+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love (/showthread.php?tid=11429)
And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Koa - 05-30-2025
The Tower is fallen, again - only this time Koa is old enough to understand what is happening, and to appreciate the abject horror of knowing it's too late to do anything now. It's a paralyzing, unbearable weight - one he sees reflected on so many faces around him, his family and friends, his soldiers, his people. It would be so easy to give up now, to collapse beneath the crush of failure, to accept the poison promise of safety. Someone needs to keep them moving, to shepherd them through the ash.
And Koa is a soldier. He was forged in fire for this.
So he swallows it all, shoves it into a little box and keeps on pushing forward. Later there will be time for him to feel grief and anger, but for today there's work to do. And work he does: organizing, comforting, triaging, yelling, mobilizing whatever and whoever he can to get them out of danger's grip. He finds his family, and his friends', and everyone else he can. He sends someone to check the Celestine. He writes letters while on the go and posts them with desperate, frantic hope that they'll reach their recipients in time to prevent stupidity and panic.
The hours crawl and fly.
Now he's at the Skyport, overseeing another load of evacuees onto the flying ships. [say]"Torchline this way! Form an orderly queue!"[/say] His throat is horse from shouting. His feet are swollen and throbbing from running. His hair is a mess, his face streaked with dirt and ash, his shirt drenched dark with sweat. There's a fierce ache in his bones.
But Koa soldiers onward. There isn't time to fall apart.
RE: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Kaisel - 05-30-2025
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck has pretty much been the nonstop mantra under Kaisel's breath the entire flight back from Torchline, fingers nearly drumming a fire into the edge of the skyship with his impatience for the flight speed. He'd heard the broadcast with Flora and had immediately sprinted back to the skyport to head home, because what the fuuuuck.
The flight feels endless. Too long. He should’ve already been there, should’ve been helping. Finally the ship docks though, and chaos greets him like a punch to the chest.
It's a tide of people that he fights against, because comparatively, he's going the wrong way. Their fear is palpable, and it weighs on him with each frenzied citizen that shoves past, the stain rich with guilt for not being here. For not doing more. For not asking everyone to move to Haulani the moment he knew Flora had created someplace safe. All because he chafes at that word and the idea of it and hadn't wanted to push it on others. Now there’s a dragon in the skyline and a dust cloud swallowing his city.
[say]"Koa!"[/say] he shouts, hearing the firm, calm line of his cousin's voice cutting clean through the noise. Kaisel throws up an arm, wild-eyed and breathless as he breaks through the fleeing crowd. [say]"Where can I help?"[/say]
RE: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Koa - 06-04-2025
There are so many voices that it's a wonder Koa can pick out any among the crowd, but Kaisel's cuts clear and true, causing Koa to immediately pivot toward the source. [say]"Kai!"[/say] He cries, relief stark in his exhausted face because thank fuck there's another family member accounted for. Surging forward, Koa tugs his cousin in for a quick and dirty hug, squeezing tightly as though to reassure himself that the boy is real and okay.
Then it's right back to business.
[say]"For now we're getting those who can't fight to Torchline, and those who can to King's End."[/say] It had been a plan made hastily, based on a reluctance to overburden either region or to put a bigger target on Haulani. Gesturing to the groups of evacuees, Koa pushes on. [say]"Your parents were on one of the first Kings End ships, to help sort things on the ground there. My dad's going to Haulani. Noe..."[/say] His face tightens, the mask of a soldier's calm slipping low enough that raw anguish and conflict breaks through the cracks like blood. [say]"She's staying behind."[/say]
For now.
But there isn't time to fall apart. Koa forces himself back into the role of a commander through brute will, knowing that if he lets himself feel he'll absolutely break. He needs to be objective, to get his people safe. [say]"I need you to help with the Torchline evacuation, then go with them. Not--"[/say] he's quick to add, anticipating Kai's bristling reaction, [say]"--because I'm trying to protect you. But I need someone on the ground there to liaise with Flora and Hadama. I've already sent letters to them and Soh, but someone should be there to actually talk to them and plan out next steps, and I trust you with that."[/say] He reaches for Kaisel, hand settling firmly on his cousin's shoulder as searches for understanding in his face. He's so young, and there's a part of Koa that would like nothing more than to hide him away from all of this, but that's not how war works.
[say]"Once I get things sorted in King's End we'll meet back up. Okay?"[/say]
RE: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Kaisel - 06-04-2025
Being swept up into the hug is what breaks him. He'd been dancing on the edge of it, but now his heart unclenches, eyes wetting beneath the absolute relief that is Koa. It washes over the strain of trying to hold it together when all he wants to do is puke. He embraces Koa back with a strength that attempts to convey all the unsaid things—gratitude for him being okay, worry for everyone fleeing, fear in such magnitude it threatens to cripple him. Perhaps this event shouldn't have been a surprise, but tense as living here had been, it'd still been home, it'd still had pockets of safety and joy.
All of that was now ripped away, buried beneath the collapsed tower.
They part, the exchange brief but meaningful, and Kaisel blinks through the few tears that managed to eke out before he neatly set aside all his feelings in a box labeled to deal with later. He rubs an arm across his face, ignoring the water as he sternly nods back at Koa, [say]"right, good plan."[/say]
His heart thunders, full of gratitude as Koa explains where his parents are, that he’d thought to share something so crucial, even with time stretched thin and every word a precious resource. Instantly Kaisel feels lighter, something in that box he kicked into the corner dissolving. He even manages a weak smile, though it quickly fades, lips thinning with an unsettled understanding. Kaisel reaches out to Koa's shoulder, gripping it with all the hope he could muster. [say]"She'll be safe,"[/say] he says with certainty, the only upside he can cling to, the one he wants Koa to believe in.
[say]"We'll come back for her."[/say] A promise.
The shift in Koa is palpable, and Kaisel listens attentively, not to his cousin, but to his commander now. So he doesn't balk at the order, not when their lives are falling apart and listening is the best thing he can do right now. He's a soldier after all, in the end. He might pout, but he'll do what he's told. It makes sense anyway, once Koa explains it, and Kaisel nods curtly. [say]"Understood. You can count on me, sir."[/say] None of the venom from before. If anything, there's a fondness to him, because Koa taking control, it lets him really shine. Kaisel has never loved his cousin more than this moment, not even when he snuck him beers before he was of age.
RE: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Koa - 06-11-2025
It shouldn't be a surprise, but maybe that's on them. In the years since Dahlia took over Stormbreak they've all become complacent, too accustomed to this uneasy new normal, too comfortable to stay on guard or rock the boat. They'd allowed themselves to hold positions, to maintain a level of blissful ignorance and faith that the stronger, the braver, the heroes and demigods would sort it all out.
But the demigods and heroes never cared about Stormbreak, and now their home is lost to them.
The fear that's been lodged like shrapnel in Koa's gut twists at Kaisel's certainty, gratitude for his cousin's endless supply of optimism brushing hard enough against his dread to bring tears to his eyes. [say]"Yeah,"[/say] he agrees, gruff with emotions that he dares not allow to fully surface, that he must keep tucked away behind firm confidence for the sake of his own sanity as well as everyone else. [say]"Yeah, we will."[/say] He even manages the ghost of a smile, the ash on his face creasing as his mouth shifts.
Then they're both shifting like a lenticular printing, new facets emerging as the need arises. Kai accepts his orders with a soldier's crisp obedience, only this time there's no undercurrent of resentment in the way he calls him 'sir'. It fills Koa with appreciation for his cousin, grown so newly into a man; a weight rolls visibly from his shoulders as he exhales, relieved to know that he has a second he can trust. Nodding sharply, Koa steps back, his eyes casting back over the crowd of refugee seekers who swarm the port. [say]"Good. Send a runner if you need anything.
"And Kai?"[/say] He turns back to his cousin, affection and pride gleaming like sunlight in his copper eyes. [say]"I'm really, really fucking glad you're here."[/say]
RE: And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love - Kaisel - 06-11-2025
Kaisel lingers a beat longer than he means to, held not by indecision but by the sheer magnitude of it all. The orders are already rattling around his head like coins in a tin cup, clanging against the noise of panicked voices, flapping sails, the creak and groan of overloaded ships. There's so much to do it claws at his chest, scrapes at his nerves—but, at least there’s something to do. That’s the only thing keeping him from falling apart. Motion. Purpose.
He nods at the mention of a runner and turns to begin enacting his orders, but Koa’s voice cuts back through it all, a glance tossed back towards his cousin, starting to become less visible as crowd begins to press into the space they had occupied. The words are a weight of trust against his shoulders, a cape that anchors him and straightens his spine. He offers a smile, sharp with grit and ash. It isn’t bright. It’s cracked at the edges, worn by loss and too much fear, but it’s real, and it carries everything that matters: I hear you. I’m with you. I’ll do right by this.
Then he's moving back into the fray with renewed resolve, slipping into motion with a shouted command and a sweep of his arm to direct the next group. His hands lift children into their parents’ arms, steady old men as they hobble aboard, guide the terrified forward with a hand firm on their back. Chaos reigns, but Kaisel doesn’t flinch from it.
Let the city fall and burn if it must—they’d make damn sure its heart still survived.
[FIN]