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!
04-26-2019, 09:33 PM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2019, 10:23 PM by Remi.)
Having basically burrowed himself back into the bed, Remi was almost sure the first thing he would hear would be one of Aoife's morning wails, or Sugar rooting around downstairs for food. Hearing Ianto's voice in his head shot a bolt of adrenaline through his stomach but not so much as the follow-up thought did.
If Remi could hear Ianto's voice, it meant he was a fox, and that he was close. And if he was a fox and close, it was likely that Sugar was aware of him as well.
Shooting from the bed and not even bothering to put on pants, worried that those precious few seconds might end up mattering, Remi raced down the hall as silently as he could, taking the stairs two at a time to arrive in a flurry on the main floor. His eyes darted around for the fox, and, having found him, immediately turned towards Sugar's den, his heart in his throat.
Shift. Now He thought as he tried to catch his breath, praying that Sugar would have stayed asleep and not caught the scent of the fox.
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ianto skittered back at the sudden thunder of footsteps on the stairs, the fox keeping low to the ground with his ears pinned back, unsure what the reason for all of the ruckus was for. Still, much as his heart lifted at the sight of Remi, the alchemist doing much to soothe frayed nerves, his command did not make the feeling last long. Surprised golden eyes bled into blue, and in but a moment the fox became a man crouched on the ground, feeling something like an intruder. "What's going on?" he asked, before jumping a little at the white streak that shot from a den in the main hall of the building.
Sugar had watched the intruder slip inside, already awake after Aoife had stirred, and regardless of the fact that Ronin seemingly understood the presence of the fox that she showed him in her mind, she was unhappy. Sometimes Ronin was stupid and a lot of times he was wrong. So she had decided to bite out the fox's throat just in case, and then... well, whatever. The only issue was Remi getting in the way.
So rather than lunging at the fox-man like she had wanted, Sugar ended up draped around Remi, growling moodily and lowering her scaly head to tuck it beneath the alchemist's chin.
04-26-2019, 09:47 PM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2019, 10:23 PM by Remi.)
Sighing out the breath he'd been holding in an un-smooth rush as Ianto shifted (Remi's stomach flipping slightly at the too-handsome sight of him), he hadn't the time to properly answer the man as the streak of white which had been aiming for him was suddenly a scaly blur around his neck.
Tilting his head slightly as if to say this is what's going on on, Remi winced slightly as Sugar's talons scraped against his bare skin. Despite the pain, he leaned his chin down and nuzzled the scruffy side of his head against hers, cooing gently as his hands came up and resting gently against her.
"He fixes roofs, you know." Remi whispered to the dragon, a mischievous glint in his pale eyes. "And you know how our roof leaks, especially in this weather." He continued consolingly, his body still tense as if expecting Sugar to decide she'd much prefer a different repair-man and lunge at Ianto anyways. Still, Remi tried to appear as calm as he could, despite the fact that he was wearing only star-and-dragon boxers and currently had a dragon curled around his shoulders.
"Are you sure you do not want to go back to until the sun is up?" He whispered imploringly to her, humming against her scaly body.
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
This is what's going on, indeed. Ianto's eyes were wide as he took in the small dragon currently draped around Remi. He'd met another dragon much the same size not long ago, but this was... well. Two dragons in such a short space of time? He was allowed to be a bit shocked, he thought. Still dripping wet and feeling no small amount of distress at even being this far within the barrier, the merchant still held up his hands placatingly, as though that might help.
Sugar's ice blue eyes never left the intruder-maybe-friend, though she did let out a low, crooning sort of sound as Remi fussed over her. The bribery of attention was absolutely working, and the dragonling snorted a cloud of cold air at Ianto, though nothing more came of it.
Trilling softly at Remi and nosing into his ear for a moment, Sugar finally relented and glided back from around his shoulders to perch up in the rafters. Just for a bit. Just in case.
"So that... is this a bad time?" Ianto laughed softly.
04-26-2019, 10:03 PM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2019, 10:25 PM by Odd.)
Shivering at the cold puff of air, goosebumps spreading out across Remi's mostly-unclothed body, still the alchemist warmly returned the nuzzles of the dragonling. She was only doing her job, and with Ronin back again (and then out before sunrise this morning), he couldn't really blame Sugar for being a bit more hostile than normal. Still, he was more than relieved that she was showing more maturity than she had the first time he had appeared to her as a raccoon.
"I will have your breakfast rare, just as you like it in a few hours. Or whenever Ronin returns from learning of his new superpowers, mm?" He promised, tensing as she pushed off of him to glide above. Running a hand over where her claws had just been, Remi turned towards the fox whose current state of wetness and unease made the alchemist seem the put-together one.
"That? No. That is Sugar." Remi replied with a light chuckle, then placed his finger to his lips. "Aoife is sleeping upstairs, and I would prefer she stays that way." This he said to Ianto as much as to Sugar, who he gave a quick warning look to before returning his gaze to the fox.
"I...was not expecting to see you. Here of all places." Remi murmured in a low voice, his brows a gentle shape of confusion.
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Breakfast sounded fantastic to Sugar, whether it was delivered by Remi or Ronin, and she peeped over the rafters at both of the men to observe them for a few moments. Given that she was still only young, it likely wouldn't be long before she disappeared back into her den to snooze, but at least she could stand guard for now. Snuffling at the pointed look Remi shot at her, she curled up in the crook of one of the rafters, having no intention at all of waking Aoife either.
Ianto watched the exchange with a quiet sort of befuddlement, smirking at the dragonling's name. "The last one I met was called Coffee. Is this a theme?" he asked, keeping his voice low and pushing his wet hair out of his face. When the alchemist commented on his showing up at the guildhall, he could only shrug. "I wanted to come and see you. And you made a good point, about being able to leave the Greatwood. So I thought I'd come and see your guild."
“Coffee?” Remi returned with an amused tilt of his head, surprised more so that there was another dragon rather than the name. Despite that though the alchemist couldn’t pry his mind away from wandering thoughts of the fox and this impromptu visit.
“Well you might have given me more notice so that I could have dressed for the occasion.” Remi said with a grin, conjuring a blanket to wrap around his shoulders like some sort of absurd cape. Raising a brow he crossed his arms beneath his make-shift cloak and fixed the wet fox a faintly skeptical look . “Just...how did you get in? “
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Mm. I was wondering whether the two might know each other, given their names." Ianto smirked. But, like his friend, he was a little more interested in actually being there than talking shop about dragons.
He was almost disappointed as Remi conjured a blanket to cover himself up with, wrinkling his nose playfully. "I was enjoying that," he protested in a warm voice. "You were dressed perfectly, might I add. Though, ah... you don't have a fire I could warm up by, do you?" He motioned to himself, still drenched through, shivering before the door.
"Mm? Ronin let me in," he lied smoothly, mischief glittering in blue eyes. "In that he left through the door, and I ran inside before it shut again. It's raining quite awfully out there, you know."
Glancing up with a look of genuine surprise, wondering what it was he'd taken from the fox such that his enjoyment had been ruined, he blushed to realize that it had been him. Tilting his head slightly with a look of silent (but amused) reprimand, Remi chuckled and nodded towards the hearth.
"I guess that means I am officially waking up." Remi replied, stiffing a yawn and moving to set wood into the fire. Half-using magic, half his hands, quickly a neat structure was built, flint found, a spark produced, and a small bundle of flames created.
Raising a brow and glancing over his shoulder, the question of Ronin let you in? lingering on his tongue, he laughed it away shaking his head. Still, Ronin must have been quite upset to have not noticed a fox darting in while he was leaving. "Mmm, I have heard it all morning. It is quite soothing when you can just listen to it patter against the ceiling rather than getting drenched in it. You should try it some time." The alchemist said with a grin, giving the fire a last approving nod before standing, conjuring a towel and tossing it towards the fox.
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
04-29-2019, 03:25 PM (This post was last modified: 04-29-2019, 03:25 PM by Ianto.)
IANTO
Catching the towel and using it to rub at his damp hair, Ianto could only offer a cheeky grin in response to Remi’s silent chastising. ”You don’t have to wake up on my account. I’m just grateful to get out of the rain,” he said, his laugh quiet and musical as he followed the alchemist over to the fire.
While Remi set about lighting the kindling, Ianto peeled off his wet coat and draped it over one of the chairs, though his shirt was still left clinging to his skin. His boots were the next to go, allowing the fox to sit down before the hearth with bare feet, dabbing at his face.
”Maybe I’ll be able to listen to it here for a while,” he said, smiling up at the other man and holding out his hands for the fire to start to warm his fingers. ”Thanks, for not letting me be killed by a dragon.”
Remi tried very hard not to notice the casually handsome way Ianto's coppery hair splayed in all directions or the silhouette of his body that was revealed with the way his wet shirt was clinging to his frame. It was entirely unhelpful, given that Remi was the one with physical hang-ups that he was so preoccupied and flustered by Ianto's mere appearance. If the fox could be less dashing, the alchemist would have greatly appreciated it.
Remi didn't even try to hide his smile as Ianto mentioned he might like the stay a while, the comment making the alchemist nod and bite the inside of his lip as he leaned against the heart watching the light dance off of the rings on the fox's fingers.
"I may have only prolonged your death." Remi said casually, the grin on his lips mischevious and crooked. "Who am I to tell a baby dragon what she can or cannot eat?"
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ianto seemed calmed by the fire, smiling softly as the light played across his skin and warmed it from the rain. It had been a foolish idea, perhaps, to show up so early and expect someone to be awake, but he was not known for thinking ahead. He smirked, glancing up as he spotted Remi watching him; if he could parade around in boxers and be distracting, at least Ianto knew he was giving as good as he got.
"Well you managed to save my hide for now, so I appreciate that," he murmured, the towel sitting around his shoulders now while he warmed himself up. Once he got feeling back in his fingers, he glanced about the greathall, eyebrows raising with interest. "So this is where you live? A monster hunter's guild?"
Remi grinned and nodded obligingly. His cape had been dropped so that it wrapped around his waist; given his proxmity to the fire he didn't need any more than that. He didn't need it all truth be told, using it only as a barrier between his skin and Ianto's eyes.
Following the fox's gaze, Remi pulled in a breath and nodded. "Mmmhm. I moved in shortly after Vanya died. Vanya...ahhh, Ronin's.." He meant to say wife, but then realized she wasn't. There hadn't been time. "She died during LongNight giving birth." Touching his fingers to his forehead Remi frowned. "Sorry, I cannot remember if I mentioned that before." Having his memories taken had made his mind feel like cheesecloth. So much just filtered through now, and the alchemist had trouble remembering what was real and what wasn't.
"Then after Ronin died it did not seem right to move Aoife and Sugar, so I stayed. Then when he came back he asked me to stay, and so I have." Gently Remi's shoulders shrugged. "I was just sleeping in my shop down the street before that."
I forgot what it was like, to think I found you finally
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ianto's brow furrowed as he heard the story about Ronin and Vanya, the fox allowing his hands to drop and sit in his lap now. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I recall you mentioning having to take care of a baby and a dragon. Aoife, right?" He arched an eyebrow, unsure if he was recalling it correctly. "I'm glad, that things seem better now. For everyone, especially you." Whilst the details were fuzzy, he remembered all too well the gaunt and solemn alchemist he had first met in the woods.
Unable to help himself, he flashed a golden smile up at Remi at the mention of his shop, tilting his head and patting the ground beside him, as if to invite the other man to sit down. "You got a shop here," he said warmly. "You'll have to show me it some time. All I remember is your poky little workshop in Northaven."
