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!
It was her first time going to a different city. Mother had to run some special errands for Auntie Maeve and the other girls at the Halenani which meant a trip to Stormbreak. Somewhere Paige hadn't ever been before. Upon hearing that her mother was going to a far off place that Paige had only heard about, the girl insisted on going with her, promising that she would be good the whole time. That was until she learned that her mother was going to be doing nothing but boring things. With a promise made not to leave the city proper and to meet her back in the Plaza at dusk, Paige set off with little else aside from herself and the small backpack that she always carried with her, filled with anything and everything she might need.
There were plenty of new places to explore and the Accepted wasted no time doing just that, ducking into shops, swiping little things here and there, but he luck was running out. Sticky fingers just found a pretty little trinket, closing around it as she walks by one of the many stands pedaling its wares, thinking she was off scot free. That was until she heard the unmistakable voice of an adult calling out behind her, "What do you have there?" Paige looks back over her shoulder, eyes going wide at the sight of the angry face staring down at her as he rounded the side of the cart, eyes narrowing.
She yelps, taking off through the streets, ducking and weaving through the crowd with him hot on her heels. Paige doesn't slow even as her lungs start to burn, but there is hope yet, a rather large park sprawls ahead of her with plenty of places she can hide. She dives into a row of bushes, crawling on her belly before getting back to her feet, speeding ahead until she runs straight into the back of someone and sending them both sprawling.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
Mateo is making prints of falling leaves. At this time of year the Celestine is full of them, and he's got his notebook and his charcoal, and is busy taking rubbings of each of the different shapes he's found so he can look at them in more detail later. The work has him on his hands and knees in the grass, with nothing but the sweet breeze and the sound of birdsong to accompany the soft scratch of the charcoal.
Then some girl comes and collides into his back, flattening him and sending her undoubtedly head over heels. "Oof!" comes the boy's eloquent response, Mateo scrambling to sit back up. The charcoal is broken and there's a jagged black line on the page he's been working on, but no harm done otherwise.
"What'd I do?" He scowls at the girl who has (apparently) just shoved him over. His sleeves are smudged black from the sketching, and theres a streak of dirt on his cheek. "Get your own space, I picked this tree fair and square."
Paige blinks rapidly, drawing in a few labored breaths as she tries to collect herself. There is a scrape on her knee and she's gotten dirt on her new dress, but there are bigger concerns like that shopkeeper who is still in pursuit. The girl lunges for Mateo, covering his mouth with one hand as she tugs him behind said tree, "Shhh! You're gonna get me caught." She hisses the words, bright eyes just as blue as his as she holds his gaze for a moment, pressing them both back against the tree. Footsteps sound outside of where they're hiding in this little grove, but they soon fade and Paige releases the older boy after they do, peeking out from around the tree to check that the coast was clear.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to knock you over." The girl gives him an apologetic smile, cheeks flushing pink as she steps back from him, brushing at the dirt on her dress and picking leaves from her hair. He looks more than a little peeved with her, but it had really been an accident. Her fingers twist in the skirt of her dress and she rocks on the balls of her feet, looking him over from head to toe, noting the wildness of his curls and the blue of his eyes. There was also a rather lovely smudge of dirt on his cheek.
His accent make his words strangely lilting and musical and she doesn't think she's ever heard an accent like that ever. "My name's Paige... What're you doing out here?" She asks, attempting to salvage the situation.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
"Hey--" The rest of Mateo's annoyance (in a mix of languages, not that she'll be able to hear it) is muffled behind the girl's hand, and he has no choice but to be dragged behind the tree. His sketchbook and leaves are left abandoned and there's nothing he can really do about it, besides wait for the footsteps to fade away and for her to let him go. "It's okay," he says slowly, a bit out of breath as he peers around the tree as well. "Who were you hiding from?"
With the coast apparently clear, he steps out to collect up his sketches, closing the book and stuffing it into a bag nearby. "My name is Mateo," he introduces himself. "I was just making pictures of the leaves. I haven't seen you at school."
Who were you hiding from? Paige purses her lips, considering if she should actually tell him or not, unsure whether he'd turn her in. Her eyes narrow only slightly as she chews on the inside of her cheek before finally releasing a heavy breath, "I was running from a shopkeeper." That's all he gets unless he asks why and that's something that he likely will do. Maybe she can bribe him to keep quiet with one of the fancy marbles she took. Except then he mentions school and Paige blinks in surprise.
That's not something she really does too much of. Not that Torchline doesn't have a school. She just doesn't go. Why bother? She gets taught plenty at home and then some. "I don't go to school. Not here. I'm from Torchline." The girl supplies instead, trailing after him, fingers tightening on the straps of her own bag. "Mateo is a nice name, though." She liked the way it sounded kind of like a song when she says it, but it isn't anywhere near as nice coming from her as it is him. "Oh! I saw you at the party last season!" Paige suddenly recalls, face lighting up in a bright smile.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
"From a shopkeeper?" He tilts his head at that, straightening up enough to shrug his bag back over his shoulder. "What did you steal?" That was normally why people ran from shopkeepers in Mateo's experience, unless Paige had done something else to annoy one. And if that is the case, she's quite free to correct him. Mention of Torchline has him smiling brightly, recalling the previous season and the golden sands, the crashing waves. "I went there in LongHeat, on vacation," he says. "You are very lucky to live there."
Even if she didn't go to school, which is a shame. Mateo quite enjoys his time at school. "Thank you. Paige sounds like you ought to be very good at reading," he offers back, leading them out onto the winding pathways of the Celestine. It's a bright and breezy day, and they're unlikely to run into the shopkeeper again with how crowded it is on the paths.
Last season's party does draw his attention, Mateo tilting his head and smiling enough that his dimples show. "You were there too? It was fun, wasn't it? But sad that we had to leave so early."
He comes right out and asks her about what she stole, making the girl falter for only a moment before a mischievous light sparks in the blue of her irises as she removes her own bag from her back to pull out the pouch of marbles. She opens them up, pulling out a milky white one that’s swirled with blue and purple, holding it in her palm for him to inspect. ”Some marbles. I hadn’t seen any nice ones like these before. We only get bits of broken ones on the beach.” She has a whole collection of seaglass at home and while it was lovely in its own right it just wasn’t the same as functional marbles. Paige grins back at him, nose wrinkling with her smile, ”It’s really nice. A lot of places to explore and things to find.” Or steal, depending on the day.
”I’m good at reading. The other kids that live in the big house get tutored together. I just don’t go to the normal school. We have class in my Auntie Maeve’s big garden sometimes.” Mostly because she was awful at sitting still and she always ended up running off at the first opportunity. This worked better for her. ”Do you like your school here? It seems really fancy.” Having walked past the building earlier, Paige felt nothing but intimidation upon seeing it, thinking that they surely wouldn’t let someone like her inside.
But she gets him to smile again and his dimples pop out, making her own smile grow even larger as she nods, ”It was fun.” She recalls the large cake that she stole with Aurelia before they ended up having to leave, giggling to herself, ”I ate so much cake. You were there with your dads, right?” Hadn’t they flown away on a cloud with Miss Seren? She thinks that they did.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
The appearance of the marbles is a surprise; from watching the street kids running to and fro across the alleyways and skinny lanes, Mateo has noticed that they almost always steal food (for obvious reasons). Accepting the marble in his palm, he holds it up to the light to inspect, seeming impressed with her choice. "You should leave the shopkeeper something nice tomorrow morning on his doorstep," he suggests. "As a thank you." Equality and all that.
Listening eagerly to her description of her own schooling, Mateo offers the marble back and tilts his head curiously. "Is the big house like a school?" he asks. "They bring us here for classes sometimes. Those are my favourites." As for his own school, yes, it is fancy, and the boy can't even really deny it. "I like it," he says with a slow nod. "There are a lot of books in the libraries that make the lessons much more interesting."
None of it is nearly as interesting as the party they had both attended, though, and he flashes Paige another dimpled grin. "I didn't get to eat any cake," he laments. "But I got to play some games at the stalls before everything went weird. It was fun."
Paige doesn't need to steal food. She's always well fed and well clothed. No, her thieving of choice usually centers around shiny things. Marbles, jewelry, buttons, and gems. All stuff to add to her ever growing collection. The suggestion isn't a bad one and she considers it for a moment. Paige hums in thought, shrugging slender shoulders as they begin to walk, "Like what? Do you think he likes pastries? Flowers?" Everyone likes pastries, don't they? Plus, flowers were really pretty. Would that be nice enough?
She giggles, shaking her head at his question, "Nuh uh, it's where we live. The big house is connected to the Halenani. That's a brothel. My auntie runs it and my momma works there." The child didn't see anything wrong with this. It was hard to when that's how you were brought up. She knew it was a job and what her momma did to make sure that they were taken care of now since daddy wasn't there to anymore. "We don't have a big library, but I really like to read. What do you learn in your school?" It had to be something neat if it was such a fancy place. Paige was sure of it.
No cake? Well that just wouldn't do. "We could probably get some cake now? It won't be the same as the cake at the party, but cake is always good." Paige replies, grinning back at him as she walks along beside him, a little skip in her step, "I played a ring toss game and won a stuffed dragon, but then we had to leave. Had you ever been to a party like that before?"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
"Everyone likes pastries," Mateo reasons, unintentionally voicing her thoughts and smiling across at her. "There's a florist that lives next to my dad's shop though, if you wanted to get flowers. Though you would probably have to buy them or make a bouquet yourself, otherwise it kind of... doesn't really work, does it?" Stealing to say sorry for stealing? It doesn't make sense to him.
Perhaps brothel ought to have pinged something off in Mateo's head; his parents are hardly prudes, and they answer any and all of his questions when they are asked. Only, he has never asked what's a brothel - so he's going to now. "Ah," he says wisely, nodding his head, before, "what's one of those? Is it like a theatre?" There are a lot of theatres in the Silk Houses. (There are a lot of brothels too, but he doesn't really know that yet).
Shifting his bag on his shoulder, Mateo's confusion clears into enthusiasm once more as the subject turns to school. "Oh, well. I'm learning history, science, math and art right now," he explains. "But we have reading comprehension time too, and we go on a lot of trips."
Cake does sound good, and it has Mateo bobbing his head in a nod as they leave the Celestine and the poor shopkeeper no doubt still looking for Paige, leading them towards the Pacifist Plaza. "There are little parties like it here sometimes, for festivals and things. But I've never been to one like that, no," he explains.
It's easy to return his smile, skipping along beside him as he leads them out of the Celestine and back onto the winding streets, "That's what I was thinking." Paige confirms with a nod of her head and he's right about the flowers too. It doesn't make sense to steal flowers to pay back for the marbles that she also stole. "I think pastries is a good choice. Then he'll have breakfast." Or a snack. There really wasn't a limit on when to have pastries in her opinion.
Is it like a theatre? They did have music and shows sometimes. Not that Paige was ever allowed inside of that part of the building since their new home was built. "Uh, well, not exactly. It's where people can to to enjoy adult company. There is a bar and a lounge, but also a lot of bedrooms." Will he be able to put two and two together? Surely his parents have given him that talk to an extent, right? Paige already had it, but that's because there was really no way of hiding what it was her mother or auntie did for work.
Only some of that piqued her interest, but the idea of going on trips grabs her attention entirely. "What kind of trips? Where do you go? To the Wilds? I've been out in the Wilds a few times. I fought Vampire Gourds!" She informs him rather proudly, smirking over at him, "Have you ever fought Vampire Gourds?"
Paige hums in agreement, still keeping pace with his slightly longer legs, the skirt of her dress swishing with each step. "It was a really fancy party. Torchline has parties a lot, but not out in the woods."
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
"Great," Mateo agrees with a smile and a nod, their destination decided. "We can get your sorry-pastry at the same time as we get cake." And so off they skip along the pathways, having to weave between people when it gets busy, but they are otherwise left to their own devices along the route to the Plaza. "It's usually around the city. We go to the Celestine and the Falling, and to the Sleeping Steps. Oh, but we go to the Wilds sometimes too!" he chimes. "I have never seen a Vampire Gourd, though - I was sleeping when they were attacking the shop. What are they like?"
Soon enough the Pacifist Plaza sprawls before them, filled with stalls and shops and people eating and drinking at cafes, and Mateo makes a beeline for a nearby bakery. "Lots of bedrooms...?" He tilts his head as he imagines the Halenani and what it must be for when it comes to adult company, before nodding and seeming to come to a conclusion. "Sounds boring," he decides, pressing his nose up against the glass of the bakery to look at their selection. "What cake do you want?"
She's reminded of the fact that there is cake in their future and she brightens even further, an obvious pep in her step, listening closely to all of the places that he's gone through the city. All of them are places she's never been herself, but she's definitely interested in exploring. "That's really neat. I've never been anywhere like that. This is my first time in Stormbreak." Paige muses, considering his question with a little hum, "They're all different sizes. Some look like pumpkins and others look like squash. They have little fangs and glowing eyes and vines. They just try to grab and bite you all the time." It had been fun fighting them off though. Especially when she was able to send them rolling off.
He's right. It is very boring. There was nothing to do at all for kids in there. It was all very hush hush and absolutely off limits to the likes of her. "It is. I'm not really allowed inside." Her shoulders lift in a shrug as they near the bakery window, cupping her hands against the glass she might look inside without the glare of sunlight. "Do you think they have strawberry cake?"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
"Is it? What do you think of it so far, other than the good marbles?" he asks, flashing a grin across at Paige as they find themselves outside the bakery. His brows furrow to hear her description of the vampire gourds, though, Mateo suddenly very sad that he didn't get to see one. "I wonder how they pop up," he murmurs. "If they have seeds, maybe you could grow some?" It's definitely a thought for later - for now? Cake.
Strawberry cake, to be precise. "They usually do," Mateo confirms with a nod. "I like the millionaire's shortbread. And their gingerbread men are nice too!" Straightening up, he approaches the door; the boy normally doesn't need to worry about the things he wants to buy, given who his parents are. "What did you want to get the shopkeeper? Maybe we can pick that up here too?"
