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!
Sam found feel the heat and energy grow until it reached a crescendo between them and his mouth left Loren's wrist just in time to moan and gasp out: "I'm--I'm co--" He didn't have time to finish his warning as Loren clenched down on him and he came inside almost immediately, crying out helplessly and pressing his face against Loren's collarbone.
After a moment spent just gasping and coming down he slowly pushed himself up to pull out, holding himself for a moment over Loren and just smiling, leaning down to press a kiss to the side of his mouth. "...That...was...wow." Unable to think of the words he shook his head and laughed. "..You...you feel good?"
Moaning in pleasure as Sam came inside Loren, he felt himself relaxing almost bonelessly as he came down from their mutual climax. As the bookmaker asked how the healer was feeling, he let out a huff of laughter. Turning his head slightly, he captured the other man's lips in a full kiss, though it was almost content and lazy. When the Launceleyn broke it off, he smiled. "I feel amazing. Thank you." He reached up to cup Sam's cheek fondly.
Then Loren wriggled a bit, trying to shift so that the bookmaker was laying next to him. As the healer did, he sent a pulse of magic through his body, sealing the bites and replenishing the lost blood. Feeling drowsy after that, he just hummed happily as he tried to cuddle with the other man.
Sam returned the kiss with a smile, his lips lazy and soft now that he was spent and suddenly overwhelmingly sleepy and content, wanted nothing more to lay with Loren and hold him: luckily, it seemed like that was what he wanted to. Seeing Loren's wounds heal as he pulled out and went to lay next to him, Sam flopped an arm over his chest and hummed happily as he pressed his face into Loren's chest.
"I've never done that before. I was nervous. But...It was great,..because it was with you." He said quietly, squeezing the other man close. Maybe it was too fond of a thing to say but he didn't think about that in the moment, where he was just endlessly content to be there with Loren...even if they'd need to clean up at some point before they slept. He wasn't about to have cum all over his sheets.
It took a bit of wiggling, but eventually Loren was able to sneak a hand around Sam and pull the bookmaker into the healer's side. With one hand, he stroked the other man's shoulder idly. The Launceleyn's expression was blessedly content, and he too made happy sounds as the two of them snuggled.
Grinning at Sam's comment, Loren rolled a little on his side so he could face the bookmaker more slowly. Leaning down, the healer kissed the other man on the cheek gently. "It was great regardless." Then the Launceleyn let out a huff of pleased laughter. "But if you want some more practice, let me know."
Loren leaned to kiss him and Sam smiled, pecked the other mans cheek in return as he pulled away. He was sure that actually, it had been great because of who they were and what Loren meant to him now...but he wasn't going to argue. Regardless, they had both had a good time, and that was what was important. "..Mmm..wait a moment." He sat up then leaned over the end of the bed to grab a cloth, an old handkerchief; he passed this to Loren with the clear implication he should clean up his chest with it before Sam would cuddle properly close.
"I'm sure we could both use plenty of practice, when it's so much fun." He smiled, stretching and laying back down, going to snuggle close to Loren once he was clean. "...Have you...been having a lot of practice elsewhere?" Sam asked softly, running one finger in circles over the Launceleyns shoulder and looking somewhere around his chest.
Laughing a little as Sam handed Loren the cloth, he dutifully cleaned himself. Although he didn't mind, he would respect the bookmaker's wishes. When the healer was done, he wiped up the rest of the mess they'd made as best he could, dabbing at the splatters that had hit the sheets.
Shifting to let the other man back in, the Launceleyn pulled Sam close. Smiling as the redhead traced patterns on Loren's skin, he stroked the bookmaker's shoulder again. "I'd like that." It came out simply and happily.
However, when the Ascended asked if the Launceleyn had been getting a lot of practice lately he tensed slightly. "Yes." Turning so he could watch the other man's reaction, Loren sighed. "Does that bother you?"
As Loren said 'yes' Sam closed his eyes and sighed; he could hardly pretend it didn't bother him after that. Gently he spread his hand out and tapped it against Loren's chest as he spoke, trying to plan out his words carefully. "..I...I know I have no right to be upset and we agreed that we weren't committed to each other. But I just...it does bother me when I think of you being like this with someone else. I...I think this feels special, that's all." Looking down he felt incredibly embarrassed in that moment, wondering if Loren just considered this to be another night.
He stayed where he was for the moment cuddled into Loren's side, but he was a little tense and awkward now, not quite fitting together with Loren quite as well as he had. On one hand he felt bad for bringing this up right after they'd had a good time, but on the other...he knew he couldn't do this forever. He wasn't made for casual, no matter how hard he tried.
Biting his lip, Loren closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he let it out in a long sigh. Opening his eyes again, he sought out Sam's. "Look...I...I like you. I said that. I like you a lot. And I...might even be open to the possibility of being with you exclusively one day." The healer tried to smile though it wavered. "I mean, I'm definitely open to that possibility."
And it slipped away entirely as he kept talking. "But I'm not ready to commit to something like that right now. And I don't...I can't say when I will be, and I don't want to break any promises to you." Pausing, he searched the bookmaker's features. "And even when I am ready, I just...we have separate lives. I am not willing to give up my position in Halo and I won't ask you to give up yours in the Hollowed Ground."
The healer's hand sought out the hand the other man was tapping against the Launceleyn's chest. Lacing their fingers together, he gave Sam a serious look. "That's not fair to either of us."
Loren said what they both already knew, he supposed: Sam was aware he was moving too fast, that he needed to wait for the other man to be ready to commit, but the aching in his chest that called for a companion had rushed him through it too quickly, made his throat fill with bitter sadness every time he remembered that he was not alone in Loren's arms.
With a little sigh, he took the Launceleyn's hand. He wasn't in love with this man, not yet, not really - he knew he could be very easily, but he'd protected himself enough this time to not have fallen that far so quickly. He just loved the idea of Loren, the kindness in him that he wished could be his...but it couldn't, not now, and Loren was right: It wasn't fair to either of them.
"...So..after tonight, we stop doing this?" He said quietly, not quite meeting Loren's eyes. "Stop seeing each other so often? ..I think it'd be easier if we didn't."
Pressing his lips together, Loren felt all the happiness he'd been feeling earlier melt away. His eyes had grown sad and something in his heart clenched. "If that's..." Voice raw, he had to swallow to get the words out past the lump in his throat. "If that's what you need." Now it was his turn to not quite be able to meet Sam's eyes.
The healer leaned his head back, squeezing the bookmaker's hand far more tightly than the Launceleyn had intended to. "For what it's worth I'm...sorry." He took a deep and shuddering breath. "Sorry that I, I couldn't..." Voice trailing off, he just shook his head a bit helplessly.
"But I do care about you." Tone soft, he forced himself to meet the other man's gaze. "And I hope we can still be...friends."
Sam nodded faintly, not wanting to see Loren less (the thought actually made his chest ache, as if his heart were bleeding), but he knew it was the only way he'd get rid of whatever feelings he had let build up about the man in the last weeks. "You...don't need to be sorry. I've had a very nice time with you, and that's really all that matters, isn't it?" He said kindly, looked up to Loren's face and squeezed his hand back.
"Of course. I'll write you letters. And I still want to visit the Citadel every so often." Not just for Loren; he still had lore to find and write down. That still didn't make him feel that much better in the moment though and with a sad hum he laid his face on Loren's chest. "Just...for tonight, hold me...and let's just sleep? It's a lovely quiet night." It really was, with the shine of moonlight through the crack in the curtains and only the faint sounds of wind outdoors: a fitting goodbye to a short lived affair, he thought.
04-10-2020, 06:26 PM (This post was last modified: 04-10-2020, 06:27 PM by Loren.)
Making an unhappy sound in the back of his throat, Loren bit his lip. There was nothing he could do or say to make this easier for either of them. In fact, this was probably for the best, to end it here before he inevitably mucked this up.
Still, even with the promises to stay in touch, to see each other again, it very much felt like an ending. And something about that caused his insides to twist, caused an uneasy feeling to bubble up in his gut. Again, there were no salves for this wound, no sweet nothings left to whisper.
He just pulled Sam in and held him close. And though it took Loren a long, long time to actually fall asleep, eventually he did. And then, as he'd warned earlier, he left before the dawn.
