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!
He'd gotten Maea's missive about the planned experiments, and while he hadn't been wild about it he also hadn't forgotten his promise to help. Shit was getting out of hand, and the recent mental intrusions by that creepy fucking voice were doing nothing to ease his sense of trepidation over the current state of affairs.
He'd had plenty of deliveries to bring to the Grounds on this trip, though, so it had worked out for him to be here at the right time. After running all over the town and part of the Brambles to get the packages where they needed to go he'd finally found his way to the quiet peace of this little lake and dropped down beside it for a short break. Boreal, his dragon, soared contentedly high in the sky overhead, her pale form blocky and buff even at the distance she was currently at.
As for the courier? He had brown skin and dark, shaggy hair held out of his pale eyes with a strip of old leather. He was dressed in serviceable clothes of tough fabric, hardly new but clean enough, though perhaps a bit light for the Leafchange chill in the air. Not that he seemed to notice as he gazed morosely out over the Oasis, lost in thought as he chewed on a stem of grass, sucking the sweet juice from the root. Somewhat at odds with his other clothes was a cuff of glittering stone around his wrist and a dapper vest speckled in black and white that he wore over his shirt. A pair of goggles with lenses of smoked glass rested on his head, ready to be tugged down over his eyes to shield them from wind or glare at a moment's notice.
With a sigh he finally spat out the grass and rummaged around in the Bag at his side, pulling out a capped mug and a wrapped sandwich to munch on while the moment of peace lasted.
On her way to meet Maea for this mysterious experiment (Who was she to say no to potential danger?), Thal had decided to explore the nearby Oasis. She'd heard of its beautiful waters and relaxing atmosphere. Although she would never admit to being nervous, there was a secret hope that the calming waters would prepare her for the upcoming chaos.
As she moved through the tall grasses, she ran her hand along their tips, letting the sweetness of their scent mix with the clean smell of the water. Her eyes closed in contentment. She'd always felt the pull of the ocean, but the lake water held a gentler call to her soul. It seemed to be singing softly and a quiet hum began in her throat. Not a sea shanty or lullaby, just a soothing intonation of sound.
When she opened her eyes again, she noticed a shadow circling the Oasis and heard the beat of wings. Above her head, a dragon appeared to be gliding amongst the clouds. Its proximity prompted her to look around and spot the man seat nearby. He didn't strike her as initially intimidating, sitting amongst the grass, apparently enjoying a snack. The dragon suggested otherwise. His clothes also evoked curious questions as to who this man might be. She wasn't one for striking up conversation, but it felt strange to ignore the only other person around and the urge to satisfy her curiosity was strong.
Keeping her hood up around her head, only whisps of her dark hair and the striking blue of her eyes were evident beneath her cloak at a distance. Hiding her face wasn't a deceptive intention, but a habit as she approached the man. Thal raised a hand in greeting. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone else out here today." Her body was on alert for possible dangers this stranger may present, but she tried to sound "friendly."
A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye brought the man's head up and around a few seconds before the hooded stranger spoke. Tal paused his chewing and then swallowed reflexively, almost choking on the bite he'd been working on. He managed to repress a cough - just barely - as the morsel made its way down his throat, but he still wheezed a little as he waved back to the cloaked woman to buy himself a moment to recover.
"Uh... hi. Yeah. Didn't think anyone else was out this way," he admitted when he could speak clearly again. The boats and rafts were all beached or tied up to various points along the shore now that Longheat was gone and the waters had grown too chilly for comfortable swimming.
He hesitated a moment, then pushed himself to his feet, a little surprised when he realized how much taller he was than the petite stranger. "D'you live here, then? In th'Hollowed Grounds, at least," he added with hasty clarification.
Considering their odd predicament, she wasn't surprised by his startled reaction. An amused smile was poorly suppressed on her face as she watched him scramble to his feet. Her suspicious tension was melting away with each fumbled action, but she continued to remain alert. Tilting her head in feline assessment, she considered his question.
"Not quite. I'm a bit of a 'nomad.'" Thal ran her eyes down his taller frame, noticing the glittering stone bracelet and peculiar goggles. On his otherwise ruffled appearance, they stood out in contrast. "And what about you? I don't think I've seen you around the area before." She wasn't about to confess her recent arrival to The Hollowed Grounds, instead choosing to play confident. "What could bring you about these parts?"
While she awaited his response, she crossed her arms, letting her tail flick around her body to demonstrate her appraisal of him. Although she held no affiliation to the land, Thal was always looking for ways to cause trouble. Depending on his answer, she may choose to pick a fight despite the dragon flying above them.
It was probably a good thing the shadows of her hood hid her expression; all that Tal could clearly see of her face was her eyes, and he was busy keeping an eye out for any weapons she might have at hand. At least when she crossed her arms he didn't have to worry about that so much, but her answer was a little puzzling. Still, if she wasn't a resident that meant he didn't have to pester her about his quest.
He lifted his chin, puffing out his slender chest when she questioned him in return. Not only did he have nothing to hide, but he was rightfully proud of what he did! "Yeah, well, I run a courier service. I go all over Caido, carryin' packages an' messages by skyboat. Y've prob'ly walked past my shop here in th'Grounds, if you've been here any time at all. It's at the edge of the Domiciles, nearest th'Docks. Seawright's Delivery Service."
He'd built a storefront in every civilized region, in point of fact, where people could bring parcels to be gathered for the next time he made his circuit through, ready to carry them off to friends, family, and business associates in distant regions.
But after he'd boasted about his business he deflated a little, the hint of a scowl touching his features as he shrugged. "But today I guess I'm here t'help out a, uh... friend?" He didn't sound too certain on that point, his voice rising on the word. "...with some sort o' 'speriments on th'void critters." Pale eyes narrowed as he peered keenly at the stranger in return now. "What about you?"
She listened intently to his ramblings. The thick accent was difficult to understand, running syllables together and missing some entirely. Luckily, pirates often used similar pronunciations and incomprehensible speech, allowing her to follow with some effort. The gist seemed to be about his business. Although she had no investments to speak of (and no interest in them), there was a part of her that wondered if she could use this connection to her advantage in the future. Perhaps it would be worth her time to let him live. For now. With that in mind, Thal let him talk and puff his chest.
As he finished, she politely nodded her head in apparent respect. "I do believe I've seen your shop. I hadn't imagined that I was standing in front of the Mr. Seawright." They might find each other to be helpful associates if he needed a ship to transport anything, but she wasn't quite ready to trust him to that extent even as he revealed his purpose here. Thal wasn't positive what "'spirements" were, however, it sounded awfully similar to "experiments." The mention of void creatures also suggested that the two of them may in fact be heading to the same place.
Unready to disclose that yet, Thal deflected, "Sounds like risky work. Do you always take on scientific studies? What are you hoping to find?" Her feet remained in place, but she leaned forward slightly in evident curiosity.
04-06-2024, 09:33 PM (This post was last modified: 04-07-2024, 02:13 AM by Talyson.)
Blithely unaware of the direction of the cloaked woman's thoughts or the potential violence therein, Tal answered her questions with no little pride for the little delivery service that he'd expanded from a one-man Halovian operation into a worldwide enterprise with offices in every major region. Still, he paused and squinted at her uncertainly as she laid things on a little thick. Sure, he could be dense at times, but he wasn't completely oblivious. And while the Leafchange day was briskly chilly, it wasn't cold enough out to warrant being fully bundled up like Deepfrost was knocking on the front door. The stranger's insistence on being Short, Dark, and Mysterious was starting to ring a couple of alarm bells in the courier's brain...
And because of that, he frowned when she ignored his question to instead posed another couple of her own. He gave a slight shrug, crossing his arms over his chest, figuring two could play at that game. "Guess you'd have t'ask Maea 'bout it," he answered grudgingly, now on his guard but not seeing any reason to hide his purpose or his host's name. It wasn't exactly a private investigation, but that didn't mean it was without risk. Or the potential of tampering from an outside source.
Say, a void-infected Ancient? Maybe that was why she kept the cloak pulled up and her face hidden. "What's your name, anyways?"
Watching the man start to squirm in discomfort gave her a bit of satisfaction, but when he mentioned Maea by name, Thal knew that she should put a stop to the intimidation. The experiment was too important (according to Maea) for her to compromise by scaring him off. So, with some reluctance, she let her hood fall behind her. A curtain of wavy dark curls cascade down her back, framing her small face and blue-black horns. She gives him an amused smile that borders on predatory.
"The name is Captain Thalassa Sanguis. Sounds like we'll be working together in the near future." Thal keeps the statement vague with the thought of using the courier connection to her ultimate benefit. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, 'Mr. Seawright.'" Her back bent in a mock bow that exposed her tall black boots, sheathed sword, and tight-fitting black attire. The movement was fluid and graceful as a cat stretching in front of a mouse.
Well, at least he had a face to put with the mocking voice now, and even a name. Though his dark brows rose - either in surprise or disbelief - as she claimed the title of captain. Nor did he fail to note that her name was uncomfortably similar to his own. 'Tal' and 'Thal' was going to be a problem if anyone else was talking to them both...
He didn't relax, but his nose scrunched up as her mocking introduction reminded him that he hadn't really introduced himself yet, either. "Talyson," he corrected her gruffly, his expression twitching as he fought back his instinctive scowl of discomfort. "Captain o' th'Peregrine." He couldn't help but add that last bit as his pale eyes flicked briefly over her while she bowed, noting the sword and the black clothing. She was graceful, sure, and no one would ever mistake Tal for a cat - except for maybe one of those scruffy, underweight young alley toms, ears and whiskers askew, limbs a little too long to be handsome.
But the ones that survived tended to have more to them than met the eye, and the same could be said of the courier as he stood before her with no weapons of note except a dagger at his hip.
"Captain Sanguis, huh? So how d'y'know Maea, then?"
She didn't let it show on her face, but the similarities between the two of them were uncanny. It was like looking in a very warped mirror. "Thal" vs "Tal" and both being "Captain"s. Then to add their connection to Maea and presence at the Oasis. Each coincidence made her skin crawl in weird discomfort. But every commonality was contrasted by a stark difference: their genders, heights, personalities... she could go on. Instead, Thal decided to brush it off and let them hash it out at another time.
In response to his question, she shrugged her shoulders. "We had an unlikely meeting. Now she can't seem to get rid of me." A grin spread across her face at the thought. It was hard to describe that they'd met when she was yelling at a shrine with blood dripping from her hands or that Maea had somehow become the person she's spent most of Leafchange with. Overall, they had a relationship that was undefined. It may be somewhere in the realm of friendship, but it was still too early and complex to determine.
Thal further assessed Tal, noticing the lack of fear despite his unease. "And I'm assuming you know Maea through business?" The guess was generic, but she suspected it to be true nonetheless. She knew of Maea's involvement with many world leaders probably led her to needing a courier on occasion.
Tal snorted at Captain Thalassa's admission of persistence. Sure, she was probably joking, but then again... Hail, he couldn't tell. He'd gotten better at reading potential customers, but with this woman it was too early to tell. All the more reason to stay on his guard until he figured out her intentions, and to keep Boreal from coming down to investigate, though he could feel the big dragon's curiosity about the newcomer. It was a rare day that she actually listened to him, but she caught enough of his unease to obey for the moment.
Her own question drew a slight shrug from the courier, his nose wrinkling in thought as he pulled up the memory of their first meeting. It hadn't been all that long ago, really. A couple seasons, though it felt like a lot longer, with all the void stuff they'd been dealing with.
"Well... kinda yeah, kinda no," he waffled. "She ran into me while I was on a delivery job, an' bargained passage on th'Peregrine. So we've been helpin' each other out ever since. S'what friends do." The words were said with a satisfied certainty that contrasted with his early waffling. "So what've y'heard about today's meetin' with her?"
She tried to picture the pale Ancient bargaining with Tal. It didn't really fit the image she had of Maea, but she suspected there were more aspects to consider. The claiming of "friend" definitely implied that their relationship had developed since their economical meeting. There was a high likelihood that he had a closer connection with Maea than she did, however, with their frequent time spent together, Thal was confident in their standing.
As far as the experiment went, she wasn't quite sure what to expect. Thal gave him a fanged grin. "I've heard it's going to be dangerous, focused on understanding the spread of Void infections." A spark of curiosity caused her to consider Tal again. "Have you had many interactions with the Void?" She personally had yet to encounter any Void flora or fauna, not that she necessarily wanted to. It wouldn't hurt to learn more about it though.
The fanged grin drew a wrinkle of Tal's nose as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, sounds about right..." he agreed, mulling over the spread of the void stuff and remembering the conversation he and Maea had beneath Stormbreak, chasing the damn void-crow that had stolen his ring. He didn't look happy about the potential danger, but he didn't look surprised, either.
He shook his worries about the future off - at least partially - when Thalassa asked about his past experiences with the infected plants and critters and this time he didn't both to hold back his grimace of distaste. "Unfortunately, yeah," he acknowledged, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "A fair bit, in pretty much every region I've stopped in. An' they've been gettin' worse every season. More infected critters, an' more dangerous ones." He shook his head, exhaling a huff of frustration. "An' then there's that damn voice that keeps poppin' up an' talkin' about some 'Family' bullshit. Any idea what that's about?"
It was concerning to hear about the unchecked spread of Void creatures. The thrill of danger was still there, but the thought of the Void taking over all of Caido was not a pleasant thought. That was one of the reasons she'd agreed to help Maea. With her limited exposure, she hoped to gain a better understanding of the playing and their capabilities. This seemed like a good way to do so in a controlled environment.
Unconsciously, Thal ran her hand through her hair at the mention of the voice. She still wasn't sure what to make of it and this "Family." As Maea discovered during their trip, she was struggling with the idea of fighting on the losing side. It almost seemed smarter to join now and begin making a place for herself amongst them. However, there was still a chance that the Family wasn't as strong as implied. This experiment would reveal a lot to her, possibly determining her future alliance.
Placing a blank look on her face, Thal did her best to appear unbothered. "Probably just some egotistic being looking to be our 'savior'." She practically spat the word in disgust. There had never been a moment in her life that she needed saving and that wasn't about to change. Her shoulders came up in a shrug. "It sounds to me like they are going to try at playing House, using us as their dolls." Her laugh felt a bit hollow and slightly unhinged as she continued, "I just hope they weren't the kind of kids that ripped the heads off their dolls and fed them to their pets." The joke stood but so did the logic behind it. Thal wasn't sure what their motives were and everything hinged on that.
