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!
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"No." Tobi's tone was even and unbothered; she might have been declining Finn's offer to help set the table or telling a patient that they were out of a certain flavour of jello. Scrubbing at a stubborn bit of their dinner that refused to be washed away by soap and water alone, October seemed far more interested in finishing up the dishes than discussing Finn's efforts to potentially help identify one of the largest threats to bombard Caido in their lifetime.
Having heard Finn explain his meeting with Remi over dinner, October had listened patiently and without judgment, until he felt he'd satisfactorily explained all the nuances of it. Only then did she render her verdict, though truthfully, her mind had been set against it from the beginning. What she couldn't understand was why Ronin of all people thought that this was a good idea, but she'd save that particular line of questioning for the next time she saw the Nova.
"They can go to the gods and ask for glasses just like yours. There is no reason for you to be involved in this." Unable to turn around given the tears silently streaming down her cheeks, Tobi scrubbed harder at an already clean plate.
Finn is standing innocuously behind October, a hand towel in hand ready to dry the dishes she's been washing, his brow softly furrowed. It isn't as though he's never heard Tobi say no before, but in situations like this (you know, the Big, World Altering Kind) she's one of the most self-sacrificing people he knows. Which is perhaps why this is so jarring - and also why it has him instantly reconsidering everything Remi asked of him earlier that day.
"...Are you sure that they can?" he asks, regarding whatever the gods might be able to provide. The question is mainly semantic - Finn has never and would never ask for the item in his possession given all of the trouble that comes with it, and he's not certain there's time for any demigod to complete a quest for it either.
But perhaps he's wrong about that, too. "What if there are more people like that woman on Sohalia's notice?"
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Sniffing innocuously, Tobi wiped one of her cheeks against her shoulder before taking a deep breath. Holding it, she focused on the feeling of her heart in order to try and slow its increasing pace.
"No, I'm not." She answers once she's sure her voice won't betray her. Glancing at Finn over one shoulder, she hands him a plate. "And there probably are." Tobi adds. A solo mission of this kind, based on everything they had seen and heard, simply didn't make sense.
"But you are not a demigod, Finn, nor are you even part of the government anymore. You—we—stepped away from all of that." Though her voice was still even and academic-sounding, it was a touch softer as she continued.
"All of your worries and questions could absolutely be put into a letter addressed to Remi and Ronin, and while once it was your duty to use your glasses when instructed, it has long since that has been the case." Looking down into the soapy water, Tobi considers for a moment. Though Finn has achieved great things when it came to mending his mental health, the man who had slammed his hand into a door in order to keep her at his side still lurked beneath Finn's well-adjusted smile.
"But also...I don't want you to." It's a soft admission, and as she says it, Tobi turns slightly to peep at Finn over one shoulder. It's a selfish thing to say of course, especially because of what was potentially at stake, but lying to Finn wasn't something October was in the habit of doing.
Accepting the plate with a furrowed brow, it's with a quick couple of glances that he realises the tell-tale signs of upset in the doctor, and he sets aside the dishes to regard Tobi properly. "I..." he begins, because Oh has already been used up, Finn reaching up to ruffle a hand through his curls. If it were anything else, Tobi's I don't want you to may well have been enough to keep Finn at home safe, but this?
"I know that we stepped away," he says slowly. "...But what if people get hurt, because of the things I decide not to do?" Well, decide is a strong word, since he's very much being persuaded out of doing it rather than making the decision alone. Offering out his hand to Tobi, the ex-Spyglass's stormy gaze drops to the kitchen tiles. "People could get hurt because of this, couldn't they?"
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"That isn't a fair way of thinking." Tobi says as she leans against the sink. She was trying to stay firmly on the side of the rational here, but with the happy life she and Finn had worked so hard for seemingly being threatened, gods but it was hard not to let her words twist themselves.
Looking at Finn's offered hand, the gesture so fluid now despite its origins, October sighs softly and turns toward him as she slides her fingers against his. "Regardless of what you decide Finn, you can't think of things like that." Raising her eyes gently and staring at her BoYfrIenD's long eyelashes as he gazed down, Tobi nudged one of her feet gently between his.
That's too high above your pay grade, she wanted to say. "You can't accept responsibility for people getting hurt."
Frowning gently, only for the expression to smooth out somewhat as Tobi slips her hand into his and her foot nudges its way between his own, Finn sighs deeply enough to drag his shoulders down. "I know," he says softly, with all of the baggage that one who lets that sentence continue in their mind with but I will. Giving Tobi's hand a careful squeeze, he teases his free hand back through his curls and rubs at the back of his neck.
"I don't like this," he manages after a long few beats of silence, having been trying to untangle his feelings into something he might put into words. "Choosing not to help, when I could." But he'd spoken to Tobi as he'd told Remi he would, and this, he supposes, is the outcome.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Letting her thumb trail softly across Finn's hand only for her fingers to start massaging a pressure point in the spyglass's hand all of their own accord, the doctor frowns silently. Her instincts have her hackles wanting to rise, and if she thought it would do any good at all, she'd march down to the Taliesin's old apartment to see if they were home and give them a piece of her mind.
"I think Remi has phrased things very unfairly to you. Making it seem as if you were the only one who could help. Like a last resort." She says carefully, knowing full well she was as capable of manipulating the man before her as Remi was. "The gods could give them a pair of glasses like the ones you have, the same way the gods just gave all members of the Order their items." Tobi continues softly.
And therein lays the crux of the issue - the question is never what does Finn want to do? and instead becomes a competition between who might best manipulate him. And here, even years later, so accustomed to being the subject of manipulation, it never occurs to Finn to say to hell with it and choose his own path. Shifting somewhat uncomfortably in place, he nods a concession to Tobi that, correct, Remi had indeed phrased things that way.
"He said if there was any other way, he would have done it," he murmurs in what he believes is a reasonable tone. "Does that mean they have gone to the gods already, and it cannot be done?" Had he thought to ask, at the time? The answer of course is no.
Pinching at the bridge of his nose and huffing out a breath that lifts his curls from his forehead, Finn finally looks back up at Tobi. "I do not know what to do. But you have said no, and you are the person I love, so... I will decline."
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"Well, his lack of creativity is not your problem either." The doctor says somewhat callously, before catching herself and sighing apologetically. "I don't know. But of all the demigods in this world, Remi Taliesin is not one who has ever put your best interests first."
Releasing Finn's hand if only so that she could delicately place her palms on his cheeks, the doctor peered up into the ex-spyglass's eyes. Gods, it had been months since she'd seen a storm within them, and when last she had it had simply been over a scheduling conflict and a stack of misplaced guitar strings.
Loving Finn had always been a choice, and though it hadn't been a particularly routine or easy one, it wasn't one the doctor had ever regretted. "You're right. I have. I'm happy to hear a counterargument—" She nearly teases him by calling him Mr. Rosencrantz, though decides against it. "—but regardless, it is me who will bear the responsibility for what comes of this, not you." That, at least, she could carry for Finn. Would carry for him.
"Besides, I truly can't believe that your glasses are the only thing in all the world that stands between our salvation and doom. If they were that important, the gods could make another pair. If they aren't, then they aren't and the demigods can find some other way."
Both surprised and quietly delighted to find her clasping his cheeks, Finn smiles enough for a shadow of a dimple to appear beneath one of her hands, reaching up to brush his fingers over her own. It's not pleasant to hear it - that Remi doesn't have his best interests in mind, because of the way their psyches constantly seem to want to tangle and interlace - but that doesn't make it any less true, and he nods gently to the doctor.
"Thank you, Tobi," he murmurs, closing his eyes for a moment. "The glasses are on my desk in the music room." Because of course they are. "It may be in my best interests for you to hide them, so I do not know where they are." Because self-sabotage and people pleasing tendencies are old, old friends of Finn's, and he might find himself staring through the lenses unintentionally.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Brushing her thumbs over Finn's carefully landscaped stumble, the doctor silently listens to the request made of her. Biting at the inside of her cheek, she exhales softly, wondering if it wouldn't be best simply to tell Finn that he needed to be able to uphold the choices he'd made. But of course, what sort of partnership would theirs be if she wasn't willing to help him, precisely when he'd asked for it.
"Of course I will." She agrees in a soft voice, before standing on her toes and pressing her lips feather-light against his own. Sealed with a kiss.
"I can also write to him if you want, or go with you if you go and see him again." Tobi offers as she settles back flat-footed, gazing up at Finn.
"Thank you," Finn murmurs against soft, sweet lips that come to press against his own, and even as Tobi settles back, his arms slip around her so they might stand, just for a moment or two, in the easy serenity of a decision made and a crisis averted. (Or something like that). As for going to see Remi again, Finn wrinkles his nose and shakes his head to the doctor.
"I think a letter might be better. As a compromise, if you would like to write it then I am happy to proof-read it and ensure that you don't unintentionally tell one of Caido's demigods to insert his head somewhere acrobatic." Perhaps the storm in Finn's eyes has parted enough to reveal a glimmer of playfulness, but the gods know he'll never tell.
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Never taking for granted the easy affection that has grown between the two, Tobi gazes adoringly up into Finn's eyes as she settles softly against him. "Unintentionally?" She wonders playfully, wrinkling her nose and raising her eyebrows until they disappear behind her thick bangs. If ever she was going to tell Remi Taliesin off, she'd not mince her words about it.
"Besides, what's the point of all that dexterity if it's never put to use, mmm?" Laughing softly, Tobi glances at the sink. With dishes still to be dried, she knows it will take some doing to pry Finn out of the kitchen. "What if we finish these, and then you take me for a hot ice cream sundae?" She suggests, fluttering her lashes flirtatiously up at him and beaming.
"Mmhm," Finn says with a serious nod, because of course he refuses to believe that October Hart would ever be anything but kind and polite to people, despite having been witness to evidence of precisely the opposite. (And it was still his favourite visit to the Greatwood). As for Remi and his dexterity, the scrunch of his nose hopefully says everything that words don't about even thinking about that, and Finn relaxes with the doctor in his arms.
Already glancing towards the washing up, hearing Tobi take it into consideration - and then offer a next step to their night - has him smiling. "It would be my pleasure," he tells her, clasping her hands and pressing a gentlemanly kiss to the back of one of them, before dutifully taking up his towel again to dry off their dishes before dessert.
