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!
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
"Pancakes." The Alchemist murmured in a sleepy drawl as wakefulness slowly pulled his eyes open. Daylight filtered into their room in long streaks that looked nearly tangible, illuminating piles of clothes discarded in a haste and never remedied. Laundry was not top of mind in a house full of demigods it would seem.
"You m'ssed my bir'day." Remi continued on, nuzzling his unshaven chin annoyingly against Ronin's neck and huffing out a breath into his husband's ear. Draping one leg over the Ronin-shaped-lump beneath the covers, the Alchemist groaned under his breath as his knee clicked and his back angrily tensed. He'd become an old man somewhere along the way and not only had his husband not told him, he hadn't even made him pancakes about it.
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”Mmn... happy bir’day.” Ronin’s voice was as rough as the cheek that scritched against his neck, not that he stirred or minded other than to bury his nose in the Alchemist’s curls and let out a sleepy sigh. The Star was stretched comfortably on his back, one arm tucked behind his head under the pillow, the other draped around his husband.
The fingers of light coming into the room painted stripes behind his closed eyes, and as Remi moved Ronin stole a glance at the waking world, at the piles of clothes, half finished paintings and other brick-a-brack left unattended. ”You sound like popcorn,” he mumbled sleepily into Remi’s hair, referring to the crack of his knee, though his fingertips had already begun to strum a pattern along the Alchemist’s lower back. (His knee was too far away so this would have to do).
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
'I'll make you sound like popcorn." The Alchemist replied with a youthful bravado his sleepy voice in no way pulled off. Whether or not that was meant to be a threat or some sort of strange innuendo wasn't at all clear. Humming contently in the back of his throat as his husband's fingertips found the offending muscles low on his back, Remi edged himself closer that Ronin might have better access for more touches.
'Don't think this gets you out of pancakes.' He warned, cracking open one eye and giving the hunter a stern but sleepy stare. It was in easy moments like this that the Alchemist forgot all about the time and place he and Ronin were living through. Not that the pair had ever been on a vacation, but had they, it might have seemed like that: all blissfully warm sheets, no hasty calls forcing them out of bed, no blood to wash off (pausing, Remi mentally forced himself to recall the night before, confirming that no, there was no blood to wash off).
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”And I will let you,” Ronin said, just as unsure about what Remi was implying as he was about what he had just agreed to. They’d find out, he supposed. Smiling dozily as Remi scooted closer, the Alchemist ending up with his head tucked under Ronin’s chin, the Star dutifully continued to deliver touches and fuss. His hand drifted in slow circles, fingers stroking up the length of Remi’s back until they could slip into his curls, Ronin sighing and considering drifting back off to sleep.
Because there was definitely no blood to wash off, no unexpected calls to consider, no chance of immediate danger or demise. And Ronin lived for it. It was only his husband’s demand that stopped him from losing another hour to a nap, and he slowly began to stretch out in bed. ”Pancakes, then. Did you want breakfast in bed, or are we both going to the kitchen on this adventure?”
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
Grunting with satisfaction that his challenge? had been accepted, Remi grinned sleepily, nearly falling back asleep himself beneath the warm pressure of Ronin's wandering fingers.
"In bed? And have Sugar in here for weeks searching for crumbs?" Remi huffed against Ronin's chest, drumming his finger's against his husband's collarbones. "Besides, how dare you have an adventure without me. And on my birthday." It absolutely wasn't, and truth be told, the pair of them going together to the kitchen was much more likely to invite disaster than if Ronin went alone. Still, Remi was having absolutely none of it, his determination to follow his husband evident in the way he nipped lightly at his husband's shoulder.
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"She'll search for crumbs in the kitchen just the same," Ronin pointed out with a lopsided smile. "You just don't like the icy kisses she gives you in the morning." Which he could absolutely understand, but fuck it. A laugh escaped him as Remi's teeth met his shoulder, Ronin resisting the urge to return the favour, and instead he pulled the Alchemist to him for a second, wrapping them in a tangle of limbs and sleepy warmth and touch.
"I would never dream of adventuring without you," he assured the other man. "Especially not on your birthday. Shall we?" With obvious reluctance, Ronin extracted himself from his husband to roll out of bed, hunting for trousers in the varying piles of clothes. Beams of sunlight caught him as he went, highlighting tanned skin and messy, dark hair, and Ronin hissed at the brightness of it. It was only appropriate.
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
'I'm generally not trying to sleep in the kitchen, though.' Remi pointed out, though as of late, he'd been falling asleep when and where he could, given the strange hours being the Governor was forcing him to take. Happily pulled against the man to whom he'd pledged everything that he was, Remi released a sleepy and adoring sigh.
"No, you dream of another things." The Alchemist returned with a mischievous grin. As Ronin hunted, Remi watched, leaning his chin against one hand and using his magic to obfuscate his husband's efforts by burying his clothing under piles of yet more clothing. Eventually, he gave up; gone were the days of making breakfast naked. Joining Ronin, Remi shrugged into a shirt and a pair of sweatpants, raising his arms above his head to stretch.
"Do you think time passes faster here?" He asked suddenly, ruffling a hand through his bed-messed curls.
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”Generally isn’t the same as always,” Ronin pointed out, trying to swat at the magic trying to obfuscate his clothes, swearing affectionately as he finally got himself presentable if not entirely dressed. It didn’t stop him from nudging Remi as he got out of bed, though, or tugging at his sweatpants as he stretched. ”Oh? What do I dream about, mighty dream thief?” he inquired, padding barefoot to the bedroom door and slipping out, trying to be quiet so they might enjoy their sneaky breakfast without extra pairs of eyes.
”Hmm? Here as in Torchline or in Caido?” he asked regarding time, seeming bemused. ”I feel like I have aged by about a thousand years since we arrived at the Hollowed Grounds that first day, if that is what you mean.” Heading into the kitchen, Ronin started to open the cupboards and the icebox Sugar kept cool for them, drawing out flour, eggs and milk.
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
"What did I say about being clever so early in the morning?" As his sweatpants were pulled lower, showing the barest tan lines that his husband didn't possess, the Alchemist grinned crookedly. Rather than lowering them entirely as he might often have done, citing the morning-wood idly tenting the front of them as something that just had to be taken care of, instead he folded his arms and fixed his husband with a look. "Pancakes." He reiterated sternly.
Following behind Ronin, Remi placed a whiskered-cheek against his husband's. "Mayhap I've developed new magic, you don't know." He chuckled, not wanting to bring up the obvious example of Safrin.
Seating himself at the table with his feet propped up on one of the other chairs, the Alchemist shrugged. "Caido." He replied, before ruffling a hand through his curls. "I mean, you're 27 now. I don't recall having married such an old man." Throwing a bit of scrap parchment affectionately at Ronin, the Alchemist drummed his fingers on the table. "I just...I suppose I don't remember it all going so fast back in Northwind. Then again, my life was quite boring compared to all of this, so maybe that's what it is."
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Probably for me not to be?" Ronin suggested, a crooked grin on his face that only grew at the press of a bearded cheek against his own. "Pancakes." He nudged an elbow back against Remi's ribs, letting the Alchemist slouch to sit down as he began to mix the flour and milk and eggs into a pancake batter. It was a refreshingly ordinary scene, the sunlight reaching into the kitchen and striping it with shadows, Ronin leaning comfortably back against the counter, barefoot and shirtless and with parchment bouncing off his chest courtesy of Remi.
"I wouldn't put it past you. Do tell me if you find out any new magics, please?" he remarked, whisking the mixture up as he spoke, moving with ease around the kitchen now to grab a pan and to heat up the stove.
Jaw dropping comically at the insinuation that he was old, Ronin seized the parchment to lazily throw it back. "Listen, you," he said, setting everything down and moving to purposely muss up Remi's curls more. "It definitely was more boring back in Northaven. But I'd take here any day. Whether the days go by quickly or slowly... at least we're more free to be ourselves here."
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
'You're still doing it.' The Alchemist grumbled, though there was absolutely no trace of genuine upset to be found. Indeed, Seren's sleeping presence just a door-away was all that was keeping Remi from truly expressing the depths of his lack of frustration with his husband.
For a moment rare enough that neither man who likely take it for granted, Remi marvelled in the quiet normalcy of the morning. Though Ronin's body was as suitably scarred as his own, the Alchemist found his eyes instead wandering to where traces of flour clumped on his husband's forearms, or how he shifted his weight to stand more on one foot than the other. It had been far too long since the last time Remi had had the chance to marvel at his husbands more unimpressive traits (the way his hair parted and fell, the length of his spine, the way his toenails needed to be cut); the sorts of things you only really noticed when you were well and truly in love—and of course not being thrust into battle or being told you have an unexpected child to raise.
'Maybe I will, maybe I won't." Remi replied with a childish lilt to his voice, before grinning unapologetically as the parchment was thrown back his way. Reaching for Ronin's shoulder to drag him down (not to eye, but lip-level), the Alchemist indulged himself in the sunburnt-softness of his husband's lips, evidence of precisely the sort of freedom that Caido afforded the two of them. "If only you'd brushed your teeth before coming down here, that might have been rather nice." The Alchemist hummed as he released his would-be chef.
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”I’m still doing it.” Ronin grinned, seeming very pleased with himself indeed. He allowed himself to be pulled down to Remi’s level, all soft lips and bed hair, and he scoffed out a laugh as he straightened back up. ”Yeah? Right back at you, charmer,” he drawled, sauntering back to the hot pan and the batter he had mixed up. It sizzled as he ladled some into the pan, the Dark Star humming timelessly under his breath.
”Do you know,” he murmured, ”that if I could live every morning like this forever, that would probably be enough for me. Even with your constant sass.” Winking over his shoulder, Ronin made to flip the first pancake - and it promptly landed on the floor with a splat.
You know how they say you got the real thing, When nothing else matters?
As Ronin straightened and went back to the pan, the Alchemist bit the inside of his lip as if to keep his smile from growing. Ronin wasn't looking of course, but there was something so genuine about how he was feeling, so incredibly light-hearted and joyful, he feared if he let himself sink into it too fully, he might lose it.
"My constant ass??" Remi intentional misheard, tilting his head to the side and letting his eyes follow the pancake as it made its descent towards the floor. "Well. If we did live every morning like this, hopefully your pancake handling skills would improve or we'd start every day quite hungry." The Alchemist countered with an entirely self-satisfied smirk.
I love you like that
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”Yes, Remi. Your constant ass.” Ronin snorted, arching an eyebrow down at the pancake as if it was going to miraculously jump back up and into the pan. It didn’t, and the hunter turned around (they could clean it up later) to try again.
”There is nothing wrong with my pancake handling skills,” he informed the other man. ”The first one always needs to end up on the floor, it’s lucky.” Or at least it was on this occasion. Ronin certainly felt lucky, anyway. Come what may, whatever darkness that might be closing in, this morning felt... perfect, in a word.
