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!
"If you say so." She laughed at his response like it had been a joke, oblivous to any emotions that might be brewing beneath the man's surface. All that was on her mind was the promised relief from aching muscles and fatigue, and the unexpected fortune of meeting a nice person. That Locke might be sticking near so that she could lean on him didn't even occur to the young demi-god; despite her slight limp she made no move to try and rely on him. Instead she was busy looking around, memorizing doors and counting hallways so she might remember which way to go, if she ever had to find her way back.
Obediently waiting outside once they reached their destination, Seren tried to sneak a peek of the room beyond. Was he a neat person? A messy kind of guy? There was a limit to how much you could spread out in the barracks of course, but still... Unfortunately he returned before she was able to figure anything out, and Seren tried her best to arrange her face so that the curiosity wouldn't shine through too much.
"Oh, that sounds nice! I can't wait to - Hang on. Did you say Maeve?" Having reached for the tin, she paused in mid motion as the name he spoke registered. "Dark haired, green eyed and pretty, from Torchline? That Maeve?" Tucking a coil of raven-dark hair behind an ear, she tried not to get her hopes up. Maybe it wasn't that uncommon a name. Maybe it wasn't the same person. That would be too much of a coincidence, right?
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
She doesn't take his help and he's starting to wonder just how stubborn she is. Or maybe she thinks he's beneath her. He doesn't really get that feeling from her though. He's content to walk slowly with her. His legs are longer and he's more used to the dull soreness that comes with constant training but it's nice to just meander for once. And if she had peaked into his room, she'd find it quite neat. For as unkempt as he usually looks, he keeps a clean house/room/whatever.
Her question gets a tilted head from him, oh, yeah, that makes sense. Maeve is staying with Ronin. Seren is Ronin's daughter.. Of course she's met her.. "Yeah, that Maeve." Was saying they were friends wrong? Should he not have said that? What are they? Lovers? Seren doesn't need to know that. "We met before I came here and kind of.. bonded." He means boned. "She's really good at making tea."
Tilting her head slightly, Seren looked thoughtfully at him. Quiet, in a way that suggested she might be connecting dots on her own. Or perhaps not; the smile that followed was only happy and appreciative. "Yeah, I can see it. Maeve's nice, she invited me out for dinner." Dessert, really. It had been a good time.
Reaching out to pick the tea from Locke's hand, Seren opened the container. Fragrant scents rose up in pleasant wafts and she inhaled deeply, humming in delight. "Smells like Longheat," she murmured dreamily. "Would you join me for a cup?" Some tea, company, then a long soak in a hot bath would make this day a lot better.
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
He raises an eyebrow at her, "See what?" Him being friends with Maeve? Or her making good tea. Probably both. Maeve is everyone's friend it seems. He likes that about her. Locke has no friends, maybe Seren, now. And Sera, kind of. Maeve. It's fine. He doesn't need friends. "Dinner? Fancy. She's never taken me to dinner before." He's just had her for dinner. But he's not going to scar Seren with that information.
"If you'd like, sure. Brewing tea isn't my forte so you're on your own." Locke stands there for a second before getting a sudden kind of eureka face. He doesn't say anything, just ducks back into his room. When he comes back this time, he has a little tin that looks more of Stormbreak's flavor. "I do have tea cakes I made though! If you're a sweet tooth like your father, you should like these." Why is he doting on someone he just met? Well she's small and cute. That's why. And Locke maybe has a soft spot for kids. Even if she looks like an adult.
He holds his arm out again, sure she won't take it, but he offers anyway. "Lead the way."
"I can see how you two might bond," Seren clarified. "You are similar, in some ways." The way they both liked to play with others. It was a charmig quality that the starchild both admired and found intimidating. Like they spoke a language foreign to her.
Puzzled, she lingered while Locke ducked back into the room and returned. The tin can was given a curious look, that brightened like a spring sky at the mention of sweets. "I'll manage the tea," she assured reverently, and all but dragged Locke along to the common room. A few other stragglers were talking and lounging around tables scattered about the room, but the seats around the fireplace were empty for once.
Busying herself with getting a kettle filled with water and put over the fire to warm, Seren chatted companionably as she went about. "You bake a lot? Wish I was better at cooking, really. An uncle of mine tried to teach me when I was little, but I was more enthusiastic than helpful. Ate most of the ingredients, as I recall." She laughed ruefully.
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Her answer makes him laugh and he covers his mouth, almost caught off-guard by his own reaction to her. "Shit, sorry. Me? Maeve? We're not alike at all." People like Maeve. People put up with Locke. If that. He's not exactly an outgoing or easy person to deal with. Seren is the exception, not the rule. "We're pretty close though. I think she just has a way of.. getting like that with people." Even people like him. But with her knowing Maeve, feels kind of weird. They've never really sat down and talked about what they were. Not officially. Lovers, sure but.. Is she his girlfriend? Would she be okay with him telling Seren that?
Does it even matter?
"I'll leave the tea to you then." Locke follows her down the hall, sitting in one of the chairs. He doesn't spend much time here, not really. He was at one point, taking training pretty seriously, or baking, or trying to teach himself to read and write. Now he's just kind of waiting. Again. It almost makes him laugh.
"Yeah. I cook more, really but I like baking. I have a lot of younger siblings and our.. mom wasn't around much. So I did a lot of that kind of stuff." He shrugs. It's fine. Seren's little story does earn him a proper laugh. "That sounds right. Well, if you ever want lessons, I'd be happy to help." While he's here at least.
Not that Seren would know, of course. She only saw what was right in front of her, and right now it was a kind man who gave her food and made her laugh. It was all she needed to like him. Did it make for a deep understanding of his nature? Probably not. But for a first encounter it was a good sign. At least she could understand his comment about Maeve being likeable, and nodded in agreement. "How did you meet?" she asked, suddenly curious.
Once the tea water was set to warm, Seren flopped down into the other chair. "That sounds nice," she said with a wistful note, as she began to untie the laces of her boots. Kicking them off was a relief; she grimaced as she tried to massage some feeling back into the toes without aggravating too many of the blisters. "I have quite a large family, in a way, but we're all scattered. Mother is... well, Safrin. She only comes here for brief moments. And dad... he's got Remi. I have two half-siblings that I haven't even met them yet. I don't know if I will ever have everyone gathered in the same place." If Seren could have only one, very selfish wish... but it simply wasn't possible.
"That might be fun. What kind of food do you usually make?" The topic change was perhaps a little too abrupt, but if she was anything but cheerful on the inside, it was impossible to tell through her expression.
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
He leans on one hand, kicking his boots off while he thinks. "We met at her brothel, the Halenani. It was during Longnight. I was drunk and wanted something to do. We played cards and talked." He holds his hands up, "We didn't sleep together or anything. Not that night." He's not sure why he feels the need to clarify but he does. Maeve is a Madam and he's, well, Locke. It's not like it'd be against their character or anything.
He slides the plate of cookies over to her, waiting for the kettle to boil. Another dragoon sneaks a cookie and Locke shoots him a look as he leaves. Locke mutters a curse under his breath but he's used to their thievery at this point. He listens as she talks, tilting his head slightly. Large family huh? He's about to knock her socks off with that. Also how has he not put two and two together? Remi is Ronin's husband. Hmm. Well then. Should he tell her? That her kind of dad has seen him naked? Nah, he doesn't want to scar her.
"I'm the oldest of eleven, so I understand. But I'm sure you can arrange something. Maybe a ceremony for when you get your dragon?" He knows he'll never have all of his siblings together, but it's fine. Just knowing they're okay is enough for him. The thought makes his stomach turn a little but he hides it with a smile.
"I like making stew the most.. I used to cook it a lot for dinner. It's easy, filling, healthy.. I make a pretty mean cake though."
05-03-2021, 12:20 AM (This post was last modified: 05-03-2021, 12:21 AM by Seren.)
Seren
Oh. "Oh." That kind of meeting... and the color immediately started creeping up Seren's face. Locke mercifully cut off all the mental cinematics before the commercials even began though, and the girl looked almost relieved. And then of course he had to ruin it all again with the follow up. Not that night. It shouldn't have surprised her, problably, but then again she might never truly understand the ease with which some humans... connected. "That's... nice," she said, but didn't sound altogether convinced. "Halenani... That's the place that got beat up by the monsoon, right?" The name was only vaguely familiar, and in context she now understood why.
The platter pushed her way was a godsend of distractions. Reaching for a cookie, she was cut off by another greedy hand; Seren poked her tongue out to the dragoon doing the fly-by, but couldn't help but laugh at their casual brazenness. Choosing another, she nibbled on it as Locke went on to talk about his family. Dark eyebrows shot up in awe at the number he so casually dropped. "Eleven? Wow. What about your dad? Was he around?"
The kettle began to shudder and steam on the hook. With the snack held between her teeth, Seren got up and reached for a pair of mugs, distributed the miracle tea into both and wrestled with the hot pot as she tried to serve. Some of the liquid sloshed over the edges, but no toes were scalded, and along with the steam a fragrance of dried flowers and herbs soon rose to fill the room. Soldiers around other tables began to cradle their necks to see where it came from; it was too bad there wasn't enough to go around for everyone. Seren would have loved to share.
Alas, for tonight she only handed Locke a mug (it was really his treat, all of it) and sank back down in her chair with a contented sigh. "This feels good," she murmured happily, cradling her hands around her own cup. "Thank you for coming to talk to me, Locke. It really made my day."
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Yep. He should not have added that second part. Whoops. The slight flush to her cheeks is kind of funny though and he'd tease her about it if he wasn't trying to be nice. "Yeah. She's staying with your dad while she heals. She was, well is, the Madam. The boss." He's not sure how deep her knowledge of brothels goes. He doesn't blame her for not wanting to know, not really.
She asks about his dad and his face kind of falls. There's a moment where he mulls over how much he should tell her. He takes a cookie, nibbling on it to give himself something to do while he choses his words. "He wasn't around, not really. He was a, uh, pirate? Smuggler.. So he was gone a lot. And he wasn't the dad of most of my siblings. Half-siblings, I think you called it." He's actually not really sure who belonged to what man. He looked unmistakably like his father though. There was no doubt there.
There isn't a lot of tea left and he feels bad when she hands him the mug but he takes it. No point in letting it go to waste, right? The smell does something to him though, making his chest tighten just a bit. How does he miss her so much when she's here? "You're welcome.. Glad I could help in some small way." She's helped him too, kind of. He's not going to say it though.
"Mhm, she told me about that," Seren said, squirming slightly where she sat. Including both the staying and the working. "Sorry, I'm not... used to talking about that part of... life." More and more, Seren felt that it was something she probably should remedy. If it was a topic everyone else addressed happily and often, then it wouldn't do for her to become beet red every time. It was... rude.
The way Locke's expression sobered once his father was mentioned had her straighten up. Her bright eyes warmed with sympathy as he explained, and for once the mention of pirates didn't have her go off on a tangent. "Was he a good man, at least? Did he care about you, when he was there?" Asking softly, her own father came to mind. Kind, loving, generous; if she didn't know Ronin as well as she should yet, it was through no fault of his.
Reaching out a hand across the space between the comfy chair, Seren made to pat Locke's arm - or whatever part of the limb she could reach - and hummed in quiet contentment. Sipping on the tea, she found it as flavorful as it was fragrant. "It's not everyday you make friends and brothers at the same time," she pointed out, mouth curving with mirth. It seemed she was taking the whole 'little sister' thing very seriously.
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
He feels bad, again. The way she squirms and seems uncomfortable by it. "S'fine. It's not for everyone honestly. But uh, if you ever have questions, Maeve is the person to go to." Don't go to someone like him. You might learn a lesson you didn't want. "And not everyone is as.. open as Maeve and I can be." Stop talking Locke, it's fine.
He takes another sip of the tea, letting it sooth his nerves. He's not upset, not really. He just tries not to think about it. Her next question earns a laugh, bitter as he shakes his head. "No, Seren, he wasn't a good man." Did he care about Locke? He doesn't think so. It doesn't matter now. He takes another drink before looking at her, "Not everyone has good parents, good families. It doesn't matter anyway. He's not around anymore." Locke doesn't care to elaborate and he won't if she presses. She doesn't need to know. No one does.
Her hand on his arm earns her a soft, if not kind of sad, smile. "That's true, I guess." You can't choose the family you're born with, but you can choose the family you make. And he's doing an alright job of that, he thinks. Maeve, Seren. Yeah. "How is the tea finding you? It always makes me so," Locke waves his hand dismissively, "Sleepy? Relaxed?" He's not entirely sure but it helps.
"I... will try to keep that in mind." Perhaps he was right. Yet even so, she felt as though they had the right of it. The openness, the ease with which they addressed matters of the flesh was something Seren envied just a little. They seemed so free to her, unburdened by the many fears that weighed on herself.
Though perhaps their ghosts were only of different shapes. Locke's bitter laugh made her chest ache, and the hand on his arm squeezed lightly in a sympathy that could not be translated into words. 'I'm sorry' was such an inadequate phrase. "At least there's that," she murmured softly. "And... well. If you ever find yourself in need of one, I'd let you borrow my father. For a little bit. He makes great pancakes." And nothing could banish sadness quite like a good meal.
Case in point, the starchild took another sip as she was reminded of the tea in her hand. Turning her attention inwards for a second, she allowed herself to take note. "Mmh, yes... a little drowsy," she noted with an absent expression. "My feet doesn't hurt nearly as much anymore. I feel warm, and calm, and cared for." Tilting her head to smile at Locke, she withdrew her hand and nicked another cookie in passing. "Best you keep talking, or I might fall asleep right here." Taking a big bite, she winked impishly at him.
It's written in the stars above Exactly who we are is just enough
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Locke gives her a soft look, wanting to reassure her in some way. No one should be rushed into this kind of thing. He just kind of pats her hand lightly. "If you ever need anything.. Uh, not like.. That, but you know, other stuff.. You can always come to me." He wonders if he should tell her he's leaving. He kind of doesn't want to. Just leaving without a word is kind of his thing. She'd be better off without him honestly.
She does get a proper laugh out of him and he shakes his head. "Pretty sure I'm the same age as your dad, maybe older.. But I'll keep that in mind." He does recall talking to Ronin about being called Daddy but in an entirely different context. The thought brings up another laugh, a genuine one as he pats her hand. "You're sweet, Seren, don't ever change."
He turns to look at the fire place as she sorts herself out, a soft hum when she replies. "That's good. I'm glad." And he is. It's nice to care about someone without all the confusing emotions that go with love and lust and want and need. She pulls her hand away and he almost misses the warmth. He's always been a little touch starved. But instead he gives her a sleepy grin, taking another cookie for himself.
