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!
With Jack spoken to, Aurelia leaves the port behind. She drags her feet across the sand, back toward Haulani. It seems as if the shadow that's fallen across her expression is becoming permanent. Or maybe that's just the rain clouds gathering overhead. But she doesn't actually think a storm will start. It is Longheat, after all...
She halts to light a cigarette, smoke drifting into the breeze. It's then, as her luck seems to run out, that a huge drop of water lands on the cherry. She glances up as more of it drizzles steadily down. With a heavy sigh, she decides against fighting the elements again and flicks the cigarette away. Which hits someone nearby and she startles. "Ah- sorry-" she begins, stopping as she sees their familiar, rugged face.
"Ronin? What are you doing here?" She's surprised to see him. So surprised, in fact, that she forgets he won't recognize her. "Hope you're not thinking about burning any buildings down..." she remarks dryly.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
Ronin has been fucking around with shells cleaning up the beach when it starts to rain and someone hits him with a cigarette. He barely notices, in truth, until the someone apologises and the Star rises to his feet to turn curiously and look at the stranger. Because Aurelia is absolutely a stranger right now, and the blank expression accompanied with the polite smile on Ronin's face says as much. He's used to people recognising him, but not acting as though they have met.
And as though he might have set something on fire.
"It's alright," he says of her accidental slip with the cigarette. "I... forgive me, but have we run into each other before now? I can't seem to place you." He rubs at the back of his head, anticipating an apology for his faux pas. He's normally good with names and faces, too. Awkward.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
The polite smile on Ronin's face does seem to say that he's treating her with a bit of distance, which she hardly appreciates considering her current mental state and... well, waned fortitude. All things considered, Aurelia's had a long day, to say the least. Why-
Oh, she realizes, and her brows lift in surprise, I'm an idiot.
And her lips part to clear things up, to remedy the confusion and let him know that it's still her - merely a change of looks. But a mischievous thought, rooted in the way Ronin seems not to fail to awaken something ridiculous in her every time she's ran across him, decides better of that. Maybe she could use a break from grim, dark reality and the all-too-serious facts.
"Oh, don't play dumb," she forces a hurt look on her face, which ain't actually that hard, "you really don't remember me," she tsk's, shaking her head in disappointment, "and we had such a good time, too." Her paler green eyes look him up and down in emphasis. What is that even supposed to mean, Aurelia? Well, whatever. It's out there, and the ball's in his court now so she awaits his move with expectancy.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
The slow tilt of Ronin's head in response to the stranger's somewhat hurt expression is reminiscent of a child in trouble who can't quite remember why. It's equal parts confusion and panic, and given that Ronin hasn't been playing the field for some time now, this must have been a while back. "Did we? I mean - we did," he tries - badly. For someone so good at lying, the Star is failing terribly at this.
Clearing his throat, he raises his hand in placation. "Listen, it's been a while since I've been back to Torchline, and life has a habit of throwing skyports and missing daughters my way. Can you help me out a bit with your name?" He shoots her an apologetic smile.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
Fully immersed in this little trick of hers, Aurelia doesn't make any effort to hide the amusement that brings a sheen to her gaze - that would otherwise be dull from aches and pains and things that have gone entirely to shit.
"We did," the words are like molasses; slow and sweet with just a hint of a bitter edge. She lets a devious curl find its way to one side of her lip as her gaze wanders down toward his trousers.
He tells her to listen and her gaze swings sharply back up to meet his, shimmering with keener interest - and for what, he can decide. As he starts to wrap up his point about skyports, missing daughters, oh my, she saunters toward him until there's less than a foot of space between them.
"Oh, but if I told you... that would take all the fun out of it," she murmurs, "let's say we play a game. Hm? From what I remember of you, you like a bit of a challenge. Isn't that still true? Or have you... lost your spark?" Her head inclines slightly to one side, slightly upward, as she rests a softly expectant stare against his own. Whether this is true of his character or not, well, guess they'll find out.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
It's one thing to be caught out in the open (with his metaphorical pants down) by someone he'd previously fucked. But it's another thing entirely not to remember a single moment of it, and Ronin's brows furrow together as Aurelia's gaze dips lower, as if wondering what exactly she's looking at or for. Maybe she had dropped something? (You wish, Ronin).
When his own eyes flick back up, though, she's all but closed the distance between them, and the Star finds himself leaning back as she leans forward, as if that might help. "Uh," he says, his voice almost lost in the pour of the rain all around them. "My spark is perfectly intact, thank you, but it won't help me remember something that I..." literally have never heard in my life "...don't remember."
Laaaaaaaame.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
everyday can be a better day despite the challenge
This is getting to a point where it feels a little fucked up, but Aurelia carries on anyway. 'Cause why the fuck not? Everyone else gets to run amuck, trashing the city, smuggling goods, setting buildings on fire, plotting and fucking and gods-know-what-else. And she can't sit here for five minutes to mess with Safrin's demi-god? Bullshit. This is hilarious. Apologies to Safrin, maybe.
"You really are trying to hurt my feelings, aren't you?" She gives him a little pout, a meek pinch of her brow. "What?" And suddenly she'll step back, placing a hand on her chest and widening her eyes as if offended and appalled, "You think I would lie about us? Oh come on, Ro," The nickname is completely foreign and a total spur-of-the-moment idea, but she puts her best effort into making it sound as natural as if she's been calling him that since, like, ever!
"Look, if you win, I'll tell you who I really am," she gives him a coy smile. Then, she'll begin to saunter past him, letting her gaze slowly drag away towards the puddles that have collected in the sands. "All you have to do is... catch me!"
All of this playful mirth has really pulled at the animal within, the kind that wants to run and play. So she shifts quickly into the red panda. She shoots him a mischievous glance over her fluffy fur as she streaks toward a huge puddle. Cold water splashes about as she dives in, stopping to turn and look at him. Little fuzzy red ears perk up in his direction. She tilts her head to one side in waiting, letting her lengthy and striped tail fan out behind her.
It's gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance
In Ronin's opinion, Safrin is not the one she should be apologising to, but obviously he isn't privy to the shitfuckery currently going on. And the Star is completely flustered and tongue tied until she utters a nickname that no one in his life has ever used, and at that point his eyes narrow a bit in suspicion. "Hey, tell me again where exactly we had our dalliance, if you won't give me your name?" he asks, straightening up now with arms folding across his chest.
Only there's a game afoot all of a sudden, and he's turning sharply as if to pursue her when there's a very fluffy, very adorable red panda in place of the woman. He doesn't think he's ever met anyone with that shift either, but at this point Ronin is in it just to find out what kind of new-old acquaintance he's making. "Oh I'll catch you alright." He bares his teeth in a grin before darting after her, splashing obnoxiously through the puddles as he goes.
"I wonder how fluffy you'll be when the rain gets you?"
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
06-13-2021, 10:08 AM (This post was last modified: 06-13-2021, 10:10 AM by Aurelia.)
Aurelia
everyday can be a better day despite the challenge
She can tell the trick is beginning to fall apart at his questioning. All the more reason to let the games begin! She plays it cool, she thinks, striding past him all nonchalant and the like- until she breaks out into her shift and pelts across the sands.
The puddle is reached and she rounds back toward him with curious interest, ears flicking to see if he'll give in to the chase of cat-and-mouse. His toothy grin is met with a challenging... sound. A twitter, actually. Sure, it's probably cuter than she intends it to be, but the allure of the red panda seems to work in her favor anyway.
As he splashes out after her, she seems willing to stand her ground. And it'll seem as if the game is over before it's even begun. Too easy, that. At his taunt, her ears fold backward and she lunges forward. She dives between his feet, slipping past any reaching arms, ringed tail snaking after her.
With a bark, she turns on him and suddenly jumps toward his backside. Her paws kick out against his butt, planning to use his own momentum against him. The hope is that it'll throw him off balance so that he might fall into the puddle. Either way, she darts off again, pouncing into another pool in her eagerness to give him a bit of a challenge. If she can get anymore amusement out of this, she fully intends to.
It's gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance
It wouldn't be any fun if Ronin didn't fall for her ploy hook, line and sinker, and so Aurelia's plan works perfectly. He swipes for the adorable little shit, though his hands close on nothing, and with a bark of a curse that definitely rides out on a laugh, he's midway to turning around before she kicks his butt - literally. "Hey!" he protests, his feet still splashing forward. Ronin, of course, goes tumbling onto the sand and into a puddle, and if it weren't for the rain already soaking him, he'd certainly be drenched now.
"Aight, I'll give you that one," he grumbles, good natured but still keen not to have to follow her around for the rest of the afternoon. Rising to his feet, Ronin splashes towards her again in the other puddle - and a second Ronin appears directly in front of her, ready to scoop her up if he gets the chance.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
everyday can be a better day despite the challenge
As she bounds away, rushing over and into the puddles, she does stop to glance back to see him fall straight into the water. It's a spectacular fall, she'll give him that; suppose you can leave it to the Dark Star to make falling look epic.
She lifts her button nose to chirp loudly across to him. There's a distinctly mocking tune to it, as if she's laughing at him. To add to this, she rises up on her hind legs, places her forepaws at the sides of her head, and proceeds to wiggle absurdly back and forth. Like a child taunting another.
But then he's rising up again and this time, she is not at all prepared for a double to pop up right in front of her. She recoils, startled as she looks up at the clone. There's a moment of uncertainty as her little ears swivel around and she backs away, but really she's just trying to figure out where the real him is. So that, at the perfect moment, she can dip and dive out of the way once more. Maybe the two Ronins will collide against each other in their haste to catch her.
It's gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance
Yeah, two can play at that game, Ronin says somewhat triumphantly, as if the game in question is trickery and her weapon of choice has been kicking him in the butt. Still, she's fucking adorable a bit too small and agile for him to manage to catch her right off the bat, but unfortunately this time Ronin doesn't fail quite so hilariously. Indeed, instead of colliding, his astral projection merely disappears so Ronin can round on her.
Oh no you dont! he protests, splashing through the puddles even as the rain intensifies all around them, and he almost staggers over as he makes a swipe for the soaking red pands. If he's successful, Ronin will aim to scoop her up into his arms and hold her a bit like a teddy bear, cackling triumphantly all the while.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
everyday can be a better day despite the challenge
The pun isn't lost on her even if she's surprised by the fact she can hear his voice in her head. She recovers quickly from the surprise, at least she has to, because he's closing in on her. So her plan doesn't work this time, clever as she'd thought it to be. It would've been pretty hilarious, though, if he had ended up butting heads with himself. Ah well, another time perhaps!
She almost gets away, can see him stagger. It spurs her on to leap away. But he catches her in mid-air, and she lets out a yip of protest. Hey-! As she looks up at him from where he holds her in quite the embrace, her fur puffs out offendedly in spite of the way it's dampened by the rain. She sticks out her paws against him in protest, You cheated! She claims, as her tail lashes about beneath her.
Then... well, she stops struggling because he has won the game, and she did say she'd tell him the truth if he did. Don't make me set your pants on fire again, she teases mischievously across the bond, peering at him to see if he'll remember that chaotic, drunken moment. It was 'such a good time'.
It's gonna get difficult to stand but hold your balance
06-15-2021, 12:46 PM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2021, 12:47 PM by Ronin.)
RONIN
"So did you!" Ronin barks out, forgetting his Attuned bond in lieu of voicing his outrage aloud. Still, out of breath as he is - and not to forget soaking wet - the Star tries to peel her away from him so he can hold her at arm's length and narrow his eyes. But then she's talking about setting fire to him and there is only one person (surprisingly) who has had the pleasure of doing that in Torchline.
"Aurelia?" he blurts out, his voice a bit higher than normal. "Wait, what? Since when did you look different? And sound different? And why are you a... a this thing?" Ronin, of course, has never seen a red panda in his life before today, but it doesn't stop him smooshing her close in a cuddle now he knows who it is. "So fluffyyyy." Is he punishing her? Yes.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
