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!
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
It sounded as though the building was coming down. Honestly, for a moment Finn thought that was it for them - that he would die during a monsoon in a brothel miles and miles away from home. It would be typically horrific, given his life so far. But no - death is not on the cards tonight, and Finn has just enough time to stuff his personal belongings into a bag and make a swift exit of the building into the roar of the storm and the pouring rain.
Things go a bit blurry from there. Running for cover, huddling with other employees, conversations and walks through the sheets of rain until suddenly they are there. Finn and a few others (ten or so, he thinks) standing outside of a house that is built into the cliffs itself. He's soaked to the bone and doesn't even have the sense to shiver, and so he merely waits politely by to be let inside.
It was an exhausting nightmare, truth be told. But they’d gotten the crux of the issue taken care of, gotten the clinic set up and filled, and guided the ten or so people to stay at the house right out front. He fishes into his pocket for the key, unlocking the door, opening it up wide for them all to step within. “It’ll be a bit of a full house, but we have plenty of blankets and space. We can section you all out.” He murmurs, slipping in after the whole group has gone in.
A quick instruction of taking their shoes off, before he’s heading straight for the closet, pulling towels out and handing them off for everyone, before he’s pulling blankets out in order to separate them out. “We have cats and the griffin, by the way, keep it in mind.” Hopefully it wouldn’t be troublesome, even if the cats sit in by the hearth, watching with wide eyes. “My daughter is here, too. But aside from that we can get you all settled.” Passing by Finn, there’s a hint of recognition in his gaze as he hands him a blanket.
“Any questions?”
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
Finn has no questions. He's a bit numb, to be honest, inside and outside, and he accepts the blanket with pale fingers that are still a bit wrinkled from the cold. "Thank you," he murmurs, locking eyes with the Flood for a mere moment before he's concentrating on getting warm. Part of him is concerned that he will never actually be warm again.
Once they are free to go, though, Finn is off into the corridors. Where is he going? It absolutely doesn't matter - he just needs a spare alcove to take a bump of dreamdust and chill himself out, just enough for him to be able to think and slow those thoughts down. And it's wonderful at first, honestly - Finn drifts away into the hallways, trailing fingers along the walls, the blankets around his shoulders, until...
Until there's a bath, set into the floor like a damned hotspring. With pupils like pinpricks, the Spyglass examines the steaming waters and array of oils and scents and other things (one makes bubbles, he's pretty sure), thinking nothing about adding absolutely whatever to it, before pulling his clothes over his head. Mostly sedated as he is, Finn slips into the hot water with a hum of contentment, sinking back against one of the stone sides of the pool.
Everyone begins to disappear, and truthfully it makes it easier for Sunjata to pick rooms and get everyone settled, to get Kamaria settled in for the night, before he has a chance to simply relax, tend to his wounds. Perhaps unluckily, Sunjata’s forced to sleep in his bed now, a space he’s kept himself separate from since he’d announced he was having his daughter. But for this, he supposes that mental part of him will have to deal.
He pauses as he regards his room, slipping aside to grab a fresh set of clothes, pulling them out and laying them on the bed before he drifts toward the bathroom, tugging off his shirt and tossing it into a heap on the floor. The scent hits his nose and he perks a bit more, scanning a bathtub that’s suddenly full of bubbles that he doesn’t remember leaving that way.
“Hello?” He calls out, rounding the corner of the bath with a dark raised brow as his eyes settle on Thomas. “Oh. Thomas. I see you’ve found one of the baths.”
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
Not just one of the baths. Finn has found Sunjata's bath, apparently, and he peeks up at the governor as he arrives with bubbles pretty much everywhere, including on his head. When he smiles, it's with a heavy, dreamlike quality, and honestly, drugs aside, the hot water is doing everything to chase the monsoons out of his blood. His clothes and bag are folded neatly nearby and, if he weren't so high and comfortable, he'd have risen to his feet to make himself scarce, realising that he's encroaching in his host's personal space.
"Hey. Sorry," he mumbles instead, a hand rising out of the water to wave while he slouches deeper against the side of the bath. "Do you want to join me? The water is amazing." He means it, too, melting further amongst the bubbles and oils that fragrance the water. "Thanks again. For taking us in."
A mumble is offered, a half apology that has Sunjata’s brow raising. He steps further in, picking up an empty bottle on the side that was now currently empty, righting it, and setting it aside to be remembered and replenished later. His gaze skates back over to Finn, positively covered in bubbles and with a dreamy look on his face, one that has Sunjata pausing at the offer.
“How many of these did you use?” He asks instead, debating internally whether he should join Finn. After a long moment, he decides fuck it yet again, given the fact that was exactly what he was here for in the first place. He just hadn’t been expecting company. “Sure.” He murmurs instead, getting rid of the rest of the clothes and sinking into the warmth of the bath. It soothes against his aches, against the slight bruising on his back, as well as relaxing a bit of the tension held everywhere else. Still, he remains on the other side of the bath, leaning back against it with a quiet sigh of relief, shutting his eyes and tilting his head back against the wall. “You’re welcome.” He offers quietly, nonchalantly, as if it didn’t mean much at all.
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
"It was like this when I got here," Finn mumbles. It absolutely wasn't, and the sneaky grin he shoots the other man is only made more wicked by the bubbles he's covered in. Still, Sunjata seems to be a good sport about it, and he even takes up the Spyglass's offer to join him, thus sealing the deal on another opportunity that he needs to make the most of. In the back of his mind, Finn had almost hoped he could drown in here alone.
But it's not so bad, as the bruised and weary Governor slips into the water, and Finn already feels himself moving on autopilot. "Here," he murmurs, drifting across the bath to beckon for Sunjata to come and lean against him instead. "Haven't got any uppers for you this time, but I can at least give you a shoulder rub in exchange for doing all this. No favours needed on your end."
Finn’s answer does manage to bring a ghost of a smile to Sunjata’s face as he sees through the bullshit of that answer. But he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, making a mental note of the bottles that were empty and which would need to be replaced for next time, seeing as Finn’s used so much more than he should have. His skin is slick by the time he’s settled in the bath, leaned back with his eyes closed. And as soon as he hears Finn’s voice reach him, his steel gaze pops open to watch the man slide forward.
He doesn’t move at first, considering Finn with a curious gleam in his gaze, following along the idea of benefitting from him offering his help. So he waits for a brief moment, before he decides to nod, making room for Finn to slip in behind him. “If you’d like.” He answers quietly, before he’s leaning back against Finn’s chest. “I certainly won’t complain.” He offers with a quiet hum of a laugh.
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
Asking Finn what he'd like is a bad idea, because that way lies madness, but as for the rest? He shifts in the water and settles in behind the Flood, and hands already slick and hot with bath oils glide up and along Sunjata's upper arms to the blocks of tense muscle that double as his shoulders. "So you shouldn't. What do you carry on these, the weight of the world?" It's a bad joke, and one that's only softly murmured from somewhere close to Jata's left ear.
One learns many talents in the profession of prostitution, as Sunjata is about to find out, because the Spyglass's strong fingers are surprisingly skilled at working the aches and pains from the Flood's neck and shoulders - or if not working them out, at least unknotting them enough that they might not feel so bad. "What made you help out the Halenani?" he asks, genuinely curious.
Hands are already on his arms, heading to his shoulders, Finn’s fingers are quite adept at working through the knots he finds, even the ones Sunjata’s struggled with for some time. And perhaps it’s due to the bath and the oils within it, the heat loosening his muscles enough to even be worked in the first place. But he finds himself leaning back against Finn a fair amount, an air of a laugh leaving him as he shakes his head, both sets of earrings in his ears shifting with the movement. “Feels like it.” He replies a bit honestly, a bit sadly, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it.
No, because Finn’s working at his neck and shoulders and it soothes so much that he finds his eyes grow heavy, finds his head tilting forward a fraction to give him more room to work at the knots at the base of his neck, over scars and tattoos alike. Finn’s fingers run over the compasses, to the space along his spine where the wings connect, the navy of his tattoos near black in this light. “Because I’m the Governor and they’re my people.” He answers honestly. “It’s the right thing to do.”
As is housing the rest of them here, because he has the space for it, and he wants to care about those he rules over. “The last few seasons have been… Tough. And last season with the riots and mobs… I don’t want them to think me above them. Above any of them.” It’s Finn’s quick fingers that work the knots out and the truth from the Governor, but he’s content to rest there as is.
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
"At least you can forget about it for a bit now," Finn murmurs, a lopsided smile flickering across his face as Sunjata leans back and into him. It means he can't get to the space between the Flood's shoulder blades as planned, but that can come later. His fingers work up the base of Sunjata's neck and in through his hairline, moving in slow, firm strokes that are suggestive all by themselves, without even considering how they might feel.
The smile reappears at the other man's reply, and careful hands move now to Sunjata's jawline, working more gently at the musculature there. "That is very admirable of you," he murmurs. "You are good man, Governor."
And one who was certainly not acting as though he was above his people. "They will remember this, you know. So if there does come a time when they might stand behind you, you might find yourself with more friends than you expected."
“At least I can.” He agrees quietly, hearing the smile in Finn’s voice despite not quite knowing what to do with it. Instead, he focuses on the way Finn’s deft and quick fingers move to relieve his tension, that cause him to relax further into the touch. The words bolster him, a huff of some disbelief leaving him when Finn calls him a good man as his head lifts a fraction as those fingers make it to an incredibly tense jawline. “Thanks.” There’s something about his tone that seems to suggest he still struggles with believing it.
But Finn’s fingers continue their trajectory, melting and soothing the tension away as the bath does wonders to help keep the tension away. “That would probably be best case scenario, don’t you think?” He hums, shifting a bit to the side, turning his head to glance back at Finn behind him, close enough that if Finn’s head nears, their cheeks might brush one another’s. “I’d be happy to live the rest of my life never hearing the term ‘Burn the Biter’ again.”
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
when you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives
"You're welcome." Finn's frown knots his brows together, his fingers delicately moving along Jata's jaw and back down to his neck and shoulders, wanting to give the muscles a rest before he works at them again. And when the other man's head lolls to the side, their cheeks do touch, and Finn lets his lips sweep a warm and gentle kiss against the governor's jawline.
"Sometimes all we have are best case scenarios," he points out. The fingers of one of his hands are still kneading away at the Flood's shoulders, though the other has slipped around him, trailing lazy patterns across his chest and sneaking lower, down beneath the water. "You stayed though, even after all that. I think people will respect that more than you know."
Finn’s hands slip back down to his neck and shoulders and there’s some amount of relief within the movement that the gentle kiss pressed against his jawline has his lids fluttering shut for a brief moment, before they open again and try to scan Finn’s face – but he’s too close to make anything out other than the path the other hand takes. Despite the blurriness, Finn might notice the flush that follows his hands, the ones that trial up the Flood's cheeks.
Finn’s good at his job, honestly, the relaxing of his muscles and the warmth of the bath and the body behind him have him nearly sagging into the other man, shifting a fraction to face him a bit more, to press his face into Finn’s jaw, into his neck – giving into it. “I hope so.” He agrees softly, unable to keep the sound of the breath that hitches as Finn’s hand drifts lower, Sunjata’s own hand rising to run a wet hand through Finn’s wet hair, settling at the man’s neck opposite of where he’s tucked his head.
take me by the hand but please don't want to know me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
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.
