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!
Sure, her momma might have told her not to run off from Maeve and Locke, but she hasn't. Not really. She's just hiding. Auntie Maeve and Mr. Locke are catching up with a dark haired girl and she was bored just standing there. Especially when there were so many people around. So many shiny things to look at and take for herself. People drinking and playing and not paying her any mind. The perfect targets.
Paige sits crouched beneath a table, peeking out occasionally for a new target, finding plenty of pockets to slip tiny fingers into. She leans forward, eyeing the bag of a woman who seems caught up in looking at one of the tables, not noticing her as she slowly inches forward. Paige carefully edges her hand into the bag, reaching blindly for the first thing she can wrap her fingers around, preparing to dart as soon as she has something.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
During the party, Aurelia has wandered away from Jack for a few minutes to go and sniff about for some food. Things seem fairly laidback at this point, nothing looking out of place. Though there is a general odd sensation of tension in the air, she tries to ignore it as she trots through the crowds of people gathered around stalls, tables.
Mostly, she goes unnoticed but for the occasional person that jolts when they nearly trip over her little cat-like frame. She'll just chatter at them in annoyance and carry on her way. Ought to be more mindful of others, she thinks, if being Attuned is so common...
As she rounds a corner, following the sweet aroma of fruits and vegetables, she's distracted by a flicker of movement beneath a table nearby. Being that she's so short, she can clearly see the girl huddled underneath, and her stash of stolen goodies.
Aurelia silently chuckles to herself, and drops her quest for food for the moment. Crouching, she stalks around the table. There's a man standing nearby at one of the other vendors, and hanging from his coat pocket is a lengthy necklace. It would seem he hasn't noticed that it's falling out.
Suddenly, the red panda pops up beside the girl with a quiet, curious trill. Lifting her nose, she shows off the thin, golden chain hanging from her mouth. On the end, a little star-shaped piece hangs from it.
She'd been eyeing that man herself and the necklace dangling from his pocket. People really don't pay any attention to their things, do they? Paige spares a quick glance around, making sure the coast is clear, but when she looks back the necklace is gone. Her brows knit together and she's just about to move when something appears at her shoulder, making her jump and fall onto her butt, eyes going wide when she focuses on the little creature. Not only that, but the necklace hanging from its mouth looks very much like the one she was about to lift herself. "Oh no way! Did you take that? So cool!" She gushes, keeping her voice down so that no one notices her and her new little friend under the table.
Paige sits herself up, carefully taking the necklace from its mouth, grinning to herself, "I've been taking all sorts of things. Look! I got all these buttons and this pocket watch and these pretty gems!" She points to her little stash that's honestly pretty impressive given her age. Paige purses her lips, peeking out from beneath the table to spot the giant cake she's been eyeing this whole time, the real thing she's after. "But you see that? That's what I want. You know... I bet we could get over there if we played bandits!" Her eyes sparkle with mischief as she shifts back under the table, gathering up her things and shoving them in her little bag, focusing back on Aurelia. "What do you think? You could be my partner in crime!"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Her eyes shut with proud delight, holding her chin a little higher and bobbing her head to and fro in a 'yes I did and yes it is' sort of way. She then turns, blinking up at Paige, as the girl indicates her own little pile of treasure. Aurelia's tail coils around behind her happily and she adds the necklace to it. She'd really only taken it to impress the kid, with no intention of keeping it for herself.
Interested in what other pursuits the girl might have, she peers out from under her arms to see the giant white cake on display. Her eyes widen and she quickly darts back under the table to meet the girl's mischievous gaze. Her own lights up, too, and she nods her furry head vigorously to accept the invitation to be her bandit-in-crime.
Although... her head tilts to one side and she twitters out what might sound like a questioning tone. She's never actually played bandits before, she's not quite sure how it works, but she thinks she understands that the endgame is to get to the cake. So she stands up on her paws and gestures very politely with one of them, for Paige to take the lead. And she will follow.
Paige giggles in delight, strapping her bag onto her back, crouching beneath the table as she meets the little creature's eyes. She reaches out, patting her head and giving her a little scratch before slipping the necklace over her head, taking one more look out from beneath the table. "Okay... So the big thing about playing bandits is not being seen. Well... That and not getting caught." The girl grins brightly, wrinkling her nose in delight as she inches forward on her hands and knees, considering their options.
"So we can't let the adults see us and we can't get caught and we have to be sneaky." She stresses, eyes darting this way and that, suddenly darting out from beneath the table as she stays low to the ground. Paige is tiny and fast. Faster than she seems like she should be, but she weaves in and out of legs, not a single one of them noticing her. Paige finds another table to dart beneath, checking over her shoulder for her fuzzy friend, stopping to let her catch up. Her eyes go wide, a gasp pushing past her lips, "Oh no! It's a booby trap! The ground is all lava!"
The girl points ahead of them where the ground is still very much flowers, but there are a few flat rocks that clearly could act as platforms to keep them safe from the lava that's apparently flowing there now.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Aurelia beams, or she beams as much as she can as an animal, as she's given pats and scratches. Normally, if she were in her human form, the touch might feel pretty strange. But, for some reason, animals really like head pats. It just... feels nice?
Anyway, she listens very intently to Paige's instructions, a determined shadow darkening her eyes as she nods again. Don't get seen, don't get caught, be sneaky. Okay, Aurelia can do that. She gives her pelt a little ready shake and creeps forward with Paige until the girl suddenly darts out.
Startled by how fast she is, it takes Aurelia a moment to get her bearings. Then, she skirts after Paige in a hurry. She's a bit frantic at first, doing her best to hop around people's feet so she doesn't get totally squashed. Luckily, she manages to accomplish this first part without being stepped on and without being noticed.
She catches up to Paige, panting softly, and directs her with an expectant look. When suddenly the ground is made of lava. Her head tilts at the flowers, and then she realizes - this is an additional part of the game. The funny thing about Aurelia is that she hadn't played all these fun little games as a kid. Which is pretty depressing, but that's not the point. The point is that it's actually really... fun.. to be able to experience them still. For that, she feels a fondness for Paige already.
So she does her best to quietly hop across the rocks. She tries to set a path that's easy to jump to, even for a kid. Once across, she looks back over her shoulder to make sure Paige is keeping up. This time, she's the one waiting for her. Once the girl is caught up to her, she points her nose and nods towards a few people that have started to gather in between them and their prize - the cake.
She glances up at Paige for guidance, concerned about how they're going to get through this obstacle.
Aurelia darts out first to hop across the stones and Paige watches closely, making sure the cat squirrel racoon thing gets across. What eve is this creature? She's never seen one before. Do they live in the jungle? Oh! Do they belong to the heralds? Maybe Frey made them! Safrin? Vi? Rae? Paige is distracted by her thoughts, brows knitting together as she considers all of these options before she remembers what she's meant to be doing. Right! The cake!
She's just about to dart forward when she remembers her own rule. The ground was lava! Can't touch anything but the rocks! Paige follows the same path that Aurelia took, jumping from stone to stone with a little huff between each one. She wobbles dangerously, pinwheeling her arms before she catches herself, letting out a breath of relief as she hops to the last one and crawls under the table again. "That was a close one! I was almost melted!" She giggles, moving on her belly towards the other end of the table, frowning at all the pairs of feet that stand between them and their prize.
"Oh no... Giants... This is going to be a problem. We need a distraction." Paige chews on her bottom lip, brows drawing together as she looks around, trying to find something they could use to their advantage. Her eyes fall on a series of ropes tied to a nearby tree that seem to be holding up an awning. An awning that just so happens to be covering the giants that stand between them and the cake. "If you untie that it'll fall... Then we can get to the other table and get the cake while they try to get out! What do you think?" Paige turns to look back at her bandit-in-crime expectantly, gauging what they thing of the idea.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Aurelia teeters on the rock where she's standing, almost jumping back to help Paige when she sees her start to fall. What a horrible way for their game to end that'd be! But the girl catches her balance at the last moment, and Aurelia's little chest huffs a sigh of relief. Back to the task at... paw!
Scuttling along beside Paige, the red panda peers up at the 'problematic Giants' and lets out a tiny grumble of agreement - in the spirit of things, of course. When given her part of the mission, Aurelia gives the kid a single, decisive nod. She knows what she has to do. So she turns away, fluffy tail flicking to sweep over Piage's nose.
Then, she's off, skirting along the outskirts of the party. Most people are indulging themselves, whether it be in food or talk or music. Those that are watching everything like hawks? Well, get a load of this!
Untying knots isn't exactly her forte, not when she has paws anyway. And, well... Aurelia secretly would rather not be recognized in this moment. So, instead of simply shifting and using her hands, instead she climbs up the awning itself. From there, she locates where the ropes are attached. She proceeds to pull them loose with her teeth, and with a few precarious jerks, the awning leaaaans over... and falls!
Decorations, tarps, lighting fixtures - all of it goes tumbling down with the awning. Including Aurelia, but at least she has the advantage of being atop all this mess. Everyone else? Well... consider them distracted.
Her furry red head pops up from the tarp and she chirps, calling out to signal her fellow bandit-in-crime. Her gaze scans the vicinity to try and spot the girl, to go and catch up to her for the last part of their game.
The little creature gives her a nod, signalling that she understands and Paige watches with delight as Aurelia sets off, stifling her giggle as the end of its fluffy tail tickles her nose. The girl watches as Aurelia disappears from sight, waiting for any sign that she was successful in her part of the mission. The time seems to drag, but suddenly the awning comes crashing down. There are shouts of startled surprise as they're covered, flailing and trying to get out from beneath the tarp, but Paige uses this moment to scamper towards the other table. The rest of the party goers not paying her any mind with the rest of the chaos going on.
She dives under the table holding the cake, panting as she looks around for her bandit-in-crime, blue eyes wide before they land on her and she smiles brightly. The girl motions for her to come beneath the table and she takes a breath, "That was close!" Paige exclaims, brows lifting up towards her hairline before she's grinning, "We're here. The cake is just above us... All that's left is to grab it and run."
Paige slowly crawls forward, inching out from beneath the edge of the table before turning to face the table, fingers reaching out to grip the edge of the table cloth. She tugs at it, dragging the cake closer to the edge, "Help!" She whispers, looking at Aurelia and jerking her chin towards what she's doing, but she keeps tugging. Together they bring the cake closer and closer to the edge until Paige can stand on her tiptoes, grabbing the platter that holds their prize, but it's heavier than she's expecting. "I can't carry it on my own!" The cake was only two tiers, but apparently that was too heavy for the girl to carry all on her own.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
She trills a response back at Paige at the exclamation that it was close, bouncing along beside the girl’s heels like a loyal dog or something. But at this point, Aurelia’s too dedicated to the game and having too much fun to worry about how silly and… kinda crazy this is. She’ll probably remember this very fondly for a long time! That’s more than worth it, in her mind. Besides, she’d done far worse as a kid.
Aurelia panics a bit at this last part, though. Paige asks her help to grab the entire platter of cake and, well, she doesn’t quite know what she was expecting at this stage of the game… was it this? Maybe. Anyway, there’s no time to not help, so she stands up on her hind legs to grip the edge of the plating with her teeth and drag it closer. Only, it’s too heavy for Paige, so the cake teeters precariously.
Desperate to save the day, Aurelia jumps to hoist up the bottom with the flat of her head. Only, she’s a bit late, and the top of the cake slides off.
Right on top of her.
Her red coat becomes splattered and smudged by the decorative cake frosting. Pieces of cake slump down around her paws and she lowers her nose, embarrassed at her failure. She licks a bit of whipped frosting off her nose and perks up at how tasty it is. Turning, she plucks up a chunk of cake in her mouth. With a proud wag of her tail, she steals away beneath a nearby table. Hopefully Paige will be content enough with what’s left of the cake on her platter, and come join her.
Paige yelps as the cake topples despite Aurelia's best efforts to catch the platter full of cake, but it still topples. The top most layer falling right onto Aurelia. Her eyes go wide and she gasps, managing to balance the rest of it now that the extra weight is gone, watching as Aurelia disappears beneath another table. No one has noticed them with all the commotion going on and it's easy to scurry after the red panda.
She giggles, dipping under the table cloth and sitting cross legged, placing the cake between them. "We did it!" Paige exclaims, taking a scoop of frosting onto her fingers and licking it off, grinning like crazy. "Best bandits-in-crime ever!" She holds her hand out as if to get a high-five from Aurelia, smiling brightly before her attention goes back to the cake. They both eat until they can't hold anymore, bellies full of too much sugar, but they don't care. As far as Paige is concerned, this was the best day ever.
~FIN <3~
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
