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!
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
There’s been a lot going on, all things considered, but he’s healed and doing his best to give back to Torchline since he’d been downed. So he finds himself back in Haulani, back along the homes and alleys he’s called home, to offer his assistance in shoring up the base of the homes, the doors and windows with their sealants to keep the rain out and the wind from rattling it out.
Wearing his usual tank top of sorts, it helps keep whatever warmth he might exert out of overheating him — still somewhat a bit too cautious even though Safrin had healed him fully. It helps, however, not having long sleeves that might catch on the window he’s working on right now with a cigarette hanging from his lips — pulling the window out carefully to not shatter it, before he’s taking a knife to the old sealant and removing it around the frame and the window, before lathering on a bit more to the frame and settling the window back into place. Haai keeps watch nearby, settled along the porch laying languidly on her side, watching people walk by.
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
Amalia, too, has been working on cleanup, her desire to help unhindered by the fact that she is here, ostensibly, on vacation. Too much idle time and the shadows begin to creep into her vision, panic and anxiety a steady glacier that will overcome her if she stands too still.
It's easy to find work in a place like this, helps for once that people even here might recognize her name. She has been tasked with helping to repair houses, shore them up for the rain, and though she knows almost nothing about it she finds the work simple, easy to catch onto. She had just finished one set of windows when she was directed to go ask 'Tha 'Bitah' if he needed help; obvious and unsuspecting she'd turned the corner.
And found herself facing him.
"I was told to come to you for a task." Stiff and uncomfortable, Amalia rubs her palm awkwardly over her right wrist "I can go, though. Er..." They'd left things somewhat civil at their last meeting, but she has no idea what Nate may have told her about his foray into the shop.
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
“In the middle of the day? I’d make an awful thief.” He remarks, glancing over his shoulder to look toward Amalia as he lowers the pane of glass into place, pausing to grab a flat instrument to press the sealant into it to better hold the glass before he’s holding it up to dry with one hand — the other pulling the cigarette from his lips.
Confusion flares within him in the form of a raised brow as she mentions that she could just go instead of helping, blissfully unaware of the drama between his fiancé and Safrin’s Shield. The galaxy within the ink of his tattoo shifts ever so slightly as he turns to face Amalia a bit more fully, stamping out the cigarette with the edge of his boot.
“You’re welcome to stay and help?” He offers, equally unsure before nodding his head toward the next window over on the porch. Of course Haai is interested as well, a puff of smoke slipping from her maw as she stands and goes to investigate Amalia. “That window could start losing some of its broken panes.” Comes the easy suggestion, still unsure and realizing slowly just how awkward this was.
“Deimos mentioned you’re on your honeymoon. Congrats.” He offers, sincerely, turning to the window and cleaning up more of the sealant he’s chosen to use.
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
Well, either Nate hadn't told him about their encounter or he really has no sense of propriety or awkwardness. Honestly, both seem likely to Amalia who watches with narrowed, uncertain eyes as he nonchalantly responds to her appearance in the area.
Or maybe she simply matters that little to them. This seems the most plausible, in fact.
"Okay." Breaking glass? Amalia can do that. In fact, a feral, wild part of her genuinely relishes the idea. Which is the first sign that she probably ought to have waited and gotten clarification before forgiving, but the Shield has been more on edge than ever and the idea of standing here awkwardly any longer causes her skin to crawl.
She steps up to the broken window, eyeing the long crack that has compromised its integrity. She could probably just pull it out, but....
The fist that pulls back is covered in thick, protective fur, knuckles punctuated by scales. "Thanks," she grunts through gritted teeth, then lets her arm release and fly forward, straight into the window, eager to shatter the thing apart the same way she feels she'll soon be.
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
The okay makes it easier, makes Sunjata nod along with Amalia before he’s focusing back on his work – congratulating the Shield for her wedding and mentioning literally nothing of his own. He’s not sure how else to start up any small talk between them, unsure what has changed that’s made her so anxious to even approach to offer the help he’s needing.
Seems like it doesn’t matter much when there’s the crash of glass and Sunjata’s head snaps up – steel gaze flickering to the window – making note that it was one of the ones already broken. Means more work in the end, he supposes. But something about the way she’d previously thanked him leads him to think she might need to get out the aggression. She’s coiled and wound, and Sunjata can’t help but to not notice it.
“We’ll have to clean it up after, but you can punch out as many windows as you want.” He offers tentatively, a dark brow raised toward her after he’s considered the options. “Except these ones.” Does he dare to make a joke? An attempt? He swipes at the sealant before leaving it to dry, moving to stand and grab a broom to brush the broken bits of glass into a pile, awaiting the next. "And if you need a bag to punch out some of your frustrations, there's one down the street."
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
Perhaps remarkably, perhaps not, Amalia's hand returns unscathed from its encounter with the glass. Coated as it is in thick fur and hard anger perhaps this is no surprise; what does surprise her is the rush of relief that the crushing of glass causes her, the outlet for her anger and frustration a brief but welcome reprieve.
"Great." To the offer of the bag Amalia says nothing, temptation twitching in her fingers. She's too stubborn to tell him that, though, old grudges clung to like finger-holds in a crumbling cliff. Making her way to the next window, the Shield sizes it up in silence before casting a last, furtive glance to Sunjata. Not that she needs her approval, but...
No. Fuck it. She doesn't need a man to say she can.
Again her fist flies; again the glass breaks, shattering beneath the force of her blow. Panting slightly, Amalia stares hard at the fractured panes of the window, knowing this is hardly helping yet still finding relief in what she's done. Her back to Sunjata, it's a moment before she speaks again-
-and when she does the thing she says is not what she meant to, or wanted to, or intended.
"How did you know? With Phoebe, when you.... how did you know?"
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
The broom is in hand, the jesting passed off, and Sunjata easily knows when to bite his tongue. He sweeps up the broken glass from the first window into a small pile, setting it in front of him upright and folding his hands along the top of it. If he were shorter he might even prop his head on it, waiting for the next flurry of glass. But he’s not, and so he moves to the window again, out of the line of fire, to lean against the door frame with the broom in hand.
Her glance is met with a shrug, not like it matters, before another pane of glass is breaking. He half wonders if he should ask her if she wants bindings, half prepped to move to grab her some just in case she didn’t want to stay shifted. He’s half turned away from her when her question reaches him and he actually stumbles a bit – turning to look back at her in surprise – brows furrowing.
One inhale, and a long slow exhale, and he’s leaning against the doorframe again – picking his words. Something he’s never been good at. “I… Well, we didn’t want the same things.” He offers – imagining the ship had sailed long ago on that, finding it odd that it was brought up. But he supposes now that she’s asked he can tell her the basis of said spite wedding. “I just wanted to make her happy, she said the only way to do that was to marry her.” His hands move then, broom handle shifting under one hand, the one with the scar from said wedding. “We have different ideas of marriage though, from her world and mine. Hers meant I’d give her children and a happy content home with protection. Mine? Sure it meant children but I never wanted them. Made a pact with my girl from home that we’d never have them.” There’s another huff of breath with that, a half smile. “So we already didn’t agree on that.” Some amusement lingers before it falters quite hard.
“Same with Maea and I, though made far easier without her being able to have kids.” Some bout of honesty. “Monogamy and the like just… I need an open relationship for things to work. Maea didn’t understand that, which was fine.” He’s not sure why he’s telling her all of this, but if it helps the coiling in her – or if she wants to whack him for it – he hopes it might relieve some of the pressure.
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
His answer might have been helpful if only he could have looked beyond her own bias, past the judgment that rises in her and makes it oh so easy to see nothing but his flaws. Still deep in denial of her own failures Amalia glares hard at his, running away from the broken window to fix him with a withering look.
"So you were too selfish to stay with them. You wanted more and you couldn't be satisfied with their love. Got it."
But that's not me, that's not me, that's not me--
Moving on to the next window, Amalia bites her lip. "And when you get bored this time? With Nate, and Hotaru? You get to break two hearts. Why can't you just let them love you and be happy?" The question is punctuated by another fist through glass. She's not the same. She can't be.
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
Oh her glaring feels more like daggers, but he remains still as she pins him with the look. He could deny everything about it, but he doesn’t. He’s admitted his track record is garbage many times before. And all he can do is sit there and stare at her in return. “The only one I cheated on was Phoebe.” The only one she knows about, at least. “But yeah, none of them were able to give me what I needed.” What he wanted, what he desired — at least in its entirety.
But when it comes to her breaking more glass, bringing up Hotaru and Nate, he inhales and exhales a rather loud sigh. “Our relationship is open. We all have the same rules.” He sweeps a bit of the glass again before his gaze finds Amalia’s shape again. “They have the ability to go and sleep with and spend time with whomever they want. So long as they come home to me.” And it goes the other way too. “The same goes for me. And we’re happy with it.” But he doesn’t expect her to understand it, too narrow in her thoughts of love that made it impossible to fall in love over and over again.
“My soulmate died years ago in my last world.” He offers, a shrug of tattooed shoulders. “I’ll never find her again. But I can find bits and pieces of her in others.” Like he has with Nate and Hotaru — bits and pieces of all the things he loved most, wrapped up perfectly, shown in the way Nate cares and holds onto himself away from Sunjata, shown in the way Hotaru’s quick wit and tongue could rival everyone.
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
He's right: she doesn't understand, not really, not in an emotional, fulfilling sense. But she can see the appeal of this situation, the reasoning behind it, the idea. Rubbing thoughtfully over her knuckles, Amalia chews on her lip and says nothing. Is that what she and Deimos need? The ability to be fulfilled by others in the way they can't do for each other?
Would that fix what's broken? Somehow, the Shield doesn't think so.
His soulmate died twice. That does give Amalia pause, the girl turning sharp eyes to the Flood, her brows furrowed before she softens. "I'm sorry," she says softly, sincerely, wondering what it would be like, how devastating that might be. No wonder he fought so hard to create happiness here.
A shame he had to hurt so many to do it.
Abruptly Amalia turns away, moving to the next window. This time she is gentle in her removal, easing it out of the frame. "I... Heard about the attack on Nate. I'm sorry." She doesn't look at him as she says it. She couldn't bear for him to see the guilt in her eyes.
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
Her apology is met with a nod, the softness of her gaze not going unnoticed. He’s come to terms with it now, the realization that she won’t be back, the way it used to pull at a thing called hope to imagine she might fall through again. But he’s not a lucky man, rarely had been his entire life. The only luck he’s had is keeping his life — so far. The rest of it though? Spent looking for bits and pieces of her to find that little bit of happiness people always tell him he deserves even if he doesn’t feel like he does.
She's gentler this time when she goes to remove the panes and Sunjata averts his attention to the glass scattered along the floor, sweeping them into little piles. “We’re not sure why he was attacked. And then a box of Ascended body parts shows up in Torchline.” As if it were all the connections he needed. His gaze remains on the floor, however, a softness to his voice when he speaks next. “I can’t lose him too.” Can’t have him added to the list of loved and lost, without truly becoming lost. “So I’m doing everything I can to try and protect the people here.”
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
"Because he's Ascended." She says it with the quiet confidence of someone who knows more than they're letting on, not meeting Sunjata's eyes as she eases the broken window free. As much as Amalia may despise the Voice, as little love as she holds for Ascended... well. Nate may be an asshole, but he does not deserve what she allowed to happen. Less so the boy who is dead.
Carefully displacing the window the Shield begins to scrape off sealant, using long leopard claws to dig into the old and useless stuff. "How do you reconcile it? Loving him, and loving Safrin? You must know how she feels about them."
my heart and soul were never mine to own, what do you care to die for?
“Well yeah, it makes sense now. But the question is since there’s so few Ascended in Torchline…” He trails off with a sigh. Why was it him and not someone else? Regardless, he lets the thought slip away, moving to pick up the broken glass now that it seems like she won’t break any more of them. And then he returns to the task of cleaning up the sealant, prepping them for replacing the panes.
Her question is one he’s thought of a lot, but he’s still silent for a fair bit of time. “I’m not naive enough to think that the old gods could fix him… But maybe a chance to get him somewhat back to normal.” Whatever that new normal was. “In the meantime, I just pray she doesn’t make me choose.” He rumbles, placing a pane in and putting the sealant around the edges. “She hasn’t so far. And she’s aware of the wedding… So I think as long as I love both her and him, Safrin will be fine.” He hopes at least.
we die alone, we'll all die young
what do you care to die for? what do you care to die from?
SUNJATA
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.
"Does he feel that way? Like he needs to be.... Fixed?" Any time she's said something similar about Ascended she's been thoroughly chastised; to hear someone else say it now gives Amalia pause, has her wondering if she didn't misjudge Nate.
The idea of Safrin allowing Sunjata to split his love between an Ascended and her... Well. Amalia tries and fails to hide her skepticism, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head. "I took my brother to her. Samuel. To see if there was anything she could do for him..."
The fact that there wasn't is obvious.
Stepping back from the windows, Amalia turns to look out at the water. "The only way I know of to get them back is to find their souls, wherever they are. And even then... I don't know that they can ever truly be saved."
