From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
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!
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"Oh, you were already very thorough," Isla assures him with a grin, and as he encourages her to turn towards him, she gratefully acquiesces. And while it's true that Ever carries her to the bed with no inhuman strength, the Remedy finds herself all the more twitterpated for his efforts, set down as reverently as she is upon the silk sheets.
Expecting him to join her or to draw back from there, it makes the way she's suddenly caught in his blue eyes feel all the more intense, and though she knows the words that might burn for release between two lovers in these moments, it's with a sweet smile that she instead draws him down to her waiting lips. Kissing him without the thrashing of tongues or the pawing of hands is somehow even more addictive than the past however long has been, and Isla draws back with clear reluctance.
"I've missed you," she says softly, "these past few weeks. Not just because of this. I missed bumping into you in Haulani, and seeing La Verbena in the port and knowing it meant you were in town."
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
Moaning softly against Isla's lips as she kisses him, the sound delicate and adorably wholesome, as they part Everest sips in a sharp breath, his forehead pressed gently against hers, before he feels steady enough to stand. "I nearly turned La Verbena around as soon as I left Torchline." The aviator admits. Though he wants to remain at her side, decorum weighs on him; reluctantly he rises, fetching their wine glasses, before returning to her side.
'It felt impossible to leave you, and the only thing that made me keep my resolve was knowing that if I did turn around and come back to you, I'd never be able to leave." It's as close to because I'm in love with you, as he thinks the moment can bear. Still, reaching for one of her hands, he presses a soft kiss against her knuckles before feathering his fingers through hers.
"At least this way it's over and done and neither of us will have to wonder if I should have gone." And I'll never have to leave you again.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"I'm glad you didn't, because I don't know that I would have let you go a second time," Isla admits right back through soft laughter, releasing him so he can fetch their wine and fuss accordingly. She does take a grateful sip of the vintage when he comes back to join her on the bed, finding it to be exactly what she needs - and a very good wine at that.
"Difficult as it was, I do think this was good for you," she agrees, feeling heat in her cheeks as he takes her hand, his lips gentle and soft against her knuckles. Not because of a lack of skill on Ever's part and not even anything to do with her, per say, but the experience alone seems to have allowed the aviator to shine in ways Isla could never have taught him.
Setting down her glass and giving his fingers a gentle squeeze, feeling fluttery and deeply content all at once, the Remedy finds herself suddenly resenting the distance between them. Shifting back to lay amongst the sheets and pillows and encouraging Everest to do the same, Isla tucks herself against his side, her head resting on his chest.
"I hope you weren't planning on doing anything else tonight," she jokes, "because I don't think I'm going to let you leave this bed."
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
"I think so too." Everest agrees. By no means will he ever view being sexually competent as an overly important part of his character, but given what he now knew, he thought it was invaluable that he'd learned and experimented with certain things away from Isla's influence.
Needing no encouragement, Everest sets his glass down on the bedside table in order to immediately join Isla with a rather boyish enthusiasm that he didn't make any attempt to hide. Perhaps it was because of his feelings for the Remedy that the aviator was just as keen to cuddle as he had been to remove her dress or wedge himself between her thighs, but certainly just because he wasn't inside of her, the moment didn't feel any less intimate in his mind.
"Ah, well." Adjusting himself so that he was still able to see her while also wrapping an arm around her shoulder to hug her close, the aviator shrugs. "If that's the case, I'm sure I can find something to read, or.." Chuckling, he turned toward her, reaching across to comb a bit of hair away from one of her cheeks, before brushing his thumb softly against her lower lip.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"Something to read," Isla repeats with a wry smile, tilting her face up and into his affections, her own warm fingers caressing across his chest. "And I suppose there is a great deal of reading material here in this brothel?" If that's the case, they will have both learned something by being in the Dusklight.
Unable to help it - call it the distance of the past few weeks or just how irresistible she finds the aviator, now more than ever - Isla leans up to kiss him again, reaching up to clasp the strong line of his jaw. "Or we could just keep doing that all night," she supposes, though if that's the case, it likely won't be long before kisses become all manner of other acrobatics.
Not that the Remedy is complaining at all about that, either.
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
"Well, no. But I did actually bring some books with me. I wasn't sure how much...free time? i'd have while I was away." Everest says, grinning. Had his arms not been full of Isla, he'd have pulled open the bedside drawer as evidence.
Moaning softly against her lips, Everest turns himself even more toward her, having to resist the urge not to continue such that he'd blanket her body with his own. It's difficult, and he manages it only because Isla's tender and sweet affections are nearly as intoxicating as those she might be inclined to give should she find herself beneath him.
Utterly twitterpated by the Remedy, instead of answering, the aviator instead tries to douse his growing smile against her mouth once more, before parting with a quiet laugh. "I know often it's described as butterflies...and while I now understand what that means thanks to you, for me it feels..." Ever's smile spreads across his lips, dimpling his cheeks and rendering his eyes several shades lighter than they'd have appeared before as he tried to find the words for the way Isla made him feel. Gesturing towards his throat with his fingers, he shrugs softly. "...like it's here, most often. Like a laugh that isn't stuck, so much as it just...is."
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
Needing absolutely no evidence to believe him fully, Isla is left smiling up at the aviator as if unsure whether she believes he's actually real, or if she's just dreamed him up in bits and pieces and projected it onto some handsome stranger. Luckily, she doesn't think any handsome stranger could make her feel like this just by kissing her, and it's with one hand still pressed against his chest and the other gently playing through the back of his curls that she reluctantly draws back.
"Oh?" Isla blinks and follows the gesture of his fingers, leaning in to ghost her lips against his throat as if she might free the laughter stuck there. "That's how it feels for me, too," she says, surprising herself in her agreement. "Or sometimes here, as well." So saying, she takes one of Ever's hands to press it softly against the space just beneath her ribs.
"Like an ache, like missing someone even when they're right here."
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
Sipping in a breath of air and finding himself suddenly giddy with joy as Isla's lips brush over his throat, Ever presses his eyes closed for a moment as he's suddenly filled with what feels like a bright burst of adrenaline that has his muscles suddenly feeling shaky with anticipation. Exhaling unsteadily and trying to keep the half-whimper half-laughter in his throat from escaping, the aviator swallows hard before letting Isla guide his hand to her belly.
"Oh?" The sound doesn't really have any meaning, not with the way the firmness of Isla's skin beneath the aviator's palm has briefly overwhelmed his thoughts. It shows, too, in the way his lips part with awe and how his thumb strokes almost reverently out towards her belly button. Blinking a few times, the aviator quietly clears his throat as he forces his hand to relax. "I'd hate to be the reason you ever ache." Then, thinking for a moment, he adds.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
With soft laughter in response to his quip, Isla lets her fingers graze along his forearm and up to his bicep, as if relishing the opportunity for these little touches now that they aren't concerned with first times or right nows. "It is far from unpleasant," she assures him, even if such a feeling can arguably be said to be bittersweet in its intensity if nothing else.
"Besides," she adds, her voice lowering with the admission as she gazes up at Ever through dark lashes and cheeks flushed suddenly pink again. "It has been quite a long time since anyone made me feel this way. Especially since someone said they felt the same about me."
Leaning up suddenly as if she might hide the truth of her words with a kiss, Isla can't stop the way her lips still want to curl into a smile against the aviator's, or how she wants to draw him closer against her.
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
Knowing about Isla's past only insofar as there was always want to be gossip in places like the Hanged Man, the aviator merely nods to indicate he understood, if only distantly. Even so, were he entirely familiar with the highs and lows of Isla Lockwood's romantic endeavours, he'd still probably have not offered her anything more than a smile. Alas, emotional insight had not been one of the many effects of Dahlia's kiss. "Then I'll say it again and again until you're sick of hearing it." Everest vows with a dimpled smile.
Though he'd stopped himself before, as Isla presses her lips against his, the aviator finds himself helplessly listing to the side. Sliding his arm partially out from beneath her shoulders in order to position himself over her again, as Ever kisses her, he rests his other hand against the top of the headboard that he might not entirely rest his weight against her. "I like like you, as the kids used to say it." He whispers against her lips, his smile making it almost impossible to keep kissing her with any real passion for just a moment.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"Joke's on you, because I don't know that I'll ever get tired of hearing it," Isla retorts with a smile that threatens to hurt her cheeks, her fingers ghosting against his dimples as if to commit them to memory, finding them both necessarily similar and yet refreshingly different to another dimpled smile she knows very, very well.
Hiccuping in a breath that wants to become laughter as Ever suddenly shifts to roll over her, the Remedy clearly has no such reservations about their proximity; skimming her leg along the outside of his thigh, she hooks it comfortably across his hips with every intention of keeping him right where he is. "As the kids used to say, mm?" she whispers against his lips, though as playful as her tone might be, the way her cheeks burn pink entirely gives her away.
"I think I like like you as well, Everest. It's a good thing we've already arranged a date, isn't it?" No one said you had to date before having sex, after all.
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
"You think you like me?" Ever wonders, unintentionally echoing a certain other dimpled someone from that evening. Managing to only look put out for just a second before he's smiling down at her, the aviator nods. "Yeah, I think I'm looking forward to it." He says, trying to keep a straight face.
"I do have some ideas about what we could do. Would you want to be surprised?" Everest wasn't entirely sure if first dates were meant to be a surprise or not. Then again, given that Isla enjoyed telling him what to do in certain arenas of their budding relationship, maybe she'd want a hand in this, as well.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"Yes," Isla replies through a musical laugh, though at the mere whisper of the prospect of Everest seeming upset, she feels as though she has to clarify. "My relationships have a habit of going terribly wrong," she admits to him in a soft whisper, and although her smile is still present, it's a touch wistful now. "So if I seem flaky, it isn't anything you're doing wrong. Just know it's because I like you more than I'm brave enough to admit."
That in itself, of course, is an admission, and the Remedy leans in to silence herself more than anyone with another kiss.
"I quite enjoy being surprised on a date," she confirms readily, once she parts from him. "Do you enjoy giving people surprises? Because I'm equally happy to hear your ideas."
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
your eyes across a crowded room, just like it's only me and you
As the conversation winds, Everest shifts back onto his side, once again tucking an arm beneath the pillow and Isla in order to bring her against his chest once again. "I'm sorry to hear that." The normal response was probably something about how everything happens for a reason, or those failed relationships made you who you are and brought you to me, blah blah, but the aviator seemed genuinely saddened to hear about the way things had turned out for the Remedy. Kissing her softly, Ever tangled his fingers gently through her hair, smiling at the silken way the golden curls seemed to melt through his fingers.
"Well," Reaching for one of her hands, Ever raises it to his lips with a boyish smile. "I'm happy to be brave enough for the both of us. Because I am utterly fascinated by you, Isla. I want to know every corner of your mind as well as your body." Though he flushes somewhat as he says this, it would have been a bald-faced lie to ever pretend otherwise. "You're gorgeous, inside and out."
Leaning back onto the pillow, the aviator exhales thoughtfully as he raises his gaze to meet his own eyes in the mirror over the bed. "Normally I would say no." Normally meaning pre-Dahlia. "But with you...I don't feel the same sort of worry about getting it wrong as I would have expected."
