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!
It’s strange to Peter, that despite having the sweet tooth he does, he hadn’t met Amalia until Adam introduced them. It might have something to do with the fact that she has a real shop, with an inside and a door and everything, which makes it less of a target for his sticky (figuratively and literally) fingers. Stalls are much easier to swipe from, and people are less likely to notice you if you’re just one of a crowd, milling about.
The shop is easy to find when he knows what he’s looking for, and Peter lets himself in target shyly, standing close to the door and looking over the baked goods with eyes, his mouth watering the slightest. He hasn’t cover to pilfer snacks though, not this time at least, so he moved his eyes away, looking for the owner of the bakery. He didn’t call out, just stands and waits quietly, patiently, a greeting resting on his tongue for when Amalia appears, Well practiced by this point.
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
Amalia is working behind the counter when Peter slips quietly through the door. Well, actually she's napping- it's been an easy morning, and with the afternoon bake set and the morning rush done the bakery is a warm and comforting place, easily lulling her slitted eyes shut. She's been busy, as always, stressed and overworked: between guarding portals and Fiat Lux the girl has kept herself well occupied, exhaustion steadily wearing her down.
As the door opens the leopardess too cracks open an eye, yawning widely before stretching up, her tail appearing over the counter. Her nose follows, though still well hidden, sniffing the air curiously in an attempt to divine who has come. The scent is familiar - like Adam, she thinks, but cleaner, less, ah, leathery. Like Adam, but less so, the girl thinks wryly.
Such is her exhaustion that Amalia does not realize she has failed to shift back. Instead of gaining human form the leopard rises on her hind legs, forelegs draping over the counter as she blinks, yawning toothily. It's only when she recognizes her guest that she brightens, broad head tilting to the side. Hi, Peter! the baker greets warmly, a loud purr beginning from within her lungs. Mischief igniting in her gaze, she cannot help but adding innocently: How was the cake the other night? Adam seemed convinced you'd love it....
Peter looks around, wondering if maybe, he’s somehow managed to come in while Amalia was out. But the door was unlocked, a small voice whispered, and there was the smell of fresh bread in the air. Well, maybe the second one didn’t matter so much. He didn’t really know how to tell if he was smelling fresh bread or stale bread.
A voice interrupts his bread thoughts, quite literally. Peter looks up, only to be greeted by a large cat that seems to have risen up from behind the counter. He stares, mouth all but hanging open, as he struggles to pie the voice to the cat. It takes him an embarrassingly long time, but finally he blinks, the edge of a smile tugging at his lips.
”Amalia? How... how can I hear you..?” Then he shakes his head, just accepting it. There were weirder things in Caido. ”The cake was nice. He, uh, Adam, said you helped? So... so thank you, I... yea.” He nods, then forces himself to stop, to stop being so awkward. Then he remembered his carefully planned greeting, and backpedaled. ”I mean uh... hello. First, that... it should have been first, sorry.”
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
How are you... Oh! Realization strikes Amalia suddenly, causing feline eyes to widen as she shoots a look down at her own figure. With a smile that starts toothy and becomes sheepish the girl swiftly shifts, taking on her human form with a practiced ease. "Sorry, I forget sometimes," the baker admits, stifling a yawn.
She cannot help but smile warmly at Peter, though the slightest furrow between her brows almost betrays her endless puzzlement that Adam should have chosen such a mate. The too men feel like utter opposites- but, she supposed, the same could be said for the thief and herself. And their relationship is... Well. Something.
"My pleasure." Tilting her head in acknowledgement of the gratitude, Amalia can't help a slight blush. "I hope it all went well...?" She feels awkward, tiptoeing around it, but it seems equally bizarre to just come out and ask how Peter felt about Adam's declaration of love.
As the figure before him shifts from cat to woman, Peter smiles, shuffling his feet a little awkwardly. ”You don’t need to apologize.” He says, then stops, chewing his lip. He had come into the bakery with... well, not an incredible amount of confidence by any means, but with a loose plan. And his plan was falling apart, which left him scrambling. Internally.
Externally, he’s still smiling, though the quirks of his lips does betray a little tension, and his eyes move to Amalias face, then away just as quickly. And away his gaze stays, a hot blush rising in his own face as she asks how things went. ”It was... it went well.” He confirms, voice soft, almost distant as he thinks back to Adams declaration. He could still hardly believe it, and it showed on his face.
”I-I actually wanted... wanted to get him something nice? Uh, sweet.” Peter tries to get back to his reason for bothering her, so he can be out of her hair quickly. It always feels like he’s being a bother, not matter what he does. ”I’m uh, going away... going to Halo, for a little, and I... thought it might be nice? For... while I’m gone?”
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
01-03-2020, 08:02 PM (This post was last modified: 01-03-2020, 08:02 PM by Amalia.)
Amalia
stop thinking so much
Amalia is used to being the most anxious person in the room, so it is with no little empathy and a good deal of surprise that she takes in Peter's continued discomfort. She wants to set the man at his ease, but nothing she does seems to do so, and so as he keeps moving further away from her (metaphorically) she cannot help but wonder what she's done wrong.
There is something utterly perplexing in Peter's shyness, the way his cheeks so readily color as Amalia pokes in gentle fun. She might have backed off entirely, returned to a distant, unsure figure, if not for the declaration of his purpose here: to get something sweet, because he is going away. "Why?" she asks, unable to hide her incredulity. Why is he going to Halo? And when? Is he... is he taking Adam with him?
That thought causes something ugly and unpleasant to clench unhappily in her chest.
Peter is very clearly surprised by the reaction he gets, the disbelief in Amalias voice. For a moment all he can do is blink at her, about to repeat the question again. Why? Like an echo chamber of confusion. He manages to stop himself at the last moment though, forcing something else to his lips. Wh- I-I... I have a uh, a family, um... reason. I’m not sure how uh... how long, or when I... when I’d be able to visit him. Adam. So... something nice.”
The words had just started pouring out without a filter when he’d gotten going, and it’s only with some effort that he’s able to stop himself. To take a breath. There is a certain amount of expectation he feels with Amalia, like there is some standard he’s supposed to hit, that he’s falling far short of. He shifts, squaring his shoulders, and tries to be more... something. Just more. ”Is that... okay?”
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
A family reason has her further on edge, remembering the last name this young man bears, that there is a darker family in Halo to go along with it. "Zariah?" she asks softly, not trying to hide her distaste for the name, "Or Loren?" Which side of the twisted Lauceleyn family tree did Peter grow his roots from?
Is that okay? She finds sharp words coming to her tongue and has to stop and take a breath. Something about the way he seems to tiptoe around her makes her deeply uncomfortable; if it weren't for Adam's love for the man she would probably send him on his way to avoid further awkwardness.
But Adam is her friend, and she has to try, so she softens her expression and her voice. "Why does it matter if it's okay with me?" She asks gently. Something occurs to her; "Is Adam leaving, too?" And she tries to keep the unhappiness and jealous this thought causes her buried, but she's never been very good at deceit.
If he is offended by the tone in Amalias voice when she says Zariah, Peter doesn’t show it, only shaking his head at both suggestions. ”Neron, mostly.” He says, if only to avoid the judgement that would come from a different answer. Or, hopefully avoid. It probably depends on what she has heard.
There is an irritation in Amalia. Peter can hear it in her breath, see it in the way she has to force herself to relax and be soft, and he shifts, feeling nerves come up in his throat. He isn’t sure what part of this he’s doing wrong, but he knows it’s something. Something he’s doing, or not doing.
”You just... you seemed...” Peter shakes his head slowly as he searches for the right word, his fingers tapping on his leg, as if the movement will somehow shake out the adjectives he’s trying to find.. ”...concerned?” Then he feels something unhappy but understanding rise in his chest, and he shakes his head again, an answer this time. ”Adam is... he’ll be here.”
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
Amalia is not as good at reading people as Peter. She finds his nuanced, halting manner irritating and bewildering. He's so careful in the way he answers, the things he says, and she finds herself bristling further as he continues to treat her like an adversary, or some sort of cruel schoolmaster.
"That's good," the baker says simply, not trying to hide her relief that Adam won't be leaving into the Lauceleyn grasp. Unsure of what she should say next, certain anything she does will cause him to retreat further into his shell, she lets the silence stretch awkwardly a moment, utterly at a loss.
It's a shame Adam has been such a good friend, because the baker would like nothing more than to send Peter on his way. As it is Amalia attempts to swallow down her ire once again, clearing her throat uncomfortably. "Ah, so... Was there a particular snack you wanted? Or did you want me to choose?"
Peter shifts his weight from side to side, trying to not take Amalia's relief personally. She's excited to not be losing a friend, he supposed, but he is going to be losing Adam too, in a sense. The idea of not going doesn't even really occur to him as an option, not at this moment, so he just offers her a thin smile, and a nod.
The silence stretches out between them, neither of them really sure how to break it. It's felt like whatever he's done to try and soothe her, to be as unobtrusive as possible, is only making things worse, but he doesn't know what else to try.
He's relieved when she breaks the silence instead, and with a subject he's more comfortable in. It's hard to feel off balance talking about Adam, when the man is his magnetic north. "I know he likes um... spicy things, uh... but sweet? There's... there's cakes like that, right?" Peter tries to lean into her expertise. "Or... if you have something um... something you know he likes." He nodded then, trying earnesty as a last resort to make this interaction smoother.
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
At last they're back to common ground, Amalia offering a less strained, but still uneasy, smile. "Spicy and sweet... I think I have just the thing, but I'll have to make a new batch." Ginger cake: a personal favorite of both hers and Adams, and it eases something else in her to know that Peter knows him well enough.
A sudden wave of guilt hits her then, for how standoffish and uncomfortable she has been. She wants to like this man - ought to like this man - who despite his anxious and stumbling demeanor has somehow won her best friend's heart. "If... if you wanted, you could help me. So that next time you can make it for him." It's a small offering, and quickly she fears she may have overstepped again, adding a hasty: "Or you can come back in a couple hours. Shouldn't take longer than that."
Relief flashes on his face when Amalia does know what he's talking about, spicy-sweet apparently, though it is gone just as quickly when she says she'll have to make a new batch. Now he's back to imposing, asking something of her when he has nothing to offer. Nevermind that that's what he came here to do.
The offer to help catches Peter off guard, and he has to stop himself from furrowing his brows in confusion. He is interested, he can't deny that, but... "I've never um... never baked, really. Never even really... cooked." A nervous laugh accompanies the words, and his eyes drift to the side, like hes suddenly afraid to meet her gaze. "I wouldn't be helpful." His weight shifts from foot to foot, and he leans back, making like he's about to take a step without ever really doing it. Like he's waiting for her to agree that he'd be a nuisance, so he can take that as a dismissal.
PETER
I always thought I might be bad
Now I'm sure that it's true
'cause I think you're so good
And I'm nothing like you
Well so much for that plan. "There's always time to learn," comes the very weak rebuttal, Amalia's smile friendly but a little strained, not sure how to convince Peter she isn't some strange threatening woman trying to stand between him and Adam (though, honestly, she doesn't see it). "Nobody is very good when they start something new."
Shifting her weight nervously, Amalia doesn't notice the tendrils of lavender hair that have joined her blonde, or the small nubs of horns upon her forehead. She's anxious and uncomfortable and a bit at a loss; so in the end she simply shrugs, glancing back at Peter. "It's up to you, though. I'm going to get started regardless." Turning around, she moves to the back of the shop to begin gathering ingredients, unsure if Peter will still be there when she returns.
