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!
"Eh, I dunno. Mere mortals can fuck and party and so on fine without any kinda help from Gods." Adam said defiantly, poking at the ground with a stick. Maybe one day he'd join the crowd and be madly in love with a chosen God, but he very much doubted it. Any time they did anything, it wasn't good; just meddling and messing and ruining, for inscrutable goals beyond human understanding.
It was nice to get away from the topic of those deities that he'd come to particularly dislike lately, Adam tilting the stick between his hands. He'd known plenty of bounty hunters and similar types in his past life; while it'd never been a career he'd wanted for himself, he'd never really judged those that did it. It wasn't usually a job you took because you had a lot of options. "Well...it's more on the people that ordered the killings than it is you. Y'don't blame a knife for stabbing someone, you blame the guy that did it, right?" He asked, supposing he was trying to make her feel better.
The gossip of a potential love was always exciting, especially when he didn't know anyone involved so he didn't have to be invested. "Tell me more. Is he hot?"
Aurelia hesiates at the sound of all that. Sure, she's taken to enjoying the pleasures of life since coming to Caido, escaping from the dim reality of her past and opening new doors. But you don't magically become the type of person that would party and fuck life away, just because you suddenly have the option to. So when that's Adam's idea of fulfilling, she can't find it within her to agree. "Well, I'd like to do more than that..." she murmurs, scrunching her brows downward and looking back towards the ground. But she cracks a smile suddenly and tacks on, "eventually, you know. I could stand to party a little more, I think."
As for the insight he offers towards her on whether it's the knife or the hand that uses it - or, in this case, the hand that uses the knife or the bigger hand forcing the smaller hand to use the knife... eh, whatever, it's too complicated an analogy.
To this, she stiffens her shoulders with uncertainty. "I guess so..." She'd never really thought about it from such an angle where the fault wouldn't actually pinpoint to her. Sure, she's guilty of part of it, of being the pawn, but... "You do have a point," she says simply, thoughtfully.
Adam's sudden interest in Milo makes Aurelia startle, eyebrows raising in surprise. She laughs a little at the bluntness of the question, completely unprepared for it. It takes her a moment to think about it, but she nods, "Yeah, he is. He's uh... he's.. somethin' else," she wets her lips and smiles, "Red hair like you've never seen before, eyes that'll make you melt, strong jawline, fit... yeah, he's a real wet dream." She barks out a laugh, though honestly? She's not really joking. "That's... not why I like him, though. More about the way he makes me feel. Like everything's..." she sighs, mulling over the choice of words to use that might encompass it, "like everything's gonna be okay, you know?" Her gaze flickers back towards Adam, wondering if he liked that description or not.
Aurelia having loftier goals for the future wasn't really all that surprising; she seemed like quite a serious person (something Adam had never been). "Eventually. But fuck yeah. If you're around Torchline a lot, there's always something going on in Haulani." He couldn't really enjoy most of those events anymore, but he'd be hard pressed to think of anywhere in Caido where you could have an easier good time.
It seemed his philosophy had struck a chord with her, which was interesting; Adam had just been repeating something he'd heard many times from assassins and bounty hunters over his years in dodgy pubs, usually after a few drinks when guilt began to settle in around their minds. Hey, if it helped, it helped.
He leaned forwards with his chin in his palm to hear the description of Milo, a slightly goofy smirk on his face; it was nice to hear someone fawn over a crush. Simple, happy, everything his relationship wasn't right now. "A wet dream, huh? Damn. I'm a little love with this guy from how you talk about him." Adam winked; as for knowing what she meant about the safety...he nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"Pet? Uh...he's cute. I dunno, I mean, I find him pretty fucking attractive obviously, but he's always been kinda small and delicate. He's a good fuck...but uh, I guess, like you said, its not all about that." Adam shrugged, picking again at the ground. "He's got a handsome face, I guess."
Aurelia nods decisively at the insinuation that she's around Torchline a lot. It's a bit of an understatement. "Yeah, I am. I haven't really... seen anywhere else. Like Halo. I've barely been to the Grounds. Mostly I'm just.. there, or wandering around the jungles here. Which is a little strange..." she suddenly reflects on this, not having thought much about it before, "I'm usually more adventurous. But something... about it... Torchline just feels like a home. I guess don't want to risk losing it by leaving. Maybe I'm scared I'll like these other places better..." She smiles softly, but really she's not sure what it is. There's nothing barring her from seeing the rest of the world, not truly; nothing but herself.
Adam's taken by her words and it spreads her smile into an amused, embarrassed grin that colors her cheeks. She hasn't really talked much about how she feels about Milo with other people. Leaning forward, she splashes a bit of water towards Adam. "His name's Milo and he's mine, so don't go getting any ideas!" She smirks, though of course she's joking. She's confident in her relationship...
Or she was, anyway. After Maeve and everying, she still feels as though she's walking on uneven ground. Or thin ice. Even if Milo didn't express any sort of issue, she still feels wrong for the things she feels for Maeve. They may be small in comparison to her feelings for Milo, but they are still there. She's not sure how to deal with it internally.
But she gives her running thoughts pause, to listen to Adam describe his husband. "Pet, huh? He sounds nice." Her brows curl, though she wonders if Adam's feelings are very passionate from the way he puts things. It seems like there is a real damper surrounding his husband, especially given his doubts from moments ago.
"Hey, do... do you ever want to see other people? Even though you're committed?" She asks suddenly, and there's a distracted hint to her words, like she's asking for herself just as much as she wants to ask him. Not like. She is.
Adam snorted and shook his head, wagging a hand back and forth at the mention of Halo. "Don't bother. It's a fucking cold and miserable place and all the people are too. Same for the Grounds. The woods okay, but I can't go there now anyway..." At least, from the few visits he'd taken he'd gotten a good impression, though admittedly they had been during events with free alcohol and snacks, which could well have coloured his perception.
He stuck out his tongue and wrinkled his nose. "Maybe he'll see me and my hot dancing and have to have me." He was joking, but also did hope his dancing was actually sexy enough to attract people. Maybe.
The question that came from Aurelia was a surprise; firstly because she'd just been so passionate about her chosen guy, but also...because the matter of seeing other people had been on Adam's mind since he'd come back to life. Wide eyes blinking, he took a moment to gather his thoughts and respond, rubbing a hand against his mouth as he considered his phrasing: "...Yeah, a lot. I think everyone does, right? Some people do. I don't think Pet'd like it, but...I dunno, I've always liked having sex and variation is the spice of life or whatever, right?"
03-30-2021, 07:47 PM (This post was last modified: 03-30-2021, 07:49 PM by Aurelia.)
it's the road that leads to nowhere
She laughs at Adam's 'advice', both nodding and shaking her head as the chuckles tumble through her lips. She doesn't quite realize the hint in his words when he says he can't go to the Greatwoods, either. "Well, I'd take your word for it," she smiles up at him brightly, "but I'll have to find out for myself sometime, you know."
The protruding tongue and scrunched nose make her grin, and she barks out another laugh. "Tsk! If you use those dance moves of yours... it would be downright unfair!" She argues jokingly, shoulders shaking jovially, "I wouldn't be able to compete."
She's amused at his surprise to her question. The tables have shifted now; she's the one asking deeper questions that make him pause and think. But her grins and smiles and laughter fades into something more curiously serious, brows twitching upward expectantly. He seems to think about it fairly, and for that she appreciates his answer all the more - even if it's not a direct, easy answer that tells her whether she's truly wrong or not. At least she's not alone in these contrasting feelings. That brings her some measure of relief.
"Milo... he... he doesn't really have a problem with it," she eyes the water again, thinking back to that horrifyingly honest discussion where she'd thought she'd fucked it all up. But now she's curious about Adam's plights. She angles her chin back up to look at him. "You don't feel guilty for it? For... wanting other people sometimes?" Her lips twitch with hesitance but she does end up admitting, "It feels like a betrayal... even if Milo says it's okay. I dunno. I guess I'm just not used to it."
"Just make sure you take fifteen coats and a housefire to keep yourself warm." Adam advised grumpily. Maybe it was because he'd died from a fucking ice dragon in the snowy mountains, but he felt particularly bitter about Halo's freezing temperatures, even now that they wouldn't bother his unfeeling body.
As for his sexy sexy dance moves and how they would tempt Milo, all Adam could do in response was shake his butt around; while seated it didn't really have the same effect, but it got the point across.
While he'd never admit it in the same room as anyone that could tell his husband, Adam felt a definite pang of jealousy as he heard about Aurelia's easy going beau. Maybe it was unfair, since he'd never really broached the topic with Pet, to assume he wouldn't like Adam fooling around, but...he knew Peter pretty well by now.
"Guilty? I mean...not just for wanting to, no. That's just how you know your eyes are still working, right" He didn't know anyone that stopped all sexual desire towards anyone else upon entering a relationship; sometimes, a stranger just had an amazing ass. "And I mean...maybe if he's okay with it, to get you used to it...you think he'd ever come with you on a hook up? Both have some fun together." Adam wiggled his eyebrows, a long time supporter of the 'just have a threesome' solution.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Aurelia quips back with a sly smirk, keeping in mind that she has all the ability to create a housefire - should she choose to. She can hear the bitterness in his words, though she doesn't hear the context behind it. Perhaps that is a story for another day, the one of how he'd died first...
Adam wiggles his butt around as if to mock her and she can't help the splutter of a laugh that comes out. "Well, maybe I do stand a chance," she teases with a completely amused smile.
But her jovial natures die down as she asks Adam those more serious, deeper questions, and they learn more and more about each other. Even if these things are not as intimate as other details might be, already it shows a certain level of trust she has for him. To trust in his opinion on things, to trust that he won't use this insecurity against her, and in general... to simply trust this man she's only just met, dancing around in the tangled web of streams.
Already she likes him, thinks that he could be a great friend to have. Things feel light even when they're heavy, with Adam, and that's well-appreciated by Aurelia.
As for a threesome? She chuckles nervously, finding that a biiit overwhelming even just at the thought of it. "Maybe, one day," she offers with a slight smile, and they can continue on in this game of questions-and-answers that tugs their new friendship just a little deeper.
