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!
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
He’s still not quite allowed to go to Stormbreak, but at least he’s not as hungover as he originally thought he would be, given the days of drinking after. He looks like a mess, but what else is new? Dark bags under his eyes, a backpack on his back that he’d carried on the back of his Pegasus shift to get here – imagining he didn’t want to overheat as a black scaled dragon.
The sand moves under his feet, reminds him of the beach but in all the worst, blistering ways. He can feel the heat through his boots and he squints against the sun as he draws a hood up – trying not to get sunburned, gods knew it was the last thing he needed among the rest of the ways his life was falling apart. His eyes are storm clouds that scan the dunes in search of where they are to go, nose wrinkling against the scent of the pools that surround this area, and he realizes it’s no wonder the deity needed some good, actual water.
He would too if he were trapped down here. He waves a hand, summoning a small bubble of water that he sips from, before vanishing it away a second later and begins the trek toward where the deity is holed out, doing his best to follow the signs.
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
They're a study in opposites, are the witch and the Flood. Sunjata looks a mess and Vai has never looked more put together, even out here in the desert. She's kept cool by a continual breeze that buffets against her skin, courtesy of her magic, and although the going certainly isn't easy, she's able to create clean air to ward off the stench of the sunshine pools as well.
Wearing a light, hooded cloak, she'd seen him from afar, at first, and had been planning to ignore him as another pilgrim to go and see Ghilio and give him water. But now she recognises the Very Tol Boy himself, picking up her pace and waving a hand to him as she tries to close the distance in the desert.
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
Sunny. It stills him because he can count the number of people he’s allowed call him by such a nickname on one hand. And it certainly isn’t his sister, it certainly isn’t his husband, which means it has to be Vervain. And while he’s not exactly opposed to speaking with the witch, well, given her life in the Greatwood and the closeness she shares with Remi and Ronin? It’s probably not a good idea to stick around her. Not after last time, when Remi had murdered him in a dream over Sunjata’s framing of Vai’s attack.
However, she had saved his life shortly after when he’d washed up from the ocean after making his dive, and he figures he at least owes her a response after everything the two of them have been through. She begins to close the distance and Sunjata stills himself, moving to close it with her yet still attain some amount of space – his eyes a storm cloud of emotions, the lightning scarred arm absent of tattoos from where the fabric doesn’t quite cover it all the way. “Yeah it’s me. Hey, Vai.” He says softly, though his tone is dead and the smile he offers her doesn’t meet his eyes. "Here to water the deity?" He asks, aiming for small talk before she can ask about himself.
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
It's only when she gets close that she can see the trainwreck for what it is, and the brightness (though not the kindness) of her smile fades by degrees until they're a companionable distance away. She'd been about to reach out to embrace him, promptly deciding against it as she looks him over. "I heard," she says softly. "We don't have to talk about it though, okay?"
She does, at least, extend the breeze and sweet, clean air around Sunjata to provide some relief from the sulphurous pools nearby, nodding at his assumption. "That's right," she says, shrugging the pack on her shoulder which contains a large canteen of water. "And you as well? We can walk together, if you like."
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
So she’s heard. He wonders how much everywhere else has heard – wonders whether it’s getting twisted and split around like a terrible game of telephone. “I’d like that.” He says, his shoulders drooping slightly in some amount of relief, in pair of both the wind and air that reaches him suddenly as well as the admission that she didn’t expect him to talk about it if he didn’t want to. So he stills, a bit closer, his smile shifting toward something almost apologetic, gentler.
“I am. Just not too sure where to go, truthfully.” He looks back down the path that looks like it’s the one that’s most people have been taking, before his gaze flickers back over toward her and the pack that she’s shrugged off. “Hopefully you know the way to get there more than I do.” It’s his way of suggesting that they should travel together, and at the very least Sunjata wouldn’t be trapped in his own mind. “Do you need some water?” He asks, waving a hand, creating a larger bubble of water that she might be able to refill a canteen with that hovers closer to her than it does him.
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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 desert is a bitch to track," Vai agrees as she gazes at the path that has sort-of been made by other travellers. "I was planning to follow this and hope for the best, honestly. At the very least it'll lead us around the pools, right? Just keep an eye out for a well." She's sure he'll be able to do that easily, given that he's the taller of the two of them. Vai can keep an eye on the ground and Jata can watch the horizon. Perfect.
The offer of water is a welcome one, Vai reaching into her bag to withdraw her own canteen, gratefully refilling it before taking a sip. "Now that's handy," she remarks. "Thank you. You've certainly been a busy bee, hm?" With the Frey stuff, she means. Because of course Vai knows about that as well.
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
“A well, got it.” He murmurs, lifting his gaze away from her while she fills her canteen to focus on the world around them, on the desert and its edges, the heat radiating off the dunes that makes the image hazy and fuzzy where it’s too hot to see any details through it. Once she’s filled her canteen and gotten a sip for herself, he draws it toward himself and takes another sip, before he disbands the magic thrumming through his veins.
As for being a busy bee? Well, he has been. Somehow. It feels like the more attempts he tries to get away from everything, the more things keep tugging him back, caging him into their folds. “If by busy bee, you mean pissing off Safrin so much that she made the stars disappear for a night, then yes.” It’s half an amused mutter, half a lingering frustration in his gut that he tries to brush past while they walk, his gaze still searching for any sign of a well. “What about you? What’ve you been up to?”
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
Taking another long sip as they walk, Vai busies herself putting her canteen away and watching the path for deviations, falling into an easy pace alongside the Flood. Honestly, she'd be happy enough if they passed the rest of the trip like this, not actually expecting Jata to contribute more than the minimal, so when he keeps the conversation going, she offers him a warm smile.
"Well, you know... someone has to do it," she says, about pissing off Safrin, like it's simply a new job he's taken on. "Me? Well, considering I don't have any young children any more, I spend a lot of my time taking care of them," she says, not that she sounds remotely sad about it. "It keeps me occupied, though. I suppose I don't have to tell you how important that can be."
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
Perhaps she’s right. Someone does have to do it. It’s just a shame he’s too weak to actually give her a piece of his mind where she couldn’t instantly kill him. “Mm, yeah.” It draws a small twitch of a smile on his face regardless, though, one that lingers as she speaks of small children. “I heard Remi and Hotaru’s twins got older.” He says in passing, though there’s little to nothing else he can add to it. His and Hotaru’s relationship was a strange one these days, but he doesn’t seem to dwell on it.
“Funnily enough, we swapped places I think. I have twins now.” Twins he’s raising without their other father, the one that undoubtably was a better father than he was. “They’re back at the Grounds right now.” Being watched, cared for, while Sunjata tried to deal with his shattered pieces, trying to dull them enough to not hurt anyone else.
He peers out over the dunes again before something catches his eye and he nearly runs into Vai as he turns his path slightly. "I think I see something." He says abruptly, nodding his chin toward the space where it definitely looks like a well sits.
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
"Mmhm, Enzo and Flora. They definitely keep me busy," Vai remarks with a laugh that's as fond as it is self-deprecating. "I don't think I'd have it any other way, though. I find that I get too in my head if I'm alone for very long." She doesn't ask if he knows what she means - she knows he does. "Even without the twins, though, Felix still keeps me on my toes." Her boy is more a man than ever now, but he'll always be her bear cub.
Vai raises her eyebrows to hear about Sunjata's new arrivals, though, and genuine joy creases the corners of her eyes. "That's wonderful news," she says. "Congratulations, Sunny. Gods, has it really been that long since we saw each other properly?" Time passes whether they like it or not, evidently.
Following his gaze, Vai nods at the something in the distance. "I think that might be our well," she agrees, switching her personal canteen for the one she's carrying for Ghilio. "This water is from the Stonesong, so I'm pretending it's mythical," she informs him.
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
Enzo and Flora, names that Sunjata inadvertently commits to memory more so in an effort to avoid any other wrath from Remi rather than anything from Hotaru. “He’s all grown up now isn’t he?” The Flood asks, choosing for idle conversation because it does exactly as she’s suggested – keeps them out of their heads too long. As for the twins of his own, the joy that sparks on her face is reflective, a soft almost embarrassed smile crossing his own, twisting the scarred lip of his in a soft smile. “Not that long. Nate and I rescued them a couple of seasons ago. A daemon attack in King’s End killed their parents.” He says as his smile falters. “Amadeus and Romeo are their names.” And they were terrible little hellion toddlers that Sunjata found perfectly them despite how they’d come into the two demigods lives.
He beelines for the well, however, shuffling his own bag to pull out an empty container to fill with water despite having the magic to dunk the deity in a whole swimming pool’s worth of water. Perhaps he’ll combine both of them anyway, and he dips the container in to fill it up to the brim, before he withdraws to give her space. “Mythical, huh? Is that what keeps everyone in the Greatwood looking young and fresh?” He asks, raising a brow toward her as the soft smile remains. “I’ve got my magic, too, aside from this water.” Perhaps being a demigod of Frey might have some resonance in the magic the deity had gifted him with.
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
"All grown up and then some," Vai agrees with a crooked smile that nonetheless does absolutely nothing to hide the love she holds for her son. "He's taken to roaming the Greatwood for trouble. And trouble usually finds him, would you believe." Chuckling, she approaches the well and uncorks her canteen, carefully pouring a stream of water down into it so that the Flowerbirth deity can drink his fill.
"It feels like a long time," she quips back, stepping aside for Sunjata to pour the water as well, smiling brightly as he speaks about the twins - despite their tragic beginning. "They'll be the making of you, I bet," she murmurs. "Just prepare for when they learn to play you against each other."
Young and fresh earns the Flood a delighted scoff, Vai folding her arms and bouncing her eyebrows at him. "I knew I liked you," she says.
// the killer in me is the killer in you, my love, i send this smile over to you disarm you with a smile, and leave you like they left me here //
“Unbelievable.” Sunjata offers her with a small smile, one that tugs slightly on the corner of his lips – letting the conversation and her amusement chip away at the ice that’s forming around him day after day, despite the heat that the desert offers. He grabs a canteen from his pack, too, unsure if the magic in his veins would be enough, and he dips it in to fill it up as well. Better to be safer than sorry, after all.
He sighs quietly at the idea of the twins using either of them against each other – provided that everything goes well and the Voice isn’t destroyed and he doesn’t officially lose his husband by then. So he nods, swallowing hard before he offers a little charming quip to get the conversation back on track. “Oh I’m very likeable.” He hums, withdrawing from the well once he’s capped the canteen and gestures for Vai to lead the way. “At first, anyway.”
to wither in denial, the bitterness of one who's left alone
SUNJATA
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.
03-24-2022, 09:25 PM (This post was last modified: 03-24-2022, 09:25 PM by Vervain.)
Vervain
They cap their canteens and Vai offers a little nod of respect to the well and the deity that she knows dwells far beneath it, before turning to lead the way back along the desert trail. "You're likeable even after that," she challenges Sunjata, giving him a little nudge with her elbow and a flash of teeth for his trouble. "Keep your chin up, Sunny. This storm will pass. They always do."
Except this time it might not actually be that easy, and so as they continue to walk, Vai glances up at him again and smiles sadly. "For what it's worth, though, I hope you don't have any more storms coming your way for a while. You deserve some peace - the both of you do."
