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!
i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars
i am a dance of light and darkness
Ah, so he's got a pair of horns too. It's cute, she thinks, her own rack lengthening, pronged and deadly atop her crown. "You mean when everyone else agreed not to murder someone, and you went ahead and did it anyway? What I started then?"
As for where Jyoti would be? Amalia nearly scoffs, her arms folding over her chest. "She would have been healed, too. And maybe she wouldn't have been hurt in the first place, because maybe the cannibal would have told us about the fucking dragon." It had been her reasoning after all: to save a life, and to learn about the danger they were going to face.
She begins to circle around him, pacing, a feral and feline anger fueling her more than human logic. "And speaking of knowing things- shouldn't you have asked anyone in Halo about the dangers first? Like, I don't know, your girlfriend?" Or whatever he and Maea were, besides an inexplicably strange match? "Or maybe that would take too much thinking for your tiny brain to handle."
He laughs again. “It was a cannibal. If you thought it was going to tell you something other than how much it wanted to devour you, maybe I should’ve let it try.” Tattooed shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, as if it might have been amusing watching it happen rather than what occurred after. But the Shield’s circling him now, feline anger he can feel through the Attuned bond that meshes and clashes against his own thundering frustration.
The mention of Maea however, has a hiss leaving him as he watches her circle him. “Oh, and I suppose you’d have listened to her?” He doesn’t make a comment about what Maea and him were and weren’t right now, keeping from adding fuel to the fire. A muscle feathers in his jaw as he filters back what Maea had told him of the Shield, adding that fuel to the fire. “You, who were supposed to be her friend when she needed you the most?” Another huff of a laugh leaves him before he shakes his head. “I doubt it.”
He shifts now, into that Nyala form, body elongating and not nearly as nice as her mythical shift – but horns were horns, and he felt as though it might at least keep him from harming his side. Already, in his shift you can see the long fur on his side missing and scabbed from where Deimos had gotten him, already you can see him favor his left front hoof.
SUNJATA
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.
i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars
i am a dance of light and darkness
It was a cannibal, as though that was the only defining characteristic of a living thing, as if anything in this world could be so very black and white. "Justify it however you want, but the fact is we'll never know now." Because now the man is dead. Amalia's eyes are sharp and tracking as she continues to circle around him.
She can't help raising an eyebrow at the next question. Would she have listened to Maea? "Uh, yes?" The disbelief is only heightened as his accusations continue. "What's that supposed to mean?" she snaps, hands balled into fists at her side. A low growl rumbles deep in her breast. "When was I not there for her, pray tell, you who knows so very much?"
Oh dear, he's a deer. Amalia smirks, utterly unimpressed, her arms raised in a universal gesture of come at me, bro. "Is that supposed to scare me?" she asks, flashing a fanged smile. "Go ahead then, Outlander. Show me what you can do."
She’s right, in the end. But his pride and stubbornness keep him from admitting it. And so he focuses on Maea instead, an easier and still somewhat painful topic all things considered – but at least he can’t say he doesn’t care. A slight curl of his lip when she says that she would – wondering what it’s supposed to mean. “You know exactly what it’s supposed to mean.” Though he doesn’t know if she recalls the way she’d made Maea feel as though she was happier now that her family was dead.
It was a tough spot to be in, but Sunjata’s a bit drunk and he frankly doesn’t care anymore. “How about when you were oh so kind to me when we met and you couldn’t walk, but when she came to see you, somehow you made her feel as though she was better off with her family dead.”
But then he’s shifting, not to intimidate – because he knows he can’t. No, this is simply just for a bit of knocking around. Hooves stamp impatiently at her fanged smile, a stark laugh trailing down attuned bond. Oh no, I’m not trying to scare you. He tells her honestly, shifting his back end somewhat before he launches at her, head lowered to try and knock her down.
always have an escape plan
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
Confusion gives way to incredulity, a laugh escaping her as she shakes her head. "You mean when she came to see me days after my accident and told me to get over it? Yeah, I was angry." An eyebrow is raised, still disbelieving of the strange gall this man seems to have. "Maea's always been the queen of martyrdom and pity parties. But yeah, you're right, how dare I feel shitty and angry about being paralyzed- and then how dare I be civil to a stranger after. My mistake."
What a truly bizarre mindset, she thinks. They clearly deserve each other.
There is a moment when Sunjata launches at her that Amalia has no idea what to do. For all her fury, all her spite, all the alcohol in her blood, the girl has never actually been in a fight before. A pacifist in her core, the Shield is more likely to prevent others from coming to blows than ever engage herself. Yet there is a fire in her, an anger with this man in particular and all he represents that keeps her from simply surrendering here, lying down and trying to ease the conflict.
So when the Flood launches toward her the Shield simply... moves. Shifting swiftly into her larger hoofed form, the qilin narrowly sidesteps the nyala's charge, her slender legs and scaled form a flash of lilac and gold. And then, in retaliation, she does that which she thinks will hurt him most.
Nothing.
Raising her horned head high into the sky, the girl looks haughtily down at the other Attuned, trying desperately to seem more confident and self-assured than she truly is. I'll give you one chance to walk away. After that I'm not holding back.
Honestly? He hadn’t heard that part. But he’s already delved in too deep with it, shifting in the sands to his nyala form and staring with dark eyes and a horned head at the Shield of Safrin, wondering somewhere far away if aligning with the goddess of the stars was a bad idea if it meant surrounding himself with Amalia and Deimos.
At least Ronin was a friend. Even if he had dropped the Temple onto Amalia.
But he has no response as he charges at Amalia, watching from peripherals as he misses, turns and spins in the sand from that giant lilac horned beast she’s become. He half expects her to attack right away, somewhat disappointed when she doesn’t. Maybe she just makes Deimos fight her battles for her in the end.
He snorts to her with a shake of his horned head, straightening out in the sand as he hears her request. Oh, please indulge me. He rumbles to her, voice more thickly accented this way as he watches her. You seemed all for it earlier. There’s a hint in the tone he uses that seems almost accusatory. ‘You wanted me to pay, and now you won’t even try?’
always have an escape plan
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
Well, fuck. It'd be a lie to say that Amalia isn't disappointed when he doesn't just back off, her zest for this particular battle having faded as soon as it threatened to become physical. Sparring is one thing, verbal altercation another, but actually fighting? What would Safrin say, to see them here?
What would Vi?
Narrowing her large, soft eyes, Amalia snorts a puff of smoke. I never wanted to fight you, she counters, resuming her predatory circling. Behind her the long, prehensile tail lashes against the sand. Unlike you, I take no pleasure from unnecessary violence.
The truth of the matter is that she has no idea how to start this fight. Does she lunge at him? Hit him? Try to run him through? Her two-toed hooves bite into the dirt, leaving furrows as she continues to walk, trying to buy enough time to clear her clouded head.
She circles him, claims to have never wanted to fight him. Which he has to beg to differ on, wondering if perhaps she’s searching for a way out of it now. Not a fighter? Yet claims to want to protect life. What was the difference if he was someone who had brought their friends to their deaths? Was he a monster too?
Does she view him differently because he’s human?
His nostrils flare and he remains in place, head lifting up to watch her circle him. Come on, Amalia. Let off a bit of steam. He rumbles with a flicker of his ear, shifting on his feet and waiting. There’s no high road here. No ‘better than you’ route she can take, because in the end Sunjata already knows all of those things. So he waits for her to decide, trying to edge her closer as his gaze tries to continue following her. Or do you not know how?
always have an escape plan
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
Cloven hooves paw unhappily at the ground, Amalia's two natures violently at war with each other. Anger and passion scream for release, clawing their way through her muscles, her spine; pacifism sits heavy on them both, trying to keep the violence at bay.
And there he is goading her, as though he wants her to break. To punish him for the mistakes they've both do clearly made to bring them to this point.
Fine, Amalia thinks at last. At least she'll be punishing them both.
She doesn't respond to his last barb with anything but action, because that's what he wants, isn't it? Her violence, her anger, and the absolution it offers. Lowering her crowned head suddenly Amalia charges at Sunjata's left side, her wickedly sharp pair of horns poised to unapologetically to gouge. If he wants to fight her, fine: he's won. He's torn the Shield to his level.
He nearly thanks Safrin when she begins to move. And he readies himself, hooves digging into the sand and head lowering again, prepared to see which way she goes about it. Would it be all the fire and vengeance of when she had tackled him down after the cannibal? Or even with the alcohol in her system would it be quelled enough to keep her relatively reasonable?
He gets a split second to decide as she begins to move, antlered head lowering to him, and he can feel his body prepared to spring, to either connect head on as well or slip away. But as she dives for his side — the wounded side, he hops away from it, avoiding the gouge of those antlers into him.
It almost looks like she trips as he goes to whirl around, and for a second he wants to laugh — only… Something about it is rather sad, honestly. She’d just gotten her legs back and here he was, goading her when they both were hurting. He huffs out a small sigh, stepping away and not attacking again. Amalia, look. I’m sorry for what happened. I’d do everything different if I could, but I can’t. They were my friends too, my guild members. Adam was one of the first people I met when I arrived.
He shakes out his fur a small amount. I’m sorry.
always have an escape plan
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars
i am a dance of light and darkness
Well so much for showing off her awesome prowess and strength.
Looking back upon this moment, Amalia will blame the alcohol. She's a lightweight, ill-equipped to deal with its effects, the way it makes her brain uneasy and causes her to lose track of her feet. Then there's the sand which clings to hooves meant to navigate firm terrain, and the way Sunjata hops away, and the reluctance to fight that the Shield has felt clawing at her from the moment they went outside, and, well--
In the end her fall is inevitable. She'd thought his hubris was monumental, but it is nothing compared to her own. Instead of striking against Sunjata the qilin trips over her own feet, her run cut short as she stumbles and collapses, shifting just in time to spin head-over-heels and land on her back in the sand.
Fuck.
It would be the perfect time for Sunjata to strike. He could crush her easily as she catches her breath, and maybe part of her wants that. The fall has taken all the fire from her, her will to stand and reenter the fray thoroughly quenched by this immediate defeat. He's bested her without a strike. Another failure in a long line, she thinks, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable.
But the blow doesn't come. Instead Sunjata's voice permeates the fog of alcohol that hazes her mind, strangely distant and non-confrontational. From her position on the ground Amalia blinks, confused by this unexpected turn of events, still too dazed to really sit up. "I'm sorry, too," she says at last, staring at the starry sky. "I don't want to fight you. I mean, I do, but... it won't fix anything. It was as much my fault as yours, anyway. More. You were right. I should have done more. But I couldn't give up Jyo..."
No good answer, and no way to change it now. Tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, the Shield sighs and moves her arms to rest beneath her head. The world is spinning, just a little, and she shuts her eyes again. "I'm tired of fucking everything up. I can't even fight you right."
She stumbles and trips, gracefully and yet ungracefully finding her way into the sand and back into her original form. And with it, Sunjata’s quiet apology reverberating back out there into the ether, for her ears and hers alone. What he doesn’t expect, is her own apology back. And he shifts somewhat uncomfortably on his hooves before stepping toward her and shifting back into himself where he can sit in the sand beside her and follow her gaze to the stars.
“I should have picked something easier to get than a dragon.” He rumbles quietly with a shake of his head. “I’m sorry you lost Adam and Peter, Amalia. I’m glad you saved Jyoti.” He runs a bruised hand through his hair before pulling his legs crossed beneath him and bracing his arms against it.
When she mentions she’s tired of fucking everything up, Sunjata shakes his head to that with a small wry smile. “Me too.” He agrees quietly. “But you know Adam wouldn’t have anything snarky to say when we see him again, right? If we didn’t fuck things up?” Some trace of amusement beneath the sorrow as he glances back down to the Shield.
SUNJATA
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.
03-17-2020, 12:35 PM (This post was last modified: 03-17-2020, 12:36 PM by Amalia.)
i sailed seas of emotion to wander a forest of scars
i am a dance of light and darkness
She stays on the ground as stars circle overhead, distantly aware that he's sat down beside her. His comment about Jyo hurts, because she would be lying if she didn't say she agrees. More than her companion, Jyo is a life. She'd saved the little whale twice, now.
But what was the cost?
Barking a hoarse laugh at his comment, Amalia grins ruefully, shaking her head. "Gods, can you imagine? 'Think of all the time you could have spent smooching, Ama, if you hadn't moped so much.'" The impression is far from perfect, but it gets the point across.
Smiling ruefully, she turns to look at Sunjata. "Though I think he'd be proud of me. My first drunken brawl."
Her impression is good enough for him, and he chuckles to that — looking away from the sky to look over at her. He’s silent for a small amount, shifting in the sand before nodding and meeting her gaze again. “Yeah, I think he would be.” He offers with a quieter chuckle.
“The first of how many is the question, though.” He rumbles with another quiet smirk before shaking his head. “You know, he once told me...” A snort leaves him, reaching up to spin one of the earrings in his ear, turning his gaze to the sky again as he tries to recall exactly what was said. “’Are you really a cool sexy roguish hero if you haven’t sucked at least one dick?’” A louder chuckle leaves him.
“I can’t say I’ve had anyone say anything like that to me before.” He looks back to Amalia. “But he was good at saying things nobody else would.”
SUNJATA
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.
