin, committing the notions to memory, so they’d better serve him in creating their own. Thereafter, he snorted at the sudden increase to the pile in his arms, but gave no other hint of hindrance, other than arching his brow and then listening to the rest of the discourse.
Apparently her schemes weren’t necessary when giving and granting tutelage and experience, and he nodded again at the insinuations. They didn’t have any yarn or loose woven blankets at the house anyway, and he gave careful consideration of the weight of the material. “Plenty of furs,” he added with a smug grin; at least Halo had those eternally in supply, and he always had some additional ones stored for guests or other needs. Some could easily be donated to the nursery. As for the slings, he nodded. “I will make the slings.” They’d be an outright necessity given his and Evie’s vocations and the constant need for travel. “Anything else here?”
