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 wasn't often that George was at home; rarer still was it that he had time to sit and just exist. Doing so inevitably left him antsy and anxious, eager to be doing something rather than just sitting. When he was home alone, he was like a powder keg, ready to explore.
When he was young, his ma had put him to work when he got like this, insisting that it would do him good. At first she would send him to market to fetch some eggs, or ask him to chop some firewood, or any number of inane household tasks. But then, one day, she taught him to crochet. And then she taught him to knit. And then she taught him to embroider. Very few people knew this about George; after all, he had a reputation to uphold. How was one to make an impression as a master thief if one was simultaneously holding a pair of knitting needles? But even now, he continued to return to it, finding the repetitive motions and the ability to create relaxing.
And so it was that, on this fine, sunny afternoon, he sat at home with a particularly complex pattern, completely at ease and focused on his work.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El was tired in a bone-deep type of way when they got to George's place. They'd woken up in the wee hours of the morning to catch the sunrise on the beach and was so charmed by the sights and smells and sounds that they stayed for many hours after. It was close to midday at this point, and their bodily energy was sapped by the sun. They were decently tanned and definitely had sand stuck in their hair and clothes.
El had been staying with George since they got to Torchline, a temporary situation as they settled in their own place. The Thieves' Guild may have been an option, but the backroom of a bar wasn't the most peaceful place to rest. It wasn't bad, and they weren't bothersome to each other. Most of the time, George wasn't at home anyway.
So they were caught by surprise when they walked into the place, saying "I'm home!" loudly out of habit, and found George there on the couch, holding...were those knitting needles?
The pattern George was working on was complex and required a great deal of concentration; there were knit stitches, purl stitches, dropped stitches, and everything in between, and he was so fixed on what he was doing that he almost didn't hear the door open. Indeed, when El's voice cut through the quiet, it was only through a great deal of self-control that he managed to keep hold of his needles. Truthfully, they had seen each other so little that he'd nearly forgotten they were staying with him. But before he could do anything about it, they were there in the living room, and he was sitting there with his knitting, and there was nothing to do or say about the situation other than to accept it as it was.
Using a colored placeholder, he made a mental note of where he'd gotten to in the pattern and tagged his place before setting the piece aside, leveling a crooked grin at them. Was he embarrassed? Perhaps a little. Was he going to show it? Absolutely not. "Hello, love," he said with all of his usual cocky confidence (even if he was dying a little, inside), as though unbothered by his sudden vulnerability. "How was the beach?"
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El could only stop and stare for a moment as George very nonchalantly set aside the needles and yarn, greeting them with his familiar cocksure grin. It's not as if they could judge him at all, everyone had their own hobbies, but...they would never have expected something like this. Perhaps they were generalizing overly, but the type of person El thought of when they thought about knitting was kind little old people with too much time on their hands. They certainly did not think of 30-year-old roguish thieves.
After the initial shock passed, they felt their chest quivering a bit, then they giggled, then they laughed a little harder, and then they truly began to guffaw. It took them about 45 seconds on the whole to calm down, releasing shaky breaths with their hands on their knees, reaching up to wipe a tear from their eye, minute chuckles sneaking their way out here and there.
"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, I just--" they had to break their sentence off to snort once more, "I never imagined you'd enjoy doing something like that. I mean, if you make clothes and things, that's pretty cool, actually. I can't do anything like that."
For a moment, El just stopped and stared. George braced himself, knowing full well what would come next.
Sure enough, El began to giggle, then to laugh, then to guffaw; George waited with a crooked, resigned smile until they managed to get themself under control. He raised his brows at El as they tried to justify their laughter. He couldn't even blame them. It was something that he kept under wraps for just this reason. After all, he had a reputation to uphold, and he knew how ridiculous he looked while knitting or crocheting or embroidering. Still, besides the fact that he found it relaxing, it was actually quite useful. He rarely needed a seamstress to repair his worn clothes, for example.
"My ma taught me when I was young," he offered by way of explanation. "It... passes the time, when I've nothing better to do." It was the truth - one of the few fully honest things he had shared with El, for all that he'd convinced them to come to Torchline and join the guild.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
Luckily for El, George didn't seem too offended by their outburst of laughter. He even explained himself a bit by way of telling El how he learned. It was difficult to imagine a child version of George learning how to knit with his mother. It had the effect of softening El's perception of him; he'd been so aloof and mysterious since they met that El forgot he could be a multi-faceted being like anyone else.
"That's sweet," is El's sincere response, walking over to the couch and settling down beside him, knitting lying in the space between. "My mother and grandmother taught me about herbs. How to grow them, use them properly, find them in nature. I have some seeds with me, actually. Perhaps I should plant them." They had nearly forgotten about the seeds they carried with them all the way from home. All the herbs here in Torchline were foreign to El, so it may be helpful to plant some of their own.
"Whatcha making?" they say next, because of course they have to know.
'Resigned' was a more accurate depiction of George at their outburst of laughter, though he could hardly blame them. It probably was quite a funny sight to walk into, especially if one wasn't expecting it. It had never occurred to him as a child that such things would made him appear completely non-threatening, and now that he was an adult, well... everyone had their secrets. Truth be told, he'd probably have given it up if it wasn't for the good memories with his ma.
To his surprise, once El had recovered from their laughing fit, they seemed genuinely interested in what he was doing. And while he couldn't remember the last time he or something he was doing had been described as 'sweet,' he offered a crooked smile all the same. "I bet that's useful." he told them. Herbs could be healing, or they could be poisonous, or they could have a thousand other uses. He knew a few basic ones - the sort that could be of the most help to a thief - but that was it. "You're welcome to the backyard. I think there might be some old pots in the shed."
George picked up his knitting and spread it out to give El a proper look. "Eventually, it'll be a sweater," he said. It was the wrong time of year to make one, but by the time he finished, it'd be cooler. He didn't sit down to do this often, so it took him a while to finish things.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El hummed in response to George's offer, filing that information away in their head. He said it in a way that implied El was staying here for a while, which they supposed was reasonable. When they did find a place, it likely wouldn't have land to plant in like this property did. Perhaps they could just use the pots.
When George lifted his work for El to inspect, they noticed the neat, straight stitching and the well-chosen color combination. "You're good," they remarked, then gave a roguish grin before saying, "Will it be a gift for me? I can give you my measurements." They chuckled lightly, not expecting George to take the request seriously. Then they relaxed back into the cushions of the couch behind them, arms spread, sighing.
"Anyway, the beach was absolutely lovely. I don't know why you're not there all the time. It's exhausted me though, and I'm hungry!" They finished their words with a tone of complaint, face contorting in dissatisfaction. They hadn't realized until they arrived home how empty their stomach felt and now they paid the price.
George wasn't sure how long El would be staying, only that they were welcome for as long as they needed. It was, after all, his fault that they were here. It was also kind of nice, getting to know someone as a friend instead of as an acquaintance or a business partner.
The work that George displayed was the torso part of the sweater, and the stitches were indeed neat and orderly thanks to many years of practice. If he actually sat down to knit something like this without interruption, it wouldn't take that long to finish; as it was, this project would probably take him through next season - if he didn't get distracted, that is. "Thanks," he told El with a certain amount of pride in his voice. Then, quirking an eyebrow and offering a crooked grin of his own, he said. "This? This isn't your color. Maybe next project." And he winked.
He was pleased that El had enjoyed the beach so, and he said as much. "I'm glad you liked it. It's nice to go every now and then, but it's harder to work the beach, so I don't go as often as I'd like." People didn't tend to carry much on their persons or in their belongings when they ventured out onto the sands, and he'd found over the years that the beach was slim picking for someone like him. "Food, I can help with," he offered with a grin, carefully storing away his project for another day in an ottoman near the couch. "Can you make it to the kitchen, or shall I carry you?" he teased.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
Eleftheria listened to George's response, huffing a little in amusement as he, yet again, turned the topic of conversation towards thieving. They had honestly wondered whether he had any other interests besides that before stumbling upon him and his knitting.
"You know, you can go to places just because it's fun, not only to steal," they said this in a sarcastic tone, knowing that George already understood this but not knowing whether he considered it often enough. "Unless your only version of fun is stealing, which I don't think is true." They gave him a considering look before turning away. As he stood, they gave another big sigh, not wanting to get up again but also seriously doubting George would actually carry them.
"Oh, I think I'll make it; you'll have to give me some time, however. What's for lunch?" They let him go off to the kitchen without getting up. The floor plan of the place was open, so they would be able to talk regardless of whether they followed or not. In the empty space left on the couch by George, El put their feet up, relaxing further into the cushions with a pleased, relaxed smile on their face.
Honestly, George had few interests outside of his work; the knitting and crocheting and needlework was merely a holdover from a youth spent with only his ma for company. Outside of that, most of his time was spent working, or planning, or gathering information - all related to his ability to turn a profit by, shall we say, relocating certain treasures of interest.
"Aye, you can, but when you've grown up in Torchline, the beach starts to lose its luster." It wasn't strictly true - he did love a good beach sunset - but it sounded reasonable in his mind just then. In any case, he levered himself up off the couch and made his way to the kitchen, leaving El to lounge on the couch. Looking in the fridge, he grimaced. There wasn't much to choose from. "We've got some leftover pasta," he called over his shoulder. "Or I can make some sandwiches. Or we could go somewhere." In this, he was very much the stereotypical bachelor; his grocery shopping and cooking left something to be desired.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El couldn't understand how anyone could get tired of the beautiful beach they went to earlier that day, though they weren't a native of Torchline as George himself was. They supposed it really was different for those who grew up around such beauty. El had grown up around a lot of ugliness, so nearly everything in Torchline amazed them.
They listened to George as he listed their options and took a moment to think. They were much too exhausted to go anywhere, so that was a no-go. The leftover pasta wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hunger, but they also weren't sure they could trust George to make a good sandwich. Maybe they were underestimating him, but he hadn't shown much prowess in the kitchen so far. It wasn't as if El could judge; their cooking skills were fairly poor as well.
"Mmm, I think I'll have a sandwich, thank you," they said finally, sitting up and resting their chin on the back of the couch to look over at George. They smiled sweetly, though it wasn't genuine; rather, it was meant to convince George to follow El's request. It was more like a command, really. They didn't know whether he would just roll over and obey, though they liked to think he would.
"You can say I owe you, if that helps?" They really didn't feel like doing anything at the moment.
George didn't really mind making El a sandwich; he wouldn't have offered it as an option, otherwise. He was the kind of man who liked to be able to take care of his friends. Sometimes that meant helping them steal something or bailing them out of unfortunate situations; sometimes that meant making them a sandwich. He wasn't really picky either way. He snorted at El's offer to owe him. "It's not a big deal," he said, shaking his head. "Do you prefer ham or turkey?"
Whichever they chose, George pulled out his sandwich-making supplies and set to work, crafting two sandwiches before putting away all of the fixings. They weren't gourmet sandwiches, by any stretch, but they were decently put together and would prove to be very filling. George picked up the two plates and made his way back to the couch, offering one to El while taking the other for himself. "Here you go," he said cheerfully, settling his plate on his lap and picking up the sandwich. "You'll have to let me know how it is."
07-08-2023, 03:17 AM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2023, 03:17 AM by Eleftheria.)
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El's sickly sweet smile turned into one of genuinely pleasant surprise as George shrugged nonchalantly and went to work. They were so used to doing everything themself that they felt an imposition to anyone who could help them. After telling George their preference they laid back down on the couch, lost in thought. It had been strange, at first, living with another person again, in some ways still was. But in moments like these, El felt particularly grateful.
As George came with two sandwiches, El shifted to make room for him on the couch and grabbed their plate eagerly. Without hesitation, they tore into the food, making it disappear rather quickly.
"That was pretty good, thank you," they said once they were done, leaning back on the couch and rubbing their tummy in satisfaction. They turned their head to smile at George and say, "Now it's time for a nap."
