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!
In later years Ever might have answered with a that's what she said, but for now, he simply swallows hard and nods, glad that he isn't the only one finding that the pacing of things is going far too fast. "Well," Ever hums, anchoring some of the blankets down with books he'd taken from the library portion of the hospital. "maybe it's just an animal?" He suggests in a hopeful tone, but then there's a dull thud, that has the Hart boy nearly leaping out of his skin.
"...!" Ever moans, before scooting closer to Mateo. "MomsaysnevertoleaveanythingunsaidandsoifwediehereIjustwantyoutoknowthat—" He wheezes on an exhale, only to scream sharply and sweetly as Paige suddenly skitters into view.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright
Maybe, Mateo wants to agree about it being an animal, but then Ever is rambling and Paige pops into view and oh look now both the boys are screaming. "You scared me!" he yelps, though whether that's to the Hart boy or their Torcher friend isn't all that clear. Skittering out of their den, he moves to shut the door behind Paige, pressing his back against it as if that might help protect against ghosts somehow.
"You saw it?" He blinks, swallowing hard. "And it... it left?" Peeling away from the door, he scrambles back to the half built den to sit with his comrades. "So we... we don't have to stay if it's not here right? We proved it was real, so... we could carve our names, then pack up and go sleepover at mine?"
It's with a hopeful sort of energy that he pulls out a few tools (a small knife, a screwdriver and a tiny chisel) to offer them out for them to carve their names in the... floorboards, he guesses.
Mateo suggests carving their names to prove they were there, then getting the hell out to go have a proper sleepover at his place.
Paige gives them both an apologetic look, "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you guys." She says softly, slowing down her racing heart and catching her breath, looking between the two boys before her bright blue gaze settles on Mateo. "It was a weird shadowy thing and it went out the window!" Paige repeats the news, hands bunching in her lap, shivering in the cold of the room. While she isn't as scared as her fellow compatriots, the girl isn't exactly eager to sleepover in an old house, especially since they finished what they came here for.
The young Attuned nods, taking the knife from him as she scoots back, clearing a bit of space before her so she can carve her name into the worn floorboards. "We should make some hot chocolate when we get back to your place." Paige says, carefully beginning to carve her name into the wood, tongue poking out of her mouth in concentration.
Paige agrees with Mateo and carves her name into the floor. She suggests having hot chocolate when they get back.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Heart still racing, it's probably for the best that Ever didn't manage to get to the end of his declaration of boyish and platonic love for his friend. Pressing a hand to his chest and feeling the unsteady womp womp womp of his heart beneath, Ever swallows hard and tries to catch his breath. Nodding furiously that they might be able to leave, he watches primly as Paige carves her name into the floorboards. When it's his turn, he considers for a moment before diving right in. Writing his name was...well, technically vandalism. What he decided to do instead was as well, but perhaps it wasn't so obvious.
Instead of E-V-E-R-S-T H-A-R-T the boy instead draws a rough shape of a mountain, with a heart inside of it, before handing the blade over to Mateo.
"I vote yes." He says of sleeping at Mateo's, because if they do, then technically he has lied to his parents at all, and something about that makes him feel reassured.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
My spores been growing by the day; my days been shining bright
"A sleepover at my place and hot chocolate. No ghosts. Sounds good," Mateo says, letting out his breath in a shivery rush and accepting the blade when it's his turn. Humming a note of admiration for Ever's creative symbolism, Mateo isn't nearly as quick thinking in the moment, because to be frank, he's frightened and he wants out of here. And so, chiselling his initials and a flower (he tried OK), the boy hurriedly starts to pack away their supplies and half built fort.
"So we'll tell everyone at school that there's definitely a ghost, and that we know because we stayed here, so now no one else ever needs to stay here." He's nodding like he's trying to convince himself, stuffing everything into the bag of holding before hitching it over his shoulder. "Let's go," he says, promptly scurrying off to the door. And hopefully his friends follow, because Mateo isn't looking over his shoulder until he's at least three streets away.
Consider this PQ completed!! Thank you both for coming along! <3
