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!
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
With cheeks freckled by blood and sand, Eloise strolled into the Hanged Man looking appropriately pleased with herself. She needed to see Raza, but there was a bit of business to attend to first. Asking for a gin and some paper from whichever of the Liason's cronies were working, the illusionist got down to business.
Five different letters all with the same content. Sealing them in an envelope and dripping a healthy amount of wax on each to seal them, Eloise downed the rest of her chin with an entirely self-satisfied smile. Jack probably thought the illusionist had gone to the bar to try and bed the owner, as she'd implied in her thoughts. Though she'd certainly not turn that down, Eloise had a different request in mind as she ordered another gin, and inquired as to where Raza might be.
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
Maybe it’s coincidence, maybe it’s fate, or maybe it’s just Hoa, letting me know that the tiny brunette is looking for me. At his mental insistence, I put my order forms and bookeeping back in the drawer and saunter out of the back. It takes me just a moment to spot El - and have an immediate reaction. “Fer fuck’s sake El, if you keep comin’ in here all bloody, I’m going to have to take someone out.” I grab a damp towel from the bar and come over to her table, thrusting it into her hands so she can clean herself up.
And then I look at her expectantly. “Hoa said you were lookin’ fer me?” I figure it it was important, she’d ask, otherwise she’d just wait for me to eventually show my face.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
Eloise glanced up with a grin; she might as well have had cream dripping off her whiskers, she looked that pleased with herself. "I see the types who make their way into that room back there. Maybe I was just trying to weasel my way in?" She said with a smirk, wiping Jack's blood from her cheeks.
"I can't put my finger on it, but there's something so satisfying about that." El muses her under her breath. Maybe it was some masculine innuendo lingering in the back of her mind, maybe she just happened to like long and sleek and strong things. "But yeah, I was." Pausing until the bartender poured her gin and fucked off, Eloise continued. "Blood on my face or no, I think we both know I don't have this place figured out entirely yet." Part of the colour drained from Eloise' face, leaving her cheeks splotched with coral. Sliding three of the letters forward, addressed to Remi, Nero, and Rexanna, the illusionist raised her eyes back to Raza's.
"Should I disappear, or wind up dead somewhere...y'think you could mail raven these for me?"
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
Giving El a bit of a look after her comment about the types in my room, I raise a single eyebrow ever so slightly. “All you’ve ever had to do was touch me,” I say, like it's obvious. Reaching forward to get a spot of blood she's missed, I try to touch her face with the pad of my thumb, brushing it cross one of those fiiiiine cheekbones. Cause words can say a hell of a lot of things, but a woman’s touch, especially a wanting one, is easy to figure out.
But as she continues on about not havin’ Torchline figured out a bit, I sit down at the edge of nearby chair and lean in a bit. It’s an unexpected request, and I look at the envelopes with blatant curiosity. “Yeah… sure.” Taking them, I see the names and really only know Remi’s. The others… well, someone would know or I could find out. “What’s in ‘em?” I ask, really only half-expecting an answer. I got someplace to keep ‘em safe, and let’s be honest, curiosity is likely to get the best of me.
‘Sides, it ain’t far to ask something like this without knowing what I’m protecting. And who I’m protecting ‘em from.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
"Have I now." El repeats, her eyes not moving from Raza's even as she woman leans forward, fingers reaching out for cheeks flecked with blood and sand. Turning her head, Eloise lets her lips brush against the Liason's fingertips, her long lashes closing with the pulse of the gesture. Perhaps it's the high from having bested Jack in a spar, or in the plan adrift in her mind, but El feels free of the captain's shackles for the first time in months.
She knew to expect the question, and yet it still gives her pause. With no want to lie to Raza nor to tell her everything, Eloise is caught in a tight spot with absolutely no leverage. "Someone had something over me..." She says, running her finger over the rim of her glass. "Took me a while to realize that knowing a secret cuts both ways."
In fact, should Raza read the letters, she'd find them mostly devoid of any interesting information; for the other thing Eloise had learned, was that the threat of telling a secret was almost as good as actually telling it.
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
I hold El’s gaze as she finally realizes that all she has to do is fucking ask, and I’d be more than happy to fulfill her fantasies of what happens in my back room. “Go after what you want. Nothin’ sexier than bein’ wanted.” I murmur in encouragement. Now ain’t the time or place for us to get into it, but now that I know, all bets are off.
And as she starts to get evasive, I shrug, pull back, and reach for the envelopes, tucking ‘em into the back pocket of my pants. “Aight, well if I get people comin’ at me in the middle of the night, I’m gonna be comin for some better explanations,” and level a ‘look’ at her that says ‘I’m happy to do this until it gets nasty.’ After all, everyone is entitled to their secrets. Gods know I have plenty. So with a lingering glance at her, I turn and head to the back to lock up her precious letters. I probably won’t come back out till she’s gone.
