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!
It occurred to Phoebe that since returning from her magical garden experience she hadn't seen her pseudo niece or nephews. She had been so wrapped up in her own personal situation she neglected to reach out. So on a day that Harper was to watch Jude, Phoebe asked Flora to spend the day with her at one of the Haulani spas. A girls day was in order before the world was thrust into the chaos of the war after all!
The Nightingale waited outside the building for her niece to arrive, pondering about what she might look like now. So many children were sprouting up to various ages it was hard to keep track - especially when one was gone for nearly a year.
Okay, so while on the one hand Flora absolutely needed a spa day. On the other, all she really knew about Phoebe was that once upon her time she and Remi had been super close and then..well, general shitty-Caido things had happened and they'd drifted apart? Which, you know, was totally understandable, but it still left Flora with an uncertain and heavy weight in the pit of her stomach about what to expect.
So what did she do? Why, look her absolute best of course.
In an adorable dress (despite the chill still lingering over Torchline), Flora was dressed up, but you know, casually. Easy elegance was her style these days, and today was no exception. Closing her apartment door, Flora turned her aqua stare out into the street to try and figure out which one was Phoebe. Presumably she'd have like..massive boobs thanks to Frey, or maybe she'd smell incredible like Sunjata did.
No giant boobs but an unnatural glow of perpetual beauty was what Frey had bestowed upon Phoebe. Thank the gods too because her small frame couldn't have handled such a drastic size difference without major back pain. She herself was dressed in a simple white dress, short and near backless, another of Frey's gifts after her time in the cacoon.
Phoebe caught sight of the young woman exiting a building, looking around the crowd. That could possibly be her! So she raised a hand and waved, a warm smile on her face. "Flora?" she called to get her attention.
Biting at the inside of her lip, Flora did her best not to look as though she was gawking into the crowd. Instead, she aimed for cool confidence despite feeling entirely overwhelmed. The sound of her name ringing out from the throng of passersby had her heart stuttering with both relief and anxiety. Blinking, the younger woman turned towards the sound, spying a woman with cascading blonde hair and knee-weakening features.
Oh my gods, Flora thought to herself, waving back and taking a few steps forward. "Phoebe?" She asked, though instantly felt foolish for having said so. Of course it was Phoebe; if the looks didn't give the Nightengale away, the fact that she was calling out to Flora when they had planned to meet was as sure a sign as any.
"I mean, of course it's you." Reaching out to give the other woman a hug, Flora did her best to swallow down her rising feelings of inadequacy.
Phoebe had never considered how the glamour magic made other women feel - nor was she about to. Flora's attempt to look cool and confident worked well enough on the midwife. She grinned and nodded as she approached, her name a question on her lips.
"You're so beautiful!" Phoebe gushed as she hugged Flora back. "I haven't seen you since you were still small enough to carry." she said, holding her by her upper arms briefly to look her over. Awful Caido things had kept her away, and random Caido magic had grown the young woman at triple the rate! But they were here now, Frey would've tittered, and so she linked arms with Flora and steered them into the spa.
Whereupon there were choices. Massages. Mud baths. Something called a facial - Phoebe wasn't exactly familiar with the establishment. In fact she had never been. But it had seemed like something Flora might like. "What would you like to do?" she asked, looking up at the menu of services.
'Ohmygods no you!" Flora laughed in response, instantly at ease and incredibly happy to pose while Phoebe took her in. "I mean, I guess Enzo and I did age up pretty quick...but...yeah." Beaming, all she can do was try and contain the laughter bubbling up in the back of her throat.
Slipping an arm through Phoebe's as they entered the spa, the younger woman glanced around with wide aqua eyes. "Well, I know there's like..special mud you can be wrapped up in, or or or! pedicures where they have fish clean your feet!" Cackling at the thought, Flora turned to Phoebe. "So I vote one of those, but it's your call." The mud wrap involved being naked which she thought would be fine given Phoebe's relationship to Frey...? but maybe not. Or maybe she'd be offended by the fish?
"It seems a common thing in Caido. My son Jude just went from one to eight." she said. It really shouldn't be so surprising that Flora was basically an adult now - especially since she had gone missing for an entire year. But that was a whole 'nother ball of wax.
Phoebe listened as Flora listed some options. The mud wrap would likely fall right off of her thanks to the glamour magic - which Flora had no idea of knowing of course. Besides, a pedicure with fish seemed much more interesting. "Let's do the pedicure." she said with a grin, looking to the attendant.
The woman nodded and led the two back to a room with a large pool surrounded by comfortable chairs. The Nightingale slipped off her sandals and stepped into the water before taking a seat. Once both women had settled, little sucker fish would begin to approach, latching onto their skin.
09-22-2022, 11:38 PM (This post was last modified: 09-29-2022, 03:40 PM by Flora.)
flora
"Oh! That's...I never really thought about it from a parent's perspective before." Flora admits with a bit of a wince that quickly turns into a shy smile. Hopefully her aunt Phoebe wouldn't judge her too harshly for that.
Taking a seat next to Phoebe, Flora peers nervously into the water. Her lips drop open as the fish enter, swimming slowly forward. They're small at first, before a few larger ones join the frey, and gods but she can't help but laugh as their mouths tickle her feet. "Oh my gods do you—" Dropping her voice suddenly, she leans across her chair towards Phoebe, tilting her head for the demigoddess to meet her halfway. "—do you think any of these are attuned who like...have a thing for feet?" Opening her mouth to indicate just what a scandal it would be, she nevertheless wiggles her toes in the water.
"Why would you?" Phoebe said simply with a warm smile. Flora wasn't a parent. She doubted Remi had asked her to think from his perspective - it didn't really seem his sort of parenting style. That she hadn't thought of it seemed only natural, and Phoebe was far from offended or hurt.
Phoebe leaned sideways to meet Flora halfway, giggling helplessly at the sensation of the fish against her feet. And at Flora's theory she outright laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "You'd be surprised how many people in Torchline have that fetish." she said with a smirk. She had been Madam of the brothel after all. She had dirt on nearly everyone. "But what an unfortunate shift for someone to have." she said with a giggle, looking down at the sucker fish again and wiggled her toes.
"Ewwwwuhh!" Scrunching up her face in such a way she looked both horrified and adorable (Flora would know, she'd practiced it in the mirror often enough), she sat back in her chair with an audible gasp. "Totally. If I ever had a shift, I think I would want to be a bird, or maybe some big cat." Something luxurious and powerful and free.
Before she could say anything more, one of the woman who had brought in the fish began to look...a bit pale? Which, you know, given how little sunlight Torhcline had been getting lately was really saying something. Reaching for the wall to steady herself, she closed her eyes and looked as though she was trying to control her breathing with little success. "Uhm, mmm." Nudging Phoebe, Flora tilted her head towards the woman, wincing slightly. "I don't think she looks so good."
Phoebe laughed as Flora expressed her disgust at the idea of having a sucker fish shift. It really would be unfortunate. "I think you would make a fine big cat. Beautiful and deadly." she said with a grin.
But soon her attention was pulled to the woman in some sort of medical distress. She looked rather faint in fact. Phoebe stood as Flora muttered her concern, sending the fish swimming away. "I'll see if I can help." she said as she stepped out of the water.
Careful not to slip on the floor with her wet feet, Phoebe approached the woman. "Are you alright?" she asked before the woman suddenly collapsed into Phoebe's arms. It appeared she was faint indeed! Carefully she laid the woman on the floor before placing her hands on either side of her face. Then she sent a pulse of healing energy through the woman, causing her body to spasm and an involuntary moan to break through her lips.
"Ooooh, I like that." Flora agreed chipperly before the mood of the moment shifted entirely.
Watching Phoebe handle the situation—and honestly, the girl was incredibly relieved that she didn't have to try and help—as the woman started to moan between Phoebe's fingers, Flora realized that something might properly be amiss. 'Oh gods, is she..is she..?" dying is what Flora thought was happening; having really only heard her own moans stifled behind her teeth, she wasn't well versed in what other women sounded like when they felt pleasure.
"She's fine." Phoebe said with a warm smile back at Flora. She supposed she ought to explain though. "My healing abilities cause intense pleasure. So worst case scenario she is a bit turned on." she said with a light laugh.
Slowly the woman came to, blinking up at Phoebe in confusion. The Nightingale just smiled and waved. "Hello. You fainted. Are you alright?" she said. "O-oh, yes I am now, thank you." the woman said as she rose to her feet. "Please, come sit over here and I'll get you all polished." she said, gesturing for Flora to join Phoebe on some cushioned chairs.
'Wh-" Flora's jaw drops before her teeth click together. Pleasure? I mean, when you thought about it, it all made perfect sense given who Phoebe was in relation to Frey, but gods, that was the last thing Flora had expected to hear. That said, as the woman came around, Flora sighed with audible relief that they weren't going to have to take more drastic measures. And by they she of course meant Phoebe.
"Are..you sure? I mean..we can always take a rain check if you're...you know, still not feeling alright?" Flora's smile was crooked and uncertain; not necessarily wanted to elaborate on what she meant by not alright. Glancing to Phoebe for guidance, the girl just remains where she is with an uneasy smile.
