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!
They struck after dark, once all was quiet. And even then the only sound of their entry was the tinkle of smashing glass, the thud of a door lock being broken and caved in, the thunder of feet. Jack had brought three men; two to hold Sunjata down, one to keep watch. It was time he and the Arbiter had a little chat about what was happening in Haulani, and what exactly his place in that was supposed to be.
And also what it was supposed to not be.
”You know, I did like you,” Jack drawled as he strolled through the door, trusting by now that his men would have done the rest of the work for him (and extending sharp fingers of magic all around, just in case they had not). ”An’ then you went and put your foot in my business and made it all personal an’ shit.”
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself
The thing about all of this, is that Sunjata doesn’t know that Zeph was a part of Jack’s crew. He should have probably gathered it from the party, but the boy had a bit more pressing matters – such as the fucking wound to his gut and his lover trying to ensure he didn’t open it up. A lot had happened since then, and with recent events crowds drawn on the Kaiholo Port certainly drew his attention as well – trying to garner any information as to who’s attacked Nate and where they could’ve gone.
But it still doesn’t manage to surprise him too much when they storm the Slagveld. He almost wishes they hadn’t quite done as much damage as they had. But that’s beside the point now, seeing as he’s surrounded and certainly not in the mood for a fight. So he stills, in the space near the small kitchenette / bar section after pouring a glass of whiskey to down. A cigarette still hangs loosely in his lips as Jack enters and Sunjata’s somewhat pinned against the counter.
He hadn’t put up a fight, though. Simply stood there and let them attempt to do it. “If you’re talking about Zeph, I didn’t know he was a part of your crew.” He begins with a puff of smoke, a quiet sigh. “Nor did I expect him to fuckin' walk into me when I was breaking up the crowd.”
and you don't want no help, oh well that's the story to tell
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.
Jack’s thugs had been at it for a long time now, and they at least gave Sunjata the grace of finishing his sentence before they beat him. But beat him they did, fists flying and legs sweeping to try and get his balance out from under him, while Jack stood quietly aside to let the words and thoughts sink in. It all matched up, of course, but the captain was in way too deep to stop now, and besides, it didn’t change what had actually happened.
”As it happens, he is,” he said, absently admiring the boxing ring. ”And I could fill a book with the shit that you and the Governor didn’t know. Need I remind you that you’ve been in Torchline all of five fuckin’ seconds? Not knowin’ is not an excuse if you’re to be our Arbiter.”
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself
Oh he knows what happens next, if anything he’d learned in the resistance it was specifically this. But he’s attuned now, uses that to his advantage when the fists start flying — partially shifting his skin to that of the orca shift wherever the fists are aimed. And it works, somewhat. Keeps him distracted enough as the legs attempt to sweep him off his feet. But Sunjata is a trained soldier, and he shifts just enough to try and hook around the main attackers feet to get them to fall instead, bending a small amount over to spit blood from the split lip.
“So then tell me, if you know all, why the fuck someone’s been attacking people in Kaiholo. And why it attracts crowds of people that do fuck all.” He snaps to the captain, teeth baring a small amount with it — recalling the hunched over figure in the port, calling for help, and Nate’s wounded face, the blinded eye. “Mistakes were made, sure, I fucked up. But I had a reason to. Now if you wanna tell your fucking dogs to go home that’d been great.”
and you don't want no help, oh well that's the story to tell
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.
06-15-2020, 05:51 PM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2020, 06:18 PM by Jack.)
JACK
Clearly they hadn’t been expecting that; even Jack raised his eyebrows, mildly impressed, as Sunjata managed to fight off the majority of his attackers. ”Why the fuck would the crowds do anythin’ when they’re expectin’ you to?” He scoffed, though he did nod to dismiss the thugs - honestly, at this point it wasn’t as though they were going to make much of a difference.
”Besides,” he continued, lowering his voice, ”would you have even cared if your neck-biter hadn’t been hurt? Would it even be on your radar?” Behind him, the thugs disappeared back out through the doors of the Slagveld, though undoubtedly they would be waiting nearby.
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself
And ah, that comment is the one that gets him frustrated in more than one way. The thugs go to move with Jack’s nod and Sunjata tears his body away from the edge of the counter top, stepping forward with a grit to his jaw. “It’s my job, so they won’t do anything, yeah? Not Zeph’s? Or is it my job to get you all to wear little signs that say ‘Jack’s Crew’ so I don’t fuck with your plans but fuck with everyone else’s?” He snaps, and gods despite the blood that trails from his lip washing his mouth with iron, he’s ready for another fight.
Well, was, until Jack has to comment on Nate and he’s suddenly wondering where the fuck Jack had heard about it. But of course, a crowd, rumors, perhaps it wasn’t as secretive as Nate and he had hoped it had been. He sighs instead, tearing a hand through his hair as feathers ruffle along his neck and fill in his tattoos. “What do you fucking think?” He asks, pinning narrowed steel eyes at Jack. Nate hadn’t been involved or anywhere near the theft that had resulted in Sunjata getting stabbed, and he’d still learned of it and enacted the punishment for it. It was his job. Simply coincidence that brought Nate to be the first attack.
and you don't want no help, oh well that's the story to tell
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.
”Arbiter, it is your job to know these things,” Jack said simply, chin tilted up in defiance as the taller man straightened up from the counter. In a fair fight again Sunjata, he wouldn’t stand a chance. But then Jack never fought fair, did he? And it was his job to know, in the captain’s opinion. When one took on a place like Torchline, it was more important to know the criminals than it was to know the civilians.
Still, at the question, and the steel gaze levelled his way, Jack paused and narrowed his eyes right back at Jata. Of course, he knew he was telling the truth - and a lot more besides - but he couldn’t just accept that. It would look weird. Lucky for them both, he already had something lined up. ”I think it’s gonna take a lot to get people back on side, after what you did to Zeph,” he said. ”There’s a mission to deal with whatever shit is livin’ in the Fingers. Join it. Get ‘em all out alive.”
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself
He’s prepared to argue the point that Jack had just said that he was here all of five seconds, so how is he supposed to already know all of it? It would take blunder after blunder to get to the point where he understood where to start, and then, only then, would he be able to figure out where to start and where to go from there. But he’s trying. Fucking up, but trying, and the words sound too much like a concession of his frustration and bitterness, Jack acting too much like his father in this moment that he clenches his jaw and remains silent.
That is, until his frustration gets the better of him and he asks Jack what he honestly thinks. And the silence lingers on, chewing on the inside of his cheek, working at his jaw as Jack lists out the terms. “Fine.” He hisses, something feline lingering beneath the undertones of his voice. He’d gone in the Fingers before. “Just tell me when.” An easier concession, proving that he can do it. Already he regrets it, hates everything about it. But he concedes, if only to keep the peace.
and you don't want no help, oh well that's the story to tell
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.
Jack watched. And listened, though that was unbeknownst to Sunjata of course. He heard the cogs tick in the Arbiter’s mind, heard him argue and wrestle with himself and decide that, ultimately, it was better to do it than to not. And Jack agreed, even if he couldn’t say so. ”Fine,” he echoed, nodding to the other man and stepping back towards the door. ”You’ll know when. And for fuck’s sake, Arbiter - don’t fuck this one up.”
Tossing a lazy salute in the other man’s direction, Jack even managed a quiet little smirk before he disappeared out into the shadows. Point made, and hopefully it would get everyone singing from the same song sheet. If not, well... Jack might just have to take care of the problem personally. As if this wasn’t personal enough.
~FIN
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
