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!
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
It’s a relatively quick trip for the Flood, who arrives with the letter in hand and all the surefire confidence of a new man – not entirely sure why that is, but the closer to Dahlia he gets, the more relaxed and confident and comfortable, the Flood becomes. And back in King’s End, with the letter being read over multiple times, his refusal to answer it in the face of his uncertainty of just what to say had him pressing a kiss to Hotaru’s cheek, leaving a letter to say he was heading there for a day or two, and departing early, leaving Petronella to remain back at home for this trip.
By the time he gets here it’s later, the leafchange sun hanging orange and heavy in the partially cloudy sky, gusts of wind blowing about the city area. He doesn’t even give the judgement needle a passing glance as he usually did, recalling the time he’d spent there. No, Sunjata is on a mission today, and that mission brings him as close to her as he thinks that he can – assuming that she’s in the Tower and hoping that he isn’t too late that she’s already left.
He steps inside and sheds out of the jacket that he’d brought, leaving him in a mostly open buttoned dark navy shirt that’s light and airy and reveals plenty of his scars and tattoos, along with the usual dark jeans and boots. He’s guided toward her office without much trouble, succeeding in charming those at the front desk. Not that it was hard to get into here, but sometimes the flexing of who his deity was, brought a little extra fun to the table.
Regardless, Sunjata arrives just outside her door, standing tall and comfortable, letter in one hand while the other lifts to knock, hoping that she is indeed within the doors.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Things have taken root and positively bloomed within Stormbreak in the time since she has last spoken with Sunjata, and Dahlia feels his presence like someone plucking at an invisible thread, sending the vibrations thrumming through her bones.
She opens the door mere moments after his knock, dark tresses braided out of her face, dressed in layers of fine linen and organza in shades of deep red and embroidered gold. "What a fine presence to appear at my door," she breathes, all praise and violet approval, ushering him inside.
"You look well, Sunjata," she purrs, letting a hand whisper across his shoulder blades and around to his bicep, guiding him towards the dark mahogany desk and the rich, plush seats at either side of it. "To what do I owe the exquisite pleasure?"
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
She answers the door quickly, much to Sunjata’s relief, and it sparks a crooked smile on his face as he takes her in and can certainly feel the approval that drips from her tongue. Like a touch starved dog, Sunjata wholly embraces the praise, returning the pleasantry with letting his gaze take in her entire appearance and her own compliment toward him, to rumble an accented “You are stunning.”
The hand that trails across his shoulders is a welcome touch, as the tall demigod is guided toward the plush seats and mahogany desk, content to lean into the guidance so long as it keeps her close, distinctly seeking out that approval again and again.
“Mm, well, first of all, I missed you.” He hadn’t realized it until he’d gotten this close, though. But more importantly, “Secondly, I received this letter. I wanted to know how you would prefer I handle it.” He wants to remain close to her as he reveals the letter, pulling it from the envelope and setting that portion on the desk, he unfolds the contents itself and hands it to her.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"You flatter," Dahlia chides, nonetheless all but blooming under the praise as they make themselves comfortable at her desk; Sunjata in one of the seats and the Reaper, naturally perched on the edge of the desk between his knees. "Mm, and I you," she replies, taking the paper from between his fingers and letting her own pulse against the inside of his wrist for a moment as she reads.
"My, are all the communications you receive so fraught with worry?" she wonders, folding the letter and handing it back to the Flood. "You must reply, of course - it would be rude not to. I would simply opt for the truth, Sunjata. You invited me to the Refuge, I accepted, and nothing untoward happened. We had quite a pleasant time there, in fact. Unless I am mistaken?" She raises her eyebrows at him wonderingly.
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
He has to admit it’s a beautiful view, the comfort of the chair he settles in, long legs stretching out in a little makeshift cage as she settles at the edge of her desk between them, his steel gaze bright and a touch playful as he hands her the letter, relishing in the touch at the inside of his wrist. He’s silent while she reads, until she folds it and hands it back and he nods. “Yes. It’s exhausting.” He drawls, exhaling a soft sigh.
He slips it back into a pocket as he sits up a little toward her, listening and contemplating internally. At least, until she mentions the pleasant time, and Sunjata shifts to stand, keeping her directly in front of him almost in a mirror of what had occurred back in the Refuge with a small smile and a nod. “It was very pleasant.” He hums. “Unfortunately, I worry that my opinion of you will not sway them.” He admits, scanning her face to try and guestimate what she might say. “I was not trusted before.” In the previous war, which he isn’t entirely sure she knows the details of. "They've only just started to see any changes I've made." A broad, tattooed shoulder shrugs, but he waits for her instruction regardless. Perhaps she knows how he might be able to prove it to them.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"It sounds it," Dahlia replies, the words riding out on a sigh that mimics his own; a drag, a tedium, all this worry and strife, especially when there really doesn't need to be any. Her hand has whispered out to caress his cheek as he rises to stand, leaving her fingers trailing a warm line down his chest instead. With her knees parting now for him to stand between them, the smile she offers the Flood is positively beatific, a rose in full bloom of the sunshine.
"Perhaps," she says gently, "we should focus more on you than on them." Double entendre much? "What I mean to say is that convincing them may seem too much for now. You need not fight my corner so fervently, though I do appreciate it. No, for now why not simply keep telling them the truth about how you experienced things? Either they believe you or they do not. But you are still here, in one piece, and looking better than ever, if I might say so. Not a hair on your head was harmed from meeting with me."
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
Her hand on his cheek and on his chest only draw him closer, like a moth to her flame that’s only ignited further when in her presence, when this close together with her. The smile she offers him is brilliant and beautiful in the lowlight of her office and he reaches up as she explains, letting his hand run along her cheek in kind, drifting toward her dark hair that he threads through his fingers.
“Me, hmm?” A ghostly smirk blooms on his face, one that remains faintly there as he listens and takes it to heart. “I am more than fine.” He hums, nodding in a way that drops his head closer toward her own. “Thanks to you.” And how all of his dread and worries vanished the second that she kissed him, how he felt so much better than he had in months.
Like taking a breath of clean air for the first time in months.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Sinking into the offered touch as if it's the first time she's ever felt anything like it, Dahlia's eyes close for a moment, relishing the tug and twist of her hair and the heat that Sunjata's fingertips leave in their wake. "I believe it," she assures him, the words spoken through a catlike smile, and as her eyes blink back open it's to find the Flood in a very close proximity indeed.
"I am beginning to think," she says, her tone dropping to something more like a sultry whisper, "that this letter wasn't the only reason you came all the way up to Stormbreak to see me." Hooking one of her ankles around his hips as if to draw him closer against her, the Reaper presses her hands to his chest in earnest now, as if to encourage and tease him further, to see the scars light up along his skin like a blush.
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
The way she reacts to the way his fingertips thread through her dark hair is captivating, and it draws the Flood into focusing more on what kind of reactions he can spark from her. But it’s her turn to do exactly that, to playfully call out a wholly separate reason for his arrival, one that drowns in saccharine sultriness that has him wanting to draw closer, only for her to make that choice for him.
She gets exactly what she wants, her ankle hooking around his hip, drawing him closer, her warm hands along his chest as his heartbeat hums contently beneath her palms, the flash of surprise that cascades like lightning through every bit of visible scarring he harbors as his lips quirk into a full, crooked smirk. “Would it be terrible to say that I missed you?” He asks, his accent growing a hint thicker as he speaks, head tilting as he grows bold in pressing in and crowding her, one hand still tangled in her hair while the other moves up her side slowly, tantalizingly.
“I came to visit a few weeks ago and you were all I could think about.” The entire time spent within the borders of Stormbreak, his mind had been revolving around her.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"I don't think it would be terrible at all," Dahlia whispers, not needing to raise her voice beyond a soft purr given the Flood's sudden proximity. "I have missed you too, after all." It isn't even a lie - she's enjoyed every dalliance she's shared with Sunjata so far, even if they've never been quite like this before. Her hands press more firmly against his chest to feel the beat of his heart vibrate against her palms, and her eyes close for a moment as if she might hear the blood rushing through his veins with each pump of the muscle.
"And you didn't come to see me then?" Coyly spoken, she's already smiling as her eyes flutter back open, chin lifting to find him only a breath away. "It must have been a very important visit." Not as important as this one, her expression seems to say, and one of her hands sneaks up, walking along the Flood's throat to cup his cheek, drawing him close, at last, against her waiting lips.
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
If he were partially shifted in his avian forms, he’d absolutely be preening with her agreement of missing him – as it stands, though, he remains fully as himself. He’s absolutely preening still, though, just no feathers to prove it, only a small grin instead. He invades her space gladly, crowding and is more than content to let her hands press against his chest, to feel his heartbeat beneath it, the power in the muscles he harbors.
He shakes his head, immediately beginning to respond to confirm that it was only partially important – a town for his region, something she would understand he hopes. But he doesn’t get to answer it as his lips part and she’s suddenly there, hand along his throat and cheek, pulling him in to meet her and give into the kiss. There’s no pause this time, just a full dive into it, hand moving along her side while the one in her hair lowers to her back to pull her even closer to him.
He dives in with that hue of violet pouring through his mind, something he gladly opens up for in the moment.
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Shifting as he pulls her closer, Dahlia melts against Sunjata as if he's made just for her, both legs hooking around his waist to pin him close against her body. Her lips part to explore his mouth with an eager tongue, her fingers clutching against his shirt as if worried he might slip away at any moment. Moaning something soft and indulgent into their kiss, she parts to gaze up at him through hooded eyes, tracking every flush and scar on his skin.
"I think you might be my favourite, Sunjata," she informs him, letting her touch whisper along his strong jawline, tracing the scar that cuts against his smile and pressing her lips there shortly afterwards. "If you weren't so involved in King's End, I'd have a mind to keep you here with me." Alas, things to do, regions to rule. Nevertheless, he's here now, and the Reaper has had her eye on him since that first meeting in the House of Midnight.
// say it like you mean it, do you trust me now? call it like you see it, are we burning out? //
Wherever she beckons and wishes for, Sunjata is malleable – maneuvering to press against her as tight as she implies with how her legs hook around his waist. His hands and arms move to wrap around her middle and back, ensuring that despite how she clutches his shirt like he might vanish into the night, he intends to stay right there, radiating heat. He opens up easy for her, letting her explore his scarred mouth as he hums something gentle into her own. And when she parts, his mind is a flood of violet hues and rapt focus for only her.
Her compliment sparks a streak of that lightning through his scars, each one on display and lighting up beneath his relatively thin shirt, lips curving into a crooked smile due to the deadened muscles. His head tilts into her hand as he huffs a little gentle chuckle, as if of the same mindset. “Perhaps I should make a point to visit more often?” He asks in his own gentle whisper, his steel gaze focusing on her again as if he remembers the first visit suddenly, how close things had gotten before he’d closed it off.
So he starts fresh, just like he had the night he’d left her to her room of stars and voids, of violet and peaceful nothingness. Dark wings spread from his back, tearing at the fabric (not that he cares really, he’s got a jacket for that and it’s truthfully nothing he can’t replace on his way back home), and dark horns curve out from his skull in a display of how he had been the first time. Only this time she can explore to her hearts content, even as his wings wrap around to press against the edges of the desk as if for stability (and shrouding the view for anyone who may walk in, if they dared to).
the flood
// i wish you could feel it like i do everything i've done, i do it all for you //
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
