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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!
"Don't mind if I do," Dahlia says with a bright smile, sitting up once more to enjoy her topped up glass of wine. "I will say that of all the things this world has to offer, your food and drink is by far the best," she adds, raising the glass in a brief toast to Flora before setting it back down. "And a fyrhund, you say? I can't say I have visited The Climb to sample that particular part of Caido. Perhaps I'll need to take a trip one of these days."
As for Flora dancing on the knife edge of becoming a Friend of the Family, Dahlia raises her eyebrows and holds out a hand for the Doubletake. "Nothing so dramatic," she says. "You just need to send me a letter. I'll seal it with a kiss, and you're all set. We could do it right now if you like." And how privileged should Flora feel, that she's being given the choice.
"Yeah? There are some real delicacies based on where you go. Ursur in Halo is meant to be very good if it's slow-cooked, otherwise it's too tough." Flora says by way of an example, before pausing. "I hope you've been able to sample more than just what's in Stormbreak. It's incredibly bland up there, compared to the rest of Caido." You know, owing it to be a formerly oppressive gaited stronghold.
"Mmm, it's very hot. Wear practical shoes." The Doubletake advises knowledgeable, regarding the Climb. "There's a hotspring far beneath the surface that will make the Eye seem like a bathtub."
Letting her finger slide up and down the stem of her wine glass, Flora seemed to actually be considering the Reaper's offer. "And if I did, none of the Flora or Fauna around would bother me anymore? And Starfall? I could just...go? See what all the fuss is around?
Oh!" Tilting her head back, Flora presses her eyes closed and chuckles to herself for a moment. "That was my dad you beat up all those months ago. He's still pretty sore about it." She says, aqua eyes sparkling with mischief.
One might wonder whether the rest of Caido will appreciate Flora's recommendations that Dahlia go to darken their door and sample their cuisines, but either way, it works, and the Reaper's smile grows into something more warm and personal. "I've tried my best to broaden my horizons," she purrs. "If nothing else, I have found the plethora of alcohol to be varied up there. What would you recommend, should I visit Torchline for a touch longer?"
As for the advantages of becoming infected, Dahlia inclines her head and reaches out to clink her glass with Flora's once more. "Just so," she confirms. "And the fuss is very much worth it, I can assure you." Too bad the Doubletake isn't a Friend of the Family.
Yet.
Hearing that it's Flora's father that the Reaper almost beat to a pulp on the island, though, has her musical laughter ringing around the tavern. "Oh, I didn't mean to hurt his pride. He was such a cute little thing, storming onto the shores like he was going to save the day."
"Deep friend ramphire." Flora replies with an indulgent smile. "The sushi isn't bad either, especially once it warms up and there's more mango to go around." She adds with a small shrug. "And my dad's gin.' Yes, the dad they were just about to start speaking of.
Grinning, Flora gives her head a little shake to absolve Dahlia of the idea that the Doubletake was upset about it. "Oh yes. All we heard for weeks was how fast and strong you were, and how he couldn't even land a blow." It doesn't feel like selling Remi out, not really. Not when the Family seemed to have such a good idea about everything going on, anyways.
"Okay so, in the interests of our regions remaining close allies as we've always been, anything I should know about Stormbreak now that you've taken over? Or anything you'd want to change between how our two regions do things?"
Humming an indulgent sound of appreciation around her next sip of wine, Dahlia makes a mental note to skip back down to Torchline once Longheat hits. In the meantime, the rest of her evening may well find her at one of the street vendors out along the coastline, a glass of (much cheaper) wine in hand and a plate of deep fried ramphire to enjoy. Who knows, maybe she'll even find some company worth keeping while she's there?
"I don't suppose you happen to have any of that gin laying around your bar?" she wonders; if they're gossiping about the man, they may as well drink his liquor, right?
And so it's with another soft laugh that she listens to Flora's explanation, before focusing on what, to anyone listening in, might actually be a very reasonable regional discussion. "Nothing of note, I ought to think. Our lines of transport and communication remain open, which is both wise and welcome from both sides, I ought to think. Ah, I do see your co-leader up there quite a lot, though. Perhaps it would be polite if he dropped by to see me in the same way you've been so kind as to open your doors to me."
"You know I do." With a small sound of delight, the Doubletake rises. The bottles that Remi uses have been refilled so many times as to have utterly lost any character they once had, but it was what was inside that counted. Grabbing two shot glasses from behind the bar, Flora returns with a bright grin. "He and my dad used to live up in the mountains by a waterfall that flows backwards. That's what this is made from." The queen explains as she uncorks the gin and pours them each a shot.
Lifting hers in a toast before downing it easily, Flora leans back against her chair as the juniper burn of the alcohol drifted down her throat.
"Who, Hadama? Oh sure." Thinking back to what the king said on the beach, the Doubletake openly considers for a moment as she leans forward. "He wanted to apologize for his part in the interruption during the Ball. Maea is his friend and clearly not right in the head. He just wanted to make sure she didn't do anything stupid." Flora explains casually, the way one might try and justify an elderly parent's awkward social interactions. "He's basically lived his whole life underwater, so if he's weird, that's why."
"And here I thought your father just enjoyed dipping his toes into the sand where they don't belong. I shall have to invite him for a rematch in thanks for being able to try his gin," Dahlia purrs, and were it not for the very deadly implications of such a rematch, it might have even sounded like something Remi would enjoy. Nevertheless, the Reaper accepts her shot of gin and raises it to Flora, before knocking it back in a smooth motion.
Shivering a touch at the burn of the alcohol but with clear approval on her lips, Dahlia sets the shot glass down and eyes the bottle on the shelf. "I might have to include some of that in our future trade agreements with Stormbreak," she murmurs.
As for Hadama and his apologies, the Reaper is already waving them off with a laugh. "Oh, hush - no harm done, and Sunjata already smoothed it over. Underwater though, you say? That does explain a lot." Quite what that is remains a secret, however. "Anyway, I do hate to put a stop to what I imagine would be a very good night indeed, but I've some business to attend to. It was lovely to speak with you though, dear. Do let me know if you'd like to take our arrangement to a more personal level."
"Aww, you should!" Flora agrees, because honestly, what else was she supposed to say. "Really, he should have just invited you to that little tournament he hosted." She adds, before nudging the bottle across the table. "Take it. I can have him make me more. Consider it my apology gift to you, on his behalf."
Affectionately crinkling her nose at the mention of the Flood, Flora smlies. "He's my step-dad, you know? Or will be." The information is supplied in the hopes that, if Dahlia liked Sunjata, what was the harm in adding another ingratiating connection between she and the Doubletake? "Mhmm. The Mercity down below." The queen confirms with a stiff nod of her head. "It's...not really much to see." Not worth visiting, in other words. "But I'll tell Hadama."
As Dahlia brings their little chat to an end, Flora finds herself flushing slightly. "I certainly will. You can bet it's all I'll be thinking about tonight, surely." The Doubletake purrs as if Dahlia had been offering her a night between her thighs instead of...well, instead of whatever she was offering.
"Kind, generous and well-connected. Torchline is very lucky to have you, dear," Dahlia purrs to Flora, collecting up the bottle without needing to be told twice. Perhaps it would be worth giving Remi a little smooch in future, if for no other reason than to employ him as her own personal bartender. With those ever so normal thoughts in her mind, the Reaper inclines her head to her fellow queen and rises to her feet.
"Good. I'll check back in soon to try that sushi, and perhaps we can talk again about it." If she speaks to Sunjata in the meantime, Dahlia is sure that the Flood will be able to speak to the merits of being in the Family's back pocket. But for now, it's with a smile as indulgent as it is hungry that Dahlia disappears as promptly as she'd arrived.
It's a good thirty seconds or so after the Reaper's departure before the door to the backroom of the Hanged Man opens, and another few seconds after that before the captain actually appears. Setting Flora's invisibility ring on the counter despite the way he'd like to jam it onto his hand permanently and not be visible until the Family has moved on from Caido, Jack doesn't often seem rattled, but given that he's now seen the yawning violet chasm of Dahlia's thoughts, well, so sue him.
"Do not let that woman anywhere fuckin' near you again if you can help it," he snaps, already stepping behind the bar to grab a bottle of top shelf rum and a glass, taking both to the table and sitting, coincidentally, in the seat that the Reaper has just vacated.
Still at the table, Flora lets her eyes close as she exhales as slowly and quietly as she can. Alarm bells are understandably going off in her mind, but she's also experiencing an adrenaline spike so strong that she's finding it hard to sit still. She did it. She spoke to Dahlia, bought Jack a little time to find some things out, and most important (maybe), she survived it.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Turning, she eyes the captain just once before getting to her feet, meaning to pour him a drink. Seeing as he was well on his way to doing just that, instead, Flora reached for her ring and returned it to her finger. "Why? We had a nice chat." The queen teases as she sits back down.
Resting one knee against the table and leaning full back into her chair, Flora took another deep and calming breath knowing that whatever her face was doing, the frenzied state of her mind wasn't fooling Jack for a hot minute.
"So I heard," Jack snaps, and at the moment it isn't even intentional. Pouring a large measure of rum and sliding the bottle towards Flora as if fully intending her to join him, the captain wastes hardly any time in knocking it back. "But I heard everythin' else too," he says, voice roughened by the alcohol and a headache beginning to throb a drumbeat behind his eyes.
"They're not gonna stop until they have everythin'," he tells her simply. "It's what they're made for. Only way to survive is to join 'em, an' that'll only last until you've run out of uses. That kid who used to work here - Everest? - he's in on it already." Dahlia's amusement and enjoyment of it all had practically dripped from her thoughts, and the captain still feels oily about it.
Raising her eyebrows as if silently challenging Jack to say more, Flora drains the last of the wine in her glass before adding rum to it and taking a sip. Now with her best red wine, her father's gin, and Jack's rum filling her belly, the queen's heartbeat was able to slow, her thoughts calming, her mind settling.
"Okay doom and gloom, it isn't all bad. At least we know we aren't an immediate target and that they'd not mad about the barriers we've put up. That's not nothing." She points out. "It gives us time. Hadama and I can call down Rae or Vi again, get our Coastlines protected and in the meantime the demigods can, you know, do their thing." They might be listening, the queen thought, taking another sip of her rum.
As for Ever?
"I did wonder... I mean, he was waiting on her hand and foot at the Ball. Fuck, should I tell Isla?" What Jack did or didn't know about the relationship between aviator and medic, Flora's mind would instantly fill in for him.
At being called doom and gloom, Jack at least has the decency to level a very flat look at Flora, as if to silently remind her that he'd been the one with Dahlia's crazy and megalomaniacal thoughts melting into his ownn for the past however long. She is, however, irritatingly right, and the captain grumbles at much and refills his glass. "Even so, don't have a meetin' like this again. You have no idea what..." Huffing out a long breath and shaking his head as if to say he doesn't want to talk about it, he replaces conversation with more rum.
Making an appropriate I dunno noise at the mention of Isla, even after being appropriately filled in on the details of her relationship with Everest, Jack sets down his empty glass and rubs at his temples with his fingertips. "What good will come of it?" he asks. "She finds out, everyone finds out, an' then what? Your little truce with Dahlia breaks down? Ever leaves for Stormbreak and never comes back?"
