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!
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Oh look, it's Keith. Mateo doesn't narrow his eyes at the nurse, but if his hair was long enough and he'd not been holding two coffees, he'd absolutely have flicked it over his shoulder. Right into your eyes, Keith. "Okey dokey," is what he says instead, swanning into the hospital and plopping down into one of the nasty plastic waiting room chairs. Slurping at his coffee and setting Ever's down onto the empty chair next to him, he fishes in his pockets for his phone.
After thumbing through Instagram for a couple of minutes, he can't help but instinctively go to text his friend. You don't have to trim your beard for me, Ever. I like you just the way you are. I got us coffees. This is accompanied by a bunch of sparkle emoticons and an eggplant for the sake of it. Leave the florist alone and what do you expect, honestly.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Ever hears his phone buzz and panic blares through his chest. It's the driver saying he's taken too long and he's leaving; it's the restaurant cancelling their table; it's their landlord saying the building has burned down and Petunia died some horrific death. Naked save for the look of panic on his face, he reads Mateo's message and isn't at all calmed by it. 'Hurry, you're ruining everything." He hisses to himself. Shimmying into his pants and ignoring the way his still-wet body is leaving its mark on the soft fabric, Ever tugs on a luxurious cable-knit sweater (backwards), peers at his face in the mirror (it'll do), and grabs for the small bottle of aftershave he brought. Promptly dropping this, Ever watches as it shatters on the ground.
"ohno" He whispers in a small voice. Reaching for the pieces to throw them away, Ever's fingers are coated in the overpowering smell. Wiping them hastily on his towel, the paramedic spins as his phone vibrates. This time it is the driver, and it's with a panicky voice that he says they'll be right out.
Rushing down the stairs with his bag over one arm, his hair coated with a mixture of nervous sweat and water, and with Mateo's gift clutched to his chest, Ever emerges into the waiting room breathless. "Hi." He says on an exhale, followed immediately on the inhale by: "Congratulations. We have to go." So saying he walks briskly to the door where a pearl-white Cadillac is double-parked out front.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Everest panics and everything goes horrifically wrong - Mateo vibes and watches Youtube videos of pretty girls making hamster enclosures. (Should they get a hamster? Probably not - Petunia would definitely eat it). Having finished his coffee, and congratulating himself on managing to make the shot across the room to the waste paper basket with his cup, he's counting the fluorescent lights overhead when his roomate's voice reaches him.
"Hiiiii," he trills back, sweeping to his feet and grabbing up Ever's coffee. "I got you a-- oh, okay!" Flashing a dimpled smile to the other man, Mateo hums the cereal jingle one last time (and nudges Ever with his hip), about to ask if he wants to Uber to the restaurant when holy Cadillacs, Batman, look at the car!
"Mio dio, can you imagine taking one of those for a spin around town?" He grins to Ever. Granted, Mateo can only ride a bicycle, and badly at that. "Some big shot must have stubbed his toe and come to hospital. Oooh, did you get to treat him? Did he have handsome toes?"
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
'No.' Ever says, still trying to catch his breath. "I mean...yes. I mean.." Reaching out for the handle, the paramedic sweeps it open and gestures far less elegantly than he'd planned in his mind, for Mateo to get in. Twisting from the front seat, the driver barks the word Hart? to which Ever is already nodding aggressively as he sidles in behind Mateo.
"No. Not him." He answers, buckling his seatbelt, as if the man who owned this car really had bloodied his toe. "Sorry, there was a..." Trailing off, thinking that no one in the car needed to hear about the car accident he'd been called to the scene off, Ever just shakes his head.
'Sorry. I didn't mean to be late.' He manages after forcing himself to take a breath.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"You meeeean..." Mateo says leadingly, and if he's purposely slowing himself down to inject some calm into the frantic look of his roommate, that's absolutely accidental. Of course it is. Regardless, it's an effort that's in vain when Ever opens the door to the Cadillac, Mateo gasping in a breath and gawping at his friend. "You got us a Cadillac? To go to dinner? For an Instagram award?"
Absolutely delighted by the paramedic's complete over-the-top reaction to his nomination (honestly, it's the closest thing to Mateo that Ever comes in terms of drama or spontaneity), he sidles into the backseat and greets the driver by telling him he hopes his toes feel better. "You weren't late - I was still drinking coffee," he says easily, offering out the beverage to Ever now that they're both seated.
"Your sweater is on backwards," he says warmly - because did you really think Mateo wouldn't notice? "How was your shift?"
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
The inside is a deliciously dark red leather, with a bottle of champagne chilling with two waiting glasses. Thinking this was some InflUenCeR and his partner, the driver just gives a small wave before raising the glass barrier that he might not see them doing whatever illegal things he can only presume will be snorted on the way to the restaurant. The Army might have done away with don't ask, don't tell, but in NYC, it was the rule rather than the exception.
'Oh, thanks.' Accepting the coffee and taking an appreciative sip despite absolutely not needing the caffeine, Ever tries to lower his blood pressure (if Dwight could do it, so could he). "My..fuck." Not one to swear, the whispered curse makes Ever's own ears go red as he puts his coffee in one of the cupholders and tugs off his sweater. Turning it in his hands (and not noticing the dried blood still attached to his arm, the paramedic just shakes his head. "Fine." He lies; not because he wants to, but because telling Mateo he's nearly had a panic attack at work because he'd had to pull a dark-haired woman from the car only to pronounce her dead at the scene, while in the back of a Cadillac on the way to Mateo's congratulations dinner didn't seem polite.
"How was your day?"
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
After handing off the coffee, of course Mateo heads straight for the champagne, offering a little wave back to the driver as he bids them a fond farewell and leaves them to it. Honestly, if this had been anyone else and at any other time, he'd have been doing lines off his partner's body by this point and trying to feel the red leather on his bare ass before they reach their destination. Alas, he is still on a sober streak (for drugs at least), and he's not so rude as to throw Ever's thoughtfulness back in his face.
"Everest Hart, you swore!" he exclaims, as though the paramedic has just confessed to eating babies. His mischievous grin is meant to be reassuring, though as he glances to his friend and notices the blood, it disappears completely. "Are you... oop!" He's overflowed his champagne glass, moving quickly to slurp at it so it doesn't make a mess.
"My day was great. The shop is doing well and I got to take that long bath once I was all done." Taking another sip of champagne, he reaches out to tug at the sleeve of his roommate's sweater, knowing his proclivity towards being touched.
"We're not late and you didn't keep me waiting," he says, like the other man needs to be reminded. "And thank you, for arranging this. It really means a lot to me."
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Flushing and looking appropriately guilty, the paramedic accepts his roommate's exclamation with a frown. Thinking Mateo was just being spill-y, and not thinking he'd missed a stubborn bit of blood (the brunette's blood, and how her long hair had wrapped around his arm, and how she'd smiled so warmly just before she died), Ever puts his sweater on properly and re-buckles his seatbelt. #SafetyFirst
'That sounds wonderful.' Ever says, though what he really wants to say is that they absolutely are late, by about 13 minutes based on his ever-anxious internal calculations. Taking in a breath that he envisions going all the way to the bottom of his lungs, Ever does his best to let go of his shower-panic that he might be present.
"Here. This is for you." Handing over the present he'd been holding, if and when his roommate tore through the matte-black wrapping, he'd find two silken items: one was a headscarf, and the other was a pocket square. Neither pattern matched, but clashed against each other in a way the woman at the shop assured him was splendid even if to his eyes it just looked painful. "I really am proud of you. You've worked so hard." Against the glass came a faint knock, which was the driver's way of letting them know they were nearly to their destination, lest there be anything that needed to be cleaned up.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"Mm, the bubble bath covered me - and everything else - in glitter," Mateo says with a dreamy smile and another long sip of champagne that finishes the flute. And since it would be rude to just leave a tiny bit of it gone from the bottle, he refills his glass. Lateness does not bother him, as is remarkably clear by his lack of panic, and he instead puts down his refilled glass to accept the gift.
"You are spoiling me," he warns his roommate. He manages to make it sound like a threat only in that being spoiled requires reciprocation, and Mateo is very confident that he can deliver. Even so, as he reveals the pocket square and the headscarf, he's breathless with his joy, turning a dimpled smile on his friend. "Lo adoro," he gushes, just as the driver taps the glass.
Unbuttoning his bunny-ear coat so he can arrange the pocket square in the blazer he's wearing beneath, he's not given very much time to put on the headscarf, but then again he supposes they are inside so it's not needed just now. "Mm, it has been a long time since I first opened the place," he says of his flower shop, taking in a deep breath and letting it out again before straightening up ready for them to arrive at the restaurant.
As they open the door of the Cadillac and climb out, the restaurant looks as if it's already almost full to the brim. Which Mateo quite likes to see, in fact, because it means Covid isn't ruining everything. And their hostess - a dark haired young lady with a smile that he could very much get used to - greets them cheerfully and asks for Ever's reservation.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Nearly red-lining the odometer of his anxiety already, there's precious little more panic his body can afford to give as Mateo opens his gift. A blessing indisguise, Ever's heart doesn't have the capacity to race any faster despite how much he hates watching people open the things he's given them. "Good?" He hazards, glancing at his knees instead of at his roommate, who is currently donning both items.
Quickly, Ever tries to put the champagne bottle and glasses back where they had been before brushing a bit of glitter off of Mateo's seat. Clumsily exiting the car, the paramedic follows in the florist's wake, only to find himself nearly tongue-tied as the hostess asks for his reservation. Blankly he looks at her, unable to come up with his own name—had he put it under Hart? Or Taliesin?—eventually he leans forward and whispers, "It's the one with all the... things". The things of course being an elaborate centrepiece, a photographer, and a bottle of 50-year-old wine.
"Ah." The hostess hums, regarding Mateo now with an expression of intrigue and delight. "Right this way."
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"Very good," Mateo says, just in case his roommate needs blatant clarification in English rather than Italian (and he figures that he does, unless his Duolingo lessons have been going very well indeed). "I love them both, thank you. And I don't know about you, but I am starving." Sighing dramatically and standing aside for Everest to give their reservation, he raises his eyebrows as he opts for whispering instead.
"What are you planning?" he asks with a sneaky and delighted grin, slipping his arm through the other man's as if they're on an elaborate date instead of a casual celebration. Of course, casual is anything but, as Mateo is about to find out. Still, given that it's an over-the-top response to a fairly average nomination for a fairly average award, the florist takes it entirely in stride.
The photographer receives the majority of his appreciation at first as he notices the elaborate set up that Ever has arranged, though the majority of those photos will be of him fawning over the centrepiece. "Look at this," he gushes, running a delicate finger across the floral arrangement. "Ever, you didn't have to do all this. Thank you."
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
As they enter into the dining area, Ever is only vaguely aware of the fact that he hears a loud ringing in his ears rather than the chatter of voices. He sees dark hair clumped together with blood, pale and dry lips that try for a smile, sirens and screams. While Mateo will look effortlessly handsome in the photos being taken, Everest will look pale and shell-shocked.
"mmm." The paramedic replies as all eyes turn towards them from those seated in their immediate vicinity. It looks as though a proposal is about to take place given the setup and the clear nervousness of one of the men, and for the remainder of the evening the pair will receive furtive glances from the entire restaurant.
"Wine?" Ever asks bluntly as they sit, and it's with trembling fingers that he reaches out for the bottle. Normally one to pour precisely the correct amount, tonight Ever over-fills Mateo's glass, and instead of rolling the bottle so that no drips will form, he spills more than a teaspoon onto the brilliantly white tablecloth. Staring at it, his eyes wide and his mind spreading out the small stain so that it darkens and coagulates the way blood does, the paramedic is nearly on the verge of dropping the bottle when their server arrives and deftly plucks it from his hands.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Momentarily overwhelmed by the pomp of it all - something that Mateo effortlessly thrives on, odd coloured boots and bunny hooded coat and all - the florist is oblivious to the impending breakdown for the time being. He allows someone to take his coat to hang it up nearby (another beautifully candid shot), sinking down into his seat and arranging his napkin across his lap just as Ever offers him wine. "Please," he says, even before he starts pouring - though he does notice as it gets dangerously close to over-full.
"Ever," he begins, reaching for the bottle just as the server comes to rescue it from him. Thanking said server as they fill the paramedic's glass with a much more appropriate measure of wine, he advises that they'll take a few moments to decide on an appetiser and smiles for one last photograph before the crowd around them begins to settle.
Only then do his eyes find the stain on the tablecloth, and one hand reaches out to cover it up while the other gently tugs at the sleeve of Ever's sweater. "Hey," he says, his voice uncharacteristically raised, trying to draw attention. "What's going on? Do you need to step outside?"
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Flinching as he's touched—pale fingers covered in blood with nails painted a delicate shade of lavender reach for his sleeve—Ever looks up blankly, meeting Mateo's eyes but not seeing the florist. Hating having attention drawn to him, the paramedic feelings his heart flop and then seem to grow still like a drowning fish in his chest. "We were just outside." He murmurs, shaking his head and thrusting his hands into his lap. "What is going on is this is your special night." Ever adds, licking his lips and then grazing them against his teeth as if that might bring blood flow back to them.
"Low blood sugar." The paramedic says after a moment, and though it isn't strictly a lie, the untruth of it all is clear enough. Out of the corner of his eye Ever sees a woman across the restaurant giving him a go ahead! nod of her head. Her partner turns around and gives him a thumbs-up, all of which leaves Ever completely perplexed.
"So..." He says nervously as if this was some strange first date that the pair were on. "How...are you?"
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
