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!
"A pizza with cheese and little bits of sausage in it, yes," Ronin agrees sunnily, carefully setting down the box on the bed and opening it up so they can dig in. To Remi's second point he can only shrug, unsure what the words mean but knowing that he quite enjoys the sound of the Italian lilt now that he doesn't think he's being surreptitiously judged.
"They took long enough to take off, wash and change," he informs the other man, sinking back down into the blankets to collect a napkin as well and pass them both slices of pizza. "I won't be the one spilling anything on them any time soon." Glancing up (and posting his pizza slice into his mouth), he tilts his head at the dreary landscape and the moody music of the Netflix series. "I've been there," he says after swallowing. "That's Cork."
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
"Your translations are coming along very well." Remi agrees mischievously. Allowing himself time to watch Ronin lean forward to open their pizza box, noting the way the muscles beneath his skin casually flexed and tensed as he moved and wondering idly if it was too late for him to take up sculpting.
"Well, that's why I never bother doing it. One set should last months if you're careful." Remi lets this linger for a moment, before snorting under his breath and adding a quick kidding. Trying not to let his mind wander too far in the future contained within any time soon, the musician glances at the TV with a vague expression of horror and curiosity.
"So that gives you opportunity." He muses as if Ronin's charming face might suddenly appear as a person of interest in this docuseries. "It looks like it might be a nice place if they stopped intentionally making it look so dark and dreary." It's far too easy the way Remi's mind imagines the pair of them strolling along some emerald coastline or other, and so to shake himself out of it, he stuffs his mouth far too full of far too hot pizza.
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Oh, that's absolutely not intentional," Ronin says airily as he settles on the bed with his (gasp) boyfriend and his (gasp) pizza, and he also stuffs his face far too full, but in his defence he's following Remi's lead.
Staying sUsPiCiOuSLy quiet when it comes to being a person of interest in this murder case, instead the mechanic merely lets himself feel smug and happy to know he can at least name some of the ingredients on a pizza in Italian.
And if that's the extent of his having to use his brain today, he'll definitely not complain about it. Not when the company is so good, and when everything has turned out so unexpectedly perfect.
Time passes, in that annoying way that time does. The summer bleeds into chilly, sunny days and rainshowers and nights that fall too quickly for dusk to take hold. It's one such night about a month after Ronin washed vomit from sheets and gained himself a boyfriend, and he's lurking outside an apartment building that's become very familiar to him by now.
There are two takeout coffee cups stacked on top of each other in one of his hands and his phone in the other, and he takes a drag off the cigarette between his lips as he sends a quick text.
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
From the open window Ronin will hear the tinkle of piano keys as Remi lets his fingers putter about. He's not necessarily composing anything, but then, he's not not composing either. The vibration of his phone might not have stopped his playing were it not for the shamrock that appeared on its display. With a grin the musician reaches for his phone, pauses, frowns, and then grins again.
I've heard that one before
It was almost always Ronin's dick. Or a picture of a motorcycle. Very occasionally it was the mechanic out for a walk, set against some charming backdrop and looking effortlessly handsome. It was always those that stole Remi's breath away and made him feel both insanely jealous and mouthwateringly eager to see his BoyFriEnd as soon as possible.
Propping his phone on the music rest and waiting to see Ronin's genetalia in some form or another, Remi's fingers resume their march across the keys.
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin thinks he's been pretty obvious about it, but only when he receives his response and the piano keys upstairs pick up their scales again does he realise he hasn't actually invited Remi to come outside. So, grumbling and juggling coffees and phone and cigarette, he manages to send a picture of the coffee and a selfie against the backdrop of Bandcamp's apartment building.
It's a few minutes away. Fancy a walk?
He hopes the answer is yes. It would be a shame to have come all this way to be told Remi's washing his hair.
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
The music stops.
oh sorry I'm not home
Grinning stupidly at his phone, Remi waits an appropriate amount of time (3 seconds or so, just long enough for Ronin to form the idea that he's being blown off), before popping his head out of the window. "I could spit on you from here, you know." Remi calls cheerfully down, before adding: "Let me just get changed."
A few minutes later Remi appears wearing a cream-coloured knit sweater and a pair of green khakis. Looking like he's ready for an autumn photoshoot apart from his too-eager smile that makes him look boyish instead of carved from marble the way male models of the day typically did, he has to rein in his urge to fit himself against Ronin and steal his first taste of coffee from the man's lips.
"How did you know I was craving this?" He asks of the coffee, but means Ronin.
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin, of course, has thrown his leather jacket on over the top of a grey t-shirt accompanied by a pair of jeans, and he's in the middle of composing fuck off via a gif when Remi's head pops out of the window. "What, realised I was a peasant already, did you?" he calls back with a smirk, stepping away from the wall so he can slip his phone in his pocket (gif unsent) and take the cigarette from his lips.
By the time Remi arrives he's finished with it, and has taken a healthy sip from his own coffee, offering the cup out to the other man as he arrives. He knows better than to offer PDAs out and about, such is the nature of their relationship (i.e. non existent, according to the world at large), but rest assured in his mind he has definitely stolen a kiss from Remi's lips.
"I had a hunch," he says, setting off down the street and motioning for the musician to follow him. "C'mon, it's not far."
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
The butterflies should have worn off by now (most butterflies only live 2-4 weeks), but these ones hadn't. Maybe they were moths or something hardier, given the way they'd nested and seemed to spread throughout Remi's entire body when Ronin was near. Reaching for his coffee such that his fingers brushed against the mechanic's for a moment, Remi wondered if he could communicate his silent desires by the way he drank his coffee, decided he'd probably just end up spilling it all over himself and opted for a healthy sip instead. "God that's good."
Strolling easily at Hallway's side, Remi shoves the hand closest to the other man into his body so that his fingers won't find themselves tempted to seek out Ronin's. "How's your day been?" He asks, wondering where in the fuck they're going and if he should have brought his dog.
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Did I just hear that correctly?" Ronin grins. "Did you just compliment coffee that I brought you?" Yes, he's ignoring that he didn't make the coffee, and that he got it from one of Remi's registered OK places on his app. He paid for it and he delivered it, the compliment belongs to him.
Ronin is also glad that the other man chooses not to put his fingers in range of his own, and he shoves his free hand into his pocket as they walk. "It's been very good," he admits, unable to keep the smile from creeping across his face. Indeed, it looks as though they're heading towards his shop, almost, but when they arrive at the street, it's actually the small adjoining unit that Ronin stops in front of.
"I have a studio," he says, almost bashfully. "A real one. Right here."
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
"You absolutely did. Though I can whisper it in your ear later if you need a reminder." Remi says casually, keeping his eyes trained on the sidewalk in front of them as a blush spreads across his cheeks. Wanting to roll his eyes as they basically head to Ronin's shop (the relationship is new enough that yes, Remi would opt to see Ronin just about anywhere, but heavy metal and the smell of gasoline did not rank high on the list of accessories he liked to find on his dates), Remi frowns as they pass the door, stopping instead in front of another.
"Wh—you what?" Turning, Remi appraises the man before him for a moment, before turning to study the door as if he might find the reasons why Ronin kept this a secret for so long written upon it. Feeling slightly offended (why had Ronin kept it a secret?) but mostly nervous with excitement, Remi turns back with a slow grin. "Well...are we just going to stand outside, or are you going to show me your super secret studio?"
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"I can be very forgetful," Ronin murmurs, similarly keeping his eyes front though the pink flush to his cheeks says everything that words can't. And it only intensifies as they stop in front of the door to his studio, the mechanic grinning and seeming oblivious to the conclusions that Remi's drawing. Luckily, what he says next might clarify it somewhat. "I just signed the lease today," he almost breathes the words out. "This unit has been empty for a long time, but I couldn't justify a separate studio space."
Now, though? Maybe he's had a little bit of extra inspiration over the past few weeks, digging in his pockets for his keys, he moves to open up the unit, grinning over his shoulder at Remi. "I've been moving things around all day, but you're the first one to see it otherwise," he explains, beckoning him inside and reaching up to flick on the light.
It's a bare and open space, only it isn't. The unit is small, but already there's a long workbench littered with boxes of materials, easels stacked in the corner, canvases in another, and on the redbrick back wall, Ronin has clearly started a mural of some sort. So far it's just spraypainted colours in the vague shape of maybe a forest, but there's no detail yet.
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
Feeling simultaneously shaky with relief and feeling an absolute fool for the cold grip of jealousy and doubt he'd felt in the first place, Remi blinks rapidly as they enter the space, waiting for his eyes to adjust. 'I would have helped if you had asked.' The musician protests softly, but only because it seemed like the right thing to say. In reality, he thought Ronin probably wanted to take time to himself to set things up and feel his way around the space.
"...close the door?.." Turning, Remi's expression is almost pained as he looks at the other man. With one hand still shoved determinedly in his pocket and the other setting down his coffee, he waits until the door clicks shut before pressing Hallway against the door and kissing him with a passionate earnestness that would have been more appropriate in an airport between two lovers who hadn't seen each other in months. Catching his breath against Ronin's lips and not wanting to take away the focus from Ronin's Big Surprise (but needing the taste of the mechanic just the same), Remi eventually pulls back enough that Ronin might see his deeply dimpled smile.
"You deserve every inch of this." True, Remi has only seen sketches on napkins in restaurants and the canvases that litter Ronin's apartment, but it's clear that what Ronin has is talent with a capital T. "Show me everything."
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"You are helping. I was hoping you'd model for me," Ronin says, and he's only half convinced that he's joking. Remi doesn't have to tell him twice, and he just about has the door shut when the musician is pressed up against him in all the right places. It's enough to send the air stuttering from his lungs and for a soft moan to start to rise in the back of his throat, and he lets his arms wind around the other man with a hint of not-quite-lust.
"You think?" Remi's smile is contagious and it's enough to wipe away the doubts weaving cobwebs in the corners of Ronin's mind, and he nods and slips an arm around the other man so he can show him everything thus far. "It needs a lot of organising. I was thinking I could have the mural along the back wall, and hang a few canvases up along here..." He's pointing at the bare brick as he speaks, leading Remi through a small, open archway to a back room.
"If I start taking commissions or working with different materials, maybe I'll use this space. For now, though, I'll move the rest of my paint here."
A lot's been changin' lately and I can't tell
If it's me or if it's everybody else
Lyrics of the sort and my heart ran way with me, and looking back, that's when; when I fell for you always dazzle behind Remi's closed eyelids when his lips are on Ronin's, and this time was no different. "I do." He agrees, too flustered and too distracted by the mechanic's blue eyes to argue properly about his status as model.
Nodding and having wrapped his own arm around Ronin, the musician takes in the space but withholds any commentary. He isn't a visual artist and as well-meaning as his opinions might be, at the end of the day, Ronin is the expert. "When, you mean." Remi corrects sunnily, nudging his hip against Ronin's and flashing the other man a smile. "This is incredible. Truly. And selfishly, given how much time you will likely spend here, I'm really glad how close it is."
Parting from Hallway only so that he can turn and take everything in again, Remi breathes deeply as if he might be able to smell or taste some of the kinetic potential that he can feel warbling in his bones.
we're only human but w?'ve got hands and hearts and noses
So stop and sm?ll the fuckin' roses
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
