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!
Tal chewed his lip fiercely, now having to wonder if anyone - or no one? - had died.
But the Shield and others had still been badly hurt, and that was bad enough.
He was looking a little dazed at all these revelations, but as he walked slowly back to the dogs Amun's next words shook him out of it a little ways. "But hunters are the champions of life," he said, tilting his head at the man with a puzzled expression not unlike his hounds as he stated what was obvious to him. "Not much in Halo that doesn't eat something else to survive, and without the huntsmen, we'd all be fucked." He gave an awkward shrug through his parka as he began to pack away his bottle into the sled's small carriage. "Pickin' a huntsman champion of life makes perfect sense." At least, to Halovian sensibilities, but for once Tal paused as his brain was already working hard on the other things he'd heard tonight. "...Guess it might seem different for the softer regions, though," he offered in gruff admission.
"Why d'you think she goes so easy on him, though?"
When Tal protested that hunting was a suitable profession for a champion of Safrin, Amun pressed his lips together. "Perhaps if he only hunted to survive and protect, that'd be true." Grimacing, he shook his head. "But he kills for sport, trophy, or simply because the animal or person in question is an inconvenience or annoyed him. He even was the original master of the Monster Hunter's Guild."
Phasing through the snow again, he trailed behind the courier as they approached the dog sled. "Who knows? Besides Safrin, and she's unlikely to answer us." The potter shrugged a shoulder. "Because he is attractive and she covets him and his attentions?" He sought out the other man's gaze.
And again, Amun put his foot in his mouth. The younger man's expression resumed its usual scowl. "And it's the best fuckin' guild on Caido," he said proudly. "If he's the one who started it, we've got a lot to thank him for. An' what you're saying sounds nothing like what I've seen of it."
He was getting really creeped out by the way Amun kept staring at him, and even as bad with people as he was, Tal was starting to get a sense of something... off about the other man.
And he thought he'd figured out what it was.
"Look, I get it. You're mad you're not as hot or as popular as this Ronin guy is, or whatever," Tal said soothingly. "But you gotta let all that go or you'll never be able to move on. It's not good for you to stick around too long after you're dead, you know?"
Amun arched an eyebrow at Tal's defense of the Monster Hunter's Guild. Chuckling, the potter crossed his arms. "Were you aware of it when Ronin ran it? I'm sure Deimos does it excellent job, but that's the new management, isn't it? And how many other guilds do you have extensive experience with, anyway?" He snorted and shook his head.
Cocking his head to one side, he narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you think I'm a lingering ghost?" He threw back his head and laughed. When he finished, he wiped nonexistent tears from his eyes. "Thank you. I haven't laughed that hard in ages."
Taking a breath, he shrugged. "He might be worried about popularity contests but I'm certainly not. And I'm way more attractive than him." He shot a wink at the courier. "I mean, look at me." Grinning, the Ascended swept his arms down his admittedly mostly covered up body.
Tal gave a grumpy shrug, caught without a good answer to the stranger's questions. "I dunno who was in charge back then," he admitted. "But they've helped Halo a lot over the years. So, this Ronin guy started a good thing, at least. Saved more lives than any other guild in recent memory, at least." He wasn't even sure why he was defending some guy he'd never met before, but backing gracefully out of an argument wasn't a skill the headstrong young man had ever learned.
He could dig real good, though.
Amun laughed and Tal just blinked, wondering what he'd said that was so funny. Ignoring the bits about Ronin's popularity in favor of the more immediate issue of local ghosts, he just pointed behind Amun. "Yeah, I looked, an' you're not leaving any footprints in the snow. Sometimes you look solid, but then you walk right through the drifts, not over 'em. That's not what living people usually do," he pointed out patiently, trying to get the lost spirit to understand that it had already shuffled off its mortal coil.
Narrowing his eyes at Tal's response, Amun crossed his arms. "You didn't answer my question about other organizations," he observed. Arching an eyebrow, he smiled. "That's alright. Believe what you will, I suppose. You're welcome to have your opinions, I was just answering your questions about the gods, remember?" He inclined his to the courier.
Looking down, the Ascended's brow furrowed. "Oh. Right. Sorry. It's just a little trick I have to make navigation easier." Lifting one foot as high as it would go, he brought it down to crunch into the snow below. Then he repeated that with the other foot. A few more times, until he'd left a short set of tracks. Looking up, he spread his arms to both side, cloak flaring. "I could do a jig if you'd like."
04-20-2022, 05:58 PM (This post was last modified: 04-20-2022, 09:03 PM by Talyson.)
Tal rolled his eyes, crossing his arms with an exasperated scowl. "Well, that's because you asked too many questions at once! Let me get an answer in on one before you go firing off more." Beside him the red-furred lead dog barked once, as if to underscore his statement or just to be part of the conversation herself. "And if the organization has been in Halo, I've checked it out. And not been impressed," he added with a shrug.
Which were all of the organizations that really mattered, to a Halovian.
The courier might have had a retort for Amun's question - even if it had been rhetorical - but at the risk of time getting too wimey he let it slide this time.
Little tricks like that could be damn useful, though, and Tal raised a brow at the reassuring stomp mark in the snow. "...Oh," was all he managed, looking away to hide his embarrassment. Amun's offer drew his gaze back and the corner of his mouth quirked a little. "Actually, yeah, I would."
Arching an eyebrow at Tal's scowl, Amun smiled. He nodded at the courier's instructions. "How many questions can you handle at one, then?" As the other man continued to unconditionally defend the Monster Hunter's Guild, the potter shrugged. "Can't argue with that logic." He let out a chuckle.
For a moment, the Ascended stood motionless. Then he began to hum to himself before breaking out into a jig. He danced across the snow for half a minute before coming to a stop. "Hopefully that assuaged your concerns." With that, he activated his phasing upgrade and closed the remaining distance between himself and the sled. Again, there were no tracks, sounds, or sign of his passage across the snow.
Tal rolled his eyes again, harder this time. "I just said, lemme answer one before you ask another. An' maybe then you won't have to ask another." If his answer to the first gave enough insight to assuage other aspects of Amun's curiosity, at least.
Or maybe it would just spark new questions? Only one way to find out!
The courier gave a smug nod of agreement when Amun gave up on the argument, though a moment later he slanted a suspicious glance at the other man. It had been almost too easy... but the jig distracted him and in spite of his best intentions, the corner of Tal's mouth quirked up towards a grin again.
"Alright, that wasn't too bad," he grudgingly admitted, trying not to smile. "Guess you might be too lively to be a ghost after all. Sorry for uh. Thinkin' you were dead." He shifted his weight awkwardly, scowl returning - though not at Amun - then gestured abruptly to the small basket in front of the racing sled - large enough for an injured dog or a small man to tuck into. "Look, you've given me some stuff to think about, so I'm gonna head back to Snowcloak for the night. D'you need a ride, or are you good with your magic trick?"
Amun's lips twitched. Nodding at Tal's clarification, the potter cocked his head to one side. "One question at a time. Got it. I will do my best not to overwhelm you again in the future." He inclined his head to the other man.
Laughing at the grudging compliment, the Ascended gave the courier a thumbs up. "I also do waltzes and tangos, for future reference." Amun shot Tal a wink. "Nah, I'm good. Let's just say that moving through snow isn't the only trick I have. Perhaps I'll see you in Snowcloak." With that, the potter mimed rolling up his sleeves. Then he activated his compass, which whisked him away to Snowcloak in the blink of an eye.
Tal shot the other man another suspicious glance. Was he being made fun of? ...He wasn't sure, and with Amun being polite the courier just gave a gruff nod. "Well... good. Glad that's sorted."
With the matter of questions sorted out and his head swimming from the new revelations, Tal wasn't ready to go to the shrine right away after all. A night's sleep on the things he'd learned was what he needed, and he grinned in spite of himself at hearing at the other dances Amun knew. "Yeah, sounds good--" Tal jumped a little and the dogs started barking excitedly when the other man disappeared without a trace.
He had to go examine the tracks that Amun had left more closely, assuring himself that they were, in fact, real, and not some spirit's illusion before he got back on the sled and called the dogs into line. Man, dogs, and dragon made their way back across the moonlit snow with thoughts whirling over the night's events.
