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Character of the Season
Frail in body but dangerously quick of mind, Nikandr is the sort of character who proves that curiosity can be just as perilous as any weapon. A necromancer, inventor, and problem-solver with more ambition than self-preservation, Niki approaches the world like a puzzle box begging to be opened, even when what’s inside has teeth. Blunt, dry-witted, fiercely independent, and carrying a history best left partially buried, he has a knack for making even failure feel fascinating. Whether he’s raising the dead, moving across Caido to King's End, or experiencing a hangover for the first time, Nikandr brings a wonderfully strange spark to Caido, and we can’t wait to see what trouble his brilliant mind wanders into next.
Congratulations, Niki!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
04-26-2026, 10:06 AM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2026, 10:16 AM by Nikandr.)
stay your pretty eyes on course
"Oh, I see," Niki says, understanding dawning as he waits for her to remove her shoes and join him. "I will do my best to go easy on you in that case. I am very agile." With a smile that has his blue eyes alight with mischief, he raises his eyebrows to hear that she's going to make it more difficult for herself, watching as she adjusts into an appropriate stance.
Niki lets out a low whistle and starts to step around her, his cane clicking softly on the patio stone. "Only one working leg? Gods, I do not know how I would cope with something like that. You are so brave, Flora," he says dryly, waiting until he's just out of her periphery before he lets the cane snap out to try and gently whack at the back of her leg.
Even at his best shot (STR 5, BABY) it will barely feel like a mosquito bite to the Doubletake, but Niki is gentle nevertheless.
1/4
Cane Ring | A ring that becomes a cane, and returns to ring-form when not needed.
Type: Light | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic | Cost: Action
Flora folds the second he calls her brave, laughter spilling out of her like something she can’t quite hold in, shoulders tipping forward as she balances precariously on one leg, the whole pose wobbling under the weight of it. "Stop," she manages, breathless and bright.
She doesn’t turn as he starts circling, even though she knows he is, can hear the soft, measured tap of his cane shifting around her like a slow orbit she refuses to acknowledge, her focus narrowing instead on the stretch of air in front of her, on holding still, on not giving him the satisfaction of an easy opening. When the cane finally touches the back of her leg it’s so light she almost thinks she imagined it, like a stray brush of wind or the flick of a loose curl against her skin, and she pauses there for a beat, uncertain. Her head tilts just enough to glance at him over her shoulder, one brow lifting. "Have you started yet?" The question every man yearns to hear.
Already laughing, she pushes off her planted foot, hopping into the air and turning in one smooth, loose spin to face him properly, landing a little off-centre before correcting herself with a quick shift of her weight.
1/4
Niki is laughing the moment Flora starts, their combined amusement ringing youthful and bright across the terrace and sounding absolutely nothing like a training session. "But then how would you get better at balancing?" he wants to know. Stopping isn't going to help her improve, is it?
Alas, his attempt not to spend the next few minutes actively trying to beat her with his cane falls flat with her remark, Niki's eyes widening in playful outrage. "How dare you," he quips, waiting for her to hop, turn, wobble and finally land before he jabs out with his cane to try and prod her in the midriff and knock her back.
"So are you planning to fight off-balance any time soon? While standing on a surfboard, perhaps, or riding on dragonback?"
Niki's expression sets her off all over again, the way his eyes widen only making her own widen in exaggerated mimicry, the whole thing a wordless dare tossed right back at him. When the cane comes for her properly this time, she’s ready for it, hopping back quick and light, the movement easy even with the lingering imbalance she’d set for herself, her tongue clicking sharply against her teeth as she shakes her head at him. "Tsk," she chides, all mock disappointment, even as the grin pulling at her lips ruins the act entirely.
She hooks her fingers into the waistband of her shorts and tugs it down just enough to reveal the silvery line of scar at her midriff. "I’ve already been stabbed there before," she says lightly, clearly having learned that lesson.
Letting the fabric slip back into place, she hops once more to reset herself, lifting her leg again with a small adjustment of her hips, her balance finding that same precarious, playful edge as she squares up to him. "Well, you never know, do you?" she adds, her smile turning sly again, head tilting as she considers him like he’s part of the hypothetical. "Might be a dragon, might be because I’ve just painted the toes on one foot and get attacked and don’t want to ruin the wet polish." Lots of reasons to need better balance, really.
2/4
"Please do not show me your gash, Flora. There is really no need," Niki says with exaggerated dryness, though of course as she does show off the scar he examines it with clinical interest - the little he gets to see before she covers it up again. "Though I suppose there is nothing quite like being stabbed to teach you to get out of the way, is there?"
He doesn't advance so much as he simply is, slow and methodical in his movements in a way that belies the surprising agility that reveals itself when his cane snaps out (even if it does all the damage of a paper plane to the face). "Perish the thought," he agrees, all low tones and agreeable theatrics. "Well, here is hoping that this training gives you more confidence when playing the floor is lava, also."
So saying, the cane lances out again to try and crack her across the shin this time.
Flora's jaw drops open in immediate, theatrical offence, her free hand flying up as though she might clutch at pearls she isn’t wearing, eyes flashing wide as she fixes him with a look that’s all mock scandal. "Nikandr," she scolds, drawing out every syllable like it ought to sting.
When his cane snaps toward her again she doesn’t flinch so much as meet it, one hand lifting with almost lazy precision, and she catches the strike with the smallest possible point of contact—her pinky finger braced against it as though that’s more than enough—still balancing on one leg, still wobbling just slightly as she does it, her expression tipping into something smug.
His mention of the floor being lava has her grin widening as she straightens just a fraction, shoulders loosening into the rhythm of the game. "Well, that is one of Kai’s favourite games," she says. "And he does come up with ways to beat me all the time."
The cane comes again, lower this time, and she reacts without thinking, pushing off her standing leg to spring up and clear it, the motion light but just unsteady enough to make the landing less graceful than she’d like. Her foot hits the stone with a small, corrective shift, balance catching at the last second as she exhales sharply through her nose. "Damn," she breathes, a short laugh following on the heels of it as she glances back at him, eyes bright. "This is more of a workout than I thought. Who'd have known only using one leg would be so hard." 3/4
04-26-2026, 11:13 AM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2026, 11:20 AM by Nikandr.)
stay your pretty eyes on course
"That tone of voice does not work on me," Niki informs Flora with equal smuggery, chin lifting ever so slightly in defiance. "I am an orphan, I have never had the fear of parents put into me." So take that, he might have said, only for Flora to deflect his blow with her pinky finger as though its something laughable. "I do not think you ought to be feeling quite so good about this, given how easy it would be to knock me down." He scoffs.
Then she's cleanly hopping over his next attempt, Niki having to be careful not to overbalance and, yes, prove his prior point exactly right. "Perhaps you should have the next rule be that you can only be on one leg," he suggests. "You have already had plenty of practice, that way."
Slowly straightening himself up, Flora's laughter is still contagious enough for Niki to catch it, and he snorts at her and quickly jabs the cane down to try and squash her toes. "Who indeed," he drawls.
Flora snickers at that. "Well, I’ve got more parents than most," she points out lightly, "and I could channel any one of them right here and now if you’d like." One of which being Sunjata, but she opts not to call him out specifically.
At Niki's suggestion, her brows lift in immediate agreement. "Oh, I will," she says with a grin, already nodding, "and I’ll be sure to tell Kai it was your idea." The potential threat of it hangs there, bright with mischief, before it’s cut short by the sudden, decisive tap of his cane, and this time it lands.
Flora lets out an exaggerated, pained groan—"OWWUH"—the sound loud and theatrical as her other foot drops instantly to the ground so she can lift the offended one, as she waggles her toes dramatically in his direction. "What kind of monster goes after a girl’s pedicure?" she demands, scandal thick in her voice.
She tuts at him, lowering her foot again, abandoning the balance game as she flashes him a grin that’s all lingering amusement as she paws a few wisps of hair away from her face. "If you’re quite done maiming me," she adds, as if this whole thing hadn't been her idea, "could I interest you in an iced coffee?" 4/4
"And deny you the chance to call them on another occasion to help with something?" Niki tuts under his breath. "I could never, Flora. What if you needed to get something down from a high shelf? It is not as though I would be of any use." But it would be funny between them, he's sure.
Scoffing at her threat, he doesn't quite have time to inform her that Kai doesn't frighten him - not when he can put the fear of the gods into the man with enough spooky suggestion - because in the next moment his cane lands and Flora reacts dramatically enough to leave him pleased with the result. While she tuts and grumbles and examines her toes, Niki merely smiles and sets the offending cane between his feet, both hands clasped atop it.
"A monster with only one working leg, of course," he tells her, and at the suggestion - if he's done maiming her - the necromancer does take a moment to eye up her other foot, as if tempted to go after those toes too. Finally, though, a boyish smile spreads across his face, and he nods agreeably. "You could," he agrees. "Especially given how my other drink mysteriously spilled over the table. Lead the way."
Flora laughs, eyes bright with a sort of wicked amusement that never quite bothers to hide itself. "Well," she drawls, letting the word stretch just a little as she looks him over like she’s genuinely considering it, "maybe we could stand on your virginity pedestal instead."
Her gaze flicks to the sad remains of his coffee before she nods once, slow and thoughtful, as if arriving at a very reasonable conclusion. "Mmm. You really ought to be more careful," she tells him, entirely straight-faced, as though she hasn’t been the architect of that particular disaster from the start.
Then she’s stepping in close without hesitation, slipping her arm through Niki's, her shoulder brushing his as she tugs gently, insistently, already turning them back toward the house.
