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!
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
There was no going back to sleep for Remi; not with Ronin pulled out into a starless night by Safrin. Having shrugged into a shirt, the Lullaby over-poured two glasses of whiskey and set about brewing some tea. He thought that given the abruptness of everything it would be the whiskey that was needed once Ronin returned, but he prepared the tea just in case. Besides, there was little else for him to do to stave off his restlessness while he waited.
Having paced around the houseboat, opened the door to glare up into the darkened sky and try to tease out a reason for it that wouldn't somehow impact his life or his marriage, Remi eventually resigned himself to the laborious process of just waiting. When Ronin returns, he'll find his husband seated at their small table, practicing his writing. There isn't as much spilled ink this time around, but Remi's expression is no less frustrated for it.
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
The phoenix feathers are just sinking back into Ronin's skin when he opens the door to the houseboat, replacing leather with the open shirt and sweatpants he'd dragged on to go and heed Safrin's call. And when he does see his husband, sweet and frustrated and so wonderfully Remi, Ronin can't help but smile, and all the tension he's been carrying seems to flood out of him at the same time. "I love you," he whispers, almost helpless to stop the words spilling from his lips.
Crossing to kneel himself down by the Lullaby's seat, Ronin has no qualms with interrupting Remi's writing practice by stealing his hand to press kisses to his fingers, to the back of his palm, to the inside of his wrist. "Sunjata has chosen to become a demigod," he mumbles against Remi's skin, eventually pressing his cheek into the other man's touch. "For Frey. You can imagine how that has affected Safrin."
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
Rising the second the door opens—now the ink does spill—Remi immediately looks Ronin from head to toe, checking for obvious signs of injury or strain. Seeing none, and hearing I love yous has the alchemist thoroughly confused, and not quite relieved. "I love you." He counters and the sweet smile spreading across Remi's face is halted as Ronin nears, and then drops to a knee.
Sitting heavily down in his chair and regarding his husband curiously, the Lullaby wonders what sort of build-up this affection is meant to be. "Ronin—" Interrupted, Remi's jaw properly drops to hear the news.
"You..have to be kidding." Very much knowing Ronin isn't, not based on the colourful swirl of dark anger and righteousness flowing out from the Huntsman's skin, Remi gives his head a single shake as he exhales. "Come," Curling his wounded hand around Ronin's cheek best as he's able and nodding toward the chair, Remi parts if only to retrieve the cups of whiskey. 'Why?' He wonders, setting down the cups heavily but not taking his eyes off of Ronin.
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Humming a note of affection and gratitude, Ronin leans into the offered touch and rises to his feet so he can sit in the other chair, scooting it closer that he might sit with Remi properly. He busies himself mopping up the ink while his husband fetches whiskey, clinking his glass with his own half-heartedly and taking a slow, savouring sip of the alcohol.
"I only caught a bit of it," he admits. "Sex and cowardice, Safrin was saying. And... hiding from the war. So I assume Frey has offered to keep Sunjata and Nate safe from the fighting, and will find a way for them to be together outside of that room in the Grounds." Shaking his head, Ronin exhales a long sigh and runs a finger around the rim of his glass.
"He has no idea what he has done," he growls softly.
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
Grumbling a sound of thanks as he notices the remnants of the spilled ink, Remi tries to shake himself out of his preconceived ideas of what Ronin's return was going to be like. I have another child, or Safrin wants me to live in a palace in the clouds having been chief among his concerns.
Knitting his eyebrows together in an effort to understand, Remi finds himself utterly incapable. "Making a deal with Safrin for those things, I could understand...but making an enemy of her?" As someone who Safrin had an active dislike for, Remi could attest to just what a menace the goddess could be on a good day to those who had fallen out of her favour.
Unable to hide the thrill of pleasure that runs through him, Remi's jealousy and bitterness over Ronin and Sunjata's friendship never having quite died out, he takes a healthy sip of his own drink before setting it down. Reaching out to place a hand on Ronin's knee, the alchemist thinks carefully about what he's going to say, before the words leave his lips. "Do you remember how weak we all are, when we are first made into demigods?" Remi's gentle tone reveals nothing of his motives in so saying; is it a warning? Or a suggestion?
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Warning or suggestion, the hand on Ronin's knee has never felt so good either way, and he moves to cover it with his own as he sighs out the last of the visible tension in his shoulders. As Remi will be able to attest through his feelings, though, it is nowhere near gone. "I remember," he mutters, narrowing his eyes into his whiskey glass. "She offered to let me go," he says suddenly, glancing up at his husband.
"To walk away from her, to just... live as a mortal. After Sunjata and Deimos turned their backs on her, she just... offered it." He shakes his head. "And I hope you can understand why I said no." His smile is sad, and he gives Remi's hand a gentle squeeze. "I need to go and see Sunjata at King's End, and soon. Do you..." He scowls, then he tries again. "Do you want to get Nate's fluid before I speak with him about this? I can hold my temper in check for that long, for you."
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
If Ronin had ever looked more handsome than he was just now, brooding down into his glass of whiskey, Remi couldn't remember it. Well-timed then, the Huntsman's admission is blunted somewhat but the Alchemist's infatuation with his husband. "She—" Swallowing the whiskey he'd been savouring on his tongue, Remi puts his glass down—hard. No, I can't fucking understand it, he wants to shout, having to pull his hand away from beneath Ronin's lest the Huntsman feels the brunt of his emotions.
Remi would give up all that Ludo had made him into in a second. He's take normalcy and having to grunt and strain to do chores. He'd take the ability to die.
"No, Ronin, I can't." The Lullaby says after a moment, raking his fingers through his hair. Strangely he doesn't seem as angry as one might expect. Instead, this merely feels to him like another cruel twist of fate, because while he doesn't understand, he also isn't surprised by Ronin's decision. Replacing his fingers beneath Ronin's, the Huntsman will feel a deep well of resignation.
Chuckling without any amusement, Remi raises his eyes and fixes them on his husband, still finding him to be just as impossibly attractive. "Nate either will or won't accept what I have offered. That is nothing to do with you and Sunjata, hopefully."
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
The hand pulling away from his own is worse than a slap across the face. Eyes widening a fraction, Ronin glances across to Remi with questions on his tongue, only for the Lullaby to complete his trial and judgement in privacy and silence. And as the fingers try to work beneath his own once more, it's Ronin's turn to pull away. "We don't live in a vacuum," he mutters, though quite why he's trying to explain himself when he's already been found wanting is beyond him.
Humming a note of acknowledgement regarding Nate and Sunjata, Ronin finds he doesn't really care whether or not Nate thinks the situations are separate. As Remi has so often pointed out, the asking is a formality. If necessary, blood can be taken. And he's not sure there's a friendship at stake in it all any more, so that makes it all the easier to decide.
"I have been asked to visit Torchline, after I speak with Sunjata. Maeve knows I'm coming - you're welcome to join me."
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
"And what is that supposed to mean?" And not just because vacuums aren't something he knows about Remi wonders, and now it's his turn to stiffly acknowledge his husband's silence.
Swallowing, Remi notes that his glass is empty, and rises to grab the bottle from the counter. Sitting back down he fills his own, raising a brow in Ronin's direction to see if he'd like more as well. Just now his husband's mind seemed to be the sort of thing he very much didn't understand.
'Asked by..Safrin.' Remi clarifies, flaring his nostrils before taking a healthy sip of his glass. Instead of placing it down on the table, he revolves it in his good hand. "Why are you going?" There wasn't much in Torchline for him, and if this was a Safrin-purposed expedition, perhaps it best he remain at home.
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"It means that it's not as easy as oh, being mortal would be much easier thank you Safrin, I'll just do that," Ronin mutters half under his breath, tipping his glass towards Remi for more whiskey. "War is coming, we have people to protect. And you've said to me yourself that you worry about keeping control, and I couldn't stop you now if I wanted to, let alone as a mortal. And whether you like it or not, Safrin has done plenty for me to deserve a little loyalty." Selfishness plays a part in it, certainly, but it's far from the only reason.
"And that would have probably come out a lot less asshole-ish if you'd asked me about it just a second ago. Sorry." Running a hand across his face, Ronin waits for his glass to be topped up before taking another stinging drink. "Yes, asked by Safrin." Just as Remi is asked by Ludo to disappear during family dinners or in the middle of the night, the Huntsman is called too.
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
Narrowing his eyes and filling his husband's glass, Remi shoots his husband an unfairly wounded look. "I never said it was." He replies curtly. "But for all the justifications practically jumping off your tongue, if nothing happens in a vacuum as you say, you might at least have considered how it might make me feel." Enough to perhaps do more than sigh out his decision. But then Ronin comes to that conclusion all on his own, leaving Remi just to shrug his shoulders and pour his husband as many refills as he needs.
"I would have done it." He murmurs, gazing into his dark glass. He doesn't say were situations reversed, because of course Remi's relationship with Ludo was nothing at all like Ronin's with Safrin. "I would give up almost anything to not be in this position anymore." Now it's Remi's turn to rub a hand up his cheek, before settling it back in his lap.
"I meant what is it you're supposed to do in Torchline. With their starlit canals and barriers and Maeve's building dedicated to the Stars, I would have thought Safrin pleased with Torchline."
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"How it might make you feel if I were to show up here mortal, with a target on my back painted there by a goddess?" Ronin's eyes widen and he whistles out his next breath, shaking his head at his whiskey. "You might say I did think about that. No deal with Safrin comes without strings. I've been around long enough to know that. For all I know, accepting her offer would have put me back up in the stars. Because that's who I was as a mortal."
He only realises he's bitten his cheek when he tastes blood, Ronin pressing his eyes shut and reaching out automatically to rest a hand against Remi's knee. "I know you would," he whispers through red lips. "I know, and I'm sorry. I came home looking for blind understanding and I... I know it's not as easy as that. Gods."
Nodding blindly as he realises he's misheard his husband, Ronin wrinkles his nose a bit. "They also still use portals and allow Ascended to live and mingle there freely. Safrin wants confirmation that they won't turn their backs quite as quickly or easily as Sunjata did."
How do I learn my dreams to mold To lay them bare in the morning cold?
"How it might make me feel to know that you said yes." Remi says with a shake of his head. Wondering if it was the whiskey or the late hour that was making this so much more difficult than it needed to be, before deciding that no, it was simply the complexity of their life. "Sorry. I do not mean to make this about me."
With a small laugh, Remi covers Ronin's hand with his own, no matter the feelings that might be passed between them. "I am not sure we can ever given one another blind understanding, but...blind support?" The corners of the alchemist's lips twitch, causing dimples to appear beneath his overgrown scruff. "That I am working on."
Raising his eyebrows, perhaps understanding what this would entail better than most given his history as a leader and a demigod, Remi exhales with a wooosh. "I...do not envy you that. No doubt Maeve will think she has it all well in hand, but...she's never crossed Safrin before, has she?" Wincing slightly, Remi gives his glass a contemplative stare. "No portals and no ascended...that...is a higher bar than they've been asked to meet." He notes. A bar set just for demigods as far as he knew, and even then, to say Remi was merely fraterinizing with the ascended would have been an understatement. "I can't see her taking you seriously."
If they're still out there then the chasm grows For all you know, for all you've known
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"It's about both of us. And it's been a long, long night," Ronin says with a soft smile, lifting his gaze at last as he feels Remi's hand cover his own. Scooting his chair closer, he shifts to let his head rest against the other man's shoulder, turning his face to kiss the side of his neck. "Blind support? You got it. Even if it's dipping sandwiches in your wine, or tickling my feet with tentacles," he says, vowing it with all the seriousness of a promise to a goddess.
With a furrowed brow, he shakes his head no - he doesn't think Maeve has ever crossed Safrin, not in the same ways he and Remi have. "I will make her take me seriously," he says, sounding as sad as he does determined. "If I have to be harsh on people to protect them from something worse, so be it." A demigod's ire is better than a god's, right?
"There is one more thing - she asked if I would say her name before I fall asleep each night. I'm considering it a nightly prayer to her, so if I step outside before we go to bed, that's why." He knows Remi won't like it, but Ronin won't lie about it.
