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!
So much starts to happen quickly and Thorn is immediately distracted by the lanterns as they start to go out. Neither the woman that appears nor the woman that is embraced by the ghost are people that the courtesan recognizes, and so he’s content to meander toward the food when Talyson gives his little request. “I’d love a drink. Pick something… uh, fun?” Something to lighten the dreariness.
And once he gets whatever Zavien wanted as well as a plate full of plenty of sweets for the courier, he returns back to their little gathering, sharing the spoils of the table he’d gathered. And if Tal doesn’t finish all the sweets, he’ll certainly enjoy some of them himself.
As Talyson's burly dragon bound up to him, Zavien's mood lightened considerably. The bumping against his legs jostled him lightly, but only made him laugh. He gave a large grin and reached into his pocket for a fresh strip of jerky. Lifting it up for the dragon to see, he reached forward with his palm splayed open, the treat offered as a symbol of friendship. "That's okay. She's obviously a good judge of character."
Zavien looked back to Hawthorn and smiled. "Food sounds great. I just gave up my last morsel for a good cause." He winked conspiratorially at the dragon's pleading eyes. "I'll grab the meats!" Steeping towards the tables, he began gathering whatever proteins were within reach. Strength didn't come by eating fruits and greenery after all!
When he felt satisfied with his large selection of savory options, Zavien returned to the others. He'd noticed some commotion involving a lantern and hugging people but wasn't quite comfortable staring at the intimate embrace so he turned to the Tal and Hawthorn with a victorious expression, displaying his spoils. "I hope you all have an appetite. Otherwise, it will just be me and the dragon enjoying all of this delicious food!" Tilting his head, he let out a light laugh before asking Tal, "What's her name, by the way?"
Keep your face to the sunshine, And you cannot see a shadow.
When Zavien provided a treat he quickly found himself with a new best friend. Boreal sat back, as dainty and prim as a boulder of a dragon could be, and took the strip of meat from his fingers with a delicacy all out of proportion with the rest of her. Tal just snorted, his grin quirking up in spite of his disappointment at having his lanterns passed over yet again. "She's a judge of somethin'," he agreed, teasing his companion who proceeded to pointedly ignore him in favor of butting her head against Zavien's thigh with a happy rumble.
She escorted him to the meats table, knowing a sucker good man when she saw one and clearly hoping to cadge a few more snacks with his help while Tal was too far away to stop her.
Tal gave Hawthorn a thumb's up and went to peruse the drinks, choosing something that involved spiced rum and pineapple juice. There was a little bowl of tiny umbrellas next to it, so he stuck one in Thorn's drink to liven it up before collecting three cups to juggle back to the others. Things seemed to be winding down, but that just meant there was more food to go around and fuck it, Tal decided he would rather enjoy the rest of the festival with some friendly faces for once rather than sulk about missing his chance to see his dad again and say a real goodbye.
"I could eat," he agreed, lips quirking out of his habitual scowl under Zavien's determined chipperness. "Here, this un's yours..." As he passed out the drinks he looked to his traitor companion, who had glued herself to the other Accepted's leg. "This menace is Boreal," he introduced her with fond exasperation. "An' I think she's probably goin' home with you after this!"
No better version of me I could pretend to be tonight
Another year unchosen, the knot of fear loosening in his chest. It gives way to relief, with a chaser of guilt- how dare he be happy to not see his mother? How far has he fallen, to be having such thoughts? For as long as he can remember he's tried to be a man she would be proud of, and oh, it aches to know just how far from that ideal the Dragoon has become.
Swallowing down the lump of emotion in his throat, Koa turns away. Let those who could celebrate - he won't begrudge them happiness - but for him, there isn't time or energy for anything close to joy. There is only the fatigue of trying to keep up with a world that quickly outpaces him, the knowledge that the monsters going bump in the night may always be bigger than he.
