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!
Despite the tension, the tears, the thick misery between them, Remi can't help but laugh at that. Wrapping his arms a touch protectively around himself, he leans against the door frame and offers his husband a bemused look. "Well of course it's empty." He agrees, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his smile from growing too wide despite the situation.
"I can't make a baby on my own. Well," Quickly Remi shakes his head correcting himself. "I suppose here of all places I could, but...I wouldn't want to." Swallowing hard and ruffling his fingers through his curls, he shifts his gaze to the empty crib, offering it a pained smile. "I suppose I had thought...if there wasn't a way for us to have a family up there, that...we could have it here."
So there it was. His soul laid bare before the only man he'd ever be that properly vulnerable to. Oh, he's said things here and there about having another child, but in the big scheme of things with Safrin and Ludo and the state of the world...it seemed impossible. But here? Where beams could have initials in hearts and the world could be sculpted to suit their moods...why not?
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
At Remi’s retort, his cheeks colour a little - because all at once it makes sense to Ronin. Of course it’s empty, because they haven’t decided what will fill it yet. Something bubbles up in his chest and his throat, some helpless, joyful laugh that he wants to sob out until there’s nothing left. Leaning gently against the crib, he turns tear filled eyes up to the walls and the ceiling, the little touches of maybe that linger all around the nursery. Because that’s what it is, right?
Padding back across the room, he carefully slips his arms around Remi, holding him tight against his chest. ”I’m so sorry for what happened down there,” he whispers. ”I’m so, so sorry.” But he will never be able to let Aoife play on loop in their minds, never changing, never moving beyond those small years. This, though? This is something else.
Letting out a soft and fluttering breath, Ronin gazes back into the room. ”Your curls, I think,” he says quietly. ”And your dimples. That’s a must-have for any baby of ours.”
There is a lingering tenseness to Remi's muscles as Ronin moves from the crib. Despite what his senses tell him, it's only Ronin's touch that can remove all doubt. There's a brutal sort of honesty in this new magic of his, and though it might devastate him, he doesn't flinch away as the Star wraps his arms around him.
And it nearly does. Devastate him, that is. Because he can feel the deep and stalwart core of the Star which has decided to let Aoife remain in her grave. That her memory should not be conjured here, her ageless face should not grace the breakfast table, the things she might have drawn should not adorn the walls. Biting back a sob as he presses his forehead against Ronin's shoulder, Remi holds his husband all the tighter for this knowledge. "Don't apologize. Not for that. Not for loving her like you do." The alchemist whispers shakily, glad that Ronin's clothing is now crumpled and wrinkled so that he doesn't feel so bad about dampening it with his tears.
Pulling back slightly but only so that he could raise a hand to Ronin's cheek to cup it, the alchemist shakes his head for a moment before reaching up to kiss away the tear-shiny tracks that line his husband's cheeks. Leaning his head against Ronin's then, two adoring would-be parents staring into a room of potential, the alchemist laughs under his breath. "And your smile." Remi adds, his fingers tightening around Ronin's hip as if he might drag the huntsman's body into his own.
"Perhaps though...a boy this time." Because while gender meant very little to the alchemist, he'd also not want this dream-child, however unreal it was, to feel as though they had to follow in the footsteps of those who came before.
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”I do love her. So much,” Ronin whispers, his fingers finding their way into soft curls as he holds onto Remi, as he finally seems to let Aoife go. To let her live on in memory but nothing more than that; nothing more than what she’s already been, and always will be. He leans into the hand that sneaks up to cup his cheek, grateful for the steady presence at his side, no matter how unsteady they both might feel. Ronin doesn’t stop his husband, either; his arms wind more securely around Remi as he draws him closer and they watch the room together.
Kissing his cheek, however blotchy and tear stained and rugged it might be, the huntsman scoffs. ”Don’t be cruel, inflicting them with my smile. They’ll be getting in trouble before they can walk,” he scolds, entirely playful. A boy, though? Ronin nods, a thumb gently stroking along Remi’s hips. ”A son,” he echoes. ”Yours and mine. That sounds amazing. I owe you about a hundred lay-ins too, I think. I’ll get up in the middle of the night with this one.”
"As long as they don't get your massive ego, they'll be fine." Remi counters, laughter coming all too easily now that they were on the other side of what had happened downstairs.
Glancing over his shoulder there is suddenly a strange hammock-bed contraption hanging from the ceiling. It's low to the ground and wide, made of fabric as well as netting, and gives off the impression it would rock anyone who slept in it to sleep just as the ocean might. "Or we can do it together." He muses, sounding more sure of himself now. "Then again with your 18 different selves or however many you're up to, maybe you should do it." Remi doesn't mean this of course, already knowing he'd cherish the sleepless nights.
"Yours and mine. Just like this house—this whole place—should be. No more surprises from the past." He vows, before offering Ronin a crooked smile. "Which..I suppose means I'll have to take down that life-sized oil painting of you walking out of the water that one time....pity. It turned out really nicely."
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”I don’t have a massive ego,” Ronin objects, giving his husband a little nudge with his elbow. ”It’s perfectly enormous, thank you very much.” He also notices the strange hammock-bed, raising an eyebrow and turning them to face it properly, as if asking whether Remi would like to go and be rocked to sleep (apparently). ”I have never heard you complain about me or my 27 selves and what we can get up to as a collective.” Huffing, he gently grasps the Lullaby’s hand, bringing it to his lips so he can kiss the back of his palm.
”You know,” he says slowly, ”if you already told me about the life sized oil painting it’s not really a surprise any more, is it?” Enter Ronin’s perfectly enormous ego. With a warm laugh, he leans in for a gentle kiss - a thank you, an apology, an I love you all rolled into one. ”You can show it to me later. I’m fine up here for now, I think.”
10-06-2020, 12:42 AM (This post was last modified: 10-06-2020, 12:44 AM by Remi.)
Raising his eyes and giving the Star a disbelieving stare, he schools his expression into something more neutral as he nods his head in agreement. "Oh right. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering what about you is massive and what is just regularly enormous."
Pulling Ronin over toward the strange bed, the alchemist smiles softly, thinking of all the things which might take place in this room one day. "Well, no of course I don't. Usually, my mouth is full." Full of what? Not that you gutter-brain. Food, usually, as it takes about a dozen Ronin's to cook a single meal. (And also yes, of course, that).
'Well...I suppose you won't know until you see it, now will you?' Whatever other snark might be said is cut off by a kiss that is as perfectly timed as it is needed. Forever, you. The Lullaby sweetly hums as he sits down on the bed, tugging Ronin with him. By design as much as magic, the bed easily rocks them back and forth without threatening to roll them together and then flip them over as hammocks are so often wont to do.
"Now...I know this is a dream and we could just...put a child in that crib...but..." Pausing and giving Ronin as earnest a look as he could muster (it isn't very convincing), he adds: "...seeing as I've never made a child before and you have, perhaps you should take the lead." He didn't need to add in bed given that they were already in bed.
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”My fault, really. I should keep you up to date on these sorts of things.” Ronin pats his husband on the shoulder as if to tell him that it’s okay, though by then he’s being tugged over to the hammock bed and easing himself down onto it. The alchemist’s perpetual gutter brain - and the warm affirmation through their Attuned bond - has him smiling like an idiot, and the Star slips an arm around his husband so they can sprawl back together, rocked gently by the structure.
The quip about taking the lead in terms of baby making has him furrowing his brow for a second; Remi will likely see the cogs turning in Ronin’s head. From how would it work to I have never made a baby like that before to OH, I get it, eventually the huntsman offers him a lopsidedly charming grin, leaning in for another kiss.
Usually their lovemaking is preceded by pawing at each other, and accompanied by laughter and endless snark and joking, but this time Ronin’s passions are on the gentler side. He draws Remi closer, warm hands gliding down the length of his back and over his hips, as if the alchemist is something to be treasured and savoured. ”I’ll take the lead. You just enjoy yourself,” he murmurs, smiling against his lips.
"A chart, perhaps." Remi chuckles in agreement. "With lots of pictures. You know how easily distracted I am when it comes to you."
Wrapped up together as they are, a tangle of limbs in a bed that seems to ignore their every movement as it rocks them back and forth, it's lucky that the alchemist wasn't given a similar warning to the one Safrin gave Ronin. If he was, he might be very concerned about the deep and soothing level of relief he was currently feeling, and how it made him never want to leave this place.
Watching Ronin try to sort through the quip he'd made—a joke, to be sure—Remi smiles with a warm adoration as the Star finally seems to come around to his way of thinking. Though the alchemist knows it isn't real, that none of this is, he's happy to let himself be blinded by willful ignorance and the strong touch of his husband's hands.
"Oh." The Lullaby hums, smile crooked and full of anticipation.
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
With a soft laugh, Ronin shifts to hold himself over his husband, his soft kisses drifting down onto the alchemist’s neck. He’s almost infuriatingly chaste in his exploration of the man he knows so well, leaving the Lullaby perfectly clothed as his hands wander. Fingers search against fabric for the contours of his body, pressing him up and closer while he tugs the collar of Remi’s shirt away with his teeth. Nibbling at his collarbone, Ronin hums a note of deep satisfaction.
”You sure you want to do this?” he rumbles, on the verge of laughter. ”I don’t want to get over invested like last time.” He can laugh about it now, about their failed attempt to enjoy themselves in the icy dreamscape. Whatever Remi’s answer, he’ll still start to unbutton his husband’s shirt, slow and deliberate, despite the plethora of things he might imagine.
There is a time and place for demands which are panted against lips and hands moving feverishly with need; a time for promises of pleasure whispered and then enacted with skilled hands and relentless movements. But there are also times when love proceeds lust and physical gratification is a happy accident from building tenderness.
"Over invested." The alchemist grumbles, watching with eyes that look almost ashamed for how much they're enjoying taking in his husband's movements. "This time feels different." He adds softly, reaching out a hand to brush it against the tattooed wingtips he can see feathering out of Ronin's shirt. Symbolic though it might be (they were at reproductive odds with one another, and of course, this was a dream), but it still felt like something. Something that was real and important, even if it was only in their minds.
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
”It does feel different,” Ronin agrees with a warm smile, head turning to watch his husband’s fingers flicker over the ink that peeks out from his shirt. He presses his smile to Remi’s chest once he has sufficiently unbuttoned his shirt, kissing every scar and freckle he can find, savouring the heat and strange realness of him, even in a dream state. ”I love you, Remi Taliesin,” he murmurs against his chest, cheeks flushing as he’s finally able to let his hands whisper over bare skin.
It’s a frustration born of love, the growing tightness in his pants, and Ronin slides up the length of Remi’s body so he can sit properly astride him, carefully unknotting the cravat from around his neck. ”It’s a shame. I’d have liked to wine you and dine you first. Maybe afterwards.” He winks.
Each press of Ronin's lips upon his skin is another match added to a bouquet of light in his belly. It isn't a wildfire yet, not the sort of thing to curl his toes, but gods if it doesn't leave him hanging on every movement Ronin makes. "I love you too—" Closing his eyes as the Star's hands radiate over his chest, Remi inhales a breath that stutters and bounces over his tongue.
Whatever control he had over his breathing is immediately gone as Ronin places himself astride the alchemist who is of course helpless to stop the way his back arches slightly that his hips might rise to meet the weight pressed over him. Placing his hands on the huntsman's thighs and letting his fingers luxuriate over the muscles he can feel beneath the fabric, the Lullaby shrugs softly. "There is time, you know. Especially if it's an important step in all of this." Raising a brow and looking up at Ronin, the alchemist's fingers slowly wander up to his hips and just beneath the line of his shirt to brush softly against the skin still hidden by far too much cloth.
who's got their claws in you my friend?
into your heart i'll b e a t again
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
10-06-2020, 07:42 PM (This post was last modified: 10-06-2020, 07:43 PM by Ronin.)
arms give away your need
”Oh, is that so?” They do have time, and in dreams it takes a lot less preparation than it otherwise might. So rather than dropping his cravat, Ronin merely shakes it so that it turns into a formal tie. Knotting it once more against a shirt that’s suddenly crisp and clean and perfectly pressed, he leans in to steal a taste of Remi’s lips - and the world shifts, tilting gently so that the Lullaby is seated in a chair all of a sudden. A chair in a candlelit room, with the Star still comfortably in his lap.
Behind them there’s a table and wine, and a spread of food that certainly smells delicious, but Ronin is more interested in kissing Remi. ”There,” he murmurs, sitting back eventually for air. ”This is where I’d take you, and we’d sit and make stupid jokes and listen to music. I’d get really drunk and try and pull off the tablecloth with the plates still on top. It would be a mess.”
