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!
11-06-2023, 02:14 PM (This post was last modified: 11-06-2023, 02:17 PM by Odd.)
candlewax & polaroids on the hardwood floor
"Yeah, no. That's a curse waiting to happen." Arms folded across her chest, Flora turns her head slightly over one shoulder toward the small white dragon perched against her neck, before looking back toward the blossom. Despite the warning, Spice warbled a small sound of protest and stretched her little neck out, snorfling at the sweet smell wafting from the plant. As if this should be taken as evidence of the plant being safe despite the hypnotic purple aura, the dragonling spread her little wings, threatening to take off.
"You know what happens if you die, right?" Glancing skeptically toward her bonded, Spice gave her head a little shake. "No dinner." Answered Flora dramatically, bobbing her eyebrows. Glancing back toward the flower and seeming to decide instantly that food was a much better option than satisfying her curiosity, Spice gave a little huff before curling back around Flora's neck.
Void Blossom (infected variant - Torchline): Originally a breathtaking flower along the coastal regions of Torchline, the Void Blossom now exudes an aura of impending doom. Its petals, once radiant with fiery hues, have turned ashen, and a sickly sweet scent wafts from its corrupted bloom. The Void Blossom attracts not only insects but also the shadows of void-infused creatures, making it a perilous sight for those who venture too close
"Hear that, Pip? You can eat weird cursed flowers, or you can survive and have some real food."
Koa grins from behind Flora, his bare arms folded across his chest. He'd needed a reprieve from the endless gloom and static of Stormbreak; what better option, the pair had thought, than a stroll along the beach? And if it meant they'd catch sight of a certain sunny blonde, well. They certainly wouldn't complain.
What they hadn't prepared for was the overgrowth of truly alarming flowers that had taken the beach by storm. Neither'd paid much mind at first, more intent on getting into the water. But then the waves had proven rather daunting, and the pair had balked, opting instead to wander the shoreline collecting shells and, in Pip's case, sea glass and nice sticks and shiny rocks. And not flowers, much to Pipsqueak's consternation, because they just seem so very interesting, so shiny, so chrome.
Pipsqueak trills this from the sand, staring balefully up at Flora and Spice. Koa clicks a warning to her, earning another grumpy huff. Shrugging to the Doubletake, the soldier gives a long-suffering sigh. "Dragons, right? If ever I start going grey, it'll be all this one's fault." He smiles crookedly, eyes lighting on Spice. "I don't think I knew you'd joined the ranks of the shackled. Hello, little beauty. Who are you?"
When I kiss your lips I want to sink down to the bottom of the sea
Twirling on her toe like a ballet dancer on center stage, Flora flashed a grin as she caught sight of Koa. Her cheeks, seemingly having a life of their own, plumped up without any permission. She playfully huffed and shot back a casual shrug to the dragoon. "Oh I dunno...I think you could totally rock the salt and pepper look"
Meanwhile, Spice slithered down Flora's arm, finding a perch on her wrist with wings spread wide. With a frosty crackle, the dragonling attempted something that could be generously called gliding. Maybe Spice was aiming for "majestic descent," but reality had a different plan. Down the pale creature fell, all wings and indignant cries. Luckily the sand was quite soft and no sooner had Koa called her a little beauty, did the dragonling shake off the tantrum that might otherwise have bloomed. Crooning flirtatiously up at him (with Flora's thoughts informing the bond, really what else could the little creature have done?), Spice spread her wings again that the dragoon might see the way her pale flesh shimmered in the light.
"No idea where she gets that from." Flora chuckles, rolling her eyes. "And yeah, usually she stays at the bar but now that she's a bit bigger we've been doing some outings. Ronin found her in the Cordillera, her..uh..' Lips twitching, the Doubletake stepped forward toward Koa so that he'd still hear her voice as she dropped it lower. "Her mom was dead and all the other eggs had been broken up or destroyed." Frowning, but knowing the story had a happy ending, the girl straightened and glanced down toward her companion.
"So he brought her down, and...I dunno, we just sort of clicked."
"Oh yeah?" He preens beneath the compliment, running fingers through his hair. "I worry it will make me look too distinguished. Then people might start asking me for things." Dropping her voice, Koa leans in closer. "Or worse - think I'm responsible." A dramatic shudder pulses through him, followed naturally by an easy grin.
The little dragonling's dramatic descent elicits a warm laugh from Koa, who remembers keenly when his own companion would take such graceless tumbles. Always a sucker for flirtation, the young man does not hesitate to follow her down, extending a hand to stroke Sugar's chin, should the little beast allow it.
"Not a clue," he smirks back up at Flora, straightening as the Doubletake spins her story. It dims the sunshine from his face, makes his chest ache for the little one's loss. "I'm glad she found you," Koa murmurs, giving Flora's arm a gentle squeeze. "Pip was kinda similar - an abandoned nest that was brought to the Celestine. She was the last to hatch, and her wings weren't big enough for her to fly so she couldn't be released. Then I met her and, well..." He trails off with a shrug and an affectionate smile, glancing down at the fluffy beast. "She's been a thorn in my side ever since."
As if on cue Pipsqueak decides that now is the time to test the other wyrm. Ears slicked back and wings flared wide, she slithers toward the younger dragon, a threat of heat crackling deep in her throat. Never having been the elder (or larger) in such a meeting, the catsnake has found herself in a rare position of dominance, and seems determined to impress on Sugar just who is the alpha here.
When I kiss your lips I want to sink down to the bottom of the sea
bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones.
You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)
Grinning mischievously, Flora lets out a playful ""Well," and scrunches up her nose, acting as if she's tackling the world's most complicated puzzle which deserves absolutely all of her intention. "You could always pull a move straight out of Ronin's playbook. You know, the classic 'I really wish I could help, but my schedule is so jam-packed and top-secret with important world-saving stuff.'"
Haughtily at first, Spice decides that she, not unlike her bonded, enjoys the touch of this particular man and so extends her tiny neck out just as far as she can to encourage more of his affections. Expelling a frosty huff as Koa stands, the tiny dragonling eyes the two towering humans before her attention is stolen by Pip.
Leaning into the touch with a familiarity she isn't entirely sure that she's earned, Flora gives her head a little shake. "You'd think with all the magic in this world...all the destruction we seem capable of, that we'd be able to do more for them." If only Blu were here to argue for companion rights. "Anyways. What brings you to Torchline? Work, or pleasure ?"
Meanwhile, Spice, who had very little understanding of how size and age played a part in establishing dominance—and having been thoroughly saturated with Flora's experiences of being able to come out on top no matter the circumstances—flared her tiny wings and bared her tinier teeth.
"The Celestine is a great haven, at least," Koa counters, fondness smoothing worry lines from between his brows. "Miss Lena does wonderful things there. I used to think I'd work there when I grew up, before I enlisted." A wistful chuckle leaves his lips, the childhood longing never fully purged. Once upon a time Koa, like all children, had believed he could be anything he wanted. Before he'd had any understanding of legacy or expectation.
Before his mother died.
It isn't something he talks about. Koa is quick to swallow his sadness, though he can't quite clear the bitterness that's slick upon his tongue. "Oh, work, always.." A joke, except not entirely, work still hanging heavily on the young man's mind. But the sparkle is blooming back in copper eyes, his grin once more bright and debonair. "Someone told me there was a risk of the most beautiful woman in Torchline being kidnapped by pirates, so of course I had to come see if any rescuing needed done."
He winks. "But now that I see you're safe and sound, I guess there's time for pleasure after all."
Meanwhile, thoroughly befuddled by Spice's failure to acknowledge her clear dominance, Pip is having a bit of a time. She snarls a response to the younger dragon's disrespect, long tail lashing patterns in the sand. Pulling her lanky holy onto her haunches and flaring her wings, the older catsnake is working quite hard to seem intimidating, even going so far as to bat a tiny paw at Spice's nose.
When I kiss your lips I want to sink down to the bottom of the sea
"Oh?' Having been fully prepared to offer some shit-eating comment in response, Flora's expression similarly smooths out at the mention of Koa's past. Growing up, he'd always just been Mateo's friend; that was when life had been easier and each of them could have been anything. Not like now, where they had unknowingly drawn their futures and were already walking towards their fates. "I can see that. You running around and trimming away palms and tending to sore paws." Though she's grinning and nudging his shoulder in jest, somehow she's sincere too. "So why didn't you..?"
Wanting to hold fast the moment when the copper in Koa's eyes seemed molten and malleable, Flora nevertheless finds herself chuckling beneath the weight of his gaze as speaks. "Gasp. Well, you were very good at fighting off those pirates, so I suppose it makes sense that they'd send you." Crinkling her nose and fighting off the urge to cinematically throw herself into his arms for the sheer joy of it, Flora instead tosses her head to shuffle her bangs somewhat. "So what's your pleasure these days, huh? I heard maybe you had a thing for girls with crowns..?" Subtly said, it's both a segue into her plans about Torchline as much as it's a dig toward Sohalia.
Having never, not even once, been put into her place, Spice takes advantage of the older (wiser, larger) dragon's pause and takes a defiant step forward. This of course sends her promptly into Pip's paw. It's perhaps the lightest batting that one dragon can give to another, but it sends Spice shrieking—not to Flora—but toward Koa, as if to tattle.
"Oh, y'know. Parents." There's a lot wrapped up in that one word, as flippantly as it may be tossed from his lips. Duty, exhaustion, bitterness, love-- his whole life, and theirs, and their ancestors before, all weighing down on the young man's shoulders, millstones of expectation draped around his neck. But Koa shrugs the pressure off, or pretends to, picking absently at a callus and smiling at Flora's nudge. "My Ma was a Dragoon, my dad's an engineer. Noe got all the brains in the family, so..." Another shrug and a crooked grin to show he doesn't take the self-burn seriously.
Maybe.
She's blue as the sky, as the ocean that crashes behind them, and just as easy to fall prey to as the inky flowers that litter the beach. There's history between them, storied and messy, but the it's paved a road right to these moments, made the light flirtation feel well-deserved. And so he doesn't quite take the bait when she roundabout brings up Sohalia, only raises an eyebrow in subtle acknowledgment, wondering if she's jealous (and not not thrilled by the prospect). "What can I say? Power is sexy." Hands in his pockets and sun in his smile, he's the picture of youthful nonchalance. "And I've always had a thing for blondes."
He might have teased her further, had a shrieking infant dragon not thrown herself dramatically at his shins. "Aww, what happened?" Koa coos, immediately kneeling down to stroke the little bundle of indignation comfortingly.
Which, of course, earns a burst of jealous rage from Pip, who is utterly furious at this turn of events. "Pipsqueak Fuzzlenoodle Carpenter, none of that," the Dragoon chides, scruffing the catsnake and pulling her close to his face. A dangerous choice, given the smoke coiling from her nostrils. "You might be bigger, but that doesn't mean you get to be a bully. You have to be a good example, ok?" He presses a kiss to the dragon's forehead, earning a grumble and slashing tail.
Putting Pip back in the sand, Koa eyes the pair. "Alright - you two play nice. Pip, no bullying. Spice- if you're going to play, you can't come whine every time things don't go the way you want. If you lose a spar, learn from it." The boy nods sagely, his copper gaze flitting between them.
Then he shoves them both forward, giving them a chance to figure it out. Koa rises with a laugh, wiping his hands on his thighs. "Dragons, right?" he chuckles fondly. "Little terrors, the lot of 'em."
When I kiss your lips I want to sink down to the bottom of the sea
"..Yeah..." The pair had different upbringings to be sure, but the catchall that was parents struck a chord as resonantly as anything else within Flora. Swallowing, she forces a smile, scrunching her nose in order to give Koa her most admonishing but sunny smile.
Indeed, there's history enough such that the dragoon's response is perhaps all the wittier for finding a way to artfully dodge her question. Rewarding him with another scrunched expression that quickly turns to a bright huff of defeat, Flora has on choice but to shake her head. "Ohh that's right. He's clever with his tongue, too." She says offhandedly as if making a mental note of how best to describe Koa.
As Spice is given the first proper bit of advice in her young life, someone from down the beach is waving their arms to try and get Flora's attention. Turning and frowning, she realizes that it's Everest, yelling something about the tavern. "Of course. He probably needs to know if I want something ordered alphabetically or by alcohol content." Flora mumbles, before turning to Koa.
"Lunch sometime? Don't be a stranger." So saying, she stands on her toes and reaches out for the dragoon's shoulders to both pull him in and steady herself. Placing a friendly kiss on his cheek, she bends to scoop up her dragon (who was still eyeing Pip rather grumpily), and sashayed down the beach towards a fretting Everest Hart.
