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.
"Sixteen, actually." Says Remi's duplicate from just behind the Lullaby. Reaching forward with its left hand, the duplicate grabs one of the wine bottles at the end of the table and fills both cups before disappearing.
Blinking precariously, Remi raises a brow and nods, again not quite getting the reaction from Finn he'd wanted. (Maybe the Spyglass had taken Tobi's advice to heart, about not letting bullies have their way with him). "I am too." Remi agrees, and this time it's with perfect honesty and a genuine smile. As for the twins? Fuck you. "Between us Ronin and I are at five." Aoife counted. Aoife would always count. "And with Ever over as often as he is—" Because he likes us more, you boring nitwit "—I think we're good. With the war looming, now seems a terrible time to bring another life into this world." He adds dryly before reaching for his newly-filled glass of wine.
"We both know there was never a ghost in your kitchen." Remi says into his wine.
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.
The duplicate achieves exactly what Remi has likely hoped it would; Finn flinches and stiffens in his seat at the presence of someone unexpectedly behind him, and only when he swallows down the copper in his mouth does he realise that he's bitten the inside of his cheek hard enough that the pain feels familiar and good. He doesn't really hear anything about the children or about his son, which is probably for the best, and when he speaks again with bloody lips, the conversation is directed quite firmly at the table.
"No, I lied because I didn't want to explain to Everest why I disliked being at The Falling," he says softly. "Though that does beg the question as to what you and your husband were doing in my bathroom, if not fighting an imaginary ghost." Does it matter anymore? Finn doesn't think so. He thinks if another duplicate appears behind him, though, he'll smash his wine glass across its face.
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Like any true predator, the sight of blood has Remi's pulse-quickening and as Finn seems to slump, Remi sits up. There's no question in his mind that, even after his romp with Ronin in the bathroom, the taste of blood on Finn's lips would be decadent; it's a good thing the Spyglass's focus is on the table, lest he see the way the Lullaby experimentally licks his own bottom lip.
"He doesn't know?" Soberly asked, Remi frowns and looks for all the world like he might actually care about the other man's pain. The question of just what was done in the bathroom though, has the Lullaby seeking out his counterpart's stormy gaze. "Having sex." He replies easily, willing the image into Finn's mind. "You know what that's like. When you just can't keep your hands off of one another and you need the release." Only...no. He was quite sure Finn didn't know. Or at least, he wasn't the sort of man to act on such urges, which perhaps was what Remi was getting at. "Don't worry, we didn't leave a mess."
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.
"I thought that was inferred, yes," Finn murmurs to the table, though his eyes can't seem to settle on any one particular thing any more, and his hands are clenched against the top of his thighs hard enough to leave crescents in his palms. And when Remi comes out with it - having sex, because of course they were - Finn peels away the part of himself that wants to go and throw up in said bathroom, forcing it to sit and wait in the corner of his mind.
"I can't say I have experienced it personally, but I have often been used as a tool for such things," he says dryly. It comes hand in hand with being a prostitute, Remi, don't you know? Perhaps you should try that out, if you want a little tête-à-tête with the Spyglass's history.
Scoffing out a laugh that specks the table red, Finn can only shake his head at the other man's last comment. Don't worry is to the Spyglass as don't be murdery is to the Lullaby.
11-27-2021, 10:51 PM (This post was last modified: 11-27-2021, 10:51 PM by Remi.)
REMI
the alchemist
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Remi is surprised to hear the lie so readily confirmed, not quite sure what to make of it. Later that night though he'll consider it carefully, rolling it over and over in his thoughts. Even then, he won't know. 'Well, I will keep your secret." The Lullaby vows.
"Oh no? I would have thought given how well things were going with October.." He trails off, challenging Finn's manhood in the silence. "It's good that you've found someone who doesn't need that sort of thing in a partner." Which was of course to plant the seed that maybe Tobi did.
Flaring his nostrils slightly, the red all the more prominent now, Remi tries to force his thoughts back to the feeling of Ronin's hand against his chest, and the pattern of kisses his husband's projection had left on his neck. "You seem to have bitten your lip." He observes as evenly as he can.
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.
"Thank you, I would appreciate it," Finn murmurs, as if not sitting his son down for the hey so did you know your grandmother committed suicide chat was something he ought to be grateful for. (Except with Remi, he absolutely should be grateful for it). He doesn't expect the flare of heat in the pit of his stomach at the other man's carefree slap to his masculinity, and the storm in Finn's eyes finally seems to be rolling in when he lifts his gaze to meet Remi's.
"Go fuck yourself, Remi," he says, his tone soft and calm and level, though as he abruptly rises from the table, he's anything but. Snatching a napkin and pressing it to his lips, it comes away stained with a bloody kiss against the fabric. "A party favour for you," he snaps, tossing it back to the table and stalking away down the hallway, into the same bathroom that, to be honest, he'll probably never use again after tonight.
The sound of a door locking and a tap running echoes soon after, which is for the best - it will cover the sound of the dinner's reappearance and, later, Finn's furious cleaning.
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Remi had meant he'd keep the secret of the lie of course, and having not received much of a response from Finn their entire conversation, the Lullaby stiffens slightly as Finn fixes him with a stormy stare. The words are surprising, and though what he wants to say in response is fuck me yourself, he simply gapes for a moment too long. 'Finn—'' Remi tries through lips gone quite dry, only to have a blood napkin thrown in his face that he really ought to be repulsed by. There isn't enough time to sound or act apologetic before the Spyglass is gone.
Blushing guilty roses, Remi looks at the smear of red on white, clenching his teeth together and saying nothing for a long moment. Out of the centrepiece, Oria appears with her thimble of wine, glaring at Remi. "It wasn't that bad." He mutters defensively, rubbing his palm against one of his ears as if he might smear away the heat building there.
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
Her cheeks are going to hurt from smiling tomorrow, and gods if the ache in her belly from laughing isn't glorious. Twisting a towel in her hands that she might snap it at Ronin for his most recent comment, the doctor pauses as she sees Finn walk by. That he was going to the bathroom wasn't in itself cause for concern, but now this was twice the sink had been used to muffle some sound or other. It only took a second's worth of partial shifting for Tobi to hear just what was happening down the hall, and instantly all the mirth in her belly turned sour. "I...am just going to check on Finn quickly." Tobi says apologetically, flashing Ronin a smile before swiftly exiting the kitchen.
Pressing her fingertips lightly against the door, Tobi taps gently. "Finn?" She calls softly, not wanting to draw attention to the Spyglass and add to his discomfort. "Hey, are you alright?"
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
"Now that is uncalled for!" Ronin is grinning as he tries to shy away from the towel snapped in his direction, his hands raised in a placating gesture that he only half means. He's reached up to put some plates away by the time Tobi notices that something has gone awry, and belatedly it catches up to Ronin as well. "Oh, fuck," he hisses, feeling the levity in his bones quite quickly drop through his feet and nodding as Tobi makes her excuses and leaves.
In the meantime, the Huntsman sweeps back into the living room in time to see Oria glaring at Remi over a bloody napkin, Ronin closing the space between them instantly to retake his seat, reaching a hand out for Remi's. "I'm so sorry - I didn't even think," he says, the words tumbling out of him unbidden. Of all the stupid things to do, leaving the alchemist alone with Finn is probably as bad as it gets.
By the time Tobi arrives outside the bathroom the sound of flushing has overtaken the tap, and just beneath that noise comes the methodical tap of things being taken from beneath the sink and stacked against the counter - cleaning supplies, most likely. "There was nothing left to stir," Finn says through the door, and though his throat sounds tight, he seems relatively put together (a stunning lie, of course).
"I don't feel well. I think I will stay here for a while," he says; if there was a chair available he'd be wedging it beneath the handle of the already locked door. Alas, he will have to rely on conventional means. "Please give my apologies to everyone."
there's a feeling i get when i look to the west, & my spirit is crying for leaving.
Remi's fingers are ice-cold and stiff in the Huntsman's grasp. Able to hear only Finn's parting words ringing in his ears, the Lullaby shrugs, somehow appearing guilty and defiant. "Can we go home, please." He asks, staring hard enough at the bloody napkin that it had begun to blur and spread before his eyes. Imagining it thrown from the Falling, Remi can clearly see it falling down, down, down toward the bluffs. Tugged by the sea and the currents, eventually it lands against one of the skulls where it remains forever.
He's about to say that he didn't do it, it being the cause of the bloody napkin, but that wasn't true, was it? He hadn't physically touched Finn, but what excuse was that? "Please Ronin. I can't, anymore."
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
There was nothing left to stir. Feeling the same sinking realization as Ronin, the doctor leans her forehead against the door and closes her eyes tightly. "No..." She agrees. "I should have asked you to do the dishes.." Tobi adds with a sad sigh.
"Okay." Wanting to demand that he open the door if only so she could throw her arms around him, instead Tobi forces herself to straighten. "Okay." She repeats, this time more to herself, as she glances down the hall and makes a plan.
Setting her lips into a smile, Tobi enters the dining room where, if romcom timing is at play, is precisely the point where she and Ronin will make excuses for their counterparts at the same time. "I'm so sorry to do this, but Finn isn't feeling well—"
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
He and Tobi had been gone for something like fifteen minutes at the most, and already Ronin can see the breakdown in any kind of bridge that had been forming across the unexpected group. Cursing himself for his own idiocy and vowing to make this up to Remi for the rest of the evening and beyond, he strokes his thumb across the back of the Lullaby's icy hand. "Of course we can go home," he says readily, his free hand coming up to brush along the other man's shoulder.
Silently his projection gets up from the table, moving away to go and say goodbye and goodnight to Mateo (and Ever, by default) and making excuses for Remi. Almost as soon as it is out of sight, Tobi appears and Ronin is already straightening. "I'm really sorry, Tobi, but Remi--" he begins, only for them to tumble into each other's excuses.
With a sad smile and a nod that promises that they can speak about this again privately, Ronin acts as if to guide Remi to his feet. "Thank you for inviting us," he murmurs. "I'll see you soon, Tobi. Have a good night, okay?" Neither of them will, probably. But it is what it is now.
It's a quiet consolation A mistake that I don't mind
Filled with relief, Tobi doesn't have the words to express how grateful she is for Ronin's understanding and for how uncomplicated he's able to make things. "It was wonderful to have you both over. You can host next time." She says with a laugh, supposing she sounds rather naive, but it's better than the hopelessness that is yawning up the back of her throat. "I'll be sure Mateo gets on the Sky boat safely tomorrow morning." Tobi adds as the Taliesins set off.
Clicking the door closed, Tobi takes a moment to breathe in the silence. The tension hasn't left with Remi like she thought it might, and suddenly she has the most absurd canine urge to tip her head back and howl. Smiling at herself, the doctor shakes her head, making her way back toward the bathroom where she softly knocks on the door once again. "Hey Finn...Ronin and Remi are gone." She says. "I'm going to finish cleaning up.." It's a subtle offer that he could stay in the bathroom if he wanted, or that he could come out and help her.
Maybe you'll meet me at the station Or maybe somewhere down the line
