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Character of the Season
Once known as the Butcher of Whitebrim, he's now The Butcher of Dygra, stepping forward as the first created demigod of the Ancients. There is no question that Astaroth casts an intimidating silhouette. Tall, domineering and dangerous, if looks could kill you'd be dead already, but to get up close and personal with the Grounds' resident cannibal tells a much different story. Dripping with charm and clad in only the finest attire, Asta is a gentleman monster, as polite as they come and committed to his role as security for the Dusklight and those who have earned his loyalty. Be careful of that smile, though - those teeth are sharp.
Congratulations, Asta!
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!
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
As an accepted, it would be strange to say that Flora wasn't pious, not with how often she called down the gods to help her out of tricky situations or even just to make her life a bit more interesting, but certainly she wasn't the sort to be seen at a temple, especially not one as grand as this one. Yet, here she was, dressed for the weather in Stormbreak rather than Torchline—a long flowing sundress with various strains of green threaded throughout and a cream shawl over her shoulders—kneeling by one of the altars. In fact what Torchline's queen was doing, was wasting a bit of time before she was scheduled to meet with her brother by filling in Safrin of the latest gossip she thought her chosen herald might be interested in knowing.
And if she offered a quick pre-emptive thanks to Frey for what she was going to ask them for in the coming season, what of it?
Lighting a few candles, the Doubletake rose, brushing off her knees and quietly clearing her throat. A resounding crash! suddenly echoed from the opposite end of the Temple, and were it not for the sheepish pulse she felt through the bond she shared with a certain dragon the queen wouldn't have thought anything of it. Instead, she marched purposefully back toward the door where Spice had apparently knocked over an entire standing vat of oil thinking it was water.
Having only just started to build personal connections with the deities, Zavien didn't think it could hurt to visit the temple and practice his praying. After all, he had anything but a way with words. In fact, words seemed to always find a way to twist in his mind and tumble out of his mouth in odd stuttering sounds of stilted syllables. He'd hate to make a fool of himself in front of the most important beings in the known world.
However, as he made his way into the arching entrance of the temple, an echoing crash had him jolting into a fighting stance, his hand on his sword hilt and his green eyes scanning the shadows. The paranoid jumpiness had been a new development thanks to his recent plotting with Koa and Lena. A healthy level of caution was good, but he couldn't have people noticing the worry that flashed across his face. It wouldn't give the people of Stormbreak confidence if they saw their 'strong, powerful Dragoons' tucking their tail at every startling noise.
Taking a deep breath, he progressively released the tension of his taut muscles. The narrowing of his focus opened to let him spot the oil spreading across the floor. Its surface reflected the rainbow of stained glass illuminated by the strong sunlight, casting the stone walls in a myriad of colors. And simultaneously revealing a dragon looking quite guilty. A laugh escaped freely at the sight, eliminating all remaining nerves. Zavien's eyes sparkled with an accompanying smile, his scruff doing nothing to diminish the friendly warmth. Squatting down, he assessed the spill and the associated culprit. "Well, you've made quite the mess, haven't you?" Lowering his voice to a whisper, he gave the dragon a wink. "I won't tell if you won't."
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
The pale dragon looks up at the approaching dragoon, her wings spread and her teeth barred as if she wasn't the size of a housecat and might pose some actual threat to him. Swatting her tail back and forth, it was only as he knelt down, his posture and tone conspiratorial rather than mad that the little creature perked up. Trilling something softly, Spice flaps her wings once to lift herself over the spilled oil before moving to hide behind Zavien as Flora makes her way hastily forward.
It takes the queen only a moment to appraise the situation—the dragoon on his knees, the spilled oil, the not very hidden dragon—such that her aqua eyes glitter with amusement as she folds her arms over her chest. "I can feel you, you know." She hums, her gaze directed somewhere toward Zavien's hip where Spice has the good sense to poke her head out entirely innocently.
"Sorry about this." The Doubletake murmurs, flashing the dragoon an apologetic smile. "If she had it her way she'd have you taking all the blame."
Like most animals, the small dragon seems to warm to him quickly and his eyes follow the dramatics with faint amusement. Following shortly after, the approaching sound of feet has Zavien glancing up as the Torchline queen steps into his field of vision. He immediately recognizes her after having attended the Tournament some months ago and is surprised to see her in Stormbreak. His head dips respectfully and he's quite proud of himself as his words come out clear and comprehensible. "Your Highness." He's not sure if he should actually address her as such, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.
Zavien doesn't accept her apology, instead waving his hand in dismissal. His following chuckle echoes against the empty temple walls but the sound remains bright, somehow making the atmosphere feel lighter. He twists his head around to glance at the 'hidden' dragon with a fond smile. "And I'm sure I'd take the blame without question." Even if it meant trouble, he'd do what he could to protect any animal from such wrath or punishment. Although, he has a feeling this is a common occurrence and he shakes his head at the adorably troublesome creature.
A small piece of jerky appears in his hand and he offers it to the dragon. Boreal had trained him well, after all. "My name's Zavien. What's hers?" His green eyes lift to meet Flora's own blue gaze, open and friendly like a flourishing meadow of grass meeting the clear sky.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
"Oh, pfft." The queen laughs, giving her head a little shake. Though the Doubletake had worked hard to get where she was and certainly wasn't the type to wilt beneath acknowledgement of her achievements, your highness was even a bit rich for her tastes. "Just call me Flora, please." If she's surprised at all about being recognised (she isn't), she doesn't show it. Instead, her smile is as bright and cheerful as ever as she widens her eyes at the sudden appearance of a rather guilty-looking pair of blue eyes. "Ah, well then you're just her type then." She chuckles, of Zavien having been willing to take the fall. "Luckily between the two of us I bet we can clean this up before anyone has to be lashed outside of the Needle, hmmm?" This last sound is directed at Spice, who trills sweetly in response before eagerly snorfling the offered jerky.
"Nice to meet you, that's Spice." The queen replies. "My dad found her up in the mountains, and since his ice dragon is called Sugar..." Flora shrugs, her smile lopsided; Sugar and Spice, because Ronin was oh so creative.
Glancing around for something they could use to clean up the oil, the queen opts for a bit of cloth that was likely going to be used to cover a table or some such (hopefully it wasn't important). Kneeling down, Flora spreads the cloth out over the oil. "She gets this way when she's bored." The queen explains. "Not that I can really blame her." Nosing at his pocket, Zavien will feel the press of Spice's nose as she searches for more jerky, her blue eyes wide and adoring as she begs for whatever else he might have to offer her.
Zavien smiles at her laugh and accepts the informal title with a polite nod of his head. Despite her status, she is obviously humble, causing the unknown tension to leave his shoulders. He's met leaders before. He shouldn't be surprised or nervous to be talking with one now, but he hasn't spoken with one so pretty before and for some reason, pretty people make it harder to play it cool. Forcing the awkwardness down, he tries to let his usually playfulness take the lead, grateful that Spice likes him.
He laughs at the name. "That's ingenious, and adorable." Looking to the small dragon, he asks, "Are you more of a sweet spice or a spicy spice?" Zavien doesn't know how such a cute creature could be naughty, yet recent events would prove otherwise and he gives her a knowing smile.
At the nuzzling, he discretely produces another piece of jerky for Spice with a following wink before stepping forward to assist Flora. He grabs another (hopefully unimportant) cloth and begins soaking up the slick oil. "Me neither. I'm much worse when I'm bored. All fidgeting limbs and lots of pointless rambling." His chuckle accents the twinkle of his eyes. "I always have to be doing something." Thoughts of sword practices and miscellaneous trainings flash through his mind. He's never been good at sitting still.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
Exhaling a frosty breath toward Zavien's knee, the dragonling can only grin a toothy grin in response. "Oh, definitely a spicy-Spice." The queen confirms with a snort, shaking her head affectionately at the tiny creature who seemed utterly unwilling to help clean up. "I wouldn't have it any other way, though." Flora adds, smiling up at Zavien before snagging the cloth.
Snorfaling the jerky, Spice glides up toward the rafters to peer down innocently at the cleanup effort. Laughing under her breath, Flora raises her eyebrows as she nods in agreement. "Mmmm, and you've definitely got a good deal more limbs than she has." She'd noticed his height almost immediately, not to mention that he was likely a dragoon given his athleticism and attire, likely making him even more of a mess should his limbs get the better of him.
"Strange way to keep yourself from being bored." Flora notes, wiping away the worst of the oil with her section of the cloth. "Being in a Temple, I mean."
Admiring the affection between the Accepted and her dragon, Zavien smiles, thinking about what he hopes to experience himself one day. If his own dragon is anything like Spice (or Boreal or Pipsqueak), inhaling all his snacks, he doubts his pockets will ever be full again. Although, even as she slips away into the rafters, the leftover jerky sits ready to be offered.
Zavien rubs his knee to dispel the frosty sensation as he lowers to the floor. "Fair enough." He gives Flora a silly expression and waves his arms around like octopus tentacles. His laugh echoes around the temple again, making it feel a little less empty.
Letting the goofiness roll off, he sops up the liquid with his cloth. At the question of his presence, he say, "Don't get me wrong. It's not a common occurrence. But because of that, I figured I could use some practice praying." Chuckling lightly, he runs a hand through his golden hair, the oil causing it to stick up in a glistening mess. "I'm - uh - I'm not very good with words." His cheeks are a warm red as he focuses his hands back on the task, soaking up the remaining mess with his cloth. He'd hate to make an embarrassment of himself in front of a deity and the temple was a great place to fumble through sentences.
After making sure no other spots linger, Zavien stands. He wraps the cloth into itself and clears his throat with a polite smile. "And what brings the Queen of Torchline to the Trinity Temple?" There are plenty of shrines in her own territory to visit, not that he's upset to be meeting her, but it definitely makes him wonder.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
08-15-2024, 06:00 AM (This post was last modified: 08-15-2024, 06:00 AM by Flora.)
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
Based simply on what she'd seen of Zavien so far, Flora had mistakenly assumed he'd be as rigid and serious as the majority of the dragoons that she'd met. Ones like Koa seemed to be the exception rather than the rule, and so as Zavien began to wriggle his arms the queen couldn't help the way laughter spilled brightly from her lips, sounding far too loud in a space normally reserved for reverent whispers and prayers. Clasping a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, Flora bites at the inside of one cheek before shooting the dragoon a playfully scolding look. "Well, honestly from what I've learned over the years, starting with the proper offering is the first step. Half of the gods won't even deal with you if you don't bring them the right sort of thing, or worse, you'll get cursed for bringing the wrong one." Flora explains with a small shrug, leaning back slightly as Zavien wipes away the remainder of the oil.
Standing when he does, the Doubletake glances over her shoulder with a small sigh before returning her aqua stare back to Zavien. "To be honest? I'm just killing time." She admits with a crooked smile. "I came up to Stormbreak to visit my brother but the skyship got in early so I thought I'd check out the Temple." Honestly it was nothing overly impressive if Flora was being honest despite the impressive architecture, and were it not for exploration requirements the fact that it had been convenient to access, she wouldn't have bothered at all.
Her laughter only serves to increase his own and Zavien has to clamp his mouth shut to avoid attracting attention from any devout individuals. His eyes are glistening and his abs hurt. He has to pause his cleanup in order to place a hand on his stomach and force a deep breath. No regret mars his expression as he gives Flora a bright smile.
Zavien appreciates the advice and tries to take it more seriously, nodding his head. "Hmm... so I've heard. If I remember correctly, Safrin likes beautiful things, Frey likes sweet foods, and Ludo likes games. Is that right? After all, I'd hate to get cursed." He gives her a playfully dramatic grimace while sucking air through his teeth, but he genuinely has no desire to offend a deity or encur their wrath. However, nothing can be taken too seriously in life.
Glancing around, he spots a garbage can to dispose of the cloth. After getting rid of the evidence, he returns to Flora, righting the vat to officially clear the area of anything amiss. Zavien listens to her story, nodding his head. "I actually had the opposite problem a few months ago. When I was trying to leave Torchline my skyship got delayed so I had to kill some time in the area." Thinking about his adventures during Deepfrost, he recalls the various people he'd been able to meet, realization brightening his features. "I even visited your bar, and met your dad, Remi!" Once the words left his mouth, Zavien recognized how strange they sound and he rubs a hand in his scruff to hide the pink, even as his ears noticeably redden. "But, uh, I'm sure you get that a lot. It's a really nice place though." Grimacing at the awkwardness, he tries to change the subject. "Who's your brother?"
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
His laughter was infectious, and much as Flora tried to stifle her own giggles, the more that Zavien continued the more the queen found herself swept away by the tide of his own amusement until her sides were also aching. "Shhhhhhh." She scolded affectionately, nudging his shoulder with her own. "We're going to get kicked out!" Flora adds as if she hadn't been laughing just as hard, her aqua eyes shiny with tears.
But then they're onto more serious topics and once the queen has her breath back, she gives her head a small little shake. "Sort of. Safrin just likes when people make a show of her, so beautiful things work but you could also just pick a flower and if you told some story about how to was the loveliest one of all and how the petals reminded you of the softness of her skin, that'd work just as well." Flora says with a shrug. "Definitely games for Ludo, and...well, nature Frey usually likes seeds or water, things like that. Never plucked flowers, and sex Frey..." Flora's smile turns a touch wry as she raises her eyebrows. "There are the obvious sorts of offerings.." Sex. She means sex. "But if that isn't your style I've heard they quite like honey, cream, and peaches."
Not terribly surprised to hear that Zavien had made his way to the Hanged Man, it was the most popular bar in Torchline for a reason, but that Remi had been there as well had Flora snickering under her breath. "Oh yeah? I hope he at least bought you a drink." She says with an affectionate roll of her eyes. "Thanks. I've worked really hard on it over the years." Smiling, Flora glances up at the rafters to make sure Spice hadn't wandered off, before returning her gaze to the dragoon. "Mateo Taliesin, do you know him? He runs a botany shop in the Plaza."
The laughter is better than any drug, casting his thoughts in bright cascades of color, sparking joy throughout his body. When Flora bumps against his shoulder, Zavien has to keep himself from tumbling into a fit of uncontrollable chuckles. Covering as much of his spreading smile as he can, he bites his lip to keep from erupting even further. Meeting her eyes, he winks. "Don't worry. I'll take the blame." Flashing her a wide, bright grin, he nudges her back.
His eyes widen at her plethora of advice. Obviously, she knows them well and he makes sure to commit the notes to memory. He keeps an intent look on his face until a blush flashes across his cheeks at the topic of Sex Frey. Even though his mom was involved with sex work, it didn't mean he had a lot of experience in that area. Zavien clears his throat quietly, trying to hide the embarrassment, but the red is much more evident this time and he doesn't want to cause any more disturbance than they already had. However, the image of 'peaches' is flashing through his mind and he has to look away for a second. "I'll have to keep that in mind. Thank you." His smile is warm and appreciative, even as the red spreads to his ears.
Happy to change the topic, he remembers how a few bottles of alcohol had ended up shattered on the floor, not that he wanted to tell Flora that. Instead, Zavien smiles at the enjoyable interaction. "He did." In a manner of speaking. "You've done a great job. You have a reason to be proud." The bar had been popular even at the odd hour he'd been there.
The name 'Mateo' rings some bells, but Zavien can't bring a face to mind, so he shakes his head lightly. "I've heard of him, but I've never actually met him." Stormbreak is too small for him to not have heard of the botanist, however, he's never had a reason to seek out his services. "How much time do you need to kill? Do you want some company?" Glancing around at the stuffy temple, Zavien chuckles. "Possibly someplace more interesting than a Temple?" He raises an eyebrow at her, his own green eyes twinkling with humor.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand
"That's twice today you've offered to take the blame." Flora notes, her cheeks still round with amusement. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had a thing for being in trouble." Lifting a brow, the queen smirks before the conversation takes a bit of a turn. Opting not to comment on the way Zavien's ears seem to redden or his boyish discomfort with some of her advice, Flora instead just winks up at him before nodding toward the door.
"He frequents Mother Molly's quite a bit, if you're ever in that area." Though given his reaction to sex Frey, she doubted if the dragoon was in the brothels all too often. Then again, what did she know?
"I would love that." Grinning, the queen glances up into the rafters and lifts her eyebrows towards Spice, who, to her credit, instantly flies down and through the doorway as Flora nudges it open. "We can grab a coffee and then walk to Mateo's shop. That way you'll know where it is if you ever need flowers."
Shrugging his shoulders, Zavien chuckles. "Perhaps, but when trouble finds you as often as it does me, it doesn't seem as scary anymore. It's more like an old friend, and I'd rather spare others the discomfort of my friend's company." His wink is playful, heavy with memories of scolding looks and half-hearted punishments. It almost seems strange when he's not finding trouble somewhere.
Glad to be moving on from the sex Frey topic, Zavien smiles brightly at the mention of Mother Molly's. Contrary to assumptions, he is quite familiar with the establishment, even more so with its owner. "Oh! It's been awhile since I stopped by there. Maybe I'll see him next time." He doesn't elaborate, totally unaware of how the comment might be construed, instead, he follows Flora to the door, excited to exit the stuffy Temple. He'd come back later to complete his practice prayer session.
"That sounds like a great idea, especially the coffee. Although, I must warn you: I know nothing about flowers." Zavien laughs lightly, recalling a specific fluffy purple sword that had been named to him multiple times yet the name still eluded him (don't tell Lena). Hopefully, he won't make too much of a fool of himself in front of the pretty Queen or her brother.
Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
