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!
"Well, obviously not literally," Ronin murmurs, torn between treading carefully at the clear nerve he's touched and trying to clarify what he's said. "But in power dynamic? I can certainly see the parallels, not just between you and Sunjata. You and I compared to the rest of the world? We could go anywhere, do anything and not really have to care about the consequences. No one can make us do anything. It's a position of privilege, even if it sucks a lot of the time."
He doubts his husband really wants to hear that, though, his grip loosening a bit from around Remi. "I'll keep seeing what else I can do, about Nate I mean." There will probably be other plans in motion but the thread isn't finished yet and when the Star knows more, so will the Lullaby.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
"Well the same could be said of any two pairs of animals then, where one is stronger." Remi points out stiffly. "And we do have consequences, with Ludo and Safrin and the rest of them. You and I have worked hard to be what we are now, and it has not come without sacrifice. Bluebloods were just..born into what they were." Like Seren, if any of them. "But if it is not Sunjata's fault, then it cannot be mine either." He continues, argumentatively despite how much he hates to hear himself so defensive.
Nodding without really moving at all, Remi sips in a breath and tries to unclench his jaw. "I do appreciate the help with Nate. I do not think it is realistic to just avoid him forever. Not with how everything stands now." At some point the pair would be forced into confrontation again, and Remi very much doubted that all the warnings and platitudes from Ronin or Sunjata would keep the men in check should that happen.
"I suppose we can't just...make them both forget everything that happened, mm?" The slanted look Remi offers the Star suggests he's only half-joking about this.
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin opens his mouth to argue, before (as happens quite frequently, these days) he thinks better of it. He could say things like I was also born a baron or does that mean I didn't have problems too? but gods, it will just antagonise things further. "I'm sorry for upsetting you," he says quietly instead, peeling away from the counter and gesturing as if to ask if Remi wants to go back to bed.
"Oh no, of course," Ronin says with a smile that's a little wan, all things considered, but he tries. "I think that initial talk was just to make sure Sunjata let Nate know that he can't just say what he likes without consequences." How well that would work out isn't really up to them. Scoffing at his husband's remark, Ronin definitely notices that he's not not joking, tilting his head. "I'm sure you could if you wanted to - that's kind of Ludo's thing, right? Memories, I mean."
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
Remi can feel that Ronin is placating him somewhat, but for now, he's happy to let the conversational thread be left where it is. They can pick it up another time perhaps, when the word blueblood doesn't make him want to rake his claws down the side of their walls.
Following behind Ronin—the view doing wonders for his mood—Remi shrugs a touch oafishly as he closes their bedroom door so that their voices won't wake Mateo. "It is, but just now I think Ludo might not be amenable to me asking for its help in cleaning up my own mess." With a grumble, Remi flops face-first into the bed. Starfishing his arms and legs out that Ronin won't have anywhere to sit that isn't in contact with him in some way or another, he mumbles something against their sheets that sounds like, "-m-mbr -n -e may-d p-m-k-nn -oop?"
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Then again, perhaps these vampire gourds have put it in a good mood. It might help you just to keep you on your toes," Ronin suggests with a smirk, tilting his head and turning to watch as Remi divebombs their bed. The alchemist is not the only one able to appreciate the view now, and Ronin all but prowls onto the bed after his husband.
"Pumpkin soup?" he echoes, as if Remi's words are clear as a bell. "I remember. I think I was a bit of an idiot and I chucked it in the fire though," he says through a chuckle. All the while, he begins the task of blanketing himself over his husband, but it's not a quick endeavour. He begins by pushing up Remi's shirt, so he can slowly mark kisses along his lower back, creeping upwards.
"Do you want to try and make it again?" he asks. "I imagine it would be another good way to sneak vegetables into Mateo."
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
Lifting his head up to flash Ronin a sunny grin, the alchemist nearly chokes on a laugh. "Oh that's right. I told you to put it in the fire." And..well. Ronin had. The kisses to his lower back and the shivers that the brush of raised fabric send up his spine, has Remi utterly, utterly pacified. Rolling his shoulders and stretching out his arms so that there's more of him for Ronin to explore, Remi lets his cheek fall back to the bed, watching the Star slyly out of the corner of his eye like a lazy predator.
'The way you say try and sneak vegetables into, does not inspire much confidence.' Remi remarks. In his minds-eye, he sees elaborate contraptions of tubes and beakers that boil gourds, send them through a flavouring tank, and are breathed upon by Sugar to cool, before being deposited into their son's mouth via some flying contraption.
"But yes. Yes I would like to try. Though I think you could get me to agree to anything if you keep touching me like this." He adds, back arching upwards like the giant cat that he is.
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"If it helps, I also thought it was a strange request for you to make. I would have hung the cauldron over something for the soup to cook, myself," Ronin says, laughter threading his words, even though they both know he's an utter liar. Remi's arms stretch out and Ronin wastes little time in peeling his husband's shirt off entirely. Nipping gently at his hips as he continues his way up, he's interrupted only by the arching of the alchemist's back.
"Our son is a very clever boy," he says in his defence. "If he asks enough questions or prods about enough, he could find vegetables in raw meat, I swear." It's a phase, too, this whole vegetables are evil thing. Not that the vampire gourds are going to do anything to help matters.
Chuckling to himself, Ronin shifts to drape himself over Remi at last, kissing the side of the Lullaby's neck and sighing contently. "Anything?" he mumbles. "I'll keep that in mind. I want you just as you are now, though."
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
"At the time I might have been just a bit distracted by you. I know better now than to give you such vague directions." Honestly, Ronin was the type of man to answer "Yes" and keep eating, if you asked if he could pass the salt.
"Mmmm, well..." The thought grows fuzzy for a moment as Ronin continues his upward trek. Remi exhales a shivery breath, enjoying the tension between wanting to turn over and grapple Ronin against him and the delightful lightness oif the Star's current ministrations. "Animals eat vegetables so..I suppose he would not be wrong." Remi manages eventually, of Mateo finding vegetables in his meat.
Ronin's heat and weight has the alchemist all but melting bonelessly. Reaching out to grab at Ronin's wrist and tug it under his chin as if the Star really were a blanket, Remi tries to shift that he might fill in all of the gaps between them. "Oh? And how am I now, other than vaguely grumpy and slightly turned on?" Well. Both vaguely and slightly were understatements.
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"And that's why I love you. Unlike me, you seem to learn from your mistakes." Ronin is grinning into the side of Remi's neck, making his voice sound a bit muffled. He has no objection to the way the other man adjusts and uses him as a blanket (indeed, the movement is grinding against all the right places, so Ronin is definitely not about to tell him to stop), instead pressing a kiss to the corner of Remi's jaw.
"He wouldn't be, but it still wouldn't help with the doesn't eat enough greens argument from his teacher." He grins, before thoughts of their son wisely leave his mind. "Right now," he says softly, his free hand dancing down the length of Remi's arm, "you are at home, in bed with me. You woke up when I needed you, even though you didn't know I needed anything. And I love you such a stupid amount, that you being grumpy is just as nice as you being cheerful."
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
"It's true." Remi agrees, even though they both know it absolutely isn't. But with all of the hills and valleys of Ronin's body perfectly rising and falling like puzzle pieces against his own, the alchemist would have agreed that Ronin was the better predator if it kept the Star fit against him.
"You know..I think one of my favourite things about being what we are now, is how little we need to sleep." Remi says a touch wickedly, before the slow churn of lava in his veins becomes a good deal lighter as his heart skips a beat and his lips collapse into a smile. "So...I can just be grumpy always then, and you would not mind?" Laughing, Remi careens his head to the side slightly that he might steal some sort of kiss from the Star.
"I never want to be anywhere you aren't. Even if you are just up on the roof." What might sound clingy coming from a different mouth, Remi can only say with easy honesty. Sure, he and Ronin would be apart—had to be apart—but if given the choice, Remi would always choose to be where his husband was.
Speaking of..."So this Order meeting tomorrow..do you think you are required to wear your robe?" Remi asks with a snicker.
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Caught for a moment by the kiss that is suddenly directed his way, Ronin hums a note of contentment against Remi's lips. It does nothing for the way his pulse suddenly thunders in his ears, the way he wants to laugh and snarl and flip Remi onto his back so he can lavish him in affection properly, and it's only a lot of self restraint that he parts from his husband to respond to him. "I do love sleeping though," he says, though it's apparent from his tone that he doesn't enjoy it as much as other things.
"Mmhm, that's right. You could be grumpy always and I would not mind," he confirms, leaning in for another kiss that spreads across Remi's cheek and down the side of his neck and onto his shoulders. "Maybe I really ought to start letting you come to work with me as a hawk," he murmurs.
Speaking of work, Ronin's eyes flick back up at Remi and he flashes him a grin. "I don't think so. But I could wear it now, if that's what you're getting at?"
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
I only meant that when I am woken up by your disappearance from our bed, I do not have to suffer for it the next day. Remi replies, though silently so, the way his fingers and lips are straining for the Star that he might sneak in one more kiss. Luckily Ronin seems to have the same idea, and as they both flare against one another, their emotions are allowed to tangle and combine just as easily as their bodies have.
'I think I might like that. Your dragoons could practice defending themselves against little old me." Little old him, who could become a creature large enough to cover the entirety of Ronin's training grounds with his body. 'Do you think you could handle it?" He wonders with a shit-eating grin. It was Leafchange now after all. "All those dragoons trying to take me down?"
Crinkling his nose, Remi pretends to wriggle away from the Star in disgust before immediately snuggling himself right back to where he was. "If you put that on, I will tear it to shreds. It is up to you what you make of that."
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Mm, okay. Good point. Ronin smiles against his husband's shoulder, one hand grazing along Remi's side while the other continues to brace against the bed, holding him easily over the other man. The mention of his dragoons facing off against little old Remi, or taking him down has precisely the effect that Remi would expect. There's a rumbling in Ronin's chest that's reminiscent of a growl, though of course there are no predators lurking under his skin to fuel it.
"Absolutely not," he mumbles in response as to whether he could handle it, and he huffs against the side of Remi's neck before shifting back enough that the other man might finally turn over and let Ronin continue his affections onto the Lullaby's chest. "I like that robe. I don't want it torn to shreds," he decides with a little smile, letting his fingers trail over Remi's hips and stomach.
soft spoken with a broken jaw we step outside, but not to brawl
Grinning wickedly that his words have had precisely the intended effect, Remi twists against Ronin, not minding at all the friction that he's caused. "Can you just imagine? All those eyes on me? Trying to find my weakness? Pinning me beneath their hands and swords?" Locking his leg over the back of Ronin's as if the Star might try and run from the mental images Remi is intentionally forcing into his mind, the alchemist lets his hands glide down Ronin's sides to where the muscles of his stomach lead alluring inward.
"How many of them do you think it would take to hold me down?" Remi continues in a low voice. "Do you think they would use rope? Chains..?" His teeth edge toward his husband's ear that he might punctuate every word with nips to his earlobe.
Who are you? They ask. Death? Sometimes... I say. But not today
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
