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!
Mateo loves his little sister very much. But there are some things that a boy has to do with his friends without an adorable munchkin tagging along, and this is one of them. He's rushed out across the beach with Ever, having begged asked if the boy would be able to accompany him on his trip to the beaches for Longheat, and now he's searching for the perfect place to set up a special hideout, or clubhouse, or den, or whatever else you call it.
"I figure if we can make somewhere cool, like a treehouse or a hidden underground base or whatever, we'll be able to meet here all Longheat long, and everyone will have a place to be when they visit Torchline," he says, the words rolling off his tongue like music. Dressed in a bright blue tank top, a pair of shorts and some sandals, he's the epitome of island kid looking for trouble. This is going to be great.
This is a PQ to establish a clubhouse in Torchline!
Dressed in shades of tan and black, Ever crosses his arms over his shirt and gives his friend's challenge an appropriate amount of consideration. "Well, if we do it too near the beach, the tide could wash it away. I don't know much about the tide patterns here, but I"m sure we could get a book on it...?" Not sounding at all hopeful—there was no way Mateo would put off his plans that long—the boy glances over his shoulder toward the treeline. "Then again, we don't really have the tools to build something." He points out, before shrugging his shoulders.
"Maybe Paige will know." Know about the tides, know about tools, know about some already-built secret-hide-out that they could just help themselves too like a bunch of hermit crabs.
01-02-2022, 10:14 PM (This post was last modified: 01-02-2022, 10:14 PM by Paige.)
Paige
Pink is in and Paige is not going to be left out.
Not of this, not of anything. The Attuned practically sprints down the beach in search of the boys. It wasn't long before Paige heard whispers of the Huntsman being in Torchline to talk to the queen. Which meant Mateo was likely with him.
So off she went. Her legs are long and tan, feet bare as she holds her shoes in her hand, hair whipping around her face as the wind blows along the coast. She sees Mateo first, looking everything like a cool kid who absolutely belongs in Torchline and Ever trails after him looking way too put together, but that's fine by her.
Her grin is bright as she speeds up, grabbing Mateo from behind in a hug, "It's almost like you wanted to not be found." She accuses, laughing as she releases him to move in front of the boys, hands on her hips. "So, what are we doing?"
"I think along the bit where the green meets the sand?" Mateo suggests, pointing into the dense foliage that tapers onto the beach. He - of course - completely ignores anything to do with stopping and finding books. "And who says we don't have tools?" Waggling his eyebrows, he shifts the Bag of Holding on his shoulder. He has no idea if there are tools in there, of course. But there might be.
Paige's voice has him turning to smile to their friend, offering an energetic wave that turns into a strangled yelp as he's snagged into a hug. "We were just scouting a place to make our excellent new hideout," he explains with a grin. "Maybe we can also find some driftwood to use to start building?"
Round 1!
Scout for a place to have the hideout! (2 people)
Look for driftwood to use as building materials! (1 person)
The Attuned releases Mateo, giving Ever a little wave, but refrains from pulling him into a hug. She'll ask him later if it's okay. At the mention of a clubhouse her eyes widen as she bounces on her feet, grin growing bigger, "I know where we can get extra tools and materials and stuff if we need them." Were they technically for the Monster Hunter guild? Maybe. Did they need all of it? Certainly not! Paige knew there was plenty of scrap that wasn't being used by Deimos and the others. Surely they wouldn't miss that.
"Ever, want to come find a good spot with me? I know where the tides usually stop." Paige informs the boy, already turning to set off, leading the way towards that foliage that Mateo pointed out earlier. She cocks her head to the side, looking for a place that has rocks around too, knowing that would help buffet any winds that blew through too.
Ever does appreciate the lack of contact, giving Paige an energetic wave in return to display his gratitude. Turning back to Mateo to give his friend a skeptical stare—the accepted was very fond of saying that his Bag of Holding might have just about anything inside of it, which was annoying unfalsifiable— he’s forced to nod.
“Okay.” He says, turning to Paige. Comfortable enough around her now that setting off without Mateo didn’t immediately cause fingers of anxiety to race up his spine, Ever straightens and begins to follow her. “Do animals come through here, on their way from the jungle to the water? Do carts go nearby? “ A thousand questions begin to spill from the boy’s mouth as he peers into the undergrowth. Poking at one of the large palm leaves, he frowns. “Is...anything around here poisonous?”
When they're grown, Everest will hear the response to his questions from Mateo in the same way: fuck around and find out. For now though, he'll have to figure that out for himself - but at least he's got Paige to keep him company. And the girl is quite adept at scouting, as it so happens; through the leafy undergrowth, they'll find a fairly flat and grassy clearing, shielded from the beach by large, leafy shrubs and shaded overhead by trees.
Before they can celebrate, however, they'll hear Mateo whooping and cheering somewhere down the beach. "Look at this!" he yells to them, though in fact he is yelling at most everyone on the beach, and they turn and look at him. When Paige and Ever do eventually find him, it will be to see him admiring an old, upturned rowboat that has washed up. If they can drag it into the undergrowth, it will be a perfect shelter for their clubhouse.
You've found a good spot! Now let's all help to drag the boat to it. Good luck kiddos.
All of his questions make her grin and she can't help laughing at his concerns, but her smile is kind as she glances back at him. "Some animals might, but not anything dangerous. It's still too close to people for any of the big things like molten tigers or tide jaguars." Paige explains, lifting her shoulders in a shrug, "Carts can't really reach here either. Too overgrown." She pauses, head cocking to the side, wondering if it was worth mentioning what was actually dangerous around her. There were plenty of poisonous things, but Ever didn't need to know that. The find a good spot just as Mateo calls for their attention and Paige is quick to turn back towards the beach. "Come on!"
Her eyes light up at the sight of the old rowboat, rushing to join Mateo, "That's so cool!" She gushes, already moving to help him drag the thing up the beach, not at all deterred by the size of it.
The things young Everest Hart didn't need to know could fill a book, and so it was with a naive nod that he merely plodded along behind Paige like some awkward shadow.
Watching his companions pull and tug at the boat already sunk into the sand, the boy considers for a moment with large blue eyes, flipping through pages in his mind from a book he'd read. "Wait. There's a better way." He murmurs, more to himself than anyone else, if only because he didn't like giving orders. Trotting off towards where their supplies were, Ever returns dragging two long pieces of wood. He'd seen this technique used in pictures, of how a community would build a boat on land and pull it down a make-shift ramp towards the sea. Surely the principle would work in reverse?
"If we put these under, we won't have to fight against the sand and it should be much easier. We'll need two more pieces for it to transition onto, but..." Staring, as if to say it's worth a try? Maybe? Ever just blinks.
Wait, there's a better way, says Ever, even though Mateo and Paige are already tugging with all their combined might (unsuccessfully, not that he's noticed). Looking up with sweat dampening his curls, the boy stops his futile efforts to raise his eyebrows at his friend's genius. "Okay, let's do it!" he says with a bright nod, glancing to Paige. "Can you find two more bits of wood? Ever and I are almost the same size, so we'll try and push the boat up onto the ramp."
Having just voluntold Ever for this task, Mateo hops around to the back of the boat and grips the sunbleached wood, neither noticing nor caring the way passers-by grin to see the group up to such childish antics. "Ready? Go!"
Paige to find two more bits of wood to continue the ramp for the boat!
Paige wasn't one to give up and it didn't matter that they are unsuccessful because she tries her absolute best to move that boat. Until Everest is offering an idea that's too good to pass up. Her eyes widen and she nods quickly, releasing the boat and scurrying a little ways down the beach where there is flotsam scattered on the shoreline. She finds two pieces of wood that will likely work and brings them back, following Ever's instructions for positioning them before stepping back so the boys might try again.
"Dig your toes in the sand, Ever!" Paige encourages, grinning wide as she watches the unlikely pair give it their best shot.
Ever had thought that by suggesting the idea he'd somehow freed himself from doing any of the heavy lifting, but that didn't seem to be the case at all. "Uhh..." He mumbles, stalling. When Mateo doesn't seem to give any sign of relenting, the boy sighs and takes up his position on the opposite side of the boat. "Okay, ready when you—" But of course his friend is already pushing and Everest does his best to keep his side steady.
With hands that are calloused only from holding a pen, he finds that almost immediately his palms hurt. Biting the inside of his cheek and digging his toes in as Paige had suggested, Ever lowers his head and pushes for all he's worth; it isn't much.
They heave and they ho and gods this is more difficult than planned, but with the combined efforts of the two boys, the boat does begin to creep up the sand and onto the wooden boards. And that's about when Ever's idea pays off, Mateo almost falling on his face in the sand when the going suddenly becomes much easier. "Aha! Keep going!" He cheers, promptly letting go of the boat (sorry Ever) to run and replace the wood before them to continue the ramp.
Between the trio, they do manage to get the boat into their new hideout (don't ask too many questions, okay, there are more rounds to go), and although Mateo is red cheeked and sweaty and out of breath, and although there's a splinter in his palm, he's still very cheerful. "Okay, we should try and lean this boat up against one of the trees. And we need some more wood so we can make a fence or something?"
Next round! Two kiddos need to try and lean the boat up against one of the palm trees. Whoever is left over needs to collect more wood!
Though Ever's face turns a bright purple as he does everything he can to keep the boat from slipping off of the wood, never once does he scowl or even frown at his friend. When they do manage to get it up the beach, the boy is sweaty and panting, and on the verge of a small panic attack thanks to the way the sand and wood-fibres are sticking to him.
Now, here's the thing. Getting wood seems like the easiest of the jobs, and because of how exhausted he is, Ever would like that one. However, he also thinks it should go to Paige. But is that just because she's a girl? Is he being sexist, or polite? Gods, but he doesn't know. Flushing and feeling like he wants to throw up or just walk into the sea and never come back (or both), he opts for perhaps the most cowardly choice of all.
"I can help lift the boat. One of you two can go get the wood."
