From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
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!
Elias listens, nodding slowly. "I understand," he reached to rest a hand on her shoulder, gently. "You shouldn't be ashamed. There are worse ways to deal with emotional pain, sometimes people spiral because they can't bring themselves to cope at all."
He offers her a soft smile, "Besides, they're kind of pretty, they kept you here." Elias's smile fades, as he hums, biting his lip. "I think, maybe, if my father had learned how to handle his emotional pain in other ways, than to bottle it up..." The man shrugged lightly, "...well, he might still be here. There's a reason I'm running a stall in the market."
Elias had once had other dreams, though now all he could dream of was opening a proper shop in town, like his father had always wanted.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
She remained silent as he spoke of his father's own demise and held her shoulder. Phoebe knew she should have been more sympathetic, she should have understood it was an attempt to relate and connect. But instead she pulled further away, emotionally, hiding away behind an invisible barrier.
"I tried to jump off a bridge still. It's not a coping mechanism worthy of the praise you give it." she said, voice devoid of emotion, shrugging ever so slightly. "The only reason I am here is because the man who is the brothel guard now happened by and grabbed me." she explained.
Elias hummed, quietly. "Do you still feel those urges? To burn yourself, or jump off of a bridge?" He shifted to sit next to her, studying the picnic basket of food.
"I'm sorry for asking," he murmured, as he claimed a slice of pie, which had been pre-cut prior to leaving the house. Scooping a bit of pie with one of the spoons from the basket, he studied the sky.
"You asked if I made a wish. Would you like to know what I asked for?"
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Sometimes." she said softly, honeyed eyes melancholic as she gazed off into the distance. "When I'm alone. When there is nothing to do. But there are too many people who are relying on me now. I need to keep myself together. And so I do." Sheer willpower was what kept her on her feet. Yes, she had rebuilt a few friendships, yes she got to begin anew. But feelings like grief and heartache and inadequacy did not go away so easily.
She shrugged at his apology, not accepting it but not ignoring it either as she looked over at him. "If you actually meant that you wouldn't have asked." she said.
Again her eyes drifted to the pool of water, hesitating before her own curiosity got the better of her. "What did you ask for?" she asked.
Elias listened, nodding. "Aye, those feelings never leave easily, do they, nani?" He shifts to rest an arm around her, in a light hug, "I'm glad the brothel brings you some sort of peace. Not many people can find something that creates a level of... mmm, contentment?"
He pursed his lips, murmuring, "No, I wouldn't have. Curiosity is perhaps my worst virtue."
When she asked about his wish, he pulled away from the hug he had been giving her, and studied the pool of water. "Ah, now who's the curious one?" He's teasing, as he sets his pie aside. "I wished... that I might find an answer to something a spirit told me. I went to go talk to Frey, but... I got this lovely spirit, instead."
He pauses briefly and decides to continue on because he's already told enough to get the girl interested. "Her advice was really straight-forward... basically that I should be someone worthy of your trust, and that I should... hmm, take an active approach, instead of being passive." He turned his gaze from the pool of water, back to the young lady.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
Where it had been a simple task to push him away when his actions were outrightly romantic, his light hug was a different story. Instead of tensing and retreating, she relaxed and melted into his side, soaking in what comfort she could from the embrace. Eyes fluttered closed as she took in a deep, slow breath, focusing on setting aside the emotions threatening to well up for the time being. "No. They don't." she said with a sigh, turning her head to look at him. "What does nani mean though?" she asked.
Phoebe focused hard on keeping her face expressionless as he spoke, revealing hints of truth here and there, but dancing around answering her question nontheless. "That answers what you went to see Frey about...but not what you wished for." she pointed out.
She had enjoyed the hug, and that told him a lot. "Nani means pretty." When she returned to her question, he chuckled, "Ah, sorry. I wished for... hmm, a new beginning with you."
He offered a slight smile. "I'm good at messing up, but not very good at fixing what I've messed up, especially if it isn't something I can fix with my hands." He explained, with a shrug.
"There's... so much to learn, outside of charisma and romance and sex." He doesn't seem embarrassed, as he speaks, though there is a slight tinge of color to his cheeks. "It doesn't seem like romance and charisma will get me anywhere with you, and sex... well, there's a time and place for that." At least he's honest.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Oh, okay." she said, nodding a bit as he explained the meaning. Pet names weren't new to her, and one as generic as that certainly didn't bother her any. What caused a blush to raise to her cheeks was the wish he had made. "A new beginning with me." she repeated a bit bluntly, too taken aback by it.
A tinge of guilt squeezed her heart though as he spoke of messing up, and she shook her head a little. "You didn't mess up...not too long ago you would have had me wrapped around your finger." she said with a mirthless laugh. "I'm just...a mess. Getting close quickly...I just don't think I can do that again for my sanity's sake." she said softly.
She shrugged a bit at his additional comments though, not sure herself what would and wouldn't work anymore, aware she was actively pushing away from any such closeness. "What is your plan then?"
Elias grinned, "Nah, see. I messed up. I was lolo... dumb. If I'd done it right, I'd have made sure you were comfortable." He studied her, thoughtfully, nodding. "So then, for sanity's sake, we'll go slow." His lips curved into a slight smile, "You set the pace."
When she asked about his plan, he shrugged. The boyish grin apparent, "Ah, I'm going to wing it, nani. You like physical comfort with no romantic expectation and pearls, and you seem to like my food. You've had it rough, and you're scared to get hurt again, and you run the Halenani." He nodded to the picnic basket. "That's what I know about you, so that's what I'm going to use."
The man claimed a sealed jar, of juice, opening it for a sip, before offering it out to her. "Will you accompany me to find pearls, sometime soon? Not a date, unless you want it to be."
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
She shrugged a little bit at his comment, again not sure she wholey agreed. "I'm a Madame, and this is Torchline. Why would you think I wouldn't have been comfortable?" she countered. A kiss shouldn't have made her uncomfortable, and in truth it hadn't. It was the meaning behind it, the reason why, that made her uncomfortable. "And what if I decide I don't want anything at all?" she asked, glancing at him. He seemed to think this was all for certain; but she wasn't willing to jump off the deep end like that yet.
Wide eyes blinked, listening as he listed off what he knew of her. Most of it was superficial...but that was where everything started with any new acquaintance, wasn't it? Unsure what to say in response, she simply accepted the jar of juice, taking a sip from it as well. "I would like to go find pearls." she said with a small smile.
"Then we stay friends." He responded, with a grin. "My mama always said, if you're confident about something, even if it might not happen, it's more likely too with surefire confidence behind it." He explained. "Or, maybe I'm just a cocky asshole," he joked.
She accepted the juice from him, and his invitation to find pearls. "What do you know about pearls?"
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
"Maybe a bit of both." she said with a bit of a smirk. Cocky asshole seemed to be the default setting for most men born and raised in Torchline though, so she was starting to think it more indicative of the environment than an individual characteristic.
"Not a lot." she said while looking at the juice in an attempt to discern what fruits had been used to make it. "I grew up very far away from the ocean, so they've always been an exceedingly rare commodity. But I know they are only found around the ocean." she said with a shrug.
Elias chuckled, leaning to rummage through his pockets. He eventually settled two different pearls on the blanket between them. One was black.
"This pearl," he rolled the black one towards her, "Comes from the black lip oyster. Pinctada margaritifera. These pearls can be larger, because the oyster that grows them can grow to be really large," He gestured with his hands, showing the size-range. "Also different shapes. Teardrops, ovals, and more. Same with colors." He grinned, humming thoughtfully.
"The most important thing to know, is that the oysters have different lip colors, and that helps define the pearls color. But another way that pearls get color is when there's color in the... hmm, it's like a glue, that holds the oyster together. Natural substance." He's probably overloading her with information, and this realization makes him apologize quietly.
Nothing around here is quite as it seems, Not sure if anything's real or a dream, And the only thing sure from the start, Is the song that's inside of your heart, Don't let it leave.
I've dropped out, burned up
Fought my way back from the dead
Her eyes grew wide as he pulled pearls from his pocket as though they were penny candies, placing them before her on the blanket. "They come in colors other than white?!" she said in surprise, looking at them with curiosity. "Are there pink ones?" wouldn't that be just magnificent! Pink pearls!
She tried to follow along as he explained it all to her as though it were so simple. But...honestly she didn't terribly care how they were made, instead more interested in how one sourced such things and that maybe there were pink ones. "So...they are an animal product? Not rocks?"
