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!
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
It had been a winding trek to get here, but when they do it feels worth it. Turned around a few times in the cave system to get here, distracted by a myriad of other things, and eventually managing to stumble into the almost suffocating amount of humidity and warmth in the air. It sticks to his skin, sticks to his clothes, sticks to everything. But this is what they were here for, right?
His hand has been in Nate’s for a while now, and as soon as they step out of the mouth of it, he realizes where they are. “This is it.” Because it has to be, right? A hot springs? Frey’s breath? The thing that held all the water that had helped cure him during that meeting?
He doesn’t move forward at first, fishing around in a bag that they had brought, searching for a jar to bring some back with them in for an idea that had sparked only recently. “You can stay back, I don’t want anything to happen to you if you get too close, okay?” He’s facing Nate now, leaning forward to press a kiss to his husband’s cheek. He doesn’t know how Nate will react to getting near the water, but if it was anything like when he’d drank it, Sunjata would prefer to avoid it entirely.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Confine me let me be the lesser of a beautiful man without the blood on his hands
They've followed a dark, twisting path, Nate's mind likening them to blood cells, every twist and turn necessary, pre-ordained. Being in the cathedral, being ignored by whatever forces exist in the deep dark void there, it's shifted something, ever so slightly, in Nate's mind. Brought him closer to Sunjata, shoved painfully at the wedge, kept between him and his Goddess.
Better to not think about it. Easy, too, as they finally leave the cave, into a hot gasp of humidity, enough to make Nate shift, squirm, trying fruitlessly to wave it away from him with his free hand, the other one squeezing Sunjata's tightly. "I hate this place." He mumbles petulantly, scuffing his boot against the ground. If it would help, though, if it could be used to help, then he was willing to deal with it, for at least as long as it took to get what they needed.
A jar makes it's way out of the bag, Nate's single eye dropping to it like he's forgotten already why the hot springs are important, forgotten what they need the jar for. "I'll be fine." The ascended scoffs, all but rolling his eyes as a kiss is pressed to his cheek, melting some of his bravado. Maybe his last experience with the water had been easy to deal with, but he can't help but remember the way Sam had seemed to go crazy, the memory keeping him from following too closely to his husband. "Be careful. Please."
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
Nate hates it, but there’s something oddly charming about it – the idea that the springs might help relieve any of his pains and hurts. But that’s not why they’re here, and maybe at some point they could manage to visit when it’s less of an issue of sickness and something far more geared towards relaxation. As it stands now, it’s a dire chance, a last ditch effort for a thought that’s encroached into his mind.
Still, he can’t help the amused half smirk that crosses his face when Nate says he’ll be fine. He trusts that, he has to, because he can’t quite deal with any of the alternatives.
Wings tucked in tight, he takes the jar into his hands and leans up to press a kiss to Nate’s cheek, pulling back and offering an overtly confident smile back. “Always.” It comes out in a small purr, stepping away from Nate now to approach the springs and dip the jar into the hot, steaming liquid. He pulls it out, screwing the cap on tight and grabbing another jar, a bit smaller, but still at least another container to hold the water in.
He dips this one in too, screwing a cap onto it tight as well and settling both jars back in the back before returning to Nate. “See? Easy.” A knowing wink is given toward Nate, silently relishing in the way the warmth seems to help with aching joints.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Confine me let me be the lesser of a beautiful man without the blood on his hands
A solemn nod is the only response Nate gives to his husbands always. He could argue it, he knows that for a fact, just like he knows this isn’t the time, the place to argue it. That he’s not in the right mind to argue it. Already his examples, his arguments are slipping away, replaced by a quiet, distant admiration for the pools. They looks peaceful, relaxing.
”Easy.” Nate repeats, a smirk spreading over his face now that the dangers passed, now that his husband can return to his arms. They spread dramatically, inviting the other man to run to him, some ridiculous movie moment that sounds like it’ll be fun, even if it isn’t exactly the best idea. Not with the glass jars in Sunjata’s hands, the pools of water that may as well be poison for how they’ll affect him all about.
With this task done, they can at least leave the climb, start back on the trek home, with a few detours. Better at least, than the grounds, and more on the way. ”Do we need anything else?”
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
And it was easy, for the most part. To get the jars of water and to move on from the edge of the pools that beckon him closer. He has a better reason – a better lure in Nate’s arms that spread for him. But he doesn’t run, simply because if he were he’d likely slip on something and all their work would come tumbling down. Instead, what he does, is he hurries himself just a little – wings flaring to keep his balance so he can return and put the jars in a safer space so they won’t break in transit.
And when he does? He casts one long look back at the pools before his hand wraps around Nate’s middle, pulling the Ascended in close so they can head back down the tunnels to get back to Halo. “Nope, that’s it.” And it was it, really, aside from visiting the Fangs and the shrine that was settled within – in a place Sunjata doesn’t know about but hopes that despite the sickness within Nate the Ascended might be able to help him find it.
He also hopes that Safrin doesn’t smite him for meeting her anyway.
- FIN <3 got the water now let's bounceeeee
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
