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!
07-03-2022, 01:31 AM (This post was last modified: 09-14-2022, 09:56 PM by Enzo.)
I'll watch you run through rough patches of places we stood and watch you start over like I never could
Now that he’s living here full time with Flora, Enzo needs a few things for himself. He doesn’t mind the eclectic mix of objects Flora hoards in their new home together, as inclined towards feminine desires as masculine, but spring has not been nearly as warm as he had anticipated. As such he is currently on a mission for blankets. The problem begins with the fact that so is everyone else in Torchline. The weather seems to be all that anyone wants to talk about, but nobody is any closer to an answer.
“You know that’s too high an ask for a trade for this,” he objects smoothly, voice even and composed as he argues with the merchant - who, in contrast, is growing far more frustrated and red in the face. “I understand you have your own mouths to feed but gouging for blankets will win you no loyalty from customers.” His mother speaks through his mouth, words sweet-laced but arrow-straight and pointed. The man splutters angrily, eyes darting between Enzo and the growing lingering bodies behind him as shoppers pause to watch the spectacle. “Fine! You have a deal, brat. Take it and get out of my sight.” The blanket is tossed against Enzo’s chest, but he doesn’t fumble in catching it, which seems to further incense the seller. Smiling beatifically, Enzo slides over his traded items. “Pleasure, sir. Have a wonderful day.” The man’s middle finger follows him as he takes his acquired goods, but Enzo’s smile is curled with mischievous pleasure all the same.
Turning, he begins to move away into the crowd. As he goes to fold the blanket into his satchel, however, he bumps into a smaller body. Lifting his eyes for a brief moment to apologize, Enzo instead grins widely. “Edmund! Gods, it’s been forever!”
Edmund is uncharacteristically quiet as navigates the market with practiced ease. His Mum's words kept repeating in his mind, as did his promise. He'd promised to wait for the war to end to age up and he'd keep that promise. But it still upset him. He just wanted to help his mum.
He turns a corner and runs into a much taller figure. The child is about to apologize when the man calls him by name. Edmund doesn't recognize him at first and takes a cautious step back. Still, even as his suspicions rise, the manners his mum beat into him remain. "I'm sorry sir. But are you mistaken? I don't recall ever meeting you?"
As he speaks, the child takes note of the few candles and fires around him. The strange cold meant there were far more torches around than normal. Reaching inward, the young Abandoned latches onto his magic and lets the internal embers rise up to rest just beneath the surface. If this stranger tries to hurt him, Edmund is ready.
I never realized how beautiful Fires burn under the stars
I'll watch you run through rough patches of places we stood and watch you start over like I never could
Enzo is admittedly not accustomed to people not recognizing him yet. He grew up, his body most of all, what was the big deal? So he laughs away the boy’s overly polite confusion and reaches a thoughtless hand to try and lay companionably on Edmund’s shoulder, unaware of the immense Stranger Danger vibes practically emanating from him.
“Enzo! Flora’s brother?” Wait, had Edmund ever met Flora or was that Paige? Crap, eight year olds didn’t have great memories, and that’s all he has to rely one. “We made dream catchers in the market!” He nearly snaps his fingers with delight over recalling it, but that would be woefully embarrassing, and he can nearly hear Flora snickering in his ear if he gives into the impulse.
The second the man's hand touches him, Edmund jumps back. A candle on a nearby table reacts to the Abandoned's unease and the flame surges higher, even though he hadn't commanded it to do so. The flame rises just high enough to set the sleeve of Enzo's shirt on fire. The shopkeeper lets out a curse and quickly splashes the older Abandoned with a bit of water.
"Uh..." Edmund watches the events with bewilderment. Once things calm, he processes Enzo's words. "Oh! Hi Enzo. I'm so so so sorry about that! Are you ok?" He flitters around his now grown friend with concern, checking him for burns or other signs of injury. The child feels immensely guilty for practically attacking a friend. Accidently, but still.
I'll watch you run through rough patches of places we stood and watch you start over like I never could
Woah, fire! Enzo’s magic does much the same, snagging the pitcher straight out of the merchant’s hands and dumping it all over not just himself, but Edmund too. Leaving both boys a little drenched and out of sorts.
Luckily Enzo is more go-with-the-flow than make-a-scene as his twin may have, plus the water makes his shirt cling to him attractively so really what was the harm? Enzo easily holds his hand out for Edmund to investigate at his leisure, smiling loosely. “Hey, no harm done right? Plus we got each other pretty good, so let’s call it even.” Sensing the shopkeeper would soon lose it on them if they loitered any longer, the older boy snags Edmund and steers him away to the other side of the street where there’s no stores to infringe upon. “I always forget I look different now. But how are you? I’ve missed you!” Which must sound strangely childish in phrase when coming from a young adult, but for all his magically obtained maturity, sometimes it’s apparent that Enzo only has memories as a young boy in his history.
Edmund takes the offered hand and turns Enzo's wrist gently to inspect the nonexistent damage. Upon seeing that there aren't any, the child's shoulders relax with relief. At Enzo's words, he giggles. "I guess we did get each other pretty good." He continues to giggle as the older Abandoned leads him away.
Edmund smiles and hugs Enzo's waist tightly, "I've missed you too." Grinning up at his friend he giggles again, "How can you forget that you grew?" The idea greatly amuses him. "I'm good. I've been busy helping Mummy. How are you doing? Is it scary to be big?" He hopes Enzo is doing well. Adults seem to have a hard time and now his friend was one. Surely Enzo is doing ok?
I'll watch you run through rough patches of places we stood and watch you start over like I never could
Enzo lets the boy investigate, fondness swelling at how gentle he is in his ministrations - and swelling all the further at the boy's giggle. Edmund had been his only age-appropriate friend aside from Paige in the short time they'd been of a like age, and he is determined not to lose that now just because he and Flora chose to mature faster.
Hugging the boy back - and marveling at how he has to bend down to do it - Enzo laughs, sure Edmund will feel it against his cheek. "Because it feels like I've always been this big! Frey's magic is something special, I'll give it that." It makes things strange sometimes, to have the maturity but none of the years that should have fostered it, but Enzo doesn't regret his decision - and says as much. "I don't think it's scary at all, it's less scary even. Like I'm the right size now; big enough for my big thoughts and feelings, and able to do something about them." Which likely is only going to be a bad influence on Edmund with what the future holds for the boy, but Enzo doesn't know that. "I'm doing great, I moved here actually! With my sister Flora, we live together. You should come visit us sometime!" They host their older-younger brother all the time, it wouldn't be weird for either of them to see a young boy hanging out in their living room.
Edmund nods as his friend explains what his aging was like. "Big enough to do something about it? that does sound good." And tempting. Sometimes it was discouraging to be so small, but he'd promised his mum that he wouldn't age up as fast as his friend. Maybe there was a middle ground?
He looks up to meet his friend's eyes and smiled widely, "I'm glad you like being big now." If Enzo had regretted aging up, the younger Abandoned had no idea what he'd do. How could he have possibly helped in such a situation. Seeing the other Abandoned as animated and joyful as ever is a relief and infectious as ever.
"I'd love that!" With Enzo closer by now, they could play more! Edmund pauses when he hears one of the afternoon shops closing. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for dinner. Bye! It was great to see you again!" With that, he rushes forward to give Enzo one last squeeze before racing off to prevent his mum for worrying.
