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!
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
While Torchline is no longer her home, Kamaria visits regularly. She's no stranger to new things, a new home suits her fine - but she can never shake her fondness of the ocean. So when her lessons with her tutor are done, she's allowed some time down by the water.
"Don't stray too far, Kamaria!" Her teacher warns after her as she dashes off along the port.
Her hair is done up in a ponytail that's surprisingly lengthy (she's been desperate to let her hair grow out). It swings to-and-fro as she skirts around taller people, people who don't seem to pay her much mind; too busy in their own business, talking to each other about sails and nets and things Kamaria doesn't pay much mind either.
Past the more crowded stretch of the docks, she settles onto a ledge to watch a school of cloud manta flit about. She places her chin along the edge of a beam, bleached from the sun with little termite burrows throughout, and grins as the manta swim through the air.
One of them swoops down nearby, and she stretches out an arm to try to touch it. Her fingers are just too short. She pouts as it disappears into the water. Well, that's one opportunity lost...
Yet there's something beneath the waves that catches her eye. A shell? Maybe a stone? She tilts her head quizzically down at it. It doesn't take her long to decide she wants to retrieve it somehow. Using a stick she finds, she attempts fails this. It isn't long enough to reach, but she keeps trying anyway because if there's anything she is, it's hopelessly optimistic. Her tongue sticks out past her lips as she wills the stick to grow... a string, maybe. Or something useful.
10-13-2021, 12:00 AM (This post was last modified: 10-13-2021, 12:00 AM by Paige.)
Paige
Paige isn't like the other kids in Torchline. She doesn't really attend formal school. All of her schooling is done at the Halenani or with a tutor for certain things. With that being the case, she doesn't have any classes to attend that keep her from the city of Torchline or from playing on the docks. Which is exactly where she's at now.
The young Attuned spotted Kamaria as soon as she stepped foot into the port. She's been waiting for the right moment to approach. If only because she really wants to surprise her. Paige hasn't had the chance to show Kamaria her new shift or tell her about going to Stormbreak or the haunted house or being chased by the molten tiger in the Celestine. All of these things she's dying to share. Today might finally be that day!
Paige bounds across the tops of boxes and from post to post in her weasel shift, making her way closer and closer to where Kamaria has stopped to watch the cloud manta. She pauses, tiny head cocking to the side as she watches her fiddle with a stick, attempting to grab something from the shallows. It isn't until she creeps closer that she realizes there is definitely something shiny in the water. Paige jumps onto the end of Kamaria's stick, climbing down to the end of it and holding on the best she can before stretching her long thing body in an attempt to reach whatever it is.
If that fails... Well, there is always swimming! Something she's very good at in this form.
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
"Woah!" She has to scramble to grip the makeshift pole tighter now, "Where'd you come from?" Goes {probably} unanswered. A rat on the docks is warrant for far less surprise but... a weasel? Don't those live... somewhere else?
It appears to want to help, Kamaria thinks, as she watches it stretch like a slinkie down toward the item in the water. With eyes wider than before, she carefully directs the stick as well as she can without falling into the water herself.
A self-assured grin takes shape on her lips as those little tiny weasel-hands successfully find the white, out-of-place object in the water.
With about as much grace as five year olds are known to have, Kamaria begins to pull her little helper back to the safety of dry land. "Urgh- hold on!" She grunts with the effort. There's a lot of swinging on the weasel's end but, eventually, she yanks them back onto the docks and moves forward to investigate.
"Thanks, little guy!" She praises, not realizing this is an Attuned - let alone a girl. She offers the weasel a smile and reaches out to give it a light pat on the head.
It absolutely goes unanswered. Even though Paige would very much like to answer right now. Unfortunately Kamaria isn't Attuned and thus their options for communication are rather limited at the moment. Still, there is work to be done and time to answer later. Paige stretches as much as she can, worrying for only a moment that Kamaria might not have as good of a hold on her, but thankfully the younger girl manages to keep her grip.
Paige manages to snag their prize, letting out a triumphant squeak before she's being hefted back up and subsequently almost thrown into the water at the same time. The weasel falls back onto the dock, sprawling out as their little chest heaves and she seems to consider her choices, but that's quickly abandoned as Kamaria reaches out to pat her head.
It takes her less than a blink to shift back into herself, a wide grin splitting her face as she beams at Kamaria, "You're welcome!" She chirps, lunging forward to seize her friend in a fierce hug. "I'm so glad you're back, Ria! I've got so much to tell you!"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
She falls backwards, flat on her butt, and for a moment stares dazed at... "Paige!?" The brightest grin spreads across her face and she barely manages to get back to her feet when she's being tugged into a tight hug.
She laughs into Paige's shoulder, giving her a big squeeze in return, "'Course I'm back! I missed you too much!" Her dads were great and it was amazing to see all the new things in King's End but, no one and nothing really compares to a girl's best friend.
Pulling back but still close, she completely forgets about the whole thing that started these shenanigans and reaches out to grasp Paige's hands, swaying them in her excitement. "Tell me everything! Like.. since when did you attune?"
Paige hugs her back just as tightly, happy to finally be reunited with her best friend, wishing silently that she was still living here. Why did adults have to be so complicated. "I asked your dad about having a tea party before you left, but he said no." She tells her with a huff, rolling her eyes with all the attitude a seven year old can manage, tugging Kamaria over towards some crates to sit on while they caught up.
"I missed you too. Mateo and Everest are nice, but they live in Stormbreak and they're boys." Not that it really mattered. Paige didn't care all that much, but a girl needed another girl. They just got things that boys didn't. It was simply fact.
When did she become Attuned? Her brows knit together and she thinks for a long moment as she jumps up to sit on one of the crates. "Before Deepfrost. Ludo did it! I brought them some marbles I stole and they liked them so much they changed me." Into something even sneakier and better for getting into mischief. "When is your momma going to change you?"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Kamaria lets herself be ushered over to the crates, neverminding the treasure they'd just brought up from the depths of the mysterious sea. In light of being reunited with her dearest friend, she has basically forgotten all about it. For now. She smiles sadly at the information of tea parties being denied. "Yeah.. we moved," she replies, her sadness short-lived, "but it's a real nice house now that they've finished building it! You can come over and we can have a tea party there. Or we can have one here?" She offers, hoping to make that up to Paige.
Boys? Her face scrunches up in scrutiny. "What's wrong with boys?" She asks dumbly, unaware of any rule that girls and boys are afraid of catching each other's cooties aren't supposed to get along.
Paige jumps up onto one of the crates but Kamaria does more of a shuffle-climb maneuver to orient herself beside the other girl. Her eyes widen as the story unfolds, about Ludo and marbles. "You met Ludo!? You have to tell me what it's like! Was it fun?" She'd heard things about it loving mischief and games. She giggles quietly, thinking to herself that Ludo and Paige would get along swimmingly in that regard. As for her mama changing her? "Oh, real, real soon. I'm gonna ask her to make me grown up, too." And she puffs out her chest, smiling proudly and crossing her arms.
She knew that the other girl had moved. That her father's decided it wasn't good to be in Torchline anymore. People had a way of talking about things. It was something Paige came to quickly realize as she grew. "Will your dad let me come over? I heard that he doesn't let any visitors come there." Paige couldn't help the frown that tugged on her lips, seemingly unsure it was even a real possibility at this point, but hoping that she was wrong about that too. "We don't really have anything for a tea party here... Auntie Maeve might be able to make us one at the Court though." She suggests with a shrug of her shoulders.
Paige sighs, "Nothing really. They just aren't girls. Plus, boys don't understand all the things that girls do." She explains to the younger girl, smiling a little as her thoughts flicker to Mateo and Everest. Paige adores both of them, truly. They just aren't the same as having a girl friend.
"It all happened really fast. I didn't really see them the way you see your mama, but I could hear them and they liked my gift. They said that they thought I'd be a fun friend." Paige tells her with a grin, sitting cross legged on top of the crate, hands in her lap. At the mention of her going to see her mother soon, Paige arches a brow, head cocking to the side. Her eyes going wide when Ria tells her the big plan. "You're going to be older? Why? Don't you like not having responsibilities?"
Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs, the love lasts so long
