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!
She adjusts herself to look at him, and he slides his steel gaze over to her with a small smile as she replies, nodding his head to her. “Sure.” He tells her easily, knowing full well that if he had to do anything less favorable he absolutely wouldn’t tell her. He nods again as if to cement the fact, before she tangles herself with him.
There’s something that flashes in his eyes though it’s not easy to place when she asks about his own home. And for a moment he considers not answering it at all, until she mentions that he can tell her anything. He contemplates for a moment before sighing heavily. “I think you will not like it.” He mentions as he thinks on it, a small amount of his home accent seeping through his words as he regards her. “But I will tell you if you like.” Not everything, but perhaps the reasons why he is the way he is.
Perhaps it will help her understand his moods further, the triggers, the truths.
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
He said she wouldn't like it, and in response she reached up to stroke his jaw with her thumb, anticipating him clenching it. "It isn't about me liking or not liking it. It's about me knowing you better...being closer to you." she said softly. That was a big part of it, feeling she was close to him in more than just the physical. In some ways he still kept her at arms length, and she wanted to be brought in. How else could she help him or foster what they had to grow if he kept her at a distance?
"You just agreed to put effort into helping and staying with a dying girl." she said gently. "If...you let me in, maybe I can help you too." she said with a small smile, nodding when he asked if she would like to know more.
She makes a fair point, and he turns his head slightly away from her as she strokes his jaw. Perhaps it would help the both of them, for her to understand what causes his moods and why he is the way that he is. His eyes skate over to her briefly as she mentions that he’s agreed to stay with a dying girl and he gives her another small weak smile, uncertain of where even to start.
He inhales deeply and forces himself to look away from her, staring at the wall or something other than her. “I’m from the house Senzaok. It was a house of Judgement for the land I was born into.” A muscle feathers in his jaw as he thinks of it. “We were the ones that enforced the laws, enacted judgement, a lot of executions. And we were trained very young. Remember I told you about how we would be tossed into the water and forced to swim our way out or die? That was the start.” He shoots a glance to her.
“We trained every moment of every day, and each year when we reached a certain age there would be a battle to determine who the next heir of the house would be. The last survivor won the title, and when the head of the house was sure to die, they would hold another battle between all those named as winners the previous years. Whoever won that, won the head of the household.” His eyes flicker, wondering if perhaps that explains to her why he had been so worried when he hadn’t found her.
“My father was the current house leader, and when I was born they had another — my sister. Each family was to have a boy and a girl, one to fight and become something or die, the other to carry on the bloodlines. Any other children born, like a second son, was placed into an orphanage of a different land.” He sighs heavily before turning his gaze away from her. “I was twenty when I won the battle.”
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Phoebe made no move to force him to look at her. She simply listened quietly, soaking it all in. Her expression set into a cross between a frown and a look of concern as he went on, her hand trembling lightly where it rested on his shoulder. She didn't quite connect it to why he reacted as he did when he couldn't find her, as much showed in her eyes as understanding did not dawn on them, but it did make sense why his reaction had been so over the top. Anger was powerful. Anger could keep one going to survive. He had needed it.
And it wasn't so easily unlearned.
"That must've been really hard." she said quietly. Not only living through it, but having to kill or be killed so young. That would definitely change a person. But despite the gruesome nature of it, and the implications of how he had participated in it, she didn't pull away from him. Quite the opposite, she snuggled closer, her fingwrs running over his shoulders soothingly. "So...you were going to be head of the family then?" she asked gently.
She comments that it was hard, and there’s a part of him that wants to tell her it’s unimaginable, but he remains silent, nodding only in response. But when she asks if he was to become the head of the house, he shakes his head slightly. “Not exactly. I would have had to win the second battle.” He mentions with a slight shrug. “But my father was in good health, and had decided to spend the time teaching me how to do what he does. He was confident I would win it when it came time, only he didn’t know… how much I resented it all. I rebelled at first in little ways, spending time in the city.” He pauses briefly, looking up to the ceiling.
“I would be late to the meetings and lessons, and he grew angrier. But it only fueled me more to see him rage. And I kept doing it until I became less of an enforcer and ended up spending my time around those we were to apprehend.” There’s a light chuckle at that, despite it all. “And I met a girl named Lusea. We were together for awhile before word spread to my father.” His eyes skip over to her with a slightly raised brow to see how she’d take the information. “She worked at a bar down in the slums, which also held underground boxing matches at night. I would take part in them when my father pissed me off.” Theres a slight smile at the memory.
“One night I was fighting, when we were raided by my own house. They nearly killed everyone there, apprehended me, made me watch as they…” He trails off as he looks away from her, clears his throat, and continues past the grim details. But by the way his jaw clenches slightly, he imagines she gets the idea. Torture, death, and the like. “I was brought home in chains, and my poor wonderful sister and I were punished for it. My father arranged a marriage soon after to prevent me from seeking anyone else out. He arranged one for my sister as well, to punish me more.”
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
The more he speaks, the more he reveals, the more things began to click into place. Her expression did not change much though. She was frowning, brows knitted together with concern and sadness – but at no point would he receive the look he likely thought he would get; there was no disgust or horror or repulsion. He was a victim in all this in a way, whether he realized it or not. When he reached the part about Lusea, what all had happened, how it ended, then the last piece clicked into place. No wonder he had been so angry when he couldn’t find her.
”And that’s when you ran away.” she said quietly. That was the bit she had known about. That he had been in an arranged marriage and so had his sister and so they defied their father and fled. She lifted her hand to his check again, pulling herself up so she could place a gentle kiss on his lips. ”I’m sorry for making you relive that but it…it helps to know, to understand.” she said with a small smile, her thumb running over his cheek. ”But you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. It’s all behind you.” she said gently.
His breath hitches slightly at the memory, but he recovers as soon as Phoebe speaks, eyes focusing on her – the here and now. He gives her a short nod in response. “That’s when I took my sister and ran.” He mentions, not admitting the fact that he had killed the ones within the arranged marriage – a note of information that he will not share with her. "That's also when I got this." He pauses to tilt his head and gesture to the gruesome scar that starts behind his ear and runs down his neck to his chest. And he flickers to see her response to it all, but she doesn’t seem to view him any differently, not after learning how many people he’s killed. And the way he’s portrayed it, it appears more like a victim than the bloodthirst that sat on his tongue for so long.
Even worse so after Lusea.
She pulls herself up, kissing his lips and he returns it gently before sighing lightly. “It is easier to push away.” He pauses, though his mind still feels half here half not. “To pretend it didn’t happen, until something brings it back.” He pauses to look at her as her thumb runs over his cheek. “Like when I couldn’t find you.” There’s a pause and a soft sigh before he nuzzles his head into hers. “I am sorry about that.”
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Phoebe looked at the scar he mentioned curiously. She of course had noticed it before, but never asked, not wanting to pry too soon. But now he came out with it himself alongside the rest, and everything began to come together. Gently she ran her fingers over the scar, a small frown on her lips. ”I’m sorry you had to experience all that Jata. You didn’t deserve it.” she said softly, lifting her hand from the scar to run over his hair.
She nestled herself back in against him after she kissed him, arms wrapping around him comfortingly. ”It’s okay.” she said to his apology, smiling at him a little. ”I understand it better now. It makes more sense…you still overreacted.” she said with a light laugh, poking the tip of his nose playfully. ”But I understand. And…I don’t think you should pretend it didn’t happen. It did. It made you who you are.” she said softly. ”Now you just have the opportunity to be someone different, to grow and change, to pick the path you want to be on, rather than the one you were born to.”
She tells him he didn’t deserve it, and a majority of his being thinks that he absolutely did deserve it, but he doesn’t say anything on it. Instead, he lets her run her finger along his scar before his eyes find hers before she nestles into him again and accepts his apology. She mentions that he did still overreact, and he huffs a small sound of agreement before she pokes the tip of his nose and his lips quirk in a small smile.
He pulls her closer, arm stroking her shoulder blades gently as he listens to her and huffs a small sound of agreement. “I have spent the last twenty six years as this. It is hard to change it, Phoebe.” He pauses, not sure if he’s ever told her his age before. “When something happens, I revert back to that version of me, the one that would run to the slums to fight the night away, return bruised and bloody to the palace.” He sighs quietly before his hand reaches up to run through her hair as he pulls her a bit closer. “I have always been a difficult man to get into.” He gives her a small half smile.
Perhaps that also explains to Phoebe his hesitation on titles. Lusea had held that title, for a while, before she was ruthlessly murdered because of him.
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
”No one said you had to change now, or even quickly. Little victories every day.” she said encouragingly, smiling against his shoulder as she rested her head against it. ”It makes sense you would revert. That’s what kept you alive and going for so long.” she said empathetically. Survival instincts were powerful, and his literally had led him to survive, not simply have slightly more comfortable or better outcomes to tough situations.
”I don’t think your difficult.” she said with a small smile. She fell silent for a moment, letting her trembling fingers run across his shoulders. ”So you’re 26…how old do you think I am?” she asked with a little smirk, looking up at him.
It was easier to lose himself in the pleasure of sheets and teeth, of battles waged with fists and blood, than I was to sit and talk about it. He had always been a physical person, and he knows that won’t change any time soon here. But he gives her a small smile, even if she doesn’t see it, when she mentions little victories. He doesn’t know what those are, it had always been a huge victory or a loss. But he’s willing to try.
He nods quietly at her next set of words. He always has been a survivor, just with a heart and ability that leaned a bit more dark than most people preferred. One foot always within it, no matter how much he tried to appear civilized on the outside. Still, he feels her trembling fingers run along his shoulders, and he leans into the feeling a small amount as he closes his eyes.
Only one eye opens, tiredly, at her question when she turns to look up at him. He hadn’t really considered it, just believing old enough, but if he had to put a number on it? His head tilts slightly as he regards her, the soft delicate features. She’s young but not too young, he thinks. “Twenty?” He rumbles to her with a slight smile on the corner of his lips.
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
08-09-2019, 07:17 PM (This post was last modified: 08-09-2019, 07:17 PM by Phoebe.)
PHOEBE
”Twenty.” Now that made her giggle. ”Not quite.” she said, tucking her face against his chest so he couldn’t see it. She knew her intended lie would show all over her face, but she really wanted to get a small rise out of him, just to lift his mood a bit. It was never good to go to bed brooding on things. ”I just turned fifteen last season.” she said before biting her lip to hold back the snickering.
She held out as long as she could – which was probably just long enough for him to begin to panic. And once he did, or reacted however it was he would react, she began to snicker and giggle, looking up at him then. ”I’m just kidding, I’m eighteen.” she said.
She giggles, and for a moment he tries to look at her. She says it’s not correct before burying her face into his shoulder, and his brow raises in a small amount of surprise. His hand continues to trace along her back and hair in soft circles until he hears what she says and his hand stills, and he sucks in a breath that makes him cough in surprise. “What?” The shock that laces through him makes him tense and he tries to pull away from her to look at her face and see if she’s lying.
Which thank the gods she is, when she snickers and giggles and his face is full of confusion and perhaps a small amount of wariness. “Gods” He says exasperated before chuckling light at it. “Still young, but gods.” He doesn’t know what to say, other than to bite on his lower lip in the surprise and sudden relaxing to his body that’s on edge as the news hits him. Eighteen isn’t so bad, fifteen on the other hand? That’s basically a child. “I was actually scared.” He tells her with a light chuckle.
boy with gunsmoke
for breath, boy with
rebellion in your bones
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Her head tilted back as she laughed outright now, seeing the panic and wariness on his face. So often he was the one getting a rise out of her, but finally she had gotten him! And oh was vengeance sweet. She laughed so hard in fact that tears rose in her eyes, and she carefully wiped at them – still laughing mind you – with trembling fingers. Oh, nothing soothed tension like a good laugh.
”If only you could she your face.” she said with a few remaining snickers as her laughter quieted. ”Sixteen was the age of adulthood in my world. I’m old in my opinion.” she said with a smile. ”I take it that it wasn’t quite the same in your home?” she said giggling again as she remembered the straight look of horror on his face. ”What would you have done if I had actually been that young?”
