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!
"Lovingly, hmm? You certainly put in the effort I've come to expect from ya, sugar," she purred wickedly. Her own tail and horns were demurely hidden behind her glamour; they were about the only things hidden on her today as she leaned down to peer into the ice box with Dantalion, unconcerned about the display the rest of the beach was getting.
"Ooh, now this is why you're my favorite. Nothing still moving, but I suppose we're playing nice with the locals today... hmm. How about that one?" She pointed a manicured crimson claw nail to a glistening chunk of steak tartare. "How did you come up with the idea for this little mixer, anyways?"
Spent too many years finding myself under rubble so I did it myself, put my heart back together again
The party is in full swing by the time he arrives, but Harper is all smiles and interested expressions as he investigates the gathering on the beach. He doesn't see Edmund mingling with the other Ancients, but there are plenty of other familiar faces; he smiles at Phoebe who seems busy with conversation with Talyson, which takes two of his best options for conversation away unfortunately. He spies Melita as well, but by her expression and frantic pouring of alcohol he suspects she isn't in the mood for talking just yet.
Shrugging, Harper contents himself with being alone for the moment and goes to peruse the food on offer. A lot of meat, much of it raw, but plenty for the others in attendance too. Absorbing the background noise of voices as he peruses the table, the councilman keeps to himself for the moment and merely enjoys hearing all the happy chatter that fills the beach.
Like the world's worst wedding crasher, Bart stands on the outskirts of the party white-knuckling some vague alcoholic bottle. It's tempting to throw it in the fire, make a liquor-fueled pillar of flames that scatters all these celebratory do-gooders back to their holes. It has been a year, and it seems everyone has moved one.
Everyone but him.
Melita seems to be just as inclined to slamming back alcohol today, but he isn't sure if that's because she's just as upset at seeing Sunjata and his new woman or if she's anything like him, still clinging to his grief and anger.
So he stands and watches, storm clouds prevalent on his brow, warning away anyone from coming to talk to him as he observes this new race of people who had blessedly lived among the Ascended ranks.
Funny how they're acceptable now, just because the Old Gods decreed it.
Wake up, or you'll wake up six feet down nobody's got your back in this town
this floral patterned imagery makes me feel like hell I know I'm not your type but I adore your vibe
She is back in Torchline to try and find some better literature on tide jaguars when she happens across the party. There are a lot of people milling around, so she picks up Micah who settles comfortably across her shoulders like a fluorescent-dappled scarf before heading into the fray.
Unlike everyone else, the second she sees Melita standing tense and stiff near the drinks table, Evie frowns and makes her way straight there. "Hey Mel, everything alright?" she asks in a soft undertone as she comes to the young woman's side, Micah blinking big blue eyes at the newcomer as his paws gently knead at Evie's skin just above her heart. Trying not to pry, Evie smiles and gestures at the jaguar cub. "This is Micah, by the way. New addition!" Hopefully a cute baby animal would be a sufficient distraction from whatever was upsetting the Honeybee.
they should have checked the ashes of the women they burned alive
While most wisely chose to steer clear of Melita with her frown, flaring temper (only becoming more fueled by booze), Evie’s appearance at least delayed the possibility and probability of her setting something (someone) on fire. Placing another glass down, uncertain on which number she was and not particularly caring, she settled for grinding her teeth in Sunjata’s direction, or narrowing her eyes at Bart’s, because gods knew how she was supposed to feel on those notions either. “Just an impending family reunion,” that she didn’t particularly want or need to have. Not now anyway.
Turning her attention more on the Evergreen, perhaps as a base point for not destroying everything in sight, her eyes rounded at the tide jaguar cub. “Oh my gods, where did you find it?” came on a very loud squeal, immediately scrambling around to find an object for the youth to bat around. She settled for a little umbrella that probably came out of someone’s drink.
because it takes a single wild ember to bring a whole wildfire to life
and sweetest in the gale is heard and sore must be the storm
Lena hadn’t been expecting all friendliness and smiles, but it certainly gave her some measure of relief when the stranger cast her a smile and explanations. Tipping her head she listened insightfully, eyes flickering back and forth between individuals, from the appointed Dantalion, to everyone else, the forthcoming notions behind the meeting much more transparent. “Ah, thank you for letting me know,” and perhaps she wasn’t so out of place then, if everyone else had been pondering and wondering over the state of the Ancients. She certainly hadn’t seen many in Stormbreak, if any at all, and knew next to nothing about them.
Greetings extended, the youth pried one of her hands off the handles of her basket, and shook with the primordial being - Ophelia. “I’m Lena. Nice to meet you too.”
that could abash the little bird that kept so many warm
It's busier than Isla expects it to be, though she doesn't suppose she ought to be surprised by that. Still, this is arguably the most people she's been around since before the war, and it has her finishing her drink perhaps a little faster than she intends to. And yes, she does get herself another when she's done. Burying her toes in the sand and people-watching more than making conversation, she does eventually give Sunjata a gentle nudge in the ribs.
"You can go mingle, you know," she says. "It's good for you. You probably know a lot more people here than I do anyway." And then some. Most of the people Isla used to know are either dead, missing, or have chosen to forget everything about her.
And if that isn't a reason to keep drinking, she doesn't know what is.
daydream about me, and i know that you hate the nights without me
Unfortunately for Sunjata, he spies so many ghosts of his past, ones that he’s chosen to avoid. And yet, he’s content to sit there beside Isla, pretending for a little bit longer that he can be in this bubble of ignorance. But there’s a face that appears right after he’s spotted Melita, already trying to figure out how to abandon his ignoring plans to speak to her, when he sees Bart, and he absolutely freezes.
He’s stock still when Isla elbows him in the side. “Yeah, maybe.” He murmurs, exhaling a sigh and draining his drink, standing to grab another one and will himself to have these difficult conversations he really, really doesn’t want to have.
Unfortunately for him, though, they’re conversations he should have had a long time ago.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"Sorry I couldn't be more helpful." Phoebe said to Talyson. But as he gestured to the party she smiled. "It's just a beach party for some good old fashioned fun. One of the Ancients is hosting. You should join in!" Phoebe encouraged, taking a sip of her fruity drink. And boy was it strong!
It went to her head almost immediately, and she glanced around the party, spotting Harper by himself. "Harper! Over here!" she called. "And bring Talyson a drink!" she added with a giggle. She would get the courier involved in the fun if it was the last thing she did before she blacked out.
i'll make it feel like a vacay turn the bed into the ocean
"Only this, huh? Nothing else that might make me your favourite?" Danta croons to @zephira, though of course he indulges her in whatever she wishes and, along with her selected fillet of steak, he adds a few other meats to the cookfire to barbecue. Soon enough there are sausage links sizzling, along with ribs and pork belly and rashers of smoked bacon.
How had he come up with this marvellous plan though, she asks? "Our mother came to me in a dream," Danta says, sighing out the words as if he'd received a holy vision. "Or maybe I just felt like bringing a little spice to Torchline. Either way, I feel like her thanks are in order."
So saying, he snags his drink - a cup of firewater he's smacked some pomegranate seeds into - and raises it (and his voice) to the congregation.
"You might not know of her, and she might well like it that way, but this one's to our lady goddess, Dygra!" He toasts. "Without her I'd be dust on the wind, or worse still, an upstanding citizen."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
"Nothing that you could give me while we've got our fancy dress manners on, sugar," the tiger-striped Ancient crooned back at Dantalion with a shamelessly wicked wink. She settled down nearby as the meat hit the fire and inhaled the scent appreciatively as he explained his divine inspiration.
His toast was unexpected but she raised her glass as well - little umbrella and all - flashing her own sharp, white grin in support. "To Lady Dygra, and the fire in our veins!" It felt a little strange to be toasting their goddess with booze instead of blood, but when in Torchline, hmm? Zef tossed back her cocktail and then reached for her bottle to pour another round.
Soh was a little late to the party, but when she'd heard of a gathering to celebrate Ancients, how could she not want to attend? She appeared right before the toast, gathering a glass of water (yes, she's boring) to sip on as she listened, waving to the few people she knew in the audience before settling on Harper, who she hadn't seen in a while. She meandered over, smiled at her best friend's father, and said, "Hi Harper! How are you?"
The toast was short and sweet, and left Soh feeling moderately uncomfortable. If the Ancient giving the toast was any indication, they must be a wild bunch, indeed!
To absolutely no one's surprise, Alys knew all of one person at the party, and Talyson looked to be deep in conversation with someone else.
Actually, that was a lie - she sort of knew Harper, but as Alys watched, a girl walked up to join him. Alys wondered if she might be a daughter or something, with how young she looked, but then she put it out of her mind. So Alys meandered over to the bar for a cocktail, taking a sip and leaning back against the bar as she simply listened to the goings on. There were discussions taking place all around her, and the young woman felt decidedly out of place.
There was a toast to Dygra, and Alys took a sip of her drink to be polite. She knew very little about the gods, and perhaps the least about Dygra and her Ancients. Perhaps, if she had arrived on time to the party, she could have learned a little more. As it were, she simply watched and listened, content to be a wallflower.
