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!
holy water cannot help you now i don't want your money or your crown
Five or six years old? Saartjie's brow furrowed as she thought about it and she shook her head. It didn't make sense. She and Sunjata hadn't been apart for that long, which meant that he hadn't been here -- wherever here was -- long enough to have a child that old. As if he could read her thoughts, although it was more likely the look on her face that gave her away, Nate explained that it was 'god shit' and not natural. "I see." she murmured, though it still didn't make too much sense to her. A goddess making a deal with a mortal and having a child with him? It sounded like something out of a novel and not something that could actually happen, and yet there Nate was telling her that her brother had gone and had a child with a goddess. It was .... going to take some getting used to and she suspected that she wasn't the only one that would have to get used to it.
Unbidden, a memory flitted its way to the forefront of Saartjie's mind and her posture straightened. It had been several years, but she remembered the conversation and the promise that Jata had told her about. Her head tilted and she gave Nate an appraising look. For Jata to go back on his promise, to make a deal with a goddess to save Nate's life ... he must really love him. She just hoped that Nate realized that.
Thankfully Nate didn't question her about why she was unsure that her brother would even want to see her. How could she even explain that she had married the man responsible for Jata's capture and torture while in Korofi? What would he even think of her? She had hated herself for a long time after agreeing to marry Gaal so she wouldn't blame him if he did. "Its been a long time since I've seen him." She finally said if only to break the silence. "I didn't even have any pictures of him." After his escape they had all been taken and destroyed -- like their father was trying to erase every trace of him from existence.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Saar answered, but as she stood she could feel the ache in her legs. She was still sore from, quite literally, running for her life but it was not enough to keep her from going to see her brother. "Thanks." she murmured as she accepted Nate's jacket and pulled it on. It was quite baggy on her, but it helped to cover her blood stained clothes and would keep the rain off of her. She was quiet as she walked with Nate, listening to the sounds of the world around them -- the patter of rain, soft rumbles of thunder, crickets, and the sound of waves on the beach. It seemed quite sudden that there was a house with candlelit windows looming ahead of them.
"That's it?" She asked quietly as they walked closer and closer to it. Huggling Nate's jacket more tightly around herself, Saar climbed the steps to the front door. She hesitated, her nervousness and aprehension getting the better of her for a moment, and then she knocked on the door, heart hammering inside of her chest as she stepped back and waited.
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
Nate had set off and Sunjata had needed to come to terms with it. It was still at the point where it was difficult for him to think about whatever the future held, trying to focus on Kamaria and the daughter that had been given to him far sooner than he had ever expected her to be. He barely had a hold of himself let alone someone else that needed it. So today was one of the first days of his change, of his attempts. The house was somewhat of a mess while they made up Kamaria’s room, his not so great attempt at dinner that he works to clean up after he’d gotten Kamaria into bed.
And now there was nothing else but the quiet sound of the rain outside, the lanterns flickering, quiet commentary given to the griffin that sleeps by the heart alit with flame. He’s drying off a plate when the knock happens and he’s confused - because the last few times someone had come to knock on his door they had been life altering. First with Vai, beaten and bloody at his doorstep. The second when Safrin had brought Kamaria to him.
He doesn’t know what to expect this time, sure that if it were Nate that his husband would simply walk through the door, not even bother with the rest of it.
So it sets him a bit on edge, a clench to his jaw as he makes his way toward the door, wearing nothing more than a sleeveless shirt, his hair a bit of a curled mess. He reaches the door quicker than he expects, the locks unlocking with an audible click of it falling back into its mechanism, and he opens the door a fraction, his steel gaze peering out to spy a face he hasn’t seen in years.
He doesn’t notice Nate at first, not as he swings open the door wide, not as he tries to determine if she’s a ghost, not as he tries to figure out whether or not she’s a trick played on him. He runs through all his options, working his jaw in a way that tugs at the scar their father had given him recently across half of his face. “Saartjie?” He manages, he croaks, scanning her for the lie within it when he sees Nate’s jacket and he works to try and tap up his Attuned mental walls again.
He steps forward with a few long strides to meet her, reaching for her, to prove to himself that she’s real – she has to be, she’s wearing Nate’s jacket – before he tries to pull her into a hug against his chest. “Ek het jou verloor.” He says quietly, almost ashamed, tears burning in his gaze as everything comes to him, as the past few years since they’d departed comes to mind. What had she done? What had become of her? His swimming gaze seeks out Nate, wherever the Ascended demigod may be, a flimsy wall cutting off his end of the Attuned bond opening up to send a broken, hoarse, pained sound. You found her.
Ek het jou verloor - I lost you
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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.
Oh, how wrong we were to think That immortality meant never dying
He understands the trepidation, the worry, he does, but he knows it’s all unnecessary as well. Sunjata would take her in in a heartbeat, without question. His lips quirk into a grin and he nods, hesitating before he speaks, thinking better of it after a moment and holding his tongue. Offering out his jacket, his arm, Nate leads them into the night, content to be silent until home begins to rise up in the distance. ”Thats it.” He confirms breathlessly, arm falling away to let her hurry up to the door while he hangs back, feeling suddenly awkward as it opens.
There’s silence on the other side of the bond, something Nate mimics automatically while his hands move to try and get a smoke lit, struggling with the rain. This isn’t his moment, and he feels bad for intruding, as much as he is jealous of it. His one eye watches Sunjata open the door, watches the pair embrace, and then drops away, the Demi-god turning his attention to the still trampled garden.
Nate very nearly jumps as a voice invades the silence in his mind, his gaze snapping back towards the door. His face is stony, jaw set in a hard line when he nods, poking a hole through his own walls to respond. She found me. I just brought her home. His silent voice carries all the emotion he won’t let his face show, awkward and pained and quietly envious.
A few short steps carry him closer, his hand coming up like he might reach over Saartjie’s shoulder for his husbands face, though it falls short, fingers closing around the shoulder of the jacket. ”I’m gonna need this back.” He rumbles gently, tugging it away and slipping back into his jacket. ”I’ll uh... I’ll see you soon.” The words are stiff, a poor parting, but the only one he can offer. Nates never liked leaving without the last word, even if it’s pained and awkward.
holy water cannot help you now i don't want your money or your crown
There was no reason for her to be as nervous as she was, but as the seconds tickeed by she only grew more nervous. Her heart thundered in her chest and she caught herself biting on her lower lip as she waited. It was some comfort kowing that Nate had not gone off yet and she glanceed back toward him. There was a sound from inside -- footsteps as he walked toward the door -- and then an audible click as the lock was turned. Secods later light spilled out from inside as the door was cracked open. Words failed her as Sunjata's face peered out at her and then the door was swung open wider.
Hearing him say her name brought a smile to Saartjie's lips and tears stung her blue eyes. "Yeah.." was all she could manage to whisper before she was pulled into a hug. She pressed her face into his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist and she clung to him. So many years had passed and they had been so many miles apart, but it felt as if nothing had changed. Her body shook as she began to sob into his chest because, for the first time in four years, she finally felt safe. She finally felt protected and loved.
"Shh.." She hushed him when she heard him. "Nee jy het nie." Their father's men had caught up with them, but Sunjata had not lost her. In the end she had willingly gone with them because she knew if she didn't that Sunjata would have fought every one of them and he would have been killed in the process. She wouldn't have been able to live with hersef, with the guilt of knowing that her brother had died because of her. Knowing that he had been able to escape to a presumably better life had given her some comfort even if she had not been able to go with him.
Feeling Nate's hand on the shoulder of the jacket, Saartjie pulled away from her brother, hastily wiping her eyes, before slipping the jacket off. She turned as Nate said his goodbye. "Wait.." She said, stepping toward her brother-in-law. There was really no hesitation on her part as she wrapped him in a hug and whispered "Thank you." Releasing him, she stepped back so he could go, though she found herself wishing that he would stay.
Translation:
nee jy het nie - no you didn't.
you see, i've come to burn your kingdom to the ground
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
Nate’s face is set in a stony, hard exterior, and Sunjata would crack at it if it weren’t for the woman that’s suddenly wrapped up in his arms, so all he can do is offer the scraps of thankfulness, of gratitude while he focuses on Saartjie. He parts from her only as Nate approaches to tug the jacket off – Sunjata more than capable of covering his sister until they’re inside. So he continues to send over the pulses of gratitude toward Nate, pulling away from his sister so that she can give the jacket back.
When the jacket is released, Sunjata watches as his sister embraces his husband – even if his husband wasn’t planning on staying – the feeling it sparks within him is something that’s both sorrow and hope. Hope that Nate would come back and Sunjata might be able to do the same, sorrow for the fact that Nate has to leave in the first place.
His words only balm just enough for Sunjata to nod quietly, understanding lingering deep within him. He pulses another sense of just how much he loves Nate, before his arm is slipping around Saartjie’s shoulders, guiding his sister into the house. “C’mon Saar, are you hungry? We can… Get a room set up for you.” He offers, trying to give her a small smile despite the red ringed eyes they both sport, finally feeling some part whole, even if Nate hadn’t returned yet. And the rest of the evening is spent setting up that room, making sure she has everything she needs.
- FIN <3
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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.
