Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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"At the risk of sounding stupid," Ronin says slowly, holding out a hand for Flora to help her across a particularly uneven patch of ground in Angel's End, "you know that Mateo was born in Longheat, right...?"
He'd heard that she'd been Hak Etme looking for a birthday gift for the botanist, but it's either a belated one or a very, very early one based on the pesky way reality works. Either way, given that she'd been searching the desert - and Ronin has no desire to dodge any more landsharks, gigantic and ghostly or otherwise - he figures that she might find something to her liking in an equally as hot climate.
"What were you even thinking of getting him?" he asks, smiling over his shoulder to the Doubletake. It doesn't really matter, honestly - he'll indulge Flora either way, and he's got a feeling she knows it.
Huffing, Flora rolls her eyes theatrically and though she wants to plant her hand on her hip to underscore just how little she thought of Ronin's comment, the footing forced her to reach out and accept his help. "Duh, of course I do." She replies, widening her eyes for emphasis. "He got me, like, this super cute shawl for my birthday so I wanted to outdo him this year." Which obviously meant getting a headstart. "And...I guess I've just been realizing how important family is, you know?" Releasing Ronin's hand but glancing at him over her shoulder, the Doubletake shrugged a touch shyly before picking her way forward.
"I dunno. I want something really unique. No one ever really comes to the Climb, y'know, so I sort of thought maybe there was a bunch of untapped resources here." Preferably of the botanical and illicit-substance variety, but she'd take a phallic gemstone if she saw one.
Glancing around, though, it was with her lips twisted into a frown that she took in the barren landscape. Not that the Climb was particularly known for its vegetation, this seemed sparse even for a volcanic rock.
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
"Ah, I see," Ronin says of the head-start, though he can't deny the smile on his face as he realises the real reason Flora might be looking to get a birthday gift for her brother. "You learned it a lot quicker than I did, and I always thought I prided family," he points out, giving her a gentle nudge of approval (though not enough for her to lose her footing, he doesn't have a deathwish).
"The Climb certainly is unique," he agrees, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and squinting at the dark crust that sits over everything, stifling any growth there might be. "We ought to have brought a terrarium or something. Knowing this place, you'll find a perfect plant that only grows out of the lava or something..."
Neither of them as botanical as Mateo, and so Ronin starts picking around the area with a befuddled expression, lifting the odd rock and sidestepping gouts of smoke and steam from the cracks in the earth. "Think he'd like a pet fyrhund?"
Raising an eyebrow, Flora realizes that for all the steps forward she's made with Ronin over the years, she knows next to nothing about what his life was like before Remi. "Oh? What, did you have a brother like Mateo, too?" Not one born of dreams, atl east she doubted it, but maybe Ronin had a counterpart who always seemed to be better than as well.
The truth in Ronin's words has Flora crinkling her nose unhappily. "I mean, I guess if we find anything really amazing we can come back. Safrin hasn't given you any magical terrarium powers?" Not knowing anything of the Nova's recent drama with the herald, Safrin seemed a safe enough subject to broach given Ronin's role as (formerly) favourite demigod.
"He already has Everest. I think that's enough dog for him." The Doubletake trills back with a grin. "Speaking of, have you seen him lately? Ever, I mean. He's, like, super weird. But in a good way."
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
"Flora, nobody is like Mateo," Ronin reminds the Doubletake, scoffing and hopping over a small crack in the ground oozing with heat and lava. He turns back to make sure she's alright getting across as well, his hand held out ready if she needs it. "But yes, I did have an older brother, actually." It feels like an age since he's thought of him, but he's nonetheless real. Ish.
"He went missing," he explains softly. "Where your father and I first met - Northaven - I had come to the settlement to look for him, mostly. I never found him, though." Too much had happened within Northaven, and then... well, then Caido.
Scrunching his nose at the mention of the goddess, Ronin shakes his head. "Seems like more of a Frey thing," he reminds her, tilting his head at a promising bit of land in the distance. (Little does he know that it's the Lava Pits).
"Ah, that's true enough." He nods; Everest might not get along with a fyrhund either, he figures. "And I haven't seen him personally. But Remi said Mateo was worried about him. Sort of, anyway." Probably similar to what Flora has experienced.
Snorting under her breath, Flora's laughter is as much out of love as it is because Ronin is exactly correct. There was, and never would be, anyone like Mateo, for better or worse. Sniffing daintily at the volcanic rock before leaping deer-like over the crack, the Doubletake flashes the Nova a cheeky grin before proceeding on. "Oh? You don't really give off younger sibling vibes. You're way too protective." She muses carelessly, before instantly coming to heel and letting the smile fall from her lips as Ronin explained. "Oh...shit, that really sucks." Pouting, Flora reached out to link her arm through Ronin's in an effort to tug him closer. "I'm sorry."
'You seem like more of a Frey thing.' The Doubletake snarks if only to fill the silence.
"Yeah, no, it's weird but good. He waltzed into what was left the bar one day as I was cleaning up, asked to kiss me, did it, then said he was too busy to help out much with the repairs, but good luck."
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
Given that Flora hasn't needed his assistance, Ronin turns his outstretched hand into a bow befitting a (former) baron and continues at her heels, as much looking out for anything she might be able to get Mateo as he is watching for danger. Speaking of which, he can only offer her a crooked smile at her comments. "You didn't know me when I was a real younger sibling," he points out, only to suddenly be tugged closer.
"I appreciate it, but it's alright," he assures her. "It was a long time ago, now." And it sounds terrible, but there have been deeper wounds and much fresher hurts since then. Apparently his heart has grown to accommodate trauma as well as love.
Still, as she continues about Ever, the Nova's jaw actually drops, and he tilts his head to her incredulously. "We are talking about the same Everest Hart, right?" he asks. "He.. had he been drinking, or...? Not that he would need to, if he wanted to kiss you. But you know how he is."
"Well, things would be real awkward if I had." The Doubletake trills. Certainly not in this where or when, but Flora would have been the type of girl to cause many problems for younger-brother Ronin, had she known him in a different time or place. As it was now, he was basically her dad and thinking of him as anything other than a helping hand who was always up for some free labour, was absolutely out of the question.
"Right?" Raising her eyebrows in agreement before Ronin even says anything, Flora nods emphatically. "He seemed sober enough, but I mean, he must have been on something. No one just goes from the way he was to the way he is now." Grinning wryly, Flora shrugs at Ronin's side. "Can't say I hate it though. Even if I did just lose a bartender." There was no bar to tend just now, so Flora didn't suppose it mattered much.
"Well, seeing as this all just looks like rock, lets try somewhere else." So saying, Flora boldly begins walking as if she has any idea where they ought to head next.
~FIN
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
