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!
// make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face there are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things i say //
Sunjata’s heard about what happened, roundabout recounts from those that had witnessed it while he was out and about. But there was one thing he trusted more than everyone else – and that was Jack’s word. Because he knows of the magic, knows of Jack’s abilities, kept it secret and held close to his chest, which allows for the trek to the Ark to feel a bit more… Fueled with purpose and perhaps a bit disheartening, preparing to hear the worst of everything.
Ever since he’d gotten back it’s been shit after shit and he’s tired and sore, the bruises along his skin from the Prince have at least become a yellowish green hue, rather than the deep purple they were before. His throat’s still hoarse and has this sensation of always feeling dry, his voice cracking upon occasion as he tries to use it minimally to avoid irritating it. Luckily he’s got Nate to remind him.
They arrive together, boots scuffing against the floor of the Ark as the sun sets, hand rising to knock at the door for Jack’s quarters. “It’s us.” He offers, before he moves to open the door, to click it shut behind them, before he focuses on wherever it is Jack is. “Though you already knew that.” He tacks on now that the doors shut and it’s just them.
He sinks heavily into a chair, rubbing at the scarred half of his face. He doesn’t want to beat around the bush about it any longer than he has to. “So what the fuck happened?”
SUNJATA
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.
you take the things you love and tear them apart or you pin them down with your body and pretend they’re yours
Between the fires, the chicken, and whatever shitty adventure Sam had dragged Sunjata on, there’s no room left in Nate to be anything more than angry. It’s an electric buzz that crackles over his skin, literally, and if he doesn’t find something to aim it at soon it’s gonna destroy him.
Of course they arrive together. Like there’s a chance they’ll be apart right now, like there’s a chance either one of them would skip out on this. Nate’s heard rumours, spoken briefly to Aurelia, has enough to paint a picture. Jacks got the whole damn camera though.
Sunjata handles the niceties, as they are, and Nate doesn’t say a word of greeting, just casts his gaze around the room as he trails his husband. Feels his fingers twitch as his eye passes over a globe, and then focuses back on Jack. His hands come up to rest on Sunjata’s shoulders when he sits, Nate looming over him like an attack dog, and he waits for the captain to speak.
Jack is behind his desk, of course - he doesn't think he has spent so much time behind the damned thing since the original Governor was in place. Either way, the captain is ready when they walk in - as they have already correctly surmised - and with a cigarette between his lips, he wordlessly reaches into the drawer of his desk. From it he withdraws the file he's been compiling, which he slides across to Sunjata.
"This is for you - an account of what happened that night." It's as detailed as it can be, complete with sketches of the Slagveld's interior as it burned, the woman who landed outside of it, the peryton, the unicorn. And everything Jack can remember (aka, everything from his posts in the thread).
Then, he extends his wrist to Nate. "And this is for you," he says. "I'll replay the memories for you. You might recognise somethin' in 'em that I ain't privy to, what with it bein' your establishment."
believer... believe it or not you'll know when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
// make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face there are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things i say //
He leans back a fraction in the seat, eyes focused on Jack while Nate’s hands give an amount of comfort to his shoulders. The paper is slid over and immediately, immediately upon opening it and spying the first recount from Jack that he’s written down, from when the unicorn was attacked, his stomach sinks. Both Nate and Jack would likely feel it, but he works his jaw, sits a bit more forward, scarred fingers dancing over the edge of the file before his index finger taps at it.
Atlas, the unicorn that had healed him LongNight before last. Hotaru’s unicorn.
He glances up to see Jack’s offered wrist, figuring that Nate would get the first count while he reads, any additional information Nate would be able to fill in the gaps. So he focuses back on the file, a low thrumming bit of anger and confusion swirling within him. Notes of Adam and Seren and Maeve and Aurelia… But not, meeting him in just an ounce of more confusion.
The eagle, too, sparks interest, but he supposes wherever Hotaru goes, Deimos is sure to follow.
Especially after the threat given to him in his home.
Even though he was quite certain that things had ended on a good note, quite certain that he hadn’t done anything to Hotaru since she decided to leave on her own.
They had parted well, or so he had thought. And it’s that which has the sharp burning line of rage souring him, Sunjata leaning back heavily and balling his hand into a fist as he retracts from the file, in a whirlwind of his own quiet rage while Nate and Jack go over it themselves.
SUNJATA
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.
you take the things you love and tear them apart or you pin them down with your body and pretend they’re yours
Nate stares at the file as it’s pulled out, as Sunjata grabs it. He’s not close enough to read it, but the feeling it sparks in his husband has the ascended shifting, stoking the anger he already carries in his chest. He doesn’t even notice the offered wrist at first, his gaze shifting slowly to the outstretched hand, following it back to Jack’s face.
No one in their right mind would call whatever there was between them friendship, but for something like this, Nate trusts him. Even if it’s going to cost them at some point. Without fully lifting his touch from Sunjata, Nate steps around to take Jack’s hand, adjust his arm. He’s delicate, in the kind of way that clearly takes a lot of focus to maintain, bright eyes closing as he bites.
The rush of sensation is never something he can manage to bite back completely, thrumming through him and lighting every nerve, but Nate has at least grown practiced at ripping himself away from it, literally and mentally. It’s not the moment, not for this. “Alright,” he rumbles thickly, tapping into stolen power, “let’s see it.”
"Ah, so you know them." This much Jack takes from Sunjata's thoughts as he lets the Governor look over the file he's handed over, his hand still outstretched for Nate. And when the other man crosses around to take his wrist, the captain similarly braces himself, knowing better to spare the bite more than a moment of his time. It's easier said than done when the sensation flood through him, and it's with a grumble of mild annoyance and a moment taken to adjust before he's ready to proceed.
"Alright," he mutters, bracing his forearms on the desk and letting his arm bleed freely while he focuses on unlocking the door to the memories of that night. And when he does bring them back there, he projects to Nate all that he can possible remember; every sight, every thought lifted, the sound of voices and fire and unicorns dying. The only thing he doesn't send the Ascended is, perhaps, the snapback of Hotaru's grief from when Atlas had died.
No one needs to deal with that a second time.
When it's done, he blinks a few times and glances between Sunjata and Nate. "Is there anything else you need from me to deal with this?"
believer... believe it or not you'll know when it ends and how it goes
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
// make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face there are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things i say //
“I do.{/i}” Comes the quick, forced out response around teeth that are half between wanting to form points and half between being grit and ground into nothing. He tries to take a steadying breath, waiting until Nate’s taken the bite from Jack, pointedly not watching, and waits until the memories have been played back before he speaks again.
He gives Nate a moment to recover from what he’ll see, hand rising to the one that’s resting on his shoulder, wrapping around it and squeezing it as his gaze lands back on Jack. “The woman who’s unicorn was murdered is Hotaru. She’s, uh, our ex-wife.” He frowns before he continues. “The eagle is Deimos, the general of Halo.” A swift explanation from a hoarse, pained throat.
He sucks down a sharp breath before he leans forward, an arm resting on Jack’s desk, careful not to touch anything aside from the wood. “I want Deimos banned from Torchline. Hotaru, I think we need to speak with her. If she’s found, bring her to us.” Quick and easy instructions, should they arrive back. “I think we need to plan a trip to Halo.” He says to Nate, now, gaze shadowed as he looks back up to his husband.
SUNJATA
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.
06-12-2021, 07:08 PM (This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 07:11 PM by Nate.)
you take the things you love and tear them apart or you pin them down with your body and pretend they’re yours
He should know better, should know to leave more time between wading through Jack's mind and the bite, but. Fingers tighten on Sunjata's wrist, harder than Nate seems to recognize. The half-blind gaze zeroes in on the trickle of blood running down the captain's forearm, Nate thinking distantly that it should feel less personal than looking at his face would.
Memories are visceral, sending imagined adrenaline running through Nate, but he stays silent, absorbing everything. Hotaru is... colder, than he'd thought. It's a realization that feels wrong, but this whole situation has proven to Nate that he didn't actually know anything about the woman. Rage and shame build a statue of violence out of him, Nate's hand on his husband the only thing still remotely soft about his posture. It's enough to choke out the hiccup of raw pain that festers, to hide it from Jack.
Sunjata is still the voice of authority, still the one who gave orders, not that Nate wouldn't speak up if he disagreed with something. And he doesn't, not until- "There's no thinking about it." The words snap out of Nate, nearly surprising him. His voice is schooled into something more reasonable as he continues, eyes on the ground. "We are talking to her. And we'll decide what happens to her after." At his side,
Nate's hand clenches and unclenches, only stopping when Sunjata speaks directly to him. "Think y'might be right." He tries to make his voice soft, only managing scratchy, accented.
There's enough sense to have Nate looking up again, face hard as his gaze meets Jack's face. "I... we appreciate this, Jack." A razor's edge of sincerity cut's his words, before Nate is gesturing for them to exit, set plans into motion.
