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!
It’s an exciting day. A jaunt to the Grounds to make a delivery, Nate stubbornly refusing to refer to the babies as anything other than them, as if he wasn’t already thinking in names, the minute differences between the twins etched into his brain. It takes less time for them to go back home, leathery wise cutting the distance in half, and leaving them with time. Time where they do nothing it eat, and lay in bed. Nates usually wide awake anyway, but both of them are tonight, too wound up to actually sleep.
It’s earlier in the night than it usually is when Nate turns to face Sunjata, waiting a breath before he speaks. “You wanna do something stupid?” He already knows the answer is going to be yes, already knows they’re going to find themselves on the pitch black beach, and soon, the pitch black water, only the lingering effects of a bite warming them.
Stormbreak isn’t close by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not a terrible journey all things considered. The world is still bathed in an inky darkness by the time they arrive to the singing cliffs, tension rolling off of Nate in waves. Do you want to shift first? Make sure the coast is clear?
It’s been a nonstop mantra Sunjata’s silently been telling himself. The whole, don’t get attached. It’s for the best. They’ll be fine and grow up and it’ll work out. Yet there’s that lingering part of him that regrets it the second it’s done, the second they glimpse the twins as they depart, and Sunjata rushes them back home, back to somewhere where he might not have to think about it.
The question is absolutely an immediate “yes” with Sunjata already moving to slip out into the dark, onto the beach, the inky black waves spreading across the sands ahead of them with hardly the edge of a moon in sight. His eyes are shifted, if only to help him see better through the dark, and when the plan is made Sunjata’s anxiety spikes anew.
But he’s here. He’s with Nate. He can try to control the situation. The bite is quick and Sunjata recovers quickly, nodding to Nate as he hears the slight buzz of the singing cliffs. Of course, Skatjie. Sunjata purrs back, covering his fear and worry with something else. So he shifts, taking up the dragon shift if only because he’s the most comfortable with it in terms of having a way to protect both of them. And he rises, scanning the edge of the cliffs for anything that might pose as danger for Nate, fear creeping into him with each and every second.
He returns, swooping down toward Nate so that he might hear his Attuned speak, as he curves to head back up. Looks clear to me. Be careful, please. A brief pause as his anxiety breaks through and he can't stop himself from adding, I love you.
i've learned to lose, you can't afford to
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.
Nate lingers in the water, watching the shape of Sunjata get further and further away, a dark speck in a sea of darkness. The world is muted like this, and it sharpens his mind a little, lets him reach out to keep a greedy mental hand wrapped around the dragons tail. A bubble of anticipation rises up in him, Nate trying to not let himself grow too worried too quickly. All they have to do is grab a handful of stones, and they can leave again.
The all-clear rings down, and Nate heaves himself out of the water as quietly as he can, slipping onto the rocky shore and glancing around frantically. A suspicious glance is thrown up at the winding stairs carved up the cliff. I'm always careful, darling. The addition has him pausing though, eyes thrown skyward and a warm pulse of hollow reassurance tossed towards Sunjata. I love you too.
Reaching out almost blindly, Nate starts to fill his pockets, still unsure about how many stones he really needs. Of all the places he's been told to go though, this is the one he wants to have to return to the least. Even with the frantic bent to his movements though, he should be paying more attention. Maybe if he was, he wouldn't flinch the way he does when something creeps up his arm, his naked shock and panic ringing out like an alarm bell. The tiny snake is as scared as he is, bright red stripes colouring its body suddenly, and the distant smell of peppermint reaching him. What the fuck? There is a note of hysterical confusion laced in through the words, Nate trying to catch breath he never had a hold of.
He gives the okay, and while Nate approaches Sunjata’s got a mental feeler out for his husband as well as keeping an eye on the rest of Stormbreak where he can see. The last thing he needs are a bunch of dragoons appearing in the middle of the night, aiming to murder his husband. But so far? So far so good. Nate’s picking up the rocks and he hasn’t immediately crumbled into nothing yet, so they certainly have that going for them.
The adrenaline amps up the dragon just a bit more than he’s used to as well, putting him immediately in a fight or flight sensation as he swoops nonchalantly around the edge, keeping a close eye on Nate as well as their surroundings when Nate’s panic hits him like an arrow through the heart and Sunjata’s throat is already glowing with the very same electric blue his husband’s eyes are as he swoops down to get a better look. What happened? He calls out, trying to keep his own panic from his voice and simply sends over the protectiveness and fierceness of the dragon instead.
He swoops lower and lower until he finds the rocks that Nate’s standing upon and shifts back into himself, hurrying closer to his husband when he notices the snake with the red rings and the very overpowering scent of peppermint. And Sunjata can’t help the rumble of a laugh that leaves him as relief spreads briefly. Looks like you’ve found a friend, sweetheart. He teases lightly, moving to pick up the snake so that Nate can keep filling his pockets. They're nice snakes. I found one with Ronin and Remi's son in the Greatwood. What one was doing all the way over here was as good a guess as any, but Sunjata's content to keep a hold of the snake and keep it out of Nate's way. It made a good scarf but not quite as good as me. Here he tries to brush past his anxiety to shoot a wink toward his husband.
i've learned to lose, you can't afford to
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.
As soon as he realizes what the snake is, a wave of embarrassment washes through the bond. Nate's on edge for good reason, but this is maybe a little bit much. It's fine! He sends back to his husband, too late to stop the tight downwards spiral. Truth be told, he's more than a little comforted by the idea of Sunjata at his side instead of high above him, no matter how much danger it might add to the excursion.
Nate laughs along with the attuned, stepping forward as his husband shifts back into himself and embracing him with one arm. Looks like I did. He leans back and smiles at the little reptile weaving it's way through Sunjata's fingers. Now that it isn't trying to scare him to death, it actually looks... kinda cute. Did the one you found look like candy too? He laughs gently. I don't think anything could make as good a scarf as you do. Bright eyes linger on it for a moment longer than they need to before Nate's kneeling again to fill his pockets with stones.
So... He lets the word echo between them a little bit for dramatic effect, his gaze not rising from the ground. I was thinking... maybe we can... swing by the Grounds, on our way home?
Sunjata lets the embarrassment from his husband wash over him, pretending as though he doesn’t notice or care that it’s occurred. Truthfully, he doesn’t, given that in his mind the best place to be to protect Nate is to be right there beside him. A bonus of the little striped snake simply makes for the perfect distraction and he leans into the side hug as he takes up the little snake, flashing a small smile toward the demigod. It did. He murmurs, tilting his head as he peers at the snake. Like a candy cane. Smelled like one too. His gaze flickers up to Nate, wondering if they had similar treats in America or if it was solely a Korofi thing.
Given the whole candy comment, he imagines it’s one of those things they had in common.
There’s a flush of pride that slips from Sunjata at the mention of looking like the best scarf, enough that he hopes it might wash out Nate’s fears. And he moves to set the snake down as his gaze flickers back to Nate as he shoves the pebbles into his pockets, Sunjata’s steel are surprisingly bright as he observes. Oh thank gods, I was thinking I was gonna have to be the one to bring it up. He manages, his own slightly embarrassed emotions translating across the bond. Once you’ve got enough, I’ll shift back to the dragon and we can head straight there.
i've learned to lose, you can't afford to
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.
I thought that’s what that was! Nate crows triumphantly, his grin obvious in his mental voice. His shoulders shake with a soundless little laugh. I guess it is the season for that kinda shit, huh? At least snow wise. And gift wise.
That silent laughter returns in response to the flush of pride that bursts from Sunjata, the sunbeam warmth of it chasing away the coil in Nate’s gut. His hands stop in his pockets, his eyes following the striped snake as it finds a hidden crevice again. It’s only when it’s hidden that he lifts his gaze, starting when he sees the steel eyes are already on him. The words have relief bleeding out from him, Nate’s shoulders dropping. He pushes himself up to his feet and reaches out with dirty hands to grab Sunjata’s face and pull him in for a kiss.
My pockets are full now. Just for effect, Nate wiggles, his pockets clacking quietly. I love you. With... The feeling Nate pulses with doesn’t have words, just a senseless, frantic crush, the vaguest sensation of the deep dark corners of himself, and then the vastness is gone again, tamed back into something small and palatable. Lets get the fuck outta here, Tesoro.
A snort leaves Sunjata, nodding to his husband with a soft edge of a smile tugging at the scarred corner of his lips. Guess so. It reminds me that I need to give you your gift when we get back home. After, of course, they go and get the biggest gift of all for the season. Either way, there’s relief that swells in Sunjata after the pulse of pride, the snake back where it’s more comfortable and Sunjata’s attention glued to his husband, searching for those electric blues that drink him in.
He doesn’t mean to startle his husband, but the relief that slips from Nate as he stands is enough to keep Sunjata feeling pretty good all things considered, and he slightly stumbles over the rocks as Nate pulls him in for a kiss – a kiss that he gives back quite willingly and quite contently. Good. Sunjata murmurs, biting down on his tongue both physically and mentally while Nate continues and he hears the clack of the pebbles in his pockets.
It’s a bursting warmth, like the heat that radiates from a sunburn that vibrates through Sunjata, filing up that cold and deep void that Haai’s death had caused, and he sinks into it like the first bit of sun that melts away a snowcapped field. I love you too. He says breathlessly, pressing another kiss to Nate before he steps back, shifting into his dragon shift and waiting for Nate to climb up onto his back.
The second he does, Sunjata takes to the skies, changing their course and direction toward Torchline first, to slip through the portal and head to the Grounds to pick up those two children they’d saved, to bring them home for LongNight and to hopefully try to fill that hole even more so.
- FIN <333
i've learned to lose, you can't afford to
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.
