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!
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
"Mai dire mai." Remi sings back smoothly. "Ma ora non c'è. È questo che conta, no?" He adds, rolling his shoulders and giving Ronin's hand a soft squeeze under the table. Of course, with Ronin on his left that meant eating with his ruined hand which...could prove to be a bit of a challenge. But then, perhaps it would keep his mind suitably distracted.
Fully able to understand Remi's bullshit, Oria simply rolls her tiny eyes and disappears back into the foliage. Every now and then a 'tree' will stir and wave followed by a squeak as if the spriggan was playing her own game of make-believe within the centrepiece.
Only Finn's arrival is enough to draw her out. Appearing with a flourish, the spriggan chirps her appreciation before diving right in without waiting for the others.
Still in a post-orgasm haze of relaxation, Remi is able to meet Finn's eyes with nothing more than a slight tensing of his shoulders. He's even able to offer the other man a smile, before turning his attention to Oria and her rather adorable plate of food. "Thank you, for that." The Lullaby mumbles softly.
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
Watching the strange exchange between Finn and Remi, Tobi smiles to herself as she reaches under the table to give Finn's knee a soft pat. Situating her foot against his, she beams openly. "I'm always hungry." She confirms. "And if you want this dinner party to keep going smoothly, I suggest you feed me right now." Tobi adds as if her poor behaviour was the only thing that the group of them had to worry about.
So it is that the group eats in relative silence, such is the deliciousness of what Finn has prepared. Mateo and Ever chatter despite having food in their mouths (this has Tobi frowning at her son who immediately falls silent and chews as if his life depended on it).
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
Remi's ruined hand is just an excuse for Ronin to be incredibly twee at the dinner table, feeding his husband bites of their combined meals whenever the moment suits him. (I used it in a sentence, do you get it? DO YOU?) All the while, his fingertips glide against Remi's palm beneath the table, feeding him a steady stream of contentment and warmth (and deliciousness, because the food really is good), and he only has to scold Mateo once for trying to sneak wine.
And once their plates are empty, small talk comes easily between the two boys, and easier still for Ronin. Lubricated by wine and with plenty of stories to exchange with Tobi regarding the dragoons and their various antics, it almost feels normal for the first time since they have arrived. Indeed, when it comes time to clear the plates, his hand slips out of Remi's to gather up their cutlery without even thinking about it.
"I will help to wash up," he's saying to Tobi. "In fact, I insist."
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
Laughing easily at Ronin's jokes and playfully scoffing to hear of the things the dragoons have been up to, Tobi revels in this easy and buoyant adult conversation. Not that she and Finn haven't made remarkable strides in their communication, but it was nice to be in the presence of another boisterous extrovert. "I'd appreciate that very much. Especially since there are no more ghosts to help with the cleaning." Tobi says with a laugh as she too begins to pile plates into one of her hands and loads the cutlery onto them.
Continuing some random conversation about how glue could be used in a pinch to hold wounds together that would otherwise require stitches, the pair disappear into the kitchen.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Feeling both appropriately juvenile and in love, Remi gently takes the offered bites of food with a crooked and eager smile, finding his husband's efforts suitably corny and adorable. (I GUESS???????)
Content, for the most part, to listen to the extroverts dazzle the rest of the table with their conversational skills, it's only as Ronin rises and begins to clear away their plates that Remi feels his shoulders begin to stiffen. Just use your duplicate, and stay with me, he wants to suggest, but of course, they aren't the only two who would hear such a thing through the attuned bond.
It's then that, perhaps sensing the tension to come, Ever nudges Mateo under the table with his foot and murmurs something meant only for the other boy to hear. Something like, heywannagotoyourroom.
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Not for the first time, Remi and Finn seem to be in perfect parallel; carried along by the dinner conversation provided to them by the extroverts at the table and buoyed by the antics of the two children, things seem simple and easy, almost. Until, of course, they aren't - before Finn can even blink, Tobi and Ronin are gone into the kitchen, carried along by wine and their own amusement, and Mateo and Everest promptly scarper from the table.
All of a sudden Finn's mouth is dry, and he lifts his glass of wine very quickly to wet it, setting it down perhaps harder than he intends to. "I'm sorry about your hand," he murmurs, still somewhat mellowed by the events of the past hour. "I do not think anyone was expecting that to be beneath the Sea of Glass."
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
From six to two, the table suddenly feels both very big, and also very small. Directly across from Finn there is almost nowhere Remi can reasonably look that won't seem as if he's intentionally avoiding the Spyglass's eyeliner.
Flexing his remaining three fingers at the mention of his hand, Remi looks down as if just now seeing his ruined hand for the first time. "I am not so sure about that. We were going after a relic and so far, monsters have always been part of it." Remi replies, seemingly contrary simply for the sake of it. This is perhaps why he doesn't drink his wine, even though he'd very much like a sip of it; he doesn't want to appear as though he's mirroring Finn more than he subconsciously already is.
"I think I might know where another is." He mentions casually, tapping his three fingers on the table. "We'll see how many fingers that one requires."
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
11-27-2021, 09:17 PM (This post was last modified: 11-27-2021, 09:18 PM by Finn.)
FINN
the spyglass
it is only through mystery and madness
"That is true, but there are monsters and then there are colossal ancient dinosaurs that have been asleep beneath ice for centuries," Finn murmurs, and were they two different people in two very different circumstances, this remark might have even garnered a smile. As it stands, all Finn can do is lift his gaze to Remi's face, feeling as if the alchemist is suddenly too close and not close enough.
Raising his eyebrows and trying not to seem too interested in the location of another relic, Finn merely shakes his head and has another healthy drink of wine. "I hope that it doesn't cost you any fingers," he says, and he means it. "I don't relish the idea of anyone getting hurt." It's a good substitute for you, he finds.
"...Forgive me for asking, but what made you change your mind? About the Sea of Glass, I mean." Remi had been firmly against going, the last time they had met.
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
The Lullaby can only shrug his shoulders at this; monsters and colossal dinosaurs were not so very different in his opinion. Without Ronin's constant barrage of love and strength, Remi can already feel slivers of ice begin to work their way into his bones as he finds himself wanting to dare Finn to imagine himself in the position Remi had been in.
"I would say a few fingers are a worthy enough trade for recovering a relic though. Wouldn't you?" Meeting Finn's gaze, furious and relieved that the blue of the other man's eyes were unlike any others Remi had ever known, he raises a brow. "When the choice is between being easily about to hold my cutlery or letting the Voice succeed in further poisoning the land..." His head tilts ever so slightly to the side, accusingly.
"I am not sure what you mean." Remi replies mildly, though of course he absolutely does. "I never said that I was not going to go. I said that I wanted you to leave me out of your plans for it."
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Finn doesn't physically recoil from the sudden accusation, but everything about his response does it for him, the Spyglass dropping his eyes to the Greatwood centrepiece in the middle of the table. "When you put it like that, of course I would say it is a worthy trade," he murmurs. "But that does not mean I can't hope it doesn't come to that. Being able to retrieve a relic without losing a limb is preferable, wouldn't you agree?"
The shards of ice that form within Remi seem to worm their way beneath the Spyglass's fingernails; he's pinching the stem of his wine glass all of a sudden, as if he might be able to snap it on a whim. "I see," he mutters to the table. "Forget that I asked, then." There's a knot of something forming in the pit of his stomach, something that wants to shove the table into Remi and demand what his problem always is when they see each other. But of course, mild mannered and (wisely) terrified of the Lullaby, he keeps his mouth shut.
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
"Does my agreeing make any difference?" Remi wonders. "It will cost what it costs." He'd prefer to return home with all of his limbs intact, but when had Remi's preferences ever factored in to anything? "When you're the one out there doing it, what one hopes and what's preferable doesn't matter." Which was of course the Lullaby's way of saying fuck your hope.
Picking up his own wine glass, annoyed that he hadn't riled Finn quite the way he'd wanted—flip the table, see if you have it in you to stab my hand into the table with your knife—Remi drains what's left in a single gulp.
"So, you and October...?" He asks, setting down his glass and peering across the table at Finn, unsure what sort of response he hoped his question would provoke.
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Yes, it will. I suppose I was just trying my hand at small talk," Finn murmurs. Is the way he says trying my hand any different to usual? Is it a reference or a dig at Remi's missing digits? Who could possibly know? "And what you say is true, but with proper planning, hopes and preferences stand a much better chance at becoming reality." Which you'd know, if you'd decided to be a part of it. So fuck your fingers, Taliesin.
A peal of laughter from the kitchen draws the Spyglass's attention for a moment or two - either Tobi or Ronin have just succeeded in a joke, evidently - and this combined with Remi's comparatively personal question have him warming somewhat. Directing a smile down into his wine glass, Finn nods. "Yes," he murmurs. "I am trying to do things that are good for me, that make me happy. Tobi is both of those." Shrugging a little, he looks up at Remi again. "Though I suppose you know all about that as well. I don't think I have ever seen you and Ronin together, outside of combat. You seem happy."
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Remi smiles, not that it reaches his eyes, and taps his fingers against the table. "Oh? Is that so." The Lullaby wonders, and gods if the words, tell me more about how your son was conceived...? don't burn on his tongue. "How very lucky the Order has you to hope on their behalf." He adds, raising his empty wine glass to cheers the Spyglass.
The sound of laughter is cutting, but then, Remi doesn't mind the pain. "Any more children on the horizon, then?" He asks, and if this is a play on words about Finn doing the things that were good for him, Remi's expression gives no answer. However as Finn mentions Remi's happiness, the alchemist suddenly sits straighter as if having only just now realized that no, Finn wouldn't have seen this side of him before. Uncertain if he was at all bothered by this new insight, Remi leans back in his chair and clears his throat. "Being with Ronin isn't just about happiness. He is my everything, on good days and bad."
in my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees & the voices of those who stand looking.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
11-27-2021, 10:08 PM (This post was last modified: 11-27-2021, 10:09 PM by Finn.)
FINN
the spyglass
it is only through mystery and madness
"And how lucky for the remaining relics that you still have eight more fingers," Finn replies smoothly, lifting the dregs of his wine in a cheers that has no right to be as sunny as it is, before he drains the last of the wine. (However the conversation is crashing and burning, one thing is for certain - Remi's wine really is good).
The Lullaby is still more versed in this came of pass-the-knife, though, and the way Finn blanches tells that Remi has hit home. "Not currently," he says dryly, pushing at his empty wine glass with his finger so that it tilts precariously (that's how you use that word, Dan Brown, you fucking idiot).
As for Ronin, Finn's eyebrows raise, but it's with an honest nod that he accepts all of what Remi says. "I'm glad that you have him," he says softly. "What about the two of you? Any more children planned, or are the twins enough?"
