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!
Having sent Remi off to secure more botanicals to use as garnishes for her drinks, Flora had very kindly volunteered to help Ronin fill his afternoon while the Lullaby was gone. Wouldn't you know it, she already had an idea about what it was they could do.
"Hopefully I'll have people for this, but until then..." Flora was explaining. Dressed completely inappropriately for the task at hand, which actually made it all the more realistic, Flora stood in a low-cut sundress wearing heels that looked as though they could be weapons in their own right. "...I want to make sure I can put an end to things if they start. Y'know?" Flipping one of her feathers around her fingers, she raised her eyebrows in Ronin's direction.
"So..if you know any of like...those pressure points where you just touch someone and they pass out, that'd be great."
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Despite the nostalgia that still tugs at his bones from standing in the Hanged Man, Ronin has to admit that Flora has done a stellar job with the refurbishments. Smiling as he looks the place over (and trying not to be too pleased that she's actually asked for his help with something), he nods his understanding and thinks hard for a couple of moments. "I used to know someone who worked in bar security," he says quietly. "She would have probably suggested punching first and never asking questions, but... well. She could carry it off well."
Alas, there is no more Edrei Launceleyn to triumph over the Rathskellar and the VlamVloed - and the spike of guilt and horror at the memory that he'd been the one to kill her has Ronin promptly changing the subject anyway. "So you'll mainly be behind the bar, right?" he asks, nodding for her to go ahead and stand behind it if that's the case.
"I don't know any pressure points, sorry, but there are a few things you can do to get people to calm it the fuck down. You got your feathers with you?"
"Oh?" Flora thinks at first Ronin is referencing himself, until he drops an unexpected pronoun. "..O..h?" Not wanting to say who the fuck cares when she needed his help, the Doubletake smiled politely while hoping Ronin would get to the point.
"Mmmm, yep. Waiting tables isn't my thing." Flora planned to swan around when it suited her, but there was something so...so wonderful about being the figure behind the bar. It made her think of Neron, oh so long ago, and perhaps it was because of what a mysterious figure he'd been to her that his memory was coloured so fantastically, but such is the way of the young and impressionable.
Frowning to hear that Ronin didn't know of any magic touches (Remi would likely disagree), Flora nods. Still making one dance between her fingers, she pulls the other two from her pocket.
"I did just resurface the bar, so I'd rather not stab them into the wood for emphasis." She warns.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"I mean, you won't be stabbing them into the counter," Ronin says with a low laugh, following Flora to stand with her, as if to see what she can see. "From here you can have eyes on everything. And especially if you've got people to do the heavy lifting, all you really need is the intimidation factor." He points, first and foremost, to the wall just above the entranceway.
"You'll know you aren't aiming to hurt anyone - but they won't," he says, and his duplicate appears across the way, as if he's just stepping into the Hanged Man. "Try aiming it there, above his head," he suggests. "That'll work if someone looks like they're coming in ready for a fight."
From the corner of the room a massive wine-spider scurries. Running toward you, it tries its best to crawl up your leg, hovering against you for warmth. Clearly something has startled it. Poor thing.
This is not a RE nor a rare creature. It cannot be used for levelling.
Wine Spider: These friendly arachnids can grow up to the size of a small housecat. With fuzzy bodies and spindly legs, they are often found lurking around wine racks or kegs of beer. They are almost always drunk, hiccuping and stumbling about. It is said that finding a baby wine spider in your drink is a lucky omen!
Not understanding at first, Flora follows Ronin's gaze toward the entranceway. It's only as Ronin's duplicate appears that she understands what it is he's hinting at. Nodding, Flora lets one of her feathers dance between her fingers, feeling the familiar weight of it as it moves. Without warning, she pulls her arm back and thrusts it forward, sending the glistening dagger shooting ahead where it lodges in the beam above Ronin's duplicate.
It also ruins the paint, but perhaps she'll intentionally put something sturdier there if this is going to be a common occurrence. "Isn't that going to make people think my aim is shi-" Having apparently nested in one of the beams, a large snoozy wine spider creeps out, before skuddling rapidly toward the doorframe. Dropping down, its weight suspended by an invisible string, Flora watches the creature go with wide and horrified aqua eyes.
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN." She mewls loudly. Instead of reaching for another dagger, she instead reaches for Ronin. Placing her palms on his shoulders she lithely jumps up and against him, wrapping her legs around his middle so that even if he doesn't catch her, she'll be rooted there just the same.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"Not at all," Ronin is already saying, seeming impressed that she did manage to embed the dagger right above the doorframe (both opposed to missing and opposed to stabbing his duplicate on purpose). "It's meant to be a warning, remember. And with how quickly you managed to pull that dagger, they'll be thinking they've been hit before they can blink."
And he's about to suggest other places she might aim depending on where the troublemakers are, before suddenly theres mewling and the young woman is climbing him. "Flora!" Ronin yelps, her name half tumbling out on a laugh even as he topples back a bit on one leg. "Flora, be caref-- oh!" Okay, now he is laughing properly, the Supernova standing with the Doubletake wrapped around his top half as if it's nothing (it's probably like hanging from a statue to her anyway).
"It's just a wine spider," he says. "They're very common in taverns. You'll likely run into them fairly often if you're taking this place over. Friendly, too. They just want a drink, normally."
"Well-" Flora snaps, trying to hide her embarrassment. Given that she's trembling like a leaf and still clinging to Ronin, the bite in her tone likely isn't fooling anyone. "We aren't open yet. Didn't you see the sign?" She demands, before letting one leg relax from around Ronin's waist and dangling there until her heel touched the floor.
"We're closed." She says to the wine spider, before opening her palm and recalling the feather from the wall. "CUH-LOW-ZZ-DD." Though there's little chance the spider understands and every reason to think that it simply doesn't like being shouted at, the little thing disappears through the open door where it will no doubt find its way back inside immediately.
"Okay...well I hated that." Turning to Ronin, the Supernova might be surprised to hear that rather than burning the place down or setting traps, Flora suggests "I wonder if I put a little bowl of wine somewhere for them, if they'll just...stay...away."
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Biting at the inside of his lips to stop himself from immediately bursting into laughter as Flora tentatively climbs down from around him and then proceeds to throw a spider out of her bar, Ronin's duplicate lifts his leg to allow the little arachnid to scuttle away in safety. "I'm sure it didn't have a great time either," he points out, blinking as the feather is suddenly back in Flora's hands and finding himself even more impressed at the weapons.
"You could," he agrees, raising his eyebrows as if having expected the nuclear option and nothing less. "Leave it somewhere you don't go very often and have someone else refill the bowl, and you might get lucky." Or maybe they'll start ordering drinks at the bar - who can tell, truly?
"Anyway." Ronin's duplicate is now walking across the bar towards one of the tables. "Obviously knife throwing is going to put some dings in your walls, so you can aim at your customers if you have to, but maybe don't hit anywhere vital." Yes, it's an invitation for her to stab his projection.
Moaning a sound of unease in the back of her throat, Flora pulls a face as she nods. She would have someone else do it, and it would be somewhere she didn't go. Then, perhaps if she made too big a deal out of it Frey might get wind and force her to bond to one or something horrific like that. Gods, a dead twin, a lost election, and now this? Hadn't she endured enough?
"Anyway." Flora agrees, watching Ronin#2 amble into the bar properly. At the invitation to stab the projection, the Doubletake whirls around, a grin of delight painted on her lips. One feather leaves her hand, then a second, then the third. Aiming for the projection's shoulder and then both calves, if any blade doesn't find its mark, she'll recall it in an effort to hit the duplicate on the rebound.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Anyway, indeed. Ronin's lips part to explain where the most non-lethal parts of the human body might be, but funnily enough, it looks as though Flora has already got that much. His eyes widen, in fact, as the first blade thoks into the projection's shoulder, rendering it unable to affect its physical environment any longer. That means, of course, that the other two blades sail right through its calves (but they'd have definitely hit as well) and by the time Flora is trying to recall and rebound them, the Supernova is clapping his hands around her wrist.
"Whoa, whoa!" He laughs weakly. "Okay, keen. I'm pretty sure if anyone causes trouble in the bar you'll be able to take them down pretty easy." Dismissing the projection and re-summoning it on Flora's other side, real!Ronin is the one to step out from behind the bar now. "Okay, now try not to hit me," he invites, wondering if he really is going to die here as Remi hazarded.
Having never really seen Ronin's projection in action, it's with a look of panic and horror that she watches her blade sail through its legs. "WH-" She begins to wonder before Ronin's fingers are around her wrist. Spinning on her the heel of her shoe with a look of hot confusion creating lines across her forehead, Flora huffs indignantly. "What? I just did what you said." She says, bristling slightly as if having been chastised.
"What do you mean try not to hit you? Like..aim for the wall again?" Glancing between the real Ronin and his projection, the Doubletake raises an eyebrow very much wishing that her own pocket-mirror could produce something so animated. Alas, that was yet another quest she'd yet to do.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"I just wasn't expecting all three daggers," Ronin admits, even as his projection leans against the bar beside her to seemingly watch. "I can fight using my duplicate, but it can only take one physical hit before it's basically just an illusion." It's the best way he can think to explain it, anyway. "But your hits were all smooth. If you ever do need to tell anyone to get the fuck out and be serious about it, you won't have much trouble."
Maybe she could not look quite so delighted about it next time though. Ah, well.
"Mm - either the wall, or... I wonder if you could recall your blades mid-throw?" He raises his eyebrows. "That way you wouldn't need to worry about the paint job, and you can probably be a little more daring with your aim."
Flora considers this for a moment, looking incredibly like a toddler who is trying to decide if the ice cream they are being offered is actually some sort of healthy food. "Huh." Straightening, seeming to come to some internal decision she found pleasing, Flora grins. "So I like...beat your duplicate, huh?" If she'd rendered it just an illusion, that sure seemed like winning.
As for mid-throw?
The tentatively victorious look melts off of Flora's face in lieu of one of utter concentration. Turning away from Ronin and his duplicate so that she might face the longest part of the bar, the Doubletake raises a feather. There's no flash of fingerwork this time, just a steady hand by her ear as she thinks about what she wants to do. Breathing in deeply the way Sunjata had taught her to, Flora throws the blade before immediately snapping her fingers out. It hardly moves more than a few feet before it sings back into her hand.
It's a clumsy attempt to be sure, but it at least seemed like the sort of thing she might be able to do. Delighted, she turns to Ronin. "Put your duplicate over there. I want to see if I can stop it before it hurts your face."
