What do you get when two ruthless assassins raise their daughter travelling through the wildest reaches of Caido? Take one look at Theea and you'll get a pretty good idea. Cheerful and tenacious in equal measure, and curious beyond all else, she began her journey on a mission to find those her mother once called family. And find them she did, soon rubbing elbows with demigods, leaders and even ghosts from the past. Her determination is resolute, her thirst for knowledge unmatched. We can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!
Congratulations, Theea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Out on the Ahi Coast, sand sprays in towering waves up and down the beach, chased by cheers and the shrieks of small children (and maybe a few scandalized parents). Caden isn’t a devoted kids-person usually, but something about Torchline’s gaggles of citizens and their beachgoing ways makes him lackadaisical whenever he visits. Plus it’s not too hot for reckless galloping just yet - plenty of reason to take a few tots on a reckless ride up and down the beach on Hugo’s back.
The draft comes to an impressive sliding stop, large hooves leaving tracks in the sand and spraying an unfortunate sunbather who hollers something Caden doesn’t bother parsing. “There you go kiddo, thank you for riding Hugo the Great! Tips are appreciated but not required. Gold only - sorry, no silver.” The kid laughs, shaky-legged as Caden slides easily off Hugo’s back and pulls them down to plop them back on solid ground. They totter off toward what is hopefully their parent (Caden didn’t exactly keep track of where he picked them up on the beach, but that’s not his problem) and he props his hands on his hips as he beams out across the gawkers and hopeful participants alike. His flagrantly open white shirt billows as a breeze comes through to cool down both man and unicorn, both of them gleaming copper in the sun. “Alright who’s next?” The sunbather angrily throws back their towel and stands, fuming, but Caden cheerfully ignores him while pointing aimlessly out across the beach to pinpoint some random passerby with a come-hither smile. “You! How about it? Wanna fly on land?”
You’re red wine and roses, sugar coated Just a runaway carousel that spins me ‘round, ‘round, ‘round
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora doesn’t exactly mean to be the centre of attention when she wanders down the Ahi Coast. She’s just here to walk off a headache and get some sun on her skin—the kind that doesn’t taste like anxiety and court politics. But unfortunately for her (and even more unfortunately for whoever’s towel she’s about to step on), she does still look exactly like herself: a braid over one shoulder, long legs tanned and glittering with sea-spray, and an aqua sundress that’s more revealing than regal.
The second Caden points in her direction, Flora freezes. One gold-ringed hand lifts automatically to her sunglasses, sliding them down her nose so she can peer over the top and give him a look. A long look. And then, like someone who's been personally called out by a game show host, she sighs and starts walking.
"Depends," she calls back, cutting across the sand like a born-and-bred Torchliner. "Do I get a commemorative sticker if I survive?" She stops a few feet away, hands on her hips, glancing between Hugo and Caden like she’s debating which one is more likely to throw her. The unicorn glints like a copper coin in the sun; Caden, like the person who probably once tried to pay for something with a copper coin and a wink.
I want to be when you fall on me like night I wanna kill the lights
Oh, lucky day. Caden meets her long, piercing stare with that come-hither grin that never falters - paying off immediately when she folds and stalks his way. Crossing his arms he leans back against Hugo’s warm shoulder and enjoys the show as she approaches. “A sticker? I’m not so cheap as that, and certainly never with a beautiful lady.” Hugo snorts loudly and sidesteps away, making Caden stumble backward as his support beam vanishes. Used to his brother’s asshole nature however - good wingman though he usually is - Caden catches himself and uses the momentum to kick forward and meet Flora halfway, extending a hand like another well-known street rat (sans magic carpet).
“Survival is guaranteed, I assure you. Though I can patch up any injuries if they do happen,” he promises with a wink. Hugo gives a warning snort and Caden briefly looks away to see towel-guy marching red-faced and laser-eyed in their direction. “Oop - clock is ticking, beautiful!” Hugo spins in place and Caden vaults onto him, smile turning wicked as the incensed shouting starts up from behind. His hand extends again as Hugo closes the distance, ready to pull her up. “Now or never!”
You’re red wine and roses, sugar coated Just a runaway carousel that spins me ‘round, ‘round, ‘round
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora snorts, entirely unbothered by towel-guy’s incoming rage-storm and Hugo’s dramatics alike. "You flatter easy," she says as she stalks forward, but her smirk undercuts the barb, something bright sparking in her aqua eyes. A few onlookers start cheering again—whether it’s for her, for the unicorn, or for the chaos is anyone’s guess.
Caden’s extended hand is met with hers without hesitation, and with a practiced grace that suggests she’s done this sort of reckless nonsense before, Flora uses the momentum of Hugo’s spin to vault up and behind the saddle, skirt hitched up just enough to keep from tangling in the mess of limbs and motion. "You'd better not make me regret this, or I'll give your address to towel-guy," she warns cheerfully, her arms looping easily around his waist.
Then she leans in just slightly, her voice purring in his ear above the growing shouts behind them. "And don’t get any ideas—I’m only letting you sweep me off my feet because I’m bored.".
I want to be when you fall on me like night I wanna kill the lights
His laugh is a bright bark of sound, and as she vaults up behind him he pulls on the base of Hugo’s mane - never a bridle with his partner in crime - and the unicorn spins a tight circle and kicks up sand in the direction of the wounded party to the delight of the crowd if their heightened cheers are any indicator. And then it’s just the two of them, high above the onlookers; her voice in his ear and sand beneath hooves as Hugo starts with an easy canter. It carries them away just as swiftly without his enhanced speed, ensuring she can’t escape him so easily now.
“Oh, but I don’t want you bored,” he clucks his tongue, arm wrapping overtop her own and boldly slotting his fingers between hers from above. Not quite entangled or holding hands, but a promising pressure on the webbing of her fingers. “You must be difficult to please - I can’t disappoint you either, as you said.” He turns his head over his shoulder, nearly touching noses with how they’re pressed together. “Say, wasn’t it sunny?” And if she turns to look she’ll instead find - all at once, like ice cream melting over them both - twilight skies and aurora lights, snow instead of sand and the smell of frost as it ices out the salt and surf.
At that same moment Hugo’s canter shifts into a gallop that within moments is faster than any normal steed could achieve, and the aurora colors blur as they race down the endless runway of sand that the coast provides. But Caden ensures his illusion never replaces the temperature of the sun above; he doesn’t have a coat to provide her, and he’d never be so ungentlemanly as to watch a lady shiver if he can prevent it.
You’re red wine and roses, sugar coated Just a runaway carousel that spins me ‘round, ‘round, ‘round
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora's breath catches—not out of fear, but in that sharp, electric way that happens when the world shifts all at once. Her arms tighten instinctively around Caden’s waist, not from hesitation but to anchor herself as twilight spills like ink across the sky, devouring the bright summer sun in a breathtaking sleight of hand. Frost scents the wind where brine once lingered, and the shimmer of northern lights ripples above like paintbrush strokes made just for them.
"Okay," she murmurs against his ear, a smile blooming slow and astonished across her lips. "You get half a point for dramatics."
Her hand—already caught beneath his—tightens briefly, not pulling away but returning the pressure with a silent, sardonic acknowledgment. Still pressed close behind him, she leans just enough to peer past his shoulder, curls tugged loose by the wind. "I hope this illusion doesn’t come with actual snow," she calls over the wind, her grin audible in her voice. "Because I didn’t exactly dress for a sleigh ride."
The gelding surges faster, and Flora throws her head back with a laugh, wild and bright, like something being shaken free. "Alright, magic man," she dares over the roar of sand and illusion, "what’s the rest of your pitch? Because so far I’ve got free unicorn rides, auroras on demand, and moderate flirtation. You trying to get me to join a cult?"
I want to be when you fall on me like night I wanna kill the lights
"Half? I was right - hard to please." The corner of his grin is visible where her head is tucked against his shoulder, but his eyes are riveted to the stretch of snow before them, and the runway of sand that lies beneath it. This may be for her - for everyone he'd pulled up onto Hugo's back - but it is also for his own experience.
He tilts his head into hers as her chin comes to his shoulder, ginger fire melting into golden strands. "Do you feel cold?" His fingers slide from the valleys of her fingers in a trail up the back of her hand, her wrist, her forearm. Flirtation, yes, but also to prove that her skin has only cooled from the pace of their run. "I don't need to make you feel it just to get you to hold me tighter - Hugo's got that covered." And it would dampen the thrill of the moment - something he values as much as her general comfort. He wants her to feel alive. If her laugh is any indication, he's on the right track.
Hugo slows his pace - coming out of his enhanced speed and then down into a canter - and Caden lets the illusion melt away. They are incredibly far now, nothing recognizable and hardly any beachgoers to be found. He turns to better face her, hand sliding back to cover hers. "Nah, no cult. You think I'm charming enough to convince you to join one? Now who's flirting?" Caden winks at her over his shoulder as Hugo slows again to a leisurely walk.
"Now, you can laugh - I give you full permission to - but honestly I just want people to live." He shrugs loosely, careful not to jostle her chin if she's still close. "Maybe the Family kills us tomorrow; what if we died not having experienced this? Died too scared to have done anything but keep our heads down?" It would be more philosophical if his sincerity didn't present through a steady smile and the spark of adrenaline-thrill in blue eyes. "It's just a bonus to bring people along with me sometimes. Force them to do it too." His free hand rises to rake through his hair with a dramatic sigh. "I know, I know - I'm incredibly philanthropic. You can hold your praise." He pauses for effect, hand cupping his nape before he turns his head to smirk at her. "Hold over - praise away."
You’re red wine and roses, sugar coated Just a runaway carousel that spins me ‘round, ‘round, ‘round
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
"You’re unbelievable," Flora drawls, but there’s no heat to it—just the golden sparkle of someone enjoying herself far more than she expected to. Her head tips back again, curls tousled by the wind, and this time she doesn’t laugh so much as sigh, the sound light and contented. "If I’d known your whole pitch was ‘live fast, look pretty, die inspired,’ I might’ve shown up sooner."
Her chin comes back to rest near his shoulder, the illusion gone but the thrill still lingering. With the beach now just warm sand and lazy waves again, the world feels slower, softer. Closer. She could pull back, could make some joke about charity cases or add a sarcastic 'you’re welcome' for the pleasure of her company—but she doesn’t. At least, not yet.
Instead, her fingers shift slightly under his, not pulling away, just tracing absent-minded shapes against his knuckles. "It’s dumb," she says after a moment, quieter, like it’s been sitting in her chest for a while, "but sometimes it feels like I forgot how to do that. Live, I mean. Like I got so used to surviving and fixing things and making it all look easy that I… stopped wanting things just for me." Exhaling thoughtful, Flora's grin suddenly turns wry. "Until someone started conjuring blizzards and dragging me onto magical ponies."
Her aqua eyes flick sideways, sharp and mischievous again. "Don’t let it go to your head, though. You’ve still got, like, half a point." She pauses, then leans in a fraction closer, voice dipping low. "Maybe three-quarters, though that's mostly because of Hugo."
And then, because he asked—because of course he did—Flora lets her lashes dip low, lets her voice drip with faux-reverence as she breathes, "Oh wise, dazzling, devastatingly humble mystery an—thank you for saving me from my boring, beige little existence. I am but a simple woman, swept up in your snowstorm of selflessness and charm." She glances up through her lashes, lips twitching. "How's that?"
I want to be when you fall on me like night I wanna kill the lights
