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!
"I never thought I would miss having a shadow." Remi complains companionably, flashing a smile at Ronin as he fails to shade his eyes with one of his hands. Being anywhere near the desert in the middle of LongHeat was laughable at best and a death sentence at worst, but unless the sun came crashing out of the sky or Ronin decided to commit murder, neither man would die from the heat. Still, that didn't stop the sweat pouring from Remi's hairline or the way that he wished he could peel off his skin the way he'd peeled his shirt off hours before. What made it worse was that the sun had very nearly set and still the heat persisted.
"I can understand Ludo finding it amusing to have a shrine so far away from anything, but Mort?" Clicking his tongue, the alchemist shakes his head slightly which causes a bead of sweat to drip down his nose.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin's feet are dragging and his shirt is also missing, tucked into the back of his pants (and catching all the sweat dripping down his back, ew). "Well, they do say that this place didn't used to be a desert like this, right?" he pants, and with an effort that causes the world to swim briefly before him, he conjures his projection to reach over and shield Remi's eyes as they walk. "Maybe this is an older shrine. Or maybe Mort put it out here as an apology for all the things that died."
Given the number of dead plants they've passed along the way, it would make sense, in fact. Still, this doesn't make the trip any more enjoyable. "I brought some chalk as an offering. I was going to sketch out a game of hopscotch for us to play. But do you think a vial of sweat will work instead?"
01-25-2022, 05:21 PM (This post was last modified: 01-25-2022, 05:27 PM by Remi.)
he said "i bet you don't remember me"
'Oh, that's right. Something about...was it Rae who tried to do something? and it turned into this?' Frowning, the heat making it hard to think, Remi has to laugh despite himself as astral!Ronin shades his eyes for him. 'Mmmm, that is a good point, actually.' He murmurs of Mort's apology. It seemed a very Mort thing to do.
Glancing over at Ronon (the real one), the Lullaby playfully narrows his eyes. "Going to sketch it on the sand? Or on the already very-white bones?" He wonders with a laugh, though knowing Ronin the Huntsman likely had something more clever in mind. "I doubt if sweat would do for Ludo, but I think Mort would appreciate the effort. I thought maybe we could just...watch the stars come out." Remi says with what would feel like a violet-pulse of bashfulness as he reaches for one of Ronin's hands. After all Mort had inspired in him, and the ways in which Remi had both been better and worse lately, the demigod thought that being intentionally present and in the moment might be something both god and herald might accept as a worthy offering.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Yeah, an experiment or something?" Ronin says, squinting across the (aforementioned) very white sand that seems to glow as the world grows darker. "Mmm? Well, I was hoping there might be some stone available around the shrine," he admits, his cheeks flushing a bit at the realisation that it probably wouldn't be the case. "I suppose I could always blast the sand into glass and draw on that?"
Sweat is always a good back-up plan though, and Remi will find his husband's hand clammy with it as he reaches out. Watching the stars - and being able to sit and rest, above all - sounds exquisite, and he offers the Lullaby a sweet smile for his trouble. "That sounds amazing. If only we'd brought a picnic," he murmurs, raising their hands so he can kiss the other man's knuckles.
"Maybe that is what's going on with these plants. Another of Rae's experiments." Wincing, if only because his fingers are sure to be moist and salty, Remi gives his husband's hand an affectionate squeeze before pulling away with a laugh. "Maybe one of those shimmers ahead will turn into an oasis and we can go for a swim." He hums thoughtfully.
The shrine, no more than a totem of bones really, looms ahead of them. Various creatures have been combined to create the structure, and it takes Remi a moment to decide whether or not he finds it gruesome or alluring. (It's both; of course it's both). A few scorpions raise their pinchers menacingly as the two men approach but quickly scurry away once their primitive minds register the predators before them.
Kneeling, Remi begins to dig in the sand, heaving away the top layer to reveal the cooler and darker grains below.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Dismissing his projection as the shrine comes into view, Ronin grumbles a note of longing at the idea of an oasis, and he smiles to his husband. "Wouldn't that be something. We ought to go to the Climb soon, so we can go to the hotsprings." Not that he thinks the hotsprings are a great idea right now, but once they're out of the desert? He can't think of anything he'd like more than to lounge around with Remi.
But for now there's a totem pole of bones to contend with, and while Remi might consider it alluring and gruesome, Ronin wrinkles his nose. "Are you digging for that oasis?" he asks playfully, knowing the Lullaby probably has a good reason for his digging. Leaving him to it, the Huntsman directs a few starbolts at the sand nearby, blasting it into shining glass. "Perhaps we should ask at a Rae shrine, about the plants," he suggests as he fishes out the chalk.
Right now the thought of jumping into hot water has unhappy feathers rippling down Remi's spine, but he knows what Ronin means. "That is exactly what I am doing. Care to help?" Without looking up Remi's grin is directed at the sand he's darkening with his sweat, but he's sure Ronin can hear it in his voice. He's about a foot down before the sand is properly cool, but, as he knew it would be, it is cool.
"Mmm?" Blinking at the sudden brightness, Remi just grumbles and shakes his head. "You can if you like. I am planning on staying away from anything and everything to do with Frey, and that includes Rae."
Having dug them a place to lay (did it look like a grave, given all the bones and the totem of death it was in the wake of? Why yes, yes it did), Remi reclines against the cool sand with a sigh. "Do you really think you can beat me at hopscotch?" The alchemist wonders, peering at the shiny glass with a smirk. Ronin has recently proved to be the more dexterous of them, but Remi thought he could still give him a run for his money.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"I will, just give me a sec," Ronin says. Of course by the time he's sketched out his hopscotch grid their grave resting place (oh, so still grave) will already be completed, but they each have their own merits, he thinks. "Oh, I can't imagine why you would possibly do that," he says with a smirk, stepping back over to the Lullaby and shifting to sprawl out beside him on the cool sand, humming out a sigh of relief.
"I do believe it," he informs him with a crooked grin. "I also believe that you believe I can't. And that's okay, Remi. It's okay to be wrong, sometimes." Rollin onto his side, Ronin leans in for a salty sweet kiss against his husband's lips. "The only problem is I don't know if I can get up now."
'It is okay to be wrong sometimes.' Remi agrees, looking boyish and mischievous. "But I will be sure to remind you of that when I win." He adds, and though the very last thing either of them needs is more heat, Remi tugs at the Huntsman at the same time as he shimmies against him, hoping that Ronin will end up on top of him. Nevermind the sand grinding into his back or the places between them that feel like sandpaper thanks to sweat and sand, here in this shallow grave pit in the shadow of a bone shrine, Remi has no intention of letting his husband get up.
"Tu sei tutto per me." He whispers, pushing back the parts of his mind that compare the salty taste of his husband's kiss to the coppery tang of blood. "E ti batterò assolutamente a hopscotch." Remi adds, locking his legs around Ronin's waist to knot the Huntsman in place.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"You'd have to actually win for that to happen," he points out, frowning softly as if he's afraid his husband has accidentally gotten everything all wrong here. Luckily they're both distracted soon enough (or so Ronin thinks), the Huntsman happily positioning himself on top of Remi as he deepens their kiss. It does feel as though they're on fire with their combined heat, but he doesn't mind it - if anything, it just makes the other man more enticing.
"Don't you mention hopscotch in the travelling tongue, that's rude," he whispers against Remi's lips, trying and failing not to smile into their kiss and moving to playfully(?) pin the alchemist's arms above his head. "It's really difficult to watch the stars come out like this," he points out, doing absolutely nothing about it.
'I would, wouldn't I.' Remi repeats with a quiet confidence he didn't really deserve.
'Is it? Sono così dispiaciuto.' Remi says with feigned regret. "I will be sure not to mention hopscotch that way again." Thickening his accent so that even the common tongue sounded more musical than it had any right to, Remi feels a predator stirring in his belly as his arms are pinned above his head. Adoring the balance between allowing himself to be restrained like this and the urge to sink his claws between Ronin's ribs, Remi raises a brow as he gazes up into his husband's eyes.
'Oh?' He whispers disbelievingly as his gaze cascades over the familiar yet fae topography of his husband's face. 'I can see the stars just fine from here.' Whether it was Safrin's influence or if the blue of Ronin's eyes had simply acquired a starry quality in virtue of who he was, Remi wasn't sure, but nor did he care.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"As you should," Ronin croons, thoroughly enjoying the part he gets to play in pinning Remi down. They both know how strong the other man is, and they both know the predators that lurk beneath his skin; the difference, of course, is that now Remi isn't the only one hiding monsters. It means the thrill Ronin gets out of it is much different - more satisfying, somehow.
Raising his eyebrows back down at Remi, their lips lingering a mere breath away, and he lets a smile creep across his face. "Someone is feeling particularly charming tonight," he remarks, the words coming out in a rough purr as he leans in to close the distance between them again. Who gives a fuck about hopscotch and stars, honestly, when he's got his husband stretched beneath him?
"Gods help me if you ever learn the travelling tongue and realize I have just been saying nonsense this entire time." Remi whispers back, rolling his shoulders into the sand as he tenses the muscles of his thighs—all done to gauge just what sort of hold Ronin is planning on keeping him in.
To help keep his focus from growing entirely thin and narrow, Remi reaches into himself with a exhale of effort, causing stars to sparkle out across the sands around him. Glittering and shining like a thousand shards of glass illuminated from a light source a thousand miles away, Remi leans up teasingly to steal a kiss from his husband. Now you won't miss out on the stars. He whispers, before capturing Ronin's lips with his teeth as much as with his tongue.
THE ALCHEMIST
and i said, "only every other memory".
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"I don't think I would even mind at this point, given how it makes me feel," Ronin admits with a breathy chuckle, shifting with Remi as if to impede the other man's attempts to assess his situation. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to escape," he murmurs, having the audacity to seem outraged by this, though the bright smile on his face says otherwise.
He's momentarily blinded as Remi dazzles the sand with stars, though Ronin can't deny the happy flop in his stomach. It's not just the thoughtful gesture, it's the ease with which the Lullaby uses his magic that has him melting further against the other man. They don't hold a candle to you, he purrs through the bond, kissing Remi back with fervour.
They do get to hopscotch, eventually, after a romp on the sand and being ever-so-present in watching the stars come out. But this is still Ronin's favourite part of the night, and he wonders if this is how Vi feels when he's with Mort. Some might say their semi-mortal version of love doesn't hold a candle to deities, but Ronin would beg to disagree.
