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!
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
It’s a windy and rainy day, one that likely is the start of bringing the storms into Torchline’s shore, but to Sunjata the rain simply reminds him of home — the way the ocean waves surge with the boost in water, the way the sand and shoreline erodes and creates more visibility to treasures that some may have thought were hidden.
He does return to Torchline occasionally, mostly to check on the house and make sure it’s still standing on the off chance it needs to be used for anything. He also passes by the remains of his boxing ring, fists clenching and unclenching with the memories of the fire. He doesn’t get as often to train as he once had, but that doesn’t mean he’s let himself go. He’s sleeping better, far more comfortable, distractions in the form of adopted twins and Kamaria being home soothing away the bite that is Haai’s void.
The Court of Stars is new to him, though, and it’s the place he heads when he finds out that’s where Maeve would be. He passes by the fountain in the center, slipping inside, chatting with whomever is there to greet him to get him to Maeve’s door. A quick little she’ll be a second, snicking the door shut behind him. And it leaves him in a room of mostly silence, steel gaze peering around the room as he shrugs out of a rather long and soaked raincoat. He steps toward the desk then, picking up something to inspect it out of curiosity while he waits.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
When she's collected from the small library in one of the many rooms in the Court, there is a moment of surprise, brows knitting together when she's told who is waiting for her. It isn't necessarily that it's Sunjata, but more of the fact that she's not sure what he could be looking for her for. Their paths didn't cross often anymore. Not in the same way as before. Still, she doesn't keep him waiting long.
The room he's waiting in is her office. There is a fire crackling in the hearth, washing the room in warmth and chasing away the chill from the rain that hangs in the air. Her desk, while clean, hosts a few personal items. Pictures of Edmund and herself, a vase of flowers, and other various items that simply fit Maeve. She pushes into the room, a small smile curling on her lips at the sight of him despite it all, letting the door close behind her with a quiet click.
"Jata, this is a surprise." The Nightshade murmurs, gliding into the room and instantly moving towards the bar cart in the corner, wasting no time in pouring him something to drink and making a tea for herself. With practiced ease, Maeve presses the drink into his hand at the same time she pulls him in for a quick and chaste hug, drawing back to settle on the couch that's arranged across from two plush arm chairs. "What brings you here?"
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
The receptionist, he supposes, is correct in saying he’s not waiting long. Because no sooner than he has a chance to shed his jacket and lift the item off the desk to inspect it, does she step in and closes the door with a soft click. He straightens up and sets the item down, offering her a nod of greeting and most notably, agreement. His hair is longer now, curling in wet waves along his neck and shoulders, pushed back from his face so that it doesn’t drip all across him. “I’m sure.” He murmurs, briefly, before she’s passing a drink into his hands and he offers her a small smile of thanks.
The hug is short but he gives it to her without a fight, stepping over to the armrest across from the couch she settles in. “It’s about Edmund, actually.” He offers her, taking a sip, before his steel gaze lifts to her face as the alcohol burns down his scarred throat. He pauses, fingers twitching against the arm of the couch as he figures out the best way to say it.
“He’s grown quite a bit. I sort of… Chaperoned him in Apopo a little while ago.” He’d been around to watch the kid at least, make sure that he wasn’t going to get eaten out there. But the truth of what he’d found was far more vital, and Maeve needed to know before a fatal mistake was made.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
He doesn't deny her the hug. He doesn't deny her anything and for a moment it's easy. Like it was before. Of course, she doesn't know what Locke told him. She doesn't know that her secret is out. Probably for the best. He knows and her feelings don't linger there any longer, but thankfully it isn't about that. Instead he mentions her son and any ease that was in her body suddenly dissipates. Brows knit together, fingers tightening on her tea cup as she straightens, setting the cup onto the table in a jerky movement.
"Edmund?" She breathes, confusion apparent in her voice and then a soft sound of understanding accompanies her next exhale as she shakes her head, curls bouncing slightly with the movement. "He's too curious for his own good. You know, he doesn't even sneak off really. He always leaves a note." It's a small detail, but she shares it easily with a huff of a laugh, fingers curling in the skirt of her dress as she braces her hands against her knees.
As for growing, she nods again, "That was Frey's doing. We were at the Rainbow Road and he wandered too close to the shrine. I suppose they thought it would be best for him to be as he is now." Maeve's lips twitch into a smile smile at the memory. He'd been so concerned about scaring her and even now he had the same concern whenever he wandered off on his little adventures.
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
“Edmund.” Sunjata confirms softly, head tilting slightly avianlike as he figures out the words to say that hopefully won’t inspire too much fear – but instead, it backfires, and he knows her well enough to know when she’s trying to brush something off. The fidgeting of her fingers in her skirts, most notably. But his gaze doesn’t linger there too long, instead nodding along, stretching out his long legs in the space in front of him from the chair as he leans back. “He mentioned he left a note. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to get up to too much trouble.” He offers with a somewhat playful smile, something easier, something to hopefully loosen the fear in her chest.
After all, Edmund’s father was Locke and if Sunjata’d heard anything about the man that he hadn’t witnessed for himself, it was certainly trouble. But that’s beside the point.
“I’m glad it wasn’t too strange of an occurrence then.” He’d heard from Ronin that something similar had occurred with the twins from Remi and Hotaru, a note that still spoke rather sour in his gut, but he brushes past it, setting his own glass down on a table beside him before he lens forward and braces his arms on his elbows, his earrings glinting in the light with the movement. “I wanted to tell you that I found out he’s Abandoned. And… I’m concerned of whether you had plans to take him to Stormbreak.” Because obviously she couldn’t now. And it was better to find out now rather than later.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
11-25-2021, 04:03 AM (This post was last modified: 11-25-2021, 04:04 AM by Maeve.)
Maeve
Of course there isn't any hiding from him. They don't share an Attuned bond. They aren't connected like that, but they don't need to be. They've seen each other fall apart to know the tells at this point. The way her fingers tighten in the skirt of her dress a dead give away for the anxiety that tightens suddenly in her chest, making it hard to breathe even as she tries in vain to push trough, waiting for the next part. Of course, it isn't all that bad. He mentions his little adventure with her son and the fact that he was keeping an eye on him. Keeping him safe. A breath pushes past her lips and a smile twitches at the corners, settling their despite herself as she lets her mind fill with thoughts of her son. "I appreciate it. I worry when he goes off by himself."
Edmund didn't typically get up to trouble. At least not the kind of trouble that Locke did. No, he was more of the curious and playfully mischievous type. Though he often wanted to do what was best, longing to please his mother more than anything, but Maeve loved all of him. Even the side that was bound to get him in trouble.
"No, it isn't. Though I do wish he'd at least take Aidon with him when he sneaks off. I suppose he thinks I'll say no if he has to ask." She sighs, trying to loosen her fingers in her skirt, forcing herself to relax into the cushions of the couch. There is an unmistakable tightness to her shoulders and a slight pinch between her brows as he presses on. What he says next gives her pause, jade eyes blinking a few times as dark brows knit together, instantly snapping her gaze to his. "Oh."
It's all she manages at first. A quiet little thing that's barely heard above the crackling of the fire. "I- I had my suspicions. He asked about them early on... He had concerns." About how the gods felt about them. What it meant to be one. Maeve draws in a shaky breath, "I'd been careful about it... After Seren spoke to me about what happened to mothers who were found to be pregnant with an Abandoned... About what happened to the children... Well, I've been wary to risk taking him there."
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
He nods to her appreciation – he hopes she’d do the same for his own children if they were to take a random adventure and she were to stumble upon them – but that’s not entirely what he’s here for. He manages to get it off his chest, watching as she takes the information, the twitch of a frown crossing his face at the thought of Aidon accompanying Edmund (how he misses how Haai used to do the very same for Seren and Kamaria), but that’s where Pemota comes in at the very least.
The rest, though, she blinks at him and her brows pinch together and the frown does cross along his face, tugging at the jagged scar his father had left him with. He’s silent while she picks her words, leaning back only when she begins to digest the information, but only just so that he can grab the glass to take another sip of the liquor, to let it burn in his stomach as he begins to roll the glass between his hands. “I’ve heard rumors but nothing concrete.” He murmurs with a small shrug of one scarred shoulder. “I figured it would be better safe than the latter.”
As for the fact the child was Abandoned, he brings up that topic again once more. “He was concerned about it. Worried that Safrin would be upset with you if he were Abandoned. I assured him it wasn’t the case.” And with that, subconsciously, he reaches up with a free hand to rub at the constellation tattoo on his chest. “But he wanted to test it, so we did. He held the flame from my lighter in his hands.” And it didn’t hurt him one bit. “He said he could feel Apopo.” His gaze drifts past her, toward a window that faces the volcano that had erupted only a few years prior, before his head tilts and the steel gaze is softer when it meets her face again.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
If it were to ever come up, Maeve would absolutely do the same for his children. In a way, she already has thanks to her quest for Safrin. Not that he's aware of what she's done.
Maeve lets her breath out in a rough exhale, smoothing her hands down her thighs, "Seren confirmed it with Safrin. The things that happen. She heard about what they did from Gideon and spoke with her afterwards." It was one of the few things she knew to be fact. The things that happened in Stormbreak weren't exactly secret, but the information about what happened to babies and children weren't widely known by all. "Thank you for telling me, though."
Given the fact that he'd been worried about Safrin being disappointed or upset with her makes her think that he would have likely kept the secret from her out of fear of what could happen. It makes her heart hurt, tightening painfully in her chest, threatening to stop beating altogether at the thought of her sweet boy being so concerned of what him being an Abandoned would mean for her. "Of course he was..." She murmurs quietly, shaking her head as she pushes her fingers through her hair, "He met Safrin before he aged. I imagine she knew then what he was then."
Fire. It made sense. How close he was with Aidon. How interested he was in the ability Aidon possesses. Maeve meets his eyes once more, a quiet breath pushing past her lips as her shoulders relax slightly. "Feel it?"
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
He isn’t aware of it – though it doesn’t stop him from listening when she explains what Seren had found out, such a fact that has his frown deepening slightly, pulling on that scar more as he shakes his head and huffs a quiet sigh, reaching up with a freehand as he leans back in his chair to run a hand through his dark hair again. “At least in Korofi we shipped them off somewhere else rather than outright kill them.” He mutters, head tilting back to stare at the ceiling as he tries to brush past that part, though it does figuratively and literally ruffle his feathers, the sprinkle of blue sprinkling across his shoulders and partially up his throat.
It was one of the worst parts of being an Enforcer back then, the taking children away that were perfectly healthy and happy to remain with their families – the only crime being that they were a duplicate of a sort. But rather than Stormbreak’s ideals, the Korofian’s often sent them to the neighboring country, into orphanages and away from the shores of the flooded city.
“I wanted to make sure you knew so he’d stay safe.” Sunjata casually shrugs, head lowering from the ceiling to meet her face, watching the way her shoulders begin to relax. “She probably already did know, yes.” He doesn’t put it past his goddess. In fact, he doesn’t put much past her anymore, though there’s a bigger part of him that still strays from seeing her.
Likely out of anxiety, worry, and fear.
Sunjata nods at the mention of Apopo, setting the glass down to try and gesture with his hands. “I can only assume he meant the channels of magma beneath it. It’s still got a lot of power in it despite it’s eruption a few years ago.” Sunjata stills just enough to make sure she’s still following. After all, he’d been a part of the crew that helped rescue Torchline from its blazing path – he and Nate taking on the form of his orca shift to push barges out to sea in case the lava reached that far.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
The comment doesn't go unnoticed. Maeve's lips turn down at the corners, a frown marring her pretty features as she makes a quiet noise in the back of her throat, shaking her head at his words. "Better than outright death..." She doesn't know the specifics of how Stormbreak handles the women. If they have to terminate the pregnancy once they find out or if the children turn into stone as soon as they take their first breath. Maeve leans forward to take up her tea, sipping from it deeply and wishing that it had something stronger mixed in, but the moment passes and she tries to let her unease go with it.
"Thank you. There were plans for him to potentially have a playdate with Everest and Mateo. I'll be sure it happens outside of Stormbreak." Easily enough done. There were plenty of other places outside of the city and Maeve wouldn't feel badly about keeping him from the stone city if it meant keeping him safe. "He was smitten with her. Still is. He's calling her Lady Safrin and is already thinking of what gift to bring her when we turn in the regional quest." Maeve can't help the small smile that curls on her lips at this, taking another sip of her tea. She hopes that the goddess is as warm and welcoming to her son as she has been to her.
A hum pushes past her lips and her head dips in a nod, "Ah, that makes sense. He has always been curious about Aidon's fire. Wondering about its strength and what it can do... I imagine it's because he felt connected to it too." He was an incredibly passionate little thing. Concerned about her wellbeing and safely, quick to jump to her defense, and it all makes sense now with how volatile that element is.
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
It sounds like the same kind of paranoia his father had, and perhaps that’s the reason Sunjata isn’t a fan of Stormbreak — it reminds him an uncomfortable amount of being back home, trapped within the white walls of the Arbiter’s house, with nothing to call his own. The moment passes at least, and Sunjata’s left to leave it in the past, to think about it later.
“Good idea.” He agrees with the playdate statement, before his head bobs another quiet understanding of Edmund and Safrin. “I assured him that there were many Abandoned that had relationships with the gods. Just because they’re slow to trust one doesn’t mean they won’t.” He hums, offering out the information in case it helped.
He nods once more with the idea of the child being so attached to Aidon, before he downs the rest of his glass and stands to fill it from the cart a knuckle more, standing at the edge of the couch and the armchair he’d previously sat in. “It’s a similar feeling when you’re Attuned. It’s an instinct more than it is anything else.” Just as his shifts had infiltrated his mind, toying him from predator to prey on any given day. He reaches up to run his hand along his blue feathers that cover the scars to his neck before the feathers disappear and he’s left as is, a smidge closer to the fire so that he can dry off quicker.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
She knew that to be true of their goddess. Safrin, while careful of the Abandoned she allowed to bask in her light, wasn't unwilling to accept them. She'd done so with Aurelia and Jack. Why not her son? Maeve shifts in her seat, crossing her legs now that the tightness in her chest has finally eased, brows drawing together in thought. "I told him as much, too. I think he worries about making things harder for me..." Not that he ever could. There was nothing wrong with what he was. It was simply who he was. Maeve didn't love him any less. She never could.
Jade eyes track him as he moves, head tilting back a fraction to watch him when he finds home against the edge of the arm now, a soft hum of understanding pushing past her lips. "Did you know how to control your shifting? When you first discovered it?" Concerns for her son's safety and ability to control his emotions flares to life in the pit of her stomach, urging her to consider what this might mean now for his own wellbeing if he's unable.
angel loves to keep me spinning, much too high to see that all these chains have started thinning & hell is breaking free
Such are the ways of children, he supposes, recalling a similar sentiment from his daughter – one that has his jaw working slightly as he reflects on it before passing by it with a sip from the newly refilled drink he’d poured. He’s paused by the arm of the couch she sits in, her question causing him to nod, but it’s hard to explain to someone Accepted. After all, he was Accepted before he’d been Attuned.
So he moves again, setting the glass down on a table and moves to sit beside her, facing her, so that he might be able to explain it with a bit more understanding. “I did, but only because when Safrin attuned me, she shifted me too.” He taps the constellation tattoo on his chest, peeking out from the half buttoned shirt he wears. “After that it’s like… Having a well within me. An extra part that has all my shifts that my brain has sort of redirected into my instinct.” Hence is why he shifted so suddenly, so quickly, when danger or threats lurked around. “It’s different for Abandoned, I imagine. Given that they’re born that way. Did I tell you about Lusea?” He asks, gaze lifting to Maeve’s face, unable to remember if he spoke of the flame to his flood, his soulmate before Nate. “When she was revived and brought her, she was abandoned. We both didn’t know, I just assumed she was Accepted like I was until she…” His head tilts this way and that and he huffs a small sound that’s a mix of amusement and hint of regret.
“Well, I cheated on her and she reacted off her instinct and we found out she had magic.” His broad shoulders shrug and his hands rest in his lap again when he’s done explaining. “Edmund, at least, we tested it so he should be able to know what’s causing it and how to make it safer for him to react. He can’t summon it yet, but he can mess with it if it’s around.” That’s the gist of Sunjata’s understanding when he’d pulled out the flame from his lighter. Unable to create it from nothing, but if the source was already there… It made sense.
every choice, every lie, demons that he kept inside angel now that i've stopped spinning, could you come clean?
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.
Her head tilts back, looking up at him with confusion and concern in her eyes, longing to understand what it possibly felt like. She knew she never could. She was only an Accepted. There was nothing stirring inside her. No hidden shifts or magic or abilities beyond what she was capable of herself. For a moment Maeve wonders if that's truly enough. If Safrin can use her this way, but she pushes the thought aside in favor of listening to Sunjata's words so she might understand.
Dark brows draw together, forming a faint wrinkle between them as she looks at him, lips pursed in thought. Her head dips into another nod, thumb worrying at the lip of her teacup, "That makes sense, I suppose. It's simply a part of you now, but had you never shifted before with her help it might have taken longer to figure out?" She questions, wondering if that might have been how Edmund felt. Unaware of the magic he held, the abilities that he was capable of, but knowing something was stirring inside of him. "Only in passing. Nothing more than that."
The way that she found out of her magic isn't entirely surprising. From all she knew of the Flood, he was prone to straying up until recently. Indulging in those baser desires. Not that she blamed him for it. Not really. She was such a creature as well. Maeve dips her head again, lips twitching at the corners as a soft sound of understanding pushes past her lips in a hum, vibrating through her chest. "Did he seem... happy? After the initial concern passed?"
