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!
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
A grin spreads across Milo’s face as Theo goes on, shaking his head in that very same amused disbelief. “That sounds fuckin’ terrible.” He offers with a quiet sigh. “Don’t blame ya fer leavin’.” He comments, shooting Theo a grin before the hand is dolled out and they’re figuring out the pot. The other boy with them pulls out a shiny shell of sorts – one that usually was used to make jewelry, tossing it in to match the bead that Theo’d put in.
Then it’s Milo’s turn, and he mulls it over before pulling out a trinket of his own. “Guess this is the start fer me.” He murmurs, tossing in a little metal trinket with a symbol etched into it. He picks up his cards again, scanning them, before mulling over his options and turning his attention back onto Theo – waiting for it to start.
Theo nodded. "Got out of there as quick as I could. It's much nicer here, storms and all."
He took a look at his cards. Not a terrible hand, but not particularly good either -- and it would definitely be improved with the addition of the ace in his sleeve. Theo discarded three cards from his hand, kept two, and drew two from the deck -- slipping the ace among those two so it would look as if he'd drawn it.
"So," he said by way of distraction, "what do you do when it's not monsooning?"
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
“Might be one’a the only ones who think so.” Milo chimes with a hum of a laugh, an elbow darting out to nudge the boy beside him with that very same playful grin. But then the cards are handed out, Milo picking his up, scanning them, trying to figure out where to go from there. It wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t great, and part of him is positive that Theo might win this one.
Unfortunately, for the boy beside him, Milo considers the pot and his companions, before pursing his lips slightly. “Help the ships when they’re in. Mostly th’Ark.” He offers, gaze lifting to find Theo, a soft amused smile playing at his lips. “Then basically what’ver we want.” A nod is given by the boy beside him, before Milo looks back at his hand and mulls it over, discarding a couple and taking two as well. “Y’plannin on stayin’ long?”
Theo shrugged. "The storms may be bad, but I can't be the only one who prefers this place to 'home.' Or to Halo."
Theo'd managed to improve his hand with the ace, but ... not as much as he would like Two pair, eights and kings, ace kicker. Not abysmal, but not very good either. He could cut his losses, of course, and fold now, but he was never one to play it safe. Alternately, he could bluff ...
He glanced across the other players, reading the marks he'd put on the backs of their cards -- just simple tears and scuffs. Many of them weren't visible, thanks to the way that the others held their cards, but he could tell that Milo had the ace of spades and the kid had the two of hearts.
Leaning back a little, Theo replied, "Well, I've nowhere else to go. Can't go back, Halo's too cold, and the Hollowed Grounds are just kind of sad."
He tossed three beads into the pot. Not exactly a big bet ... Theo pretended he was trying to avoid smiling to himself, as if he had a great hand but was trying to hide it so the others wouldn't fold.
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
A chuckle slips from Milo as he focuses on Theo. “Yeh, I s’pose not.” He offers with a shrug, peering at his hand again and mulling it over, tilting his head a bit as he listens to the boy beside them offer his own two cents in. ”Jacob’s been stickin’ around more. I heard he was trekkin’ to the Grounds. Dunno if he made it t’Halo or not.” Milo glances over to the boy with a raised brow, amusement clearly in his face.
But his honeyed gaze finds Theo again, that easy grin spread along his face. “Mm, so I’ve heard. I think I might juss' stay here for a while.” Milo comments, specifically about the Grounds being sad and partially on having no desire to traverse through the portals. But he watches as Theo tosses a few more beads in and Milo’s not one to be out done. He has an ace of spades, three jacks, and a four of hearts.
He certainly thinks he can bluff too. So he tosses in a few more trinkets as well, adding to the pot and watching as the boy beside them ends up folding with an amused blip of laughter.
The news about Jacob didn't mean much to Theo, since he didn't know the person named. But he could definitely agree with sticking around. "Me too. I'm sure we'll be back to sunny weather soon enough."
As the kid folded, Theo grinned at Milo. "Guess it's just you and me. May the best man win."
It didn't look like Milo was going anywhere, but Theo tossed out one last bet, just to be sure. If that didn't get Milo to fold, he'd just have to place his trust in the cards. He was pretty sure Milo didn't have the last ace ...
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
“God be willin’!” Milo chimes with an amused grin that spreads across his face. The very same remains when he focuses on Theo once the other boy had folded, his gaze narrowing ever so slightly as a challenge is born. A slight smirk crosses his face ass he focuses on the last bet tossed out, and Milo – not being too attached to the items he’s tossing in for betting rights – offers his own last bit of a bet before he’s focusing on his cards.
And when the time comes, well, Milo lays down his hand with a smug look along his face. An Ace, three jacks, and a four of hearts. His red brows lift, looking to Theo with a grin, waiting to see what the other man had – if he’d take the pot with a much better hand. "A'ight, Theo, less see what'ya got!"
09-10-2020, 12:22 AM (This post was last modified: 09-12-2020, 12:44 AM by Theo.)
Theo
"Ah, I nearly got you, but 'nearly' never put dinner on the table," Theo said, disappointed, as he laid out his own two pair. Perhaps he should have folded. He'd learned something about Milo, though; the man seemed to have confidence to spare, and a willingness to take risks. He'd be hard to bluff.
Theo pushed the pot towards Milo, then picked up the deck, folding his own cards into it, then holding a hand out for Milo's and the kid's. "Another round?"
He still had plenty of beads left, after all -- and he fully intended to keep going till he'd won something. If lucky wasn't going his way, well, then he'd just have to cheat harder.
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
“Ain’t that the truth.” Milo offers with a bright laugh, his brown gaze flickering along Theo’s cards as he lays out his own pair. There’s a whistle that slips from the smuggler as he takes the pot over to his end, flashing a grin to the other boy that watches the reveal. The other boy reaches out to hand his cards back and Milo does the same, flashing a toothy pale grin back to Theo.
Another round? “Yea, I could go fer ‘nother one.” Milo offers, amused and grinning, taking a bit of the pot to use as his starting bid, waiting to see if Theo wanted them to split the deck again or if he’d simply begin to deal out the cards.
Theo did another elaborate shuffle, but this time he didn't bother sliding an ace into his sleeve. With so many beads left in his pile, he figured he'd go ahead and play this one straight. If he lost, it'd encourage his marks to stick around, and then he could start cheating more heavily. Of course, it would also be nice if he won, but he'd leave that up to lady luck.
"Cut it for me?" he said, holding the deck out to Milo. If he was going to play fairly, he might as well go all the way -- he wouldn't want Milo to question why he'd stopped letting them cut the deck now.
Of course, Theo still had an advantage: he couldn't exactly remove the marks he'd placed on the backs of the cards, so he'd have a pretty good idea of what hands the others held. But a little advantage never hurt anyone (except, you know, for the many times someone had gotten wind of Theo's ploy and kicked his ass over it).
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
Milo watches with entire amusement and captivation as Theo shuffles, his attention split between the boy at the side of them, also managing to scrounge up a bit to start the pot, throwing in a bid. And when Theo asks Milo to cut the deck, he nods perhaps a touch enthusiastically, cutting the deck and waiting for the cards to be dealt. He still hasn’t noticed the marks – likely won’t, but at this point he’s too far involved in the game to care much about whether it was legit or not.
The hands are dealt, and Milo looks to his hand – something pretty terrible all things considered. But he keeps that easy smile along his face, trying to bluff what he can as he glances toward Theo and the other boy. The other boy seems to have quite the piss poor poker face, grimacing as he looks to his hand.
So it looked like the lad would be out again, leaving just Theo and Milo as contenders. Theo's hand could use some improvement -- though even a hidden ace wouldn't have helped that much. He had two sixes and, glancing at the deck, he saw via his marks that the top card was another six, so if he dealt to himself first ...
Theo tossed a few more beads into the pile with an easy smile. He might not be able to bluff Milo, but he could certainly convince the kid to get out, judging by that grimace.
"How long do you think the storm will rage like this?" he added. Wouldn't hurt to distract his opponents from the game a little, and besides, he was genuinely curious. He was getting hungry, and he didn't see much to eat in this particular store -- but he didn't exactly want to brave the elements for a snack, either.
// every time you cross my mind, i brought another memory to keep yours inside i saw us drown like high tide, and everything is nothing if you're not here tonight //
Milo’s hand isn’t much either, if he’s being honest. He has a pair of two’s, not much else. A sprinkle of random cards here and there that amounted to very little. But he lets Theo deal again, not caring which way the cards go when they’re dealt, tossing in a few more beads before Milo’s attention is dragged to the other boy again. And the poor kid, trying his best to bluff despite being awful at it, tosses a couple trinkets in as well and remains silent to stare at his hand.
Milo tosses in a few from the pot prior, his winnings as it were, glancing between his hand to Theo again. “Prolly ‘til the end of the season. Then it’s sunshine alla the time.” He flashes Theo a grin with that, leaning back against a crate and waiting for what comes next.
Theo had meant this particular storm, not the storms in general ... though maybe that was what Milo meant as well. With a grimace, Theo said, "I hope we get a bit of a break. I don't want to live in this store all season."
The sunshine would be nice, though. And speaking of nice, Theo appreciated that the kid was still in it. Oh, his attempt to bluff was absolutely terrible -- almost hilariously so -- but it meant a bigger pot for whoever actually won, so Theo didn't mind at all. If he was lucky, he might just earn some of his own beads back -- but Lady Luck was fickle, as Theo knew all too well.
Theo laid out his hand, three sixes and jack high. "How's that?"
