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!
Gods but he should have waited until LongHeat was behind them. Even a demigod sweats in the blistering sun, and so it's with the majority of his clothes tugged off that Remi goes about completing his task for Ludo. It makes sense that the herald would need sand for the hourglass he'd requested, and it's probably a small blessing that the sand required was from the pools and not from ground-together skulls, or silt from a graveyard.
Unable to cast a shadow, Remi can't even spread his wings to give himself any reprieve; not that a bit of shade was going to do much against the sweltering midday temperatures, but mentally it might have made a difference. Vowing that as soon as he'd collected enough sand he was going to dive into the pool, it was the thought of chilly waters that motivated the alchemist to complete his task.
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
02-28-2022, 11:37 PM (This post was last modified: 02-28-2022, 11:38 PM by Maeve.)
I would fall from grace just to touch your face
The heat was oppressive. It settled on her skin and in her lungs, making the air thick like soup, cloyingly sweet with blooming flowers that were nearly headache inducing. It's the kind of heat that makes her uneasy. Restless. She can't manage to stay put anymore and thus she finds herself wandering. Despite still not being the best swimmer, the water calls to her, enticing her with the promise of relief from the heat. Aidon soars above her, ever watchful, occasionally sending her flashes of things he sees that he thinks are interesting enough to warrant her attention.
It's distracting enough that she doesn't see Remi at first, but her companion does. The dragon dives towards the demigod without a second guess, trilling excitedly at the sight of him, knowing the connection her bonded shares with the man. Jade eyes snap towards Aidon, preparing to reprimand the dragon, but he snaps out his wings just in time to slow and not tackle Remi into the sand. The Nightshade laughs, jogging towards the Lullaby with a bright smile on her lips, "Long time, no see." She calls out, voice carrying clearly across the open space.
It's a strange thing, to be so perfectly made for killing. As Aidon calls and dives, there is a moment of perfect clarity and stillness that overtakes the alchemist as his body calculates the best way to meet the dragon's dive and to tear its heart from its lungs. Claws prick from the top of Remi's fingers as wings itch from his shoulder blades; his body wants this. It can taste the blood and feel the heat the dying dragon's body would puff out as its throat was ripped clean. None of this happens of course. Instead, it's with clear eyes and a boyish smile that Remi regards the creature, bracing himself should Aidon decide to try and use his chest as a landing pad.
Knowing the voice must be Maeve's for any number of reasons, Remi's smile grows as he glances over his shoulder. Her silhouette is made blurry by the sun and sweat dripping in his eyes, but he'd know her shape anywhere. "You and I in the blistering heat. Who would have thought." He chuckles. "At least there is water here." Remi adds. "I was just about to go for a swim. Care to join?"
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
It would have been easy for him to do, too. Aidon, despite his size, would be nothing more than a ragdoll in his grasp. Yet Remi does noting except brace for impact. An invitation to the eager dragon if there ever was one. Aidon trills, practically pouncing on Remi with the entirety of his weight, nosing at his neck happily like a too excited dog before he pushes off of him to find his way to the ground instead. Seeing the sand disturbed he wastes no time attempting to 'help', digging into it with his claws and gathering a little pile for Remi to scoop from freely.
"We really do find each other in the most interesting situations, don't we?" She quips, laughing as she draws closer, brows rising slightly as she takes in his appearance. "You definitely look like you need to take a dip." Maeve doesn't answer further beyond tugging her loose tank top over her head, leaving her in what essentially serves as a bathing suit, pale skin almost glaringly bright in the sunlight. "Bet I can make a bigger splash than you."
This is highly unlikely in all ways, but it doesn't stop her from goading the Lullaby on, grinning as her skirt follows to join the growing pile of clothing. She turns towards the water, getting a running jump before drawing her knees up to her chest just before she hits the surface, holding onto her nose with her free hand. Maeve sinks into the cool water and was she not holding her breath she would sigh. As she breaks the surface, grinning like a fool, the Nightshade turns back to her friend. "Remi, it feels divine. Get your ass in here."
"Thank you." Remi offers the dragonling as it tries to 'help' as he gathers, before raising a brow in Maeve's direction. "You say that, and yet...." Scrunching his nose in her direction, eyes taking in her lithe and lean frame, he tilts his head disbelieving to the side. Even remaining as he was he could no doubt out-splash her, but then, truth rarely went hand in hand with playful taunts.
Not needing to be told twice nor bothering to strip down even further, Remi abandons his sand gathering and instead jogs the few steps it takes for him to reach the side of the pool. Leaping into the air it's with wings suddenly sprouting from his shoulders that he gives himself a bit of extra lift, before wrapping them around his body so as to hit the water as a smooth ball.
Sighing pleasantly as the water covers him, cools him, and eases away the tension from his muscles and mind, Remi emerges with flattened curls and a boyish grin. 'You have never been more right about anything.' He says on a long sigh, treading water so that all but the tops of his shoulders were covered.
'So? How have you been?'
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Maeve rolls her eyes at him. Look, they both know that she doesn't weigh more than ten poiunds soaking wet, but let her have this. She's just playing, Remi. Geeze. Despite his doubts, it doesn't stop her from running and leaping into the waiting pool, creating a rather sizeable splash given her stature. Not that it stops him from showing off and outdoing her. Maeve laughs as he surfaces, pushing hair back from her face and daring to swim a bit closer to the Lullaby, a grin soundly on her lips. "You're such a show off sometimes." The Nightshade huffs, sending a small splash his way even as he pays her a compliment.
"There are a lot of things I'm right about, love. Haven't you realized?" She hums, managing to find a bit of rock that she can brush with her toes and using it as a small support. Her smile falters for a moment and she doesn't bother to hide it. She never has with Remi. Never felt the need to. "I'm alright. Though, I really do think I need to take a page from your book and swear off the opposite sex."
"Me? Never." Tossing his head back as if the water she sends his way might burn him, the alchemist grins broadly. Content to tread water—especially with his wings helping to increase his buoyancy—Remi extends a hand beneath the surface of the water for Maeve to take should she grow tired of standing on her tiptoes.
"Ah, Ronin will be sorry to hear it." He says with a sly tilt of his head, having not forgotten the flirtatious banter between the Nightshade and Huntsman, even if most of it had come at his expense. "Then things with Locke are...?" Trailing off, his lower lip twitches down as if to frown, before it changes into a boyish smirk instead. "Besides, I am not so sure anyone should take sex or relationship advice from any of the pages in my book."
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
The Nightshade snorts, "Don't try to downplay it." Maeve doesn't hesitate to take his hand, finding the connection more comforting than anything even with the knowledge that he can feel all of the emotions swirling inside her. It's lighter than the last few encounters. Bright spots of happiness, acceptance for her situation, and love all mix in a wash of sunset colors for the Lullaby to enjoy.
Maeve laughs, shaking her head at him as she slips closer to him in the water, "I don't think that Ronin has any real interest in me, love." Though, she wouldn't be upset if he did. How many could say that they had the chance to sleep with both of the demigods? Maeve sighs at his question, wilting like a long forgotten flower in his grasp. "Done. Forever. It was naïve of me to believe it would last. I thought when he came back..." She trails off, thin shoulders lifting in a delicate shrug as her lips purse.
His joking draws her back and a smile curls at her lips. Maeve slips an arm around his neck, using it to balance herself, letting him keep both of them afloat. "You told me some good things before. Everything you said about Locke? All the advice there? I would have been better off listening to you from the start." Perhaps if she had done that, had gotten rid of Nate, kept a tighter hold on Sunjata... Maybe things would have been much different for her. For all of them.
Breathing in a surprised breath—Maeve’s emotions were almost never what he expected them to be—he smiles and draws her closer. Easily able to serve as an anchor to keep her steady, the alchemist lets himself adjust to the bright palette of her feelings. It swirls around him like oil paints flung into still water and then swirled softly with outstretched fingers, and he finds it calming compared to his own riotous emotions.
“Who even knows with Ronin?” Remi counters with a sly laugh, shrugging his shoulders, before the subject turns decidedly less amusing than the thought of the Huntsman and Nightshade together. “I think the last I saw of the two of you was at the festival…and then there had been that house in the Wilds..” Truth be told, Remi had been planning on not so gently asking Locke for the relic he’d found in that house. Now, he supposed he was too late.
Splaying his wings, Remi reaches out a hand that his palm might find her hip to help with her balance. “Ahh, well. You would not be the woman you are today if you had listened to me. And I quite like who you are, so selfishly, I suppose I am glad for all that you have had to go through.”
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
There were few people who knew her as intimately as the Lullaby did. There were few who likely ever would. His smile draws one of her own and she relaxes in his embrace, relief joining the bright swirls of emotion currently coloring his mind, glad that she’s not making it harder for him like this. A huff of breath pushes past her lips, head shaking at his words, ”A fair point. Maybe we should have that dinner party we always talked about and test the waters.” It’s mostly a joke, but should they take her up on it the Nightshade wouldn’t complain.
The mention of Locke ruins the banter as it usually does and while the hurt is short lived as it cuts through her again, bleeding out over their bond as she somehow presses closer to him, clinging like a lifeline as she rides out the pain; it still hurts. Hurts more than she wants. ”A lot happened since then. He came back for a while. Disappeared again after saying he wouldn’t. Left me alone with Edmund. He says he got lost out there, but honestly I’m not so sure anymore.” Right. The house in the woods. The letter from Noah. He never really told her what happened. What he found. ”Noah mentioned he found something there. I didn’t get to ask Locke before he was gone again.”
Fingers splay across her hip, easily gripping onto it, keeping her from drifting away from him. Not that it would be possible with the way her arms are wrapped around his neck. ”You have me there.” Maeve murmurs, the corners of her lips twitching up into a smile as she meets his sea glass gaze. ”I quite like who you are too.”
With an easy laugh, Remi shrugs his shoulders. Given that the last dinner party the pair had attended resulted in Finn throwing a bloody napkin at him and telling him to fuck off, the alchemist was fairly convinced that nothing could happen between the trio that would be worse than that. "Only if you host it. Right now neither the Greatwood nor Stormbreak seem a good place for a dinner party."
Letting his wings spin them in a lazy circle that the sun wouldn't burn Maeve's pale skin for being in the same place for too long, his gaze softens considerably as she explains. There's a restless sort of understanding that lurks deep in Remi's bones and splotches the otherwise sunny colours of his emotions. "He never did deserve you. And you deserved a better fate than falling in love with someone like that." He says softly. "But we never can help who we love." Remi adds, finding Maeve's gaze and offering her an apologetic half-smile.
"Well I should think that puts us in fairly good company." He says with a laugh, feeling the warm weightlessness of Maeve's body against his and finding he didn't mind it the way he normally might have. Then again, for Remi a fingertip or a thigh brought the same amount of intimacy given who and what he was, so perhaps that wasn't so surprising given all he and Maeve had been through.
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
No, nothing could happen. At least not in Maeve's mind. The three of them fit well together. Very well. Even if nothing came of it, they would at least have a good time forgetting about the world for an evening. Her nose wrinkles at the mention of Stormbreaks, "Gods, no. It's way too dreary there. I'll host you both here." She agrees with ease, already turning over in her head what activities they could get up to aside from eating. Forgive her, Remi, it's been a while.
Sighing in appreciation as he rotates them, Maeve lets herself fracture in his arms, knowing she was safe to do so. That was the thing about Remi she appreciated most. He always held her together in moments like this. Though, she was growing tired of crying over a man who truly didn't deserve her the way she gave herself to him. She brings a hand up to his cheek, cupping it gently, seeing a truth in his eyes and knowing that he spoke from experience. "No, I suppose we can't." The Nightshade murmurs, brushing a thumb across his stubble as her lips match his.
"Wonderful company. I don't care what people say about you being so unapproachable, I think you're a delight." Her nose wrinkles playfully, a mischievous sparkle in the jade of her eyes as she throws out the lighthearted jest. There was a connection that simply bonded them together in a way that would likely make little sense to others. Maeve wouldn't ever be able to explain it, but she didn't need to because Remi knew. He knew everything and that meant she could simply exist without worry.
"If you get desperate enough you could always ask Frey to remove those feelings. You would keep the memories of it all, but the hurt...the love could be gone." It had happened to him years ago and though he wouldn't ever repeat the process, with all that Maeve had on her plate with Torchline and her son, she might not have the time or energy to pick up all the broken pieces Locke had left behind. 'What an idiot.' He says of the man, giving his head a shake until it's stilled by the Nightshade's fingers on his cheek.
"Well that puts you in a very small minority." Remi replies, his cheek dimpling beneath her palm. "If we are going to have this dinner though, I would advise not having it next season. Ronin's luxere shift tends to ...drastically influence his mood during Leafchange."
remi
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Her brows lift at the suggestion, "They can do that? I didn't realize." Maeve murmurs, considering the possibility now that she's aware of it. To have all of that gone would be a relief. She has a child to raise, a region to run, and a war to prepare for. Falling apart because of a broken heart wasn't an option. "What's it like..? Does it hurt?" It couldn't hurt more than this and she knows Remi won't lie to her about it. He wouldn't have told her if he didn't think it would help.
"Small minority or not, I consider myself lucky to have you in my life." And she does. Truly. Her smile is bright, nose wrinkling as she presses their foreheads together for a span of a breath, lingering in the lightness of it all before drawing back as he speaks. "Oh? Good to know. We'll wait until Deepfrost, then. So I don't lose my head."
