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!
"Oh, it did? That's...surprising. I'd love to come pick it up soon." Sam was aware it would likely be wobbly, not quite a ceramic masterpiece, but it would still be something he'd made that he could put in his home, with the memory of that day attached to it. His wild romantic imagination wanted to make conjecture from there, thoughts along the lines of 'it can be a memory of our first proper day together when we're marrie-' Sam stopped that right there. That had been his old problem, becoming far too invested in relationships before they'd had a chance to grow.
It was good to hear Amun laugh and his concern melted away, especially as embarrassment and delight flooded him as his fingers were kissed. Sam laughed his own quiet, nervous laugh, gently taking them back and rubbing over his fingers with his other hands thumb.
He had been making an effort to not look at the painting, but as Amun offered it up he couldn't quite resist. Sam turned to look at the canvas and immediately gasped, lifting one hand to his mouth and his eyes briefly flicking back to Amun. "That's...that's so good! How do you do that so quickly?! Normally he hated images of himself or what he could see in mirrors, but now he leaned in close, wanting to see every stroke of paint Amun had put down. "This is amazing, Amun. I can't possibly compete with this."
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
Amun grinned at Sam. "Like I said, it's waiting for you. Feel free to swing by whenever." Pausing, the potter added, "And I don't just mean to pick up your pot."
Eyes flicking to the bookmaker's fingers as he pulled them away, the advisor didn't comment on it. Still, he found himself smiling. It deepened at the other man's obvious delight at the painting. "Many, many years of practice. Plus, I had an excellent subject to paint." Chuckling, Amun reached out a hand and clasped Sam's shoulder. "Good thing it's not a competition, then, Red."
Stepping back, the potter dropped his hand and winked. "Besides, you're not getting out of this that easily." He turned to carefully remove the canvas and set it aside to dry, leaving a blank page for the bookmaker.
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
"I'm going to be coming over anyway, you know. You won't be rid of me, now that you've been so nice to me." Sam smiled, looking up at Amun with lightly teasing eyes; in the space of a few weeks, he had gone from thinking the potter essentially a stranger within his 'family', to thinking a lot about him indeed. Now that they had spent the time to get to know each other, he didn't feel he needed an excuse to go to the pottery workshop.
Being told he was an 'excellent subject' brought a laugh that would have coloured his cheeks had he the blood for it, and Sam turned to look back at Amun as his shoulder was grasped and closed his eyes with a nod of acceptance that it was not a competition (though he was still going to feel woefully unskilled in comparison).
The canvas was moved and a blank one left for him. Sam stepped forward and ran a hand down the slightly rough, clean surface, trying to figure out how one even began to mar the perfect cream expanse and turn it into art. "How do you want to pose for it?"
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
"How awful," Amun drawled. Flashing Sam a grin, the potter chuckled. "I've always been nice to you. Glad you finally noticed." He winked at the bookmaker.
Smiling at the redhead's laughter, the advisor started walking towards the chair. "Funny you should ask." He smirked at Sam, simply standing there doing nothing for a moment.
Then Amun's hands slid under the hem of his shirt. He pulled it off and tossed it into a corner. Meeting Sam's gaze the entire time, the potter took off his shoes and they followed his shirt. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his pants, he shimmied out of them and kicked them aside. Now only in his underwear, he waggled his eyebrows.
Then he stripped those two, throwing them aside with a flourish. Putting his hands on his hips, he grinned, letting the bookmaker drink his fill. Only then did the advisor slid back and snag a blanket that was lying nearby. Settling into the chair, he draped the blanket over one leg and his naughty bits, leaving the other leg and the rest of him completely bare. Putting his elbow on the arm of the chair, he rested his cheek on his fist, the other arm lying almost straight out. "How's this?"
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
"You have, that's true." The only slightly negative words he could remember from Amun had been about his distrust of the Voice, but Sam was at a crossroads with himself on that, considering allowing himself to entirely trust her the way so many of his 'family' did; if they could have such easy faith, why couldn't he?
He expected that Amun would do some sort of amusing seductive pose, possibly pull off his shirt, but Sam had thought that any mention of nude paintings had been mostly joking and flirting; he looked up as the first article of clothing came off and then his face was stuck, an expression of surprise there as he watched the entire display of Amun stripping down. Finally, once the underwear was off (and Sam's eyes finally averted), he let out an embarrassed, laughing yell of "Amun!", to get across just how scandalised he was.
Thankfully, a blanket was employed to cover the most sensitive of areas and Sam looked back to Amun, calming a little and actually letting his eyes get used to the man's body. He was certainly attractive, more so than Sam felt himself, but instead of comparing he tried to just enjoy, to be glad that Amun was interested in him. Of course, thoughts of what might happen if they continued were not appropriate for this kind of moment, so after a moment longer he nodded and recentered himself behind the canvas. "It's fine. Um...okay, I'm just going to..start...and I'm sorry if it doesn't come out very flattering."
Wanting to just be rid of the blank canvas before him, Sam mixed a dark red colour for the chair and with a medium brush, made a line on the canvas, paint spreading across the woven fabric; with one mark down it felt somehow less worrisome, and soon he was actually trying to capture Amun, quiet in his focus.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
Amun smirked. "Maybe I should've been a little meaner. Nice guys finish last and all that." Chuckling, he shook his head, waving a hand at Sam that hopefully conveyed the potter was entirely joking in case his tone hadn't.
"Sam!" he yelled back in an echo of the bookmaker's voice. Lounging in the chair, the advisor grinned. "Learning how to paint nude models is an essential part of any artist's repertoire," he teased.
He would've said more, but the other man set brush to canvas. Amun fell silent. In addition, he became completely still, as only Ascended could. He was willing to pose for as long as it took for Sam to feel happy with his work.
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
Sam tilted his head slightly as Amun made a joke he didn't recognise or understand, but he smiled anyway, sure that it was very funny if you knew. As Amun mocked his surprise with a yell of his own name Sam did actually laugh, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in a fake show of irritation. It was nice, to have found someone he was comfortable enough to joke with: it was rare, nowadays, that he could let down the walls so easily.
"If I ever do become an artist, I'm not going to be the sort that paints a lot of naked people." He insisted, trying out a few different mixes of paint for Amun's skin tone before settling on one that would do. His outline of the man was not perfect; the proportions were off and his lines were unsure and feathery, but he continued anyway.
"You're so confident. I'm jealous of that." Sam commented as he took in Amun's still posture and calm look. "When I do have confidence, it never stays for long."
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
Amun grinned at Sam's eye roll. However, the potter shrugged at the bookmaker's protest. "That's not the point." The advisor shook his head, though he tried not to shift too much from his pose as he did. "Painting nude models is important so that you learn how to draw anatomy properly. Even if you don't end up using them as subjects, it's still good to know how bodies are supposed to look."
Smiling, he tried to meet the other man's gaze without actually moving. "I've lived a long time," Amun admitted. "After a while you realize that worrying doesn't actually change things, so you might as well be confident." Chuckling, he winked at Sam.
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
What Amun said certainly made sense, though the body in front of Sam on the canvas was not at all anatomically accurate, issues and inexperience with perspective and the subject clear in his marks and Amun's too large head, mismatched legs. Leaning in to try and fix some of the most egregious mistakes, he smiled as a thought came to him. "That's true, but I think the point of it from your side is that you wanted to make me embarrassed by seeing you naked." Sam glanced past the canvas for a moment to see if he'd hit the mark.
The remark on confidence earned a smile, but he had little to say, still struggling to believe he'd ever gain self-esteem even with an eternity before him. For a while he painted in quiet, looking up every so often to Amun and finding that when he was focused on the image he was making, the shapes he was trying to copy, it was easy to make his eyes analytical rather than appreciative; occasionally he would catch himself staring, become aware of how attractive Amun was all over again, and have to dart his eyes down to the floor.
Finally he stepped back. The painting was clearly the work of an amateur, the colours badly contrasted and the figure inaccurate, but it was the best he could do and Sam did not know how to further improve it. "Okay, I think...I think it's done." He announced, pausing a moment before turning the canvas around so that Amun could see.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
"Who me?" Amun winked at Sam. A slow grin spread across the potter's lips. "Two things can be true," he added in a voice that was mostly a hum rather than actual words. With that, he stilled and fell silent again, giving the bookmaker time to paint.
When the redhead declared he was finished, the advisor nodded. Standing up, he shifted so that the blanket was wrapped around his hips like a towel or a skirt. It shushed around his legs and brushed the ground as he regarded the canvas. "And you said you weren't an artist." Perusing it, he shot the other man a grin.
Smirking, Amun clasped Sam's shoulder. "Excellent. Really excellent for your first time." Chuckling, the potter gestured at himself with his free hand. "Especially since you were distracted."
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
For a moment, Sam expected the towel around Amun's hips to fall to the ground as he came forwards; that that didn't happen was both a relief and a disappointment. Taking his eyes away from it he looked over his painting again, laughing and shaking his head. "You're just flattering me. Thank you, though." There was a clear better piece between his and Amun's attempts, but the kindness was appreciated.
He had indeed been distracted, and the hand on his shoulder did not help with that at all. Sam gave a shy laugh, looking back at Amun and biting his lip, his eyes wandering up and down. "I was. Um...I was wondering..." He turned to face Amun more directly, feeling a compulsion to touch or kiss him now that they were close but ignoring it, unsure of what was appropriate. "Would you like to stay over tonight?"
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
"I'm not," Amun responded, shaking his head. Meeting Sam's gaze, the potter raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I have more experience, and my technical skills are better, but it's art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Smiling, he shrugged and nudged the bookmaker with one hip. "Besides, this is your first time. If it was perfect I'd be a little threatened, honestly."
As the redhead looked his fill, the advisor did the same. A slow grin spread across his lips as Sam finally managed to get out what he'd tried to stammer just before. "As much as I would love that, and I really would..." Pausing, to take a deep breath, Amun shifted his hand so his finger could raise the bookmaker's chin, "We agreed to take it slow. And we haven't even kissed yet." The potter chuckled even as his eyes slid down to the other man's lips.
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
Sam could certainly tell Amun had been speaking to the weird artist guy with all the colours, but said nothing of that, just smiling at the compliments, trying to take them on face value; looking back at his work he almost thought it looked better now that he'd heard Amun's take on it. "Thank you."
The smile on Amun's face had him thinking that he was going to say yes; at the gentle rejection Sam was surprised, then scandalised, laughing as he tried to clarify: "No no, I didn't mean like that--" Before he could explain more though, say that he had truly just meant sleeping together in the purest sense of the words, Amun's fingers were on his chin and mentions of kisses were in the conversation.
"Oh." He quietened, looking over the other man's face now and letting himself be drawn in, closing his eyes and lifting a hand to rest on Amun's jaw for a chaste, but genuinely meant, kiss.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes You're going to have to make a few compromises
"You're welcome." At the look on Sam's face and Amun's apparent misunderstanding of what the bookmaker meant by 'stay over,' the potter couldn't help but laugh. Shaking his head, he grinned at the other man. "Oh, so you were going to relegate me to the couch?"
However, the advisor fell silent as he stared into Sam's eyes. Pulling the redhead forward, Amun would close the very short distance between their lips. He wouldn't demand anything more than that, but would just stand there for a short moment. Allowing his hand to slide forward, he would rest it on the back of the bookmaker's neck for just a moment before breaking off the kiss.
For now we're happy if not overjoyed And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid
