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!
He expects the answer immediately, not the request to sit. Why does he need to sit for something that could be answered so easily? But since Zeph made a deal with him, Felix plays along — walking to the curb indicated and plopping down, legs folding in a sort of criss cross pattern, arms loose about his knees as his dual toned gaze looks over toward the other man from where he chooses to sit as well.
And the answer he gets? Only invites more questions. Of course, being young and having grown up far too fast to miss out on typical learnings of life, he frowns as it doesn’t register and he simply just doesn’t get it. “Alright. What’s sex?” He asks, though this time it’s a bit quieter — as if he feels almost awkward for not knowing, for being ignorant in that aspect through no fault of his own.
It’s an innocent question at least, not aimed to get Zeph to squirm, but he simply doesn’t know. And he hopes that’s enough.
This is one of those situations where you're left wondering how the fuck you wound up in it while simultaneously being perfectly aware that it's entirely your fault. A part of you had truly hoped that Vai would have already told her son about it, that sex would not be an entirely foreign concept to the boy, and that part of you was fucking wrong.
So how are you supposed to answer? 'Sex is something I've done with your mother on multiple occasions now, and will hopefully wind up doing again'? He looks so innocent sitting there with his limbs akimbo and his different colored eyes and you want so desperately to shield him against the awkward, uncomfortable, difficult things in the world.
Which sex shouldn't be when it's between consenting adults but that's neither here nor there.
"Sex is... hmm." You rub your beard thoughtfully, trying desperately to collect your thoughts. "Alright. Felix. You ever had... y'ever... hm." Yup, this is harder than you expected and you have no one to blame but yourself. "Alright. Sometimes, ya might feel like you wanna touch your dick. Or put it somewhere. It gets hard, ya play around with it, it feels good. That ever happened t'you?" Do toddler-turned-sixteen-year-olds get the urge to wank? This week, on questions you never anticipated having to ask or answer.
Alright, he absolutely doesn’t expect the conversation to sway this way. And he watches, curiously, as Zeph starts and stops again, trying to figure out the best way to start this, to bring it up, to mention it and suddenly Felix is wondering what kind of question he’s asked that’s so difficult to understand. Is it something he should’ve found out about sooner? Is it something that shouldn’t be talked about? He can’t tell — all he can do is feel the frown lines form on his face. His attention flickers to Zeph’s hands, to the ground beneath where they sit, listening until he seems to get the footing he needs.
And that’s… not exactly a conversation he expected to have with a stranger. His brows furrow slightly, a skeptical look crossing his face, wondering if Zeph is lying to him or playing him in some way. But he can’t see it behind the awkward way the other man tries to explain, and Felix isn’t quite too out of the idea of raging hormones at his age to not know what Zeph’s going on about. “Sure…?” He says, not giving in completely to the idea but not quite denying it either, waiting for the result.
Oh okay, so now the kid is silent. Little twat. One fucking word, and it sounds quite uncertain, and now you're not sure whether or not you've made the right call. Do new sixteen-year-olds not wank, then? Do his urges have to catch up with his physical age? Are you giving him this talk a solid fifteen years too early? "Sure. Okay. Sure."
At least you're feeling a bit more confident about it all now, somehow. Licking your lips, you take a breath before powering on. "Alright. Well. That desire- those feelings- it's normal. An' sex is when you act on those urges with someone else. Someone else who wants to be part'a it with you. That's important." Well, you may have thoroughly put your foot in it, but you answered his question at least. Might as well throw in some things about consent while you're at it.
06-29-2020, 04:24 AM (This post was last modified: 06-29-2020, 04:24 AM by Felix.)
FELIX
It’s a surprisingly awkward topic, and suddenly Felix understands why Zeph had been awkward to bring it up. It was one of those things he thinks that he probably should have known, but doesn’t, though not as if he really needed it. Maybe had he walked into the brothel he would’ve been surprised, but he hasn’t. And for that small bit, the young attuned is grateful for it.
So he listens further as Zeph explains, though it doesn’t quite make sense either. He gets the fact that consent is appropriate, it makes sense only as such, and then when he focuses on the other tidbit his brows furrow together. “How…” He trails off, hands rubbing against his pants briefly as if he’s wiping off a bit of sweat from them before he turns a bit more fully toward Zeph. “How do you know when someone wants to do it with you?” He asks, tilting his head. “I’m guessing it isn’t something you can just ask without another word for it.” A lot of him would be lying if he said he didn’t think about possibly trying it, but it would also take some time to process it all, figure out what exactly it was like, what was expected of him, at least to prevent even smaller versions of himself from running around.
You know what? With the initial awkwardness over and the subject properly breached, this honestly isn't so bad. Does it help that the little shit is finally squirming? Yes. Yes it does.
You raise an eyebrow at his question, quirking something of a smile. "Why not?" you shoot back, then chuckle a little. "But nah, yer right. Can't go around askin' everyone willy nilly if they wanna fuck- that's another word for sex." You raise a hand and begin to count off synonyms on your fingers. "Fuck, bang, do it, make love- there's a lotta things that mean sex." Consent and vocabulary. Look at you fucking go.
Placing your palms back on your knees, you consider the boy again. "When ya talk about sex - an' when it happens - it's gotta be at the right time. Usually it'll be with someone ya like, who ya already get on with." Like me and your mother, you absolutely DO NOT say. "A girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Ya fancy boys or girls? Or both?"
Yeah this is weird, even for Felix, and he does begin to squirm with the fact that it feels like he should know about this, know about the lingo, maybe have done it considering the people that are around Torchline. And suddenly, for the first time, there’s a bit of self consciousness that hits him as his brows furrow and Zeph explains. But after the slang terms and the lingo hits, Zeph does well to soften those feathers and seed of anxiety that sit suddenly in Felix’s gut.
“Do you just know?” When the times right, will it feel right? Like it’s something to do and it just happens? Or is there a sign?
The question of who he fancies has his head swinging back toward Zeph with a smidge of confusion. “Fancy? Oh.” He pauses as he purses his lips slightly. “I dunno. I haven’t really thought about it.” His gaze flickers to the hard packed ground of the alley way as he considers it more.
Do you just know? "Sometimes, yeah." Sometimes there's a spark that ignites and catches like wildfire, and those times, hell yeah, you know.
But usually? You shake your head ruefully. "Sometimes nah. That's why ya gotta ask. 'Cus the worst thing is when two people feel things an' need things but they don't talk about it so the other never knows." Are you talking about sex now, or something more? If you'd have gotten your head out of your ass earlier, if you'd have just talked-
You run your hand over your beard and shake away the cobwebs. His sudden uncertainty makes you smile, your face uncharacteristicly patient and warm. "That's aite. You don't gotta know yet." And who knows , maybe it'll wind up being nobody. Maybe this whole talk was pointless.
Leaning back against the wall, you tilt your head to the kid. "Aite, Felix. Ya got anythin' else? Or are ya all questioned out?" As much as your rational mind screams for him to be finished, you're honestly starting to enjoy this.
He mulls over the information that Zeph gives him, unsure where to even go, what to do with it. Nothing, seems to be the main choice in that moment, and he nods abruptly to the point of what Zeph’s getting at. Communication. Got it. “That makes sense.” He agrees, but awkwardly does draw quiet, unsure and uncertain of himself. Zeph runs a hand through his hair and Felix lets his dual toned gaze flicker from the hand to the street again, offering the fact he’s never thought about it.
He supposes that doesn’t matter either, not with a lifetime ahead of him to figure it out. It isn’t, as he realizes, something that he needed to be forced into it he wasn’t ready yet. Hopefully it makes sense to everyone else as well.
But he turns his head back toward Zeph with a small shake of his head. At least on that subject. “How do you know my mom?” Enough that she’s requested he keep an eye on him.
Perhaps these questions go hand in hand and he just doesn’t know it yet.
Maybe you've pushed too much on him too fast, but the boy wanted to learn. Looking down at him as he thinks about your bizarre teaching you can't help but feel a little bit of pride. You've done a good deed, kept a kid out of trouble and prepared him for the world. And good deeds always go unpunished, right?
Fuck, this is gonna bite you in the ass.
At least he's done. You let out a breath of relief when he shakes his head-
-And immediately suck in a new breath of alarm at his follow-up question. Yup, there it is. Hoooo boy.
Your cheeks flush a little as you try very very very hard not to think about your last run-in with the witch. "Ah... we met recently. On th'beach." And fucked each other like rabbits. You're floundering, man- pull it together. "She told me 'bout you an' yer sister. 'Bout how yer spendin' LongNight here, an' maybe longer. Speakin'a- we oughta get ya back home, eh?"
Rising up onto your feet, you extend a worn hand to help the boy up. The sooner you have him safe and sound and out of trouble, the better. The night is dark (of course) but the numerous fires and torches make it easy to see- and besides, you could walk these streets blind. "So, kid. Whaddya think'a Torchline so far?"
Felix doesn’t miss the fact that Zeph’s cheeks flush a bit – but luckily for the smuggler, he doesn’t understand why that might be. Maybe he’d held his breath a little too long? Or maybe he’d talked so much earlier that it was starting to show on his face? Regardless of the reason, he lets his gaze remain on the other man, chewing on the inside of his cheek while he focuses on the fact they’d met on the beach.
The subject of his sister has him nodding, though he hadn’t seen his sister since before he’d grown up so much. But that was way beside the point as he realizes that yeah, he probably should be going home. “I guess so.” He agrees with a quiet huff of a sound, not unlike a pout but also not alike wanting to remain there in the awkwardness of the conversation much longer.
So he moves when Zeph makes him, his own calloused hunters hand latching onto Zephs to pull himself up and then following easily at the older man’s side toward where home is. “It’s a lot busier than home. I’m not used to not having so many trees.” He offers with a small laugh. “The fish are weird here and it’s a lot to get used to.” His shoulders rise and fall in a shrug before he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Have you lived here your whole life?” He asks, looking over to Zeph.
"Oy, what's wrong with our fish?" Your indignation is clearly feigned, belied by the rumble of laughter in your voice. You happen to be quite fond of the local fish, thank you very much. Guided by firelight as well as the lad himself you continue to meander through the streets, taking pleasure in the cool evening, the breeze that smells deliciously of bonfire smoke and sea.
You raise an eyebrow at the question, eyes trained on the distant sky. "Yup." All your life, born and bred, and you can't imagine living anywhere else. Your feet belong on sand, not stone. Of course, it makes you perhaps a bit more perceptive of the kid's own unwillingness to transition somewhere new.
Glancing sidelong to gauge his reaction, you let out a low, thoughtful hum. "You ever been out on th'water, kid? Seen th'horizon stretchin' on forever?" You shrug, somewhat nonchalant. "Lotta Torchline t'see when the sun comes up. Maybe ya oughta give it a chance."
“It’s not river fish.” Felix rumbles, a small boyish laugh leaving him at the fact he has to explain. “Saltier here.” A rise and fall of shoulders as they walk, though he can smell the distant scent of fried fish, and makes a point to tell his mother all about wanting to try that one of these days. But his focus while they walk slips back to Zeph and the answer given. Nothing more and nothing less, which is fair enough. What’s said is said.
The question of the ocean, however, has him almost beaming as the trip up toward the lighthouse and past it. “I haven’t, but mom said we could go. Do you know what’s on the other side?” He asks, a wide grin splitting his face with the prospect of an answer. But as for the fact of remaining? He’s already sort of made up his mind. “I wanna stay. I met a man named Samuel, I want to ask him to help me read and write.” This is said a touch softer, but not for fear of anything or anyone listening — just content there’s so many people who may be willing to help him.
The porch comes into view, however, diving toward the right from one house to the one beside it. “Do you know the Governor? We’re staying here with him. The Arbiter lives over there. I haven’t met them yet though.” He points haphazardly that way before he hops up the steps and moves to open the door.
06-30-2020, 09:54 PM (This post was last modified: 06-30-2020, 10:26 PM by Vervain.)
The door swung open easily, revealing the well-lit interior of the house. Vai would have called that Felix was late, but given that the sun didn’t rise or fall or help to tell the time at all, that wouldn’t really be fair. So she merely trilled a greeting from somewhere in the house, having heard the creak and click of them coming inside. Of course at that point she didn’t know who it might have been - Remi, Felix, Seren - but as a woman who lived in the woods, modesty wasn’t really something you could... have.
So it was that she stepped into the living area wrapped in a towel, water still beading on her skin from a bath, dark hair damp and loose around her shoulders. At seeing Felix, she smiled warmly. ”I was starting to get worried,” she began, before her gaze drifted from her son to the man behind him. A man she knew intimately well. ”...Though maybe I shouldn’t have been.”
