From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
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!
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
It isn't for Finn's sake that Remi has agreed with the shenanigans proposed to him earlier, but for Ronin. But seeing the look on the Spyglass's face, it doesn't seem like it needs correcting, so instead of saying anything, the Alchemist just dips his chin. "Well, we'll see if you feel that way when you've got to herd Ronin and me out of bed in the mornings so that we can be the help you think we'll be." He chuckles, having absolutely no idea just how much hand-holding is actually going to occur in the future, and not wanting to remain ignorant on that subject for as long as possible.
"I shouldn't have...wanted to see if I could make you walk on the water." Remi says, shame tinging the words as he winces up into the canopy. "I don't know why I did." It's true, that he doesn't know. But it's equally true that the urge to push Finn towards some inevitable cliff if only to see what he—what they—would do, persists. "I thought about finding you too. But then the monsoons started, and.." With a sigh, Remi forces his gaze to seek out Finn's, knowing he can't simply look away from the truth of it all forever.
"I'm both...not myself around you, but also somehow a truer me than I am with most others." He admits, tentatively, worriedly. "I don't know why. But...I think you were right about what you said. That perhaps I am simply avoiding feeling, because of what it might do to me." Biting the inside of his cheek like some mental go on then, Remi exhales against the sharp sting of pain and takes his own advice. "But I am going to try."
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Undoubtedly surprising them both, Finn lets out a quiet laugh and shakes his head at Remi. ”Herding is not my job,” he says, sounding a touch thankful for that based on what he’s just been told. ”Depending on what happens, it is my hope that your help will be mainly on prevention, rather than all out conflict,” he explains, though he knows there are those in the Order who already believe that war is imminent.
Slowly and carefully, Finn rises to his feet once he’s realised the forest floor is soaking wet. Holding out a hand for Remi (and surprising no one more than himself), he listens patiently to the other man’s explanation, frowning at the ground. ”Someone tried to drown me, once,” he says, his voice barely more than a whisper. ”Ever since then, the idea of being in a body of water makes me very uncomfortable. But I... I don’t know. Part of me felt like I wanted to prove myself to you.”
He doesn’t know why, either, in a similar state of confusion to Remi - in fact, Finn’s even nodding in agreement with the Alchemist’s description of things. He wants to say something like you don’t have to before realising it’s really nothing to do with him. ”I wish I had found a nicer way to say it,” he says instead. ”...Is that why you are here? To try?”
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"No? Is there someone else who does that?" Remi wonders, not sure if he's kidding or not. With the way the Order is structured, he wouldn't be surprised if there was someone in charge of kicking the 'heroes' out of bed in the morning. "Shame. I'm rather good at conflict these days." The Alchemist mutters, seemingly picking up on Finn's self-deprecating tone and turning it on himself.
It should have been harder than it was to accept Finn's hand, but easier as well. Caught in the middle and feeling all the worse for it, Remi tries not to acknowledge any of the many things his mind is waywardly noting as the Alchemist's hand meets its unrecognizable twin. As soon as he's on his feet his fingers loosening before he finds himself turning away from the Spyglass, the hand previously in his now clenched into a fist. Remi glares at the tree as if meaning to punch it before his fist relaxes and he sighs heavily. It felt like it would be an insult to tell Finn he's sorry, and so the words just lingering heavily on his tongue as he raps his knuckles against the tree's bark. "I don't know what I was thinking." Remi mumbles again, lamely.
"You said it exactly how I needed to hear it." The Alchemist says, turning away from the tree and wiping a few beads of blood off on his pants. "No, I'm...here to see Delphia about a murder, actually."
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”I don’t know,” Finn says honestly, looking a little confused about it. ”I imagine there must be, if not now then eventually.” The Order hasn’t really gotten to the part where all the demigods are there in Stormbreak - if it is Stormbreak that they end up in - but when that time does come, someone will have to wake them up, he supposes. ”And you might be good at conflict, but you could also find that you’re good at peace.”
If he shares the same inner fight as the man who wears his face, it doesn’t show - but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Finn lets Remi go with the same amount of haste, clearing his throat awkwardly and shoving his hands in his pockets. ”We are all guilty of it, every now and then,” he murmurs. ”Of not knowing what we were thinking, I mean.” Still, that he’s there for a murder is... something else entirely. ”One that you’ve committed...? Why do you need to see Delphia?”
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"Are you any good at peace?" The Alchemist wonders, genuinely asking. If Finn is, though there's absolutely no reason to think there's a correlation between them, perhaps Remi will be too.
Clearing his throat with equal amounts of discomfort, Remi just nods. "True." Only...that didn't seem good enough somehow, maybe because it wasn't the whole truth. He did know what he'd been thinking, or at least, he knew where to look for the thoughts that had pushed him to act as he did.
"Mmm, not me." He replies with a shake of his head. "I think she might know something about it, even if she doesn't realize she does. I have reason to think the murder was committed by a fae, and because she lives here, she might have some insight."
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”I try to be,” Finn says in earnest, shrugging his shoulders to Remi. ”I have had enough bad in my life to try not to propagate it too much.” Is it there, though, lurking inside of him? A seditious little part of him that has learned how to hurt, because he has been hurt so often in return? Perhaps. But if it’s there, it’s safely asleep for the time being. He shuffles his feet, not quite knowing how to take the news about the Fae murders, but there’s a note of discord that thrums within him at the idea.
”And finding her in the spirit world is easier,” he remarks, putting two and two together. ”I can help you look, if you’d prefer an in-body experience. I found her once ready, so it should be a good deal easier this time.”
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"Mmmm." Remi hums, rather liking Finn's surprising optimism. It shouldn't be as reassuring as it is—as the pair learned the last time they met, the 'differences' column between them was now the size of a small galaxy compared to the similarities—but it did, just the same.
"Normally it is." Remi agrees. "These woods...can send messages, but only if they want. Given how Delphia experiences the world, I've found being part of what she sees far more reliable."
Pushing himself away from the tree, Remi runs a hand through his curls. "I'd appreciate that - and like it too. And we can stay away from the water." This latter comment is said with a crooked smile. He isn't at all sure if there has been enough distance for jokes to be made about their last meeting, but he's keen to test the waters (so to speak).
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”She certainly sees it in a curious way,” Finn remarks, almost under his breath. Perhaps it’s Remi’s phrasing that jars him - so often people speak of the way he sees things, so to hear it spoken about someone else is both strange and refreshing. If only people gave him the same consideration that the Alchemist gives Mort’s daughter. Still, now is not the time, and he adjusts his glasses on his nose and glances back up at Remi, surprised to hear his agreement.
Still, Finn likes the idea of it too, and it feels good to be useful to the other man for once, rather than always seemingly being in the way. The night with the drowning children doesn’t count, and he tries not to remember it. ”I’d appreciate it.” He chuckles at Remi’s remarks about the water. ”And I promise not to trip over you or throw up on you. Alright, let’s see if we can track her down...” Inhaling deeply, he turns to regard the woods around them.
His eyes seem to lose focus for a moment, tracking things that don’t seem to be there, peeling them apart, putting them together again. Eventually, he nods somewhere to the south. ”It’s faint, but that’s a good place to start.”
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"Curious, huh?" Remi prods. "Is that how I should describe the way you see?" He can't quite tell if Finn is being politely sarcastic when it comes to Delphia, or if he genuinely thinks curious is the best way to describe things. He wouldn't be the first not to like the demigod, of that Remi's quite sure.
Biting the inside of his lip to hide his smile—at what, Finn will soon find out—Remi silently watches as Finn...looks around. It doesn't take much more than mere thoughtful observance to know that the Spyglass sees something. Remi has noticed it often, the way Finn's pupils will dilate despite the lack of change in the scenery, or how he'll glance as if distracted by something that isn't there.
"Then that's where we'll start." Remi agrees, not pushing the man for more information about what he's just done, or how. Falling into an easy pace next to Finn, Remi begins to tell him about a friend he had once who lived in these woods, and the wicked witch who kept him prisoner. He's leading up to how he lost his eyesight, when casual as anything, the foot nearest to Finn turns almost perpendicular to the way it should go, in an effort to cause the other man to stumble over it.
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”You can say it however you like,” Finn says mildly, a small smile creeping across his face. But there’s a trail to follow now, and the Spyglass is absorbed by it. Delphia’s aura was barely noticeable, and if he hadn’t already tracked her down and gotten a good look at it, he doubts he’d be able to pick it up at all. But as they walk it becomes more visible, and of course he’s too lost in what he’s seeing to notice as Remi puts his foot out.
He trips Finn up quite spectacularly, the Spyglass inhaling sharply as the ground doesn’t follow his step as it should, sending him sprawling into the grass and undergrowth. He doesn’t even realise that Remi’s at fault, hissing in a short breath at the pain that shoots through his ribs as he makes contact with the ground. Second time in as many minutes, it feels like. ”Good to know I am clumsy as ever in these woods,” he says, getting his hands under him and gingerly getting back to his feet.
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"Oh, clumsy has nothing to do with it." Remi says, looking ridiculously pleased with himself. He offers Finn a hand, but the man has it well underway, and by the time he's fully erect standing, it will be to see two mischievously bright green eyes above a crooked smile. "You tripped over me." He says, tapping his still-turned foot. "And here I thought I could trust you, Finn. Honestly."
It turns out that Remi's pathway to being nice again takes a step detour through boyish pranks.
"I'm sorry, I absolutely couldn't help myself. You walked into it."
Oh, and bad puns too, apparently.
Laughing to himself, secure in the knowledge that Ronin too would be laughing, Remi just holds up his hands apologetically and takes a step away from the Spyglass, as if to indicate he's safe from Remi's feet interfering with his walk.
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”Oh?” Finn raises his eyebrows, confused as much by the mischief on Remi’s face that strips years away from him as he is by the words. And at the explanation - the foot turned out, showing just what has happened - Finn can’t help it either, starting to laugh only to have to cut himself off, putting a hand to his side. ”You didn’t give me much of a choice but to walk into it,” he points out with a pained chuckle. ”I appreciate the pun, but my bruises certainly don’t.”
Were they more familiar and less painfully awkward around one another, he might have given Remi a push for his trouble. As it is he merely fixes his glasses, and purposely starts to walk at least two feet away from the other man, flashing him a sideways glance which is full of exaggerated suspicion. ”It was nice, to hear you laugh,” he says suddenly.
the tightrope that i'm walking just sways and ties, the devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes
"What did I tell you about laughing?" Remi says sharply, pointing accusingly at Finn. His grin is still wide and boyishly clumsy as he fights back for control of his mouth, knowing he should at least attempt to look contrite. "Sorry. I think I assumed all you fancy Order-people would carry around magic...I don't know. Repair-me kits, or something."
Glancing over his shoulder to where Finn remains at a comical distance, he can't help but grin at his feet. "I can reach you from here, you know." His wings would easily stretch that far. If not, he can manipulate the earth itself. There is almost nowhere Finn would be safe, but he doesn't think that joke would be well received.
His expression turns to one of soft wonder, he considers for a moment, realizing that other than barks of laughter or hollow chuckles, he and Finn haven't ever really laughed with one another before. "You too." He says softly, a soft blush colouring his cheeks.
Not wanting to ruin the moment (but knowing he will eventually), Remi continues with the story he'd been telling earlier. "...and so when Arduinna had learned what I'd done, she appeared and nearly clawed my eyes out. The scarring was..." He whistles under his breath, shaking his head. "But she took my sight. Somehow I was given the ability to see again in shades of grey. Those who were..familiar to me stood out, pulsing with a dull sort of light. It went on like that for months."
THE ALCHEMIST
but i just want to be there when the lightning strikes & the saints go marching in
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”You tell me so many things, I am not sure how much you expect me to remember,” Finn informs the other man, amusement still lacing through his tone. He even tilts his head towards Remi at the mention of magic “repair-me kits”, as if he’s sharing something very secret with him. ”Where I am from,” he says, his voice a low whisper, ”we call them doctors.” He nods seriously, and straightens up again - and moves even further away, lest his sass provoke further tripping up.
Also eager not to ruin the moment, he sinks into Remi’s story with gusto, though Finn has to admit that it isn’t the sort of tale that inspires wonder and joy in the Greatwood. ”I am so sorry,” he murmurs, turning suddenly in the undergrowth and nodding for them to change direction. ”That must have been... quite an adjustment for you. Is that how you still see...?”
