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!
Well this was certainly a lovely little get-together, wasn't it? Cuddled up for LongNight while the world outside snapped its teeth and howled - honestly, it was Lucas's kind of thing. No really, it was. The only problem was that the wine in his hands (probably terrible anyway) had no taste, and his apparently ascended body would not let him get drunk either. Still... he had seen the Voice, at last. He had a plan and he was slowly trying to line those dominoes up to topple them later...
And a lot of people had died. That had been exciting too.
But the Rathskeller was - for once, it appeared - actually acting the part of the sanctuary it was meant to be, and all was quiet. Fire flickered low in the grate and there weren't many around who were still awake. A sleepy sort of warmth had draped itself around the place, and peace reigned for a time.
By the time she’s pulled herself away from Remi and Samuel ‘s little angsty reunion, her fingers and toes have begun to painfully throb. They feel like icey hot pokers have been jabbed into their tips, lacing pain up through her hands and feet. She winces her way across a mostly quiet room, thankful for the turn the party seems to have taken. Purposefully, the redhead refuses to make eye contact with anyone. No questions, please, nothing to to see here - move along and go back to sleep.
But it’s obvious. She’s wearing outdoor gear. She’s done the stupid thing, and here she is, paying the stupid price.
Sinking onto the stones right in front of the fire, Lily is finally able to see the potential damage. Her joints are stiff and difficult to move, her fingers a disturbingly bloodless color. She can’t even move them enough to try and grip her boots in order to pull them off, so she clumsily tries to scootch as close to the fire as possible in order to try and begin the warming up process through the leather.
Every edge of her just kind of… really fucking hurts. And for the first time since landing here, Lily begins to silently cry.
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
A woman entered the Rathskeller, her footsteps soft but audible to the Ascended at the table. Lucas, who had been absently prodding at his glass with a long finger in the hope that whoops, it might just tip over, glanced up to track her movements across the tavern. Her appearance saved his drink, and he narrowed green eyes ever so slightly, as if trying to place her. Ah yes. Ah. Yes. The Masquerade.
He found himself on his feet even before he realised that she was quite obviously not alright, in her outdoor clothes with icy cold rolling off her in waves. Lucas paused halfway to the fire, half because he had finally caught on to the state of her and half because... ugh, something about the flames these days really unnerved him. He had been born of them, so that was ridiculous. But here he was.
"A face as beautiful as that ought to save its tears for a happy occasion," he purred as he drew close, dropping gracefully down to sit beside her. "At least, I assume you are not happy at the moment. Here... you're frozen to the bone."
If she allowed, Lucas would reach forward to unlace her boots for her to the point where she could slip them off, before cupping her hands in his own. "Hello, again."
Lily is so wrapped up in her own feelings (and vestigal lack of feeling) that Lucas genuinely startles her. She looks up at him from the floor, green eyes wide and wet, though she is quick to try and wipe them away. Goddamn it. She wasn’t thinking. And of all people… it’s the one who bit her and practically made her come. Names… no, they never gave their names. “Ugggh, no one was supposed to see that,” she confesses with a slightly embarrassed twist at the corners of her mouth, trying to sweep her discomfort and frustration under the rug and away from curious eyes.
Nevertheless, she allows him to help her with the laces so that with burning fingers, she can bite the top of her lip and slide the boots off. Then the socks come off, and her dainty little dancer’s feet look almost like they belong to a dead woman. Lily grimaces and shoves them as close to the fire as she can stand - which really is the wrong thing to do, but she’s never had to deal with frostbite before - and turns away from the self-proclaimed hideous sight.
Right into Lucas’s hand trap, ending up with Lily looking right at the handsome Ascended. “Oh! Ah, yes. Hello again.” A brief pause. “I almost didn’t recognize you with clothes on.” Or with regular teeth, refraining from nuzzling into her neck, hands on her body, playing two strings at once... it’s all very cliche, but her mind isn’t exactly focused on flirting right now. “I assume… you have a name?” she says with a soft intake of breath.
Everything hurts more, if possible. So she locks on Lucas, and hopes to god he’ll stick around for a bit.
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
"Then nobody did," Lucas said easily, with a smile curling at the corners of his lips. "At least, if anyone asks me, I certainly didn't see anything." He watched as she removed boots and socks, though his brow furrowed at the sight of her feet. "Ah, don't do that. That is a quick way to lose toes - and yours are so lovely." Releasing her hands for but a moment, Lucas rose to his feet and headed behind the bar where he could get a few washcloths to soak in warm water.
Once he was done, he brought them back to the fire. "Wrap your feet in these and you might walk out of here with all ten toes still intact." He winked, holding them out for her and scoffing at her comment about his clothes. "Perhaps my intention all along was to stay unrecognisable." Unlikely, but still. "Lucas," he introduced. "It is as much a pleasure now as it was last time."
Like a docile child, Lily obeys his instructions without a word of protest, wrapping her feet in the warm, wet cloths and trying not to think about his comments regarding her pretty feet. He wouldn’t be the first with a foot fetish, but it would be the biggest surprise if it turned out to be true.
Now it’s her turn to scoff. “Really? A man with your face wants to stay unrecognizable? I don’t believe it.” The scoff turns into a bit of cheeky laughter. “I suspect you are more of a faux gentleman with a nefarious scheme brewing…” And they’re all going to fall for it, she refrains from saying, lest this virtual stranger who has been nothing but kind to her in this moment, take offense. He doesn’t seem like the type to take offense, but you can’t be too careful sometimes.
“Lily,” she replies with a smile, “thank you. And likewise.” She attempts to wiggle her toes and manages to make a few of them move beneath the cloth. Progress! Painful progress, that is. “Though on second thought, last time was far more pleasurable. Orgasms beat this any day.”
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
Lucas couldn't resist - her quick comment brought a rich laugh bubbling up in his chest, the Ascended offering her a crooked grin and shrugging, like she had caught him out. "You are right not to believe it," he assured her. "Right on both accounts, indeed. I am quite accomplished at being nefarious, if I do say so myself. And at preventing frostbite, apparently. How do you feel?"
If she didn't stop him, he would take her hands once more to clasp them between his own, before lifting them gently towards her lips. "Blow," he advised, with no small amount of amused innuendo. "The warm air will do them good."
He inclined his head to her politely as she gave her name, storing it away for the future. "Lily," he repeated softly. "Is there any part of you that isn't beautiful, I wonder? And I concur about the orgasms. There have been remarkably few, to say so many are cooped up together."
“Lucky me, then,” she quips back, arching an eyebrow. His next question prompts a moment of consideration as she self-asses, rather seriously. “Like I’m coming back to life, but some parts are on fire.” Her face twists into something that says, It hurts, but I’m not going to complain, because it means I haven’t lost anything important.
“Which is a good thing, I wager.” Not only because of the aforementioned reason, but because he offers more ministrations. Again, she follows his lead, bringing their hands to her lips. Her fingers curl in slowly, as if she has arthritis, as she exhales warm air onto them. Her head bends down, a thin curtain of shining red hair falling to the sides of her face, and as she dutifully continues to gently warm her hands up, she looks at him every now and them from beneath lowered lashes. He is free to remove his hands if he chooses, though her pale lips are dangerously close to his fingertips. One move might catch the rounded edge of her flesh, another her teeth.
Maybe.
Or they might simply keep the tension between them, as she calls him out on his silken words, the tone of her voice challenging and playful despite the pain at the edges of her body. “Oh, you’re a shameless, devil, aren’t you?” Silly man. He doesn’t have to try that hard.
She’s the kind that like a little pain with her pleasure. Something to set all of her afire.
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
"That is better than death, as they say. And I disagree - I think I am the lucky one in this situation," he quipped easily, allowing her to draw their fingers up towards her lips to warm them up. Green eyes caught the sheen of rich red as her hair fell to shade her face, and as she glanced up at him with hooded eyes, it would be see him smiling indulgently. He could have moved, and he itched to let his hands tease through her tresses. But of course that would ruin the game they were playing.
He shrugged, her wordplay earning a very fanged grin indeed. "You have no idea," he purred, slipping his hands away from hers at last and letting a fingertip brush across her cheek. "What do you do, Lily, when you are not getting frostbite or disrobing in the middle of a masquerade?"
Ugh. Purring. A handsome, purring man just… gets her gears going. She almost leans into his gentle caress against her cheek… but no, that would ruin the game they’re playing. That little cat and mouse game (it doesn’t matter who is predator and who is prey), a game that will eventually come to fruition again, sometime later. They both know it will. The air in front of the fire is too thick with tension for it not to.
“I sing. Dance. Play piano. Win at cards. Make men think they’re far more important to me than they ever will be.” She ends the list with a dry chuckle. The irony of saying this to a stranger, let alone a stranger she thinks is quite the player is not lost on Lily. She pulls back. “But before I came here, I was saving up for my own house of entertainment. With legitimate acts and everything.” Her arms cross over her knees and she becomes oddly vulnerable again; gone is the blatantly evident lust and craving for a man’s touch. It is replaced with something darker, something a little more sad and filled with longing than perhaps such a quick change warranted.
She looks at Lucas again. “Sorry. Actually forgot about ho - my first home for awhile.” Oops. She catches herself and throws her focus back to her feet. Another good wiggle, this time everything has decent animation. She might be able to get some sleep soon, without worrying that she’ll lose a toe or two.
But maybe just another minute or so with him, hmmm? “You? What do you do here?”
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
It might not matter to Lily, who was predator and who was prey, but Lucas was very much the cat in this game, not that he begrudged any amount of teasing on her part. Especially not when she was so very good at it. Arching an eyebrow as she spoke, Lily succeeded at cracking the charm just a little to reveal a bit of genuine curiosity underneath. Lucas inclined his head respectfully, as if in admiration of her gifts.
"A house of entertainment you say?" he asked, intrigued. "And what, pray tell, is stopping you? In fact, I might know just the place, after this night ends. And I just so happen to be staying there currently." He spoke, of course, about the "Church of Safrin". Then again, he and Lily were both intimately acquainted with it.
"There is no shame in forgetting. Live in the now, pet. It's what I've been trying to do." He winked, glancing momentarily into the flames as if he was trying to convince himself of that very sentiment. "Me? I play piano. I cheat at cards. And I make sure I am the most important thing to any man or woman that I meet."
“Only frozen ground and a bevy of strong men to help me,” she retorts in a manner that very clearly means, obviously. These hands can only do so much hard labor before they become somewhat useless. “Come spring or summer, I’ll… try and repurpose a place, I guess.” Lily shrugs. The plans for such a place have only ever lived in her head, and now that she thinks about it, many of the materials she’s envisioned may be rather difficult to find.
Oh well. One step at a time. And speaking of steps -
As the burning sensation begins to recede from her fingers and toes, Lily suddenly finds herself utterly exhausted. This exhaustion doesn’t keep her from laughing outright at his last statement, though: a full, throaty sound that ends in a half sigh. “Well then we shall have to do two things: play together - if they even have such things as pianos here - and make sure we never believe a word of flattery that falls from the other’s lips, hmmm?”
A large yawn seems to fall out of her mouth and into her lap as she tests her body once more. Finding it more or less to her satisfaction, she pulls herself up a nearby armchair and curls up into a little red ball. “Thank you for being an excellent distraction, Lucas. I owe you a drink.”
Of what, exactly, is not specified.
lily
as if you were on fire from within the moon lives in the lining of your skin
"Well, if you need any help, do let me know. Whilst I have no intention of doing any manual labour myself unless it's in the celebration, I'm sure I can find a bevy of men, strong and otherwise, to do the work." Lucas tipped her a wink, though he was no stranger in the art of socialisation, and he recognised in Lily the symptoms of imminent exhaustion. He nodded in agreement, the unexpected energy in her laughter drawing a fanged smile from the Ascended.
Even so, he readied himself to get up and leave her to rest. "Playing together I can definitely get behind," he said with a wicked grin. Or in front of. Or under. "And whilst I appreciate the logic in your words, I do love being flattered. So I might just believe you anyway."
Rising to his feet as she curled up in the chair, he nodded to her. "Any time," he purred, stepping away and letting long fingers brush along the back of the armchair as he departed. "A drink, hm? I'll hold you to that. Goodnight, Lily."
