Don't let this charming face and soldier's physique fool you into thinking that good looks are all this young dragoon has to offer. Taking on the revival of Stormbreak's dragoons singlehandedly and opening their ranks to include all races, Koa is helping to rehabilitate Stormbreak in the wake of the war by prioritizing safety and equality. Turning heads wherever he goes and embroiling himself in the sort of youthful love triangle befitting a telenovela, whatever Koa does next, he can be sure we'll all be on the edges of our seats and following along closely! Congratulations Koa!
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!
09-02-2023, 02:10 AM (This post was last modified: 09-11-2023, 12:39 AM by Sohalia.)
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
With the coming of Deepfrost, the nights came early, and it became quickly apparent that the few lanterns in the Silk Houses that they'd put up a few seasons prior were no longer going to be enough. The rest of the city lay shrouded in darkness, with many of the lamps throughout its streets in disrepair. Although they had been working on improving the city's infrastructure, lighting was one project that had been left undone, and so on this particular Deepfrost morning, Soh waiting at a designated place in the middle of the city for volunteers to join her.
Today's task was simple: repair the lights on the main thoroughfares of the city. They could branch out into the smaller roads as time went on, but they had to start somewhere, and nowhere was better than Stormbreak's heart (haha, because Soh's the Heart of Stormbreak, get it?). A pile of supplies lay nearby, waiting for the volunteers who began to gather.
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This is an open PQ to create and repair lights in Stormbreak in preparation for Longnight. Please post your character arriving, and we'll get to work next round!
Don't take this the wrong way You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you
Far be it for Koa to let his Queen down.
Even if that Queen had broken his heart.
The man who arrives for round two of lanterns with Sohalia is a far cry from the boy who showed up seasons before, flush and foolish with the rush of youthful purpose and ardor. Today's Koa is a more serious sort, wrapped up tightly in a Dragoon-issued coat, his copper eyes bright and quiet in the winter morning. He'd debated mightily whether or not to come, ultimately landing on fuck it all. Pride and stubbornness and a lingering thread of curiosity, that's what pulls him out today, draws him back into her orbit like a tether in his chest. He wants to prove that he's over it.
(To her, Koa? Or to yourself?)
He stops a comfortable distance away, eyes landing anywhere but Sohalia's face. There's no bright greeting, no flash of a smile, just one wayward look that says more than he wants before his expression is schooled again, back to the mild neutrality of a well-trained soldier. He's here for a job, nothing more. Get in. Get out. Don't think about the flush that the chill brings to her cheeks, the way her pale skin glitters like snowlight---
Koa, my lad, you may have fucked up.
Only blue or black days Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose
Gasp, what was this? A situation which would be made potentially awkward by her presence? Well count Flora in.
Though she and Koa hadn't talked about Soh, not at this point in their thread anyway, Flora could only make certain assumptions based on the things Sohalia had told her. Best as she could understand it, if Soh wanted to have both Jude and Koa, that would have meant there were feelings on the soldier's side as well, right?
And were there still?
'Hey girl.' Swanning over, the Doubletake wraps her arms around the Luminary's shoulders, pulling her tight. "I've missed you." She whispers, before pulling back in order to raise her eyebrows and purse her lips in a secretive so Koa????? sort of gesture she hoped the soldier wouldn't see.
Releasing the Heart, Flora twists in order to peer coquettishly over her shoulder toward Koa. "Heyyyy."
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
Soh liked to think that she knew Koa fairly well, for all she didn't know him that well at all. At the very least, she knew him well enough to not be surprised when he showed up to help, and yet...
His appearance before her left her mouth dry and her cheeks pink. They shared a momentary, charged look before Koa carefully schooled his expression, and Soh looked away, her heart twisting painfully in her chest. She knew she'd fucked up beyond measure, and it hurt to know that she'd very likely burned a bridge that could never be repaired.
Was it wrong that she wanted to try?
She'd only just gotten up the courage to speak when, out of nowhere, Flora appeared. "Flora!" she said with relief, hugging her friend back with a quickly whispered, "I missed you too!" Her cheeks warmed - thank the gods that they were already pink from cold and embarrassment - at Flora's look. She remembered seeing Flora and Koa together at the Festival of Lights, how she'd wondered if there was something going on that was more than friendship. "Let's talk later?" she murmured for Flora's ears alone, her gaze pleading. They had a lot to talk about, it seemed - and all of it about Koa.
But for right now, they had a job to do. Right. "Thank you for coming," she told them both, a hesitant smile on her lips as her gaze flickered between Koa and Flora. "So, in preparation for Longnight, we need to do some cleanup on the lighting throughout Stormbreak. I figured we could start here and work our way through the city. First things first, we need to test the lanterns and see which ones need to be replaced. There are ladders over there," she added, pointing to the ladders nearby. "So, um, pick a lantern and we'll see what we're working with."
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Round 1
Check the nearby lanterns to see if they need to be replaced. No post order!
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
Sohalia
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Sohalia.
Don't take this the wrong way You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you
Well shit.
Whatever awkward tension Koa might have felt at facing Sohalia again is magnified into absolute panic when Flora - Flora! - appears, swooping in like a bird of prey and the Luminary in a hug. Which means that not only are both girls here, they're also friends, and Koa feels his ears grow hot and his face grow cold as he wonders what sort of conversations they've had lately.
Whether they're whispering about him.
(Which obviously all their recent conversations must have been about. What else could possibly be more important in their lives than him? (He's a 21-year-old boy, what did you expect? Nuance? Understanding of the Bechdel test?))
He doesn't catch Flora's look, having suddenly become very interested in a speck of dirt on his shirt. But he does hear her greeting, looking back up with a smile that's only slightly strained. "Flora," Koa replies, his voice shockingly steady given the panic in his chest, the way he feels very much like the human embodiment of Ralphie's danger meme.
Thank the gods Sohalia speaks up quickly, instructing them toward their first task. Koa sets about his work with perhaps more haste and earnestness than appropriate for the situation, snatching up a ladder and taking it to check a lantern that's far enough from the girls to avoid awkward conversation, but close enough that he can keep an eye on them.
Y'know. Just in case.
Only blue or black days Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose
"Uhm, yes." Flora agrees brightly, biting at her lower lip while at the same time bobbing her eyebrows. This was all going to be a bit festive, but then, if only she knew the full truth about the three of them, perhaps things would actually go fine.
Or maybe it would end up in an orgy; given that only Sohalia would likely be against that Flora thought that actually there was a rather good chance.
'Oh totally. See which ones have a spark, and which ones need a little help, mmm?' This is said more or less to both Sohalia and Koa, meaning any and all associated innuendos. Though the girl wasn't particularly a fan of heights, nevertheless, she reached for a ladder and placed it against one of the lanterns. Turning her chin over her shoulder to try and spy whatever lingering and longing looks might be passed between soldier and Heart, the Doubletake would then turn back to her task.
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
There is love inside this madness We are walking on the moon
At her instruction, Koa snatched up a ladder and went rather hastily to a lantern, Soh's eyes lingering for a moment on his retreating figure, no doubt giving Flora a view of just the sort of longing look she was looking for between the Heart and the dragoon. Perhaps it was a good thing that the Luminary was not particularly adept with innuendo - Flora's flew right over her blonde head, and she gathered up her own ladder and went to check a nearby lantern.
Koa and Flora managed to check their lanterns without much trouble. Koa's flickered oddly, and Flora's was burnt out, but their ladderwork was certainly passable. Sohalia, on the other hand, struggled to place her ladder on a stable enough surface, and she'd only made it halfway up when it teetered beneath her, eliciting a squeak of surprise from the girl. Her cheeks warmed, flushing a deep red at her inability to do even the simplest of tasks, but she managed to climb down from the ladder without further incident to reposition it more safely. When she finally checked her lantern, she noted that it was dimmer than it should be.
"Right," she called to the others. "If your lantern has any problems, let's bring them over there -" and she pointed towards the gathered supplies, "- to try and fix them. Hopefully we won't need all new lanterns."
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Round 2
Let's get our lanterns down and try not to die descending our ladders. No post order!
Though I don't believe in magic I believe in me and you
Sohalia
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Sohalia.
