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!
"What'd you think? Is this challenging enough for us?" Ronin is asking, sounding breathless just from being out here in the heat. The Furnace at LongHeat spells out certain death for all but the most hardy of individuals, of which the Taliesins are luckily (or unfortunately, depending) counted.
And so, stripped to the waist and with his shoes, clothes and some food and water stacked nearby, the Huntsman rolls his shoulders - which, naturally, are already pink from the relentless sunlight. "I figure if just existing here is enough to make us sweat, it should be a perfect place to try and beat the fuck out of each other. Er, lovingly, of course."
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
Having already stripped off his shirt in an effort to evade the heat (bad idea), Remi swipes a hand down his arm where a river of sweat is flowing in ever-increasing volume. "I feel like if I was ever swallowed by a dragon, this is what it would feel like inside." The Lullaby huffs; the moisture in the air is so thick it seems to absorb his words, making the endless desert seem eerily quiet.
Grinning, Remi rolls his eyes and shrugs. "Braun versus brains it is." He agrees, cracking his knuckles against one hand for dramatic effect. So saying, he bounces on his heels a few times before lunging forward, aiming for Ronin's chest with his fist. The satisfaction he feels as his knuckles collide with the muscles of his husband's body has his eyes darkening to a predatory green.
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"After this, if we're still in one piece, maybe I'll swallow you and you can find out for real," Ronin says, his voice half a growl and his grin more a baring of teeth than anything else, and if there's a shiver of dragonscale across his bare shoulders for a second, so be it. "Mm, I like my odds--" he begins, only for Remi to completely disprove him by nearly caving in his fucking chest.
Ronin feels proud that he doesn't just explode from the force of it - indeed, he only actually skids back a few feed - but the wheeze that escapes him belies the fact that it absolutely hurt. More than the stone giant, if he admits it.
Still, trying to recover, the Huntsman dashes in with a sweep of his leg, only he absolutely isn't as close to his husband than he thinks he is, and almost topples on his face instead.
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
'Sorry, what? I stopped listening after maybe I'll swallow.' Remi teases (though in fact those words had stopped his heart for a second or so and the Huntsman's meaning was all but lost to him).
Snaking backwards a few feet, it's likely the fact that there's...literally nothing around but the two of them which explains Ronin's poor distance-judging. That, Remi's exceptional luck and Ronin's terrible rolls. As the Huntsman pitches forward, Remi stretches out a tentacle to grasp Ronin's left ankle that he might yank Ronin's foot out from beneath him. It isn't the most clever of attacks, but forgive Remi for trying to get his husband on his back with thoughts of I'll swallow you still echoing in his mind.
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Yes, yes, there's a lot of things they could blame and fuck, Ronin will take any excuse he can at this point. Huffing out a breath as he's tripped and goes slamming onto his back, the Huntsman groans out a soft curse. "Oi, no tentacles," he complains, reaching out as if to grasp said tentacle with the aim of dragging Remi down with him.
Alas, he's all out of luck (honestly, these fucking rolls), and Remi is literally too slippery for him to get hold of. And so, losing his grip and thumping back on the sand, the Huntsman is forced onto the back foot - as if he hasn't been there for this entire time - and he scrabbles to his feet to dart back across the sand. He knows his husband, at least, and he knows he's more of an up close and personal predator.
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
'What do you mean oi, no tentacles?' Remi wants to know, though obediently, he does slorp the offending appendage back into himself thus giving his husband little to grab onto.
The sudden movement, expected or not, has the Lullaby's pupils dilating as something frenetic and dark inside of himself begins to shake off its slumber. Immediately Remi darts after Ronin,m and though the Huntsman is the faster on average, just now the Lullaby has the advantage of being a horny predator. Reaching out, Remi lunges midstride to try and grasp his husband's bicep and force him to a halt.
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin doesn't know what he means, to be honest, because gods it's sweltering and his chest is throbbing and his lungs are burning and Remi is moving like fucking lightning. The Lullaby is fast enough this time that not only does he grab the Huntsman's bicep with enough force to bruise it, he's completely dragged to a halt. And any counter that Ronin tries to throw up literally slaps against Remi and nothing more; for the first time in a long while, he feels the prey shift within him start to squirm and want to run.
"Is it hot out here or is it just you?" he asks somewhat woozily, almost hanging limp in the other man's grip. Even so, Ronin does still manage to flash what he thinks is a charming smile across at his partner. Does he succeed? That's for Remi to decide.
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
Probably better that we let Remi decide rather than, say, the dice given how things have shaken out. That Remi's smile is dimpled on only one side, that's only because of how crooked it is. "It definitely is hot. Maybe I am a mirage." He suggests, relaxing his hold of Ronin's arm that he might go in for the pièce de résistance; sweeping out a leg as he'd seen his husband do hundreds of times, Remi's intent was to kick the Huntsman's legs out from beneath him so that he might elegantly spread his wings and collapse upon his prone-partner.
Yes it would be hot and rough in the sands, but gods, Ronin couldn't just run and then flash his cool blue stare and expect Remi not to get all hot and bothered by it.
Maybe that explains why Remi's leg touched upon absolutely nothing but oppressively hot air. Or perhaps Ronin just really was that roguishly charming.
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
"Maybe," Ronin agrees breathlessly, waiting for Remi to go ahead and finish him off so they can stop fucking around in this boiling wasteland. Only that... doesn't happen? The Huntsman at least has the sense to raise his eyebrows at his husband as if to ask if he's feeling okay. And then - very slowly, and it's definitely on purpose - he lifts his fist to gently knock it against Remi's jaw.
"I got you," he says, "and now we're even." They absolutely fucking are not even, and Ronin turns to slouch against Remi even though it will only increase the heat between them twofold. "Whose idea was it to train out here? I'm very upset with them, whoever it was."
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
Groaning as Ronin's fist connects with his jaw, Remi lets his head loll back in slow motion to really sell the final blow, before reaching out with greedy fingers to drag Ronin close. "I am not sure, but I can promise you that once we find out...ohhh le cose che gli farò."
Remi's lips come away from Ronin's brow tasting of salt as he slouches against the Huntsman just as much as he's slouched upon. "You know--" Pulling out his compass from his pocket, Remi waggles it wearily in his fingers. "--I have never been happier to have one of these." Demigods they were, but that didn't mean they couldn't be exhausted, or lazy, or both.
"I know somewhere that there is a cool waterfall just waiting for us." He whispers against Ronin's temple. Yes, that waterfall was infested with red lichen that would try and affix itself to them, but so be it.
~FIN
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
