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!
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
It was a day of quiet. Peace. The Shrike having kept Noah from leaving with an arm snaking around his waist, palm flattening against his chest as soon as he made to crawl out of bed. They need a day together. Just one. A bit of time carved out to simply exist with each other. Her naked skin presses flush against his back, curving along his spine as she hums out a soft disgruntled sound at his audacity, shaking her head as she burrows her face into the back of his neck. "Don't you dare try to get out of this bed, Noah Olson." Not unless it was to add more wood to the hearth that was quietly crackling in the corner or to put on a pot of tea. No, the Attuned couldn't see any reason for the Sentinel to leave their cozy little nest.
Chilled lips press kisses to a notch of his spine, fingers trailing idly over the line of hair at his navel, threatening to slip further as her legs tangle with his and she sighs a warm breath into his skin. A gentle heat swirling along the bond and tickling at the edges of his mind, lazily teasing along the cracks and crevices of his defenses, worming its way inside as her lips continue their scattered trail along the back of his neck.
As he shifted to get up and her arm wrapped around him he melted back into her. He pulled the ursur covers back up over them, twisting after she placed her dangerously sensual kisses along his spine. His throat rumbled with all of the pleasant feelings that rolled through him, the rivers of her over the attuned bond unable to be dammed. His face softened and he smiled an eye-wrinkling smile, placing soft kisses to the center of her forehead. "As you so desire," he whispered warmly against her cheek, trailing kisses down until he was tracing the length of her jawbone and running down the side of her neck. He felt her pulse against his lips and it made his own cheeks flare a sunset red. He arms hungrily curled around her body, as if he could bring her into his own and they could become one flesh.
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
No, Noah hadn't ever stayed in bed for a woman before, but Cordelia wasn't just a woman.
She was so much more than that.
She was everything he loved about Halo contained in a person. The harsh winters and blistering cold. The quiet snow; freshly fallen, stark white on the ground, undisturbed and muffling the rest of the world. The people with their harsh exteriors and warm centers that you had to chisel away at. The willingness to help those in need. All if it was wrapped up in her.
And she was wrapped up in him.
The rumble was akin to a purr and the Shrike sighed under his attentions, arching like a cat as his lips found her skin, head tipping back to find the pillow as a slow smile curled on her lips. "That's not the only thing I desire." Cordelia murmured, fingers trailing along his sides as his arms snaked around her waist, crushing her into his chest as if he could tuck her inside his ribs and let her live there; keeping her safe from the world and all the threats outside of their walls.
Unable to devour her in the most precious of ways, Noah tipped his head back to look at her. He had to focus hard at this angle and closeness, and if he let his eyes stray from her for one instance everything was blurry. "Is that so?" He asked, his voice a deep and low hum, just barely audible above the crackling of the fire and the sound of the wind outside of the window.
"Certainly there can be nothing more." he teased, his eye-wrinkling smile evolving with spark and mischief into a sly smirk. "I thought this was everything anyone could ever want." He ran a hand up her spine, fingertips just barely brushing her skin to entice goosebumps beneath his touch. "I mean, laying in bed naked with the warmth of a demigod pressed against them...what else could anyone ask for?" This was the first time Noah had ever let such a thought press into his mind, even as it teasingly left his lips.
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
The laugh his words draw from her was delightfully warm, rolling through her in time with the shiver that travelled up her spine, goosebumps erupting over her skin just as he wished they would. Mirth danced in her honeyed gaze as she looked at him, fingertips tracing along his jaw as she drew him in for a fairly chaste kiss, humming in consideration. Cordelia drew back just enough to meet his winter blue gaze, "I could think of a few things..." The Shrike began, lips curling into a sugar sweet smile, a soft flush rising to her cheeks as she did her best to calm the sudden nerves that swirled in her belly.
"A wedding... a baby... a cottage in the woods where no one can find us..." She murmured, voice rising and falling with the crackling of the fire, bottom lip catching between her teeth as she waited for his reaction. Tentatively opening the bond for any sign of hesitation on his part, but finding nothing but that strong, reassuring love that was ever present when he was with her.
When Cordelia pulled away from their kiss, Noah expected her tongue to give him as just jest as he had her. Instead, he was met with quite serious dreams and requests and it took him off guard. His face softened and his smile faltered some. It wasn't disappointment that washed across his face, but instead it was a melted flood of love and admiration. "I want to give you all of those things." He started, pulling her in closer and resting his chin on the point of her shoulder. "But...I'm scared." He let the words escape his lips despite the bear within him trying to keep them confined and trapped, a sigh following the syllables.
"I am afraid I am going to leave you alone. I can't leave you a widow...a single mother..." His heart ached as he turned the conversation. Despite the warmth in the room, Noah felt the cold of the outside creeping up his shins and down through his arms. He leaning back to look in her amber eyes again. "I love you so much, Cordelia. I love you. But I might not come back from this war."
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
Had he not started with his first statement, Cordelia might have started crying right then and there, but his words do something to soothe the hurt that flared hotly along the bond despite her best effort to contain it. Her eyes stung with tears, burning as she refused to let them fall, blinking them back as he crushed her against his chest. She was scared too. Terrified. Of course she knew that he might not come back from this. That he might die in this war and she'd be left alone. Broken hearted and struggling to put the pieces back together. "I am too.." She whispered, voice trembling and breaking despite herself, squeezing her eyes shut as the tears finally break free.
It isn't until he pulled back that she forced them open, breath hitching as she met his gaze, trying to muster a smile so she might soothe him. It fell flat, barely curving her lips and appearing more like a grimace, "I love you too, Noah." The Shrike rasped, sniffling as she buried her face against his chest, hiding herself away from the hurt in his eyes. "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything..." Because despite the fact that it wasn't a 'no' and simply a 'not right now', it didn't change the way it tore through her, rejection a sharp blade in her gut that seemed to twist with each breath.
His heart twisted and his gut dropped when she deflated and faltered. Closing his eyes momentarily and drawing strength from Vi, the demigod shifted to a sitting position in their bed and pulled her up with him. She looked so beautiful in the flickering firelight, and despite the weight of the conversation he wanted to remember every minute of it.
"No, Cordelia." He stroked her hair and tucked a wayward lock behind her ear, his fingers finishing their trail by gently running down her jawbone and tilting her chin for her to look up at him. "I don't ever want you to hesitate about sharing your heart with me. Your thoughts, feelings, dreams, hopes, fears -- it's all safe with me." His face was soft as he spoke with her, and he brought her in for a round of gentle kisses. "I want to give you every part of me. My fears, my dreams, everything."
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
There were very few moments in Cordelia's life where she felt small, but this was one of them. He gathered her easily into his arms, cradling her close to his chest as he delicately tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear, calloused fingertips running along her jaw. Another sniffle came from her and she held his warm gaze despite how she longed to look away, wishing to hide herself away, not wanting to be weak. His words were gentle, urging her to stay there with him, to resist the desire to close herself off as she would have done with anyone else.
The Shrike released a shuddering breath, letting herself lean heavily into his touch as he brought her forward, peppering kisses across her lips in a soft reassurance. Her own hand came up to his cheek, holding him close as she pressed her forehead against his, "Then let me have you. Please." She whispered almost desperately, forcing her eyes open and drawing back enough to look at him, holding his glacier gaze. "I know you might not come back. I know I would be a widow if that happens, but to have never had it at all would be just as much of a loss." Not greater. It could never be greater than the loss of him.
"At least give me your name, Noah. Let me have that part of you." Cordelia murmured, drawing in a trembling breath as she pressed another kiss to his lips, almost desperate for the contact.
She was right and he knew it. He could feel it in his bones despite the way that the fear boiled in his belly. He kissed her gently on the tip of her nose as she rested her forehead against his. He breathed slowly, and around them time seemed to slow down. He could no longer hear the crackle of the fire within the hearth, nor the wind howling outside their window. The cold of the room was lost to him as he slithered from beneath the ursur covers and away from her. His knees hit the cold floor, but the way his skin burned the hunter was not phased. Glacier eyes opened, and broad hands took hold of hers.
"Cordelia Limore, daughter of frost and snow, would you do me the honor of binding our families together for eternity and extending the Olson line?" He breathed out, goosebumps trailing up his spine and running down his arms. "Will you stand by my side, in war and peace, working shoulder to shoulder? Will you, forsaking all others, be my wife?" Everything stopped, and all Noah knew in this moment were two things: the sound of his heartbeat, and the love he felt for her with each thump against his chest.
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
Have you missed that love affair It still lingers in the air
It's a slow shift along the bond that tethered them together. His realization, the fear still swirling in his belly, mingling with her own as she tried to make sense of it all as he withdrew from her. A crease formed between her brows and she instantly reached for him, hands searching for his own as he dropped to his knees beside the edge of the bed, but he's reaching for her, too. The Shrike blinked, eyes still stinging from her earlier tears, lips parting in realization as he began to speak.
There are tears in her eyes again, making her vision blur as she rapidly blinked them away, refusing to let the image of him be washed away by her own tears. Cordelia nodded frantically, a sob pushing past her lips as an overwhelming wave of joy washed over her, causing her to surge forward from where she was sitting in a pool of blankets on the bed. The Shrike practically tackled him to the ground, arms tight around his neck as she kissed him, nodding again and again and again. "Yes. Always. Forever." She breathed against his lips, a watery laugh bubbling up in her chest as she clung to him, uncaring of the cold that nipped at her skin as she straddled his lap.
10-20-2022, 01:50 PM (This post was last modified: 10-24-2022, 02:13 PM by Noah.)
NOAH
He didn't have any words as the world of ice and fire around him warmed. Noah's face only broke with the smile to put all other smiles to shame. The lines in his face were deep as his eyes wrinkled and he nearly laughed with the joy that filled him. It spilled over the bond and consumed each and ever fear and hesitation that the Sentinel felt before. All of what he said was still true -- he was still afraid of leaving her alone because of the duties he had cleaved himself to -- but knowing that he was giving her the joy and love she deserved and desired covered all of it.
Climbing back into their bed, the hunter wrapped his lover in his arms. He laid kisses along her forehead and jawline, down her neck, tongue flicking to taste the salt of her skin. "Forever." He whispered, body beginning to tremble and muscles burning with the passion that roared through him. "Forever." He said again, before laying her down beside him, desire pressing his every move forward.
FIN
And if you drink the water,
It might just stop the pain
