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!
Paige had been sure that the coming of Longheat meant fun. Except there had been very little fun and that just wasn't okay. Everytime she went to try and play with Kamaria the girl wasn't available. All for reasons Paige didn't really understand, but the girl wasn't really in a place to argue. It's not like she was a grown up. She's been trying her best to entertain herself. Especially now that her momma is working with Auntie Maeve to help build their new home. The inn was cool and all, but she couldn't do anything there. There were no beds to hide under or treats to steal or shiny things to collect. Just grumpy people tired of the sun.
Today was no different. Her mother sent her on her way with the instructions of staying out of trouble. Her? Trouble? Yeah right. She never got in trouble. Can't get in trouble if you don't get caught. Paige jumps from rock to rock, over puddles and pools, making a game of it. Why weren't there any other kids to play with? Why were people here so boring? If she was older she could do something. Like... steal a boat! Being a pirate sounded fun. She'd make a good one. At least that's what she thought.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Ray was walking along the Rainbow Road, looking for herbs and also maybe some colorful stones to decorate her shelves. The day wasn't too hot and so being outside was a welcome change then being in her shop. Plus a walk along the Rainbow Road was always a beautiful one. It was as she was walking that Ray noticed a child wandering alone. Immediately she grew concerned. The child is clearly young, far too young to be out here alone. Ray begins to walk over, her pace a bit brisk.
She gets within about 5 feet before stopping, not wanting to scare the little girl. "Hello? What are you doing out here alone? Are you lost?" Her eyes are scanning the child worriedly, checking for injuries, scrapes, or any other sign of distress. To Ray's relief the child appears to be physically ok at least.
Paige whips around towards the voice, blue eyes going wide as she hesitates before her next jump, wobbling a moment before she catches her balance. Her brows pinch together, hands on her hips as she lifts her chin defiantly, "No, I'm not lost! I'm playing! My momma is working and she said, 'Paige, don't get into trouble today and go play.' So I'm playing." She explains matter of factly, head cocking to the side as she scrutinizes the other girl. Did she repeat herself? Yeah, she did. Does she care? No, she really doesn't.
Her knees are scraped up, a few bruises on knobby elbows, and a smudge of dirt on her cheek. Otherwise, she is completely fine. Nothing out of sorts here. Paige hops on a rock closer towards the older girl. "My name is Paige. What's your name?" She asks curiously, tipping her head back to look up at the stranger, swaying on her feet.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Ray felt her lips twitch slightly a the child's indignation. She had the distinct feeling that she'd been just at feisty at that age. Ray did give a small chuckle as she pried for just a bit more context. "Alright, playing. Who's your mama? You said she was working?" She gave a slightly playful stern look. "Does she know that you went all the way out here to play?" Ray wanted to ensure that there wasn't a worried mother somewhere looking for her child who strayed too far while playing.
Seeing the scrapes, Ray began to pull out her basic wound ointment and bandages from her bag. "I'm Ray. Nice to meet you Paige." She gave the child a warm smile. "Would you let me clean up your scrapes? Then maybe the two of us can find a game to play while we wait for your mom?" Ray was already to scramble for games. Maybe tag? Hide-and-seek seemed risky as she wanted to keep an eye on the kid.
Why did grownups ask so many questions? Paige rolls her eyes rather dramatically, hopping onto the next stone that brings her just a bit closer to Ray. "My momma is named Elaine, but I just call her momma. She's working with Auntie Maeve to make our new house." The girl never did learn the rule of not talking to strangers or giving away too much information it seems. She easily answers the older girls questions, crouching down to stick her hand into one of the pools, seizing a shiny purple stone that sits just beneath the surface. Paige shrugs her shoulders as she stands, examining the stone in her palm, "I dunno. She just said don't get in trouble and stay off the boats." She never stayed close to home when she went to play. She just had to be back by dark. That was the rule.
Paige looks up at her, pursing her lips in consideration before her eyes dip down to the bandages, a sigh pushing past her lips. "I guess so, but only 'cause you said we could play a game." The little girl edges closer, shoving the stone into the small canvas bag that's clearly handmade, hiding away her treasure for later. Auntie Maeve loves purple and she'd probably like the stone. Maybe she'll find a blue one to give to Kamaria too.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Ray bit her lip contemplatively. It sounded like things were mostly in order for Paige and that she didn't need to be incredibly concerned. Still, the Attuned would absolutely keep an eye on the kid until Elaine or Maeve came to get her. For now though, Ray gave a small smile to Paige. "Thanks. I'll take care of it super quick." She then set about the task of efficiently cleaning the scrapes, rubbing a bit of ointment in, and bandaging everything. Once done Ray smiled at Paige, rubbing the last bit of dirt off of the child's cheek. "Good job."
Standing up, Ray gave Paige a cheeky grin. "You know, with both of your elbows bandaged, it looks like you're wearing armor bracers. Cool, huh?" Ray sincerely hoped that'd be enough to keep Paige from taking the bandages off. Wounds now treated, Ray looked around for something to do. Upon noticing the colorful stones, she smiled. "With all of the colorful stones around, what if we made a picture with them? Sort of like drawing but instead of using a pencil, we place the stones?" It'd be something to pass the time and keep them both entertained.
As far as Paige was concerned, no one needed to keep an eye on her at all. She was a big girl, thank you very much! At least, that's what she would tell anyone who asked. The only reason she was willing to go along with it was because Ray was offering to play with her and she was so bored. Paige manages to stay still as Ray cleans her scrapes and bandages her up, only wiggling a little bit as she works, but managing to cooperate rather well. Who knew a seven year old could stay so stil? "Thanks." She can't help the smile the creeps onto her lips as the praise, eyes lighting up proudly at having done such a good job.
Her eyes go wide and she looks down at her bandages, smile growing wider until it makes the dimples in her cheeks pop out, "You really think so? Like a knight!" Princesses didn't wear armor and Paige thought that was super boring. Why couldn't they have armor too? It was silly to not have anything to keep your safe. The idea has he stopping before she was about to jump to another rock, brows knitting together in consideration, "Making a picture with rocks? That's kind of weird." She giggles, head cocking to the side before she's suddenly leaping feet first into a shallow puddle, sending water everywhere in the process. Bending at the waist, the girl sticks both hands into the water, grabbing as many stones as she can hold before she's straightening up, thrusting them all towards Ray. "Is that enough?"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Ray grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Of course! Just like a knight." And in truth, if she tilted her head and squinted the bandages did kind of look like leather bracers. Keeping Paige excited about her bandages enough to keep them clean and on her arms would hopefully go smoothly now.
The Attuned can't help but laugh at the child's commentary. "Well, aren't the best games always the weird ones? The ones where you get to make the rules?" She temped with a playful smile. Another chuckle burst from her at the enthusiastic offering of rocks. Ray eyed the numerous colors offered. There was a decent variety, enough to start at least. Giving a nod she got them started. "Yes! We might need more later, but for now that's enough. There's plenty of space too, so what do you want to draw? Maybe your favorite animal or favorite place? Or we could just make a fun design out of them?"
The girl was convinced enough that they looked cool that she would leave them be until she got home and her momma changed them herself. "Knights are so cool! They ride horses and fight dragons and go on quests." Paige gushed, hopping into the water and retrieving her handfuls of rocks, holding them all out to Ray to look over.
"Yeah, sometimes. I play new games with Kamaria and always change the rules on her. It's fun." She giggled, recalling all the games that they made up together and how she would always switching things around at the last second, confusing the younger girl. Paige only did it for fun and she let Kamaria win plenty of games. So it cancelled out as far as she was concerned. "My favorite animal is a butterfly! They're so many pretty ones. Did you know that some people can turn into animals? Like Mr. Jata! He can turn into so many things!"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Paige's enthusiasm was adorable and had Ray grinning. "That they do." She takes the rocks as Paige continues to talk about her friend. The bit about changing rules made the Attuned nervous. This child was clearly going to be a handful and Ray felt a pang of pity for Kamaria.
Mind on the upcoming game, Ray smiled. "A butterfly? I like them too. There's so many different colors and kinds. We can absolutely draw one with the stones." She noted as she began to place the darker rocks in a basic outline of a butterfly before glancing back at the child. "Is there a particular color of butterfly that you want to draw?"
The child's amazement of transformation had the Attuned raising a brow. Ray gave a mischievous wink before leaning in as if telling a secret. "I'm one of those people. I can turn into a panther just like Sunjata. Though that's all I can turn into." She whispered.
It was all just for fun. Paige never did anything that would hurt Kamaria or even make things unfair. Just something she changed stuff so she could win, but it was only games that didn't really matter. The girl likely wouldn't understand Ray's concerns and even if Ray voiced them, she'd be too caught up in the game they're playing right now to give it any thought.
Her idea was well received and she beamed brightly up at Ray, kneeling on the flat surface they found themselves on, not caring that her knees were going to get all dirty and scraped up too. "Hmmm... A yellow one!" Paige exclaimed after a moment of serious consideration, looking down at the stones they collected. There were a good number of yellow tones for them to start working with.
Blue eyes went wide and she gasped in delight, "A panther? That's so cool! I wish I could turn into a panther."
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
"A yellow one? Alright!" Ray finished up the basic outline in the darker gray and black stones. "Let's start filing it in." She began to place yellow stones within the shape, handing some stones over so that Paige could do the same. The Attuned made sure to leave room in their surroundings in case Paige wanted to create multiple drawings. A whole collection of colorful butterflies did sound fun after all. And it'd likely be a nice surprise for whoever arrived later.
Paige's excitement over her Attuned status had Ray chuckling. "It's really cool. Being a cat is lots of fun. You can climb trees and jump super high. And it makes exploring even more exciting because you can hear, see, and smell more than you normally would." At the child's wish, a gentle smile came to Ray's lips. "One day you might be able to. You never know."
While the girl might have thought that drawing with stones was silly before, now that they were doing it she thought it was actually pretty fun. Especially once Ray handed her some stones to put in herself. Paige carefully placed each of the yellow stones she had, brows knitting together in concentration, lips pursing as she considered the drawing, "The wings need patterns! All butterflies have patterns on their wings." She declared, turning to thrust her hands back into the pool and produce more stones. A few in pink and green that she proceeded to scatter among the yellow that made up most of the wings.
"Maybe... Kamaria said that her momma was gonna turn her into one, but I dunno if she'd make me one too.." The girl mused, head cocking to the side as she crouched, putting down stone after stone. "What kind of animal do you think I'd be? Something cool?" Paige lifted her gaze to Ray, eyes bright and expectant, figuring that the girl had some inside knowledge that she didn't.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Ray let out a small laugh before nodding at Paige. "You're right. All butterflies need their pattern." Following the child's lead Ray helped place the pink and green stones within the outline. She moved a few yellow ones as needed to help spread the colors out, and soon the butterfly began to actually take shape. Ray was glad that Paige seemed to be enjoying the activity. Ray herself was having fun too.
At the question about Attuning Ray hummed. "You're Kamaria's friend. I think you have a good shot at being Attuned if that's what you want." She reassured the child as best as she could. "As for what animal you'd be?" Ray thought back to their interactions thus far. A playful grin stretched across her face as she thought about it. "I could see you being a clever animal. One that can be mischievous at times. Maybe something like a weasel? Or maybe a creative animal that can create beautiful works of art. A spider or some kind of bird that builds beautiful nests maybe." Paige did seem to be an intelligent and creative kid. Ray could see those traits coming through in a shift.
