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 has heard the news. He had heard it some time ago, in fact - probably about the time when Everest first sent his letter to say he was coming back to Stormbreak. But between Deepfrost, LongNight and the time it would take the Rosencrantz-Hart family to literally get across the world, it has been far too long. Every morning, the boy comes to the Skyport to see if his friend is on one of the ships coming in. And he does the same every afternoon, too.
So far, nothing.
It doesn't stop him, though, and even though he's got a few books under his arm (for classes) and an apple in his mouth (for breakfast), he's still trotting up to the docks to see if he can spot a curly head of hair on one of the incoming skyships. Ever is the only reason Mateo has still been attending school at the Collegium, truth be told, because he's at least able to give the other boy copies of the assignments and his notes, even if he isn't enjoying it so much.
But hey, maybe all that will change today. Or tomorrow. Or whenever Ever comes home.
With netting, a crude lever system, and scraps of his lunch and dinner, Ever has managed to catch quite a few seabirds to try and send letters to Mateo. It was likely all in vain, but if he didn't try something, he was quite certain he'd be swallowed up by a monster made of anxiety who had grown a new tooth each and every time the boy had thought, What if Mateo is waiting for me and I"m not there? The thought was nearly paralyzing, and so there was nothing for the Hart boy to do but stubbornly stop eating that he might catch yet another messenger bird to send to his friend.
Even so on the day of his arrival, Ever was sure that Mateo would be on the pier, dressed in months-old rags saying how he'd been waiting day in and day out and was starving to death and also hated Ever. Dressed in a baggy t-shirt with a sweatshirt tied uncharacteristically around, the strangest part of Ever's ensemble was the scarf tied around his neck that fully covered his mouth (and the new line of hair growth above his lip).
Shuffling behind his parents Ever peers nervously into the crowd and engages in the most anxiety-inducing game of Where's Waldo imaginable.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
The noise that escapes Mateo and rings over the crowd of people can't really be called Ever's name, because it's muffled around an apple and also his voice breaks halfway through. So it's a squeaky sort of "--VRES--!" that comes echoing to those departing the skyship. Caring very little about the crowd (sorry not sorry), Mateo barges his way through until he can fling his apple - which sails over the cliff - and drop his books to the ground, throwing his arms out to his friend.
"You're back!" he almost sings, forgetting any and all of Ever's boundaries so he can fling him into a hearty embrace. Longer limbed than before and maybe smelling a tiny bit like tobacco, Mateo clings to the other boy and smooshes his face into his shoulder. "I missed you so much."
Ever is taller, but it doesn't occur to him that his friend will be anything other than exactly the way he was when last they were together. So, when he's assaulted by a lanky-limbed and more-narrowed face youth than the one he'd been expecting, Ever predictably Evers, and simply shuts down.
"nnnnnnnnnn." He moans as if having just been presented with an overly large needle, before groaning an inarticulate few sentences into Mateo's shoulder. The scent of tobacco and hair products (?) has his stomach flopping. "Nice to see you Mateo." Tobi chimes politely, patting the boy on the shoulder and reaching for the bag her son is clutching in his hands. "I'll take this so that you two can catch up."
Touch-starved but unhappily so, Ever tries to settle inside of Mateo's grasp whilst trying not to think about the way his skin wants to slide off.
"hi. I missed you too." He mumbles from behind his scarf.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
"I'm sorry, I'll stop in a second," Mateo blurts, though what he actually does is squeeze Ever a bit tighter and give a tight smile to Tobi as she relieves his friend of his bag. Finally stepping back enough to reach down and gather up his books, Mateo lets out a heavy couple of sighs and straightens up in time to wave to a departing Tobi and Finn. "I brought you all the assignments from Deepfrost," he explains, holding up one of the books that seems a little rougher and has a lot of extras tucked into it.
"I did them already, but that's my notebook so you can get the outlines. Oh, and we have a science class this afternoon. It's got a practical element and you need a partner. Want to partner up?" He smiles hopefully. "How was your trip? Did you know that Deepfrost hasn't ended in some places? And I... I..." Blinking quickly and using one of his shoulders to rub at his cheek, Mateo shakes his head. "I got some bad news too."
It's a very strange feeling to both adamantly hate something while also craving it just a little bit. So when Mateo pulls away, Ever has Complicated Feelings about it, though the rush of relief is a welcome one. "———" The boy mumbles behind his scarf, raising his eyebrows in an accompanying gesture. as he reaches out for the book. Running his thumb across the pages that flicker out of it, Ever raises his gaze and immediately nods. Of course he wants to partner up, he just can't say he wants to partner up because his voice is still doing The Thing.
Only...
"Our snow parents?" Ever asks uncertainly, his voice sounding like an internet dial-tone that can't (or won't) decide on one pitch.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
If Mateo notices that Ever sounds like a squeaky wheel, he doesn't say anything, and although he visibly relaxes to know that he's got a science partner, it's still not enough to shed the stormclouds from his thoughts. "Oh, no. No, our snow parents are fine. I went to visit them at Deepfrost," he says. "But I... my nonna died, at LongNight." His gaze drops to the ground and he turns instinctively as if to start walking away from the Falling.
"I know that people die all the time, and my dad is Ludo's demigod so it shouldn't feel like a big deal, but I just... I didn't get to say goodbye. You know?" He probably doesn't know, but Mateo says it anyway. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back."
Ever had been almost completely certain that Mateo's bad news was that their snowparents had melted, that they were no longer snow-brothers, and that their friendship was over. That it wasn't, and worse, that it was a comparatively real bit of bad news had Ever freezing in place. Blinking at the back of his friend's head as he turns away, it takes Ever longer than it might take anyone else to reach out, but to any who knew the boy, this was as close to a knee-jerk reaction as he was liable to come.
Tugging at Ever's sleeve in an attempt to draw the Taliesin back into a hug, it's Ever's turn to wrap his arms around his friend's shoulder. Awkward though the embrace might be (Mateo felt strangely thin in his arms, or was he simply bigger?), it was no less genuine for it. "I'm really sorry to hear that." And then, instinctively, he adds: "Would you like something hot to drink?"
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
Turning a bit as his sleeve is tugged, Mateo is both surprised and delighted to be drawn back into a hug, embracing his friend back tightly even as he feels his eyes prickle. "Yeah," he says in a tight voice, "it really sucks." Sniffling in a deep breath, he at least manages to huff out a laugh, having thoroughly missed Ever's awkward pragmatism. "Yeah, I think I would," he says, stepping back and swiping a hand across his cheeks.
"There's a place still selling cocoa down at the Plaza if you want to go there," he suggests, giving his friend a dimpled smile. "And maybe then we can go to... uh... where are you going to be living now?" It has just occurred to him that Ever doesn't have an apartment to return to. "We can go to my place for right now anyway."
A hot drink is something he can fix his mind onto, but before he can offer suggestions about where or what drink they might have, Mateo provides the answer. This really is his best friend, no doubt about it. "If cocoa is what you want, then yes, we should go to the Plaza." Ever agrees, having already said more in these few minutes than he had for nearly an entire season. Though his voice is muffled from behind his scarf, the change in tone is nearly as obvious as Mateo's is and he's glad neither of them are saying anything about it.
"There's temporary housing in the Silk Houses, but I think my mom and dad are going to try and find an apartment in the Square. Maybe near you?" He hopes it's near Mateo.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
07-05-2022, 08:15 PM (This post was last modified: 07-05-2022, 08:15 PM by Mateo.)
MATEO
"Perfetto," Mateo says of the cocoa, nodding and starting the wending road back from the Skyport and down towards the Plaza. "They still have your favourite," he adds; Ever's favourite being the basic one without any exciting things and not too hot or too cold, as far as the boy remembers anyway. Maybe Halo had changed his tastes? Oh gods, what if Halo had changed lots of things about him?
Gazing over his shoulder as if to check that his friend is still appropriately Everest-looking, Mateo is soothed even if both of them seem like they don't fit in their own bodies any more. "Oh, an apartment in the Plaza? There are a couple of empty shops with apartments above them close to mine," he says with a smile that promptly fades. They're empty because the people were at the Tower when that whole thing happened, and they don't need houses now because they're dead.
Clearing his throat (it doesn't help), Mateo slows enough to fall into step with Ever. "I got some new seeds too," he says, "if you want to come and help to sow them."
Ever's shoulders slump considerably and despite the thickness of the wool in front of his lips, his sigh of relief is quite audible. "That's good." It was more than good, actually, given that Stormbreak being a known-place was one of Ever's primary reasons for wanting to come back here. If everything had changed, what was the point?
'Mhmm.' Ever confirms, eyeing his friend's fading expression with wary unease. "Seeds?" He all but chirps, raising his eyebrows and then shoving his hands into his pockets. "Sure. I'd like that. I uh..have been learning how to pilot a skyship so ifyoueverwantedtogoandcollectseedswecoulddothat." This latter segment is said in a self-conscious whirl of sound, captured largely by Ever's scarf.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
"Good. It would take forever to do them all by myself. And I missed you a lot besides, so... yeah." Rolling his shoulders in a shrug, although Mateo has been a slingshot of moodiness and clinginess (in varying degrees, when it comes to his parents), whatever tangle of hormones and emotions that have the better of him at least seem somewhat soothed when with his friend.
At least until the sort-of-intelligible garble of words comes out of Ever, Mateo turning to walk backwards as if trying to understand what he's just been told. "Did... you say you're learning to be a skyship pilot?" he asks slowly, before a smile beams out of him. "Ever, you're learning to be a SKYSHIP PILOT," he announces to the world around them. "I have a skyship. A skyship you can PILOT." Okay so it's a skyboat, a skyschooner maybe, and it doesn't fly yet. But Remi says they'll finish it, so they will.
'Going to Halo was a mistake.' Ever offers with a shrug. "I think my parents understand that now." Good to know. You're...welcome, Finn and October?
Keeping his eyes carefully trained forward and staring intently a few feet ahead of them, it's with flushed cheeks that the boy nods awkwardly. Wincing as Mateo repeats the words more loudly, Ever shuffles up to be nearer to his friend as if it's distance rather than surprise that's the reason Mateo is shouting. "Yes. Or well, I think I've learned. I don't know. I can't complete any of the formal training because everyone says I'm too young."
Biting at the inside of his cheek and fumbling his fingers around inside of his pockets (wait...wait, no don't do that. no touching anywhere down there at all), Ever swallows. "I thought...well, I thought if I was going to be in Halo forever that maybe I could fly one to you." He says uneasily, as if this is something to be embarrassed about.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
