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!
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
Civilization. Familiarity.
Finally.
That first step into Torchline was easy. It was already late by the time he got there, the afternoon bleeding into early evening. Evening, and the end of the work day, meaning hustle and bustle as people prepared to head off to dinner, or do their post-work shopping, or make their way back home. Perfect timing, really, for a heroes return. Indeed, he’d had a whole set of plans drafted in his head, a playbook for how he’d announce himself. He’d be a wounded warrior returning from exile, a martyr brought back from the brink. He’d march straight to the Court and push the doors open, Aragorn style, revealing himself to a waiting Flora who would all but dance for joy. It would be marvelous. There would be tears.
So how is it he’s here, at the base of a volcano, frozen from making his way into town?
That first step into Torchline was easy. The second? Impossible.
Because under the lies he’s told himself, there lingers a dangerous truth. And the truth is, Koa isn’t a hero. He’s not a returning exile, not a martyr, not a saint. He’s a lost boy who let his Heart be kidnapped, a soldier without an army, a failure who looked real evil in the face and learned exactly how weak he truly is. And now as he lingers at Apopo’s base, he finds he is weak again. How is he going to face Flora, when Sohalia is still gone? When his home is lost, the property of a fiend, a false queen he nearly fell to the clutches of himself? How does he call himself a soldier, when when the time came, he couldn’t even lift a blade to defend the things he love?
How can he face Torchline’s families, when he doesn’t have any way to know if his is still alive?
He isn’t sure when he sat down. Isn’t sure when his head dropped into his hands. Pipsqueak curls in his lap, trilling mournfully up at Koa, but the young man doesn’t meet her gaze. Together they sit as the sun descends, two lost children silhouetted against the city. Traitorous tears drip through his fingers, but Koa doesn’t notice. He’s finally made it back to civilization, but all it’s done is remind him how far he is from home.
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
04-23-2024, 06:28 PM (This post was last modified: 04-29-2024, 04:12 PM by Odd.)
flora
Later, if indeed there is a later and the world isn't swallowed up by some fresh new horror, Koa will have Spice to thank for being found. Whether the gratitude will be genuine or sarcastic is yet to be known.
Fleeing from Flora's shoulder with a frosty and impatient snorfle as the pair rounded one of Apopo’s inlets in their little boat, the pale dragon departs with a mental pulse that the Doubletake doesn't quite understand. The sensation feels bristly and arrogant, but curious as well. Once she reaches shore, Flora secures the little boat and then twists her ring, disappearing from sight. Spice may have the ability to fly away at any sign of danger, but Flora is not as capable.
If anyone were to ask if she thought they would find anything interesting while collecting water samples for void-testing, Flora would have put the odds at 20 to 1. And if asked if she thought they would come across a former lover on the shores of Apopo, those odds would increase to 30 to 1. But if anyone had asked if they would find Koa waiting for them? Well, let's just say it would be a jackpot - enough to set her up for life.
Spice arrives first, her nostrils flared and neck arched. It's not that she dislikes Pip, it's just that given her struggles in understanding the complicated emotions she senses from Flora towards Koa, her confusion manifests as vague animosity and bullying.
Her arrival also gives Koa about 1 minute to fix his face before Flora arrives.
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
There are few people who can say they've seen Koa cry. A true paragon of masculinity (he'd like to believe), the young man is rarely seen with significant cracks in his façade. Even in the weeks when he struggled through the wilderness, the Dragoon didn't let himself fully fall apart. But now as he sits, sobbing, at a volcano's edge, the setting as desolate as the ache in his chest, there is an unexpected witness to his meltdown. Someone he had never planned on exposing any weakness to.
"Sp... Spice?"
Pip notices her first, of course, her dragon senses tingling in response to another quasi-reptile. Lifting her head from Koa's lap, the long fuzzy noodle lets out a complicated call that lands somewhere in the greeting/warning/wary/relief spectrum of animal cries. It forces the soldier to attention; springing up from his rocky perch (and unseating a very indignant Pip in the process), the young Dragoon wipes tears from his face, desperate to regain his composure. He doesn't see Flora, but that doesn't mean shit - for all he knows she's standing behind him, laughing at his weakness.
Fear and relief make his back ramrod straight as carefully he peers around, looking for signs of the blonde. "Flo- ahem." He clears his throat, frowning slightly in an attempt to keep his face composed. "Spice, is Flora nearby? I have a lot to report to her." Where he's been. Sohalia's disappearance. The fall of Stormbreak.
His failure to stop it all.
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
With snorfles and snorts of ice and youthful hostility, the little dragon seemed to puff up like an offended housecat at Pip's calls. Spice didn't actually want to be mad at the other dragon, but as Flora approached, the little dragon was helpless not to be swept away in the complex ferocity of her bonded's emotions.
Invisibly made footprints eventually revealed a confused-looking Flora, as the queen twisted the ring on her finger once it became clear that Koa was e the only one around. "K—" It's like her mouth has forgotten how to say his name, or rather, that it refuses to acknowledge what might be another more than another of the ghosts haunting the island. This one looked really real, but...well.
Taking a few steps forward and then a few more, the queen walked slowly toward the lost dragoon with nary a sign of breaking into a run to fling herself into his arms. Based on the conclusions that she and Jude had drawn, Koa and Sohalia had run away together: young lovers spurning their duties in order to better profess their all-encompassing devotion to one another. So no, the blonde would not be sprinting toward the man who had haunted her thoughts for the better part of the past year only to be rejected once again.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Flora demanded once she was just a handful of steps away. Anger came easier in moments like this where feelings were Big and outcomes Uncertain. "Do you know how many people have been worried about you?!"
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
Had he expected her to run to him? No. Hoped it, maybe; dreamed it, sure, a lovely and sustaining image in the dark and lonely nights spent recovering and on the road. He'd fantasized tears and joyful embraces, imagined forgiveness and a hero's welcome upon his return. But in the harsh light of an unforgiving sun the Dragoon had known better, and if he'd been forced to give a serious prediction of what his reunion with Flora would look like, he'd have guessed that she'd be furious.
And given the tone of her voice and the anger in her stare, it seems like he called it right.
Now here's where Koa's expectations were wrong. Because in all his planning for this moment, the Dragoon maintained his composure. Stoic and strong despite his bedraggled appearance, sunken face, and frankly horrendous beard, he'd greet Flora (or whoever) with a soldier's professionalism, fully prepared to give a factual report.
Instead: "Impromptu camping trip," is the answer that springs onto his tongue, buoyed by an an unexpected, unbidden laugh as warm and giddy relief swells in his tired chest. "Got yeeted into the wilderness by a maniac. Didn't have a chance to write."
Suddenly the pride and shame and grief doesn't matter, nor does the fact that he's a soldier and she's a Queen. In two long strides he moves to close the gap between them, arms wrapping around Flora in tight desperation, tugging her in and holding her close. "I'm sorry, Flora," Koa whispers into the coils of her golden hair, grip tightening as he inhales her scent. "Fuck, it's good to see you."
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
Flora's brows, perfectly sculpted, warped into confused squiggles on her forehead as she blinked slowly. "....really." Her voice was flat, as was her aqua stare. The girl was a good liar; good enough to know when she was being lied to, and like any good liar, she wouldn't begrudge someone their falsities. What she couldn't understand was why? Why wasn't Koa telling her the truth? Gods, was Sohalia pregnant? Was that why they'd disappeared?
Worse, was she pregnant and Koa was lying to try and keep his options open with her?
But then he's walking toward her, wrapping his arms around her. She can feel his inhale, feel how much weight and muscle he's lost, and hear the desperation in his voice. Wanting to bristle, to give him the cold shoulder and act like his disappearance hadn't kept her awake night after night, instead, she felt her knees grow treacherously weak as her arms rose and tugged him close entirely of their own accord. Without permission, she pressed her nose into the crook of his neck as her fingers grabbed at the collar of his shirt and clenched it tightly. "You absolutely idiot." She whispered; for getting Sohalia pregnant, for running away, for not telling her the truth.
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
Thing is, Koa's not a great liar. Or rather, he is when he wants to be - it's just that he often doesn't. Instead he jokes and makes light and tells half-truths, which is what he's doing now, which certainly can lead to some great misunderstandings, as is happening now.
But still. Not technically a lie.
Gods know what he might have done, had he been able to read Flora's thoughts. Died from mortification on the spot? Ran back into the Wilds, never to be seen again? Luckily then that he can't read minds; that Flora responds to his embrace with just as much tight desperation, instead of the slap across the face the Dragoon doubtless deserves. Knots untie inside his shoulders as the Doubletake fits against his chest, a quiet, joyful laugh huffed out at the familiarity of her whispered wrath.
"I know," Koa agrees into her hair, letting his fingers tangle gently in locks of gold. Part of him is aware that this won't last forever, that soon he'll have to tell her the whole story and face her judgment at his failure, his fear. But for right now? He turns his face toward her, nose brushing just above her ear. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you. I scared they got you, too."
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
The thing about summer romances and first-times is how often you re-write them in your mind. How any tarnished detail is polished to a bright shine, and how shortcomings are overlooked in lieu of moments that had never happened but should have. Koa had occupied a leading role in Flora's fantasies for so long that her mind no longer really cared to determine fact from fiction. That she and the man before her had in fact only been together twice was entirely irrelevant to the sordid and complex story of them that she had in her mind. The nights they snuck away together. The moonlit rendezvous and alleyway hookups. Nights spent making love on the Ark or fucking in Rae's Fingers. For those reasons, the press of Koa around her sparked memories of moments that had never happened, softening the queen in ways the soldier hadn't earned. Didn't deserve.
"No. I mean, Torchline was a mess after everything, but we managed." The queen whispers in response, thinking just how easily she could kiss him. It's that thought which stirs some semblance of reality back into her mind (only not really). Straightening enough to try and fix his copper stare with a look of annoyance, Flora huffs theatrically. "Where's your stuff, then?" Raising an incredulous eyebrow, Flora glances over the dragoon's shoulder before returning her gaze. "Y'know, if you were camping? Where's your stuff. And why are you here." On the shores of a volcano.
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
He would very much like to be kissed, please and thank you, but of course that's not what happens. Because for all their youthful romanticizing and the perceived perfection of this moment, reality always finds a way to crush it all to bits. Flora's steps back from his embrace, fixing Koa with a glare that would be more intimidating were it not for the adorable scrunch of her nose. Even with his hands still on her shoulders the distance yawns between them; even moreso when she speaks, the question leaving him at a loss.
"My stuff...?" Koa wonders, having forgotten all about the camping excuse and everything else, lost as he'd been in her embrace. Understanding follows the blip of bemusement, smile fading from his face as the weight of everything he has to tell her dims his copper gaze. "I wasn't.... Flora, I wasn't actually camping." He takes a step back, releasing her shoulders. Running a hand through long, disheveled hair, Koa finally looks away from the Queen, his expression dark and clouded. "I was lost. For weeks. Fucking thrown into the Wilds by a man who..."
He swallows down the rising panic, Adam's apple bobbing in the scruff of his neck. When he speaks again his voice wavers, as through straining beneath what he has to say. "I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. Couldn't even touch him. And he... he took her, Flora. He took Soh."
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
No shit. Flora keeps the sentiment caged behind her teeth, but her nose and lips flinch with everything she isn't saying. As they part properly, the queen finds she suddenly doesn't know what to do with her hands, and so mirrors the dragoon in combining her fingers through her hair, before awkwardly tucking her arms around her own waist.
"Wait, you.." The righteous youthful fury smoothed away from her brows and parted her lips in a silent O. "..but.." Gods help her and cast her into whatever the darkest halls of Mort's realm were, but her first thought from all of this was that Sohalia wasn't pregnant. One of her best friends had been taken and gods if the Doubletake's first thought was that Koa might be more single than she'd thought moments before.
"No...no." Shaking her head, Flora felt her cheeks flush. This wasn't that kind of story. It was the sort with drama not with danger. "Took her where?" Feeling her breath catch, the girl swallowed hard to try and settle the rising panic bubbling up the back of her throat. "Took her where, Koa?" She asked again as her voice rose to a more suitably hysterical pitch before cracking around the dragoon's name.
Don't you just wanna wake up dark as a lake Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?
One day soon they'll doubtless look back and miss the days when vague love quadrangles were their biggest concern, when is she pregnant? was a more pertinent question than is she alive? When the first question might have had a less definitive answer than the second.
Because if he's being totally honest, Koa doesn't know.
Flora's terror is a clear reflection of Koa's thoughts these past few months, the dark potentials he's spent seasons contemplating screamed across her face. It makes it that much harder to meet her eyes, because he knows what she must be going through, understands acutely the pain of not knowing and has no way to soothe it.
"I don't know," is the hoarse response, a death rattle confessed from breathless lungs as Koa struggles to keep himself in check. "I didn't... It all happened so fast. But if I were to guess..."
His gaze on the horizon - on the new, corrupted island that stains the sea - says it all.
If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great But while in this world I think I'll take my whiskey neat
"How can you not know?!" Flora demands, perhaps unfairly. In her mind though, as a dragoon, as Sohalia's lover, as the father of her unborn child and resident bringer of the kenergy, Koa had to know.
He just had to.
"If you had to guess..?" The queen repeats, following his gaze out toward the horizon line and ghosting over Starfall for a moment. Its ugly violet glare had become such a staple that she looked right over it, before her gaze was almost magnetically drawn to where it
"No." The heat that blazed across Flora's cheeks felt suddenly tangible, like some swarm of insects that had landed on the bridge of her nose and were rapidly spreading out towards her ears. "No, no, no, no.." Feeling suddenly dizzy, Flora tried to swallow but found her mouth incredibly dry. Gods, Sohalia was pregnant and she'd been taken to Starfall?
"Oh my gods, I think I'm going to be sick." Spice croaked loudly as Flora dropped shakily to her knees. The little dragonling flapped her wings, breathing a cloud of cool mist onto Flora's face as she landed in the sands before her.
