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!
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Allowing herself to be ushered into the corridor, Maea twisted the fragile piece of glass between her hands, admiring the exquisite detail of the workmanship. "It's beautiful. Better make sure it won't break."
And windchimes needed wind to come into their primer, right? Ducking off into the storage room, she returned with a handful of spare greens, some string, nails and a scissor. Leaving it on the floor so that Asta could help himself to whatever he needed, Maea hunched down and began tying string to the chime so that it could be hung next to the door. Then she added greenery to the string, like a miniature garland.
"It's a little strange to decorate like this," she shared while working. "LongNight was never the kind of event you celebrated around here."
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
It was beautiful, with its red stained glass pieces mixed in with the painted gold accents of the chimes. The assumption in putting it out by the door he has is that if people walk through the hallway and past it, it would make a little chime, the wind of their passage enough to move the little gilded tubes of metal. “I was quite pleased when I found it.” He hums, a bit proud of himself as he starts to set up the lanterns, utilizing the match book and his magic to place two of them, one on either side of the door frame.
Once the two flicker with a small flame, Asta’s satisfied, and extinguishes the little flame of the matchstick as he collects a few green pieces Maea’s brought with to make little garlands for underneath the lanterns and along the door with her. “Everyone has talked about it, but never gone into specifics. I’m afraid I don’t know much other than monsters in the night.” His dark gaze slides over to her with a raised brow, curiosity getting the best of him if she were willing to share.
As far as Astaroth is concerned, he’s always very much been the monster in the night. But these were a different kind, so he assumes.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Keeping her eyes on the work she had at hand, Maea hummed in quiet agreement. "Yeah. You must have heard something about The Voice at this point, right?" One couldn't live in the Grounds without getting at least the crash course of history - the land itself still bore the scars of history, even if it was beginning to heal. "She wanted to 'improve' people, but messed up a lot of them along the way. These people... they were locked up inside the barrier along with her, and from what I've heard she let them out during LongNight. Or they just came out on their own, I don't know exactly. They kept terrorizing us though, for centuries. The only way we could avoid them was to close the windows, lock the doors and stay as quiet as possible. Or they would start screaming just outside. Pretending to be someone you know. Begging to be let inside - only, if you opened the door, that would be the end."
Her shoulders tensed up more and more as she explained. It was unpleasant to speak of, and part of her regretted bringing it up at all. But it was on her mind more or less constantly these days. Each day brought the long night closer, and though she tried to tell herself that the monsters were gone, that the only thing she had to worry about was how drunk people would get during Danta's week long party... she didn't actually believe it.
"Danta doesn't take it seriously, since it's something that happened in the past. But I don't know... I just can't imagine it'll pass uneventfully." Tying a knot around the last bundle of green branches, she looked up at Asta, a frown lining her brow. "Even if no one else stays vigilant, I hope you will. Being the security and all... "
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
“I have.” Astaroth confirms as he continues to fiddle with the decorations, face lit up by the lanterns as the candles finally take root. He draws silent as she explains, though, listening to the way she talks about it, his face stoically kept curious even as internally the first thought that runs through his head is how horrifyingly delightful. All things of which he doesn’t utter, instead nodding his head a little as he squints at the door to see if he’s gotten the garland up well enough, horned head tilting slightly. “What an awful thing to have to endure.” He offers her, briefly before she’s continuing about Danta’s opinions of it.
Chaos was simply something that was the status quo for them. So it doesn’t surprise him to hear that Danta wouldn’t, but with Maea’s fear of it ruining the party they are planning for, he flashes her a sharp toothed grin and leans down a little bit more in her space, trying to break some of the height difference. “I am always vigilant, my dear.” He hums, his grin widening a bit more. “If they show during our event to cause trouble, just know that I will be the worst of us.” Because he was a monster himself, of course, and it would give him ample ability to bring destruction to any that wished harm upon those here.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
He towered over her, even with the attempt to get on the same level. It would have been unsettling, if people hadn't loomed over her head for the majority of her life. Knowing that a simple shift into gore crow guise would have the large man scrambling for the door took away much of his intimidating air in her mind, and despite all that she knew of his darker side... Maea found herself reassured by his words. Meeting Asta's gaze with pale eyes, dyed pinkish in hue by the red-tinted light of the corridor, she gave him a lopsided little smile.
"Thank you. For what it's worth, I really do hope nothing will happen. But if it does, it would be good to have someone else ready to step in." She didn't trust herself to stay clear-headed in such traumatic times - it was simply that bad.
Picking up the wind-chime, she rose up and measured it against the door to find a good height to place it at. Forced up on her tip-toes, Maea strained to keep her balance and hold the string and mark a spot for the nail at the same time. "Does this look alright?" she asked over her shoulder, when she thought she'd found a good placement.
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
It isn’t intended to be intimidating as he leans into her space. More of his attempts to be on the same level with her, despite the difficulty in that he’s nearly a foot and a half taller than her. Either way, he’s glad that his words resonate, and he nods his head with that same sharp grin, humming a “of course, darling”, returning to his task as he steps back to observe how the decor is coming along. And so far so good, in his opinion.
He offers her help should she require it as she starts to locate the placement for the wind chime and Asta meets her gaze when she looks over her shoulder to him. “Looks positively perfect.” He hums with that same grin, a little crooked, before stepping in close again now that the placement is decided. “Would you like any help?” He asks, noticing the struggle of her balance on her tiptoes, and if she wished to lean against him, he’s got no issue with it.
05-12-2024, 06:51 PM (This post was last modified: 05-12-2024, 07:49 PM by Maea.)
Maea
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Wanting help and needing help were two very different things. While she was loathe to admit it, things weren't going as well as she would like it to.
"Uh, sure. If you could reach the hammer..." Wobbling slightly, she wasn't given much choice in whether to lean against him or not. It was either that or falling over; and while she supposed it might be one of those happy accident scenarios for anyone more romantically inclined, she only felt awkward about it.
"My bad... " Beneath the soft velvet of her dress her spine had gone rigid, only her consideration for the wind chime keeping her from bolting away.
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
Luckily for her, it isn’t what crosses his mind at all – stepping up to help prop her up so she can complete the task he’d given her. Reaching for the hammer, his long limbs make it easy to help her set the nail, hammering it in just enough to keep the windchime from flying off, but also far enough in that it wouldn’t prevent its movement from the frequent movement passing through.
“No need to apologize, dear.” He hums, focused wholly on the nail and the door, until he’s satisfied with its placement for her to loop the windchime on. He can feel her tension, however, so the second that she doesn’t require his help, he’s content to step back and admire the work they’d done.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
Relieved to step away the moment the task was done, Maea retreated to the opposite wall and pressed her back against it under the guise of inspecting the decorations. It annoyed her how much it got to her, these anxious episodes where someone got just a little too close. Whether intentional or not didn't matter; it still left her mouth dry and the pulse racing, short of breath as if her very lungs were constricting.
It was stupid. So pointless to get flustered all on her own.
"Looks good, yeah?" she murmured, straining to keep the silence from stretching out too much. Don't make it awkward. Awkwarder. Gathering her hair over a shoulder, her fingers combed restlessly through it. It was still damp from the snow. "Anything else you wanted to do?"
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
Unfortunately for Maea, Astaroth is quite oblivious to what is happening. In fact, he’s focused so much on the decorations that when he steps back and she steps back against the wall, he steps forward – tail waving like a lazy cat as he adjusts a few little things here and there, before running his finger along the little golden tubes to hear the chime, smiling softly to himself before she breaks the silence and he glances over his shoulder at her with a nod. “Far better than I could have done on my own. Thank you for your help.” He turns, lowering partially to offer a little bow of gratitude before he straightens up again.
“Perchance we could finish that drink?” He asks, as he now notices her fidgeting, dark brows pinching together curiously. “Unless you’d prefer to not be surrounded by the rest of the Dusklight? My room is available if you still wish to talk.” Astaroth doesn’t care either way – but if they do intend to remain in his room, he’ll need to depart to collect his cane and his drink that he’d left at the bar with the bartender.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
"I don't mind being at the bar," she responded, perhaps a little too quickly. The idea of being alone with him in his very private room had her feeling uncomfortable. "I'll just fetch my mug."
It was a quick thing, to dart in and return with her hands clasping the drinkware as though it was a lifeline. A fleeting smile was her attempt at returning to the normal tone they'd shared before; of easy conversation void of strain or pretense. Unfortunately, knowing that she was being silly didn't help her relax much. Her shoulders remained tense even as they returned into the bustling atmosphere, surrounded by music and voices and debauchery everywhere one looked. Enough to turn cheeks red and the gaze wandering somewhere up around the ceiling.
But no one was approaching her. No one tried to touch her, or intrude on her space. That had to be better. Surely.
Waving over a bartender, Maea requested a fruit plate to go with the second mug of mulled wine. She would honestly have preferred tea, but she knew better than to ask for that; last time it had earned her such a look of suffering - and pity - that she'd left mere minutes later.
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
“Of course.” Astaroth hums, waiting like the gentleman he is for her to slip into his room and collect her mug, to walking along beside her as they wander back toward the bar. Debauchery has already begun in many corners of the brothel, but it seems to phase Astaroth far little as he settles on a stool back at the bar, flashing the bartender an easy and sharp smile.
The cane is retrieved and Asta hooks it on the lip of the counter again beside him, tail curling around the edge of his barstool’s legs as he downs the rest of the glass of the mulled wine and politely requests one of those sweet drinks that Danta had crafted for him (for those wondering, it’s a chocolate martini), his sweet tooth on full display. “I am intending to take over one of the rooms in the back for a sort of… Headquarters, I suppose it would be called.” He muses, casting a glance toward her sidelong. “But, seeing as you are the Ambassador, do you have any preferences for which side I should take?” Preferably one opposite of Danta’s desk, for whenever the Maverick is sat upon it if only to antagonize the blonde.
But those thoughts he keeps to himself, hidden behind the hungry twist of his lips as he hides it behind the glass he sips from.
I feel it in the wind, my dear The sun is gonna reappear
A plate of sliced fruit was set down before her. Grapes and apples nestled next to exotic fruits shipped in from Torchline. Some were chilled, others gently roasted, some soaked in spirits while others rested within their peels, and at the center sat a whole baked apple stuffed with nuts and glistening with syrup and butter. Maea had a sweet tooth to match just about anyone, and she looked up from her exploration of the tray with a spoonful of delectable treats halfway to her mouth.
"Hm? Oh. I don't think my being ambassador has anything to do with your choice of office location," she replied. "Mine is in the Atheneum - I don't think it really matters." Subtle clicks of metal against fangs could be heard as she chomped down on the spoon. The taste of autumn soothed her frazzled nerves better than anything else could have, and it took a while before she remembered to contribute to the conversation. "Will you be working here only, or oversee the entire region?"
Good days are gonna come along Hold on, hold on!
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
// a beast in the business of selling forgiveness //
His dark gaze takes in the fruit plate that Maea orders, taking in the particular sweet options before he sips again from the chocolate martini, letting the warmth of the liquor burn through him and warm him up further. It’s enough that his shoulders slouch a fraction as he listens to her answer, snorting and nodding his understanding. “Ah, I had just assumed you were located there. Perhaps instead, you might be willing to help me create it when I get to it?” Of course, the notice would be available well in advance in case she had any other previous commitments.
As it stands right now, though, Astaroth is feeling quite comfortable within this establishment and the job he harbors, evident in how his presence simply keeps things under wraps (and keeps the guests from harassing the workers).
But then she’s asking another question and his dark gaze slides over toward her, head tilting curiously as he blinks in a small amount of confusion. “Oh, just here.” He confirms with a snort, one that turns into a deep resounding chuckle. “Danta knows better than to put me in charge of anything too terribly important. Security of an establishment, I can manage quite well. A region? Absolutely not.” His accent is a bit thicker here, sharp grin turning a hint more lopsided.
