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!
lights will guide you home, & ignite your bones & i will try to fix you
With a cheerful bark as if applauding his decision to cool himself off with water in his hair, your tail thumps adoringly upon the cobblestones as you gaze up at him. That he can't carry you only draws a canine smile from your lips, and you offer him another bright bark as if to say that you don't mind. You actually think you'd hate to have a shift where people could just pick you up and carry you about. You get the impression from enough wandering eyes (Dorian) that there are those who'd be more than happy to do just that, in your regular form.
At the word unicorn, your ears perk up again, and you give Finn one of those comical and shockingly intelligence looks of understanding. It's perhaps not quite as cute as when dogs do it, because you do understand, but of course instincts are what they are, and soon you're on your feet. Nose to the ground, though you aren't scent-hound by any stretch of the imagination, soon enough you catch a familiar scent. Galloping forward, it's only your human-mind that makes you stop and wait for Finn every so often, not wanting him to pass out or get lost.
Sneakily though, in the back of your mind you wonder what you might do if you did lose him. Surely here, a wandering unicorn wouldn't be quite so...obtuse? Could you get away with it, for even an hour? Perhaps Finn would think you were the unicorn who had been brought here. But then...Finn was cleverer than that. If you disappeared in a unicorn showed up, those pieces would be too obviously not to piece together.
Of course, Finn is absolutely not privy to any of October’s internal musings (and now he knows exactly what it’s like when people have to speak to him), and so he trails along behind her at a comparatively leisurely pace. He’s not keen for another dizzy spell, though now he has damp hair and water to replenish him, the walk is quite a pleasant one. He’s even smiling, the closest thing to content as it gets as he follows after Tobi.
He does glance at some of the exhibit signs as they go by, but none reference anything like a unicorn, and he starts to wonder whether she’s wound him up to get him to walk further into the gardens. Not that he would mind at all, though he’s definitely going to sleep well tonight if the paper bag in his free hand has anything to say about it.
But then, in the distance in a copse of fragrant trees, Finn swears he sees something shimmer. ”Tobi?” he calls, squinting for a better look.
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
Like any good dog, you immediately double back at the sound of your name, bounding towards Finn with seemingly endless energy. You're nearly about to collide right into his knees when you too see a shimmer in the trees, but there is also the unmistakable scent of petrichor and honeydew as well. Unmistakable for you, anyway. Your tail begins to wag so hard that your whole body begins to shake. Though instead of barking at Finn, you simply shoot him a knowing stare as you trundle off into the shade and toward the scent.
Unless Finn sprints after you, you'll beat him there. The enclosure is a magical one, like all the rest, so it has no need for bars. Besides, the unicorn clever as it is will know that it is here to be healed. Hidden beneath a thick umbrella of weeping-willow vines, she grazes. With her muzzle deep in a flush of clover, her ears relaxed and tail flicking away flies, she is the picture of grace and beauty.
Silently you shift, your dark eyes upon her and your mouth slightly open. There are few things you are properly entranced by, but certainly she is one of them.
Finn does not sprint after Tobi, knowing better this time around, so by the time he catches up to her she has already shifted and is thoroughly engrossed in the sight of the unicorn. Finn doesn’t try to disturb her, stepping up beside the doctor and gazing out into the enclosure as well. He sees the creature for what it is (in Finn’s opinion, anyway, which is a horse with a horn), and whilst it’s beautiful, he doesn’t see anything particularly inspiring.
But far be it for him to interrupt, and so he waits quietly by for her to get her fill of unicorn watching. ”Perhaps you should ask to see if you can get a closer viewing,” he suggests, leaning in so he can speak more quietly so as not to disturb it. ”At least we managed to find it.”
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
Her fill of unicorn? Oh Finn. If only you knew.
"Mmm?" You mumble under your breath, hardly aware that he's come to stand beside you. At some point the unicorn has looked up, able to somehow distinguish both what you've recently been, and what you keep hidden. The canine-smells you latently give off make its ears flicker uncertainly, but the core of your nature keeps it still. "Who..would we ask?" You say with an almost sleepy smile.
Giving Finn a look out of the corner of your eye, you step into the enclosure, humming under your breath and making your way toward the creature in a slow arc. The song you hum is reminiscent of the melody you were playing earlier, and once you're close the unicorn stops its grazing to raise its head, regarding you with a deep amethyst gaze. Hey you, you whisper softly into the creature's mind, not knowing if it can understand you are not. It can't, as it happens, but oh well. Extending your hand to it, the unicorn brushes your palm with its muzzle apparently deciding you're not a predator, and resumes her grazing.
Glancing over your shoulder you beam at Finn, nodding your head that he should come over as well.
Finn shrugs his shoulders as she asks about the ‘caretakers’ of the Celestine, but there must be somebody who looks after these enclosures. Or at least works the administrative side of it. He’s glancing around to see if he can spot anyone, perhaps, and by the time he looks back, Tobi has vanished into the enclosure. ”Uh...” The Spyglass hesitates, not sure about getting too close to any creature in the Celestine, and he’s about to say so when Tobi beckons for him to join her.
”I am not sure that is such a good idea,” he says slowly, ruffling his fingers through his curls in a clear gesture of discomfort. But Finn does step into the enclosure ultimately, easily led as always, and he finds himself standing beside Tobi without really knowing why. He checks the area around the unicorn, as if keeping watch for other passers by.
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
"Come on!" You hum with excitement. The tone of your voice causes the unicorn to snort her slight displeasure, but quickly she's back to grazing after giving her head a quick shake. Your hands scour her shoulder, roaming up over her wither and scratching along her back. It's a gesture of friendship among equines, given that it's an area they can't scratch themselves, and so rely on their herd mates to do it for them.
"Of course it is." You whisper as Finn joins you. As he does, the unicorn raises her head, appraising Finn with a deep penetrating stare. She turns, nostrils flaring and tulip-shaped ears perked forward at the Spyglass. Knowing what it is to be a creature like she is, you're able to read this gesture more easily than Finn can. "Your arm." You whisper, nudging him softly, eyes looking down emphatically towards his cast and then back toward her.
Like a teenager buckling under peer pressure, Finn finally lets himself look between Tobi and the unicorn. While it’s true that he’s no more enthralled by the creature than any other animal, it’s hard to reconcile the equine with the Abandoned they are so often associated with. So it’s as Tobi tells him to offer the unicorn his broken hand that the Spyglass finds himself conflicted, and he swallows hard.
The doctor nudges him and he lets out a shuddering sigh; he still isn’t quite able to say no, and so he lifts the arm with the cast plastered over it to... offer it out to the unicorn, seeming confused. ”How do you know so much about this?” he asks slowly.
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
"They have an inclination to heal." You whisper as if it's the most obvious thing. It isn't of course, but in the moment you're far too overjoyed to notice this potential misstep. You haven't been able to heal Finn with your horn the way you would have liked. Not without drawing undue attention to it. But here? Now? This is how you'll help Finn.
"She'll touch you with her horn. Don't be afraid." Your murmur softly, and indeed as you're saying this, the unicorn's neck arches elegantly so that her horn can rest softly upon the plaster of Finn's cast. Light blooms from the tip, her magic surging into Finn's body. Bones are repairs, nerve endings made whole again, and wounds closed.
Knowing well the strange surge of fatigue and adrenaline the unicorn is about to experience, you pat her neck soothingly, murmuring praise under your breath. "How do you feel?" You ask a touch distractedly, which is quite surprising for you given just how much of a priority you place on other's wellbeing.
Interest and confusion gives way to a suspicion that might almost be predictable at this point; injured, feverish Finn might not be able to put two and two together all too well, but this Spyglass is a bit sharper. He’s frowning softly as he holds out his arm, but rather than watching the unicorn, it’s Tobi who has his attention. She hasn’t really answered his question, and as he feels something warm and bright settle in his bones, his stormy gaze finally flickers to his cast.
”Oh,” he says softly, wiggling his fingers in the now useless plaster. ”I feel better...” But he frowns back at her. ”How do you know so much about this?” Same intonation, same words. Is it the researcher in him, or simply social awkwardness? Tobi can decide.
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
You grin is bright and sunny as you watch Finn wiggle his fingers. You're about to turn away and give the unicorn another appreciative scratch when he fixes you in face with his frown. Even for Finn that's a rather surprising reaction to having just been healed of an injury that you know he doesn't want to think or talk about.
"What do you mean? Everyone knows unicorns heal." You say with a shrug, voice casual, but with eyes not quite as bright as they normally are; a smile not as wide. Your one hand has never left the unicorn's shoulder, but now it tangles almost nervously in her mane. Sensing your distress and anxiety the mare raises her head, flicking an irritated tail your way, telling you that she isn't a fan of this upset energy you're giving off.
"You don't have a knife on you or anything, do you? I could remove your cast right here, if you do."
”Mm...” Everyone does know that unicorns heal, and he supposes that Tobi was interested in seeing one even before they came out here. It’s a slow thaw, his suspicion ebbing away by degrees, and the way the mare seems suddenly so flighty is all the indication he needs to let it go completely. For now, anyway. With the flash of his usually awkward smile, he starts to back off and head back out of the enclosure, offering a momentary thanks to a creature who won’t understand him.
”I try not to make a habit of carrying knives around,” he says slowly, a touch of amusement in his voice as he raises his cast up to inspect his arm. ”And I don’t relish having to carry the discarded cast back with us either. Perhaps we can do it at the clinic?”
one by one they lay the world at my feet,
one by one they drive me crazy.
You linger for a moment longer, turning to press your forehead against the mare's neck. Breathing in her smell, you make some wordless promise that you'll...see her again? Try and be in your shift more often? You don't know. But here and now, standing on two legs as you are, you feel so much like an imposter you want to scream. You don't like lying and with Finn's questions, the fact that you can't give him a full reply ties your stomach into knots.
As he speaks, you open your eyes, patting the unicorn once more before following Finn out. "Well I don't know." You say with a little less brightness. "Maybe you carry one to sharpen pencils." You add with a shrug and a small smile.
"Alright then, the clinic it is." Glancing over at her one last time, you find that she's already gone, and it makes something inside of you slouch and darken. "Well..it's lucky we found her. Wearing that cast during all of LongHeat would have been a smelly and sweaty affair."
”And perhaps you carry one because you are a doctor,” Finn fires back, glancing over at the enclosure only to see that the unicorn is already gone. Now that his moment of whatever-the-heck that was has passed, the Spyglass can fully appreciate what has been done for him; his expression softens, and he gazes down at his hand with wonder. ”Did you know?” he asks, sounding a lot warmer about it. ”That if we found it, it could fix my hand?”
Chuckling a bit as they walk, he nevertheless can only agree with Tobi’s remarks. ”I would hope I would come in to have it changed before it reached that point. But I am looking forward to playing again,” he admits, smiling again down at the floor. ”Perhaps if you leave your door open again, we really could play together.”
