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'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
Triumph, but at what cost you wonder as your stomach makes a valiant attempt to tell you just how idiotic you've been. Still you flash Vai a shit-eating grin, especially when the prize is announced as something you will certainly be able to make excellent use of.
Flush with victory and the rush of having shoved enough corn and butter into your body to feed a small village, you continue to grin triumphantly at Vai. "Sexiest thing too, I'm sure," you declare with a chuckle, brushing corn out of your beard. You're a fucking mess, you don't need a mirror to know that, but relationships are about sharing, right? So instead of going right away to clean up you reach for her cheek, making a very absurd fish face and leaning toward her, butter and all. "How 'bout a kiss for your champion, eh?"
”Oh, undoubtedly,” Vai confirms, her ability to keep a straight face second to none. At least it is until he comes reaching for her face, all fish lips and butter fingers, and she lets out a cry of outrage mingled in with laughter. Swatting at Zeph and trying to wriggle away, she ends up over balancing and tumbling from the back of the log she’s sitting on - if he’s lucky, she’ll have grabbed him too to pull him down on top of her. Lucky being a relative thing, of course.
Vai can’t really speak through her giggling, and she’s helpless to stop her champion in his attempt to secure his kiss. Turns out Fae beer goes straight to your head too, so Zeph is guaranteed to have a fantastic night ahead of him. ”I’ll owe you a forfeit if you spare me this until after you’ve cleaned up,” she vows.
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
Down she goes and down you go with her, surprise and alarm giving way to laughter as your hands hit the ground on either side of her head. Now covered with dirt as well as butter you truly are a disheveled fool, giggling like a teenager as you lean in to cover her face with messy kisses, no shits given for your audience.
She makes her offer before you can actually touch her face (a shame, given how monumentally filthy your hands have become {seriously, they\'re getting worse by the minute}). There's much hemming and hawing in your voice as you seem to mull this proposal over before finally letting out a sigh, crooked grin plastered on your face. "Mmm, I s'pose I can't say no t'that."
You right yourself and then extend a hand to help her stand, pulling it back almost immediately as you realize just how grody it's become. "Right- I think I saw a spigot over there," you say, jerking your head. "Last call for corn cuddles 'fore I wash off." Assuming she shows no interest in being taken into your corny arms you'll turn to amble toward the wash station, ready to rid yourself of the carnage brought on by your gluttony and pride.
”I promise I will make it worth your while,” Vai says through her laughter, trying to wriggle further away but obviously there’s nowhere to go. She lets out a breath of relief to hear him finally accept her offer, caring nothing for the scene they’re making (it’s nothing to some of the other scenes going on around them). Wrinkling her nose at the extended hand, she politely refuses corn cuddles and his help getting up. Brushing herself off, Vai gets herself on her feet and watches to make sure Zeph’s actually going to get clean. ”Git,” she says playfully, smacking his ass as if to encourage him away.
She retrieves her stuffed rabbit (duh), tucking it into her belt by its adorably floppy ears. And by the time Zeph is less corny - if that’s possible - Vai will return to his side, placing a very colourful flower crown atop his head. ”There. Perfect,” she says, leaning in for that previously offered kiss.
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
All clean(er), you rise up from your washing just in time for a bright crown of flowers to plop onto your head. Raising an eyebrow and pursing your lips, you nod approvingly at this turn of events. "I always wanted t'be a pretty princess." You look ridiculous with your grey hair and weathered skin and shock of florals, but you might as well lean into it you suppose. Besides, she looks spectacular, and seeing her smile is absolutely worth the little indignities you must endure.
You kiss her warmly, reaching around to pull her closer, hand splayed on her lower back. When you break away you're a little bit breathless, flushed and bright-eyed like a boy. "What now?" you murmur without any urgency, perfectly content to spend more time simply holding her to you. "Gods, your'e fuckin' beautiful."
”You are the prettiest princess,” Vai informs Zeph with a cheeky smile, not at all thinking he looks ridiculous. More like a man confident enough to rock a little ridiculousness, and she is all about that. One arm loops around his shoulders as they kiss, the witch humming contently against his lips, leaning into his chest and peeking up at him when they finally part. Boyish is a good look on him too, Vai sighing contently and shrugging her shoulders.
”Now? I think maybe we can slow down a bit, in case you decide to throw up all your winnings,” she says with a chuckle, brushing her nose over his. ”Want to find a place to sit? No bonfires by the sea, I’m afraid, but there’s plenty of booze flowing.”
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
"'s'not an entirely unlikely possibility," you agree, closing your eyes as her nose touches yours. It's so incredibly benign and yet deeply intimate, and you can feel your heart squeeze in an altogether too vulnerable way. Fuck. Fuck. You really shouldn't be falling this hard, especially for a married woman.
And yet you have made no effort to fight it, and continue, now, to not.
"Sounds good. Want another beer first?" Arm in arm you stride back languidly toward the beverage stalls, stopping to pick up the fruits of your winnings - more blackberry for you - and then meandering toward an unoccupied blanket that lays in the grass, offering a good vantage point for the merriment. You plop down unceremoniously and pat the spot beside you, too infatuated to let her out of your reach for longer than is absolutely necessary.
Reaching over to unhook the bunny from her belt, you hold it up playfully, making it hop through the air. "So watcha you gonna name 'im? Flopsy? Boppit? Sir Reginald the Third?"
”Then let’s reduce that possibility as much as possible. I don’t want you to ruin your crown.” She winks, fingers gently playing through the back of his silver hair. Honestly, Vai has forgotten about being married. Her search for Devrum has been fruitless for so long - long enough for her to bitterly leave her wedding ring in a drawer somewhere at the cabin in the Greatwood and not take it back out - that it may as well be that she’s a widow.
Enough about that, though. Smiling and following after Zeph, she gets herself a different beer this time - elderflower or something - and takes a comfortable seat beside him on the blanket, settling under his arm and letting out a hum of outrage as he removes the bunny (she was busy drinking). ”Hmm.” She watches him make it hop through the air, miming shooting an arrow. ”His name is Soup,” she says. ”Rabbit soup is delicious.”
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
Oh well damn did that get dark fast. You knew she was a huntress, but Vai's morbid side is not something you've experienced before. As she mimes shooting it the hopping rabbit falters, lets out a death gasp, and very dramatically drops into your hand. "Rest in peace, Soup," you say mournfully to the body, wiping a fake tear from your cheek. "You were adorable, an' now you'll be delicious."
You offer the stuffed animal corpse back to Vai, then steal her new beer to take a taste of. "Mmm, I like this one. So, now you've shown yer secret ruthlessness, whad'a I gotta do t'keep from joinin' Soup in an early grave?"'
”Yes, yes you will.” Vai smiles sweetly to the stuffed rabbit, patting it on the head and returning it to her place on her belt; given what’s just happened, it’s easy to imagine that she’s strung up real rabbits there as well on her trips through the Greatwood. She’s just about to take another sip of her beer when Zeph steals it, causing an exaggerated gasp to escape her. ”You can start by keeping your pickpocketry to yourself,” she exclaims through a laugh, trying to steal it back.
”Besides, I wasn’t aware it was a secret. I shot Sunjata in the neck when I first met him. By accident, and he was a deer at the time.” It’s a very necessary clarification. ”Though I’m partial to bribery, and I’m fairly easy to please I think.”
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
You steal one more gulp before letting her reclaim the flowery beer, leaning back on your forearms and half-reclining in the grass. If it was anyone else you might be more taken aback by her confession of near-murder, but having watched the two of them together you figure that bridge has probably been mended well enough.
"No more pickpocketing, huh? Then I s'pose I oughta return some'a what I've stolen from you before. I gotta confess, it might be a little bit differen' than you remember." You glance sidelong at her, waiting for the reaction and fully expecting to get punched. But there's a little bit of seriousness behind your playful eyes, and the smile on your face is... my god, is it nervous? Are you beginning to feel bashful, Zeph?
Narrowing her eyes down at him, Vai makes a point of chugging back all of her delicious and flowery beer, raising her eyebrows at him in challenge and setting the stein to one side. Did she sort of regret it instantly? Yup. Was it worth it, still? Absolutely. However, at Zeph’s implication that he had stolen something from her, Vai’s instinct is to glance back around for Soup the rabbit, expecting to find him gone from her belt.
Nope. Still there. So it’s with confusion that she gazes across at Zeph, leaning back on the blanket as well, propped up on one elbow to face him. ”Oh, do tell,” she says with a grin. ”I have a feeling that you’ve had your hands in my pockets almost constantly since we met. And you’ve stolen plenty from me too.” Not just tangible things, if the colour in her cheeks is anything to go by.
you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
& the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land
"Can I help it? You've got very invitin' pockets." And by pockets you mean ass. It's her own fault for having such an excellent one, really.
Again you're very much aware of the little box in your pocket and everything it means. Could mean. Might mean? You thought you were ready for this, but... fuck. "Well. Erm." Your hands are sweating which is definitely from eating too much corn and not from nerves, and is it getting warm? Because your neck is getting hot.
Bite the bullet. Get it over with. And do it in the dumbest way possible. That's how you get through life. "Vai. There's somethin' I... I wanna ask ya." Shifting on the blanket, you pull the box out from your pocket. Your leg tucks under you so you're kneeling dramatically, the little wooden container (made by you and covered with carved flowers) held in front of you. "Vervain - Vai - taku kairangi. Will you make me th'happiest corn-filled idiot at this festival an'....... go' steady with me?"
The box opens to reveal the black pearl you found together, now strung on a golden chain. It's nothing compared to your shit-eating-green, though, and the bashfulness that hides behind the showmanship, the cocky delight shielding your vulnerable, anxious hope. It's been a long fucking time since you were in a relationship, and the last time ended... well. We all know.
”Your pockets aren’t so bad yourself,” Vai quips back, breathing in the clean forest air and hoping that it clears her head a bit (what the fuck did they put in that beer?) Blinking and glancing back at Zeph, suddenly he’s talking real talk and the witch doesn’t really know what to do about it. Everything about the way he talks, his body language, it all suggests a proposal and she sits up, brow furrowing.
Then he gets on one knee and fuck if she isn’t about to hold a hand up and remind him that they’ve only known each other for a season, but the question he pops is a lot less intense, and if he didn’t look so gods damned sweet she might have laughed to break the tension. Vai recognises the pearl in the box - a box hand carved, and she knows it - and feels her cheeks warm, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.
”You’re such a goofball,” she says, her voice half a whisper. ”It would be my honour to go steady with you, Zeph. Now c’mere, you giant idiot.” She reaches out for him, pulling him to her for a kiss that’s as delighted as it is very, very flattered. The pearl will have her attention again in a second - for now she’s much more interested in the man holding it.
