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!
09-01-2021, 10:05 PM (This post was last modified: 09-01-2021, 10:09 PM by Paige.)
Paige
Paige practically begs her mother to go back to Stormbreak. Especially when the seasons change and the weather grows cooler. There had been promises of snow. Already the first bit had started to fall and she hopes beyond hope to run into Mateo or Everest again. Now that Kamaria left with her dad moved them somewhere else she didn't really have anyone to play with anymore. It's with great excitement that she darts off the boat with her mother calling after her not to get into any trouble. Yeah right! Paige was made for trouble!
She's intent on finding one of the boys, but the sound of bells distracts her. Not church bells. These were the jingling kind. The kind that sparked stories and dreams and wishes of toys. Just like that, her course changes, leading her into the Celestine to chase after the sound of those bells.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
Mateo may or may not be hiding somewhere in the Celestine. It's possible, certainly. What is certain though, is that Ever is here. With a charcoal-coloured scarf wrapped snuggly around his neck and a notebook in his hand, the Hart boy has been wandering around the Celestine's various enclosures for a while now, taking down notes about the new arrivals. Though the magic at work makes all the enclosures perfectly suited to what they contain, only the ones from areas like Torchline or Hak Etme remained free of snow whereas some of the others were now heavily blanketed. Having been abruptly aged by Frey, this was Ever's first time ever seeing snow despite the fact he looked to be about 9.
The sound of bells has Ever raising his head, his curls heavy with large snowflakes and his blue eyes narrowed slightly to try and discern where the sound was coming from. A figure in the distance has him frowning slightly and closing his notebook. His expression doesn't change all that much when he makes out who it is, though his shoulders do ease somewhat. "Hello Paige." He calls, politely.
Paige doesn't even notice the boy at first. Not when that jingling sound persists, sounding from all around her, but a familiar voice calls out a greeting and she's quick to turn. Blue eyes go wide, bright and happy at the sight of Ever, a smile splitting her face. Ever is calm as ever, holding his notebook and wearing a frown that Paige thinks doesn't truly suit him. She quickly bounds towards him, hands stuffed into the pockets of her pale blue coat, cheeks already flushed a bright pink from the cold. "Ever!" Paige chirps, managing to keep herself in check enough not to throw her arms around him in a tight hug, knowing he isn't a fan of physical contact.
"How're you?" She asks, remembering her manners again if only because he reminds her without meaning to. "I was just looking for the jingle bells." Paige rocks on the balls of her feet, snow crunching beneath the soles of her boots, nose wrinkling as her head cocks to the side. "Wanna look with me?"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
Ever's eyes widen slightly as Paige bounds toward him like an energetic puppy. Really, it's something he should be more familiar with given his attuned shift, but as a human, the boy is indeed cautious and reserved. #ThanksDad. "I'm alright. A bit cold. But gloves make it hard to write." He replies, pressing his fingertips together and feeling the dull lack of sensation. "Jingle bells?" Glancing down at her feet, his head cocked to the side as he listens to the groan of the snow as her boots pack it together, her question catches him by surprise if only because....well, no one usually asks him to do anything with them.
"Oh. Alright." He agrees stiffly through his surprise. Rising, he continues to clutch his pen and notebook if only so that his hands will have something to do. It helps soothe his ever-present anxiety, when his limbs know what their jobs are.
"I was trying to decide if the jingling was an adaptative advantage, or an unintentional one." Ever explains. "Some adaptations are obviously intentional. Like Luxere's glowing antlers. But others...like how ladybugs are bright red with spots? That's only an advantage to them because humans think it's charming." Pausing, Ever shrugs.
09-04-2021, 04:02 AM (This post was last modified: 09-04-2021, 04:02 AM by Paige.)
Paige
Cautious and reserved he may be, but it doesn't deter Paige. Not one bit. She rather likes his quiet nature. The way he always looks so wide eyed and nervous if only because it's so different from herself. Plus he's nice to her. "Whatcha writing about?" She asks easily, eyes wide and expectant, curious as to what he was actually doing before she showed up to derail his day.
Paige beams at him, smile brighter than the pale sun that hangs in the sky above them, hidden away by the canopy of the trees. "I've never seen them before." She says, already setting back off towards the jingling, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he's following even as he talks. Not all of what he says make sense to her, but she listens anyway, tucking all the information away in case she ever needs it. "I dunno. I never thought about it before. Maybe it attacks prey?" She suggests, not sure if that's really the case or not seeing as she knows nothing of the little things.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
'The flora and fauna in the Celestine.' Everest replies politely, turning one page and tapping the top with a gloved-finger so that she could see he'd written the date. 'As of today. Because it changes.' He adds with a small smile.
Trotting after her with his things tucked haphazardly beneath his arm, Ever possesses all the willingness of a puppy who only wants to please despite having absolutely no idea how. As Paige mentions that perhaps the jingling might have something to do with the bugs attacking prey, the Hart boy stops in his tracks and blinks consideringly. "Well...if that's the case, I suppose it's working quite well. It's jingling and we're following. Perhaps it will lead us somewhere secluded where there is a swarm of them. Enough that they could devour us." This is said with academic interest; the panic about whether or not this might actually be the case will come soon enough.
Paige takes a moment to examine the writing given that he's nice enough to show it to her. Her head tilts to the side, eyes scanning it all over quickly before they're setting off, musing about what exactly these little bugs jingle for. "Huh, I didn't really think about it changing. Do you like plants too?" Was he like Mateo in this regard or was it simply the fact that the way the world worked was of interest to him? Paige was too distracted by their current task to think to properly ask.
She gets a couple of feet ahead of him when he suddenly comes to a stop and she looks back, brows raising towards her hairline as he makes his hypothesis, but Paige doesn't hesitate. The girl moves back over to him, holding out her hand, "If they try I'll fight them off! I fought off Vampire Gourds last season. I think I can handle some bugs." She says confidently, nodding with a set expression before she offers him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Ever. I'm sure it's just so they're cute and people don't wanna get rid of them."
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
Everest nods knowingly; the Celestine is constantly changing even if it appears to stay the same. The enclosures shift as do their inhabitants, which is why writing down the date is so important. "Not as much as some people." He answers with a small frown, thinking like she, of Mateo. "But I do like them." Really, he just liked knowing about things. And plants were things.
Blankly, Ever looks down at the offered hand. His fingers are protected by gloves, and it would be rude to reject her offer of physical reassurance, but even so, he swallows hard before shuffling around his things to free a hand to slip into hers. "I'm afraid I can't fight at all." He admits as his blue eyes stare at the ground, before rising back to hers slowly. "O..kay."
So saying he trundles along, hyperaware of his hand in hers, and so not noticing at all the soft crunch crunch of snow being flattened by something large behind them.
"I gave one of my friends some seeds from the gourds and he said he was going to try to grow them. I know a girl who has one as a companion and I think he'd like one too given how much he likes plants." She doesn't know that he knows Mateo, but that's alright. Paige babbles a little bit before she's turning back to reassure him, holding her hand out for him to take and he does after a big breath which she doesn't miss, but Paige doesn't point it out. Not when she knows how shy he is. Instead she gives his hand a reassuring squeeze through his gloves.
Paige looks at him with a smile as he meets her gaze again, "That's okay. Not everyone has to fight. You know, there are some people who never fight ever? In some of the books I read they're, uhm, strategist? They make all the plans. Maybe that's what you're good at since you like knowing so much." It was an easy thing to suggest and Paige had half the mind to think it was true. He probably was really good at making plans and figuring things out.
They press forward deeper towards the jingling sound. Finally they find the source. Paige slows so they can take some time to study the little creatures. "See! Cute. I told you it would be okay." Paige gives his hand another little squeeze before loosening her grip so he can pull away if he wishes to.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
Puzzled, Ever's face contorts boyishly as he tries to imagine what it would be like to have a sentient vegetable as a companion (or were gourds fruits? They did have seeds and grew on vines?). The squeeze of her hand has his thoughts abruptly sputtering to a stop, and she might as well have slapped him for the bright streaks of colour suddenly on his cheeks. "Yeah, I...I think I'm one of those people." He agrees a touch uncertainly—the ones who didn't fight, not necessarily the ones who made plans. "But you're not, I guess. Not if you've already fought things." This is said almost like it's fact; Paige had fought something once, and so that made her capable of fighting and thus a fighter in young Ever's eyes.
Eventually, they come to a small copse of plants where a number of jingle bugs are merrily jingling away. There's no swarm and no danger that Ever can see, which has him relaxing slightly. Because he doesn't want to offend, he stays stiffly with his hand still in Paige's for as long as she remains close enough to keep it that way.
Behind them, the crunch crunch of snow grows slightly more louder, accompanied now by the hisssssssss! of steam as something very hot drips down onto the snow. Ever doesn't hear this though. His thoughts are currently concerned with whether or not he'll have to marry Paige one day because he held her hand, and they're rattling about his brain far too loudly for him to hear anything other than the steady rush of blood in his ears.
The blue that rises on his cheeks has its own kind of charm to it and Paige can't help giggling at the look in his eyes. They're a study in opposites and Paige likes that about them. "We need those kinds of people. Who else are the fighters going to protect besides the ones who don't do the fighting?" She asks him with a smile, bumping against his shoulder as they walk, managing to find the little hide away with the bugs jingling as they crawls across the various surfaces available for meandering.
Paige doesn't even think about the fact that they're still holding hands, assuming that Ever still wants to hold her hand given that he's not letting go of her, but it's nice either way. Especially given the fact that her hands are cold even with her knitted gloves. The only difference is that she's not thinking of the fact that they might have to get married because they're holding hands. That's not how things works, she doesn't think, but that's neither here nor there.
She hears the hissing, brows knitting together as a shiver runs up the back of her spine with something that isn't cold, but adrenaline prickling through her veins. Paige turns to look back over her shoulder, brows drawing together as she tries to find the source for that feeling.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
The sound Ever makes as her shoulder knocks against his is a cross between a mewl and a whine, which he quickly tries to disguise by clearing his throat as if maybe something was stuck in it.
As Paige turns, her eyes will quickly catch sight of what it is creating the sound. The creature makes no attempt to hide its presence, and why should it? It is clearly the alpha predator here. Standing in the snow is a massive molten tiger. Drips of lava and fire trickle from its body onto the snow creating small guisers of steam that rise up and cause the hissing sound that had cause Paige to turn. Baring its white teeth, the tiger lashes its tail behind its body, amber eyes focused intently on the two morsels children in its path.
'Wha—' Ever wonders politely, turning and predictably falling silent. His heart leaps into his throat as his limbs go suddenly stiff and lifeless. "Oh." He whispers, uselessly, sounding already resigned to death. "uhm." His fingers tighten around Paige's. 'With bears, you're meant to play dead." Ever whispers unhelpfully.
Paige didn't scare easily. No, this was a girl who went hunting for ghosts and ventured into the Wilds without anyone by her side. There was very little that limited the young Attuned. Except none of those things prepared her for facing a Molten Tiger inside a city. She swallows thickly, gripping onto Ever's hand so tightly her knuckles went white. "I don't think it works with tigers." Paige breathes back, mind racing for what they could possibly do in a moment like this and coming up short.
The prey in her screams run and she knows if she were to shift she could probably hide, but she wasn't going to leave Ever. "We're going to run. It's going to chase us." This was simply fact. It's what cats did. "Run!" Paige doesn't let go of his hand as she darts forward, pulling him through shrubs and bushes, trying to put as many obstacles between them and it as possible.
"We need somewhere to hide where it can't get! Somewhere small!" Came her quick words between gasps as she pushes snow laden branches and twigs out of their path, tearing through the greenery of the Celestine.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
there was no where for me to stay, but I stayed anyway
"Oh." Not of course it didn't work with tigers. It was just...the first thing that came to his mind, a thought brighter even than the feeling of her fingers through his gloves. At first what she says makes him think they aren't going to run, but then of course they suddenly are running—or more properly, Ever is being dragged along—and he's fairly certain that he's stopped breathing.
A naive puppy though he might be, Ever's instincts are caught between fight and flight; when flight proves unsuccessful (the tiger is steadily gaining on them), the Hart boy twists slightly. "Hide!" He whispers, and though his hand remains in Paige's, as he shifts and his gloves disappear, his grip necessarily falls away.
With high-pitched frantic barks, Ever yips at the tiger. With his hackles raised and his puppy-teeth bared, the boy does his best to get the tiger's attention before he tucks his tail and runs.
