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!
Another Leafchange, another lantern to light for the souls of his parents.
Tal had climbed into the attic of Seawright's Sundries to retrieve his lantern from last year and had sat there for a little while before climbing down again, lantern and dragon in tow, to head outside. He knew he should have been spending the time with his sisters, the four siblings sharing memories as they fixed up their lanterns or made new ones, but Tal had never been great about being so touchy feely and he preferred to keep his memories and his heart locked tightly inside.
After all, when he took his heart out and wore it on his sleeve, he almost always regretted it.
It was Hotaru's house he sought refuge in - as he so often did - and he barely paused to knock as he called out to his best friend, not realizing she wasn't home. "Hey, Ru. I brought spice cookies." A bribe of his sister's baking to sweeten his arrival as he pulled the door open and Boreal shouldered her way past him. The big dragon headed straight to her usual spot on the hearth, curling up on the warm stones as she watched what happened next with laughing draconic eyes.
Tal pulled the door shut after a moment of juggling the bag holding the cookies and the lantern, then turned around to flash a relieved smile at the lady of the house...
Except the blonde head he'd spied out of the corner of his eye on his way in wasn't Hotaru after all.
Given the striking similarities in build and self-carriage that both Hotaru and her daughter shared, there was no shame in mistaking Hotaru for Flora or the other way around; well, unless you were Tal, of course.
Spinning nimbly on her heel at the sound not only of the courier's voice, but of the courier's voice ringing out with preamble and with overfamiliarity in her mother's home, had Flora's lips pulled tight and her eyes wide in an expression of caughtcha.
"Oh heeeyyyyy." The Doubletake trills in response, wearing a pair of her mother's leggings, an overly large sweater (gross, was it Tal's????), and some slippers. On her shoulder was perched a mound of white, which came alive with a youthful yawn before stretching out tiny pale wings and screeching a warning to Boreal. Seemingly unaware of her size and inexperience, the small dragon leaped from Flora's shoulder and flew unsteadily toward the larger dragon, seemingly fueled by nothing more than angst and anger that there was an intruder on the hearth.
Tal gulped, suddenly regretting the care he'd taken in making sure the door was firmly shut behind him. There was no easy way out now, and Boreal was perfectly comfortable watching the show from her usual spot on the hearth...
A spot that was currently in peril from a small white bundle of rage that was bumbling towards her on an attack run and oh my god she was so cute. Boreal raised her head, eyes bright with interest. She gave the angry dragonling a happy croon of welcome, oblivious to the little one's attempt to intimidate her, and her tail snaked a hopeful swipe back and forth over the hearthstones.
Tal groaned and tried to drop his head into his hands but they were full. He gave an even bigger sigh upon realizing that and began to toe off his boats. "No, you can't adopt this one either," he admonished his companion before turning to Flora with an attempt at a grin, though he couldn't meet her eyes after that last disastrous karaoke night. "An', uh... hi, Flora. Is, uh, your mom home?"
The sweater was not, in fact one of his, Flora might be relieved to know.
But he'd borrowed it to wear before when he'd spent the night. Something he was definitely not going to admit to at the moment.
Landing inelegantly which only seemed to fuel her rage, the tiny dragonling screeched with enough force that it had her little body hopping up and down as shards of ice formed on her snout. Snapping her teeth at the larger dragon, Spice looked up toward her bonded as if to silently demand that her anger take precedence over whatever it was Flora was feeling.
For her part, the Doubletake was able to plant her hands firmly on her hips and look the courier up and down with a glacial slowness she hoped he hated. 'I mean...isn't that the sort of thing you should know before just..barging in here and making yourself at home...?' She wondered sweetly, but not even the sugary coating she laced over the words could hide the accusations beneath.
Boreal tilted her head at the tiny terror, positively enchanted by Spice's antics. She reminded the larger reptile of another small ice dragon of her acquaintance who answered to Sugar, and the oblivious companion lowered her head to rest on her forepaws so she could be more on Spice's level, wiggling a little with happiness.
Tal was decidedly less happy when Flora gave him the long, slow once-over, making him squirm as he slunk towards the kitchen to deposit the cookies on the counter. Then he only had the lantern in his hands, and he swallowed hard as he tried not to squeeze his fingers around its delicate paper walls. "I, uh... I mean, not usually?" He wrinkled his nose, trying hard not to let his face fall into its habitual defensive scowl. "I come over here a lot, 'specially when I'm tryin' t'get away from my sisters for a bit. Look, I'm sorry 'bout what happened at th'bar. Things didn't really... go th'way I'd hoped." He winced at the understatement. "If you're mad about it, though, I can go work on my lantern somewhere else, I guess...?" He really, really didn't want to, but he couldn't figure out what he'd done this time to make Flora sound so unhappy to see him.
Continuing to snap her teeth together, Spice huffed and puffed her way toward Boreal, stopping only when the larger seemed entirely unwilling to move. Fanning out her wings, the little dragonling tipped her head back before emitting a blast of ice directly at her aggressor's nose. Of course, Boreal was not an aggressor and what came out was more like a hiccup's worth of snow, but never mind.
Unsure whether or not to scowl or laugh or pity the man before her, Flora merely frowned all the more deeply as she tried to let her emotions navigate their way around his excuse. "You...you just come here?" She wondered, sounding unhappy about it despite having absolutely no reason to. Deciding that it was best just to address the elephant in the room, Flora removed her hands from her hips and instead crossed them across her chest. "Are you fucking my mom? And if you aren't, is this like...some long con into trying to fuck my mom? I mean, I have a right to know."
Did she? In a battle of wills, that was hardly the point.
Boreal blinked and sat up in surprise as a small snowball impacted her snout. She shook her head, sending the cold flakes flying every which way and then crouched down again, crooning encouragement to the young dragon. She was doing great!
Tal nodded slowly at Flora's first question, uncertain where she was going with the line but hail, it wasn't like it was any sort of secret. He wandered in and out when he was home in Halo, bouncing between the Seawright residence and Hotaru's home often enough that the neighbors barely even gossiped about it anymore.
And then she dropped the bomb and Tal nearly choked in surprise. "Fuckin' your-- Flora??!" his fingers tightened on his lantern and the wooden frame creaked dangerously as the courier stood caught beween laughter and tears. "Where th'hail did you...?" He shook his head, leaning back against the wall for support as he let go of the lantern with one hand so he could run his fingers through his tousled hair. "No, I'm not... doin' that with your mom. An' I'm not running a fuckin' con on her either. For Frey's sake..." He dragged his hand down his face and looked back up at the Doubletake with a huff of indignation. "She's my best friend, Flora. D'you do this t'all the guys she hangs out with?" Though trying to imagine Flora confronting Deimos like this was almost enough to make him snicker.
Clearly annoyed that the older, wiser, and stronger dragon wasn't at all intimidated, Spice balled herself up before shooting her neck out and flapping her wings again. It was almost as if she was trying to remind Boreal that she was large (she wasn't).
Despite whatever rationality Tal thought he was imparting, Flora seemed not to notice. Instead, she drew herself up and lifted her chin dismissively, aqua eyes shining with doubt. "One, yes I do do it to all the guys." She said dismissively, nostrils flaring slightly. "And secondly, you didn't really answer my question, because here's the thing. My mom is super hot and basically everyone knows it. So if she's your best friend, you obviously like her for other reasons besides her body, so what could possibly be better than fucking the person you basically like more than anyone else?" Game, set, match. At least in Flora's opinion.
Unless?
Slowly, Flora's eyes drop toward Tal's crotch before rising again. "Or do you not like girls?" She wondered with slow dawning understanding. "I mean, totally fine if you don't. That makes a lot of sense, actually." You know, with the whole not wanting to fuck Hotaru thing.
Boreal let a little smoke curl up from her nostrils, and it was promptly wafted away from the force of Spice's beating wings. The bigger dragon closed her eyes to enjoy the breeze, a contented rumble vibrating through her deep chest at the attention.
Her companion was enjoying the attention he was being given a whole lot less. Flora more than made up for what Spice lacked in intimidation factor as she grilled the courier, who looked like he wanted to desperately become one with the wall if that would let him escape the super awkward line of questioning. Before he could do more than splutter at her logic her pointed glance had him instinctively shifting the lantern in his hands down to cover himself, and he couldn't stop the defensive scowl anymore as he glared at her.
"I like girls just fine!" he retorted, stung. Hail, she'd been there for his disastrous attempt to ask Melita out. "Just as much as guys!" Which was none of Flora's business and he winced at realizing it. He tried to regain a little dignity too late and pushed himself off the wall, heading for the table with a grumble. "But some things are more important'n sex. What I've got with Ru? It's too important t'fuck up with fuckin' around." Besides, he'd seen her type and he was pretty sure 'young, awkward, and occasionally a brat' wasn't it.
"Can y'get me the glue?" he asked, desperate to change the subject.
Furious (and exhausted), Spice eyed the larger dragon for as long as she could, as if she could force a staring contest. At least in that, she might stand a chance of winning, only her prospects were dashed as a large yawn parted her jaws and subsequently closed her eyes. Far too young to be so hostile, the little creature promptly gave up and flopped down onto the larger dragon's paws.
Oh right, there had been Melita. Huh. She'd all but forgotten about that, if only because drunken declarations of love were commonplace in the Tavern. Even so, Flora found herself tightening her arms around herself all the more defiantly. "Coward." She huffed conclusively.
Caught off-guard, for a moment Flora just gaped at Tal, before curling her lip and giving her head a shake. "You get it, since you know your way around so well." She snapped haughtily, not willing to admit that she had no idea at all where to find glue in her mother's house.
Someday Spice would be big and scary and strong! ... Maybe. But at the moment she was young and small and adorable, and Boreal tilted her head to give the tiny dragon a quick nuzzle over her wings to fold them safely over the little one's back and then laid her large, broad head down beside the diminutive companion, thoroughly content with the world.
"Yup," Tal agreed to Flora's accusation without a moment's hesitation. He didn't think of himself as particularly brave in most situations, but when it came to matters of the heart? He was especially bad at saying what he really meant. The only time it hadn't blown up in his face was with Hotaru, and that was more because of her being too stubborn to let him push her away than anything else.
Her refusal to help brought a huff of annoyance to the courier's lips, but he rolled his eyes and stood up again, heading for the drawer where it was kept. "Yeah, yeah..." He pulled out the glue and then hesitated, slanting a glance over his shoulder to the haughty blonde as his voice shifted to a more neutral tone that might almost have been a peace offering. "You doin' anythin' for Enzo's lantern this year?"
Rolling her eyes annoyed that the courier was folding quite so easily, the Doubletake was forced to toss her hands with exasperation, both smug and frustrated for having won so quickly. "Well....don't be." She suggested spitefully, before deflating almost instantly. Though Flora could be quick to anger and was absolutely prone to theatrics (not unlike her mother), she was equally quick to settle as well when her attention was diverted.
Twitching her lips to the side, Flora spins on one foot and retrieves the lantern she'd been working on for her twin. Bringing it over to the table and slumping down, she nudges it forward for Tal's appraisal. The object was asymmetrical and dripping with gems and slices of satin. Mateo had helped her grow some ivy as well to make it seem as though the stability was provided by nature rather than the wires inside. "I never really know what catches Ludo's eye, but...I'd really like to see him again." Glancing across the table, Flora tilts her head. "Who's yours for?"
Despite the spite in Flora's voice Tal's scowl twitched towards a grin. He started to open his mouth to add something regrettable witty, but for once his filter kicked in before the words made it from his brain to his mouth and he swallowed them back. Thinking about why they were such a bad choice had him changing the subject as he retrieved the glue and sat down again.
He wasn't alone for long. Flora's lantern was eye-catching and unique and he didn't bother to stop the low whistle of admiration as he looked it over. "Never heard o' any rhyme or reason to Its choices," he admitted, trying to figure out how she'd gotten the ivy to grow just right. "But with your whole family wishin' it, I figure he's got a better chance o' comin' back for th'night than most."
His own lantern was far simpler: a simple framework of lightweight wood with rice paper walls of red and yellow. The designs painted on the paper were drawn by a hand that had more steadiness than talent. A couple of corners of the paper walls were starting to peel up, and he applied the glue brush with intense focus and a delicate touch, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth when he wasn't speaking. "Mm. My parents," he revealed gruffly, sentiment roughening his voice. "Dad was a Shield, but he got killed th'LongNight when th'White Lady's cultists attacked th'Citadel." He hesitated a moment, then added more quietly. "Mom just... kinda gave up after that'n spent the next year drinkin' herself t'death til she could be with 'im again, I guess." At least he and his sisters had all been adults by then, though it was cold enough comfort.
He cleared his throat, peeking at Flora's lantern again while the glue dried. "D'you know what you'll say t'him next time y'see 'im?" he asked, nodding to the confection of stones and satins that sparkled beside his own.
"I wonder if my dad knows.." Flora murmurs more to herself than to the courier; why it had never occurred to her to ask Remi about what Ludo might like, she couldn't quite say, and now there wasn't time. 'Well, me, mom, and dad, anyway.' She corrected with a soft shrug, assuming Hotaru would make a lantern for Enzo. Mateo and Ronin though...well. Shrugging to herself, the girl glances at Tal's lantern suspiciously before sniffing her approval.
'Nice." She murmured of his colour choices, before offering him a pout in lieu of verbal recognition of the death of his parents, but being far too self-centered to care much about who Tal had lost with thoughts of Enzo on her mind.
"Mm? Oh..I mean...I made him a few promises when dad called Mort down so we could say goodbye, so..I guess I'll tell him about stuff. And..maybe ask if he can like..watch? us?" Grimacing suddenly and pulling a horrified face, Flora mock-gags. "Cause you know, if so, then I might punch him."
