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!
Nate keeps moving, slowly, in Sunjata's embrace, shifting so they're chest to chest, as much as trusts the other man with his back. A brow, the one not bisected this time, rises, the expression somehow obvious despite being wrapped up with bandages. Talking about it like this, it sounds like they're prepping for any other bad storm, any other normal thing, and Nate let's himself settle into that thought, smiling faintly as a kiss is pressed to his cheek. "Look at you go." He murmurs in response to the work the other man had done, despite the whine that comes at the first mention of water.
"Thought of almost everything, didn't you?" Slowly, he's been creeping back to that easy purr, the drip of a flirt on his lips, just because it was Sunjata he was talking to. Nate's hands find their way up the other mans body, taking a wandering, appreciative path. They're almost curled around the attuned's shoulders when the crash from the living room shatters his facade of calm, has Nate twisting, stuck where he is between a body and the counter.
There's no pulse under his skin, but if there were, it would be thundering as panic shifts to anger quickly, Nate breaking away from Sunjata so he can shout across the house, his voice sterner, louder, angrier than he means. "Mota, Haai, stop fucking around!" The sudden sharpness of his posture does little to hide the tremble in his hands, his own shouting doing more to key at his anxieties than the crash had, but he's gone too far to backtrack now. The starwhal slows, though she's more concerned with Haai's well being than her master is, and more than willing to ignore Nate's sternness, understanding where it comes from enough to not be worried.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
“All except for a first aid kit.” He rumbles with a small smirk, a bit of amusement to the oversight but glad that he has Nate there as a second mind to cover the mistakes he makes. Because much like Nate, Sunjata doesn’t trust the peaceful tendency he’s heard Torchline to have during LongNight. He’s prepared as much as anyone else to end up having to use the cellar just in case. It’s likely why he’s stocked it so well with the things they’ll need. So they don’t have to leave.
Hands are on him, and he’s half ready to hum appreciatively at the path they take – but then the crash happens and Nate’s twisting and Sunjata’s stepping back to give him space, not wanting to be the one to trap the Ascended. Of course, Sunjata had seen the crash coming, a small glimpse or two from Haai that showed the path she were to take, how she never succeeds in running that corner successfully. It still didn’t help himself from twitching a small amount when it does happen. But his eyes are on Nate, not sending a message to Haai to reprimand – not as Nate’s voice booms through the house.
And he sighs quietly, understanding why he might’ve reacted that way, but still unsure how to fix it. Haai seems to realize the mistake as well, despite Pemota’s nonchalance. Haai untangles herself, and lays flat on the floor, head to the wood and ears flattened with wings tucked in tight. Her emerald gaze lingering on the entry way to the kitchen as if Nate might know if she moved. Sunjata, meanwhile, steps nearer to Nate but still gives him space. “She just slipped, it’s alright Nate.” He offers unhelpfully, back to the uselessness with words and comfort he typically held.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
"It's a good thing you've got me then." Nate retorts quickly, ready to sink into this mood for the evening, the warmth, the almost flirting, the closeness. It's the best he's felt since he'd been attacked, the most calm, the most whole, and then he had to tear it apart, reacting too quickly to his panic.
There's a long moment, as he hears the house fall silent in the wake of his voice, where Nate stays locked where he is, shoulders stiff, his jaw clenched tightly. He's never felt such instant regret, both for the griffin, who didn't deserve the sudden explosion, and because he'd never heard so much of his father in his voice. It twists him up inside, his whole stance dropping into something exhausted, something barely holding together. Hands come up to rub at his face where he can, covering his features when he turns back to Sunjata.
"I know." The words come out so softly they're barely there at all, as if the single shout had taken everything else out of the ascended. "M'sorry." What else could he say, how else could he explain himself? Pemota apologizes where Nate can't, slipping in close to the griffin's side and letting her soothing light twinkle around them, a soft crooning leaving her.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
It is a good thing he has Nate. It’s a good thing he has Nate even despite the sudden outburst. And all things considered? It’s not the worst thing. Haai hasn’t heard it before, so used to Sunjata’s own little outbursts that she can handle those and equally give them back. Nate? Nate’s her favorite, and his sudden burst of anger is unusual, frightens her a small amount. And so she remains as Pemota drifts closer – exhaling a small plume of smoke from her own surprise as her wings slowly begin to expand, one ear flicked forward as she turns her attention to the starwhale with a small sound leaving the griffin.
Sunjata focuses on Nate as he turns to face him, moving closer now as Nate rubs at his face, as the words that slip from him come in an almost whisper – picked up easily with the earring he wears. But ever attempting to be the calm Nate needs now, he reaches out to Nate to offer that steady pillar of warmth, of light. “It’s okay.” He begins, offering a softer smile in case Nate does deign to look. “Come here.” He says lightly, trying to open his arms a fair amount to bring Nate in for a more official, tight, comforting hug – wanting nothing more than to absorb the fear and anxiety that swirls within Nate and place it on himself if it got Nate some effort of reprieve.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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 connection to Pemota only adds to the guilt swirling in Nate. It's one thing to know the state he's put Haai in, and it's another to know, through the judgmental lens of another creature. The young starwhal takes advantage of the griffin's shifting, and snuggles into the space under a wing, careful of her horn with the closeness.
Nate's tired. It smashes against him again like a tidal wave, sending him sagging into Sunjata's arms, into the offered embrace. He should be better at this, at dealing with things. He had nothing but time, right? He should be over this by now, should be past the paranoia and the fear and the self loathing, but it just seems to get stronger and stronger with each passing day, fading for a few hours before rising up and threatening to drown him again. He's tired of it.
There's an edge of defeat in his voice, pressed in to Sunjata's shoulder. "I'm sorry." Nate's really not sure what for at this point, but he doesn't know what else to say, doesn't know how to get back to the relative ease Sunjata had managed to cultivate.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
Permits snuggles in and Haai shifts a bit more to keep her wing around the star whale, moving to rest against the floor and keep from moving too much. At least Pemota’s closeness and croons do calm the griffin a bit. It gives Sunjata time to focus on Nate once more, pulling him into a tight hug, arms wrapping around the Ascended as he sags a small amount in his exhaustion. And he wishes so desperately that he could help Nate, do something that could get him to sleep or focus on anything else.
“I know.” He murmurs softly, resting his cheek along the top of Nate’s head. His arms remain tight for a few heartbeats longer before he’s moving again, pulling away a small amount. “She’ll be fine. Already she’s thinking of all the treats she’ll get from you feeling bad about it.” He rumbles, giving Nate a small smile, some semblance of amusement within it. “Do you want to go upstairs?” He asks after another small beat of calm. A space where the griffin and star whale can’t get into too much more trouble — a space more comfortable for all of them. It’s the only thing he can think of that might help.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
Nate knows Sunjata is trying, knows that he's lost, and he wishes that there was some way to make this better, some way to just be okay again, for the both of them. "Yes. I want to go upstairs." Comes the low sigh, Nate already shifting in the direction of the stairs, his hands tugging at Sunjata to try and get them moving in tandem. It was just being upset in a different place, but at least it was a place where he didn't have to hold himself up, where he could curl up in the confines of blankets, the attuned's arms, and Haai, if she'd come close to him again.
Nate doesn't think about what will happen when sleep claims the rest of them, when he's left alone, when he has nothing but time to sit and quietly think, to stew and steep in his own world.
It's a problem for later, for another day. Right now, Nate carves a slow line up the stairs, into the bedroom, onto the bed. He's barely in anything as it is, why get dressed properly when you're not going anywhere, but he tears his shirt off, then sits, at the edge of the bed, one eye following Sunjata. Pemota drifts up after them, lagging behind to keep close to Haai, her song echoing up the stairs as she comes.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
An answer, something to do, is given back to Sunjata’s question. And he’s easily moved by the Ascended as Nate tugs at him. He follows, close as can be while still leaving enough room for the stairs, the space needed to duck a small amount on the top few stairs. But he lets Nate go as soon as they reach the top of the stairs, spending a moment to linger and watch as Nate reaches the bed to sit on the edge – to take his shirt off and discard it to the side.
And Sunjata waits a small amount for Haai to follow Pemota up the stairs, before going to slip the door shut behind the two companions, turning back to take his own shirt off. Haai, during this time, lets her eyes linger on Nate a brief moment before trotting over to the Ascended, lifting her large fuzzy head and resting it in Nate’s lap – ears perked forward and her jade eyes focused quite intensely on him. Sunjata slips toward the bed now, taking a seat beside Nate and pulling one leg up underneath him as his arm snakes around Nate’s side. “Told you it wouldn’t take long.” He says softly, leaning over to rest his head on Nate’s shoulder.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
There's a stretch where he's left alone on the bed, where Sunjata lingers by the door, letting the companions in after them. Nate does what he can to get comfortable, short of actually laying down, and waits, his eyes leaving the attuned in favour of Haai instead, a small amount of surprise in his one eye, in the hesitant rise of his hands.
Try as he might, Nate can't keep his face from crumpling a little as Haai rests her head on his lap. There's a tremble in his lips, and then he's pitching forwards so he can wrap his arms around the griffin's head. "M'sorry... Ek is jammer Haai." He murmurs into her fur, kissing at her head. He stays bent in two for a long while, before rising up slowly, shifting so he's leaning into Sunjata, and patting the bed on the other side of him. It's easy to speak more plainly to her, though the words that leave him are not just for the griffin. "Jy moet beter nie ophou om my lief te hê nie, eh?"
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
Haai places her head in his lap and she watches him momentarily before his arms are wrapping around her head. Her ears perk, head rolling to the side slightly as she goes to lick his arm. A small amount of ‘it’s okay’ given from the griffin – that she doesn’t take it too personally – but well, if a rogue large paw shoves him out of the bed later she’s innocent in the case of ‘who did it’. For now, however, it’s sweet. And she remains for a brief moment when he pulls away. As Nate pats the side of the bed, she takes the hint and hops up on Nate’s other side while Sunjata both simultaneously leans into Nate and pulls him in close.
There’s a small smile on his face as he hears Nate’s words – dripping in the tongue of home and he already knows he won’t be able to. Already knows he wouldn’t want to. “She won’t. Neither will I.” He rumbles easily, lifting his head to press his lips to Nate’s temple. “She says she’s sorry too.” He adds on, lips lingering near his temple and ear. But then he's pulling Nate a bit closer, shifting with the blankets a bit to try and drag the Ascended up toward the pillows and the head of the bed.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
All is forgiven, or at least understood, and it takes a weight off Nate. He already felt like he was ruining things, he didn't need to be actually ruining relationships. He wasn't even gripped in the particular kind of petulant darkness where such a thing felt vaguely satisfying, this had brought pure guilt. It leaks away when the griffin climbs up into the bed, when Sunjata pulls him close, guilt and darkness replaced with an almost giddy lightness. Something better, though Nate knew he was sinking and rising too quickly, his moods shifting too much to ever be comfortable, or stable.
"You know," Nate manages to pull a righteous, indignant tone almost easily, "it's rude to eavesdrop." It's the easiest way to keep his cheeks from warming, though it's more of a reflex, it's not like a blush would show up on him anyway. "I'm... glad though. Glad I have you. Both of you." He reaches up and back, his fingers curling into the hair at the back of Sunjata's neck, the most contact he can muster without actually shifting. Which he'd like to avoid.
Apparently though, that's not a message that was passed onto the attuned. There's only a little bit of whining as he shifts up, the complaints dying in Nate's throat when they're finally properly settled, lying front to front. He dips in, pressing his face in against Sunjata's throat, imagining different circumstances that would have brought him to this place. Brighter ones, where the mood wasn't already a little soured by the bandage spanning his face.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
“Oh, excuse me.” Sunjata replies back with a breathy chuckle. “I’m sure Mota sends you more than enough shit about me.” He teases, his voice lighter — the words easier to come across with Nate’s own addition, no more sorry’s. It makes it easier to focus on this, on the blankets spread beneath them, on Haai’s presence at Nate’s back. He nearly purrs as Nate’s fingers curl into his hair, but he’s moving now and taking the Ascended with him whether Nate wants to go or not.
And then, he’s settled again in the midst of the blankets with Nate facing him. And when the Ascended presses his face against Sunjata’s neck, the attuned lifts his chin a small amount and rests his head gently along Nate’s. “I’m glad I have you too. Though the jury is still out on Haai.” He hums, wrapping his arms tight around Nate as he hears Haai whine from her space at the foot of the bed.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
"She likes you too much to tell me anything bad about you." Nate murmurs, the huff in his voice mostly fake. It is a sore spot, but in the face of everything else, it's one that's safe to play with, to exaggerate a little bit. And between the joke, somehow still going, and his fingers rubbing slow circles in Sunjata's hair, he can be comfortable, can feel safe.
The feeling lingers as he's moved around on the bed, only the barest amount of work put in by him, a few small movements to make Sunjata's struggle easier. They fit together so easily, and yet somehow, it doesn't quite feel enough. Nate wants to be greedy. He has to win Haai back first though, and that's something he knows how to do. The arm not already wrapped around Sunjata twists back, Nate's shoulder popping in protest, though it's ignored so he can pat the bed behind him, a low whistle leaving him. An invitation for Haai to clamber up close. And when she does, his hand runs through her fur, another, quieter apology. It's not the last, but it's enough for the moment.
Nate turns his full focus back onto the attuned, not bothering to move before he speaks, knowing that the other man will hear his words regardless. "Can I... ask a favour of you?" It's more hesitant than he'd normally be, a touch softer. He tries to not ask for things, and he doesn't like being in this position. "Can you be a panther?" This is the greedy request, but Nate wants, needs the pressure, the constant heavy reminder that he's not alone. If only for the night.
i can still see your face looking back through the flames and i search it, was it worth it?
Something about what Nate says has him internally preening – glad that the starwhale likes him that much. But it fades as soon as Nate’s rubbing slow circles in his hair, and he’s humming a soft purr of a sound with the feeling as he moves them back and snuggles in close. His arm loosens a small amount as Nate shifts, the pop to his shoulder slightly concerning for Sunjata but he says nothing on it. It’s not like Nate would feel it anyway, nothing to truly worry about. And as he whistles and pats the bed, Haai’s ears perk, shifting to lay on Nate’s other side, spreading her wings back a small amount to let his hand run through the dark fur. Her head lifts, tongue lapping out to lick at the hand that nears her face, and then she settles with a small huff.
Sunjata’s gaze remains on Nate, however, watching and memorizing the lines and panes of his face in this moment – the softness, even if Nate doesn’t want to show it, Sunjata can see it. So his gaze drops after a moment when Nate’s looking back, his steel gaze finding the pendant of the necklace again as the question is aired. “Sure.” He rumbles softly, before he’s shifting a small amount to press Nate back against the bed and leaning down to press a kiss to his lips – pulling back with arms braced on either side of the Ascended.
He scans Nate’s face once more briefly, before man becomes panther, skin shifts to sleek black fur, but his eyes remain the same hue. He settles down half on the bed, half on Nate’s torso as he rests his head there atop Nate’s chest, nuzzling his feline cheek into the Ascended’s skin.
no i don't mind the smoke, but your tears make me choke are you okay? should i go away?
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.
