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!
I get them all worked up and down on their knees, you see
"Oh, I wasn't going to get a blessing for that. I was seeking help in the rebuilding effort. It collapsed with the monsoons and I had grand plans for what it could be." Maeve explained, feeling the need to correct him on this one thing. "Not that I would turn my nose up at such a blessing, but it wasn't my intention when I visited." Her shoulders lifted in a delicate shrug, trying her best to put that particular visit from her mind. It hadn't been the most pleasant for her. "They didn't end up helping me. Apparently my nipples weren't pretty enough to impress them." The Madame rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips as she recalled that particular remark.
Her smile grew at the sight of his wink and she hummed softly, "Then I shall continue to shower you with them." The Madame agreed easily, knowing it wouldn't be all that hard to do, there was plenty she could find to compliment him on.
"It's hard for some people to wrap their heads around. They can't fathom doing that themselves so they don't see how it could work for someone else. I adore my clients. Some of them I would even say I love, but the love I hold for them is not the same as the love for my partner." Of everyone she spoke to about this thus far, Bastien seemed to understand it the most, putting a part of her at ease to be seen and heard on the matter. It hasn't been all that common for her to find someone who truly understood what she did.
The Madame offered a small nod in response, expression growing somber for a few seconds, "I worry for those who are too young to fight. Those who are just... normal. What will happen to them? It would be naïve to think that they will be spared just because of that." She wanted to keep them safe too and she wasn't sure she could do that. Not in her current position. Just another thing for her to speak with Safrin about the next time she saw her.
They take my fingers in their mouths like it's poetry
"Ah, I see. Then you have been unlucky. I am sure your nipples are among the most beautiful to grace Caido and Frey is simply jealous." Bastien casually remarked, this blasphemy leaving his lips without any apparent fear of the Old God striking him down for his nipple comment. Indeed, in his painting, knowing the kind of mood she wished to create, he had made sure to shade her breasts in detail, and if one focused they could perhaps glimpse a touch of those legendary nipples.
He'd had his own share of people that did not understand his lifestyle, how he had always separated love and sex, believed that it was possible to sleep with multiple people and still be faithful. "My wife and I were the same, I understand. We believed in free love for the bedroom. Now that she is with the Voice, I am waiting to be romantically attached again to her, but physically I am free to do whatever I wish. When I want to." Which was less and less at the moment, without the physical drive and with the grim portents rising around them.
Standing back to consider his work for a moment from a wider angle, he nodded along with her words but took a moment to reply, staring ahead at the still-drying first layer of colour. "Some of them will be by sheer luck. Others will be drawn in. I saw many conflicts at my home and that was way of it. No reward for moral behaviour or punishment for the opposite. Just...fortune and chance, the powers above us all deciding the result and people falling into one thing or the other."
I get them all worked up and down on their knees, you see
The comment brought a laugh from her lips, bright and bubbly, filling the space as she waved her hand at him, "You flatter me, love." Not that he was wrong. The Madame was very proud of her figure and her body in general. Those that got to enjoy it were very lucky individuals as far as she was concerned.
It was an incredibly romantic notion and Maeve was nothing if not a romantic. Her smile is soft, eyes meeting his over the top of the canvas, "That's beautiful. I hope, for your sake, that you get to be with her again." She almost said soon, but that would likely make it sound like she wished him dead sooner rather than later. Which she didn't. "Write to me if you ever desire company. It's my job to tend to individuals like you." Maeve teased, tossing him a wink as she lounged back lazily, relaxing into the cushions.
"I fear you're right. I hope that majority can be spared. So many innocent lives at risk with all of this." It was a shallow thought. One that she knew wouldn't get her far or do anyone much good, but she had it anyway.
They take my fingers in their mouths like it's poetry
"Flattery is a talent of mine just as much as painting." Bastien quipped back with a wink, gesturing with his paintbrush towards her lightly. He'd always been blessed with a silver tongue, though he'd found in Caido there were those that it simply bounced off of. Thankfully, Maeve was one that appreciated a few nice words.
To hear that his thoughts on Rexanna were romantic brought a smile to his face as much as it made his heart ache to talk about it. To think of her was to be lost again in the waves of grief, to think of details like the edge of her lips in a smile or the twirl of her dress as he lifted her; torturing himself with details until he would have to force himself to consider something else and thus lose her all over again. "I will. I must say, you seem rather eager to sleep with me. Are you captivated by my dashing handsome looks?" He asked, trying to claw away from the place discussion of Rexanna took him with some jokes.
As for lives being spared..he lifted up a large brush to paint in a dark background. "I hope so too, but we will have to see. It is out of all of our hands. I think that even the Gods don't really know what is to come next."
I get them all worked up and down on their knees, you see
It isn’t often that the Madame found someone just as quick witted as her, willing to go back and forth in such a way, but Bastien was proving to be a wonderful conversationalist in this regard. ”I can see that… Can’t help but wonder what other talents you have hidden away.” Maeve drawled, brows raising towards her hairline, head cocking to the side curiously as she regarded the artist with sharp eyes.
The laugh that bubbled out of her was bright, filling the room with an almost melodical sound, head tilting back with it. The Madame’s smirk was devious, jade gaze sparking with a mischievous playfulness, ”Oh no. You’ve caught me. I’m falling over myself just to be in your presence, maître artiste. Clearly your charm is just too much for me to resist.” She teased, wrinkling her nose at him, another peal of laughter ringing out from her at the jest.
”I think you might be right in that regard.” Maeve agreed softly, head dipping with a small nod, taking a deep breath as his words washed over her. The gods, while able to pull strings and guide their followers down certain paths, couldn’t predict the future. None of them could.
They take my fingers in their mouths like it's poetry
"A whole range, from the performative to the private-" Bastien said, tilting his head at the end to show he acknowledged her look towards him. "-Though I must admit I have neglected a lot of my other work for painting. Once, I was a business operator, a leader, an actor...I have performed many roles throughout my life and since, if I am lucky, it will go on for a long time still, I hope to perform many more." Ascension to him had always been about the extended life span, the time that flowed on and on ahead filled with promises of what could be.
Laughing at her 'confession', Bastien leaned back and tilted his head from one side to the other, appraising the work before him. It was rough, colours and forms blocked in rather than refined, but there was enough of an idea there of what the picture would look like to reveal to Maeve. Reaching forward he gently took the canvas by the edges and spun it towards her. "What do you think? If you give me a few days I can have it finished."
I get them all worked up and down on their knees, you see
"I have no doubt that you will and that each one will be greater than the last." Maeve replied easily, offering another smile as he finished blocking in the last of what he needed for the painting. Her lips still head that same smile as he laughed at her little confession, straightening up when he turned the rough painting towards her. She finally moved to stand, straightening herself out and coming over to him, regarding the painting a little more closely. Her eyes thoughtful as her head cocked to the side, arms crossing over her middle, "I think it looks wonderful. I'll be in the area for a little while longer and can pick it up in a few days. Thank you again for taking on the work."
The Madame then moved to gather her belongings, pausing to press a polite kiss to each cheek in farewell, "Just write me whenever you're finished. Good luck with everything, Bastien. I'll see you soon." With one final glance over her shoulder, Maeve slipped from the sanctuary and back out into the streets.
~FIN <3~
They take my fingers in their mouths like it's poetry
