Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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”My pleasure,” Vai said with a nod, stepping forward to guide Zeph’s hands and fix his stance, her fingers brushing gently over his shoulders, along his back, down the arm that drew the string back. She tucked his elbow in and stood back, nodding in satisfaction - and it paid off, the witch grinning as well as the arrow met its target. ”You’re better than you think,” she said with a playful wink, accepting the bow back from him.
Caught by the sudden teasing in his voice and the unexpectedly chaste gesture of affection, Vai smiled, reaching out to rest her hand over his where it rubbed at his arm. ”At this rate the forfeit is going to be giving you a shoulder rub - and you have to keep still. No touching, no wandering fingers.” The look in her eyes was wicked, Vai stepping back from Zeph to aim another arrow, shooting it this time into one of the other targets.
”You okay to keep going?” she asked, nodding at his arm.
"But my fingers like wanderin'." In illustration your hand follows her arm down off of yours, ghosting over pale skin with the promise of future ferocity. That said, you'd be lying if you said a shoulder rub didn't sound fuckin' heavenly. The cold is never kind to your arm, and it's been in rare form of late.
But first, you must continue embarrassing yourself at archery. "I'm fine. Gonna try it this way, though." Again the bow returns to you, but this time you hold it in your right hand, knocking the arrow with your left. It's a bit awkward but you have enough experience compensating for your fucked dominant hand to manage fairly well. And when you draw back, well, it hurts a hell of a lot less.
You also do a hell of a lot worse. This time the arrow flies clean over the new target and vanishes into the trees in a strange, wobbly arc. Flashing a playful look at Vai, you attempt to look innocent and shrug. "Meant to do that. Didn't want you feeling insecure."
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
”That’s why it’s a forfeit, Zeph,” Vai reminded him with a grin, stepping back to let him try however he liked, tilting her head curiously as he decided to reverse his hold on the bow. ”You might want to—” Compensate, she was going to advise him, or adjust for his less dominant arm, but the arrow was already wobbling away through the air, disappearing silently into the underbrush. Vai’s laughter was all in the crinkles at the corners of her eyes. ”That’s absolutely right,” she said in agreement. ”How gentlemanly of you. One more for good luck?”
Managing to swallow down her chuckles, she took out another arrow and let the other one go off to enjoy its new life in the woods, taking back the bow and drawing back the string. ”I get the impression,” she said with a grin, firing her last arrow into the target, ”that you’d do better with a crossbow. Either that or you were right about being up close and personal.”
"I don't need luck. I've got skill." It is very obvious that you do not have skill and you do need luck, but nothing is going to win this competition for you so you might as well live it up. With remarkable showmanship you take the bow back, bowing to Vai before knocking the arrow (Right handed, again, since that seems to work best) and letting the thing fly.
And by fly, I do mean fall. Somehow thanks natural 1 instead of firing an arrow you just fucking fumble, and the thing drops down to strike you on your foot before landing harmlessly on the grass. This would be fine, were it not for the reason: something in your injured arm pulls a way it's not supposed to, the never-healed muscle and exposed nerves twanging in a chorus of delicious agony underneath your brace.
"Vi fuck it son of a cunt!" Dropping the bow, you raise your left hand to your right arm, face scrunched up in pain. On a scale you'd probably call yourself a 10; realistically it's more of a 7, but fuck if that isn't enough. Gritting your teeth and blinking back tears, you try to catch your breath. "Stupid fucking arm," you hiss, stomping repeatedly in a misguided attempt to channel your pain into the ground below you.
Beneath your foot, the arrow snaps. Oops.
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
Vai said nothing, offering only a wicked sort of smile at his proclamations, standing back to let him flourish with the bow. He was a showman through and through, she was learning, and she folded her arms to enjoy this last hurrah at their little competition. Except... there wasn’t really a last hurrah to be had. Catching Zeph’s flinch, the way the arrow fumbled from his hands... that was her first clue that something had gone awry.
Her second was that he told her, and the world, in no uncertain terms. If not for the pang of concern Vai might have remarked at the creativity in his cursing, but it didn’t really seem like the time. Stepping over the bow and caring little for the broken arrow, she reached up to grasp his good shoulder, nodding at a nearby log that had been made into a makeshift bench.
”Sit down and let me take a look?” she asked. ”I get my forfeit anyway, so now’s as good a time as any.”
Blinding nerve pain gives way to the dull throb of half-dead muscle as you grit your teeth and allow yourself to be guided to the bench. It hasn't been this fucking bad in an ass's age, but then again, you haven't worked this hard to show off for a girl in more than a few years. And the cold doesn't help, even these objectively comfortable temperatures frigid to an island boy. What, did you think you were a gods-damned invincible teenager, that you didn't have to pay attention to the warning signs of your steadily decaying body? Zeph, you lolo. Gotta go back to thinking with your head and not your dick.
"'s fine," you growl, not angry so much as rather embarrassed. Still you do nothing else to protest, your tan face a little ashen beneath beading sweat. "Shouldn'a pushed it. Damn thing always acts up, this time'a year." Shrugging off your coat you clasp firmly over the brace, both to relieve the pain with pressure and to try to hide your mangled flesh a little longer from view.
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
”Doesn’t look fine,” Vai remarked, waiting until Zeph was seated before kneeling down before him. Honestly, she’d assumed that the first time she found herself between his legs would be for an entirely different reason, but needs must and so on. ”What about in warmer weather?” she asked, curiously clinical, but then she’d been a woods witch and part of the medical centre in the Grounds before retiring to the Greatwood.
Unsurprised to see the brace, Vai raised a brow at Zeph’s reluctance, reaching out to gently nudge at his chin with her knuckles to get his attention. ”Show me, please?” she asked, rubbing together the fingers of her other hand, producing a soft glow. ”I don’t think anything will heal that up by now, but I can at least see if I can heal away the pain, stop you wanting to cut your arm off.”
Also not how you would have wanted her between your thighs, but the body makes its demands you suppose, and right now your arm is speaking louder than your cock. "Better when it's warm. Never really goes away." Another shrug. You're getting a handle on the pain now that the initial shock is over, your breath becoming even again as you simply endure.
You don't want to look at her when she touches your chin because you don't want to see that ugly thing on her face. Oh, it isn't rejection you're afraid of, it's pity. Pity for the beach boy with the bum arm, the gnarly bite that never stopped hurting because it never quite healed. A harsh, mirthless laugh leaves your throat: "Ain't cut it off yet," you point out, but slip your fingers under the brace anyway, slowly pulling it down. Might as well rip off that particular bandaid earlier than later.
The mangled mass that is your upper arm is... well, just that. Ugly on the outside with its missing flesh and muscle and mess of scar tissue, worse on the inside where the bone that broke beneath the impact never came together quite right. "I know, I know. It's gorgeous." Sarcasm and amusement drips from your voice, but there's something deeply vulnerable in your eyes as you scan her face for reaction. "Docs said it's a miracle I can move the thing at all, let alone lift shit. An' that I prob'ly shouldn't, but..."
Again you shrug, causing another familiar jolt of pain.
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
”And here I am challenging you to shoot a fucking bow,” Vai says with a raised eyebrow, both wondering at and understanding completely why he’d have taken her up on it. Still, she turns her attention to his arm as he pulls down the bracer, and it’s only natural that her eyes widen at the sight of it.
Not horror, not pity - merely surprise that it’s as bad as it is. Shifting a bit closer, she leans a hand on Zeph’s knee to take a proper look without making him move, examining the injury and slotting together her knowledge about how it should look to piece together what’s happened.
”It’s damned impressive is what it is,” Vai says, glancing up at him at last and offering a quiet smile. ”So are you for putting up with it. Should consider getting a tattoo around it.” She raises her free hand, still glowing with readied healing magic. ”Do I have permission to touch this most sexy of scars?” she asks.
"Mm, an' what would I get? A good row'a teeth? Maybe a naked chick?" It's a weak attempt at humor from someone who's usually better at it, but you're not really in the mindset. You've been staring at her staring at you, and you're feeling just about as self-conscious as you get.
Though sometimes life gives you opportunities you simply can't resist. "I can think of a lotta places for you t'touch that'd be a fair bit more fun," you shoot back, waggling your eyebrows and smirking down at her. But the healing magic does have its appeal, and fuck if you haven't already made enough of a fool of yourself today. Smile fading you sigh and nod, dropping your hand to give her access to the disaster while you turn to stare at the trees.
Not your most impressive display, Zephyr. A for effort. F for execution.
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
”A naked chick with a good row of teeth?” Vai suggested with a crooked smile in return, letting out a laugh at his quip. ”All in good time, yeah?” She tipped Zeph a wink, before glancing back at the mess of his arm as he finally let his hand drop. Vai didn’t twist the knife, merely resting glowing fingers against scar tissue to get to work. Diligent in her efforts, her eyes closed to concentrate on soothing frayed nerves, easing tightness and pain.
”I can make a helluva painkiller, if you’re interested,” she murmured when she was finished, something playful in her eyes as she released him so he could readjust the brace over his arm. ”And something for the travel sickness.” Leaning up, she pressed a kiss against his cheek. ”Thank you for letting me help.”
You gotta admit, having a proper healer look at your fucked wound is something of a gamechanger. Healers are strangely scant commodities in Torchline; the ones who originally set your arm lacked any real magic ability, and by the time anyone with a bit of sense took a look it was too late to do shit. But the magic that comes off of Vai's hands is warm and soothing, not fixing anything - takes a helluva lot to heal lost muscle and reset years-since-shattered bones - but certainly taking the edge off.
A lot.
"You are one helluva painkiller." Again you reach up to rub your arm, but this time instead of pain your face is full of appreciative wonder. "Feels like new." This is a lie - the thing still hurts - but it's back down to its normal baseline which compared to a minute ago might as well be entirely healed. Not bothering to pull the brace back over it you smirk, looking down at Vai. "I'm the one who should be thankin' you," you drawl.
Abruptly you reach for her waist, intending to pull her into your lap, or closer at the very least. Probably dumb as you should be resting, but nobody has ever accused you of being smart. "Fuckin' remarkable," you murmur softly, cupping her cheek in your hand and gazing with a sudden, frank affection before drawing her in for a kiss.
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
”I don’t think I’ve ever been called that before,” Vai said with a smirk, watching as he moved and rubbed at his arm, as if checking that all was in order. ”Maybe not quite new, but it should at least feel less how it did. No more shooting lessons for a while though.” She glanced over her shoulder at the targets, at her bow on the ground, making a mental note to collect it later.
Her distraction meant she didn’t notice Zeph’s arm slipping around her waist - sitting in his lap would likely send them both toppling off the log, but he did pull her up and closer, the witch’s hands splayed against his chest. His words brought a flush of heat to her cheeks, one that was quite unexpected, and she tried to laugh it off. ”Don’t you forget it,” she quipped, before his lips pressed against hers and she hummed a soft note of enjoyment.
It felt like they’d been idling through time waiting for this, and Vai smiled into the kiss. ”Want to see my cottage?” she asked, barely keeping her laughter at bay at what could undoubtedly be tuned into an innuendo somehow.
Her lips are sunlight and you enjoy them far, far too much. For the first time you're beginning to see that, and it's simultaneously terrifying and electric. Gods fucking damn it, this was not what you intended when you met a girl and hooked up with her in the middle of the night on the beach.
And yet here you are, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. And when she leaves the door wide open, how can you resist? "You invitin' me t'come inside?" you ask, raising your eyebrows suggestively, a smirk brightening your face. Your lips trail down along her jawline, the curve of her cheek, the arch of her neck. "Not an invitation I'm in a position to refuse."
past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind
