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 almost awwws in disappointment, because it's absolutely what he would do, but he stops himself as he realises that this is probably a much touchier subject for Ever than it is for him. "My dads showed me how to shave. Maybe yours can show you as well? Or I can teach you, but I don't think I'm dad material, Ever." Smiling to himself and shrugging as his friend declines his offer, Mateo slurps up all of his sugary-cream as if it's the nectar of the gods.
"Oh, the stupid squeaky thing?" Mateo pulls a face. "Yeah. Pa said it's my voice breaking and it can change quick or it might take a lot longer. I... don't want it to take long." He flicks a finger against the side of his cup, looking at the river of cocoa coating the ground beneath their feet.
Smiling to himself suddenly, though, he glances back to Everest. "It's not just us though, you know. Lots of the kids in class look and sound weird now."
"I've...watched mine shave." From down the hall and burritoed in a blanket, but still. Having no idea what dad material meant, but interpreting the sentence as the sort of thing that could be construed as a negative, Ever gives his head a shake. "I think you can be any kind of material you want." He offers confidently as his fingers continue to tear apart the top of his cup.
"Breaking?" Reaching up to touch his throat as if expecting to feel broken shards of his voice there, Ever blinks in confusion. 'Should we.. I mean, do we need to heal it? Or...tape..it..?" Was there some sort of paste?
Biting the inside of his cheek, Ever slumps his shoulders. "You think we're weird looking now?" He wonders dubiously, knowing that the answer was yes, but somehow feeling all the worse for hearing it.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
Not knowing much but already knowing that he does NOT want to be dad material, Mateo still appreciates his friend's attempts nonetheless, giving him a grateful nod. "Thanks, Ever," he says. "And you should ask him to show you what to do. It's easy, and it makes your face all smooth again." For a while, anyway. But maybe it wouldn't be the best idea to mention to Ever that this would be a continuous process.
"Oh, no, no - not like actual breaking," Mateo says, rocking to his feet once he's done with the dregs of his cocoa. "It's what they call it. I guess because once it's done doing The Thing we'll have different voices. Like... like Man Voices," he clarifies, lowering his voice considerably (which works, which is terrifying and he promises himself he won't do it again).
Beckoning for Ever to get up so they can head to his place, Mateo flashes him a cheeky smile. "Yes," he says honestly. "You think we look normal?"
Wheezing at the thought of having to ask his father for assistance (or anyone, for that matter), Ever just swallows and nods as if this is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. "Maybe I can ask Frey for it to stop.." He suggests with a frown.
Following Mateo's movements with his eyes only, Ever's frown deepens. "I...don't know that I want A Man Voice." He liked his voice and he didn't see why it had to change. Everyone already knew his voice and more importantly, he knew his voice. Already he sounded a bit like a stranger in his own head when his voice did The Thing. Shivering to hear Mateo's voice drop, Ever shakes his head a decisive no.
Rising obediently, Ever pauses to study his friend's face. Mateo's cheeks seemed...higher? And his jaw seemed stronger, if that made sense. He didn't really seem bigger, but then, given Ever had grown in height, that must mean Mateo had too if they still 'felt' like they were the same height relative to one another. "I...don't what to think about it. Lets just go to your house."
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 think Frey would grow you all the way up to make it stop," Mateo says before he can help himself, even though it might make matters worse. "That's how Flora and Enzo got grown up anyway. And now my dad is worried about them being in the war, and it... it's a lot more complicated than this." He gestures at his face.
He doesn't really know how to explain that Ever doesn't have much of a choice about The Man voice or any of the other changes, mostly because he hasn't really come to terms with it himself. So instead all he can do is offer his friend and apologetic smile as they stand with each other. Like... right with each other, no looking down or anything. Furrowing his brow, Mateo nods.
"Yeah, me neither," he mutters, padding off towards the greenhouse and tossing his empty up into the trash as he goes by. "Whatever happens, though, we're still snow brothers," he adds.
"Wait, they..?" There was never going to be any romcom romances between Mateo's best friend and either of his younger siblings, but that didn't stop Ever from properly blanking at the thought of them now being grown up. "Like...grownup grownup?" And then, speaking of, Ever asks: "Where are you going to go during the War? To The Place? Or...do you think Safrin will keep you safe?"
Grumbling but following behind, Ever deposits his cup in the appropriate bin before trotting back to Mateo's side. Grinning despite himself, the Hart boy nods. "Always. Snow brothers and best friends." He agrees
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
"Mmhm, like grownup grownup. Flora looks like a woman and Enzo is tall and they've both moved to Torchline. Like adults." It still makes his head spin, so he has no idea how they are feeling. "I wonder if Frey grows up your mind as well, because otherwise I feel like it would be really..." He wrinkles his nose, not really having words for it but not liking the taste it puts in his mouth.
He shrugs a bit at the mention of the war, unlocking the greenhouse and leading them into the leafy and humid former-ground-floor of the alchemy shop. "Apparently kids will be kept safe in Torchline," he says, "but I guess if everyone else is going to The Place, maybe there? I will go wherever you go," he decides. "What are your parents going to do?"
Already shrugging out of his jacket, Mateo goes to hang it up and tend to his seedlings, grinning to Ever. "And best friends," he confirms. "Here, let me show you something."
"Eww." Ever remarks emphatically, scrunching up his face until the hairs on his upper lip brush against his nose. "But..they're still kids, right? Just because they're big doesn't just make them adults. Or...does it?" Letting his face fall, Ever again wishes he had his notebook to make a note of this question for later.
Unlooping the scarf from around his neck as he enters the greenhouse, Ever tugs at his collar to try and circulate air. "I think Safrin is keeping kids safe everywhere, but...I don't really know what that means. I suppose it could be interesting to be in The Place, but...what if it gets really bad in there and you can't leave? What if people are mean? Or if the food is bad?" Mention of Tobi and Finn just has Ever shrugging. "I don't know. Sometimes they tell me lots of things all at once and then other times they just whisper about it." Currently he thought they were in the whispering stage when it came to war.
'Mm?' Trickling his fingers over the various blooms but careful not to touch anything (he'd made that mistake before and ended up with a rash), Ever follows along peering over his friend's shoulder. (Had it always been this easy to see over Mateo's shoulder?)
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 really don't know," Mateo shakes his head, equally as dumbfounded by all of this and huffing out a long sigh as he approaches a little terrarium (which is what he wants to show Everest, of course). "I should probably ask, but... it feels weird to talk to them now. They were my baby brother and sister, and now they're..." He wrinkles his nose, wanting to say better than me but feeling like it would be wrong.
Humming a note of pleasant surprise about the Safrin correction, Mateo grins over his shoulder. "People can be mean and the food can be bad here as well," he points out. "I guess the difference is that no one will be able to use magic, or shifts or anything..."
Waiting for Ever to get close enough, Mateo turns the terrarium carefully to show the other boy a variety of beautifully arranged succulents and other desert plants. Nestled in the centre, however, is the small cactus (that is growing larger, no doubt about it) that he'd squirrelled away from his trip to Hak Etme with Remi.
'Yeah. I was thinking that too. Are they...I mean, are you still the oldest now? Or..?' If nothing else, it seemed rude that Flora and Enzo went and did all of this without at least providing a pamphlet on what their changes meant for the nomenclature of the family.
"I know, but at least here I know where there is good food and I can always come here if people are being mean." Ever counters with a shrug. "Yeah..." Pursing his lips and wondering if it would bother him not to be able to shift, he opts to think about it later, instead. "..I wonder if there will be activities. You know, if no one has any abilities, what are we all going to do for all that time?"
Peering into the terrarium and wondering which of the plants he was meant to be looking at (they all looked really good to him, in all honesty), mention of dream cactus has him hissing in an appreciative breath. "Don't the spikes make you see things?" He whispers, eyeing the cactus carefully as if it might suddenly rise up and slam itself against him.
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 mean, I was still here first right? So I am still the oldest, even if I... don't look like the oldest. I think." Shaking his head helplessly, Mateo makes a mental note to to burden mention all of this to Remi that evening at dinner. If nothing else, his parents have been remarkably consistent as of late, and even if the location of his routine changes regularly, the activities don't.
Mateo has needed it, and he doesn't even realise.
"I... I never even thought about that. Oh gods, Ever, what if it's really boring? Do we need to bring books or card games or homework or... what will they even do about school?" He shakes his head, all the things he'd not considered starting to pile up. "What if we're in there for years?"
It seems almost impossible for him to be distracted by anything in this sort of state, but this is Mateo, and this is a dream cactus. Letting out a shuddering breath and nodding to his friend, he carefully reaches for some tweezers and inches his hand into the terrarium to manipulate one of the spines until he can pluck it out.
"If you prick your finger directly on it then it's supposed to be awful. But I heard that if you extract whatever is in the spines and dilute it, then the stuff you see can be really cool."
'That's a really good point.' Ever agrees, finding himself all the more relieved to know that if nothing else, it was still a fact that Mateo had to be older.
Tilting his head slightly to the side as if to say that's my point exactly, in a low voice he adds: "And what if it's a trap?" Finn and October had nothing bad to say about Sunjata, but were of course appropriate wary of the Voice. Could it be a trap? In Ever's mind there was a non-zero chance that yes, it absolutely could, and once you agreed it was non-zero, it could basically be anything. "If there's no fighting does that mean we're all...like, forced to get along? Because if not, how will they make sure we're all safe? And if yes, then...are we just...like zombies or whatever?"
Nnnnnging under his breath Ever backs away haphazardly, shaking his head. "It makes..uhm..what's that drug called?" The one that came in a vial normally and was a hazy sort of rainbow.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
Not liking the idea of it being a trap or about being forced into some kind of giant get-along-sweater, Mateo wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. "What if we just... stayed here, in Stormbreak? It's pretty safe here, right? And my pa is working on making it so the Ascended can't get in any more, so there won't be any trouble..." Probably. Right? Right.
"Third Eye," Mateo almost sings the name of the drug, holding the spine up to the light and smiling, before shuffling over to place the spine with a few others he has collected in a small jar. "But I think that a lot of people must make it with a load of gross extra ingredients. I think if I made it, it would be a lot better..."
Not wanting to outright disagree with his friend, instead, Everest blinks a few times as he considers. "Well...have there been any attacks since the one on the Tower?" That seemed the right thing to say: it both mentioned the previous danger but also would be a way of acquiring new information. "Oh. Well...that's smart." Ever murmurs, of banning ascended from entering. Shrugging his shoulders, the boy huffs and frowns. "I know that it's probably not the most rational choice...but I think I would like to stay here too. I just...I don't like the idea of being separated from everyone, you know?" He was almost sure that Mateo would.
Moaning a low and uneasy sound under his breath as Mateo transports the spines, Ever wrinkles his nose. "Ohhh...?" Wanting both to know because it sounded interesting, but not wanting his interest to in any way encourage his friend from become a drug-maker at the tender age of whatevertheywerenow, Ever nervously hovers by his friend's elbow.
But if the song never stopped, it wouldn't have any magic So even though it's gotta end, I'll keep singing along
