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!
07-11-2020, 12:07 PM (This post was last modified: 07-20-2020, 03:56 PM by Safrin.)
the dark star
Ronin still hadn’t looked at the sky at night. He found himself awake more often than not - outside sometimes, too, bathed in moonlight, listening to the hush of the waves in the distance. But he couldn’t look up. It had taken days for him to pluck the courage to go to Safrin’s shrine, the rain soaking him through and darkening his hair to black. His cuts and bruises complained every step up to the top of the lighthouse, and the shadows of the night felt claustrophobic.
It was a relief to light his candles, to kneel before the shrine, to leave his offerings. Bathed in glowing warmth, he could imagine he was anywhere if he liked. Mostly he imagined being back home in bed with his husband. But after the ordeal of Longnight, Ronin at least needed to see this through to the very end.
Eventually, it always seemed to come back to Safrin. To seek her out for something, to return to her for something else. Aoife, Seren, Vanya...blights, demigods, luxere. Always it was something, and always the goddess had the upper hand. Trying to force these thoughts from his mind, Remi gave Ronin's hand a gentle squeeze as they entered the lighthouse. "Soon it will all be over, and Vanya will be where she belongs." He whispered, wanting so badly to believe in the optimism of his words.
Remi had followed Ronin up the stairs, but hadn't actually entered the sanctuary within. Not only was there some...strange intimacy between Safrin and her Star (even before the entire ordeal with Seren), but...what Ronin had asked of her was of such a personal nature that the Alchemist didn't feel entirely comfortable being present. Should Ronin beckon him in, he would of course. If not though, he'd simply linger behind the thick stone walls, trying not to imagine what might be going on inside.
remi
Too long till I drown in your hands
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
A warm wind would tangle through Ronin's hair as the thick stone door that marked the entrance into the chamber would close, leaving the Alchemist on the other side. If Safrin was disappointed that Ronin hadn't come alone (she was), she didn't show it. Though...that she closed the door between he and Remi might be seen as her showing it, but she'd let Ronin draw his own conclusions.
Perched upon the windowsill in dress made of starlight, the goddess softly shook her head. "What have I told you about kneeling to me, Ronin?" She asked, chuckling lightly under her breath. But of course Safrin loved pageantry as Ronin well knew. He had brought her offerings, after all, despite all that had happened between them.
Ronin glanced up at the slam of the door behind him, raising an eyebrow over his shoulder, his lips parting to call after Remi and ask if he was alright. But then Safrin’s voice draped about him like a breath of morning mist, the Star turning back to gaze up at the goddess. His smile didn’t reach his eyes - he was too haunted, still - but he did manage to give her a stiff and lopsided shrug. ”You said I don’t need to,” he replied. ”And I repeat that I still choose to.”
Still, now that she had appeared Ronin did get himself painfully on his feet, his ailing body uncooperative after climbing the lighthouse steps. Once he was upright, at least, he could stand straight, regarding his goddess with a quiet sense of trepidation. ”It was a longer night than I ever could have imagined,” he whispered.
"And so I suppose most of our encounters will begin this way.." She surmised with a smile. Silently slipping off of the stone seat upon which she sat, Safrin made her way barefoot across the chamber. This time she did not hesitate as she reached Ronin, but nor were her movements the sexual but coquettish dance they normally were. Now she moved to him like an old friend or sibling, her touch free of manipulation. There was only concern for him now, for his mental and physical state.
If he'd allow it, she'd slip her hand up towards his cheek, cupping it ever so softly. Light would flow from her into him, melding with the fractured bits of bone and torn muscle, seeping into the hollow places left by the darkness and the lingering ghosts and filling them with light. His heartache and pain she'd not touch, having learned that Ronin healed more strongly when he triumphed over his trauma.
"Mmmm." Safrin hummed softly, gazing up into Ronin's blue eyes. "But now it is over."
”I suppose they will,” he murmured, watching her as she approached, a tired and broken shell of the man who had stepped through the portal into the Hollowed Grounds a few weeks before. Still, there was no suspicion in him as she reached for his cheek; his hand slipped over hers, Ronin leaning into he touch. His eyes slipped shut to enjoy the sensation of warmth and light flowing through him, the hunter letting out a deep sigh as his pain subsided, as the jagged parts of him began to feel more smooth.
”Thank you,” he half whispered, his words murmured against her wrist. Slowly, like he was coming out of a deep sleep, his eyes opened again to regard the goddess. ”Was it enough?” he asked, obviously meaning his efforts at LongNight. Did it work? Had he done enough for Vanya’s star to be pulled from the sky, for her soul to be with Mort?
Indulgently she presses her other hand to his cheek, her strength somehow holding him aloft despite how his muscles and bones seem to sag with weariness and exhaustion. "Enough..." She whispers softly, her eyes wavering over his face taking in the lines thereupon and the way his lashes flutter with unconscious thoughts.
"Do you remember what it was I asked of you?" This is said almost hesitantly. The human-like fear she's displayed before now causes her voice to waver somewhat. "To protect and save, for the entire week. A trade, that Ludo might understand why I would ask it to aid me in moving Vanya's soul-start from its place in my sky..." Her fingers have slowly been edging from his cheeks towards his hair line, twining in his dark hair.
Now, her fingers press against his temples and behind his ears, a soothing pressure meant to calm but also to suggest he ought to open his eyes and look upon her.
Her hands brushing across his cheeks, sliding into his hair... it felt exhausting, like it was permission for him to finally be as tired as he felt. But her words were something else, they had Ronin’s eyes peeling back open, trying to find Safrin’s gaze and the source of fear in her voice. The breath he let out was a shuddering thing, and he tried to speak, only to find his voice caught once or twice.
”I... I don’t know,” he whispered, shaking his head helplessly. ”I saved... as many as I could, I...” Ronin didn’t know if he was trying to justify himself or apologise. ”I was there all week. But I couldn’t protect them all.” The baby, her father, Rexanna, the boy in the Spire... each one was a scar on him now, like the others.
Safrin let him strangle himself on confusion and uncertainty. She offered no explanation, only an expression of unfettered concern, fear bright like comet trails in her galactically dark gaze. If he thought perhaps his actions might wound her, might place her at risk with Ludo...all the better. It was what he'd asked of her after all, with little thought for what it meant. Having thoughts only for Vanya, Ronin had placed Safrin in a very difficult position for which he didn't seem amply appreciative.
"Then I shall do as much as I can, as well." Safrin said with a nod, her eyes sad and her smile hidden.
Ronin has completed his quest! He gets to keep his luxere shift and...Safrin will probably hold up her end of the bargain.
It wasn’t a comforting thing, that lack of confirmation, but of course Ronin could only understand. He understood infinitely, standing with his face cupped in the hands of a goddess, and though tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, he nodded gentle understanding. ”Thank you,” he whispered, his fingers whispering over the back of her hand before he let it drop to his side.
”Thank you even for letting me try.” And bruised as his soul was from the experience, Ronin meant it. ”Is there anything more I can do?” For you? In general? Honestly, for a moment it was enough to simply stand in her light, warm and without pain.
Gazing adoringly into Ronin's eyes for a long and lingering moment, finally, the goddess softly shook her head. "Not just yet, sugar. There is more of you that needs to heal. Wounds which I think are best if healed by time, rather than by me." Letting her hands drop away from his face, the goddess smiled sadly, but knowingly.
Both had learned the difficulties which would come from Safrin merely waiving her hands and trying to alleviate Ronin's hurt. Like not properly scrubbing a wound clean before dressing it, Ronin would blacken and his heart would fester if his injuries were not properly exposed.
"Besides, there is someone outside waiting for you." Safrin said of Remi. Leaning forward, her lips brushed against the Star's cheek. No sooner was the pressure applied to his skin, then the goddess disappeared in a warm whorl of lilac smoke.
