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!
The Miana Pool had once been his favorite place to play as a child; he had fully subscribed to the idea that if his stone reached the bottom, and caught the eye of the L'ma, it might come true, the wish, that was.
The spirit at the shrine had told him some advice--stop being passive, and expecting things to work out. So, while he tried to decide just how to next approach Phoebe, in a less passive manner, he'd prepared a picnic and picked some of the shiniest, but mostly worthless stones, that Phoebe had provided him with.
The picnic was a variety of items, he'd figured he'd spend the day under the sun, thinking over his next move, so there was enough food for at least three people. His boy was supposed to join him after the stall closed down for the afternoon.
Rubbing the brightest stone between his thumb and index finger, he tossed the stone, along with a wish for a new romantic idea.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
Phoebe was busy - which was just as she liked it. Not enough time to think to deeply on this or worry too much over things she couldn't change. With the brothel up and running, she was needed nearly 24/7. Whether it was cooking or cleaning or healing or making medicines or actually running the business itself - for the first time in a long time she felt content. She was needed, and really that was more than enough.
Elias and his attempt at some pursuit were long in her past, despite its recency. Before she might've brooded over it endlessly, but now her energy had to be focused elsewhere. So as she came up upon the Miana Pool, a small bag of collected bulbs for her garden in the coming season in her hands, she didn't think much about the awkwardness of suddenly finding him there as well. "Leave your stall to a child and a thief again?" she said teasingly as she approached.
05-25-2020, 11:36 PM (This post was last modified: 05-25-2020, 11:36 PM by Elias.)
Elias
The stone had just hit the water, disappeared from view, when he heard a familiar, teasing tone. "Mmm, just the child. Thief's disappeared." He responded, just as teasingly.
It was true, Selene had disappeared, but he wasn't too worried. Surely she'd not been eaten by something. Yet. He turned to face her, flashing her a grin. "What kind of flowers?" He inquired, straightening the blanket he'd spread out as he sat down, rummaging through the picnic basket for a snack.
His kid needed to hurry up and close shop.
"Apple?" He offered, biting into a green apple. "The kid's supposed to close up early, join me for lunch. He's late, though." After a moment, studying the basket, "I made quite a bit of food, shame for it to go to waste. Join me?"
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Thief's disappeared? Sounds high time to do inventory then." she said with a smirk, shaking her head a bit. A merchant hiring a thief still struck her as incredibly nonsensical. But it was his business to run, not hers.
Phoebe glanced at her little bag of harvested seeds and bulbs. "Mostly Quinine and Canellila. For the medicial gardens arouned the Halenani." she said with a bit of a shrug. They served different purposes, but would both be equally useful.
She glanced at the picnic as he offered she join, but slowly she shook her head. "He's still a growing boy. I wouldn't want to deprive him of third helpings." she said with a small smile. But really, it was a weak attempt at establishing some distance.
Elias nodded, smirking playfully. "Probably. Shouldn't be too hard to do, though." To be honest, the crew had already done inventory, and nothing had disappeared. He wasn't sure just where Selene went, but alas... she was only his problem as long as she was under his roof.
"I see," he hummed as if he understood what those plants were. He didn't know them off the top of his head.
"Nonsense, his growing is why there's three people's worth of food. Besides, he's started noticing girls." The man rolled his eyes, "So please join me? I'm probably being stood up, anyway."
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
She hesitated still, staring at him and the spread of tasty looking food. If she were being honest with herself, it looked amazing, and she was rather hungry from spending time in the hot sun digging up root systems. But....their last interaction had her feeling uneasy, even as she stepped a bit closer to the edge of the blanket he laid out.
"Being stood up by your son while you've got a lovely little picnic by the Miana pool...awful conveniently romantic." she said, raising a brow at him.
Elias noted her hesitation, and shifted so that the basket was equal distance from him, as it was from the other side of the blanket. "Mmm, yeah. If I were taking you on a date, it'd not be to my favorite childhood play area," he commented, softly.
"I apologize, if I upset you last time. But what kind of man sets out in the hot sun and hopes the girl he likes will appear?" He snorted, taking another bite from his apple. "At least pick some of the food out to take with you, if you don't want to sit."
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Childhood play area?" she said in surprise. She hadn't realized the Miana Pool was a popular place with children. The beaches certainly because the sand offered infinite possibilities for things to create. But the pool? Though...he did like rocks. "Oh! I found these by the way." she said, pulling a few small stones out of her pocket and holding them out to him with a proud smile. They were smooth and shone in the light...but absolutely worthless.
She bit her lip, recognizing the ridiculousness of what she had half accused him of. "I suppose not..." she conceded. With a sigh she sat on the blanket, glancing over the food he had set out.
Elias flashed a grin, "Yeah. The rocks here are lovely, and sometimes there's nice ones around the edge of the pool," shallow enough to snatch up. His grin widened as she offered him even more stones, she'd not changed at all.
He accepted the stones, tucking them into a kerchief, studying them, "Thank you, these are gorgeous." He sounds awed, and as he carefully ties the handkerchief up, he tucks it into his pocket, apple forgotten.
Once she's seated herself, he offers her a charming smile. "Nothing uncomfortable about a picnic, right?"
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"You collected rocks even as a child?" she said with surprise, but a small smile. That he liked the rocks she found did make her happy though. She didn't really know what she was looking for...so she just picked the prettiest ones she saw. Or at least, what she thought was pretty.
She shook her head at his question, not noticing as her skirt rose above her knees and revealing the small round burn scars covering them. "No, not at all...though unexpected." she said with a small smile. "Did you make a wish?" she asked, glancing at the pool.
Elias reclaims his apple, nodding. "Mhm. Annoyed my father to no end. I also enjoy finding pearls," idle small talk but she'd asked.
As she settled in, his gaze briefly lingered on exposed, burned skin, before he noticed she'd spoken to him, "A... wish?" He'd been distracted. "I did, yeah. I like to think that perhaps they can come true."
His gaze had returned to the basket of food, as he sat his apple core aside. "Hey, Phoebe? Can... I ask about the burn marks on your legs?"
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Pearls?" she said, eyes widening. "Are...are pearls really that easy to find here?" she asked. Unlike the other stones, she clearly understood the vlaue of them. Moreover, having grown up far and away from an ocean, pearls had always been a rare and expensive item. That a child could go about finding them here boggled her.
She hummed, considering the pool. "Has one ever come true?" she asked, looking back at him again. But his question came as a surprise, and Phoebe glanced at her knees, realizing they had been exposed. Her expression fell, as though a literal wall were raising around her. "You can ask." she said softly, blank gaze falling to her hands.
Elias shook his head, "Not really, but if you know where to look, you might find some. I could show you sometime." She seemed so excited about pearls.
When she asked about a wish, he just shrugged. And then... her expression fell, and she seemed upset. He bit his lip, shifting to move closer, so he might see the burns a bit better. "What happened?" He inquired, softly. The burns added to her unique look, that much was for sure.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"That would be fun." she said softly, the moox already brought down by his line of questioning. But learning to find pearls? Talk about a handy skill.
As he looked closer, he would note easily that these burns were no accident. They were perfectly round, evenly spaced, and in neat rows covering her knees. "Longheat and Leafchange were....very difficult for me this last year." she said quietly, eyes still focusing on something far and away, though she did not seem entirely present. "I wasn't coping well...and whenever the emotions got too much...I used cigarettes to burn myself. The physical pain was a good distraction from the emotional one." she said quietly.
