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!
It had been an eventful day, coming back from the dead. At the end of it, even though they'd technically just got through spending an eternity together, Adam found he just wanted to curl up with Pet and take it all in. They wouldn't really sleep, not anymore, but he was sure without a doubt that they'd spend a lot of time cuddling still; it was almost their favourite couple activity (as for the other one...well, that was off the table too, for now, but he would find a way to bring it back, maybe even on the table).
They had somewhere to stay until they got settled, the Advocate's building in Torchline; Adam had been more familiar with the first, but was eager to get to know this one, immediately pulling anything soft and warm into a corner with a mattress for himself and Pet; once this had been something he did as a favour, but he had to admit over time he'd grown to like a good old blanket pile himself.
Taking off his boots, he looked over to Pet and shook his head with a scoff, betraying how overwhelmed he still was despite his calm and joking persona elsewhere. "Can you fucking believe all this, babe? It's nuts, right?"
Being alive again, even in a body without sensation, is exhausting. It’s too much excitement for Pet, and he is tightly wound, even with the elation that bubbles up in him. Especially with the elation bubbling up within him. Sleep can no longer soothe him, but Adam can, and after however long spent apart, physically, he wants to be cuddled.
Torchline is overwhelming in a way that Pet has no words for. He also has no words for how long he spends staring at the ocean, eyes wide and rapturous. Adam had to all but drag him to their temporary home, and even when they arrived, when they began to settle, he hovered by the window.
Could he believe it? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Most people never got a second chance, and somehow he had gotten three. It was almost too good to be true. ”It feels like a dream.” Tearing himself away from the window finally, Pet steps out of his own boots and smiles gently at the care Adam has put into their pile, curling up neatly into his husbands lap.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
Boots off and Pet in his lap, Adam leaned forward with his eyes closed to nuzzle close into his husbands neck. It didn't quite smell like him, his own senses dulled and Pet not the same, but it didn't matter; he was happy to just be there, different or not. They'd work out the bumps later.
Leaning back a little to pull his shirt off, he gently settled down, holding Pet in his arms til they were laid on the ground, blanket tugged up to go over their shoulders. "To me, the time...between kinda feels like a dream. Do you...remember it? I feel like I do, but when I try to think about it...it's fucking weird, it just sorta slips away. I know you were there." That was about all he could say for certain about the long rest they'd had between lives, until the Voice had presented them with her question.
"And now we're Ascended. ...Do y'think this means we have to help the Voice and shit? I dunno if I really wanna get involved with all that..." Adam sighed, remembering how complex and toxic the debate around Gods had been before - he didn't even want to imagine the inevitable conversation with Ama yet.
No... I don't um..." Pet shifts, head tipping to the side as he tries to remember anything, the memories of death already so fuzzy. "I don't think I even remember what happened. A... dragon, but..." He shakes his head, shoulders lifting under his many layers (of course they've come back with him, they're a part of him).
"I think... it probably means that at least a little bit." Pet had never actually met an ascended, prior to his death, at least none that he remembered. He had barely understood the animosity between the Old Gods and the New, though it had never been a concern of his to know things. Just to move in the direction he was pointed, a sharp implement. The more things change. "I don't mind. She... She gave us this chance, didn't she?" The smile that crosses Pet's face tries to be reassuring, something he still hasn't quite learned the trick of, but it matters less and less and he leans in, hands that are somehow the same temperature they've always been slipping in under his husband's shirt, just for the closeness.
After the elation though, there has been room for doubts, for worries to creep in, as they always do. "Do you... does this..." A silent breath huffs out of Pet, his teeth worrying at his lip. "Is anything different? With... us?"
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
Adam almost shivered as Pet said dragon, shaking his head and swallowing down the immediate reaction of revulsion. "Not that. I meant d'ya remember the being dead bit? The...between...the resting." The less he thought about the actual moment of their demises the better, but the long time that had stretched out after was, while vague in his mind, not anything painful; the bits that he did remember had been nice.
As for serving the Voice he sighed and nodded, closing his eyes as Pet's hand stroked across his chest and speaking towards the ceiling, thinking, unguarded in a way he wasn't with anyone else. "Thing is, I remember talking to Ama about all this stuff before with the Gods...it's getting messy. Hell, it was messy when we...y'know. Now it's even fucking worse. What if we have to do stuff we don't wanna do? Hurt people.." Turning to his husband, opening his eyes which held obvious fear, he shook his head. "We don't wanna hurt?"
With that concern in his mind, he hadn't even considered there could be anything wrong with their relationship; that felt like the stable element in all of this and hearing Pet question it clearly shook him further. "Uh...not as far as I'm concerned. Why, do you think it does?"
A look of intense concentration overtakes Pet’s face; his brows furrowed, his lips pursed, and the barest tip of his tongue sticking out from the thin line of his mouth. ”It was... quiet. And you were there, but... not close enough. And... I think it was bright, but... it wasn’t, either.” It was a wriggling fish of a memory, slipping and writhing out of his hands more desperately the more he tried to hold it down.
Pet knows better than to say out loud that being told to hurt people he doesn’t want to is not anything outside of his realm of experience. ”Do you... we might have to anyway. Or, might... would... have to?” Brows knit together as Pet tries to wrestle meaning out of a slow tongue and fumbled words, shaking his head a bit before he corrects himself. ”Safrin, or... anyone else could ask the same thing.” It’s more than likely not the reassurance Adam wanted, one of Pets hands rising to his shoulder, fingers brushing against the very edges of scars. ”I’ll do anything we have to. That you don’t want to.”
”No! No, I... I just wanted to be sure.” Theres something behind the worry, something Pet isn’t sure how to voice, sharing these concerns still so new to him. ”Just... just maybe, if you were... bored?” With me. ”You might want... something different this time.” Wide blue eyes drop, suddenly engrossed in the plunging depth of Adam’s collar instead of his face. Maybe the attempted distraction will make bad news easier to bear. If it comes.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
Pet's recollection sounded about right. In a way, as vague and odd as it had been, Adam felt good about having experience the whole death thing; at least he knew there wasn't much to be scared of, when he was done here (that was, assuming whatever the Voice had in store was similar). "Yeah. ...It's been over a year, Sunjata said. Since we died. It feels...way longer and much shorter at the same time, right?"
Adam tilted his head from side to side at the point about Safrin, humming a noncommittal agreement. "Safrin hadn't literally brought us back from the fucking grave, though, and The Voice does more weird shit." Like attacking big old trees that meant something to people or bringing a bunch of dead souls back. Not that he was complaining about the latter, but he did wonder what he was getting involved in.
The hand on his scars made him look down to Pet, the slight cold tingle in his skin any time someone touched them still there. "...I don't want to make you do my shit. You've been through way too much already." It would be easy, to let Pet take on all the hard work, the difficult stuff...but that wasn't how a partnership worked, and Adam found it made his heart hurt to think of Pet having to deal with more blood on his hands, another life dedicated to killing for someone else.
Speaking of their partnership, hearing what Pet's concern actually was left Adam staring, his lips slightly apart in a confused surprise. "Babe..." He whispered as he finally gained back his voice, shaking his head and letting his fingers cup Pet's cheek. "Y'gotta understand this, okay? I wouldn't ask just fucking anyone to marry me. I asked you, and I was meaning to ask you before that - because I love you. I love you so much it fucking scares me, Pet. When I'm with you I don't have to be anything else, I'm just me, and you accept that, and--"
Alarmingly, Adam realised tears were beginning to come to his eyes. Aggressively blinking them away, he pressed a kiss to Pet's nose. "Point is, if I ever say I'm bored of you, kill that guy, cos he ain't me."
Adam was right. They’re not words Pet says out loud, but he nods along, his lips pulled in a tight line. It had been a lifetime, literally, but it felt like no time had passed at all. Like they’d simply fallen asleep for the night, and woken up in new bodies, in a new time. As long as they were together though, Pet would accept just about anything. And this time, he’d do things better, this time, he’d live for himself, for Adam.
It is Pet’s turn to hum, his sound more thoughtful, and muffled by the teeth that worry at his lip, sharp fangs making the familiar tick look a touch more dangerous. ”Doesn’t... coming back to life, it’s... it’s worth something though.” Even if only a favour, even if only some weird shit. It feels like he’s lost track of his point though, if he’d ever had one in the first place, and he isn’t sure how to continue, except to purse his lips.
The tilt of Adams head as he looks down is Pet’s cue to let his hand drop, falling to his lap as he looks up and tries to figure out the best way to make his point gently. ”Its easy though. For me. I can, I don’t want you to... to have to do the same.” There’s concern in his voice, fingers clenching in Adam’s shirt for a moment before releasing. He doesn’t think of it the same way Adam does, doesn’t think of anything more than sparing the other man the heartache of blood on his hands.
Silence stretches on, far longer than Pet would have thought, a confused worry in his gaze when he looks up, the expression only growing more extreme when he sees it mirrored in Adam’s face. He leans into the hand that rises to his cheek, lets it ground him in a way no one else has ever tried to, and he listens. Really listens. Picks apart every word, every meaning, until an alarming shine enters Adams eyes.
Disaster almost strikes, Pet reaching up slowly while Adam leans down to kiss him, but they manage to avoid it. Fingers more scar than skin brush away the tears gently, then linger on Adams cheeks, just touching. ”I missed you.” The words are so soft they’re barely there at all, Pet shifting his head to try and press their lips together in a kiss.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
Adam knew that if any situations arose where a violent act had to be done quickly, he'd pause and Pet would go ahead; that was just how they were, how their experiences had shaped them. If they had a chance to think or prepare though, he hoped he might be able to take on some of it. Perhaps Pet was less bothered, but he couldn't be entirely unphased by more blood on his hands: Adam had seen him remorseful.
"Well...look. Let's not worry about it too much unless it comes up, then we can work it out from there." He finally said, hoping it wouldn't ever. Maybe the Voice would have some boring courier work for them, or ask him to sort her files.
He smiled as Pet seemed to internalise what he said, hopefully understood just how much he meant it. Adam returned the kiss, softly pressing his lips against Pet's before leaning back just a second to say: "I missed you too, babe." As if to prove it, he kissed Pet harder, leaning to be a little over him; Ascended couldn't feel things the same way, no, but Adam wasn't about to stop kissing his husband. After a while, by which point normally there would be things arising, he lifted himself up on his elbows. "Yknow...I've heard that Ascended teeth can do some exciting things. You know anything about that?"
”That sounds like a good idea.” Pet agrees easily, thought actually acting on it will be anything but. It’s simply how he’s been moulded, growing up the way he had. The worry of what he owes lives in the back of his mind, a constant awareness of where he stands, just how far he can tow around things and still be safe.
Even if it doesn’t leave him though, he can set it down for a moment, for as long as he’s pressed close to Adam. And with the reassurances the other man piles upon him, Pet thinks maybe he can keep the worry out for a long long moment.
Pet leans up to keep their lips pressed together, muffling the words that leave Adam with a shy smile. His eyes are already slipping closed when they press together harder, a surprised but not at all complaining noise leaving Pet. The closeness doesn’t fill him with the same needy buzz as it once had, but that doesn’t mean he wants to stop, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a whine when Adam lifts himself up.
For good reason at least. Blue eyes open wide to look up at Adam. With the exception of Rexanna, Pet had not been close to any ascended before meeting death. And the sole reason Rexanna had ascended was to avoid that coupling. ”What have you heard?” Even if there is no heat running through his body, Pet’s chin still tips up, offering access to his throat.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
Adam had been worried, briefly, that things might be awkward or difficult between them as they started this second phase of their lives (after lives?), but Pet underneath him so perfectly, the smile on his face, the way he asked his question - it made his heart leap, Adam realising for the hundredth time since returning just how in love he was with Peter. They'd be just fine, as long as they still had this.
"I heard that they can feel real fucking good." He crooned, leaning down and letting his lips graze against the skin of his husbands neck, lingering there for a moment and letting his new fangs just snag for a moment, then lifted back up to Pet's ear. "Can I bite you, babe? If y'don't like it, just lemme know, okay?" Adam moved back after that to look Pet in the eyes, to make sure he understood.
There is something a touch more calculated in the way Pet moves, the reactions coming slower than if he were simply moving on instinct, that breath of thought catching him up every time. It makes it no less sincere when he breathes, ”I like it when you make me feel good.”
”Please. Please bite me.” Pet gasps softly, writhing under his husband, trying to arch up and roll his hips and offer his neck out all at once. Even if there isn’t a physical heat in him, there is still the thrill of anticipation, hungry eyes focused on Adam. He couldn’t be more desperate if he pulled the other man down to him, which he starts to, impatience seizing Pet quickly.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
"Good." Adam hummed, one of his fingers gently running along the edges of Pet's neckline and hooking into the fabric, pulling it up so he could lay kisses on his chest and collarbones, inching upwards until he was at the side of Pet's neck, hands coming up to slowly but firmly move Pet's head up so he could get a good angle - then Adam bit, his teeth sinking into Pet's skin easier than he would have imagined.
At first, for a second, it was just kind of odd; the taste of fluid was unlike anything else he'd ever had in his mouth, sort of metallic, smooth and nothing all at once. Concerns about taste quickly disappeared in the next moment though, as the physical effects of drinking fluid began to take hold of his body, a hot passion he usually experienced after far more effort flowing through him; Adam groaned and used the hand not holding Pet's jaw up to grab at his hip, grinding them together out of habit more than anything else, not knowing how else to expend the sudden sexual energy.
The longer he waits, the more desperate Pet seems to get. ”Adaaam.” A whine leaves him, even while he’s leaning into the faint touch of Adam’s fingers and letting himself be moved easily, turned this way and that, until finally, he’s in the perfect position, angled and oh so impatient. Teeth sink into him, not painful like he would expect, not that anything is anymore, but not nothing either.
It’s strange, until it isn’t. Dull, until it isn’t. Pet feels like he should know what to do with this electric sensation running through his body, but it’s happened so quickly he barely has a chance to process anything, his hands flying to grasp at Adam’s clothes, his hips shifting to meet his husbands. Even the hands on him are suddenly beacons of heat, Pet leaning into Adam’s touch on his face more and more. He’s on the very edge of too much teetering dangerously and loving every moment of it.
and it’s better off this way, so much better off this way
