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!
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
..at times. Safrin nods. "When you need me." There's no resentment there, just the cold truth that lingers between them. The goddess will always be there when Ronin needs her, and in the coming weeks and months that will likely be more often than either of them knows. But it isn't the sort of need the goddess craves. She'll settle for necessity of course, but oh, how she misses the blue-eyed man she called Sugar all those years ago in the glade. How he'd looked at her then..
"For now they are together." Safrin says, into the space between them not quite so bright as it was. "And I will do as I said."
Nodding a touch stiffly and gazing back down at Seren, Safrin glances over toward the Star briefly. "This magic will let you keep yourself—or others—deep in that slumber. But even after you let the magic fade, they might still persist there. Lost in dreams they always wanted." Brushing back a strand of hair, she fixes her gaze properly on him. "A world where you could be with Aoife, Seren and Vanya...it might not be so easy to say you'd come back for Remi and the duties you have here."
Holding out the orb to him, Safrin regards him silently as it paints the hollows of her face in deep purple tones. "If you have any doubt about who you are and what you stand for...You will lose yourself. Anyone, would."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
The look is almost the same, as those words leave her lips - that they are together, for now - and the hope and delight that rushes through him is enough to reignite the starfire in his veins. ”Thank you,” he whispers, and he means it. Ruffling his fingers through his hair, Ronin forces his mind to settle, to hear what more the goddess has to say.
And the prismatic surface of the orb she holds is reflected in blue eyes as he considers it, considers the dangers and the temptations held within. He frowns, shying back from it as it’s held out to him. ”I..” He shakes his head. ”I don’t want this, Safrin. I mean to say, I appreciate it, but I...” I don’t trust myself. No one would.
08-24-2020, 07:37 PM (This post was last modified: 08-24-2020, 07:42 PM by Safrin.)
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"You do want it. If you didn't, you wouldn't be afraid of it." Safrin says with a knowing smile. "But the effects of this...they go beyond what you might want. Do you remember when you were blighted, Ronin? Finding solace only when you could finally manage sleep?" The corners of the goddess's lips twitch in a sad smile as she continues to hold the orb out to him. "This could bring solace in times of great strife. And..."
If he thought the magic powerful before...if he thought it dangerous...
"...once you learn how to control your own dreams, you will be able to enter the dreams of others." She lets the words hang, heavy in the air. "Though it's true I have been grooming you to be strong, to be able to protect and defend in the chaos that is coming...not of all it might be physical. The body has long since been the area the Voice believes herself to have bested Rae's designs. But the mind? It is a place no one will see you coming, and, if all goes well, might not even believe you were ever there..."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
It pains him to know how right she is, but that doesn’t make it any less true, and Ronin frowns down at the galactic orb, at everything it could hold for his dreams, for a world behind his eyes made just for him. But oh, does he remember how it is to be blighted? A shiver runs through him, the Star rubbing at his forehead and sighing deeply. Yes, he remembers it all too well. ”I could help others... bring them out of the sleep, once I know how to do it myself?”
There’s fear in his voice - what if he doesn’t know how to do it himself? What if he fails? - but he does his best to control it. To be sure, like Safrin says he must. And then she mentions the Voice and he looks back up at her, Ronin hissing out a long breath. ”I understand,” he murmurs, pausing for only a second longer before reaching out to grasp the orb, accepting it from the goddess. ”Then... I’ll do my best with it. Safrin... I’m sorry. About... how it is.”
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"Yes. Your light will lead them back. Or...in the case of some, you could leave them to rot away in a paradise of their own making." Those for whom death was too much, but imprisonment was too easy. It was a very Safrin-solution, and her shrug communicates as much.
As Ronin's fingers reach for the orb, he'll feel a velvety pulse as the magic sinks into him. It's both hot and cold, starfire through his veins the likes of which suggest that Safrin's warnings are well-advised. This magic does not come to him lightly, and must be carefully used.
Raising her eyes to him, Safrin has no words to express how she feels. She is not one to regret and while it would be wrong to say she regrets how things have unfolded with Ronin, she does. As much as she is able, at least. Swallowing down her feelings and whatever words she might say, instead she presses a kiss to Seren's forehead which causes the girl to stir and blink herself awake.
"Time to go, my little star. But we shall visit Ronin soon, alright?"
With a nod to Ronin that he might say his earthly goodbyes to his child, Safrin stands to give the two a moment.
Honey is using 1000MP for this ability.
Hushabye (Upgraded) | Through touch, can enter into the dreams of those he is sleeping next to. Using his Dazzle ability, he can act as a guide to revive those in comas or other locked-in states, or wake those who have been magically put to sleep
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
The magic leaves him shaking out his hands, like his fingers have gone numb, and there’s a buzzing in his veins that makes him want to jump or punch something or hyperventilate. Before he can choose to do all three at once, Safrin is initiating goodbyes, and Ronin finds himself on his feet before his daughter as she stirs to wakefulness. He steps forward to hug the girl close, feeling tears prickle at the corners of his eyes all over again. ”I’m sorry we didn’t have more time,” he whispers.
He was supposed to teach her to fight, to help her get the blue dragon she had wished for at the Miana Pool. He’d have taught her to sketch and paint, too, and to ride the clouds, to master her magic just as he’d had to learn how to use his own. Now? It was like losing a piece of himself all over again, and no amount of see you soons would change it. ”I love you. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, okay?” He smiles to his daughter, kissing her dark locks before letting her go, unable to look at either of them now.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"It isn't forever. Just for now." Safrin says, though to whom she's comforting—Ronin, Seren, or even herself—isn't entirely clear.
But Ronin's world...the world the Voice was making it was no place for their child. Safrin had thought...had hoped there would be time for Seren to grow. But things were happening far faster than she could have anticipated, and she'd not risk their child. Not even if it left Ronin hating her.
Reciprocating Ronin's love, Seren presses herself against him, wriggling in his arms as she'd done when she was much smaller (not that it was that long ago), before turning back to Safrin. Just like that first day on the beach, the demigoddess's life was split between her two parents.
"You know where to find us." In the stars. In dreams. In this place of light.
So saying, the goddess and the Star's daughter disappear in a slip of starlight.
~FIN
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
