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!
He’s returned – mostly because he hadn’t gotten much of the deer he’d intended to devour, given that Danta had taken care of that quite quickly. And he figures, perhaps, having a chance of taking down another creature right before the entrance of the Spire would give him the comfort of hiding it away within the crumbling tower, to prevent any stupid avians from interrupting the process.
It’s something that he’s also considered about with the note left for Danta to hear about first thing when he gets up. An invitation to hunt together, provided no gore crows make an appearance. And Astaroth, himself, prevents himself from using his fyrhund shift. He wants to feel the cool breeze on his skin and the warm sweet stickiness of blood from indulging.
He’s dressed down this time as he waits, clothes specifically made for this, rolled up to his forearms, scars hidden away aside from the tips you can see on his forearm as he listens to the rustling of the surrounding area. A bag sits beside him, carefully wrapped up like a present where the contents are hidden within, and more formal clothes folded neatly beside it. He looks surprisingly at ease, lounging against the black obsidian, a material exactly the same as the one sprouting from his head (only his harbor a bright rainbow affect when the stream of sunlight breaks through the leafchange cloud cover).
Astaroth waits and he listens, calculating each and every ground creature that makes its presence known.
Danta counts himself as a ground creature, at least when it comes to Astaroth and his capital L Listening, though his fellow Ancient will likely be able to distinguish his footsteps from the likes of any hooved prey. He'd received the note and is more than happy to join the other man on this little jaunt - no gore crows or other corvids in sight either, with any luck.
It's the Maverick's turn this time to arrive shirtless, though the same ruddy leather flaps at the backs of his legs and sits against his shoulders like a second skin; he remembers exploring Torchline like this, only weeks after he'd finally come down from The Climb. Granted, there was no Spire there. No Astaroth either, and as he spots him across the way, he offers little more than a lazy salute.
Whether Danta actually needs to hunt or not is irrelevant. He takes every opportunity that comes to him - usually - and so the offer was always going to be taken up. "Found yourself a new place to live, huh?" He smirks, indicating the obsidian obelisk at their backs.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
He does hear the distinct footfalls of Dantalion – something that hasn’t changed in the centuries he’s been asleep. But that’s good – it just means he doesn’t have to wait forever, trying to determine whether the Maverick would show up or not. The salute is met with a nod, a playful smirk tugging on his lips that spread into a smile as he takes in the fearless (shirtless) leader of the Grounds.
He pushes off of the Spire’s wall, tilting his attention up toward it’s large presence, before he casually rolls a shoulder and looks back at the other Ancient. “It does look as though it were made for me, doesn’t it?” He drawls, amusement pouring from him as he reaches for the bag at his side, approaching to drop the present into Danta’s hand. “Alas, I must say I think you might miss me too much if I were so far away.” What would the patrons say?
He draws quiet to listen for any approaching creatures while he lets Danta dig into the bag – inside he’d find a carefully collected and stored forearm, missing the hand and the bicep. It looks relatively fresh, as well, a note that he picked up during their conversation even if he wasn’t entirely there for that. “It was collected two hours ago.” He hums, having sated the taste for blood but not the rush required from hunting for it.
04-13-2024, 10:54 PM (This post was last modified: 04-13-2024, 10:54 PM by Dantalion.)
Dantalion
how the fuck am I supposed to know
"Obnoxiously tall and sticking out like a sore thumb? Sure does." Danta smirks, though unlike in their previous conversations, there's no real bite to the words. "And never mind me missing you - you'd be denying an entire establishment the pleasure of your fine presence." And your beautifully scarred body, he wants to add, but since Asta hasn't treated the Dusklight to any shirtless escapades since their adventure out at the Glade, he keeps that to himself.
Accepting the bag with a mixture of surprise and appreciation, the latter only grows as he peers inside, and it's with a soft intake of breath and a mouth that begins to water that he offers a fanged smile to the other man. "You are too kind," he purrs, and let it never be said that Danta cares about being seen, messy or violent, because he drops the bag and tears into the offered flesh with little regard for anything other than the offered meal.
And he swears it might even still be warm, blood dripping from his chin and down onto his bare chest by the time he's picking the bones clean, feeling as if he can take a full breath for the first time in a long while.
"You know how to pick them," he rumbles to Astaroth, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand (it spreads the smear of blood rather than cleaning it up). "Now, let's go hurt something."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
A low chuckle leaves him at the probing — at odds with how they had been just a week ago. Now, a mutual understanding, the playful ribbing between them, it’s surprisingly comfortable as much as Astaroth would like to pretend it wasn’t. A fact evident by how he raises a brow at the mention of the Dusklight missing his presence, something which he rolls his eyes despite the remaining grin. “I’m not so sure about that. A woman came to my door not too long ago to offer her services. She seemed upset when I turned her down.” Gently, of course, but it had still burned her he’s sure.
Regardless, Asta’s grin only grows wider as Danta takes a look at the gift, and the Ancient waits patiently while the Maverick devours the flesh the other Ancient had brought, content to see just how good of a gift it really had been. “Of course I do, I’ve had time to figure it out.” Ever since he was a kid, that is.
Either way, the second Dantalion is done, Asta starts to move in the direction of the rustling he’d heard, following through with the Maverick’s decision to go hurt something. He gladly will, evident with how his pace seems to pick up as stealthily as he can manage it, zeroed in hard toward the sound that seems to have stilled somewhat.
"You turned her down?" Danta raises his eyebrows, and the expression of boyish disbelief is completely at odds with the blood staining his lips, face and chest. "Are you calling my workers ugly, Astaroth?" he wants to know, having the good grace to seem a little bit offended, flicking away the bones leftover from his snack and leaving the bag where it's fallen.
Rolling his shoulders enough to shrug out of his coat - all the better to stealth with, my dear - he deposits it on the ground as well before prowling after the taller man, cold eyes fixed on the path ahead. Knowing better than to voice any questions or observations so as not to frighten their prey, instead the Maverick finds himself hunkering closer to the ground as he pinpoints where the rustling has quietened.
And there, for a second, he spots her; a young doe, having just bent her head to nibble at the sparse grass around the Spire.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
A low chuckle leaves him as he ensures his sleeves are rolled up, taking a moment to sigh and roll his eyes playfully as the smile remains glued to his face. “No. They’re quite beautiful actually.” And he leaves it at that – letting the Maverick mull over that tidbit until perhaps they’ve dragged a deer inside the Spire to devour, where they might be able to speak more officially on the matter (because he’s positive Danta won’t just fuckin leave it).
Silence overcomes them as they follow the path, stealthily wandering through the foliage and undergrowth until the rustling quiets and the doe, bent down to eat at the grass in the shadow of the Spire, and Astaroth is already quietly moving to the other side where he’s sure the creature will bolt, withdrawing the couple of daggers from the inside of his shoe in preparation.
Catching eyes with Dantalion briefly to silently announce the plan, that’s when Astaroth moves, surprisingly fast in the hopes they might pinch the doe between them and with a good amount of speed, hopefully sinking the daggers into the doe’s neck.
No, Danta will not fucking leave it, and he's already peering inquisitively at the back of Asta's head while he slinks around to pin the doe between them. He's right, though - such a conversation is better had over dinner, and the Maverick stills and waits for his hunting partner to get into a better position. For Danta's part, he's armed with teeth, agility and wiry strength, and it hasn't failed him yet.
Indeed, as Asta makes his move he's already in pursuit, ramming a shoulder into the doe's hindquarters to throw her off balance and directly into the blade sailing towards her neck. She bleats, bucks, and goes down, and Danta is already clamping his jaws around her throat to bite and crush at her windpipe. It's brutal work, but it's honest, and it's what bloodlust is for after all.
Only once the creature has stopped struggling does he sit himself up, even more bloodied than before, to offer a sunshine smile to the man he's sure is standing over him. "Beautiful, but not beautiful enough to fuck?" He tilts his head, continuing as if their conversation was never interrupted.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
The dagger sinks in and it is enough to spark his own bloodlust, helping Danta in tearing through the flesh of the doe with his own teeth and strength, until he’s very much covered in blood like the Maverick is. He remains standing, however, peering down at the blonde as blood drips from Astaroth’s lips, painting his own neck and face a dark red (perhaps making it make sense that it’s the very reason he preferred to wear the same shade).
He reaches down to grab the doe’s front legs, binding them together to lift, fully rolling his eyes now. “Sex might be your prerogative, however, I tend not to indulge all that often.” And if he does, it’s probably a once every few years kind of thing, part of him ensuring that he doesn’t lose it and devour his partner. Which… Is exactly what’s happened every other time.
“Shall we take her in so my day doesn’t get ruined?” He suggests, thankful that the entrance of the Spire is close by, preventing any unwanted crows from arriving.
"You tend not to indulge?" Danta barks out a laugh, as incredulous as he is honestly surprised, and he scrambles up to grab the doe's back legs to help drag her towards the entryway to the Spire - his coat is just a short distance away from it, acting as a pretty decent landmark. "You, who literally eats people? And chose to come and live in a brothel?"
Trudging after the other man, Asta may well start to miss the times when they were still prickly but at least more private with one another. Now he's got Danta in all his gossipy glory to contend with. "Bold of you to assume that I need a murder of crows to ruin your day," he drawls, though he's at least swift in his part of hauling the deer into the shadow of the obsidian tower.
"What, so you haven't done anything with anyone since waking back up?" he probes.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
“Correct.” Astaroth confirms, gripping onto the doe as Danta gets a hold of his side and they start the easy march toward the entrance of the Spire, a low chuckle leaving him that sounds just a touch exasperated. “Also correct. A room is a room, is it not?” Whether it was a brothel or not – it didn’t matter to Astaroth. It was better than sleeping in the streets, given the tastes he had for ensuring he looked impeccably clean.
The entrance comes into view and Asta steps in, bringing it around some crumbled debris to the inside where they wouldn’t be bothered by any rogue avians to come and ruin his day, a fact that he promptly ignores Danta’s probing on whether he even needed the stupid birds anyway.
And he’s right, because the conversation is certainly one he never expected to be having, and he’s simply glad there’s something else to focus on as he sets the deer on a sheered off pillar as a makeshift table, leaning over it to start to carve the pelt off of it. “I haven’t done anything since even before that.” He offers as he focuses. “If memory serves, the last time I did was… At least a year before I’d fallen into stasis.” He doesn’t seem that upset about it as he peels the fur away from the exposed flesh.
"A rOoM iS a RoOm," Danta echoes petulantly, unsure whether to plaster on a shit-eating grin or continue to opt for the completely bewildered expression he's currently sporting. At least it doesn't stop him from getting their meal onto the makeshift table, and congratulations to Asta, because the current topic of conversation is interesting enough that the Maverick isn't even interested in exploring the interior of the Spire.
"I am starting to understand so much about you right now," he mumbles, leaning against the pillar opposite the taller Ancient, a bloody hand cupping his chin so he can gaze up at Asta while the other man works. "Mainly all the tension in those shoulders. Don't get me wrong, if people don't do it for you in that way, I'm not going to yuck your yum. Or... lack thereof. I'm just surprised, I suppose."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
A snort leaves him at the childish antics the Maverick displays – knowing full well its because there’s no better come back for the truth in the words that Astaroth has said. It allows him the focus of working on the deer while Danta seems to watch (or more accurately, figure him out.) And it’s something that he lets Danta come up with as he strips the deer’s pelt away from its flesh, before carving in and pulling out wonderful little pieces of the doe for later, alongside some strips for themselves in the moment.
“Oh, people do do it for me in that way.” He offers, taking a bite from one of the strips as he carves another, wholly focused. “But I had promised myself not to be sloppy or make a scene. A promise I actually made to you as well.” He says, gesturing as he flings one of the strips of meat toward the Maverick and stands with the knife in his hand and hip jutted out a little, tail lashing behind him as he gives Danta an expectant look, blood dripping from the blade and down his exposed wrist.
"Is that so? Then why...?" Trailing off to watch Asta dissect the deer, Danta finds himself both entranced and infuriated by the other man's clean precision, wanting nothing more than to reach across and tear the rest of the pelt away. Instead, he listens - and then promptly reaches out to snatch at the offered strip of flesh, straightening up to enjoy it. "Oh, I see," he murmurs, licking his fingers and smirking in sudden realisation.
"You do know you can enjoy sex without going all praying mantis on your partners afterwards, right? I happen to enjoy a little pillow talk, myself." Resting a hand on his hip and unconsciously mirroring the other man's posture, Danta is like Asta's bloody reflection across their meal, the Mr Hyde to his Dr Jekyll. "You ought to try it. People might even praise your performance if you let them live long enough."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
