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!
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
She fishes for compliments and, as they sidle snugly in the back of the Uber with one another, Mateo of course is eager to give them. "Now, don't say that. You look divine. Doesn't she, Ever?" he all but purrs to his friend, flashing him a bright smile. (Unbeknownst to the florist, he still believes Everest to be enamoured by their pretty new friend).
Still, as they travel further into the city and the unicorn tab starts to have a beautiful effect on his perception of things, Mateo barely waits until the Uber has stopped before he's opening the door to get out. "The Palliser has outdone itself," he breathes. And, drug addled or not, he's got a point. The club has been decked out for Halloween in tasteful cobwebs and eerie lighting, and the bouncers on the door are dressed as masked demons.
"Andre, Royce, always a pleasure," Mateo croons to them, unsurprised when they unhook the velvet rope to give them entry.
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
"Mmm?" Ever, who had been squinting out of the window that he might ignore the way Cara's elbow was pressed against the top of his hip, now turned to look at her. "I think she looks rather messy." He says, and when she begins to pout in earnest, he blinks with confusion from behind his mask. "I mean..because Kaylee was a mechanic?" The look on Cara's face suggests that this save wasn't successful, and her shoulders slump slightly. Glancing over the top of her head, Ever gives Mateo a what did I say? look.
Exiting the Uber and holding the door open for Cara before closing it behind her, Ever straightens his cape and looks up at the doors of the club which have been made to look gothic and old. Squealing with delight and seemingly over Ever's faux pax, Cara all but darts in behind Mateo as if the bouncers might realize she doesn't belong and kick her out if she isn't quick enough.
"Oh my god. Ever look!" The chandeliers have been elegantly covered with red tissue paper so that they cast a cool maroon glow over the main room. "Hey, why don't you take your mask off? It's sort of hard to talk to you like that." She adds, looking to Mateo for confirmation and backup.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
If Mateo hadn't recently taken a tab of designer LSD and a line of really good coke, he might be able to tell Ever exactly what he had said and why it might have offended Cara. As it stands, though, the lights are gorgeous and the masks on the bouncers faces look as athough they're dancing in time to the music he hears beating out of the venue, and he's a little distracted. A lot distracted.
Indeed, he's in animated conversation with someone withing only a couple of seconds of slipping into the Palliser, and he's weaving them towards the bar only to grin over his shoulder at Ever. "You don't have to hide from anyone here," he points out. "And I did your makeup, so the least you can do is show it off."
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
10-23-2021, 09:57 PM (This post was last modified: 10-24-2021, 05:34 AM by Court Official.)
Everest
"You're wearing makeup?" It was as if every single thing Mateo said was an excuse for Cara to become more and more lively and enthusiastic, and quite without permission her hands are against Ever's mask and her body is pressed uncomfortably against his chest. 'Off, off! I want to see!' Feathering his jaw and inhaling a breath that does little to still the panicky brightness rushing through his veins, Ever slips the mask off to reveal the crescendo of colour that is his face.
Cara's mouth drops open, she presses herself against him all the more, and her hands move to cup the sides of his face. Without thinking he clasps both of her wrists in his hands, far too tightly, before wincing and offering her an apologetic smile. "You'll smudge it." He says carefully, lowering her hands, and, having noticed that Mateo has vanished, sighs. "Can I buy you a drink?" Ever asks politely, which Cara accepts with an enthusiastic nod.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
Mateo has vanished, but when he comes back it's with a bright smile and three shots in his hands to start them off - Carnations is working the bar tonight, but she gets off in a couple of hours, so Mateo is happy to wait. "The rave in the Cellar is haunted apparently," he tells them, pleasantly jostled by bodies as he hands out the drinks. "Oh, and this is for you," he adds, tucking a napkin carefully into Ever's tight leather pants.
On it, written in eyeliner, Mateo has written (in wobbly letters) one unicorn square and two coca colas, which is as much as he can manage to tell his friend what he's taken so far tonight. For his notebook, you see. With that done, he clinks his shot glass against Cara's and smoothly knocks it back, enjoying the zing of something sour and citrusy at the back of his throat.
"Want to get a table?" he asks.
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
"You look...you look...!" She can't seem to find the words she wants, so instead Cara just gapes up at Everest with slack-jaw amazement. To be fair, Mateo has done an excellent job of accentuating his eyes and using colours that make his blue gaze absolutely pop. Not to mention the sculpting of his jawline and cheekbones. Watching Mateo's hands tuck something into Ever's pants with a hungry interest, Cara looks for a moment as if she's going to snag the napkin, before the drink pressed into her hand distracts her.
"Thank you." Ever says with a nod in his friend's direction, as if Mateo is doing him a favour. Deciding not to bother asking what they're drinking, he neatly knocks his shot back as well and finds that it's actually rather good. Blood orange fills the back of his throat and despite his best efforts, he finds his shoulders relaxing somewhat.
"That would be gre—" Ever starts to say, before Cara interrupts. "Or we could dance? Downstairs?"
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
"He's a knockout right?" Mateo says with no small amount of pride in his voice - because Ever does look good, and he'd be the first to tell anyone (much to the paramedic's irritation, no doubt) that his friend is a very handsome man even without makeup. Once their shots are where they belong (i.e. not in the glasses), he turns to try and seek out a table for them, only for Cara to suggest they go and dance instead.
And the coke in Mateo's system says yes absolutely, but the LSD is starting to have its own thoughts about things too. So it's after a bit of a delay that he speaks, smiling sunnily between them both. "We can dance up here for now?" he suggests. "I need a few more drinks, and I did promise the bartender we'd all go down together." Innuendo? Mateo? Never.
"The dancefloor is this way. You want to get us somewhere to sit, Ever?" It's a rescue attempt, though given how striking his roommate looks tonight, it might not work.
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
Cara mumbles something incoherent that sounds like an agreement. "Order me something, mm? I'm just going to go freshen up." Setting off in the wrong direction (It's fine, someone will point the way for her), Cara plans on trying to find some way of making her costume more revealing.
Exhaling with obvious relief to see her go, Ever pulls the napkin from his pants and looks over it quickly. Narrowing his eyes, he looks up at Mateo thoughtfully, rather than judgementally as one might expect. "From the man in the bathroom?" He wonders, assuming that anyone who came with Isla was probably not the sort to score drugs out of a back alley and so hoping that whatever was now in his friend's system wasn't laced with anything. Pulling out his notebook (kept in an inside pocket of his shirt rather than his pants, which were far too tight), he writes C20H25N3O, followed by the time, with "unicorn" in brackets. Then, C17H21NO4 with a x2, again followed by the time. Mateo's shots were abbreviated using standard strokes of 4 with a cross along them.
"You know I would prefer not to dance." Ever remarks stiffly, trying to wind his way toward a free table, and doing so with the naive expectation he might make it there without having one (or several) drinks spilled on him.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
"Of course, bella," Mateo croons after her, already loosening the bowtie around his neck so that it lays open against his shirt, which he also unbuttons a little. The Palliser is busy tonight, and all those extra bodies generate a good deal more heat. "Mm? Yes, the unicorn was from my fellow Italiano. The other stuff is mine. I have a sample in my pocket for you." He smiles brightly, like it was intentional.
And then they are off to their free table that will definitely, he's sure, be available. Mateo doesn't so much part the red sea of bodies as he moves through it like someone drifting with the tide. He folds and bends around strangers and their drinks, quipping a hello to those he knows and accepting a white feather from someone's boa which he tucks into his curls.
"You might just enjoy it," he tells Ever with a small smile, paying for three more shots from a scantily clad waitress dressed as a Silent Hill nurse. "Once you are socially lubricated, of course." He nods at the shots. "I thought you would like to dance with her, specifically." Bouncing his eyebrows, he obviously thinks that Ever is sweet on their new hanger-on.
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
Wordlessly Ever watches Cara go without actually watching her, before turning back to Mateo. "Want me to hang onto it, then?" He asks of the sample.
"I very much doubt that." The paramedic says with a frown, wondering if Mateo is just being Mateo, or if he's done something to suggest that he would like to dance. Itching at the back of his neck not because he needed to, but to keep his hand from rubbing at his eyes, Ever pulls in a deep breath and gives his head a shake. "With..Caroline? No." Glancing over his shoulder as if she might reappear (she would, shortly), he whispers, "She isn't like this at work." At work she was quiet. Demure. Not loud. "I don't...she seems like a different person." He concludes, in time for Cara to pop up at his side (like that gif from the office). "Who seems like a different person?" She wonders cheerfully, her voice carrying above the mush of other conversations around them.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
"Mm...?" Mateo considers saying no, then realises he'll probably end up finishing off the baggie if he keeps hold of it, so he nods and fishes around in his tuxedo jacket. "Here," he says, passing it off with a friendly pat against Ever's chest and a cheerful grin, as if he's made a joke, while slipping the coke into his inside pocket.
As for Caroline and dancing, he raises his eyebrows. "She is making you uncomfortable," he concludes with an easy nod. "Very well, then. I will happily take on your burdens, amico mio." And here comes the woman of the hour to get them back on their best behaviour.
"Oh, a friend of ours who was supposed to be joining us," he tells Cara easily, letting out a lamenting sort of sigh. "But oh well. Some people don't know how to have fun. Another shot? Then I have to see your moves," he says, winking at her and lifting his glass in a cheers.
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
The hand-off is smooth, largely because Ever simply stands while Mateo seamlessly slips the drugs into his shirt. It never occurs to him to consider the ramifications of being caught with a baggie of cocaine.
"She keeps...pressing herself against me." Ever supplies with a swallow, and though he'd told his roommate not to sleep with any of his coworkers tonight, selfishly, he's nearly ready to make an exception if it keeps Cara's hands off of him.
"Oh, boo. Well, more of you for me, then!" She chirps, glancing between Ever and Mateo, her gaze lingering on the paramedic as she says you. "Cheers!" She woos, tosses the drink back, and spills some down the side of her face. Laughing at her drunken antics as if being messy was somehow adorable, she swipes her thumb across her lips before seductively (sloppily) sucking the liquor off while trying to hold Ever's gaze.
"Oh, I'll show you moves." Cara titters, swaying slightly and bouncing her eyebrows. "Comeon Ever, drink! Drink!" Glancing up at the ceiling, Ever lifts his shotglass to his lips and lets it slide down his throat.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
who are these people? I just woke up in my underwear
"She is a bit handsy," Mateo agrees, and while he knows he doesn't mind that, he also knows that Ever is the complete opposite. And so as he knocks back his shot with practiced ease, he's already sidling to his feet, feeling loose limbed and ecstatic from the party going on in his bloodstream. "Come on," he invites, holding his hand out to Cara. "I'll be your warmup. Ever can get us more drinks, and I'll deliver you back to him after this song?"
Will he do such a thing? Absolutely not, and that's the point. Confident in his ability to keep ther lady friend occupied (and she is cute, even if she's on her way to wasted), Mateo lets a warm hand whisper across her lower back, as if to guide her out of her seat. "Besides, if you think this is good, just wait until we're downstairs."
no liquor left on the shelf I should probably introduce myself
10-24-2021, 06:27 PM (This post was last modified: 10-24-2021, 06:35 PM by Everest.)
Everest
"Hear that Ever?" Cara trills, her body loose and pliable beneath Mateo's hand as she glances over her shoulder. "More drinks, then dancing." In her mind, this doesn't sound as white-girl wasted as it actually is. In her mind, she's being suave and cool and leaving with Mateo was going to make Ever jealous.
"Is he like this at home?" Cara wonders as she slips an arm around Mateo's waist, hoping that Ever was watching (he wasn't). "He's always so.." Setting her face into a stern stare and then walking with blocky, rigid steps, she relaxes before raising a brow in Mateo's direction. "..y'know?"
Back at the table, Ever has added more strokes to the alcohol count in his notebook. After doing a bit of mental math, he judges that with Mateo's dancing helping to metabolize some of what's in his system, that if he can get his friend to eat a few snacks and have a glass of water, the night should be able to carry along smoothly.
I was a dead man walking, with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
