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!
Elias's lips curled, "Now, now, Phoebe. I'm not a jealous man. If you wanted to keep your options open, that's fine by me." He grinned, sipping his drink as he turned to face her, dark eyes studying her. "But I wouldn't be sleeping around, because that's not my way, not personally. No shame to you, though."
The man settled back in his chair. "So it's settled, Dudley and I'll move in for LongNight. The crew'll be with our goods, so I won't have to worry about that." He declared, as if it was done and the deal was sealed.
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
"And if you do all that waiting and all that exclusivity and in the end get nothing? Please, there isn't a soul alive that wouldn't be mad about that." she said, shaking her head. She was torn really, wanting to fling herself into his affections for the sake of comfort and past experience dictating that it couldn't be that simple. Everyone pursued others for a reason. Sex clearly wasn't his motivator, and she refused to allow herself to give away her heart again. Not now. Not for awhile. She had been burned enough to be wary of that.
So in the end, he'd gain nothing. People got angry when they felt slighted - and Torchline was not the place to make enemies.
"I've a feeling Dudley will have racked up quite the tab by the end of the week. We here at the Halenani do appreciate your patronage in advance." she said with a snicker.
Elias arched a brow, grinning softly. "I'd get you, even briefly. I adopted a prostitute and took her kid in, Phoebe. I'm not the sort of man you can piss of easily." He finished his whiskey and studied the woman, "Would you rather we agree to sex, with no strings attached?" He spoke like he was making a business proposition. "Because I do enjoy sex, strings or no."
When she spoke of Dudley, the man groaned and murmured, "Good thing we do business with the Halenani, and get a discount, eh?" He snorted softly, and adjusted in his seat.
"You've not got to give your heart to me, you know. Keep it guarded, but do let me show you some affection, hm?" He knew what he wanted, but he understood what she needed as well.
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
"I've a history of pissing off even the coolest of men. Don't tempt fate, sir." she said with a smirk, sipping her whiskey. At his proposition she fell silent, thinking it over, wondering less if he could do it than if she could. She had tried the one night stand thing before, and it had culminated into a nightmare. But she was distracted from her ruminations as he mentioned the supposed discount he and his crew received.
A mischevious grin curved her lips as she sipped off the last of her drink. "Oh? I recall a very high and mighty captain saying his men would pay full price like any other customer. Change your mind now that it's on your own pocket book?" she teased, before settling back into her chair.
Honeyed eyes stared out into the garden then. He made it all sound so simple. So easy. No strings. No risks. But whenever in Torchline did anything come without risk? It simply wasn't the sort of place, and she refused to be niave enough to believe she had stumbled on the one pure soul in residence amongst the pirate community. "Tell me about your real business then." she said, looking over at him seriously. "Awfully generous for a merchant in Torchline. Lots of crew you pay. Very charitable with your goods and pretty faces. Where's it all come from, Captain?" she said. She honestly didn't know if he was one of the many who dabbled in the black markets of Torchline - she had no reason to suspect him other than the locale - but she wanted to see if there was anything he was hiding, and so watched his reaction closely.
06-12-2020, 03:30 AM (This post was last modified: 06-12-2020, 03:35 AM by Elias.)
Elias
Elias snorted, "Ah, did I? All right, then. Full price it is." He trusted her memory, over his own. When she commented about his real business, he raised his brows.
"Real business, huh? Well..." She had to have figured out what he really did, and he smirked her way, not willing to give her too much to run with, in case he was wrong about her knowing. "I'm just a merchant, love. That is my real business. I sell what people bring me. No questions."
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
Phoebe snickered and set down her empty glass on the table. "I'll get you a frequent visitor card. You'll get a discount every tenth visit." she said with a wink. With a young man just discovering all the possibilities at his finger tips in his care after all, Elias could use it.
But his answer to her probing question was...unsurprisingly vague. Phoebe held his gaze for a moment before looking back at the fledgling garden, silent and contemplative. "So long as my business and my employees don't become bargaining chips in this no questions asked sales of yours...I don't see why we couldn't enjoy each other's company more." she said slowly, a hint of hesitation in her voice. But really, if he tried anything underhanded, she would simply call upon Frey to show what happened to those that threatened their chosen people.
06-12-2020, 06:34 PM (This post was last modified: 06-12-2020, 06:34 PM by Elias.)
Elias
"That boy'll run my tab sky-high, won't he? This Miwa you introduced him too--she's good?" He chuckled quietly at the idea, at least Dudley would be happier than chasing after his first lay, probably vanilla at that.
Elias's lips curved. "I'd never use you or your business and employees as a chip in my games, lovely. Not my style." He's sincere, his gaze studying the garden she was starting.
"Say, what sort of supplies does the brothel need for LongNight?" He raised his brows, slipping a piece of paper and small stub of a pencil from his pocket. "Write down what you need, and I'll bring it on over later tonight."
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
Phoebe merely snickered in regards to his tab. "Miwa is a lovely girl. You'd best hope he can woo her so he can get his fixin for free." she added jokingly. "Or you will be run out of business." But his assurance that he wouldn't use her business as a playing chip or collateral was comforting. She couldn't take anything for granted in Torchline, and it seemed he understood that much at least.
"Food and fuel." she said with a shrug. The Halenani was big and many people lived there, and even more would be coming over LongNight. Keeping everyone fed would be the biggest challenge.
Elias snorted, "Gods above. I'd rather he win Miwa than stay with that other one. I've never wanted to strangle someone as much as that girl," he mused. But she was right; if the boy took too good of a liking and didn't win the girl, he'd need to start working it off.
Luckily, Elias was all about the boy working.
"Mmk. Food and fuel. I'll bring what we've got in stock." He stated, studying Phoebe. His lips curved, and he inquired, "You don't suppose they'll be a while?" The man moved to stand, claiming his empty glass; he wasn't a heathen, after all. "Enough of a while for us to enjoy ourselves?"
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
"Why? She didn't insult you, you know." Phoebe said with a shrug. She was the Outlander after all. Not even from the same world let alone same place in Caido. But by now she had grown used to that criticism, and rarely did she let it affect her. Of course...that didn't mean she couldn't still be petty when given the opportunity.
Case and point: lil Duddykins upstairs with Miwa.
As Elias stood, she smirked and raised a brow. "Are you saying you don't think any more potential customers are going to come today? I'm insulted." she said, flipping her hair.
"She has insulted me, not then, but other instances." He responded, with a shrug. "She also insulted Dudley but..." His lips curved in a frown. "I guess he thought she was worth her constant slurs for being adopted, born of a prostitute," the man shrugged again.
It was about time that he got that girl out of his life.
He snorted, "Please, are you telling me you can't have one of your girls man the match-up and take payments?" He teased, reaching to undo his hair from its tie, "You should really start cross-training, if you haven't already. After all, you're just one woman. It'll be good to have someone to help with everything in the management portion of things,"
Welcome to Wonderland, I'll be your guide.
Holding your hand under sapphire skies,
Let's go exploring or we could just go for a walk.
Phoebe's head tilted slightly, listening as he described the girl. She really was an awful wretch, thinking she could get away with insulting Dudley, his father, and the Madame of the brothel. "Hm. A shame but...well, Miwa will be sure to wipe that girl from his memory. And if she tries to start insulting my workers...I think she will find no one can spread meaner gossip than a prostitute." she said with a light laugh. They worked in an intimate line of work, all bets were off really when it came to the things they would and could say, and their skin was as tough as dragon hide. Really, Phoebe hoped for her sake that the girl wouldn't think about messing with them. She would lose. Horribly.
Elias continued to press her and the Madame suddenly found herself...tired. Very tired. Not because he pointed out she could use help but because...it suddenly felt so hollow. The nice words, the pretty compliments, the eagerness to please...this really had been the endgame he had been after the whole time, hadn't it? "All fair points, Elias, but you are missing the bigger picture here." Phoebe said as she stood, holding her drink in both hands. Slowly she began to walk back towards the door of the brothel. "You see, Frey has asked me to protect the people that work here. No one here has quite the relationship I have with them - it is part of why I was asked to do this. Because you see...if anyone tries to hurt or take advantage of my workers..." she paused at the door, turning her face to smile warmly at Elias. "I shall call upon Frey to come down and smite them where they stand." It was a major threat - not at Elias per se, but in general - made only more imposing by the sweet smile on her lips.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." she said, disappearing back into the brothel.
