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!
Oliver may hesitate in touching him, but Harper has been trained to recognize even the subtlest movements of body language, and he is not so reticent about physical contact. When Oliver speaks, it is easy to reach forward and place his hand over the younger man's, to smile sincerely with the weight of his appreciation. Oliver's kindness is not something he has ever received, and even his mentor had been a stoic woman whose love was shown in actions, not words that come from the heart. "I'm grateful you found me, Oliver. And I'm glad that I'll continue to have you as I settle in. Thank you, truly. For your belief in me." Whether it's warranted is subjective, but it bolsters Harper regardless. Being alone is his greatest weakness, and to have already found someone to allay that fear is a stroke of fate that he is indebted to.
The rest of Oliver's thoughts aren't clear to him, though his internal dilemma is faintly apparent. Harper kindly doesn't inquire, as Oliver has done for him in their time together. They may have fallen together like old friends within moments, but some secrets and thoughts are not to be shared so easily. "Philanthropy is a type of hobby I'd say," he assures. Helping others is no small feat after all.
Harper can't help how he laughs as an immediate memory comes to mind. "Well I can answer both in one story!" Leaning forward he grins brightly, already recalling the moment in his mind. "We had many exotic animals in our circus, and since I was born there I explored their cages quite frequently whenever I could slip away. They were all welcoming of a young child, and my parents once caught me curled up and sleeping with the tigers. They couldn't get me out for hours until I woke up! The tigress refused to let them near. And our elephants would babysit me too, and taught me how to walk while I held tight to their trunks." Blue eyes are bright with joy at the memory of both. They had raised him as fully as his parents and the other circus members. "I wouldn't be able to pick between tigers or elephants, but they're surely both my favorite." Harper would never show preference as a child, and even now couldn't choose. "You said you had some memory issues regarding your hobbies? Do you have a favorite animal you can recall?" Asking for his favorite memory may only distress him. But perhaps it would satisfy his curiosity over that offhand comment.
Not many people were this good at reading his body language or if they were, they never acted or spoke about it. Harper on the other hand seemed comfortable with dealing with it. As Harper's hand made contact with his, Oliver glanced down slightly before turning to look back into Harper's eyes, a smile spread across his face. To hear those kind words warmed Oliver's heart. It was really the least he could do, but it was nice to know his small actions had meant so much to him. "I can assure you, you wont be alone. Hell, you'll probably want to get rid of me in a couple more weeks." He laughs faintly at his attempt at a joke. It wasn't hard to tell that Oliver did care for Harper, at least enough to want him to be safe.
Harper does have a small point, whatever the hell he had been doing could easily count as a hobby. Oliver doesn't dwell on the thought too much, instead, he focuses on Harper's answer to his question. It's a good sign that Harper is willing to answer questions and the story he has to tell is an entertaining one, certainly. It's descriptive enough for Oliver to picture it and it gives him a window into what was part of Harper. It isn't surprising to hear that it's back from his acrobatic days or hell, even before then. When he was a youngling. Harper seemed to be the sort to have an interest in animals, but to go into a tigers cage? Oliver isn't sure if he'd even do that today, let alone as a child.
"Very valid reasons for liking those two animals." There's a grin on his face as he speaks. If they kept this up, his cheeks would be hurting by that night! Seeing as he's smiling so much.
There's a hum as Oliver drifts off, looking away slightly. "Well...I unfortunately don't really have much of a story, but I think my favorite animal is the hummingbird...that could be because I have a tattoo of it, but they're also fantastic little things. They're so small and yet so powerful. I've never actually seen a real one for myself, but I know I've seen fake ones, yeah." There's a nod as he concludes his...story? Whatever that was. It answered his question, that's for sure.
"You've talked about acrobatics and stuff so pleasure me with this: Do you have any fun talents? Or weird talents?" Ah yes, the proof that Oliver was trying to stray a bit away from the boring old 'what's your favorite fruit' kind of question. Yeah, he'd like to know Harper's favorite flower, but he needs to know the fun stuff. At least until Harper gets tired with him.
More than just taking cues from someone's unspoken signals, it's rewarding to know he has read and interpreted them correctly. Oliver's smile is more than reward enough for that. Physicality is as natural to Harper as breathing; Oliver will never need to ask or seek out such bodily comforts. "I think we'll both be stuck with each other for quite a while." With a wink he Pat's Oliver's hand gently before withdrawing, hoping it succinctly drives home the fact that he doesn't intend to abandon the pale-haired young man with his gilded heart and tremulous smile.
Eagerness and mischief overtake him swiftly as the topic changes with the tides of their interest, sitting up straighter at the mention of a tattoo. "Ooh, how rebellious of you Ollie. Where is the tattoo?" Hopefully somewhere Oliver can show it off to Harper's eager eyes. He has always wanted one himself, but never got around to it in his busy life before here. Regrettably something he'll have to miss out on now. "I don't know...I can juggle, but that's kind of a given. I can tie knots in stems with my tongue, and wiggle my nose and ears simultaneously?" Laughing, he shakes his head. "None of that is particularly interesting. I guess I'm a weapons expert? I can pick locks and escape bindings? Does that count as cool?" All of them had taken training, but his mentor had always declared him naturally talented. Perhaps it counts.
For some people reading others came easily. Oliver wasn't nearly as talented as Harper, but he could at least tell the man was happy around him. Either that or Harper was a damn good actor. With the thank you's done, they were able to settle on a mutual agreement: neither one of them was going to leave the other anytime soon. It should be nice, really, to watch Harper come into himself here in Caido. Hopefully after all of that, they would be able to keep up this little bond the two had somehow managed to form.
A small laugh leaves Oliver at Harper's sudden abundance of interest in the mention of tattoos. "Yeah, honestly I'm surprised I ended up with three." Really. He couldn't remember why he got the first one, but the latter two had distinct memories. Looks like he either had relaxed parents or something else. He wasn't going to complain. "The hummingbird is right here." He proceeded to point towards his rib cage before continuing on. "I also have a compass here, and a rose here." He would then point to a spot on his upper arm and then a spot around his collarbone, obviously in retrospect to where each of the tattoos were.
Now. Harper seemed humble and kind, but he couldn't be THIS humble. "Harper...you kidding me? Those absolutely count as talents. You damn well better believe they're interesting!" Oliver couldn't do any of that! Juggling and wiggling your ears were things he could picture, but tying a stem with your tongue? That immediately piqued Oliver's interest. "You gotta show me all that stuff someday. Man....the most I can do is just cram myself into tiny places and I'm pretty good at perching." Could he do other things? Not really, no. Magic didn't count as a special talent.
"Three?" Harper's eyes bulge comically, though he listens patiently as Oliver points out where on his body each resides. Whistles low and appreciative. "Well you're certainly not helping my desire to get some now." He'd always withheld, knowing he couldn't have identifying marks with his particular "job". But this place is so different, how can he justify that anymore? It's certainly something he wants to get done. Now just to find an artist...
His cheeks flush with humble appreciation at Oliver's outburst. It's one thing to know you're skilled, to never receive criticism from your trainers and mentors but similarly to never receive praise. For someone to gush over you and compliment the skill you worked so hard to foster, it's like a tidal wave. "Thanks Ollie," he mutters with a shy smile, soaking up the warmth of the praise. "Getting into small spaces is just as good though! Handy in escaping things, or finding lost items."
A laugh leaves Oliver in reaction to Harper. The man is comical and just so lighthearted. He shakes his head and grins at the other man. "How's about this...I really do enjoy spending time with you, but I think we both know that you really need to get that arm checked out, right? We should make a deal....once you're healed up and we both have the time, lets hang out again. I can show you my tattoos and you can show me your tricks and stuff. Maybe I could even show you some of my magic." He throws in a wink at the end.
It seemed like fair enough of a deal in his eyes. Both of them would get to see something they were deeply interested in learning more about. "I gotta give you some incentive to get that arm checked out, so come back to me once you feel better." It wasn't that Oliver didn't want to spend more time with Harper, not at all. He just wanted to make sure Harper got help before sundown. "You can find me at the Launcelyn Manor. Where Loren lives. Do you have any final questions for me?"
12-13-2019, 02:44 AM (This post was last modified: 12-13-2019, 02:45 AM by Harper.)
Harper
I thank whatever gods may be
for my unconquerable soul
Loathe as he is to say goodbye to his new - and now in this world, only - friend, Harper knows that the longer his shoulder remains dislocated the more dangerous it becomes. Even if the temptation to stay and revel in this new friendship is fierce. "I'd say that's a perfectly good deal." It's easy to stand back up without his hands, keeping himself from moving the injury too much.
"Nothing that can't wait." He throws his good arm over Oliver's shoulders to tuck him into a quick hug before he steps away. "Stay stage till then!" Goodbyes aren't something Harper does, so he gives a jaunty wave and goes walking off in the direction of the Infirmary. The sooner he gets fixed up, the sooner he can get back to exploring.
