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!
Ruffling a hand through his hair, Remi nodded. "Yes. Having Ronin back from the dead has certainly made things easier." The alchemist said with a shrug. He didn't quite know how to express his odd parenting responsibilities with the guildmaster returned and so he merely let the topic slide away.
Trying to hide the look of anticipation? excitement? contentment? that wanted to flicker across his face at the invitation to sit, Remi merely nodded his head and did just as the fox silently instructed. Having done so, he nudged Ianto in the sides and shook his head ruefully. "Poky hmm? I will have you know I did some of my best work there." He added with a grin, his voice losing his playfully defensive tone. "When I first came I did set up a place in the domiciles to live, but it seemed such a waste. I do not need that much space and do not mind what body I sleep in, so staying in my shop just seemed the thing to do. Honestly this guildhall feels like far more space than we need but.." Shrugging his shoulders he smiled fondly. "It was what Ronin chose, so here we are."
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.
"I bet." Ianto smiled, seeming to become infinitely more relaxed as Remi finally slouched to take a seat beside him, the alchemist's presence doing much to settle the fox's frayed nerves. He laughed, in fact, as he was nudged, holding up his hands both to warm them and to assure Remi that he had meant no offence. "Look, best work or not, you have to admit it was poky as all hell, Remi," he said with a smirk, nudging Remi back with his shoulder.
Hearing of Remi's jump from a house to a shop to the guildhall, Ianto was briefly reminded of when the alchemist hadn't even had a bed to sleep on, selling it for supplies for his projects. Look at him now. I'll be honest, I expected the place to be busier. Hunters going in and out, looking for monsters to slay. It's why I was surprised to find the door locked."
Remi made a humble sound of disagreement, slanting his eyes as he looked sideways at the fox. "We all can't have magic wagons." He countered with a grin.
"Ahh well...It was Ronin's initiative really, I was not involved. When he died I think the member base all but tripled, though I have not actually seen any come around." Closing one eye and counting on his fingers, eventually Remi shrugged. "With the Spire being breached and the barrier falling..." Again his bare shoulders rose and fell. "As much as I am glad that there is no king telling us all what to do, I do think the people feel a bit lost. Do they go explore? Do they stay? Do they need permission?" So saying Remi used his magic to move one of the burning logs up slightly to let in more air to the fire. "The locked door though is more for their protection than ours. Sugar is...unwelcoming of new faces."
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.
"Hey, look. I have a magic wagon, and now you have a guildhall and a shop. If you think about it, we've both moved up in the world." Ianto grinned to Remi and shrugged his shoulders, though he did seem a touch surprised to learn that the guild had gained members when its master had died, rather than losing them. That was impressive in itself. "Maybe you just need the right kind of advertising campaign. The paintings hung up here are good enough - you could get the artists to spread the word, perhaps."
Hiding a wide yawn behind his hand (the warmth of the fire and the comfort of the alchemist's presence made him sleepy), Ianto wrinkled his nose. "So many people from within this place have asked me to lead them through the forest. No matter how many times I tell them that I know my way through it, but not through it and out, it doesn't seem to make a difference. And with the Fae, too... exploring is dangerous. As dangerous as a baby dragon."
"Ahh yes. A few lost memories, a bit of enslavement, but we've secured for ourselves some great real estate." Remi quipped with a dry smile, before nudging Ianto again gently to show that even though he wasn't actually kidding since all of that was true, that it wasn't his intention to take the humour out of their conversation.
At the mention of an advertising campaign, the alchemist merely snorted. "You are the business man, not me. But I have my own guild now to worry about." Shooting his friend a grin and bobbing his eyebrows he chuckled. "Care to join?"
Shaking his head sternly, Remi sighed. "From what I have seen perhaps it best to let them know what the Fae want and think of them ... That they would prefer their woods be left alone?" Then his grin reappeared as he glanced sideways at the fox. "I was right when I said everyone would want a piece of you, mm? Even after all your trading still you are highly sought after. I suppose I should count myself lucky to have you here." He added with a quiet smile.
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.
"In the end, real estate is the one true goal of all adventurers, you know." Ianto laughed, unable even to believe his own lies this time and smiling across at Remi. Making light of their trauma was what they did after all, wasn't it? A few precious memories here, a life of freedom there. What of it? The fox smirked and straightened the collar of his shirt at being referred to as a businessman (it was surprising, how little that happened), only for his eyebrows to shoot up at hearing that Remi had his own guild too.
"Remi, I know we were joking about real estate, but... a house, a shop, this guildhall, your guildhall... where are you actually going to live?" He chuckled, before his gaze grew mischievous. "Well that entirely depends on two things," he said. "First, what kind of guild is it? And second, do I get preferential treatment?"
His amusement faded somewhat at the talk of the Fae, Ianto shaking his head. "They wouldn't believe me. I have mentioned it to a few folk, and it has made no difference. Into the forest they go regardless."
The alchemist's words, at least, did much to warm him, and Ianto ran his fingers through his damp hair somewhat self-consciously. "I'm not sure all of them are as well-meaning towards me as you are though," he remarked.
04-29-2019, 07:20 PM (This post was last modified: 04-29-2019, 07:20 PM by Remi.)
"Ahh yes. I forgot that is how most stories ended: And they lived happily ever after in their modestly-sized home."
The alchemist had to try not to give into the butterflies suddenly in his stomach that made him want to wilt slightly as Ianto put on airs, and it was decidedly more difficult than he wanted to admit. Rolling his eyes as if weighted down by the fox's question, Remi took in a breath and let his eyes roam up towards the ceiling. "Likely here still... Ronin needs me I think." He replied, voice low and respectful as if admitting a secret.
Glancing at the fox, Remi hissed in a breath as if offended. "As if you care what sort of guild it is." He quipped back with a haughty sort of sniff. "And if I give you preferential treatment we can kiss goodbye any hope of keeping up our entirely professional appearance." Remi replied before really thinking of it, the phrase kiss goodbye making him blush. Because of course that was quite literally what they had done the last time the alchemist had seen the fox.
With a sigh Remi nodded, chewing the inside of his lip thoughtfully. "I will still probably put up a notice regardless...I doubt they will believe me anymore than you, but it is worth a try."
With a crooked grin, Remi shrugged against Ianto. "Oh, and how do you know that I am well-meaning? Perhaps I am a spy trying to find out what wares you have and steal them?"
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.
"Hey, they never tell you about that part but it's how the happiest of endings are, truly." Ianto smiled fiendishly at the other man, following his gaze up to the ceiling as he spoke about Ronin. The fox's smile grew warmer, then. "You're a good friend," he murmured, arching an eyebrow at the alchemist's sudden reticence to tell him about his guild. Mischief twinkled in blue eyes, and honestly all talk about notices and Fae and Remi being a spy drifted out of Ianto's mind. Kisses goodbye didn't, though.
The fox leant back on his hands. "So are we going to preamble around everything for another four pages hours, or are you going to kiss me?" he asked, plain as day, tilting his head to the side to watch the alchemist's reaction. "Because I'll level with you - being within the barrier makes me very, very uncomfortable, and you're about the only thing stopping me from running back into the woods."
Letting his eyes drift back down slowly, Remi's heart jumped into his throat at the fox's boldness. A smile swept across the alchemist's lip despite how he bit the inside of one, his cheeks rounding and his dimples deepening.
Glancing hastily towards the fox, Remi drew in a breath, exhaling it in a shaky laugh. "Fine." He said, a certain giddiness colouring his words as a ball of bright anticipation suddenly bloomed in the back of his throat. Leaning over he swiftly pressed a kiss to the side of Ianto's shoulder.
Appearing quite proud of himself, he flashed the fox a boyish smile. "That is something I learned from your fae. All that not being able to lie and picking apart the words." Somewhere he thought Eliza would be laughing at him if she could see what he'd just done.
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 was very self-satisfied indeed until Remi leant in and kissed his shoulder, of all places, the fox narrowing his eyes playfully. "They are not my Fae," he informed him haughtily. "They aren't anyone's. But I do applaud you on your wily ways. Perhaps your next shift should be a fox, hm?" Ianto smiled, though the amusement seemed to drain out of him as he gazed back into the fire.
"I really don't like it here," he said quietly; hence his request for a distraction from the alchemist. "Perhaps we ought to meet again along the outskirts? Past the barrier?"
Remi crinkled his nose with a laugh. "A fox mm? Or perhaps a snake, then I really could be a scarf." Though the alchemist's smile was broad, his heart happily thudding away in his chest, he realized that he had expected more playfulness from his companion, and though he was disappointed to find it lacking, that was only out of concern.
"Hey." Remi whispered, leaning against Ianto and remaining there. "If you do not want to be here I will not keep you...but..." Swallowing, the alchemist was unsure whether or not to continue. If the fox truly did not want to be within the barrier then Remi didn't want to keep him. But until Ronin came home, Remi had to remain. "..it is nice to see you. Even soggy as you are."
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.
"I thought I was the one being a scarf," Ianto murmured dryly, managing a smile for the alchemist. "I can hardly be a scarf for a snake. Only a lion works." He shrugged his shoulders, blue eyes trained on the dancing flames in the fireplace. It isn't this place in particular, it's just... this side of the barrier. It feels wrong." Ianto wrinkled his nose, unable to really put his finger on it.
Still, the warmth of another body against him was more than welcome, the fox tilting his head gently to rest it against Remi's. "It's nice to see you, too. I didn't intend to arrive soggy, but I'm afraid that the rain had other ideas."
"We can't both be scarves?" Remi protested. "Besides, you have never actually been a scarf for me yet. You might be terrible at it." As Ianto stared forward, Remi helped himself to small glances of the fox's face. He let his eyes slide from the warm-hued blue gaze down to the coppery-gold scruff, the impossibly straight jawline, and lips that made him hold his breath. "Well the barrier is now. There is no more this side. It is all just... one now, I think." Remi said with a rather uncertain tilt of his head, not entirely convinced of what he was saying himself.
Feeling the moisture of Ianto's against him, Remi laughed under his breath. "We are about the same size. There is no sense in you sitting in wet clothes." The alchemist said. "Then again with magic it does not matter what size you are." Holding out a hand acream coloured shirt appeared, brown trousers, and of course, star and dragon underwear.
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.
"Well, shift your butt into a lion right now and we'll see who makes a better scarf," Ianto said, some of the playful mischief returning to his tone as he issued the challenge. What could he say? He was powerless to resist a bet like that. Even so, though, he wrinkled his nose at Remi's description of there being no barrier. "Maybe not a physical one, but... the people in here have been locked out of Caido for hundreds of years. And while the Greatwood is secretive, even I know it's not the only place out here."
Glancing up as Remi produced the clothes, Ianto tilted his head before grinning at the underwear in particular. "Oh I am keeping those," he informed the alchemist with a chuckle, rising to his feet and accepting the garments gratefully. Of course, that did mean he started to strip off without another thought, hanging his wet shirt over the back of another chair before unbuttoning his pants.
"It's not just the people, either. This... thing, whatever it was that was trapped in here. This Voice. It left a mark on the place. You can smell it."
