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!
To be honest, he should still be at home. But he’d wanted to get the word out, wanted to ensure that there’d be no more surprises waiting for him to open his door to. So he focuses on that and his still healing body, traveling through Haulani after putting up the notice board post, subconsciously trying to hide the scarring to his face, among the bandages, among everything else. The work for protecting Torchline from the monsoons is underway and Sunjata knows there’s only a few steps left to go before he can go and speak with Safrin about it.
He only hopes it’s done in time and doesn’t prove his father right.
But for now there’s little the Flood can do. Too weak and recovering from his days adrift at sea to be of much use for throwing around sandbags to protect the buildings, but he can offer his eyes and a bit of moral support where needed on the long trek home through Haulani and up the cliffs. Haai bounds by his side, greeting everyone – far relieved that her bonded is back, and with it come happy little yips and playfulness as she zooms up and down the stone streets.
you ain't gotta hurt no more, didn't you hear? the war's over just don't look behind that door, you don't wanna get that much closer
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.
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
The false human had seen the note on the Notice Board, but he had a hard time believing it was real. After seeing what effectively was an unmasking of an enemy during the duel he had witnessed a couple of days ago, Neos had been on edge, having a hard time trusting nearly anyone.
He hadn't felt like needing to be constantly watching his back like this, like there was always an eye unseen either on him or someone near him, since Ravnica...and it was a feeling he had hoped he would have never needed to experience again. He had been playing the scene over and over in his head, recalled the rushing waves in the waters below where Sunjata fell...
"...wasn't able to do anything to help search beyond the shore," he muttered to himself, a muted snarl in his voice. After speaking, he lifted his head to better see the pathing ahead of himself...and he found himself stopping in his tracks. "...is...that...?"
Green eyes looked to the creature at Sunjata's side, recognizing the creature by his side and nodded slightly. One's closest companions, in any world, seemed the hardest to fool, so if the wolven griffin was by this figure's side... "Sunjata?" he shouted to catch the other Attuned's attention as he began to approach, not as a run, but it was as a swift walk. "You look well for someone that ended up eating a lot of water and stone," he said with a small smile and chuckle, trying to make some light of what happened, before exhaling. "Honestly, glad you survived, many were searching for you."
All things considered, the Flood isn’t paying too much attention to the people around where he walks – instead, his eyes are glued on the street and Haai as she darts around, before she grows tired and drifts back to his side – panting and infinitely pleased with herself. It’s when this happens, that his gaze lifts and he hears the shout from the other attuned – steel gaze narrowing in on who’s called his name. Neos approaches quickly and Sunjata offers a quiet nod.
“Took a lot of healing.” He answers simply, continuing down the street because gods knew it would take him a while to get there on foot – more so if he stopped completely now. And unfortunately for Neos, Sunjata’s mood hasn’t improved between posting the note on the notice board and how his life had gone leading up to his fall into the ocean, so his words tend to be a fair amount harsher than usual.
Typically Sunjata can read a room and adjust his speaking to better suit it. For now? He doesn’t care to try. “So I heard. Though I’d say it is surprising given the fact so many were calling for my blood merely a week ago.” Shoulders rise and fall in a shrug as if to say ‘oh well’. “I washed up in Rae’s Fingers.”
you ain't gotta hurt no more, didn't you hear? the war's over just don't look behind that door, you don't wanna get that much closer
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.
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
Neos couldn't help but wince at the tone of voice, though he at least waited until Sunjata was turned away from him to walk on before yielding to the flinch that itched at him. He slightly sprinted after the other Attuned to catch back up to him before walking at his pace, a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah, about that...I can only speak for a small part of the population, but I've seen people become much more calm and relieved about everything since the Trial. It's like a fog cleared from most of their minds."
He then looked towards Sunjata, knowing his question might just right-angle the moment, but he couldn't help himself and it looks like Attuned next to him could use the radical change of subject. "...I realize that...that..." He had to look away for a moment, eyes moving side to side as he tried to recall a certain detail from the Notice Board. "...that Shaju is probably a horrific example, but..." Neos looked towards Sunjata before asking with curious earnest, "What's it like to have a father, or parents in general?"
He continues to walk, uncaring if Neos catches up or not — though the Flood’s pace is unhurried and easy, the best for the wounds that were still healing, Neos finds it easy to catch up to him. Sunjata doesn’t look over at him though, simply remaining with his head angled toward the path that leads home. “Good.” He offers, refraining from adding in ‘I’m glad’ if only because he doesn’t care enough to.
The next question, though, hangs in the air and Sunjata’s steps falter, coming abruptly to a stop. His gaze drifts over to Neos with a tilt of his head. “He is a horrible example.” He grits his teeth for a moment as he considers his words, huffing out a sharp sigh and beginning to walk again. “You watched me kill my father. How do you think it was?” He manages to grit out, stuffing his hands into his pockets while Haai continues to trot along at his other side opposite of Neos.
you ain't gotta hurt no more, didn't you hear? the war's over just don't look behind that door, you don't wanna get that much closer
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.
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
Neos had stopped following Sunjata for a moment after the snap, startled when he shouldn't have been surprised by the reaction. While the other Attuned was still in his sights, since he wasn't going that fast, he found himself debating if it would be better to just leave the poor guy alone or not.
Heh, poorly time curiosity will end up---
And without any apparent provocation and a sudden Oof! from within his own head, Neos brought his hand up to the back of his head, clocking himself pretty hard with the palm. "I know that was a fuck-up, don't need your two cents in there, Gem," he said with a minor snarl, aggravation about the whole scenario causing him to say it at a more-normal volume than the muttering he would say it at.
And he practically felt some eyeballs on him after that which scurried away from him. Great.
Steeling himself before running after Sunjata, he said with a minor huff of breath after catching up, "...would you at least like some company while going to wherever you're headed, if only to have a second set of eyes watching out for any surprises?"
(Sorry for taking forever, depression's a hell of a drug.)
Neos falls behind and Sunjata doesn’t stop – simply continuing to take the trek back toward home, half between debating going and getting drunk at the Hanged Man beforehand and stumbling home. But at least there’s a bed at home, a variety of alcohol that he hasn’t gone through yet, and Nate awaits him there. So for now, he focuses on his steps there – however slow they may be – and hears the snarl from Neos but doesn’t comment on it.
He doesn’t know what’s going on, nor does he have any ability to compartmentalize anything anymore. He’s simply tired of all of it. But the other attuned picks up his pace again, catching up to the Governor and Sunjata’s jaw is set tight as he glances back toward Neos. “I’m only going home.” He rumbles with a shrug. “Shouldn’t be any surprises.” Indeed, he’d left the man at the bottom of the ocean, the one that had stirred the most trouble for the last two seasons.
But he sucks in a sharp breath, shrugging and shaking his head. “I doubt anyone’s going to try anything unless you’ve heard differently.” His gaze flickers back over to Neos with a dark raise of his brow, lips set in a fine line, wondering if the other attuned knew anything of interest.
you ain't gotta hurt no more, didn't you hear? the war's over just don't look behind that door, you don't wanna get that much closer
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.
03-18-2021, 09:23 PM (This post was last modified: 03-18-2021, 09:27 PM by Neos.)
Neos
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
"Even if I haven't heard anything that would suggest otherwise, I've seen more than enough times for that to not matter," Neos confessed, shaking his head as he flashed back towards those very kinds of moments. "In one world I traveled through, there was a virtue to watching your own back, even when it seemed like you'd have no reason to. And considering the nature of that guy, I'd honestly feel better if I was braced to be right while hoping to all the divine powers across the entire Omniverse that I'm wrong."
He then glanced around the area around them, before saying, "...also, I have this bad habit of sticking to either the first person or place I encounter when I first arrive in a new world." He then raised a hand to rub against the back of his neck as his face twisted into a nervous smile, arm laid against his chest as he did. "...and you were the one I first smacked into when I launched into Caido," he sheepishly added. "Old habits like that are hard to kill for a near-ancient animal like me, if I'm honest."
Neos speaks and Sunjata continues his slow trek home, muscles barking in protest at the incline up the road and the path past the lighthouse. He casts a glance to its tall peak, half listening to Neos and half not, given the fact that he’s too tired to pay much attention to anything at all. He had just come back from nearly drowning again, after all. And with it, he can’t help but to interject slightly when Neos’ words finally do register in his mind. “Mhm, well, I’m one of Safrin’s chosen.” He offers, extending his arm out toward Neos, to the starry tattoos that linger there, the stars within pulsing and shifting ever so slightly.
As he withdraws the hand, he continues to look forward, along the sandy dune path, finally casting a glance back at Neos at the mention of sticking to the first person or place he’d encountered. And Sunjata tries to think back to the first person he’d met, his nostrils flaring a bit as he realizes that Lucas had died not shortly after that meeting and setting up the Advocates Guild. Still, it absentmindedly slips from his lips. “The first person I met when I arrived here is dead now.” Tattooed shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, before he’s continuing on.
“And with this war coming, it might be smart to try and help those that need it more than I do.” This part is said with a slight grimace, one that pulls on that fresh scar on his cheek, finally pausing while he walks to regard Neos with his steel gaze.
you ain't gotta hurt no more, didn't you hear? the war's over just don't look behind that door, you don't wanna get that much closer
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.
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
Neos found himself practically staring at Sunjata, studying him, though the tattoo on the more-powerful Attuned's arm did entrance his animal mind for longer than he was willing to admit to.
The silence was broken as Neos visibly deflated, emerald eyes downcast away from steel and towards the ground. "I guess...you're right on the last part," he said, his voice now monotone.
The false human slowly turned his back towards Sunjata. "I guess trying to aid those that only look like they could use an ally in these shaky times is also a...waste," he began to say, though it was more to convince himself that such was true. Not once did he raise his eyes, even to look ahead of himself. "It would be better to focus on those that do verifiably need help. I shall leave you be, then...Wrenzaok-sama."
With that, he began to take steps away from Sunjata, doubting he'd be followed.
(If you think Sunjata would respond to what just happened, feel free to do so. After taking so damned long, which I do feel bad for, it's probably the least I could do. Otherwise, go ahead and archive this, counting this as a ~Fin.)
