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!
Sohalia, the innocent that she was, did not put two and two together before this conversation. She'd been thinking that as a nature god, it made sense that Frey would like fruit. I mean, why not, right?
It was about the time that Flora's eyes traveled down to her waist that Soh's eyes grew round, her face turned red, and she uttered a mildly horrified, "Oh." She wasn't one for innuendo, and the mere concept of a fruit being a stand-in for, well... you know was more than a little unsettling. Well, Jata did say that he worked with the sexual aspect of Frey, so maybe she should have taken that bit of advice with a grain of salt. "I - I didn't realize -" Incredibly flushed and flustered, Soh looked away - anywhere but at Flora - and was grateful for her alternate suggestion. "Thanks," she said, more than a little embarrassed not just by her own naivete, but also by Flora's nonchalance.
Luckily, the conversation soon shifted, allowing Soh to find her footing once more on solid ground. "I love Stormbreak," Soh protested, but it was half-hearted at best. "I just..." She sighed. "I actually just, um, started dating someone here, so..." Why she would confide this to a stranger? No one knows. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I have a shop to run back in Stormbreak. I can hardly just take the summer off." No matter how much she might want to.
Chuckling to herself, though not meaning it at Soh's expense, Flora can only push her lips together and widen her eyes in a well now you know! gesture before laughing again. "Listen, they'd absolutely have liked it if you brought them peaches." She consoles. "And with that in mind now you can make an informed choice about what to bring."
Listening, and keeping the majority of her Stormbreak-related thoughts to herself, Flora's lashes flutter at the mention of dating someone. 'Oooh!' She trills, obviously keen to hear the gossip if Soh was inclined to spill the tea. "Come here, come sit." Nodding toward a large chunk of drift wood, Flora smooths down her surrong as she sits, crossing one leg over the other but turning her torso toward her new friend. "I mean, is anyone going to die if you don't tend to your shop?" She wonders, head cocked to the side slightly. 'You know what they say, no one wishes they had spent more time working when they're on their death bed. When you look back, are you going to wish you'd found out how this summer love turned out? Or that you worked?"
Flora chuckled, and Soh wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. But it didn't seem like Flora meant any harm by it, and as the other girl consoled her, Soh began to perk back up. "I appreciate it," she said sincerely. Gods, what if she went for nature Frey and sex Frey showed up instead? That would be mortifying - especially since she and Jude were planning to go see them together.
But Flora's attention seemed to be captured by the mention of dating someone, and Soh giggled shyly, happily joining her new friend on the piece of driftwood. Crossing her legs at the ankles and angling herself towards Flora, Soh made a rather prim and proper picture - even if she wished, slightly, that she could pull off Flora's confidence.
"Well, no," she admitted. Nobody was going to die - except maybe her profit margins. But she'd been thinking about hiring an assistant anyway, with how often she traveled - but that brought up another point. "But it's not just the shop. I'm a cartographer, so I'm always traveling for new maps." She bit her lip thoughtfully. There was always Torchline, which she had yet to fully capture, and she had to admit that Flora's logic was enticing. "I'll think about it," she promised. "But who's to say he even wants me around all summer?"
"Well say it's a work trip then." Flora replies with a bright smile. "Ever since the war things around Torchline have been..different. And the islands are always moving around, so it would be helpful to have some idea of where to find them. I could even commission you to make maps I could put up in my bar." Then, with a rather cheeky and smug smile she adds, "Oh yeah, I own Torchline's bar."
Leaning toward Soh as if meaning to study the other girl, the Doubletake gives her head a confidence shake no. "First off, you're gorgeous. He'd be an idiot not to want you around. And second, it isn't like you're going to be clinging to his ankle, right? No, you're going to be off having map-making adventures, seeing the sights, getting a great tan, hanging out in my bar and making him jealous.." Flora's smile is nearly from ear to ear now as she paints a picture of Soh spending her summer as some bronze and untouchable beauty, mapping out Torchline's sands and making whoever this man was, feel lucky just to be in her shadow.
A work trip might be justifiable, if she could find someone to tend the shop. But how bad would it be, really, if she couldn't? How different would it be from her taking off for a week at a time, chartering a skyship and flying somewhere new? "I do have a trip planned for Halo already, but other than that..." she murmured, trailing off thoughtfully. If Torchline could use new maps, then all the better to call it a work trip, right?
Soh brightened a little at the prospect, suddenly giddy with the thought that she might be able to spend the entire rest of the season (mostly) with Jude. "I'd be happy to do some maps for you," she said cheerfully. "And that's so cool, that you own the bar!" Bars weren't really Soh's thing, but she'd recently discovered a taste for fruity beverages, thanks to Koa, and she could certainly stop by if it meant seeing her new friend.
As for Flora's reassurances, Soh blushed at Flora's description of her. Oh, don't get me wrong, Soh knew that she was kind of pretty, in a sense, and that when she looked in the mirror she was pleased with what she saw. But gorgeous? Gods, she could never hold a candle to someone like Flora. And while she wouldn't mind, as Flora said, clinging to Jude's ankle when they were nearly inseparable anyway, she could certainly see the appeal in getting to know more of Torchline. "Okay," she said with a laugh. "You've talked me into it. I'll just make a trip back to Stormbreak to gather some things, and then I'll finish out the summer here."
Waggling her eyebrows suggestively as Soh thought it over, Flora let her bare toes pitter-pat in the sand. "Seeee? It's perfect!" She decides, crinkling her nose with approval and enthusiasm. "And if you need, my brother has this friend who flies his skyship back and forth whenever I need things, so I'm sure you could hitch a ride if you didn't want to wait for one of the big ones." Did Flora feel at all bad about whoring out Everest's services like this? Absolutely not. Besides, the little nerd needed to learn how to be more social, he'd basically said so himself. Win-win-win.
"Yeah, it's called the Hanged Man. Definitely stop by." Soh didn't quite seem like the type who needed to know about the Tavern's back room, but who knew?
Clapping her hands together triumphantly, Flora beams. "Yay! And you can totally stay with me if you need a place to crash. I used to..." Normally a more or less open book, now the Doubletake's smile grows a touch sad as she swallows and gives her head a small shake. "..I have an extra room you're welcome to use. And it's right on the beach." She finishes, and though her voice isn't nearly as bright as it had been, her smile is no less genuine for thoughts of her dead twin.
Flora's enthusiasm was catching, and Soh smiled at her new friend, suddenly excited by the prospect of a summer on the beach. Maybe she could even bring herself to try some of the region's fashions; she always envied the beautiful women of Torchline for their tanned skin and confidence. Soh tilted her head to one side at the mention of Flora's brother. A friend who flew skyships sounded familiar, and she wondered aloud, "Your brother lives in Stormbreak? Who is he? Maybe I know him."
She made a mental note to check out the Hanged Man - probably sometime during the day because, you know, she wasn't exactly a hit-up-the-bar-at-night kind of girl, especially after her late night experience in Stormbreak. "I will," she assured Flora.
The tone of the conversation briefly shifted, and Soh examined her new friend's face as it grew a touch sad. She didn't yet know the girl well enough to ask, so she focused instead on her kind offer. "Aww, thank you! But I always stay with Jude when I visit," she said. "He's my best friend, and I've always been welcome there." Of course, now that they were dating, maybe Harper would change his mind. She wasn't sure how traditional he was, and what the new ground rules might be now.
"Oh, you probably do." Flora says with an affectionate roll of her eyes. Who didn't know Mateo? You'd have to live under a rock to have not met the botanist, and even if you did, he'd likely show up with bells on just the same. "Mateo? He's a botanist. He has this shop in the Plaza and then a boat he lives in." Her voice rises at the end as if this is a question for Soh to answer, but of course, it isn't. There was no chance the girl hadn't met her sibling, and perhaps even, you know, wink wink.
"Okay, but remember, don't be clingy." Flora advises with a knowing look. As someone still fangirling over one of the arguably least-open-to-commitment men in all of Torchline (Jack), she'd learned a thing or two about making herself unavailable in order to seem more desirable. But maybe Soh was right, it wasn't like Flora really knew how healthy relationships went (thanks mom and dad).
Leaning forward, Flora moves to wrap her arms around the other girl, hugging her tight. "Well, I should go and see Safrin before someone else gets there and I have to wait." She mumbles, pulling back and grinning. "But let's talk more, yeah? I'm usually at the Tavern or just...around. I'm not hard to find." So saying she stands with a wink. Reaching for her basket, she shoots Soh a last smile before walking toward the lighthouse.
