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!
In all fairness, Astaroth does an impeccable job at tearing out the throat of the fyrhund. Sure it’s taken a second try, but sue him – he’s been a statue for the better half of multiple centuries. Of course he might be a little rusty at it.
The second grip has the throat and fyrhund falling under his hold, and he’s more than happy to divulge, ripping into the beast with literally no care for what happens around him. It’s not great to be so unaware in the moment, because as Danta starts the rockslide, the particular fyrhund that he focuses on gets swept up in it, slipping on the rockery before getting buried.
Alongside it, half of Asta’s chosen target gets buried too, and it’s with a snarl that he practically hops over the rockery, using his paws to dig the creature out, dragging it off with a possessive greed. The threat is gone, at least, and Asta gets to take the edge off with the current fyrhund he’s won the battle against, and Gods does he indulge, messily and greedily.
Astaroth
i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy /// everybody in the world knows i'm a little twisted
With a furrowed brow to see movement through the dust and debris, it's only as Danta realises one fyrhund is dragging another away to feast that he realises it must be Astaroth (booooo). Rolling his shoulders and huffing out a long sigh, he takes his time picking his way back down to the nest while his fellow Ancient indulges, the Maverick sifting through some of the debris for anything interesting and finally sitting himself on a flat expanse of rock nearby to soak up the heat.
Knowing better - for once - than to interrupt another man's meal lest he lose his arm for it, Danta will still be there when Asta comes back to himself enough for proper conversation. And it's as much a surprise to him as it likely will be to the other man, because no small part of Danta has considered noping out while Asta's busy. Alas.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
It’s probably the wisest thing Dantalion’s done today, in Asta’s opinion. And it doesn’t take long for him to indulge and regain his strength and his fill, shifting back into himself streaked in blood but hauling himself up to the full height and perfect posture he used to display, that he brushes his long hair back out of his face, streaked darker with blood as Dantalion’s own blonde hair is, that he winds his way back toward the Maverick with a relatively more even head.
“So, care to show me this precious Hollowed Grounds of yours?” He asks, flashing the other Ancient a toothy and bloodstained grin. “I promise I won’t ruin it for you.” Too much. Seems to go unsaid.
Astaroth
i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy /// everybody in the world knows i'm a little twisted
Danta would be inclined to agree (because if he'd really been wise, he'd have left Astaroth as a fucking statue out there in the Lava Pits), and as the other man approaches, he sits up and rolls to his feet, stretching his arms above his head. "Ha - absolutely not," he croons, clearly having no intention of letting such a thorn in his side tail him all the way home - not on purpose, anyway. "Besides, I wasn't kidding when I said the world has changed. The Grounds is days away."
Already he's turning to walk - with intention, Asta might notice - up the rocky incline and towards somewhere the other Ancient won't know. (Yes, Danta relishes being the one with all the information, in case you were wondering). "I'll be catching a skyship to Torchline. If I'm lucky, I'll lose you there forever." If he's really lucky, Asta will sit down and stay here in the Climb. Danta doubts that, though.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
The croon doesn’t affect Astaroth in any way, fully expecting the denial after his original answer – but it beats the current wasteland of the Climb in comparison to how things used to be, something that comes to mind as he starts to relax and come alive a bit more. Besides, boredom was a terrible thing, and at the very least there was one person alive who knew who he was even if their entire lives before were fully intended on trying to ruin the others.
“I’m not wholly unfamiliar with long strolls.” Asta says flippantly, immediately moving to follow the other Ancient the second he sees him move, gritting his teeth a little so long as Danta’s back is to his. He hates this. He hates not knowing anything and having to rely on Dantalion in order to get back to some semblance of a society.
And new clothes. These appear quite dated these days.
He perks up, though, traversing the rocky surface of the lava pits, at the mention of the Skyship. “What, pray tell, is a skyship?” He asks, pretending to be bored of the idea, but deep down the Ancient knows that Dantalion relishes in the fact of how little he knows. And it burns.
Astaroth
i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy /// everybody in the world knows i'm a little twisted
"A stroll from here to the Grounds would be the longest one of your life," Danta warns, though the quiet glee in his voice suggests that he's happy for Asta to try. (Gods please let him try). Reaching the top of the incline and unsuccessfully cleaning off his clothes, he glances over his shoulder just to see that he's being tailed. Maybe he rolls his eyes. Maybe he feels smug. Who can tell?
Regardless, he indulges Astaroth in waiting for him to catch up before explaining, and from this new vantage, even through the red haze, a small figure can be seen in the sky at a distance. "Shall I say it again slowly for you?" he offers. "Sky. Ship. A ship that sails through the sky." And as it gets closer the details become more clear, and Danta starts to make his way more intentionally towards where he knows he'll be picked up. The Climb doesn't have a skyport, per say, but there's a space or two where they might climb a ladder to board.
"It shouldn't take long to get from here to Torchline." Maybe Asta can lose himself there, or fall off the ship in the meanwhile.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
He’s half tempted to take that bet, just based off of getting a warning from Danta, but he’s realistic. Things had changed and as much as he hates the idea of relying on the other Ancient’s information, if he wanted to try and make it somewhere here he’d have to. And so, he does, even with his jaw grit tightly until the second that Dantalion looks and it’s vanished. At least, in favor for peering up at the reddened sky.
And he’ll be damned, there’s a fucking boat in the sky. It’s enough of a surprise and shock that he uncharacteristically stumbles a little – tripping over a rock that immediately gets his momentary anger when he kicks it and launches it away from them. “When were these created?” He asks, instead of the obvious, jaw working as he continues to follow Dantalion – fully intending on climbing up the rope alongside him to head toward Torchline.
Maybe he’ll get over himself. Maybe he’ll get time to come to terms with everything that’s happened. Maybe he can find an even better way to be a thorn in Danta’s side.
Astaroth
i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy, i'm crazy /// everybody in the world knows i'm a little twisted
"They were here when I woke up a few years ago," Danta says, somehow finding it easier to have an actual, not-snark-filled conversation when they aren't looking at one another. Besides, it's a better response than don't know don't care and Asta had better be grateful for it. Still watching the sky, he brushes past the other Ancient to head to the meeting point, designated by little more than a wooden pole struck into the ground and a tattered rag flying from it.
"It's why I was here," he says, as if finally deciding to grace the other man with a response from earlier. "Wanted to see how long it actually took to get from the Grounds to the Climb." Will he tell Asta the answer? One day, maybe. For today, he waits for the rope ladder to unfurl, and hoists himself up onto it before the other man can get near.
Because what's the point if, after all these years, he can't still be a petty fuck?
~FIN
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
