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!
"Oh. Oh, right," Finn says, because he can understand that parallel, even though he doesn't think he has ever fallen asleep in his office because he drank too much and turned into a dog. (He'd think that would be silly, if it hadn't just literally happened to Tobi). Swallowing hard, he glances beyond their hands to the bed as she suggests he sit down. Finn doesn't like to use the bed as living room furniture, but they are already having tea on it, he supposes, sinking down to sit with her.
However difficult a road it has been, though, there has been progress, because Finn doesn't flinch away or hesitate to lean into her arms as she opens them out for him. "I..." Gods, why can't he just say things? "Are you sure?" he whispers, because it's the closest he can get to saying he isn't sure he believes her without maybe actually starting their First Fight.
"What were you talking about? With Ronin?" he wonders instead, because somehow that's easier to talk about.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Tobi doesn't answer right away, because lying is something she never wants to do, and certainly something she never will do when it comes to Finn. Tangling her arms around him, Tobi buries her face against the familiar shape of his neck. Tears sting anew even though her eyes are closed, and once more she has to resist the urge to simply slither into his lap, twine herself around him, and never let go. "I only want you." Tobi murmurs against his collar once she's able. How selfish and silly she'd been to even entertain the idea she wanted anything else.
"Oh, mm.." Sitting up if only so that her words won't be lost into his shirt, Tobi sniffles. "Everest mostly. Ronin was going to apologize for how his talk with Ever went. Then it moved onto parenting, and then Remi and their upcoming second wedding, and then..it all gets a bit hazy."
Never one to cling, not unless he's out of his mind or coming down off a really bad trip (and those are kind of the same, really), Finn's arms slip gently around October in return, and he leans his cheek against her dark hair and lets out a shivery sigh. "Okay," he says quietly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "That's good, because I want you too." Still, his subdued tone and the frown knotting his brows together suggests that there's a big storm brewing behind his eyes.
Able to gaze at her face again now at least as she sits back, he tilts his head and listens to the rundown of her conversation with Ronin. And it all seems weirdly innocuous given that it has caused these sorts of questions to bubble up in his chest, and for Tobi to spend the night as a dog in Ronin's lap, and for her to be crying now. "I love you," he says suddenly, reaching out to carefully wipe the tears from her cheeks. It rarely comes unprompted like this, but even Finn has a beating heart under all of his issues. "I know I don't show it the same way other people might, but I do. And if you do want me to show it other ways, I just want you to know that I can try."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Finn's I love you has Tobi's heart stopping. Very likely she could count on one hand the number of times the ex-spyglass has said those words unprompted by her having not said them first. Hearing them now, after her actions had made him burn his hand and question whether or not he was right for her was perhaps as cruel and sweet as any declaration of love could sound.
Shaking her head and feeling unworthy of the softness of his hand against her cheek, Tobi tries to find her breath. 'I..love..you...most.' She says through various shuddery inhales. "And I don't mind how you love me, because it's you. I think...sometimes I just get caught up in how things normally go, and I don't mean to compare us to anyone else, I really don't. Normally I don't even talk about us to anyone else, but Ronin was saying how he and Remi are getting married again, and the story of their relationship, and.." Stopping, Tobi shakes her head, having wandered away from whatever point she'd been trying to make.
"I'm so sorry to have made you feel this way, Finn."
"...Most?" Finn wants to say that isn't gramatically correct, and that Tobi is usually very articulate. In fact he's wondering whether her hangover has had an adverse impact on her communication skills. Or maybe she actually has a concussion? Or--
Wisely, he does not voice these runaway thoughts. And blessedly, they are knocked out of his head by the sound of her voice, so he tunes back in to listen instead. "You don't have to apologise to me," he says with a soft shake of his head that has his curls bouncing a bit. "I just... I understand. But I..." Pausing, he sighs out a breath and tries again.
"I can do things differently sometimes, if you would like me to. It wouldn't make me uncomfortable, but I... it would not occur to me to do them. So I need you to tell me. And I know that spontaneity is one of the socially accepted norms in relationships, especially to show affection, but..." And here he does manage a real smile, at least. "I am not a very spontaneous person, Tobi."
Letting his shoulders relax, he does have one other thing on his mind, though. "If Ronin and Remi decide to get married a third time, please could you not go to sleep in Ronin's lap? I... did not like how it made me feel."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Gasp, Tobi might have whispered, and though the moment absolutely calls for it, thoughts of Ronin make her feel far too guilty just now. "Mmmmm." She agrees instead as a bit of sunshine returns to her dark eyes. "I understand. I just...after everything you've been through I always worry about asking you to do things since it's still so hard for you to choose for yourself. It's hard to know too, what you do and don't know just because of how clever you are, and..." She trails off, not knowing how to verbalize the Caido-equivalent of, even pornos have fake romance in them.
Taking one of his hands in hers and smoothing out the muscles of his palm with her fingers, Tobi nods earnestly. "I won't ever if I can help it." She vows, finding herself just the teeeeeeniest bit thrilled that Finn was either possessive or jealous of her if only because that was an emotion she could perfectly well understand. "Yours is the only lap I'd like to fall asleep in, anyhow."
"Perhaps you could write a list," Finn says, and though he's smiling he is only half joking. "A list of the sorts of things you would like me to do. And then I can choose, and it will be like it is spontaneous." Shrugging his shoulders, he surrenders his free hand to her and watches as she caresses his palm, quietly pleased that he hadn't burned both sets of fingers on his mug.
"Thank you," he murmurs, and although Tobi likely only says what she does next as a conversational quip, given what they have been speaking about, it probably isn't much of a surprise that Finn takes it the way he does. "Well, alright," he says. "But now I am getting into bed with clothes on, and it is morning. This all feels rather backwards."
Maybe there's a whisper of mischief in his stormy eyes. Maybe. Either way, Finn shifts to draw the covers back properly and climb into bed with her, fluffing up the pillows so he can lean against them and she can come and tuck herself into his lap.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Tobi laughs because it's such a Finn suggestion that she can't help it. But it's also a good suggestion because even were Finn closer to the near side of normal, there was no need for guessing games in any relationship. "I can do that. I'll add things as I think of them." She confirms, silently marvelling at the solid writing muscles in Finn's hand, and finding herself wanting to gnaw on them a little.
Rather than clarifying what she'd meant, Tobi takes full advantage of Finn's misunderstanding. 'Well, you're free to take your clothes off if you want.' She points out. 'I believe in your ability to get dressed more than once in a day.'
Doing just that, Tobi gently gestures for Finn to push his knees apart so that she could curl herself right up against his torso with her lower half fit precisely between his legs. Pressing her cheek against his sternum, Tobi does her best to make sure her hips or elbows aren't digging against him, before settling. "How did you know that I had fallen asleep in Ronin's lap...?"
"You can put the list on the fridge. Or... perhaps not. I imagine Everest may have questions about it." And although Finn hasn't considered it just yet, it's entirely likely that some of the things on the list might not be child-appropriate. Time will tell and all that.
Were he not already in bed, Finn might have gotten up to take off his clothes, but that would involve folding them and putting them away and it's entirely too much effort. And so he gets comfortable against the pillows as Tobi nestles in against him, letting his arms move around her once she's settled.
"Hm...? Oh, I dreamed it," he says softly, finding the weight of her against him so ridiculously soothing that his own eyes are already growing heavy. "I was dreaming about solving a crime. But then Remi was there, and Ronin too... I think it must have been one of those dreams." She knows the ones. The weird, crazy ones that involve the Lullaby.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
08-02-2022, 08:37 PM (This post was last modified: 08-02-2022, 08:37 PM by October.)
October
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
'Mmmm, and given that we're trying to steer him away from talk of relationships and all things that go with them, maybe not. I can leave it on our dresser.' Tobi mumbles, sinking bonelessly against Finn and mentally remembering to add "spontaneous midday bed cuddles" to the list she'd be making.
Comfortable as she was, mention of Remi and those dreams has Tobi's eyes snapping open and her body tensing. "Do I need to have another talk with Remi..?" She wonders, ignoring the way the tone of her voice and sudden stiffening had her head pounding anew.
"On the dresser is a good idea," Finn agrees with a small smile. Somewhere he'd still see it every day, and have the choice as to whether to choose something from the list - and what. Seeming more content now than he has all morning, the ex-Spyglass is indulging in teasing a lock of Tobi's hair around his finger, letting his eyes slip shut right up until he feels her tense against him.
Eyes blinking back open, he shakes his head a bit. "I don't think so," he murmurs, and he means it (which is surprising on its own). "We accidentally dreamed together a season or two ago, and I think we understand each other better now. He was actually being quite helpful." And he thinks he might be even more helpful now that Finn knows what's happening properly.
"Thank you for offering to slap him in the face again, though. I assume that is what you were implying." He smiles.
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
Not able to growl the way she might have were she shifted, Tobi settles for an unhappy grumble as she settles back against Finn. "Well.." She murmurs, finding herself a bit surprised and unhappy to hear the pair had dreamt together a season or two ago and she was just hearing about it now. "...will you tell me if things start to become unhelpful with him?"
Pressing her head into his hand that he might resume his previous ministrations (hair pets were absolutely going on the lists), Tobi sighs and settles once again. "Oh no, a second warning would be much more than a slap." She says with a small smile that in no way diminishes the seriousness of her threat.
"So you and Remi were solving crimes? and Ronin was there and mentioned me? Is Ronin normally in your dreams?"
As Tobi settles again, naturally so does Finn, and he absolutely resumes his unintentional hair pets. Honestly, Tobi's hair just feels gloriously soft, and since they're in bed and she's nestled against him like a warm, weighted blanket, he can't stop his own fussing. "Yes, of course I will. I would want you to know," he assures her. She'd likely know before he did, honestly, given that she is often the victim of his sleep pattern.
"What constitutes much more than a slap?" he wonders. "Closed fists? Or organ removal?" Yes, clearly Finn has been dreaming with Remi again. Can you tell? Letting his eyes slip shut once more, he surprises himself with how much he is enjoying this small but intimate moment between them.
"Not normally," he murmurs. "I believe he came looking for Remi, and didn't realise he was already dreaming with me. He brought a dog plushie with him - that's when he mentioned you." There's definitely a small smile in his voice now at the memory. "He was very drunk."
one moment you’re lost in a carnival of delights
the next, it leads you somewhere you don’t want to go
when the night falls on you & you don't know what to do
"Mmmm." Tobi murmurs, both in response to Finn's reply as much as the magical workings of his fingers. "Organ removal is probably significantly more than a slap."[/says] She says through a yawn. "Maybe I would bite him. As a dog of course. Somewhere really annoying, like the underside of his arm, or his knee." Maybe she'd eat some dirt beforehand so that the wound would get infected.
Not wanting to sound too pleased that Ronin had brought a plushie along, Tobi limits her amusement to a single awwww. "I suppose that's fair enough then. And yes, he was just as drunk as I was, which...I really didn't think was possible given his metabolism." Did Tobi suddenly want to study Ronin's reactions to alcohol? Maybe. Maybe she'd bring Finn along if she did, just to keep things above board.
"The power those two have...just to burst into dreams like that.." Tobi says with no small amount of awe, shaking her head gently against Finn before nuzzling her cheek back to where it had been before.
