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!
As his orgasm builds, despite the pleasure that crackles and ricochets in bright and unwieldy patterns through his bones, all the alchemist wants to do is cry out his love for the Star. The resounding adoration that pulses in the back of his throat is almost overwhelming and it threatens to swamp the fever-pitch occurring between his legs and seemingly deep within the base of his spine. Was this a dream he could pause the moment. He could linger on this breaking point and find the words to tell Ronin just how deeply and devastatingly in love with him he was.
But it wasn't a dream as they both were coming to understand, and with each thrust of Ronin's hips the world shatters apart a bit more. The seams split and the alchemist unravels in a series of low moans that sound feral and wild, while his body shivers and tenses. With a last thread of consciousness before the world dissolves into static and white stars, Remi tenses every part of his lower half, clenching his legs around Ronin that he might pull the Star into oblivion with him.
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Remi doesn't have to pull him anywhere - Ronin goes into oblivion willingly, moaning something incomprehensible against the side of the Lullaby's neck. He might have been able to scratch certain itches whilst he's been in Stormbreak, but it's nothing like this, and his release takes him completely. His arms tighten around the other man with one final thrust before the world bursts into little more than static and starlight - later he'll realise it's because he's literally glowing enough to light up the room.
And for those few moments nothing else matters - not the fact that they've been away for so long, not the cramped space or the troubles that will continue to dog them even after now. But eventually Ronin remembers he needs to breathe, panting softly against Remi's shoulder and letting out a shuddering sort of laugh. "We're taking a shower together," he decides, the words mumbled and rough, but nonetheless insistent.
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
Though Remi's eyes are closed, Ronin still lights up the world, and the alchemist happily goes blind with his husband's brilliance. Their catch their breathes against one another, wordless affection like a soft rain dousing them completely. Feeling both exhausted and completely reinvigorated, Remi manages to crack his eyes open as his body relaxes marginally.
"Well, I don't see one in here...and I haven't brought any clothes." The alchemist points out as if this is some sort of fun challenge for the Star to overcome. "I could always...shower you with compliments?" He adds, unable to help the way he snorts at his own poor joke. Being with Ronin again properly has made him feel positively giddy. He'd do cartwheels all the way to the bathhouse if that's what Ronin wanted, or douse himself with a cup of water and call it good.
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Mm, you can borrow some of my clothes. Sorry, that one inch is gonna have to make do at the bottom of your ankles. You'll get cold." Every other word is pressed as a kiss against Remi's bare shoulder, Ronin sighing deeply and letting a grin spread across his face at the other man's terrible joke. "I'd like that, and I suppose you're right. There's a washbasin with clean water in it, so I guess it'll be a whore's bath for us."
Finally sitting back enough that he can see his husband properly, all of the tension seems to bleed out of Ronin at last. It leaves him looking tired and haggard and happier than he's been in weeks, and the Star leans in for a chaste and gentle kiss against Remi's lips. "Go on then," he suggests as he shuffles to the edge of the bunk with the Lullaby still in his arms. "Shower me with compliments, and I'll clean you up."
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
Laughing into Ronin's dark hair, Remi shakes his head as his arms wind around the Star's shoulders. "No, no. We can go. I'll walk naked if I have to. Or I suppose you can carry me." He means as a hawk, but he'll be carried threshold-style or piggy-backed by the Star too. It isn't as though the entirety of Stormbreak won't have deduced he's here, based on the sounds of the previous few minutes. Whatever else they deduce about him based on those sounds (and their length) is hardly a concern.
"Well." Remi begins as Ronin moves them to the edge of the bed. "This is absolutely the best room I have ever seen in all of Stormbreak." He starts, clearly intending to make a mockery of this compliment-shower. "I also have it on good authority that you've received a landslide victory when it comes to being the most handsome man in this room. And—" Leaning forward to mercilessly rub his unshaven cheek against Ronin's shoulder, Remi adds: "You're the second tallest of all the demigods."
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"I'd carry you anywhere." Ronin says with a dopey smile, spending a second to adjust himself (which basically involves kicking off his underwear so they're both naked) before he rises to his feet. Threshold-style is the flavour of the day, it seems, and the Star relaxes into the swathe of mock-compliments and he sweeps out of the room. They seem to have missed the rush of the soldiers at least, so it's a relatively empty walk down stone corridors and steps to the bathhouse.
"The second tallest? My, I am better even than I thought," he murmurs, giving a playful snarl at the cheek that scrapes against his own. "You better hold tight to me. It's cold down here at first, since Deepfrost hit." He nudges the door open to the bathhouse with a bare asscheek, making sure to shudder obnoxiously as if that will convey just how frigid it is to his husband.
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
"Indeed. Second tallest." Remi agrees, his posture suddenly improveing dramatically just in case Ronin was at a loss for who the tallest was.
Anyone witnessing the Star strolling off with the Lullaby would be amazed really, to see just how easily Ronin is able to carry the alchemist about. But their strength knows no bounds (none they've encountered anyway), and it's as adorable as it is amusing for the few soldiers who do witness this entirely naked display.
"Oh gods, a bit of cold? I'm not sure I can stand it—" Remi is being sarcastic, until a blast of cold air races through the open door and the alchemist does actually shiver. "Fuck sake." He hisses unhappily, frowning deeply as he curls his arm more tightly around Ronin's neck.
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin raises his eyebrows at his husband in an I told you so gesture, the Star slipping through the open door and into the corridor leading to the bathhouse with his bare toes curling on the cold stone. "It's worth it," he tries, more for his own benefit than Remi's, though his teeth are chattering a bit as he hurries towards the next door. "Stormbreak is... well. Stay today, and I'll show you properly after this. But it's got... it's better than magic."
And he can't help the gentle awe in his voice as they enter the bathhouse proper and the two men are swathed in heat and steam. Advanced is one word for it - incredible is another. For now it's just the two of them and whichever hot pool of water the alchemist wants to take advantage of. Training grounds these might be, so it's hardly a spa, but compared to the freezing temperatures outside, Ronin doesn't care.
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
"You'll have to push me around instead of carry me, if this keeps up. I'll be a block of ice." Feathers have snarled down his spine and in his curls in an effort to provide a downy layer of protection between his skin and the briskness of the room they're in. However as the door opens Remi is hit with such a surprising change of temperature that it steals his breath and he reaches for Ronin with a bewildered look on his face.
"I love you, but—" And then Remi's off, trotting on his tippy-toes towards one of the pools where he all but crashes into the water. The change of temperature makes him gasp as his nerves turn to static beneath his skin and his muscles tense considerably. After a few moments though he's able to relax, beaming with a youthful playfulness up at the Star. All of his feathers have disappeared, leaving him only slightly cleaner than when he'd first entered. Raising his hands from the water and making grabby motions toward Ronin that he might show a similar hustle, Remi can't help the sunny smile on his lips.
'I have so much to tell you."
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Stop being so dramatic." Ronin laughs to his husband, absolutely not wanting that at all. He has missed everything about Remi, grinning as he releases him to watch him dance on tip-toes into one of the baths, feathers snaking down his back, his curls already damp from the steam.
And as he makes grabby hands for the Star, Ronin is powerless to refuse him, following over the tiles to slip into the hot water. For the first time he feels as though the heat of the bath might actually remove the tension from his muscles, but it has nothing to do with where he is, but rather who is with him.
"I'm listening," he assures his husband as he slips closer, winding his arms around Remi to draw him against his chest. Remi can talk to him until the sun sets again for all it matters now; careful, calloused hands wash over the alchemist's shoulders and down his back, working against stiff muscles and cleaning the Greatwood from his skin. Ronin works slowly and dilligently, and only once he's happy with his work does he move to the other man's upper arms, his chest and abdomen.
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
Pulling each other weightlessly close, Remi luxuriates the feel of Ronin against him as if this was their honeymoon, and they were just newlywed. He certainly can't imagine a time that the Star's presence doesn't fill him with a boyish glee and obvious desire, and he hopes he never will.
Remi is intentionally difficult throughout this entire process, of course. Wings have pushed out from his shoulders, and with them he's attempted to drench the Star several times with wing-fulls of water. 'For one, I learned that the Mathair is real. Not the tree I mean, obviously that's real. But the goddess allegedly inside." Rather than washing Ronin as the Star is doing to him, Remi has taken to half-shifting his hand into the end of his hawk-wings (that's now four wings, for everyone counting), and is softly brushing away at Ronin's skin. It's doing almost nothing of course, but Remi is enjoying it immensely.
"And. And!" Pausing and looking properly stunned that he hadn't led with it, Remi levels a proper stare in Ronin's direction. "Isla's back." This, Ronin will know already from the meeting with Cian that I haven't written yet.
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin can't stop from grinning at the way his husband makes things so intentionally difficult, closing an eye against the spray of water and continuing his efforts if for no other reason than to actually get Remi clean. Indeed, once he's managed to win the battle (though ultimately not the war) with him he settles on lavishing his wings in attention instead, even as he enjoys the feather light touch against his back. Luckily for the Lullaby, Ronin uses this bathhouse frequently enough, so he's in a much better position to enjoy the fuss for what it is.
"The Mathair is real? But... that tree is a portal now. She was killed?" He can't help but wince at that thought, knowing it is likely to stoke further fires within Stormbreak. Just the same as the Ascended being back. Yes, Ronin does know, but there are Ascended and then there is Isla - they are completely separate in his mind, and from the stare Remi levels in his direction, he knows his husband feels the same.
"That is amazing news," he says warmly, and he means it, cupping Remi's cheeks and leaning in to press a soft kiss against his lips. "Gods, that must be a weight off your shoulders. How is she?"
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
"Apparently. And hungry." Remi says this rather matter of factly as if it makes all the sense in the world. If you were a god who was nearly killed, you'd likely be quite hungry too. Or so the alchemist thought. "So I've got to go feed it. Her." He shrugs in his husband's arms, his toes menacingly pitter-pattering on top of Ronin's.
Humming a note of utmost contentment into their kiss, Remi beams and nods. "It was strange to see her." Through their contact, both attuned and magical, Ronin will feel the water Remi's insides seem to flutter and shiver slightly. "I feel like I owe her a massive debt for something which is difficult for us both to remember.." Shrugging, his finger-fingers lightly brushing against Ronin's back, the alchemist just sighs. "But she's agreed to do a check-up on Mateo, which will be a weight off my shoulders."
Table by sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"That sounds ominous. What does she eat?" Ronin wonders, not that he much cares about the answer with the alchemist draped all around him. He leans in to press his cheek against Remi's; this in combination with the pit-pat of his husband's feet under the water leads them in some strange and stationary dance.
He does feel the bubbling uncertainty that comes hand in hand with Isla's return, Ronin furrowing his brow and frowning a bit, his fingertips smoothing through flight feathers as he considers the other man's words. "Oh, a check up for Mateo? That'll be a weight off both of our shoulders." Remi will feel, in response, the pulse of near desperate love for their son and all that he's missed so far.
"You'll figure it out, between the two of you. Isla isn't the type to bury things."
don't close your eyes
something beautiful is still alive
