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!
08-10-2023, 06:48 PM (This post was last modified: 08-10-2023, 06:49 PM by Koa.)
I couldn't utter my love when it counted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
You might think that after all Koa has been told about Safrin and her fickle nature, the boy would be rather reluctant to seek the starlit goddess' favor for fear of her wrath.
You'd be wrong, of course.
No, if anything Sunjata's tale of Safrin's awesome and awful power has only made Koa more curious to know the starlit goddess. It doesn't hurt that Ronin is now in his life, a shining example of what majesty and splendor and heroism graced by a celestial kiss. Besides, now that he knows Sunjata's history he knows not to make the same mistakes. Koa has no allegiance to be challenged, no traitorous lover to protect.
Instead, he has gifts. At the top of the lighthouse he places his offerings: a silver dragon brooch inlaid with semi-precious scales, its vibrant eyes clear sapphire as deep as starry skies. It sits atop a bouquet of flowers, blue and purple forget-me-nots littered with baby's breath. Pipsqueak eyes it plaintively from her perch on Koa's shoulder, clearly rather put out that the bauble isn't for her.
Stepping back from the makeshift altar, Koa utters his prayer. "My Lady of Stars - it would be my honor to speak with you this night, if you would see fit to grace a humble Dragoon with your presence." Untethered and unavowed and flush with the arrogance of youth, he feels willing and ready to offer Safrin the things she desires: loyalty, strength, and wellspring of ambition ready to be directed towards a higher cause.
Koa
And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
As she is often wont to do, Safrin's arrival is heralded by a warm breeze heavy with the scent of petrichor and lilac. Sea breeze trickles in through the lighthouse's windows, slipping around Koa and ruffling through his dark hair.
A bit of candlelight suddenly brightens and wavers, turning star-white before growing and knitting itself into intricate lace-like patterns which suddenly swell with life and flesh beneath. Through eyes as enigmatic as they were full of laughter, the goddess smiles crookedly at the dragoon before turning her attention toward the gifts placed upon the altar. "Oh darling, it's beautiful." She coos, reaching down to pluck the brooch from the flowers. At her touch, the blossoms pulse with light, rising weightlessly into the air where they burst apart into a splendour of colours and smells.
Looking rather coyly over her shoulder, the goddess gives Koa a warm smile before turning fully to face him. "Hello Koa." She purrs, before reaching out a hand to beckon him closer to her.
I couldn't utter my love when it counted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
Any expectations he'd had about what it might be like to feel her presence are shattered and reformed, blooming from his simple idealism into brilliant kaleidoscopes of beauty and awe. Safrin is a sea breeze and a warm embrace, cold stars glowing in a far away galaxy, assembled to grace only him. Koa is not, by any means, a poet, but the appearance of the goddess in the secluded lighthouse is enough for him to yearn for pen and paper, that he might capture this moment - though words would be meager, inadequate shadows of her encapsulating light.
These are the romantic thoughts that I would like to say fill our hero as the goddess appears. Alas, if we are being fully honest, all the eloquence I just described is in fact buried beneath a blanket of awe and holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.
"Hello, my Lady," Koa murmurs (once he picks his jaw off the floor), following obediently as she beckons him near. A flush of color darkens sharp cheeks as he takes in the heady lilac smell, her starlight reflected in his bright copper eyes. Should she allows it he will take her hand, bowing reverently over the pale appendage. "I had hoped to ask you for aid in strengthening myself, but your beauty and presence are so enchanting that I cannot imagine wanting for anything else."
Flattery? Yes, but the sincere kind, bright and bold and accompanied by boyish brazenness, a chaste kiss placed upon her hand as he gazes upon her celestial face.
Koa
And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
Tutting playfully under her breath as the soldier kneels with her hand in hers, as his lips breeze against her skin, Safrin twists her wrist that her fingers might capture the curve of his cheek. "Come now, let me get a good look at you." She murmurs, reaching out her other hand to mirror the placement of the first.
Though Safrin's height was an ever-changing thing to suit whatever mood she was in, today she would be able to meet Koa's eye line easily, and yet would somehow appear dainty before him. Tilting her head, eyes narrowed, she admired the boy's golden skin and copper eyes as one might take in the exquisite brushstrokes of the old masters. 'I read minds, you know.' She chuckled after a moment, winking a touch coyly before removing her hands and tittering warmly.
"If you like I can become an old hag if that makes it easier for you to get the words out...?" She wonders as she turns her back and glances at him over one shoulder, before shrugging.
I couldn't utter my love when it counted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
He lets her take him by the face, skin tingling where her hands rest upon his lightly stubbled cheeks. With the pride of a soldier he meets her gaze, flushing slightly under the appreciative way she seems to look him over. The warmth on his cheeks only deepens as she tells him she can read his thoughts, and Safrin will be privy to a panicked surge of oh fuck followed by a desperate attempt to repress said panic and think only pure thoughts, which of course has him wondering what it might feel like to have those lips on his and----
Yeah. Sorry, Safrin, but telling a young man you can see into his brain is an easy recipe for self-implosion.
"I don't want to be any trouble," the boy says quickly as Safrin turns away, cheeks still hot, a lump in his throat. It's cold without her gaze, but also a bit of a relief; Koa feels his shoulders sag, runs a hand through his thick dark hair. Clearing his throat with a surreptitious laugh, the young man tries to recover from his embarassment. "Not that I think your radiance could be masked by any form. I am sure you would be the most dazzling of hags."
Very smooth, little Dragoon. Good recovery. 10/10.
Letting his hands drop to his side, Koa launches into his request. "I do not wish to waste your time, My Lady, so I will get right to it. As I'm sure you know, I'm a Dragoon." Pride warms his voice, as it always does. His spine straightens, copper eyes bright. "I've trained largely in close range combat, but I've learned of late that my ranged skills leave... a little to be desired." He grimaces self-deprecatingly, looking at his hands as they clench and unclench.
"I would like- that is, I was hoping you might see fit to grace me with some sort of item to extend the effects of my fists. So that whatever is in my hands - a knife, or a boxing glove, or even just my fingers -" He wiggles them demonstratively "- can be used on something that's out of reach. If, ah, that makes sense."
Koa
And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
08-26-2023, 06:04 PM (This post was last modified: 08-26-2023, 06:04 PM by Safrin.)
every bait and switch was a work of art
Chuckling slightly, fully aware of the effect of her words, especially on one so young and with such a fiercely troublesome imagination, Safrin can only twist her lips into a shape that resembles a crushed rosebud as she shrugs. "What's wrong with a bit of trouble?" She wonders conversationally, before straightening that she might hear out his request.
'I do.' Safrin interrupts, smiling, not wanting the dragoon to feel as though his efforts in protecting Stormbreak had gone unnoticed.
As for incorporating a bit of distance into his arsenal?
Looking out of the window, her gaze falling on the blur of darkness where the sky met the ocean, Safrin considers carefully for a moment. 'Stretch out your arm for me?' She asks, before dancing her fingertips along the length of dragoon's outstretched appendage. "Mmmn....alright. Here is what you must do.."
Koa has been given a quest!
1. Complete a training thread where he stands as still as possible while trying to hit a target
1. Complete a training thread while trying to remain 4ft away from his opponent
2. Complete a thread figured on hand-eye coordination
3. 3ft cumshot thread Complete a thread purchasing/haggling/making either bracers or bracelets.
I couldn't utter my love when it counted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
Thoroughly flustered and trying hard not to think about why, the young man obeys Safrin's every command, raising his arm compliantly. Goosebumps rise on his bare arms as the goddess runs soft fingers across it, his copper-flecked gaze entranced by the curve of her lips, the angles of her face. He feels it acutely when she lets him go, rubbing his arm as though to restore even a little of that tantalizing warmth. "As you say, My Lady," Koa murmurs in reply, his heart ablaze with youthful enthusiasm at the task.
"I shall return to you as soon as I am able," he promises - unaware, of course, that the goddess of stars is unlikely to be there when he comes back.
{fin <3}
Koa
And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now
