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!
07-09-2023, 04:45 AM (This post was last modified: 07-09-2023, 04:45 AM by George.)
George
He accepted her kiss gladly, his hands at her waist pulling her greedily closer, very much intent on returning the favor. But he paused she pulled back, his brow furrowing in confusion as he frowned slightly. "But - it's your turn," he said playfully, taking one of her hands to raise it to his lips, where he brushed a kiss against her knuckles. "I was looking forward to it," he added, voice husky, the hand on her hip tracing patterns on her skin as it skimmed towards her spine.
Of course, if she insisted, or acted resistant in any way, he'd stop immediately; he was never one to pressure a partner, but it did make him wonder if perhaps he'd done something wrong. Or if he'd somehow made her feel that she owed him something, or if she'd had some other reason for doing what she'd done. Or maybe he was overthinking things. He certainly wasn't thinking clearly, not after that.
Hotaru hides her pause well, because it takes her by surprise. Normally it wouldn't even be in the question. She is a selfish woman by nature, and being giving is reserved for only the most beloved of people in her life. And, as much as she likes George, he certainly isn't in those ranks this soon. When she examines herself internally she can't parse why the idea makes her restless, so she forces herself to say yes, because there's no reason not to.
"If you insist, though it was truly my pleasure," she murmurs against his lips with a small smile. It's true after all. Hotaru had quite enjoyed having him at her mercy, bringing him pleasure. Which is why, internally, she's so baffled at her own vague feelings. But maybe if she just tries, she can prove to herself that it's merely a momentary feeling, and that she can trust George to bring her the pleasure she deserves.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
George, too, is a giving person, and that is true in the bedroom as much as it is in any other facet of his life - ironic, perhaps given his occupation, but here we are. Which was why, when given the option to simply take what he could get, clean up, and be on their merry way, he was so strongly against it. Hotaru had made him feel wonderful, and she deserved the same treatment. Was it just that she wasn't used to generous lovers? Perhaps she was used to being the one who gave rather than received? He wasn't sure, but he was certainly going to have to show her a good time.
"It was my pleasure," he reminded her with a chuckle, the crease smoothing from his brow. But he couldn't help the niggling doubt in the back of his mind. "And you deserve to feel good, too." He kissed her gently. "Just - tell me if you want me to stop," he told her softly, wanting to be sure she knew that this was only fun if they were both enjoying it.
He leaned into her, kissing her once more, raising one hand to tangle in her hair, gently tugging her head back so that he could trail a line of kisses down her neck to nip at her collarbone. The other hand teased along her spine before skimming around her ribcage, his thumb brushing the curve of her breast, with each brush teasing closer to her nipple, wholly unhurried in his desire to explore every inch of her.
It's true she's not used to generous lovers, though that hasn't stopped her from ensuring her own orgasm is met before she walks out the door, even if it's by her own hand. The softness with which he kisses her and reassures her helps comfort that strange feeling in her chest. "Okay," she murmurs, and feels no need yet to rescind that consent despite the quiet insistence in her mind that she's missing something. Not that something's wrong, but that she needs to turn her attention to that anomaly.
But his touch is warm and gentle, and for now - while it's absent of overt sexuality - it's nice. So, so nice. It feeds that creature in her chest that is so often touch-starved. Tilting her head back obligingly with a sigh, he'll note old scars on her neck from Ascended bites, slightly faded, but little else by way of marks on her otherwise pristine skin. Her breath hitches in her throat as he thumbs over her breast, cresting over her nipple and making her nerves sing. Ru's hands naturally find his shoulder and the back of his neck, tiny little pleased noises vibrating in her throat. Maybe it's because her eyes are closed, but she feels better. More centered. Or maybe whatever that was earlier was simply a hiccup.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Satisfied that she'd stop him if she wanted, George turned his attention to simply exploring her. As her head fell back to allow him access to her neck, his now-free hand fell to cup her other breast, mimicking the motions of his other hand as he enjoyed the little noises of pleasure vibrating in her throat. He carefully maneuvered her until her back was against a wall, never stopping his ministrations as he did so.
He made note of the faded scars on her neck, wondered briefly what they were from, then moved on, kissing and nipping and sucking down from her collarbone until his tongue slipped out to tease one nipple, tracing in gentle circles before flicking his tongue over it, following similar motions with the hand still on the other. He switched sides, careful to show the same slow, deliberate attention before kissing smoothly down her stomach until it was his turn to kneel before her.
His hands trailed to her hips, where he paused to look up at her through eyes hooded with desire. "This okay?" he murmured, wanting to check in with her before going any further.
Cold tile chills at her back, making her gasp slightly as the sensations war against her warm skin and the steam of the shower. As George's mouth descends she arches into his touch - but as the pleasure begins to pool and deepen, so too does that prior feeling begin to creep back in.
No, why, what is happening? Her hand spasms on his shoulder, not enough for him to feel but enough for Hotaru to notice. She wants this, she does, she can feel how her thighs tremble and she begins to grow wet with anticipation. But something in her head - or, more terrifyingly, her heart - is yanking back on the reigns.
It's as he makes it to his knees and pauses that she looks down at him, and there is something nakedly scared in her expression that she can't control even as she tries to scramble for a way to let him down easy. "No, I - come here, please?" Because no, it's not still okay, but she isn't trying to push him away. Only once he is standing does she push forward into his arms, pressing her face into his chest to hold him as she tries to quell her sudden freakout. "I'm sorry. I haven't - not like this. Not in a really long time." It's disjointed, but she prays he'll understand. The last time someone held her, gave her pleasure, while actually knowing her? Liking her? It had been with Sunjata and Nate.
And she's realizing here and now that she never did it again, not for four long years. And maybe she's forgotten how. How to be held by someone whose face and name won't be forgotten by the night's end. How to trust. Yet she finds she's equally intimidated (not scared, she can't possibly be scared) that he won't understand, that he'll be offended.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
07-09-2023, 06:22 AM (This post was last modified: 07-09-2023, 06:22 AM by George.)
George
It was as he looked up at her that he realized that something wasn't right, that there was something very much akin to fear in her eyes. And as soon as she said no, he was on his feet, hands at his sides, watching her with concerned eyes (was it him? was it something he'd done? something he hadn't? But then she was pressing her face into his chest, and he was wrapping his arms around her, holding her close while stroking her hair. While he was still worried that it was him, there was a larger part of him that was realizing that something else was going on.
She tried to explain, and he wasn't sure he entirely understood, but what little information he was able to glean had him pulling back from her just enough that he could raise a hand to her chin, gently asking her to look at him. "Hotaru, you never have to apologize," he told her softly, his eyes piercing in their intensity. "Not for something like this." He paused for a moment, mulling over his next words. "We can take this at whatever pace you're comfortable with," he assured her, searching her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."
She can tell by the way he immediately stops that he is assuming all the wrong things, but with her face in his chest she can't tell if her minced words are clearing it up at all. Not until he gently touches her face, encouraging her to look at him. For a moment that dark, oily thing inside her rears its head and wants to refuse, not only to keep this vulnerable part of her private but also to prove to herself that he can't make her do it. Can't force her to share this emotional moment with him.
But she does, because what the actual fuck. And he says everything right, putting any worries she had about telling him to stop at ease. But that sick, scared feeling doesn't go away entirely. Instead it burrows deep like a thorn. Out of sight, but not out of mind.
"Thank you," she whispers. For stopping. For understanding. She isn't sure which she means. But she still leans up to kiss him gently, and gives a tentative smile. "I hope it won't ruin the rest of our day?" Hotaru still wants to spend it with him, doesn't want this to be the only thing he remembers when she has planned so much of their date in advance.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
George hardly felt like he deserved to be thanked - in fact, he felt a little guilty, like he had pushed her into something she wasn't ready for, and that possibility made him feel a little ill. But he kissed her back just as gently and returned her smile, banishing his own worries and fears for another time, when he was alone in the room he'd rented for the duration of his stay. A fierce protectiveness reared its head at her tentativeness, and he was suddenly overcome with the desire to whisk her way from all of her troubles, to hide her away where whatever had happened to her to cause such a reaction, to keep her where nothing bad could touch her.
But since he couldn't do that, he pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms for a moment under the warm stream of water from the shower. "You could never ruin my day," he murmured. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he supposed. She could break things off. That might have a negative impact. Still, that wasn't helpful when it came to cheering her up, and he released her with an eager smile. "And what, may I ask, does the rest of our day look like? Or is it a surprise?"
Though they have no bond to share, she can almost feel the sentiment hiding in his thoughts with the way he holds her, the gentle way he touches her. It helps to ease her stuttering heart. She doesn't want this to end, and frankly right now that's all she knows. The desire to stay at his side for the remainder of the day.
So she is quite grateful when he lets her guide the choice, not lingering on the chasm she'd caused and choosing to let her try and fix things. Not that she feels she needs to make up for having stopped him, but for the overall weirdness of her own unanticipated reaction that she is swiftly growing ashamed of the further it falls into the past.
"Well, parts can remain a surprise," Ru compromises with a slightly playful tone, clearly wanting to get back to the old chemistry they'd created. "But I can tell you that after we're done showering, my two best workers are waiting to give us massages, and then I have a reservation in town for lunch. Does that sound good?" The Valkyrie can easily regain any broken confidence with the restaurant from not showing up if he doesn't feel inclined.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
The last thing on Caido George wanted was for Hotaru to feel bad, and so he was determined to move past whatever it was that had happened between them and settle into their old rhythm. He wasn't upset with her, or disappointed - except perhaps in himself - if anything, he was relieved that she'd felt comfortable enough to tell him no. What he privately couldn't stand was that there was clearly something in her past that was causing her pain. Not like this, she'd said, and while he still wasn't quite sure what she meant, he hoped that one day he'd figure it out, if only so that he could keep from making the same mistake twice.
"Massages?" he said eagerly, eyes twinkling mischievously. "And lunch? I'm starting to think you're trying to outdo my picnic on the beach." He stepped into the spray of the water, dunking his head under, and then did a slow spin for Hotaru. "Am I clean enough, or is there soap somewhere?" he joked.
Maybe one day she'll tell him, but the story is so long she wonders if she'll ever find the strength to get through the entire thing. Not just her history here in Caido and all that entails, but beyond. Helovia. Losses so numerous she gave up counting years ago. The last time she shared it all was fireside with Sunjata, taking in as much alcohol as she could without losing her wits despite her aversion. It had taken everything she had - and she knows she has so much less here and now.
But there's no use lingering, because he presents her the opportunity to regain the positive atmosphere they'd built earlier in the day. Enough for Hotaru to sincerely laugh as he teases her. "I thought that was a given! I have to do better to keep you coming around." And though she winks, she partially means it, having wanted to impress him to show she was just as invested in exploring this. As he spins around she hums, seeing a few lingering streaks that prompt her to reach for the supplied, mounted liquid soap (hygiene is important!). Taking a pump into her own hands, she lathers it and helps clean off the parts he can't see, comfortable with this level of contact even with their shared nudity. "There, perfect. What about me?" Now it's her turn to do a little spin, giving a tiny smile over the silliness of it all.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
"Just wait until I drag you back to Torchline," he told her, shaking his head with mock seriousness. "I'll have to really pull out all the stops." Even though he wasn't sure how much better than 'sunset picnic on the beach' he could do.
Although there was a silliness now that wasn't there a moment before, it was still surprisingly intimate for George to be cleaned off by someone else. He didn't dislike it - on the contrary, he could get used to sharing a shower - but it was certainly something to add to the list of 'different' things he'd done today. Though her hands on him lacked any of the sexuality that they'd shared before, he enjoyed her touch all the same, and found himself feeling colder when she withdrew, despite the warm water that rained down to wash the suds away.
Hotaru, too, had missed a few streaks of mud, and George carefully lathered her up, surreptitiously watching to make sure that his touch didn't cause any sort of negative reaction (if it did, of course, he'd pull away immediately). But when she was clean, he stopped her. "Oh, I think I missed a spot - just hold on -" And he reached up to dab a soap sub on the tip of her nose, smirking. "There. All clean."
Hotaru laughs, shaking her doused golden hair. "You don't need to do that. We've both had our chances to impress one another - raising the bar continually implies we will eventually fall short, hm?" The Valkyrie is always pleased with grandiose displays and flattery, but eventually there comes a time when getting to know one another and more deeply exploring chemistry becomes more important than showiness.
Chemistry that is being explored now with how he gently cleans her. He won't find any sign of discomfort or shying away this time - in fact her shoulders relax further in blatant show of how her nerves calm and quiet with the simple, careful touch of his hands. Apparently her touch-starvation doesn't mind causing her grief by being at odds with...whatever that was earlier.
She isn't anticipating something so boyish from him, and it both startles her physically and makes her laugh immediately after, echoing slightly in the shower. "You're lucky we're on a timeline or I'd make you pay for that. Come on, lets go get our massages." Turning off the shower she hands him his towel, neither of them needing to put on anything more for this next part.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
