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!
"Mm, there are other places I'm sure," he agreed. "But as you've seen, the Fae are a secretive lot. I doubt anyone from outside knows the way through the Wildwood, so they stay away or get spat out of it. And Arduinna never taught me the way out. Besides, since the barrier fell, there are those storms..." Honestly, though, until the Spire had cracked open the barrier, Ianto hadn't given it even a small amount of thought.
Granted, all thought about the world outside the Greatwood vanished from his thoughts as they kissed, Ianto letting himself melt into the sensation and the feelings that it kindled. To feel something other than fear or loneliness or pain, especially when Remi was the source... it was no wonder, really, that the fox had been so stupid as to let him try to take off his collar.
"Hmm...? Oh, Sam?" Drawing back, Ianto tilted his head quizically before realising who Sam actually was. "Ohhh. Oh. Sam." His own laughter was just as awkward. "Wow, he must... I bet he loves the sound of me already."
loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips
"Storms?" Remi murmured with an almost sleepy naivety. Since the barrier had fallen Remi had gone exploring precisely once. An exploration which had led him right to Ianto. Since then almost every venture had been to see the fox (or to fulfill Safrin's needs). The storms were worlds away, as far as the alchemist was concerned.
The alchemist snorted with amusement, a poorly-guided hand reaching up and meaning to cup the side of the fox's face. Instead it veered slightly and landed unhelpfully on Ianto's shoulder. "He seemed...fine about it, actually." The alchemist said, exhaling through his nose. "I suppose that is what happens when you go from loving someone to forgetting all about them." He added with a touch of bitterness that he was ashamed to still have. "He did not believe me about Arduinna...he mentioned that she aided the group in the woods.." Softly the alchemist shook his head. "Being locked away..they seem horribly naive about it all."
just pull me down hard and drown me in love
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ianto arched an eyebrow at first, unsure how Remi hadn't seen or heard of the storms, before schooling himself into thinking before he spoke. Even if Remi wasn't aware of them yet, he could hardly see them now, could he? "Since the barrier dropped there has been talk of elemental storms blocking the way - only the Greatwood is accessible, or so they say," he explained. "I imagine it is the Old Gods, protesting what has happened."
And yet Ianto found he didn't really mind. Indeed, he would watch storms rage all through Caido if it had meant the barrier would still drop and he would still find Remi. Smiling as the hand landed short of its mark, he reached up to guide it to his cheek, kissing the inside of Remi's wrist.
Smiling against the soft skin, Ianto listened carefully as the alchemist spoke about Sam. His brow furrowed, but he didn't press the other man for too many details, though he did glance up as Arduinna's name was mentioned. "Horribly naive? Who, those from within the barrier?"
loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips
"Another barrier, then." The alchemist said with a wry grin and shake of his head. "Do you think it will be another 300 years before we get through that one too?"
As Ianto guided his hand back towards his jawline, the alchemist stiffened for a moment, his head tilting as if studying the fox, but only out of habit. Gently then his fingers began to explore. Closing his eyes, he tried to force into his mind the slant of the fox's jaw, where his eyebrows began and just how bushy they were, how his nose was oriented, and so many other things that he'd always taken advantage of. That hand continued to wander down to the merchant's collar bones and shoulders, roaming lower and pausing near his sternum. "Mmhm." Remi agreed, eyes fluttering open again. "They accused those of us who portalled in of not caring about their customs..of just doing what we wanted, and now they are doing the same to the fae. So it seems to me.."
He added, a touch distracted as his hands continued to studiously map Ianto's upper body.
just pull me down hard and drown me in love
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"300 years?" Ianto echoed, his blue eyes widening in a shock that the alchemist wouldn't see. "I didn't realise... I mean, perhaps someone has told me, but... that's a long time for the barrier to be up." And now it was down again, and whatever the reason for it being up in the first place was free.
Not his circus, though.
"Well, I don't really care either way." He chuckled. "I wouldn't be able to get out of the woods, so it doesn't make a difference to me."
His eyes slipped shut as Remi explored his face and upper body, the fox letting out a soft sigh of contentment, happy to let the other man map him out however he felt best. "It's a little tongue in cheek yeah, when you say it like that," he agreed. "If only they'd stop and take a hard look at themselves, huh."
loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips
"Mmhm. Thereabout." Remi agreed. Frowning softly, it was his turn to question whether or not he had heard this information before. "You...part of the bond is that you are to remain here in the woods? Permanently?" The alchemist asked, his teeth worrying the inside of his lip.
Softly Remi's hands continued to move. Not quite massaging given that his intention was to map, but his fingers were certainly definite in their movement. Shrugging softly at Ianto's response, Remi exhaled, resting his hand flat and laying his head back down in the crook of his arm. "I wish I had looked at you more." He said simply, a finger tapping out an errant rhythm on Ianto's chest.
just pull me down hard and drown me in love
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ianto shrugged gently, before realising that the other man wouldn't be able to see it. "Not as far as I know. But given that Arduinna wouldn't show me the way through to get out of the woods, and now there are elemental storms where the barrier dropped, it seems likely that I'm stuck..."
Which would suck, it was true. But again, there was very little that Ianto could do about it. Frowning at Remi's comment, the fox drew him closer automatically. "I wish I had done a lot of things differently," he said through a sigh.
loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips
He couldn't see it no, but Remi could easily feel the shrug against the bed and his body. Running a hand over his eyes, the alchemist sighed. "Well, I suppose we are all stuck, then." Remi offered, though he wasn't sure that really got at the core of what the problem was. There was a barrier around them all again, that was true. But unlike the rest of them, that wasn't what was truly holding the fox.
"Mmmm" Remi hummed in agreement, letting himself be surrounded by the fox. Absently his fingers drifted over the parts of his friend that were within wandering-distance, his eyes falling closed. "Maybe one day we will find a god that can reverse time." He added sleepily, half-joking. Laying there comfortably with his eyes closed and his mind half-adrift towards sleep, the alchemist felt content. Not safe, not quite joyful, not confident.
But content.
~FIN
just pull me down hard and drown me in love
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
