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 killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
Adrenaline does a lot of things. It makes it so the Attuned isn’t too much of a burden to get home, to suffer through the long hours of Nate fixing the burns, of peeling and cutting off the clothes that seem almost as if they’ve become a permanent part of him. And of course, in his attempts to shield some of the burns from getting worse, he’d partially shifted his skin to the scales of his cobra shift – which resulted in not only skin burned and charred thoroughly, but also pieces of scales flecking off with any sort of movement.
Not like Sunjata had attempted to move much since everything happened. No, he’d gotten his wish for the last few days of LongNight – stuck at home, inside, while darkness raged ahead. Only this time he wasn’t in his prime, wasn’t ready to fight any sort of evils that might have come their way. He trusted Nate to be able to, but it wasn’t the same. Deep down it was a control issue of not being able to take the brunt, to take the hits so nobody else gets hurt. At the very least Nate got to see Sunjata be the shield he’d always tried to be.
Doesn’t think it helps, however, not with the news that Nate had received once leaving the tunnel. Any headway with emotions lost again, felt like both of them were running on autopilot. And gods was it tough. His heart hurts, his mind hurts, his body tight and painful, unable to do hardly anything. It drags and drains, trying to spend most of the time sleeping to heal and to try and not feel.
But he rolls over this morning, sharp hisses leaving him as his shoulder hits the bed and a quiet growl slips from his throat as soon as the blanket brushes against the bandage. His eyes open, only to find sunlight filtering through closed drapes. That, at least bides some relief, if nothing else does.
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
Necessity makes a different man out of Nate. There’s so much to focus on, so quickly, that it holds him together easily. The awkward slog home, how he half carries Sunjata, just to help it go by faster, to get them home sooner. The treatment, carried out so much more carefully than his own at been, unnaturally steady hands preventing as much pain as they possibly can. Unwelcome thoughts do creep in now and then; a distant hilarity stemming from the fact that not that long ago, a fuming rage at Jack, though he’d already wrung what revenge he could out of the captain, a strangely clear wince of empathy, at how the wounds cut across carefully laid lines of ink. All of them are tamped down in favour of focus.
Even his own pain is ignored, carefully contained behind a layer of more pressing worry. He isn’t distant, not by a long shot, but it’s as if he’s ignored or forgotten the broadcast from Wessex, the news shoved so deeply inside of him that it’s a wonder he even manages to tell Sunjata, with terse words, dragged out of him and then moved past, while Nate changes bandages, one of the dozens of tasks he fills his days with. They fill the dark hours with some kind of purpose
It feels so strange when a grey and drizzly dawn finally begins to break, the longest night finally over. The darkness had begun to feel like it would never leave, but the weak light filtering in means he can set himself to a proper schedule again, instead of using his best judgement. And first thing on the schedule is some kind of breakfast.
Sunjata is still sleeping when Nate slips downstairs, Pemota drifting high above the bed, keeping an eye on him, as much as she can. And when Nate returns, hands full with two mugs of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal, Sunjata is awake, on his side. The coffee and food is set on one of the bedside tables, ignored so Nate can settle in beside his fiance, run a cool hand along his jaw. ”Good morning.” The words are warm, but careful, just like the touch, the one eyed gaze. It hurts to admit, but they’re out of sync again, off balance and spinning slowly into the dust.
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
Light filters in and Sunjata slips over to his side, hissing against the sharp shooting pain that feels like it might never leave. And he tries to focus on anything else, whatever else might have him distracted enough to ignore it, but nothing comes. Nothing comes except for Nate, with the scent of coffee and food brought into the room, and while Sunjata should probably try to find it in him to eat, he can’t help the slight tingle of nausea that creeps up at the back of his throat.
He swallows hard, shallow breaths coming and going that won’t stretch or rub the burns, the skin tight and healing. It takes a lot, he thinks, to try and give himself just enough to be there and focused, when he wants nothing more than to fall asleep and stay that way until everything is fixed. But life doesn’t work like that, not in this world. And out of all the things Sunjata’s done, this is quite possibly one of the worst. The mud monster at the very least had been an internal hit, at least he’d been able to walk and move and do whatever he wanted even if it left him hacking in the end.
This? This it hurt to move or even think, and each time Nate went to clean and change the bandages and the sharp cool air hit the wounds, it was like another fiery searing edge of an octopus tentacle, lashing out at him like a whip.
This morning, however, Nate’s cool hand running along his jaw has Sunjata sighing into it, tilting his head a bit as he focuses on Nate instead of himself and the pain — at least trying to. He swallows down the pang of nausea, shifting in the bed with hisses and pants until his right arm moves to latch onto the headboard to pull himself up a bit. Eyes squeezing shut with the pain, he keeps his dominant hand relatively useless with the day to day of moving and his unusable shoulder.
Tired steel eyes seek out Nate, silent but trying, unsure if he should apologize for being an idiot once again or what, but simply deciding on putting his okay arm out and pulling Nate close to rest his head on the Ascended’s shoulder. “Oggend.” He manages, eyes shutting tight, swallowing hard against the pain again.
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
It makes Nate ache in sympathy as Sunjata shifts, every move pulling at some raw wound, and his hands immediately move to help support the attuned. He wishes there was more he could do. As much as he does better in this position, unable to withdraw into himself, and with the appropriate knowledge, he would immediately dive back into his own whole of dizzying numbness to spare the other man this pain. It just doesn't feel fair, after all he'd done, and it's exactly what he'd been afraid of happening.
Thoughts are cut shirt by the arm reaching out to drag him close, Nate's body responding before his mind does, a careful arm snaking out around a mostly uninjured back. His other stretches out to grab a coffee cup, knowing it won't be wanted, but determined to try anyway. "That bad?" Comes the murmured question, the attempt at levity, as Nate raises the mug to the other's lips, the smell betraying the presence of something that wasn't coffee, something to take the edge off, without going past Sunjata's (surprisingly low) tolerance.
He hasn't really said it yet, hasn't known how, but the more time passes the harder it will be to say, the worse it will feel. And while he could excuse the few days away as emergency, Nate doesn't want to keep holding onto it into a new year. He can at least pretend like his actions will affect the coming years at all. "I'm sorry. I... should have done more. Should have done something."
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
He doesn’t understand how he could have both a throbbing and singing pain. But it happens, as soon as he’s pulling Nate somewhat close, trying to make it easier on himself and yet also more difficult. It’s worth it. He knows it deep down. It still doesn’t help much when the coffee cup is brought toward him, and Sunjata has a moment of swallowing down the nausea from earlier, trying his best to put himself here and maybe if he pretends hard enough he can’t feel the pain.
It’s a lie, but he can try to wish it all he wants.
A soft exhale of a grunt leaves him in response to Nate’s question. Yeah, it is that bad, and he hates it. But the scent of something else within the coffee is the only solace Sunjata has in his attempt to drink it, at first trying to reach up and grab the coffee cup, only to realize the tremble in his hands, immediately growing frustrated with that and stuffing the hand away as he focuses on letting Nate lift the cup to his lips, sipping from it and swallowing it down and hoping that it stayed down.
Nate’s apology has steel eyes focusing on him as he pulls away a little bit to get a better view of his fiancé. His brows immediately furrowing in concern – he hadn’t expected Nate to do anything. “I…” He trails off, sucking in a short breath and trying to restart. “No, Nate. It’s okay.” He manages, wincing slightly as he lifts his other arm up, the less painful one to rest his hand on the back of Nate’s neck. “It would’ve done worse to you.” And Sunjata cannot imagine that, refuses to think of it, even the possibility. Nate was there to heal and help, and that’s exactly what he’d done, even if it took longer to get out of the tunnels because of Zeph’s plan. He’d still done exactly what Sunjata had asked for.
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
Nate doesn't move as the other man tries, and fails, to reach for the cup himself, but he doesn't bring any attention to it either, just let's Sunjata sip until he's sated, then sets the mug back on the side table. Food can wait, for a bit at least. Until he's sure the coffee's stayed down well enough to risk it. One of those things that keeps him focused, keeps his mind busy enough to not fall apart, though that becomes a little more difficult, as they start talking.
"It would have." He agrees finally, reluctantly. "But it kills me to see you hurt. At least I wouldn't feel it, by this point." How conveniently he forgets the trauma of his own, much smaller burn, how it had ached and hissed, how it had kept burning, long after it should have gone out. He wouldn't have made it, with the smuggler's detour, and the extent of the burns. As gently as he can manage, he shifts them, so Sunjata is leaning more completely against him, so Nate can rub cool fingers around the burns, trying to soothe muscles pulled tight by the healing skin.
There is a bubble of anger as well, hidden beneath his concern, though this is one he cannot act on, lest he start the whole game of retaliation over again. What he can do instead is voice another apology, Nate's lips pressed against his fiance's head while he speaks. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get you home."
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
At least with the coffee cup – spiked as it may be – moved to the side table, Sunjata can lean a bit more on Nate, his body molding and melding in against the cool touch of the Ascended in a way that causes some relief, some form of comfort among the rest of the burns as the warmth starts to spread in his stomach. He fights off more of the nausea, eyes shutting tight as Nate begins to agree, shifting them so he’s flatter against the Ascended to use as an anchor.
Gods he loves this man.
His good arm wraps around Nate’s middle, leaning against him with all the exhaustion in his bones, pressing his face into Nate’s shoulder where he can, feeling the way that those cool fingers work to stretch the skin around the burns with quiet, protesting hisses slipping from Sunjata despite knowing that they needed to be done. “I’m usually not hurt that badly.” He protests quietly, but he knows. Nate had witnessed Sunjata’s head first and shield the others mentality first hand now. Before, when the volcano erupted, it had been easy – far from the danger. But this? Trapped in a tunnel? There wasn’t an out.
His apology is met with a quiet shuddering inhale as it stretches the wound to his shoulder when his lungs expand, lips pursing slightly as he considers it for a long moment. “It’s okay.” He finally manages, attempting to squeeze Nate around the middle. “We made it, didn’t we?” They’d made it out, even if Sunjata felt half dead because of it.
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
Sunjata all but melts against him, and for one glorious moment, Nate can close his eyes and forget about the state they're in, can pretend this is a normal, easy morning. They'd had so many, and he'd taken them for granted at the time. Never again, not after this.
It fades as he works his fingers around wounds, mindful of the discomfort he's causing, pausing and moving whenever it seems to come close to too much, though some part of him knows he's babying Sunjata just a little bit, a louder, more insistent part howls goddammit, he deserves it. "No, you're not usually hurt this badly." The concession comes after some thought, after the mature realization that nothing Nate said really changed what happened. And there was no alternative, it wasn't like this was a danger Sunjata could avoid. So what's left? "You know... you impress the hell out of me."
A handful of kisses press against the attuned's head, in response to the squeeze. The most Nate can do without risking pain, no matter how he wants to hold the other man in his arms. "Barely." Nate huffs, rougher than he really means. Technically, he'd gotten away with it, the note forgotten almost as soon as it had been found, but this was something Nate didn't want to get away with. "We could have made it out faster if... I hadn't gone and fucked with Jack." Each word slips out progressively faster, an embarrassed stumble the whole way through.
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
He does melt, aside from the tensing of muscles when Nate’s fingers begin to move around the burns. A deep inhale and exhale is given, an explanation that usually it doesn’t go like this. Usually it’s better, he’s stronger, better, recovers quicker, can move and function normally aside from a few bruises or scrapes or cuts.
Nate’s agreement is met with a quiet hum of sound that slips into a hiss as the Ascended’s hand moves a bit closer to the burn. But the next comment, the one of impressing Nate, has a small huff of sound leaving him that could be considered bewilderment, possibly a slight laugh. “Oh do I?” He mumbles against Nate’s chest, keeping his eyes shut tight as his body tenses again. It’s soothed, like the feathers that try to flicker along his shoulders, with the soft kisses pressed to his head.
Barely is also an agreement, but Sunjata chooses to simply let the muscles feather in his jaw as he focuses on what comes next – because it’s the last thing he’s expecting. Nate might feel the shift of Sunjata’s face, the brows that furrow together a small amount. He fights another wave of nausea, pulling back to let tired steel eyes focus on Nate’s face, searching for that single blue eye. “What did you do, Nate?”
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
”Don’t sound so surprised.” Nate hums, an almost laugh leaving his lips as well. Fingers smooth along the slight growth of feathers, on their way to stroke along the attuned’s jaw, a soft, barely there touch. ”Sunny, you stared down a fucking octopus made of fire and punched it. That’s,” there’s so many ways to continue this sentence, stupid as hell, kind of hot, deeply concerning, but he settles on, ”impressive as fuck.” The words are followed by a more insistent kiss against Sunjata’s forehead, broken only by Nate’s next words, by the attuned moving away.
”I... went and had a word with him.” As much as he might want to, Nate can’t look away from the steely gaze, Sunjata’s eyes keeping him trapped. ”I didn’t want him to think he could get used to ordering you around.” He leans in a little closer, pressing his forehead against the other man’s, a physical apology, or the closest thing he can manage. ”The shortcut was his version of revenge, I think.”
Stillness has long been a tic of his nerves, and this time is no different. It’s not that Nate expects the other man to be upset, not really. But that means he has no idea how Sunjata will react to his confession, and he can’t prepare himself. There is nothing worse than being caught off guard for soemthing, especially something so important feeing.
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
Oh, but he wants to sound surprised, to relish in the one good thing he’d done throughout it all – even if he had to pay for it because of the pain that it caused. Feathers flex with the feeling of Nate’s fingers, ghostlike in their approach along his shoulder, surrounding his burn, some of the navy blue feathers singed the closer they get to the burns.
He tilts his head a small amount as those fingers trace along his jaw – a breath of a touch if anything. And with the realization of what he’d done, how ridiculous it sounds, he can’t help but to snort lightly – trying not to cause more pain along his shoulder and side. “I didn’t actually punch it…” He protests weakly, eyes shutting tight at the kiss pressed to his forehead. “I’m glad its over at least.” Comes the quiet answer before he’s shifting a bit, focusing with all of his confusion over what Nate’s done that had made it harder for them to get out.
And there’s… A lot to unpack. A sharp inhale as he shifts and the burn is expanded in a painful way, steel meeting the electric blue. And… Well, he can’t quite wrap his mind around it – Nate’s action reminding him so similarly of Lusea and her own little acts of defiance, that as Nate presses his forehead against the attuned, a small hiccup of a laugh leaves him despite the pain it causes. Should he be mad? Should he be upset that Nate’s first adventure out had been to enact revenge on the man that’d made their LongNight hell because of actions Sunjata and Zeph had done to one another? He doesn’t know, because there’s amusement that gleams in his eyes, a sharpened gleam of love slipping through.
Nate might be still as he physically can be, but that doesn’t stop Sunjata from reaching up with his good arm, flexing his fingers through long dark hair, ensuring Nate’s head doesn’t leave his own, a pained smile crossing his face. “You fucking didn’t.” He rumbles, accent a bit thicker here, but there’s an edge of a grin on his face throughout the pain and nausea, finding it actually incredibly hilarious in comparison to what could have happened. He shifts his head a small amount, aiming to catch the Ascended's cheek in a soft kiss. “So what did you do to Jack that made them so shitty?”
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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.
07-08-2020, 05:23 AM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2020, 05:24 AM by Nate.)
- NATE -
The universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
They’re not going to have an argument about semantics. Not right now, thought Nate held firm that being within arms reach of something and punching a projectile into it was more than close enough to claim it had been punched. ”I’m still going to tell people you punched it.” He rumbles, as if that should settle it, as if it’s not the next, more serious words that put the matter to bed. ”I’m glad it’s over too. Glad that we’re on this side of it.” It could have been so much worse. Could have ended in explosive tragedy, in slow, senseless pain after success, but instead, here they are.
As soon as he hears the grin in Sunjata’s voice, as soon as he feels the hand in his hair, Nate relaxes, let’s a slow grin capture his lips. Arms shift around the attuned yet again, supporting him with every motion, though Nate leans in deeper, pressing against Sunjata as much as he can, in as many places as he can. ”Of course I did.” A huff of laughter leaves the ascended, as he leans into the kiss against his cheek. ”I uh... beat the shit out of him. Threatened him... not with murder, that’s a bit too far.” No mention of the fact that he’d thought about it, that wasn’t important. ”I think I broke his nose, right at the end.”
There’s a beat, a moment where there’s nothing but the motion of Nate’s hands, the gentle weight of them as they spread over his fiancé’s body, but it’s broken by the sigh that heaves out of him. ”Do you think we’re lucky enough that this is the end of it?” He asks, figuring it could go both ways. And even if it did go poorly for them, they’d have the season to prepare and enjoy.
you killed a man there, and i cried but the rain masked the hurt behind your face
A low hum leaves him in quiet agreement and amusement at the fact Nate would still tell them he’d punched it. There’s no room for arguing and clarifying, nor does he particularly care. If people believed that he punched a lava octopus, he’d let them. And he’s glad too, that it came out fine on the other side – burned and pained, but alive – and that was all he could ask for.
But those thoughts soon disappear, shifting toward amusement and slight disbelief that Nate had gone and done that, a hum of a laugh leaving his throat aside from the way it pulls with pain from his burns. He can feel Nate relax and Sunjata begins to relax a bit as well, some of the tension gone in his bones, some of the fear gone from what Nate might have done. Hands flex through long dark hair, his lips pressed to Nate’s cheek, feeling the Ascended press back against him.
He’s thankful his nausea is mostly gone, that Nate’s a bright focus against the onslaught of aching and stinging pain. Sunjata’s head shifts a bit, to better accommodate the Ascended as he presses in, the Attuned’s head slipping toward Nate’s jaw, toward his neck – lips ghosting along the skin. A huff of warm air rakes across Nate’s neck with the soft laugh that leaves him. “Oh I bet he enjoyed that.” Comes the quiet rumble, though the smile is evident in his voice, in the pressed kisses against skin.
He can feel Nate’s hands run along his skin, body tensing whenever Nate gets too close to the burns, but relaxing again at the cool touch as it swerves away. And Sunjata leans into Nate, pressing his forehead against the Ascended’s shoulder as he considers it. “Honestly? I doubt it.” He hums, pausing for a brief moment. “Feels like a turf war.”
by the way, dear, we're alive and it hurts 'cause we survived it
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 universe is expanding But I don't feel a damn thing
If there's one thing Nate's learned in his life, it's never give away too much. And that's a practice that extends to storytelling, a knowing little smirk crossing his face, an amused sound, but no more description coming for what he'd done to Jack. Instead, Nate leans in closer to the other man, tilting his head a little awkwardly to press his lips against the top of Sunjata's head.
A quiet hum leaves Nate as he thinks about the words, thinks about Jack, about the rest of the crew, Melita notwithstanding. His hand rises to cradle the back of Sunjata's head, trace faint patterns into his scalp, until Nate shook his head gently, heaved a sigh through his nose. "Well, either he'll learn he's fucking with the wrong people, or we will." And honestly, even with the state they're in currently, mental duress and injuries both, Nate's got faith in them. Still, it's not the most welcome realization to be having, the first day of Flowerbirth.
"At least with him gone, we can get a nice honeymoon." The words leave Nate almost too casually to really be casual, though the subject change still manages to not seem too forced, with the way they're wrapped together, the gentle touches traded between them. It's a far nicer subject to be focused on anyway, better to think about for the recently injured.
