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!
It wasn't hard to notice the shift in how the bartender addressed him. After all, Oliver wasn't oggling and oozing over the very sight of him. It was kind of embarrassing in retrospect- the one guy he wouldn't want to be fawning over, he fawned over.
Oliver wasn't going to let that blunder get in his way. While he might've gotten flustered and overly upset in the past, he tried to remain calm in this moment. "Not trying to be nosy." It really wasn't his main intention. "I simply wanted to understand things from your perspective... like the disaster that destroyed parts of Halo... or your relationship with your brother, Loren." That last one was the one Oliver cared about the most. Loren deserved to be happy and honestly, by the little he heard, Neron was a dick of a brother who made Loren feel miserable. It was awful and although Oliver was slowly wanting to punch Neron more and more, he held himself back for a moment to let the man speak.
smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark
”My relationship with my twin,” Neron repeats, eyebrows raising over the rim of his wine glass. ”That is nosy, however you wish to slice it.” Setting down his glass, he nudges a finger against the rim of it, as if tempting to tip it over. ”I made a deal with a goddess when I first came to Halo, to avoid dying in the Tundra. The price was my first-born, which didn’t exist and which I didn’t intend to have. Then I Ascended, the Eirachi took offence, and destroyed the Palace.”
He says it like it’s a boring old tale now - and it is, given how often he’s had to explain it. But Loren? That was another matter. ”Can I ask what business it is of yours, before I begin to divulge the intricacies of my childhood?” he asks with a tilt of his head.
There is a light shrug and Oliver takes a sip of his own wine. ”Guess I was a bit nosy in that case, never was my intention.” He wasn’t going to argue it more, if Neron saw it as him being nosy then whatever. He didn’t care enough to argue and honestly, he didn’t care about what it was called.
The information was eye opening and Oliver gave the man his full attention. The wine glass went untouched and he watched and listened. Steadily, his eyes widened as he put the pieces together, understanding what the man was conveying and correcting his previous ideas. Once Neron had clearly finished speaking, he was free to respond. ”I had no idea about, well, any of that.... I can’t say I would Ascend, but if in your place I’d... probably make a similar deal.” His voice was calm, soft, hoping that nobody was eavesdropping in on such a conversation.
The urge to punch Neron was decreasing, but he wasn’t quite ready to let his guard down. ”Loren is my friend. He is one of the first people I met when I arrived. He gave me a home and I trust him with my life... and he’s told me some things and...” His voice trails off and Oliver finds himself looking away. Nibbling on his lip, Oliver’s hand grasped at the edge of the bar, trying to keep himself calm and regulated.
smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark
”Well I’ll certainly bear that in mind, should the rest of the Citadel ever come hammering at my door with torches and pitchforks,” Neron says dryly the barest hint of a fanged smirk on his face. But Oliver would have done the same! he’ll cry, convinced that they’ll gut him and hang him from the walls anyway. Anyway - onto Loren. Running a long finger around the rim of his wine glass, Neron is both surprised and not to learn that his brother is so involved in Oliver’s life. He seems Loren’s type, honestly.
”Ah, I see. He has told you about our horrific childhood, made worse by the fact that I was a terrible brother,” he guesses, tilting his head as if to ask how on the mark he’s being. ”Did he also tell you that we’ve made peace with one another in recent seasons? That we are trying, indeed, to act how brothers ought to?”
There's an obvious eye roll and Oliver tries his best to not make any snide remarks. "At that point, I'd say you're better off leaving Halo entirely." It should be obvious Oliver didn't mean now since the dude was probably on intense probation, but if life really got that shitty for him... why the fuck should he stay? It seemed kinda dumb to stay in a place where everybody hated you but whatever made the guy horny.
Indeed, Neron's words are precisely the point. "He even said he never wants to add anyone else to his family because they are all terrible people." That comment certainly left a remnant in Oliver's mind. Neron's question leaves a pit in Oliver's stomach and he bites down on his lip, turning his head to look away from the other man. "No- I haven't... seen him or spoke with him since before Deepfrost.... with the portal basically being closed and the whole mess afterward, I just didn't want to distract him from the important things he has to clean up." His voice is quieter now, the confidence he once exhibited is fleeting. Honestly, he should've checked in on Loren by now, he's kind of a shitty friend for not doing so. Was Loren even okay?
"I can't say that I believe that years of neglect and abuse can be fixed easily... how are you making up? Did Loren choose to do so or was this your own realization?" Oliver had a bad feeling that Loren was trying to make up. That Loren was allowing Neron to treat him like shit and simply ignore it so they could 'become true brothers' or some fucking bullshit like that.
smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark
”And I’d say you’d be better of sticking to blacksmithing.” Neron winks but the gesture is far from amicable, the meaning clear: it was his business what he did with Halo and how he went about it. The remarks about his twin do have him scoffing, Neron shrugging his shoulders. ”He abandoned the Launceleyn name - we are only family by blood, and depending on who you ask, that is either nothing or everything.” Personally, he has found Loren infinitely warmer since he became nameless - but then again that might also have to do with Neron’s long, long fall from grace.
Trust a stranger to come into his bar and bring the worst back out in him, though. Still, Oliver is not Loren, and Neron does not have to blunt his tongue. ”Perhaps you should,” he suggests of speaking with his brother. But then the other man digs too deep, pressing his fingers where they do not belong, and steel blue eyes flash as Neron rises to his feet. ”I was unaware that I needed a perfect stranger to validate my personal issues,” he says. ”Perhaps when I have known you for longer than half an hour, you’ll be entitled to more than a drink.”
He chose to ignore the jab, not wanting to get too heated so early on. The new information of Loren foregoing his last name was a lot. And honestly? Good for him. The only thing he had left to do was hopefully figure out all that nasty trauma. Loren deserved to be happy and there was too much holding him back.
The moment Neron stood up Oliver knew he was in for a real treat and, well, that’s one way to put it. Almost letting out a growl, Oliver listened to his clear attempts to avoid the conversation. Rather than giving a simple ‘I admitted to my mistakes’ it was clear Neron was still being an absolutely manipulative asshole. Fucking Christ. Rising to his feet Oliver tried his best to look him in the eye. He was a tad bit tipsy and the height difference wasn’t really helping. ”My apologies, I was trying to understand you and give you a second chance.” Seeing as Neron rejected such an idea, it only seemed fitting to give him exactly what he deserved.
Swinging, Oliver gave a swift punch straight to Neron’s face, keeping the training in mind to make sure it would be well delivered. The man wouldn’t feel the pain but he fucking hoped he broke that nose of his. ”Get off your fucking high horse. You’re a shitty person and own up to it, jackass.” And with that, Oliver left... hopefully. If nobody stopped him he’d be out the door and heading home.
Fin for Oliver. Feel free to do a short reply lol
smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark
The blow doesn’t quite come out of nowhere, but had Neron not been so nonetheless taken aback, he’d probably have found their distance in height amusing. Still, he manages to turn his head a fraction so that the punch lands against his cheek, and he takes a small step back, but gives no other reaction. He can count on the palm of one hand, the number of people to have struck him physically - congratulations, Oliver - you’ve made the list.
That doesn’t change things, though, and Neron raises his hand against a few of the burlier drunks who get up to pursue the young man. Then he raises the other, and ice races across the floor at Oliver’s feet, trying to trip him or shiver up the backs of his legs. ”I’m a shitty person with exquisite taste!” he calls after him through a laugh, a thumb brushing over the mark on his cheek.
That’ll be something to remember later for a giggle.
