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 was the morning after the grand re-opening, and never was George more pleased than now that he hadn't drank more than a few glasses last night. Whilst some of his associates might be nursing quite the hangover, he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. He tugged on dark clothes - pants, a shirt, and a leather jacket that he rather favored, despite the heat of summer - and carefully placed a variety of plain daggers on his person, preparing for a trip into Rae's Fingers to meet a fence who could help him get rid of some of his recently procured items. His choice of clothing helped to hide the flat knives that he wore strapped to his forearms, the small dagger built into the design of his belt buckle, and the the twin daggers tucked into his boots - all in addition to the two blades he wore openly at his waist. George was nothing if not prepared.
The Fingers were as hot and humid as he'd feared, but he'd rather be well-protected and hot than caught unarmed and unawares, so he pressed on, reading the smugglers' signs built into the caverns to make his way to the appointed meeting spot. He was early, of course, preferring to have time to scout out the area, identifying the best place to stand for protection and the quickest exits in case things went south. On this particular morning, he leaned with his back against one of the walls of the cavern that made a sort of corner he could stand in; from there, he could see down the long hall of the caves in two directions to spot anyone approaching. It wouldn't be long now; it was almost time for the meeting.
06-09-2023, 02:54 AM (This post was last modified: 06-09-2023, 02:56 AM by Calliope.)
Calliope
"Where once I was a king,
now only I can sing.
Feathers, jewels, midnight flowers,
sunlight falls in dew-like showers,
is not there anything better in life than this?"
The caves of Rae's Fingers were positively perfect in acoustics for Calliope's voice to echo and carry across the limestone walls. While she knew that the place was supposedly frequented by smugglers and thieves, she had not once seen a soul in her last 3 visits. So, she figured the place was practically abandoned. It was on the third time coming here when she became brave enough to try singing. As she had predicted, the setting worked well for the sound.
Today, she decided to visit on a whim, bored of the Underwater City and honestly interested to know whether someone would ever show up in what she was beginning to consider her "secret spot". Who knew, perhaps she might meet a human, drawn in by her song.
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
Rae's Fingers were, in fact, frequented by smugglers and thieves for the very reason that Calliope had identified: they were usually deserted, with those who entered being prone to getting hopelessly lost. It was one reason why George was always careful when he came to the Fingers; he followed the smugglers' signs and didn't deviate from their path. He was no explorer, and he had little interest in becoming one.
Which was why, when he heard the singing, he was, at first, Very Uninterested. Whatever fool had come down here to take advantage of the acoustics was none of his concern, no matter how lovely their voice. But as the time wore on and his contact still didn't show, George became bored. It was clear that his contact wasn't coming, and with that realization, it dawned on him that he shouldn't stick around, just in case his contact had been intercepted and given away their meeting location.
Pushing off the wall where he leaned, he looked back the way he had come. There were other ways out of the tunnels, and given his cautious nature where his thieving was involved, he was inclined to use one of them. Maybe he would even investigate this mysterious singing on his way out.
When he found Calliope, it was with a modicum of surprise that he stopped to stare. It was not his first time to see one of the merfolk, but he'd never seen one in the Fingers, much less one who seemed to be content to simply sit (swim?) and sing. Still, he was curious, and he lingered on the fringes, not wishing to interrupt but not quite ready to leave, either.
"With deepfrost's silver song,
My lover says so long,
Beneath the snow and ice,
She pays the final, fatal, price.
is not there any life lesser than that which I lead?"
The second stanza of this song was mournful, Calliope had to admit, but she enjoyed the melody and thought it beautiful. Whenever she sang it, she imagined what the snowy deepfrost of Halo was like. It felt like a dream, especially when she had never seen snow as a reference. This song was from that region, Mother taught her. She wanted to go someday, that was for sure.
Calliope decided to take a break for a moment, moving from her perch on a protruding rock into the shallow pool before her. She let her body relax and rest in the water, letting it hold her. No matter how beautiful her voice sounded in the air, the water would always be where she belonged.
After a few minutes or so, Calliope decided to get back up on the rock and keep practicing. As she lifted herself out of the water on her hands, tail moving to provide some propulsion, she looked into the cave that had been behind her out of view when she sang last. She noticed something that looked like a black figure, almost a shadow, but topped with blonde hair. She sat and immediately turned to look at him.
"Hello there. Were you enjoying my singing?" Her voice was sweet yet assertive, warm yet guarded. Her gaze regarded him, willing him to come out of his little hiding spot, and the corner of her lip lifted upward, as did the end of her brow.
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
There was something almost sad about the song the mermaid was singing, but it was beautiful all the same, and for a moment, George was content to simply sit and listen. It reminded him of Halo. It had been a while since he'd visited the tundra, and he was overdue for a visit - especially if he wanted to see Hotaru again.
As he mused about Halo, the singing died off, and he looked up to find the Mer resting in the water. He thought about turning to go, to leave her in the peace of her song - after all, there was nothing really left for him to do in the Fingers, now that his contact had fallen through - but before he could do so, the mermaid noticed him in the shadows and beckoned him forward.
He stepped out of the shadow of the cavern and leaned against the nearby wall, crossing his arms casually over his chest. "You've a lovely voice," he said appreciatively. "You have my apologies; I didn't mean to interrupt."
The man stepped forward from his hiding spot, and Calliope was able to appreciate his looks in better light. He was attractive for a human, though Calliope wasn't very interested in human men that way. He wore dark leather clothing despite the heat of the day and looked like he could be one of the smugglers that used these caves. Apparently, the caves weren't entirely abandoned. But he didn't seem dangerous. If anything, he was quite kind, complimenting her singing and apologizing for interrupting. She smiled at him more fully to communicate that she wasn't fearful of him.
"Why, thank you. And you weren't interrupting. I can continue singing if it would please you." Calliope never minded more singing, especially if others were around to listen. She was curious, however, about this stranger. He was one of the first humans she had ever met.
"Can I ask what you're doing in here? I had thought this place abandoned." She had to ask; she was quite curious. How come she had never come across another human in all her times visiting this place?
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
She was pretty, he'd give her that, her tail eye-catching in its resplendence. He leaned on the wall, listening as she offered to keep singing for him. The offer made him a little uncomfortable, though he couldn't say why - he wasn't much of an audience, and somehow the prospect of being serenaded felt too intimate for him. "That's alright," he said, flashing a crooked grin to hide his discomfort. "I won't stay long."
Then she asked about him, giving him pause. He'd thought it common knowledge that these caves were used for smuggling, and perhaps for the intrepid explorer to range. "I was supposed to be meeting someone," he told her, purposefully vague. "And yourself? Do you come to sing here often?"
The man shyly declined her offer to sing more, and she didn't think much of it. It could be that he preferred to talk. She didn't like the sound of him leaving so soon, however. Maybe she could convince him to stay with a song once he decided to go.
He answered her inquiry ambiguously, and she noted how he tried to shift the subject towards her instead. A mysterious one, then? That only piqued her interest further. This suggested he was indeed some type of smuggler, someone whose occupation forced them to keep things secret. Exciting, indeed! What stories he must have! Calliope thought to herself. For now, she would let him keep his secrets. There was no need to scare him away with an overly inquisitive first impression. Besides, she never minded talking about herself.
"Oh, me? I wouldn't say I come here often...I only just discovered it a few weeks ago, really. The way sound moves through here is quite beautiful." As she replied, her posture relaxed further. She leaned against a stone supporting her back, and she brought her tail up and out of the water to lay down as well. Her arms moved to collect her long black hair, pulling it over one shoulder and threading her fingers through it gently.
"I hope I'm not interrupting any meeting of yours, then, um...what was your name? Mine is Calliope." She had yet to think of any stage name; the ones she had thought up so far were silly and unoriginal. Nothing to match her mother's title, of course, the Jewel of the Sea.
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
George wasn't one to reveal too much about himself to a stranger. His line of work required a certain anonymity that he would never get if everyone knew who and what he was. Thankfully, she seemed to take his statement at face value, quickly moving on to answer his question about herself. "It's an interesting place," he agreed. "It's mostly unappreciated by most of Torchline - it doesn't have the best reputation." As for himself, he'd always liked the Fingers. There was something inherently exciting about exploring the caverns that were so easy to get lost in, about solving the smugglers' signs like some kind of puzzle.
The mermaid relaxed against the stone supporting her back, bringing her tail up and out of the water. It gave George the chance to inspect her more closely, and he was certainly intrigued. He didn't know many Mer, and to have the chance to speak with one presented an interesting opportunity to learn more about them. "George," he said in answer to her question. 'It's nice to meet you, Calliope." Then, thinking of his meeting - and the goods he needed to fence - George sighed softly. "No, no interruption. My friend was supposed to meet me quite a while ago. I'm sure they just got held up, but I'll have to reschedule the meeting."
George seemed to reply honestly, though he was still being vague. Oh well, not everyone was going to be an open book, it seemed. She giggled a little, hiding her amused expression behind her hand while George talked about a meeting that he was supposed to be having. Clearly, he was involved in some nefarious business, and Calliope found it funny that he might think he was successful at allaying any suspicion. She quickly recovered her composure, however, and answered him seriously.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope your friend is alright," her words were sincere, as was the concerned tone behind them. Who knew what kind of dangerous activities this man and his "friends" got up to. Oh, how she wished to know. She wouldn't dare ask, however, since he was being so elusive. She thought of another question to ask instead.
"Do you know your way around here, then? I'll admit I haven't gone too deep for fear of getting lost. Are there any places I should know about? Any beautiful places? Can you show them to me?" She leaned forward on her hands as she spoke, eyes glittering with anticipation. She loved to see new things, after all. And if the man could be a guide, she wanted to take full advantage.
now's the time to be alive, to stay awake and be with me a while, and smile
To be fair, George wasn't trying particularly hard to hide his potentially nefarious dealings; the vagueness was less to deter suspicion and more to prevent an exact knowledge of his activities. If anyone asked, after all, Calliope would be unable to share more than the vague tidbits he had offered, and that was just the way he liked it.
"I'm sure he's fine," said George smoothly, leveling a smile at the mermaid. It was sweet, that she seemed to be genuinely concerned where George was more irritated. In all likelihood, the smuggler had gotten spooked by something or someone and decided that a visit wasn't safe. They'd meet up another time, George was sure.
"I do," he told her, amused by her sudden enthusiasm, but a bit stumped on where he might take her. The Fingers were mostly used by smugglers and thieves because the caverns were dark, damp, and dangerous. But there was one place... "Alright, I can show you my favorite spot," he told Calliope. "It's a strange kind of beauty, but there is a pool where people have thrown out old bottles and the like. Normally I'm against littering, but this - there ar so many different colors of glass that the way the light reflects is like a rainbow."
