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Character of the Season
From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
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!
My, my, but if Astaroth isn't quite the Renaissance man? As for Dantalion ... if he wants to try to burn a bunch of water-logged garbage in an enclosed space and given both he and his counterpart cancer, that's entirely up to him. Dygra can probably heal them of that anyway, but as far as plans go, it's a terrible one.
Frowning in earnest, Flora nibbles a bit on the inside of her lip. "Well, you deserve a good date." She says. "And to get laid, probably." This latter sentiment is said perhaps a touch more softly, but it isn't as though the Doubletake is trying to overly whisper the words.
The Sea Panther digs along with Isla, its movements far more mechanical given its summoned nature. It makes the work go faster though, and within a round or so, they should reach the water. While the pair are working, Flora has begun to map out the rest of the bar using the charcoal Isla made earlier: she sets out a new layout for the tables and chairs around the tavern, where chairs might go against the bar, and even begins to design a new way of displaying all the alcohol on offer.
He’s luckily enough aware of his surroundings that he doesn’t trip on any trash heap. Nor does he manage to mess up the task at hand, finishing up the little mosaics and running some of the mortar over the pieces to further cement it into place and wiping off the colorful pieces with an already mostly ruined rag.
So much so that when Danta’s question is aired, Asta immediately doesn’t want to breathe in whatever nightmarish stuff just came out of the canal. “I have a better idea, darling.” He says as he does start to help. Instead of immediately lighting the match, Asta procures two shovels from the stash and a couple of buckets, returning to start to shovel the trash into the buckets to take outside. “I’ll strike you a match outside where we burn it instead.” Flashing a fanged and sharp grin, as one of his locks of hair falls out of over and crosses his forehead into his dark gaze, amusement is quite clear in the butcher’s playfulness.
Asta helps Danta load the trash into buckets to be removed!
Listen I didn't realise the Hanged Man still had a fuckin roof ok
Made an idiot by his writer, Danta looks flatly from the trash to the buckets and back again, before rolling his eyes to Astaroth and taking up one of the shovels he's procured. "Fine," he says, promptly getting to work. At least in Torchline, even in Deepfrost it doesn't get cold enough to pose a problem to an Ancient in soaked clothes, and Danta makes a point of dumping the trash in a place where he can use spare, dry wood to make a skeleton bonfire around it.
Returning inside with the bucket, he makes as many return trips as necessary before finally feeling as though the canal is clean - clean enough that he's going to wash himself off in it after this. "Satisfied?" he asks Asta.
Danta assists in taking the trash outside, building a skeleton of a bonfire around it to help it keep burning.
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.
One out of two ain't bad, right? Alas, Isla isn't able to tell Flora about her love-life sans dates, because there's a lot of work to be done. Luckily with broad and powerful paws she's able - alongside the sea panther - to make quick work of the canal, though there's probably a fair bit of earth and sand for the Doubletake to dispose of (or to corral someone else into doing it for her).
Glancing up from her endeavours, Isla turns back to check on Flora, molten tail flicking back and forth before she's gone again, scratching and digging at the earth. Provided the other woman doesn't have any issue, the Remedy will keep at it until she reaches the water.
As team Manpower hauls trash out to burn—and one would hope they don't burn it right outside the tavern as it is absolutely just disgusting trash—team Girlpower has created enough excess sand to host the biggest sand castle competition in all of Torchline.
Frowning a touch at the massive trench—not the depth, but all the sand on either side—the Doubletake planted her hands on her hips as she considered. "I take it that wind magic isn't really an ancient thing, huh?" She asked, glancing around at the trio though saying it more or less rhetorically.
"And probably not water either. How do we get the water to flow into the tavern?" It was a basic question of physics, but when it came to such nerdy topics, the Doubletake was utterly clueless.
Flora is going to find some help in disposing of the sand. The guild needs to be swept out, the bar in the front needs to be built, and someone needs to figure out how to get water flowing up the beach through the canal Isla just dug.
Snorting to the eye roll that the Maverick offers him, Astaroth focuses on shoveling the goopy mess into the buckets until they eventually can manage to simply clean off whatever remains with a rag. It’s something that has him rinsing the shovel in the canal before setting it aside, giving a knowing grin toward Danta as he dips his chin. “Quite.” He agrees, following Danta outside with the last of the bucket loads to dump it – in fact, far enough away with the skeleton bonfire that it won’t drift in – before he produces that matchbook that the other man had gifted him.
Now, some strength is returning to him these days thank u leveling that he manages to light the edge of the dry wood with the matchbook and utilize his fire magic to try and grow it further along the edges, hoping that the heat would dry out the trash enough for it to catch flame. To which, he then returns back inside, dipping his chin to the ladies in a quiet greeting, before he picks his next task.
The butcher isn’t good at math – in fact, he only learned how to read and write when he’d became an Ancient – so he leaves the water problem up to someone a bit smarter in that aspect, instead deciding abruptly “the first time went well enough, might as well try again.” as he makes sure his sleeves are rolled up to start building the bar in the front, a similar rinse and repeat as before.
Asta helps light the fire to get it to burn the trash left behind and steps back inside and chooses to start working on the bar in the front!
Teamwork makes the dream work and all that; Danta continues to gather fuel for the fire as Asta cleans off the shovel and the floor of the back room, and by the time he's there to light their little bonfire, the Maverick is ready and able to assist. Where Astaroth starts things off, Danta is happy to take over, using his own fire magic to coax and twist the flames, feeding them in all the right places until the pyre is merrily crackling away. (And releasing gouts of black smoke because of the trash, but whatever).
Returning inside and also noping out at the prospect of figuring out the physics of a canal, Danta finds himself taking up a broom this time around. "I'll clean this place out," he decides, starting in the guild before continuing to sweep towards the main entrance.
Danta uses his fire magic to grow the bonfire and keep it crackling, and then moves to start sweeping out the guild!
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.
Joke's on all of you - Isla doesn't know how to make water flow upwards either. Luckily, unlike Danta some more impulsive souls, she doesn't try to do something that will likely only make more work in the long run. Instead, shifting back and climbing out of the trench, she sweeps herself off and grabs some parchment and a thin piece of charcoal.
"Someone with water magic should be able to manage this pretty easily," she murmurs, etching down what is needed in a small WANTED sign, planning to go and pin it to the Notice Board whenever she has a spare moment. In the meantime, it's with a polite smile to Astaroth that she moves to the bar, happy to assist however he likes.
Isla writes a notice with their requirements for the canals, intending to post it on the Notice Board later so someone with water magic can assist. Then she goes to assist Asta with the bar!
It's a lot of fire, but you know what? Flora brought in help for a reason and she wasn't about to start criticizing the methods of Team Boyscout now. So long as things got done and they ended up with a place she could serve booze in, who cared about the air pollution. There was an island full of End of Times monsters a few hundred feet away and Torchline desperately needed somewhere to get drunk.
Astaroth and Isla work well together (happy to assist however he likes, is it Isla?), and Danta's efforts finally start to reap some reward as the Guild begins to look serviceable as a hideout once more.
Somewhere on the beach Flora has bribbed, dragged, coaxed a number of Torchers (and even a few kids) to help shift the sands which had been upset by Isla's efforts in digging the canal.
Flouncing into the tavern and wiping at her brow, the Doubletake beams at the ancients. "Okay so...all that's left to do is go and pick up the furniture order...get the booze from my parent's houseboat, and bring Mateo's poisonous plants out from around the back."
Astaroth is quite happy to delegate to Isla in terms of rebuilding the bar. A bit of hold this here and how does that look? and likely a few innuendos here and there that he adds unintentionally with the purpose of truly asking for her opinion, though he’s sure it’s something that Danta would tease him for later.
Either way, the bar comes together and Asta is quite satisfied with the progress of it, running his hand along the smooth top of the bar, inclining his head to Isla as a silent thanks while Flora sets out the next tasks.
It sounds easy enough, and the tallest Ancient rounds back to the front of the bar to pick his task, rerolling up the sleeves of his silken shirt. “I will go collect the furniture.” He offers out, waiting to see who might join him, before he steps out into the heat and air pollution to fetch the furniture.
Missing on the innuendos (booo) by virtue of being in an entirely different part of the bar, Danta finishes cleaning out the guild before returning in time for Flora to give her next set of instructions. Dusting off his pants and lighting up at the mention of booze, he absolutely decides to leave Astaroth to his heavy lifting this time around. "A bar isn't complete without liquor, is it?" He grins, sidling past Asta to get outside.
Only once he's certain that the taller man isn't in view does he shift, taking to the skies as a gore crow and freewheeling in an arc out towards the ocean, tucking in again only as he spots the houseboat where the Taliesins reside.
Providing there are no issues, he'll locate the booze and rope in a few volunteers to help cart it back - all for the good of the Hanged Man and all that, right?
Danta goes booze gathering!
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.
Without Flora in earshot, Isla does allow herself to fire back a few lewd comments of her own, undoubtedly to Asta's horror if he hasn't intended his remarks to come off that way. Regardless, she helps to construct the bar around the canal she's dug, before the Doubletake returns and gives them their next marching orders.
Given that Team Boyscout have already made their choices, the Remedy slips past Flora and nudges her with her hip. "I'll fetch the plants, shall I?" she says, raising her eyebrows for the other woman to go and help lift furniture with their dashing new acquaintance. In reality of course, it's probably best that she covers this part of the finishing touches. Who knows who might get poisoned otherwise.
Tallest and tied-for-smallest go for furniture, and though Flora babbles the entirety of the way trying to pry some gossip from Astaroth, she's mostly left with nothing but polite small talk for her efforts.
While Dantalion doesn't experience any actual difficulties in completing his task, both Remi and Ronin glare after him muttering something from their window as the ancient and his gang transport the alcohol back to the Hanged Man.
Isla, thanks to her expansive knowledge, not only is able to retrieve Mateo's plants, but doesn't suffer any injuries because of it.
Once the tables are shoved into place and chairs tucked around, Flora looks around with her lower lip held between her teeth. As it always had, the Hanged Man is dusk-lit and softly glistening, and though things certainly don't look brand new—they'd all opted for more rustic choices—it looked a damn sight better than it had
"Couldn't have done it without you all." Flora beams, as she waggles her fingers toward the newly-stocked bar to offer each a drink.
Keeping his lips far less loose, it is with little more than polite talk that Flora walks away with. But perhaps given more time one on one, the butcher might be able to find it in him to divulge a bit more information with the Queen of Torchline.
As it stands, they make a good team in placing the pieces of furniture wherever they go, content to be directed by the Doubletake, until the job is done and he straightens his shirt and flicks a bit of dust and debris from his dark silken shirt, sidling up to the newfangled bar and running his fingertips along it as if double checking the smoothness of it.
“It was quite the pleasure.” He assures her with a sharp toothed grin, aimed just for her before he’s content making polite little small talk with Danta and Isla as well.
