Click here for a list of weather descriptions, seasonal festivals, and a real time:site time conversion.
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!
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
Plans made and a drawl of agreement for the fact Niki wasn’t an avid skier, Sunjata starts to relax a little more as the scent of cinnamon and underline of woodsmoke fills the air gently. With his honest answer, though, he isn’t anticipating such an honest answer back – the apology that isn’t necessary because it wasn’t like it was Niki’s fault that he couldn’t sleep. But the offer is there, and Sunjata can’t hide the small almost sheepish smile that blooms on his face. “I sleep better if I don’t sleep alone, so I guess if you want another panicky nightmare wake up in the middle of the night, we can plan something. Otherwise, I can figure it out. I’m fine either way.” A soft laugh leaves him.
He’d never ask Niki to share his bed on the regular just so he could sleep, but if there were a time where Niki didn’t want to spend it alone either, Sunjata wouldn’t be opposed – especially not after what had happened last time. But he hopes the answer comes off easily, like he isn’t expecting anything because he isn’t. He does, however, feel like he should have given Niki the truth, which he had.
But as Niki gestures around the home, Sunjata’s gaze follows to take in all the changes since the last time he’d seen him, nodding his understanding as his braces his hands behind him on the counter and slouches a little. “It’s looking really nice so far, though. Very you.” He takes his time taking it in before his gaze lands back on Niki with an easy smile.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"How could I ever say no to an offer like that?" Niki says dryly, though the playful smile that spreads across his face is almost boyish. He knows it's hardly a pleasant thing for the Heartless to have to go through on a regular basis, and the idea of a sober sleepover with the other man would have had him beet red only a few days ago, it nevertheless doesn't even come close to the worst way he might consider spending his time.
"Forgive me for saying, though, but I would have thought you would have had a line of people wanting to spend the night with you," he says with a genuinely bemused raise of an eyebrow. "Even if it was just to sleep." That's one of the privileges of owning a brothel, surely - never having to go to bed alone.
Flushing a bit as he realises he might have overstepped the mark, Niki follows Sunjata's gaze around the room and nods quietly. "It is getting there," he agrees. "And I am getting used to New Haven, too. I think I will be happy here."
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
“Oh, I’m sure you easily could.” He replies, sinking into Niki’s own dry humor – though perhaps a touch self-deprecating. But he sees the boyish smile spread on Niki’s face replacing the awkward redness that would’ve bloomed there not long ago, and already he feels like leaps and strides have been made in getting Niki to be a bit more comfortable with him – and at the very least, around him.
To hear that it’s surprising to him that Sunjata doesn’t have a line of people willing and waiting to share his bed, he huffs a laugh to that. “Sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not.” He sighs a little and shoots Niki a small playful smile, crooked from the scar. “I lost most of my regulars a while ago and anyone that wants to now, usually wants an eventful night.” Which he doesn’t mind, but finds it a little tough to keep up with night after night just for some good sleep. Physically, he’s fine with it, but mentally he can’t help but to be a little exhausted already at the thought.
He doesn’t think Niki has overstepped the mark, hence the easy answer, and for that Sunjata focuses back in on the house and the touch of Niki left behind in all of it, underlined with cinnamon crackling in the fireplace. “I’m glad. I’m happy that you’re here.” He admits a little softer, a bit more honesty – enough that he finds himself looking away from Niki as it slips out a touch more vulnerable than he intends.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"Could and would are very different things," Niki points out with a smirk, raising his eyebrows at Sunjata and gesturing towards the couch or his bedroom down the hall. "If you are tired, by all means. I always end up with a terrible sleep schedule during Longnight anyway." His mind and body end up at odds with the fact that it's always dark, and he can often find himself awake for far too long unintentionally.
He tilts his head to hear that Sunjata has lost his regulars, though, unable not to be curious about that. "Where did they go?" he wonders, as though this is some part of the economy of King's End that he hasn't needed to consider before now. Were businesses (not just the House of Midnight) dependent on the influx of traffic from brothel seekers?
The blush remains on his cheeks to hear the Heartless's over-earnest response, not that Niki is sad to hear it, and he clears his throat a bit before glancing back towards Sunjata. "You make me feel important," he says quietly, "in a way that I do not know that I deserve. But thank you."
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
A huff of a laugh leaves him in answer for the point Niki has, before he’s shaking his head at the very kind offer. “I get that.” He starts off – because LongNight often had him not knowing which way the day went, disorienting in a way that was only made worse in the Hollowed Grounds all those years ago. “I’m doing okay right now, though. Might take you up on it after the second go around of the party.” Bouncing his brows, his lips quirk into a playful smile as he starts to relax.
With the curiosity regarding his regulars, Sunjata shrugs slightly. “Uh, well, there was a time where Ru wasn’t comfortable with it, so I stopped being on the menu, I guess you could say.” He’s realizing he hates bringing up his exes with how often each story seems to revolve around them, but he pushes on anyway. “So most of them either found other courtesans or eventually settled down.” He doesn’t seem that upset about it, but it does explain a lot, he thinks.
But as he starts to become more vulnerable, Sunjata’s gaze averts from the necromancer and he listens as Niki offers his own vulnerability, glancing over only when he notices that the other man has. “You’re welcome.” He offers softly, his accented voice genuine as it is easy. “You do deserve it, though.” He was important to a lot of people, he was just one of the few as far as he was concerned.
He does, however, reach over to prove the point, warm hand resting lightly on Niki’s arm to give it a gentle squeeze.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"I might let you," Niki says, laughing. "I do not remember the last time I got my head down to sleep, and it cannot have been Longnight for more than a couple of days. I will steadfastly blame you for that, though. You and your party, temping everyone to stay awake." And even, perhaps, the nap he might have taken if he hadn't arrived home to see a tall, dark and handsome demigod knocking on his door.
With the fire taking the worst of the chill from the air and warming it further with spice and sweetness, it's all too easy to relax further against the kitchen counter, and Niki is about to suggest going to sit on the couch when Sunjata speaks again. His brows flinch together a bit, in part because he thinks he might understand all too well how the Heartless's ex-fiance would have felt. But all of that means nothing now that she - or anyone else, it seems - is around to share Sunjata's bed.
"Perhaps you merely require some new marketing," he begins, the joke already forming a smile on his face, though the expression drops at the feel of a warm hand against his arm. Silenced by that simple point of contact, Niki is suddenly flooded with the memory of the other man's lips on his own, the brush of long fingers against his cheek.
"Now you are just flattering me," he mutters, forcing a smirk.
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
“Hey, it sounds pretty quiet in here at least.” Sunjata offers with his own warm laugh – the dull thrum of the party outside hardly that noticeable over the crackling fire. But he does scan him over as if trying to see just how dark the bags under his eyes are, if taking time to sleep sooner rather was beneficial for the both of them.
He does look tired, but also young in a way that he hasn’t seen too often from the necromancer. More open and confident in the confines of his kitchen and the counter that they both slouch against. “New marketing to advertise me as a glorified body pillow and nothing more?” He asks with a jest of his own, the drawl that lingers as he reaches out to squeeze Niki’s arm and offer a little more vulnerability.
He doesn’t quite pull away quickly, either, his hand retreating but his fingers ghost along the sweater’s sleeve. “Is it working?” He asks, his own lips quirking up into a smirk as he watches Niki carefully, like he’s trying to read between the lines of everything said so far. He can feel the tension in the air, but it hadn’t been his intention to come and test the waters again. He’d come as a friend, making sure Niki was out to enjoy the gathering just past his front door. But the Abandoned is like a magnet for him these days and he can’t help but to find himself drawn closer and closer each and every time.
It’s not love, because he’s incapable of that in this moment, but it’s chemistry in a way that he feels like he hasn’t had in so long but craved so deeply. "Are you tired of standing? We could go sit on the couch?" He asks as if realizing just how long they've been standing in this quiet tension-filled tango in the kitchen. Not that he thinks it'd be better on the couch, but perhaps more comfortable. Where maybe Niki would sit next to him and their body heat would be shared enough to warm them more internally than the fire could.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"It is very peaceful," Niki agrees, grinning unashamedly, "when I do not have company." No part of him looks upset at the idea of having the Heartless in his kitchen though, so suffice to say he's sassing for the pure fun of it. And as Sunjata will soon come to learn if he spends enough time around the necromancer, tired is something of a default look for him, so nothing much to be concerned about.
Laughing openly at the other man's marketing suggestion, he shrugs his shoulders. "And why not? If that is all you are looking for, I bet there are a number of men and women who would like nothing more than to cuddle for an evening." He can't say much for how they might respond to being unexpectedly awoken by nightmares, but given that they are there to use Sunjata as a body pillow, he expects they will be sympathetic to his situation as well.
Soon distracted by the heat of the Heartless's hand against his arm, it's something he finds he wants to spread like wildfire, Niki able to feel the lingering warmth even as it leaves him, and he scoffs under his breath. "I am not an easy man to flatter," he says dryly, "...but yes. It is."
Sunjata's offer to move to the couch practically feels orchestrated, then, such that the necromancer can't help but to huff out a breath of laughter, the flush to his cheeks sneaking across the bridge of his nose. "No," he decides, because sitting in this strange, awkward small-talk will be infinitely worse than standing in it.
It would also make it more difficult to do what Niki does next. With only a step or two separating them and Sunjata already half slouched against the counter, the necromancer is able to close the distance with something that could be mistaken for grace to those not watching closely. His fingers ghost against the other man's cheek, directing him down at the same time as he leans in to kiss him.
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
“Oh, right, riiiight.” Sunjata drawls, knowingly, pretending to take offense to the fact that he’s ruining the peace by being here. It’s clear it doesn’t bother him, though, not with the smile that still tugs on his face as he starts to try and figure out the new marketing campaign. The idea of being a body pillow wasn’t that appealing to him in the long run, not for the majority of people that would still find a way to do something, he’s sure, but if he had to then he supposes he could make it work. After all, he’d done worse things trying to catch some good sleep than suggest a cuddle puddle. “Yeah maybe.” He agrees, laughing lightly.
Focusing on the necromancer when he reaches out to touch him gently, the question is aired with a small smirk to see if his flattery has worked, and with the answer being that Niki wasn’t that easy to flatter and it had worked, the smirk shifts seamlessly into an easier smile, lopsided and almost boyish. But the tension continues to bloom, even after he’s withdrawn, and when he asks Niki whether he wants to go sit on the couch, he’s quietly surprised to hear the no, but remains precisely where he’s slouched against the counter, noticing the flush that spreads across the other man’s pale face.
He’s even more surprised (and honestly? Fucking relieved) when Niki moves, gracefully because he’s certainly not paying attention to how Niki gets close, only that he has, and he can’t help the way a flare of heat floods through his faded freckles on the bridge of his nose. Niki’s hand is surprisingly warm where it ghosts along his cheek, and he really doesn’t need much more indication of what the other man wants for him to give in like a moth to flame.
He leans down to meet him halfway, this kiss gentle and warm and it takes everything in him to not grow needy with it. One hand abandons the countertop to reach up and rest against the necromancer’s side, trying to pull him in a little closer against him.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Niki goes without needing much encouragement, the hand against his side feeling impossibly warm even through the thick cableknit of his sweater. He might have been drunk (and then hungover) the last time they'd done this, but his body remembers the euphoria of it without requiring further instruction. One hand lingers against Sunjata's cheek, as if to try and catch the flush to his skin and prove it's real, the other pressing to his chest, half braced against the Heartless and the countertop.
"Now we can go to the couch," he whispers into the fraction of space that finally opens between them, the smallest bit of amusement in his voice, though he gets the impression that the Heartless will be able to feel the thunder of his pulse if he can't hear it outright. "...Did you really come here just to check on me?" He asks only because the answer is almost definitely an honest yes, but that doesn't mean there weren't other reasons.
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
The flush is hot under Niki’s touch, just as Sunjata’s hand is at his side, bleeding through the cableknit sweater. He can feel both the weight and warmth of Niki’s hand at his chest, too, warm and offering so much of the things he’d felt like he was lacking. He only pulls away when Niki does, the whisper said between them that has him hardly wanting to move now that Niki’s this close, and while the gears work in his head he can see more than hear the thunder of his pulse rabbiting against his neck.
“Yeah.” He starts off, equally as soft in the minute space between them. “I wanted to make sure you were having a good time.” Whether it meant at the party or inside his home, making sure that Niki was having a good LongNight regardless of how he wished to spend it. But for now, the Heartless moves slightly, almost like he’s about to snag Niki’s hand and bring him to the couch when he shifts their positions.
It takes very little effort to snag Niki and hoist him up to sit on the counter, tall enough now to be eye level with Sunjata as he draws back to his mostly full height, drawn back into Niki’s space without any hesitation. “Did you think I wouldn’t?” He asks after a moment, reaching up with a free hand to brush back the snow-damp dark hair from his face.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"I am having a good time," Niki says with a crooked smile, wondering if it really needs to be said at this point. He shifts back as well as he feels Sunjata move, resenting every inch of distance between them and imagining all the ways he might erase it again when the Heartless is suddenly reversing their positions. Hitching in a breath as he's lifted to sit on the edge of the counter like it's nothing, Niki tries and fails to hide how attractive he clearly finds it, the flush on his cheeks impossible not to notice at this point.
"I did not know if you would," he admits, knees spreading to let the other man stand between them and draw closer. "But I had hoped so." It's easy to admit things like this having carved through the tension with a kiss, though that doesn't make Niki feel any less charged with heat. "If you would like to just be a body pillow from here, you know, that is perfectly fine," he adds with a sudden, self-deprecating laugh, as if belatedly remembering the conversation they'd just had about Sunjata not wanting anything eventful.
"Not that I expect anything from you," he adds quickly. "Or myself." The list of experiences he hasn't had is fairly long, after all.
i was raised as a scorpion being pulled by the moon in a high tide
“Good.” Sunjata hums, quietly pleased that he’s enjoying himself. Even if it doesn’t need to be said, it’s still nice to hear, and that’s a point that Sunjata quietly tucks away internally for the times late at night where he spends far too long going over his mistakes. He shifts their position, hoisting Niki up as if he weighs next to nothing (he pretty much does), and settles in between his legs to get a little closer, hand brushing through the necromancer’s dark hair.
His steel gaze scans the other man’s face, fingers withdrawing to ghost along Niki’s own check, the edge of his collarbone sharp beneath his touch. He’s about to respond to him when he suddenly adds his addition and Sunjata wonders for a brief moment if Niki thought everything he’d said about his lack of clients would apply to him as well, so he pauses and blinks at him before a low and warm laugh leaves him.
He shakes his head slightly, letting the smile still linger on his face. “You’re not my client, Niki.” He pauses, as if that might be enough to get him to think about how much Sunjata chooses to be here rather than being here by design. “I’d be happy being whatever you needed or wanted, whenever you want me.” It’s a softer admission, one that he hopes makes his stance clear enough to make sense but also not be too self-deprecating on his own. But as if to silence those thoughts from forming, the Heartless’ hand drops to brush gently against his shoulder and his thumb grazes his neck as he leans in for another kiss.
the flood
that's why i'm broken, yeah, am i a villain or a saint?
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
At this distance and at practically the same height, Niki thinks he might be able to count the freckles that scatter across the bridge of Sunjata's nose if given the chance, or to pick out the darker flecks of grey in his steel eyes. It's a dangerous line to start walking with a man who has no heart, he knows, and yet here Niki sits anyway, leaning subtly into the fingers that glide through his snow-damp hair and ghost across his cheek.
He doesn't realise he's been treating himself like one of the other man's clients until he says it, Niki's laughter rushing out of him, slate blue eyes flicking away for a moment as the embarrassment hits. "Right," he says. "Of course. I did not..." Drifting off as the last part of Sunjata's statement finds meaning in his mind - whenever you want me - he's just trying to fumble his way through a response when, blessedly, he's saved by a kiss.
Moaning something soft and surprised against the Heartless's mouth, one of his legs hooks around the other man's hips to try and ferry him closer, hands running the length of his chest as if to properly feel the shape of him for the first time.
