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!
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
Aisha had thought she'd take more trips to the grounds, but it'd almost been a month and she hadn't once thought of going back. There was so much here in Halo to do, so much to think about and work on and look forward to, why go back? She wasn't sure she could just yet, her last couple days in the grounds had been wrought with phantoms, fear. She didn't want to face that, visit ghosts rather than revel with the living.
And so she went where life was most fully lived, the Kraai. She entered wearing her woolly coat, chilled by the night breeze that funneled in when she opened the door. There was a sigh, a comfort in being here. Bars were always the same, always good. When you step in, there's no past, no future to worry over; just now, just a glass of something icily hot in your hands. She headed over to the bar, sitting down and leaning her elbows on the surface.
Since Neron took over the Kraai, life really has been fully lived - at least for him and for those who frequent the tavern. It's true that a lot of his 'life' has revolved around things outside of the Kraai, but even so, he definitely feels as though the bar has been something of a good luck charm for him. All this leads to quite a cheerful scene as Aisha walks through the door; full tables, a merrily crackling fire, and a cluster of people around the bar. Still, there's enough room for her to take a seat, and she won't be kept waiting for very long.
The man who comes to stand at the opposite side of the bar is dressed all in black, his fair hair carelessly tousled. He offers the woman a fanged and charming smile, pausing only briefly to cast a wave to someone who has just walked in through the doors. "What can I get you?" he asks her, nodding to the array of bottles behind him.
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
It is not Loren that meets her from the other side of the bar, but a man with a different presence all together. All black, cheeky fanged grins, tousled and handsome. Everyone in Halo was just a bundle of sexiness weren't they? I fit right in, she thought lazily, leaning closer as he addressed her. She regarded him for a moment, then peeked past him at the wall full of bottles. So many choices, all of them good, but she was mostly interested in the bartender.
"Surprise me," she said with a flash of yellow feline eyes, a coy smirk on her face.
12-27-2020, 07:28 PM (This post was last modified: 12-27-2020, 07:29 PM by Neron.)
Neron
Neron is often told to surprise his patrons, and experience has left him with a few tricks up his sleeve for such occasions. And so, straightening up and regarding the woman before him with a slanted smirk, he tilts his head at her, taking his time with his appraisal. "Alright," he purrs, before turning his back and grabbing a few of the bottles from the shelf and starting to make her drink.
What arrives is what looks like a mug of mulled wine, steaming and warm, but with a scent of aniseed about it. It probably used to be mulled wine, but whatever Neron has done to it has made it more than. "That should warm the chill from your bones," he says, nodding to the drink. "Are you new to Halo?"
01-02-2021, 07:32 PM (This post was last modified: 01-02-2021, 07:33 PM by Aisha.)
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
Aisha reveled under the appraising gaze, as this new bartender dipped into her aura and tried to read it. She stared him right back, hazel eyes roaming over his well cut figure adorned in black. There was something about him that reminded her of Loren, but it had nothing to do with energy, this man brought something far different. She watches him turn, decide and mix.
He returns with something so dark and so rich looking. It smelled hot, spicy but in the way that soothes and bubbles in the throat. She took the drink as he spoke of chills, bringing it to her lips carefully to taste, that somewhat fruity and spicy but potently wine taste filling her senses. Now that, was a good drink. "Relatively," she replied, eagerly returning to her mug. "I've been here before, but you weren't my bartender," she said, clearly inquiring to know more about him, a cheeky smirk rest lazily upon her lips.
It's enough that she doesn't return the drink for Neron to know it's acceptable, the Launceleyn leaning casually against the counter as she makes her measure of it. With another crooked smile, he nods to her and glances around the bar.
"And what do you think of the place?" he asks, though whether he means the Kraai, the Citadel or Halo in general is up to her. His eyebrows raise a bit to hear she's been there before, though, and he gazes down the bar to the other workers there.
"And who was your bartender last time?" he wonders. "I hope they did a good job, regardless. Neron, by the way." He holds his hand out for her to shake; should she take it, she'll find it the strange, perfect sort of not-temperature of the Ascended.
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
"Hmm," Aisha muses, though not worrying to glance at her surroundings. "A better brand of broken than where I came from," she replied with a smirk, taking another sip of her mulled drink. It is very good, compliments to the vampire chef and whatnot.
She caught him with her other comment, about being here before with another bartender. He then inquired as to who, and gave his own name with a hand to shake. Reaching out with her free hand she grinned, "Aisha." Her skin was met with something not cold but definitely not warm, something that felt deprived of blood and circulation. And it wasn't a foreign feeling, he wasn't the first ascended she'd known.
She drew back her hand, placing her elbow on the surface and replying to his other question leisurely, "Loren."
"I will take that as a compliment." A better brand of broken? Given that he used to be Warden of the place, it's definitely better than the alternative. And if it's just related to the Kraai? Even nicer. But y'know, enough gloating about his shit; Neron straightens up and grabs a damp cloth so he can wipe down the bar while she drinks and they talk. "Good to meet you. Hopefully I'll be surprisingly you with drinks for seasons to come."
Flirting? Probably. Trying to build a solid relationship with a potential regular? Oh, definitely. Then Aisha goes ahead and drops his twin's name into the mix and Neron can't hide his surprise; it's pleasant enough, at least, and he flashes her a fanged grin for her trouble. "And how did you find my brother?" he wants to know. Loren isn't working tonight - it's a bit of a whenever-you-can kind of deal - so she has the Ascended all to herself. Or is it the other way around? Time will tell.
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
Whether or not she'd meant it as a compliment was up to him. Nothing was perfect, not even her true home. She could imagine it that way, without war and anger and grief, but that was a world that would only exist in false memory. Here in Halo, she was happier than she'd been in the grounds, and that was all she could ask for. She grinned at his comment about serving new mixes for seasons to come, "Cheers to that."
She eyed him in the pause after they'd exchanged names and before she mentioned Loren. Just to see, to enjoy the sight. He was handsome after all, and pretty things had a way of drawing her attention. It just so happened that his steely blues were her current attraction, she pondered his eyelashes for a moment before responding. She's then caught by the fanged grin as he answers, flashing one of her own with leopard fangs. "I knew you two looked alike," she began, "difference here's you didn't call yourself a wet blanket within the first minute of talking."
"I can't imagine you would," she smirked through the tease, taking another sip of her drink and eyeing him over the glass's rim.
"Maybe later," Neron says of the cheers with a grin. Unfortunately wine doesn't affect him the same way it used to, but that doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy a tipple after the end of his shift. (And occasionally during, but not tonight). Still, he snorts as the conversation continues, letting his eyes linger on the leopard fangs and privately wondering why it is that those he meet attempt to emulate the Ascended.
Either way, he can't help but scrunch his nose to hear he looks like Loren. "Believe it or not, we used to be identical. Then I fell into Caido and hit every branch of the handsome tree on the way down." He winks, eyeing her up similarly, and he reaches beneath the bar to draw out a dark bottle of liquor, setting it on the counter after he's wiped it down.
"I am certainly not a wet blanket. I can't say I'm surprised that Loren chose that for his attempt at charm, though. He is as clueless as he was when we were children." Difference is that Neron quite likes him now.
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
"Can't have fun on duty?" she asked as she sipped from her mug, her cheers gone un-cheered. She did forget quite often the little aspects of the ascended's biology. The basics were easy to remember, the fangs, the agelessness, the night dwelling. Things like inability to get drunk seemed like such little things in comparison, but if she were in their shoes she would find it to be the bane of her days.
"Mm!" she cooed at his comment about him and Loren, imagining what might've been if she'd arrived tonight to find Loren's exact double. "I didn't change much on my way in," but since then there'd been quite a bit of development. Caido had changed her for sure, some bits for better and some for worse. Which bits fell under what category was yet to be decided.
She chuckled at his response, eyeing him coyly. "Is this your attempt at charm Neron?" she asked, teasing and playful.
"On the contrary," Neron says, "I am having fun right now, am I not?" Still, whilst he's not been able to cheers her in return, he does uncork the bottle of dark liquor and pour her a shot, sliding it across for her to try. He can't help but let out a soft laugh at her surprise, not that he can blame her - no one had been more amazed than Neron to find himself with a different face when he awoke in Caido. Pausing so he might replace the liquor and serve someone else a mug of ale, by the time he returns the bar is empty but for the two of them.
He bounces his eyebrows at her, leaning against the counter and lettng out a rich chuckle. "My attempt?" he asks. "I had no idea I had to try at such things Please don't tell me that I've been failing at charm this entire time."
drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands romeo
"You'll make me blush," she replied to his remark, smirking as she drunk from her glass, tilting for every last drop. She placed it down and slid it back his way, moving on and slipping in to the warmed buzz of the night. Ever so kindly he slid her another shot, something darker to work on.
The conversation ebbed and flowed, each participant willing to take the spotlight. She enjoyed this kind of chit chat, the easy and non-committal kind where she could be flippant and friendly all in one breath, catching attention and stirring emotions then stopping when she'd had enough. Neron was one such partner that encouraged this kind of banter, she grinned and leaned in with him as he replied with mock offense.
"Just making sure I was reading it right sugar. No worries, you're doing just fine."
"Well thank goodness for that," Neron croons, flashing her another grin as they lean in like conspirators about to divulge secrets. His steel blue gaze flicks towards the door only briefly as it opens - he likes to keep his finger on the pulse of those who frequent the Kraai - before returning wholly to Aisha. "So are you only visiting this wonderful, frosty abode of ours?" he asks. "Or can I look forward to seeing you at the bar for the foreseeable?"
Regardless, he raises the bottle as if to ask if she would like another shot. A potentially bold move, given that only one of them can get drunk. And depending on how far Aisha needs to go to get to her bed for the evening, it might be the case that Neron is her escort home. Or maybe she'll just pass out in the bar. Either or.
