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!
She doesn’t pay too much attention to the next number shouted after Chulane adds his own again, leaning into the light squeeze he offers around her shoulders – iceberg gaze flickering along his face when he explains. “Oh, I’m sure. I used to live in mountains much like these.” She winks to him, settling in her seat and taking a sip of her drink. Still, she manages a lighter chime of a laugh at the mention of shouting numbers at each other across a room – something about it significantly childish yet amusing regardless.
“That’s one way to get to know people, I suppose.” A shrug to that, beneath his arm, leaning back into it a small amount as she hears another person call out ”Eight!” and Kiada pays attention to this as she clears her throat. “Nine!” Comes her chimed reply, flashing a grin to the group before settling again and looking up to Chulane once more. “If you get too drunk I can arrange for a room here for you, unless you want me to drag you home.” She flashes him a wink, before snickering into her glass.
Either one would suffice for her - though she wonders how that would go if she were equally just as drunk. Sounded more like a mess, to be honest, but an amusing one nonetheless.
what a shame we gotta pay for reality
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Giving Korbin a surprised look as he spoke up, Loren eyes narrowed. Then he shrugged, not wanting to engage with the assistant healer even if the younger Hale seemed to have regained his hearing. Instead, the Launceleyn just shot Weaver a curious look.
Then he was drawn back into the game. Not entirely sure whether they were supposed to stick to some sort of order, and definitely not caring even if they were, he jumped in quickly after another patron shouted out a ten. "Eleven!"
Turning, he leaned his elbows on the bar. Sipping from his wine, he grinned at Weaver. "Not even going to shout numbers with us? How professional." He winked at her, clearly teasing.
The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind
The drinking and the games get underway. Weaver keeps the drinkings flowing. A simple cider for Chuy, who wasn’t a big drinker, and so she steers away from the strong stuff. She slides the cider over toward Chuy, watching the way he and Kiada interact. Well well, that seems obvious enough, even if they haven’t quite figured it out yet. Though she glances to Korbin, wondering how he feels about the whole thing.
She turns her attention to the next drink, a glass of good red for Loren, who would appreciate it. Besides, maybe it pays just a little bit to be sleeping with the bartender. She slides the glass his way. ”Nothing wrong with wine,” she says with a smile, even if she’d always prefer whiskey.
Noah calls out seven, and Weaver sees the way her brother sulks in the corner, her eyes darting between them. ”Aren’t seven and fourteen supposed to be switched?” she asks Noah, but he’s drinking anyway so it doesn’t really matter. No one really cares as the game moves on though, Chuy and Kiada playing but decidedly distracted.
”Ten!” she calls, before turning her attention back to pouring drinks as Korbin works on the snacks. She slides next to her brother, bumping him with his hip and turning her head to him. ”You could just tell them,” she whispers, in case he actually would like to join in and be a little stupid for a night. Then she grabs cider and whiskey, mixing them together in her favorite cocktail. She takes a sip of her own drink, watching the game continue before continuing to pour drinks for those gathered.
at least I know how I can make you laugh like no one else
Korbin looked up with narrowed eyes as Noah took up the counting after him. The man's grin was knowing, and he felt Loren's surprised look. Inwardly he groaned; had he given up his own game already? So much for keeping it a secret. He had half been looking forward to hearing some juicy gossip, to hear what people really said about him when they thought he couldn't hear them. But that likely wouldn't happen now, and he sighed.
When Weaver scooted over to nudge him, he made a wry face at her. The idea of just blurting out that 'hey, I can hear again, wohoo!' felt utterly ridiculous. His relation to a number of people in the room was less than stellar, and having them cheer on his behalf would be annoying. Noah seemed to have figured it out, and Weaver already knew; that's all the people that mattered to him. So he pretended that he couldn't hear his sister, and turned away to find containers for the snacks.
Joke's on everyone else if they wound up pointing at the menue for drinks, or ended up writing notes unnecessarily. Ha ha. It was funny. To him. Really, it was.
Oh I'm such a mess But at least I've always been myself
Warmth from the alcohol was spreading, I could feel my body loosen its grip on my muscles, my senses dulling, and suddenly everything that was happening around me was seeming more and more funny. Laughter fell easily from my lips, deep and rumbling chuckles at most any comment I heard around the room, though for the most part my attention stayed upon Kia. I was heartwarmingly chuffed by the way everyone embraced the game, simple and silly that it was - it wasn't really about the game at all, rather it was about bringing people together, reminding them that while the season might try to separate us, we would endure, together.
Apparently I become more of a big ol' softie the drunker I got.
Kia's words cause my cheeks to burn a radiant magenta, though I hope to pass it off as an alcoholic blush as I down the rest of my drink in response. "Thirteen!" I shout, barely realising that I had fucked up the number order and grabbing a shot off the bar to swallow in a burning gulp anyway. Alcohol always had a swift numbing effect on me, to the point where a couple of drinks in I usually found myself ready to fall asleep - but tonight was not for sleeping (not yet, anyway.)
"Home," I said simply in response to her words. "You can stay, with me," my words started off strong, but then I mumbled the rest into my glass of cider (hey Weaver, did you sneak whiskey into this? Fucking delicious). I look at Kia with innocent puppy-dog eyes, wondering if she heard all my words, and how she might react.
Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires but by the removal of desire
Oh, he’s blushing, and Kiada snickers quietly into her glass, bright eyes focused on him from the rim of her glass as she takes a sip, a small smile lifting the corners up before she sets the glass back into the counter. Chuy blurts out a thirteen, which is very much wrong, and she watches him slam a shot with a very large amount of amusement pulsing down the bond toward him.
But she’s not sure if she continues off the wrong number or not, and so she quietly considers the room, before uttering a questionable “Fourteen…?” And taking a shot anyway, downing it and hissing against the burn in her throat with it.
Might as well try and be on the same page as Chuy, even if it seems he’ll get there quicker than her. Ah well. Instead, she flashes him a wider grin, nose wrinkling a small amount with his comment back toward her. “That absolutely depends on if you want me there.” She offers, focusing on Chuy a bit more intensely. “Is that what you want?” A raise of her brow, an underlying flirtatious tone to her voice as she drops it just for him to hear.
what a shame we gotta pay for reality
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Oh great, so she was amused by all of this. Well, it was better to make a girl laugh than it was to make her scream in terror, at least. Still, a grin is on my lips even as the alcohol burns its way down my oesophagus, the stubborn fool that apparently exists within drunk Chuy refusing to let it show just how unpleasant it is, instead only offering a chuckle as Kia hisses at the burning sensation.
I keep sipping at my drink, letting the cider and whisky swirl on my tongue before swallowing in a gulp as Kia responds to my offer. Suddenly, it feels like things have gotten a lot more serious, though the sober Chuy hiding within me might later realise that it was simply because she lowered her voice so that only we could hear her words, causing me to lean in closer to her. Drunk Chuy is currently at the helm, and he hears her words and so desperately wants to respond without mumbling or slurring his words.
"More than anything else." I manage to say, softly, but hopefully still clearly enough for just her to hear, a genuine smile on my face. With my arm still slung over her shoulder, I gently run my hand up and down her arm, tracing playful paths along her forearm with my fingers.
'FIFTEEN,' someone else shouted in the pub, and I winked at Kia before returning my attention back to the room, content to sit back and watch the game evolve without my participation while my thoughts drunkenly danced around in my head.
Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires but by the removal of desire
Bemused at the back and forth between Chulane and Kiada, which Loren was too far away to hear, he leaned toward Weaver. "Is there something going on between those two?" He jerked his chin at the two other Outlanders. The healer sipped his wine, not above a little bit of gossip.
As the stranger's voice rang out, the Launceleyn was quick to follow. "Sixteen!" Turning to face the bar again, he gave Weaver a slightly wicked look. "Shall we play never have I ever after this?" Tone not at all apologetic, he raised his eyes challengingly. No doubt she'd have another admonishment about how terrible he was.
The night continues on, with or without me - I am warmed by everyone's enthusiasm, everyone's comradery, though I do wonder how many of these nights will occur to get us all through the season. I suppose the rest of the year would give my liver a chance to recover - all of our livers a chance to recover. At least alcohol was good at keeping us warm, right?
The games and the drinking continue on very late into the night, they evolve (or devolve?), and before I know it, I find myself walking gloved hand in gloved hand with Kia back to my lodge, leaving only a few stragglers behind at the Kraai. I had a rule - I was a traditional man, and hated the idea of engaging in anything intimate while under the influence (and I was so very much under the influence right now). Somehow, I managed to explain this to her with slurred words and sheepish grins, and she seemed to understand - a night of innocent cuddling and drunken snoring was all that transpired between us (on this occasion, anyway).
Who knew what the future held?
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Fin! Thanks for posting everyone <3
Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one's desires but by the removal of desire
