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!
Eloise hummed at that, sitting up straighter like a cat being offered a bowl of cream. That was the thing about Saiden: it all might have sounded like a line, and for how often both men and women fell for it, it certainly worked like one, but she adored him his honesty, especially when it was to her benefit.
"Saiden!" Punching his shoulder playfully, Eloise tossed her hands into the air. "After the hell I've gone through with the men, and you're going to invite more women into it? Didn't know you were so spiteful." She joked. "I heard one even has wings." Eloise muttered. In her mind, she imagined some sort of angel, one who'd sweep the men off their feet and not have to deal with the insults and catcalls the way she did.
'As if you ever have.' Eloise teased. For all of his shit-eating grins Saiden was easily one of the most handsome men she'd ever known. He was quick with a joke, knew precisely the right amount of heat to infuse his words with, and, were you lucky enough to see it, was far more than just a pretty face.
"Woman of the ship." She countered. Or she was, anyhow. "Mmm, often with help." Eloise said against his ear, her voice a suggestive whisper as she dropped off his back to recline on hers in the pool.
Raising his eyebrows, Saiden rubbed his arm where Eloise punched it, though he grinned as he did so. "You didn't know I was spiteful? Guess there are still things we can learn about it other." Snorting, he shook his head. "Don't worry, I confirmed she was not for sex before bringing her aboard."
Then his eyes narrowed. "And I'll make sure the rest of the men know that too. For their own safety." It came out conversationally, but even though it was Jack's crew no one wanted to piss off the cook or the quartermaster.
Laughing, he nodded. "Aye, that'd be the quartermistress, Jiao. She's a fae. Wings or not, she's a pain in my ass." A flash of annoyance flickered across his features before he smoothed it into a grin.
At her teasing, he sighed and looked at her with an over the top sad expression. "I have." Granted, the dissolution of their relationship wasn't quite the same thing, but they'd drifted apart nonetheless. Of course, he'd struck out with Jiao, but that was a little different.
Raising his hands again, he nodded. "Woman," he conceded easily. As the woman he'd once loved (and maybe still did, more than a little bit) whispered in his ear and slid off his back, his jaw feathered with tension. "I've noticed." Turning to face her, he leaned on his back as well, sliding his fingers together and resting his hands on his chest. "Help is always appreciated." His own tone was as wicked as hers.
"Mmm, lucky them." Eloise said of their two new female arrivals, that Saiden would pave the way for them. Of course it was the illusionist's own fault, swanning around as Jack had put it, biting their heads off for looking at her, and all in all being a bit of a bitch to them. Still, she'd had to go it alone, snapping at Saiden when he tried to poke his nose in and offer his support against them all. What Eloise had lost in naivety she'd gained in pride. She should probably have felt some sort of feminist-leanings towards her new shipmates, but all she felt was ugly resentment.
'What's a quartermistress even do?" Eloise asked with a bit of a scowl. "You used to think I was a pain in your ass too." She added a touch quieter, unfairly wounded by her own comparison. It was mostly because of her need to experience life on her own that she and Saiden had drifted apart, and it wasn't as if she'd sat home twiddling her thumbs when evening rolled around either.
"Mmm, especially when done so expertly." She trilled casually, her eyes slipping down to his fingers, of whose expertise she could personally attest. "Heard the rumours about the governor? That he died?"
Saiden just grinned at Eloise's comment. "Jealous?" Letting his body slide into the water, he swam a bit closer to her and then tread water. "I could tell the rest of the crew that you're not sex too. But I'm prettyyyy sure you'd just punch me again, since I know you are perfectly capable of handling yourself." His voice was openly admiring.
Laughing at her unhappy expression, he shrugged. "Procures supplies for the ship." Leaning forward a bit, he dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "She had the audacity to come into my kitchen and say it was messy." Now it was his turn to scowl.
However, it flipped into an easy smile at her next comment. "As I recall, we both liked it when you were a pain in my ass." Winking a bit lazily, he let his eyes trail over her body openly. She'd needed to strike out on her own, yes, but he'd been despondent losing his family and his ship in one fell swoop, and had pushed too hard and too fast, hadn't given her the space or the time she needed. Clingy wasn't a good look on anyone, even him.
"It's so hard to find good help these days, don't you think?" His voice came out as conversationally as hers, though his eyes smoldered a little.
He rolled his eyes at her statement about the governor. "There's always a rumor about the governor. Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced the man even exists. Might just be a ruse so the captains can do as they please."
Eloise rolled her eyes, but she didn't deny the charge. Absolutely she was jealous, but there was danger in getting too close to Saiden again. Eloise was in no position to commit to one man just yet; a lifetime of being shackled by social expectations had made her reckless now that she was freed. And Saiden? He'd been hurt and left before, and Eloise would always love him far too much to be the one to put him through that again. Not when she didn't know what her future held, not when she'd already lost him the only thing that tied him to his family.
'Maybe she can procure us some sheets that aren't full of holes." Eloise whined, relieved to hear that the position didn't seem overly glamourous. Grinning genuinely now, knowing there were few things that riled Saiden quite so quickly as insults about his culinary expertise, the illusionist seemed to relax a bit at this misstep on Jiao's part. 'Fae huh. So like..small? butterfly wings? That sort of thing?" Suddenly her jealousy seemed laughable.
'Mmm, isn't it ever. Good thing I know where to find you, if I ever need a helping hand." The same...couldn't be said for him she now supposed, given her new lodgings. Then again it had always been Saiden's way to let her come to him, and though she often wondered why that was, it just might keep them both out of a great deal of trouble now.
"y'think?" She wondered this, basking in the warmth of the sun on her skin and the feeling of water drifting over her body. "Would you ever want it? Live in that big town house in the volcano, boss people like Jack around?"
Grinning, Saiden cocked his head to one side. "Maybe if you didn't cut up all your sheets to make clothes there'd be less holes in them." Then his expression softened. "If that's an actual problem, I can sew them for you." His voice came out idly, though it was a genuine offer.
Nodding, he grimaced again. "All of the above." Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes before letting go of his annoyance with one last huff.
Turning his head to smile at her disarmingly, he spoke with a tender tone. "There's always a spot in my hammock for you." Surprisingly, it was affectionate rather than suggestive, though obviously there was a teasing flirtation lurking just under the surface of the words.
"Gods no. Would you?" Shaking his head, he laughed. "That's too much work for me. Dealing with all those petty complaints day in day out isn't worth it. There's a reason I didn't try to captain my own ship." Sighing, he leaned back and floated in the water again. "No, if I was going to make a change, I'd get a little fishing skiff. Just begin enough for a small family."
At that, his easy demeanor fell away and his eyes swam with tears. "I have news too." It came out quietly and pained.
"Guess I'll just having to make smaller holes then." Eloise chimed back with a wink. Smaller holes meant smaller clothes, and she doubted Saiden would mind that as a solution at all. 'Oh he sews too? A many of many hidden talents." Nearly she almost followed that up with what was I thinking, leaving you. But she caught herself in time. "I might take you up on that. Some of my magic has been...strange, lately." Her creation magic to be specific which didn't seem to work at all anymore.
Glancing at him, then away, then back again, the white of his smile catching her off-guard, Eloise felt herself blush. She'd blame it on the sun, if he asked of course. Laughing, she turned her gaze towards the lazy clouds overhead. "Your bed is entirely made of holes. Not sure that's an upgrade." She chuckled.
Letting her feet fall beneath her and treading water at his side, Eloise shook her head as well. "And here I thought the reason you didn't captain your own ship was because I was too bossy to let you." Her smile grew sad then, as he mentioned a boat large enough for a family. For all of Saiden's philandering about, she did think deep down what he wanted most was his own little brood.
"Hey..what is it?" She asked, her concern unfettered as she glided towards him, one of her hands seeking out his that she might interlace her much smaller fingers through his
"Well you know what they say about small holes." Voice clearly outrageous and joking, Saiden raised his eyebrows at Eloise. Then he grinned. "Of course I sew. You never know when your sails might rip." His tone was gleeful. "Stick around and you might just find what else I can do."
As she mentioned her magic had been weird, his eyes narrowed. "Mine's been fine. What's going on?" He tilted his head so he could watch her as she responded.
Scoffing at her response, he spread his arms. "Oi. My bed is always an upgrade, thank you very much." Dropping his voice to a whisper, he winked at her. "That's because I'm in it." It was clear he was pleased with himself for that comment.
Shaking his head, he smiled. "That too. I'm a lackey, not a leader." He wasn't at all bothered by his place in the hierarchy or the pecking order.
However, all hints of good cheer left him. Easily, he let her take his hand, and squeezed it tighter than he meant to. "It's...my family. Vanya. She's dead. And she had a daughter. Aoife—" His voice choked off with a sob as the tears began to fall, dropping to join the pool below. Unashamed to weep openly in front of her, he found himself reaching for her blindly with his other hand, slipping into the water as he did so.
Eloise could do nothing but roll her eyes at this, the innuendos now well and truly scraping the bottom of the barrel, though she didn't mind it one bit. "I can't make things anymore." She replied with a shrug, her shoulders causing small ripples to extend away from her. "My telekinesis and illusion is just fine but..when I go to make things, even small things, nothing happens."
Snorting, Eloise splashed at Saiden. "Oh yes, and what an upgrade it is. Comes with a complimentary cook whose body runs as hot as the sun, who talks in his sleep and drools in your hair."
'Are not.' She said of him being a lackey. Saiden just...led in his own way.
Not one to recoil from pain, not this sort anyways, she pulled herself closer giving him her unwavering attention as he explained. That Vanya had made it here but had died was perhaps crueller than thinking that she simply hadn't come over at all. "A daughter? Then—" But as he dissolved, reaching out for her, Eloise' stomach sank. Those weren't happy tears.
"No," She whispered against him, her arms wrapping around his neck as her legs encircled his lower half in as complete a hug as she could manage. "No." Eloise said again, tears in her own eyes. Vanya was the only one who'd approved of she and Saiden, at least after a time. Hypocritically as it all started out, Eloise had once had grand dreams of them all being close friends. Pressing her lips and nose into the crook of his neck, closing her eyes, she tightened her grip against him.
Frowning a bit, Saiden reached up to push some hair away from his forehead a bit absentmindedly. "Did something happen recently?" He gave Eloise a confused look, since she was far more versed in magic than he was.
Nodding sagely, he grinned at her. "And does it all with style. I'm a very attractive drooler, and you get breakfast the morning after." She'd have to do a lot better than that to get under his skin. "Thanks for noticing I'm as hot as the sun, though. As I said, you're not so bad yourself." He winked at her.
Then they got intimate in a far different way, the intimacy of shared pain. As she hugged herself to him, he held her close, one hand resting on her back while the other rose to the back of her head, cradling her. Still sobbing openly, he had his magic carry them to where he could stand, not trusting himself to keep them above the surface.
'Not that I know of. Maybe something to do with the L'ma's appearance?" Honestly, she had no idea. "I went to make a bit of cloth the other day and found...that I just couldn't." Eloise didn't seem too terribly bothered. Her illusion magic was her treadstone when it came to her abilities.
"That's true. Breakfast is always a nice touch. Even if I'm not the one usually doing the eating." She added wickedly, her dark stare locked on his, before she rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Not like that you moose. You're hot. You're like sleeping near a volcano."
Her fingers tangled in his, his body so well known to her by this point that it was hard to remember what was appropriate and what wasn't. Leaning back in his arms, her hands on the sides of his cheeks, she let her thumbs softly stroke away some of the tears, but made no real effort. She'd not hasten him through his pain. Leaning forward she pressed her lips below one of his eyes, the salty taste of his tears bitterly warm against her lips. "I'm so sorry...what..what happened?" She asked softly, pulling back just enough to look him in the eyes.
Sighing, Saiden shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first weird thing to happen with our magic since we came to Caido." They'd both realized that their abilities had changed when they first arrived, though he gave her an understanding and apologetic smile.
"I do enjoy breakfast in bed, you're right." His expression might've been equal parts smug and pleased, with just a hint of embarrassment thrown in. Grinning, he pointed at the mountain peak that towered over all of Haulani. "I don't see you objecting to sleeping near a volcano." Whether he was talking about himself or Apopo was deliberately vaguely.
As her fingers wiped the tears from his cheeks, he dropped his own hands to his hips, though he just held her gently, didn't venture into the planes and curves of her body that he knew so well. Shaking his head, he sighed. "I don't know. Ludo told me originally. But it didn't tell me any details."
He closed his eyes. "I met the father. Ronin Taliesin?" He searched her features for some sign of recognition. "But he was in too much pain to do more than confirm it was true." Pulling her in, he rested his chin on her head, even though he had to stoop down a bit to do it.
"Touche." Eloise agreed with a broad smile. Saiden's wit was one of his most alluring features, biceps and jawline aside.
{asy}'Ludo the...the weird rag god?" Eloise asked, her confusion overtaking her sorrow for both Aoife as well as Saiden. As an abandoned she'd been told mostly to avoid the gods, and given they came from a world without them, it was fairly easy to do. "Mm yeah, I remember Ronin. The guard." She said with a nod. Curling herself around him, her smaller frame almost entirely fit within the rectangle of his upper body.
Humming against him, her fingers traced small patterns on one of his arms, her hair like dark seaweed where it touched the water. "And no news of the others? Gideon or the rest?" Gideon had been the only one she'd liked anyways, but family was family as far as Saiden was concerned.
Nodding slowly, Saiden reached up to wipe away his own tears. "Yes. It also escorts the souls of the dead." The words came out softly, in between the sobs that still wracked his body.
Shaking his head now, he leaned back, gently using his grip on Eloise's hips to push her slightly away. Though he didn't let go of her, he didn't want her to feel that she had to continue holding him. "Nothing." He grimaced. "Perhaps they're in lands we haven't heard of, but I can't hope for that, considering how much trade passes through Torchline. Besides, even if they are..." Voice trailing off, he shook his head again, looking a little helpless.
