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 majority of children his age run into their parents' arms when the Skyship is secure and the dock is opened. Other and older passengers sidle off at their own pace, and at the end of this stream as always, is Ever. Tobi knows this already, that her son does not like to be hurried or nudged as he's exiting the Skyboat, to the point where even the crew know to expect Everest Hart to be their last passenger.
So it is. Though as Ever makes his way onto solid land with his backpack affixed tightly onto his shoulders and the strap around his middle done up tight, he pauses, not seeing his mother. She always stands in the exact same place, and given that her usual place is free, there's no reason Ever can think for why she wouldn't be there. Except... ..death
she hates you now
she's run away
you knew this would happen if they didn't get married
In fact, it's definitely just Finn. And the reason he's not in Tobi's usual place is because that's far too close to the edge of the Falling, despite being an entirely reasonable distance from it.
The Spyglass has spent his day not doing the work he'd previously mentioned to Tobi. He's done work, don't get him wrong, but it's not the kind one might expect from him. But that's alright. No one will know about the strongly worded letters sent to two separate establishments regarding the conduct of their employees whilst in the Silk Houses.
No one will know about the two carefully crafted profiles on said employees, or the continued bureaucratic harassment Finn has in store for them. Everest certainly won't, anyway. It's only as he sees his son - feeling glad that he's waited until the crowds disperse - that he straightens up from the wall and calls out for him, raising a hand in greeting.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
11-22-2021, 05:00 PM (This post was last modified: 11-22-2021, 05:01 PM by Everest.)
so much life in one little world
Hearing his name, Ever turns wide eyes toward the sound, pivoting on the spot like some sort of robot. There's only a flicker of relief to know that he hasn't been abandoned, but the sight of his father doesn't necessarily still the whirlwind of worries rising in his belly. They broke up. That's why Dad is here. Maybe Mom is dead. Or dying? Maybe I was adopted.
Walking stiffly toward the Spyglass, Ever tries to mentally dampen his panic without much success. "Hi Dad." Ever mumbles politely and dutifully as his chubby fingers grip tightly enough around the straps of his backpack as to turn his knuckles white. "Is...everything alright?" He asks, trying to sound casual and mature, but there's a waver in his voice that gives away the anxiety he feels.
"Hello, Ever," Finn greets, keeping his eyes on his son and swallowing hard even to take those few steps towards the boy - he's still far too close to the Falling for the Spyglass's liking. "Everything is fine. Your mother had a surgery this afternoon, I said I would come and pick you up," he explains, his voice as measured and easy as ever. Given that Finn does know all the reasons behind his being there, his social anxiety is relatively low.
Real fear is still very much present, though, and he swallows hard and turns his back on the docks even if Ever hasn't actually stepped up beside him yet. "Shall we go? I got you some lunch from the sandwich stall in the Pacifist Plaza."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
Blinking up into his father's face, having no reason to believe that he would lie, Ever nods. His shoulders begin to relax, moving away from his ears until Finn begins to walk away. "Uhm!" The boy mumbles, licking his lips and glancing over his shoulder toward the pier. 'Can we eat over here? Mom and I always watch the workers unpack the boats and wait for the last ones to come in."
Reaching into his backpack with nimble fingers that know precisely what they're looking for, Ever pulls out his notebook and gestures toward it. "See?" Flipping to the last entry, there are detailed notes regarding his last return trip from the Greatwood, followed by sketches and random information taken from the hour or so he and Tobi spent watching the ships come in.
Far be it for Finn to interrupt his son's routine more than necessary, because of course the Spyglass is victim to the same proclivities, but as Ever mentions eating over by the pier, all colour seems to drain from his face. He swallows against a dry throat, raising his hands against the sketches as if they are irrefutable evidence. "Uh," he begins, not really wanting to go into the you've never met your grandmother because she threw herself off that pier chat just now, but not wanting to lie either.
Ultimately, though, lying is the choice he makes, Finn shoving sweaty hands into his coat pockets. "I would, but I've left the... oven on, at home. We're baking cookies for your mom," he says. No, Finn doesn't know how to bake cookies. No, the oven isn't on. Gods, why did he say that?
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
11-22-2021, 06:01 PM (This post was last modified: 11-22-2021, 06:02 PM by Everest.)
so much life in one little world
Frowning, Ever reading his father's splayed hands as disapproval of his note-taking, lowers the book with a growing sense of dismay. 'Oh.' He mumbles, his lips threatening to tremble until they suddenly pull wide in an expression of panic. "You left the house with the oven on?" Though he's the child, Ever's words sound like a chastisement as he looks into his father's face. "Dad! Come on, we have to hurry." Tucking away his notebook and thinking of the probability that their apartment might burn down (and thus the entire Tower), Ever's mind leaps from panic about his mother and father's relationship, to the Tower.
"Hurry dad, I don't want to be thrown in jail!" He calls frantically. In his mind the fire (which has absolutely already started), will be traced back to him. If Ever hadn't gone to the Greatwood, Finn wouldn't have needed to come pick him up, and thus could have remained at home with the cookies. And honestly, if he hadn't even been born, Finn and Tobi probably wouldn't even be together, so there wouldn't be any cookies!
Finn's mouth opens and closes after Everest as if he's a goldfish, and eventually he runs a hand down his forehead and across his face and hurries after the boy. He's sure he can hear Tobi laughing at him even from here, despite the fact that she hasn't been present for any of these shenanigans so far. "Hold on," he calls after Ever, his long legs easily taking him next to his son, his hand coming to land on his shoulder.
"I cannot see any smoke," he reasons, which is the only thing he can think to do when it comes to the fire that doesn't exist because the oven is not on. "And I cannot smell any either. Can you?" Tilting his head, he nonetheless keeps up the hurried pace until the Falling is far behind them, the ground levels out, and the shape of the Tower begins to loom overhead. "I am sure it will be fine, Ever."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
11-22-2021, 06:17 PM (This post was last modified: 11-22-2021, 06:18 PM by Everest.)
so much life in one little world
Wanting to twist out from under his father's grasp, Ever hiccups in a breath that he imagines going all the way down to his toes. Tense, he looks up at Finn, trying his best to hear his father's words over the alarm bells in his mind. 'No, but—' The boy protests, wanting to break out into a sprint just the same. "—that just means there's time. Come on Dad."
Normally Ever adored his father's unhurried pace, his rhythmic steps and routine gait. Just now though the boy felt on the verge of tears they were moving so slow. He was going to be tied up to the Needle, he was sure of it.
'But Dad you can't know that. It's possible, right?' Even without the oven on, it was statistically possible for the apartment to catch fire for some other reason, wasn't it?
Having been tied up to the Needle once before in his life, if Finn had known the thoughts racing through Ever's mind, he might have been able to say that, categorically, no he would not. Alas, all he can do is continue on his steadfast way with Ever frantic beside him, his lack of anxiety made so by the knowledge that he has not left any open flames in the apartment. (Which, honestly, is more than he can say of Tobi, especially when she was pregnant).
"Anything is technically possible, Ever. You know that," he says (un)helpfully, stepping up to the Tower doors and pushing one open, holding it there for his son to hurry inside. "Here." He offers him his keys so he can run ahead if he likes, belatedly wondering how one makes cookies and how to salvage this situation.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
"Yeah, I do, which is why we have to hurry." Ever argues as he slips past Finn once the keys are offered. Racing ahead (he would have shifted, had there been farther to go and fewer doors to open), the boy slips the key into the lock with shaking fingers. No heat or smoke, but maybe the fire was just starting. There was no time to relax yet, no time to...
..running immediately to the oven and collapsing before it, his hand fumbling for the dial, Ever realized that it wasn't on. His relief was quickly frozen by the subsequent realization that there were no cookies in the oven. Looking up at the counters and realizing they were free and clear of baking supplies, Ever frowns as static begins to buzz in his ears. Turning back to the oven to check again that it was empty, the boy stares at his reflection in the glass, only to turn and give Finn an unreadable look as the Spyglass enters the apartment.
Finn has just remembered - he thinks - a simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies that he's read in one of Tobi's recipe books. Or was it a pamphlet he'd found while he was waiting for someone to come to the front desk at the Archive? Or did he... did he overhear it in a bakery? With an expression that will turn out to be very suitably puzzled in the circumstances, he follows through the open door of the apartment and finds himself lingering in the doorway of the spotless kitchen.
And at Ever's expression, Finn glances around and exhales, looking very confused. "I... swear there were cookies here when I left?" he tries, and anyone who isn't Everest likely won't fall for it even for a second. "What could have happened here?"
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
More inclined to believe that someone came in, stole the cookies, wafted away the smell of them baking, and cleaned the kitchen than to think his father was lying, Ever stands up and gives the kitchen another once over. There was no smell of baking, which was perhaps the hardest part to explain.
"Maybe...mom came home from her surgery...and...maybe she's pregnant again and the smell of cookies made her feel sick, so she cleaned it up?" Turning to Finn, thinking pregnancy was preferable to lying, he tilts his head to gauge his father's reaction. Tobi was the most likely person to come into the apartment, and the only reason the boy could think of to explain why the cookies were gone, was that there was something wrong with them. Only...even if Finn had made them poorly, Tobi would probably have just left them and laughed about it. So there had to be some reason, and...pregnancy made sense, didn't it?
"Mom isn't pregnant again - we've been careful," Finn blurts out automatically, barely even realising what he's admitted to as he also joins in with this imaginary search of the kitchen. "So that can't be it." Obviously, the truth is that there are no cookies because Finn hasn't made any, and the Spyglass ends up leaning against the counter and rubbing at his eyes.
"Maybe the gods wanted them," he says, finding himself reaching further and further as time went on, unaware that he's feeding Ever's imagination unintentionally. "That would explain why everything is gone. Like nothing was even here," he continues. "The gods, or a spirit."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
