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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!
08-10-2024, 02:15 PM (This post was last modified: 08-22-2024, 08:42 AM by Flora.)
Flora
They say that idle hands were the devil's playthings, and certainly that was true in Flora's case. Every moment alone in her own thoughts the queen spent plotting revenge against Danta and Asta, her anger even spilling over into thoughts of blowing things up with Jack and Koa as well. Fuck it, maybe she could just take Dahlia up on her offer and go live on Starfall where she'd be fully within her rights to attack anyone who stepped foot on her shores.
So anyway, that's why Flora had demanded asked for help from her dad and her brother in building fountains around Hualani.
Amidst a group of NPCs Torchers, the queen was roughly explaining what it is that they'd be doing over the next few days. There was the general prep of it all which required the most physical labour before she'd be relying heavily upon those with water magic to help draw the water from the various underground springs left over from when Torchline was part of the continent proper.
Why wasn't the good captain Jack with his mastered water magic part of this effort? Please refer back to paragraph one.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Is Mateo good at manual labour?
No.
Does Mateo know the first thing about building, maintaining or pretty much anything about public fountains?
No.
Does he miss hanging out with his sister, though?
Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
Unable to remember the last time he'd been invited to do anything with Flora, let alone with Ronin as well, if the botanist knew he was at the bottom of the barrel when it came to the Doubletake's pool of people, perhaps he'd feel a little differently about all of this. But what Mateo doesn't know can't hurt him (what a stupid saying, yes it can, he's tripped over many a step in his time), and so he arrives with the best intentions if very little actual knowledge or experience.
"Buongiorno, sorellina!" he chirps as he parts through the group of Torchers, clearly having no interest in them whatsoever as he kisses each of Flora's cheeks hello. "Tell me where you need me."
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
08-11-2024, 02:53 AM (This post was last modified: 08-11-2024, 02:53 AM by Ronin.)
RONIN
the white knight
Not unlike Mateo, Ronin heeds Flora's call for the opportunity to spend time with not just one of his children but two, and the rest (i.e. the important, logistical part) can come much later.
Having flown up from the Northaven on his nimbus for no other reason than because he can't be made late by helping people if he's too high up for them to see him, the Knight is almost suspiciously punctual as he dismisses the cloud and lands among the rest of the group.
If ne notices that Flora is more subdued (responsible?) than usual, he trusts her to come to him (or any of her other parents) about it when the time is right, and so he calls out a greeting and presses a kiss to her curls before turning to draw Mateo into a hug.
"All present and accounted for, it looks like." He grins. "Let's get started."
Glancing at Mateo as he swaggers over, the queen rather uncharacteristically tosses her arms around his shoulders as he flutters kisses against her cheeks, drawing him into a quick hug before releasing him. "Hey." She hums, her smile far less bright than normal. "Thanks for coming." Whereas Ronin was all but obligated to attend given that he was technically one of her SubJECtS, that Mateo had found the time meant all the more to the Doubletake given how her last few days had gone.
Glancing at up Ronin, the queen grins. "Perfect, you go take care of everything and Mateo and I are going to go shopping, deal?" Nudging her brother, the Flora laughed before moving to address the group at large.
"Okay! We've got a lot of stone to get through, so we're going to break up into three groups! The first is going to break the stone up into usable pieces, the second is going to sort them based on shape almost like a puzzle, and the third—" Glancing over her shoulder at Mateo, the queen winks. "Gets to go through and pick out whatever pieces look the best so we can add some sort of decoration onto the fountains after.
Sound good?"
Group 1 - aka Ronin, break up some stone!
Group 2 - aka Flora, sorting pieces!
Group 3 - aka Mateo, snipe the best pieces for decorations later.
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
Smiling to watch Flora and Mateo together, it likely comes as no surprise that if the Doubletake had decided she and her brother were going to head off for the day, Ronin would of course have taken things over in her stead. As it happens, though he's lucky enough that they are sticking around to work, and the Knight nods as he's assigned his task. Well, not assigned, but they all know what he's best at doing out of the three jobs that need completion.
"Okay, let's do it," he says with a grin, his projection appearing at his side so both versions of the Knight can go and collect some large hammers.
With assistance from the Torchers in his group, Ronin is able to smash up stone into varying sizes; some rough-hewn but square-ish, others into more intricate shards likely best for decoration, and anything in between.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Already having been prepped to skedaddle off for some retail therapy with his sister, Mateo is almost disappointed to learn that they are, in fact, sticking around for the fountain business. Still, he's been given the best job (in his opinion) and so it's with a grateful smile to Flora that he and his little group - all of whom look like the creative sort - read: artists, sculptors and drug-takers - go to lurk around Ronin's work so they might be able to pick out the nicest bits to decorate the fountain(s).
"So are these going to be drinking fountains? Bathing fountains? Both? Asking for a friend." Mateo grins at Flora. "Either way, I assume there will be scope for me to include some greenery in this decoration?" He's not been able to bring anything from his greenhouse in Stormbreak, of course, but there's plenty of beautiful foliage around Torchline he can use.
Mateo does his thing!
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
About to sass her brother, Flora quickly realizes that Mateo might actually have a point. "Well...I was originally thinking they'd all just be drinking fountains, but we could always make some larger?" Raising her brows, the queen's lips twitch from side to side as she considers. "And if the water is constantly being moved through it isn't like it can get too dirty, right?" Especially if what people were drinking was what was flowing from the fountain itself, rather than stagnating in the basin. "And yes of course you can add greenery." Flora adds with a grin before pressing a kiss to her brother's cheek and going to start on her own portion of their task.
Ronin will find that things are extremely easygoing, not that anyone is likely surprised by this. With strength enough to make even super human seem like a poor descriptor, the Knight could probably have broken the stones over his knees if he'd wanted to. It does mean the rest of his group goes about their own work a touch lazily though, knowing that the Knight will pick up any slack that they leave behind.
Mateo, left to his own devices will be free to choose whatever bits of stone he desires. Already his group has ideas about the sorts of decorations they might carve into the fountains or adorn them with, with several sketchbooks already showing images of naked bodies wrestling ('wrestling') with all manner of sea creatures.
Ronin! We need more stone. Motivate your group (or don't!)
Mateo: Decide if you're okay with the direction your group wants to take the fountains!
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
Things are extremely easy-going, even with his group's laziness, but Ronin was not born the person he is now, and whilst he's no dictator, he knows a few ways to pick up the pace.
Rather than cheerleading or demanding from his fellow Torchers, Ronin spends his spare moments suggesting. Perhaps two people could help to move the things he's broken up, or maybe another member of the group might like some help with a larger slab of stone? There are tools to clean up, there's dust to sweep, and Flora would probably appreciate everyone's input just as much as he does.
Either way the work will still get done, but the Knight isn't keen to be entirely taken for a fool. If some of the group do still decide to take his being there as an easy way out, well, he's good at remembering faces. Put it that way.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"You could always just put a sign to tell people not to drink from the larger fountains," Mateo suggests with a grin - not that he expects thirsty Torchers to really care. "Or you could have them all stem from the healing fountain. But either way - I believe it will be fine." And it isn't his region, so he can believe whatever he likes! He gets his greenery as well, so the botanist is naturally in a very good mood, offering his cheek out for Flora's kiss before turning his attention back to his group.
With the prime sculpting pieces of rock being successfully sniped from the piles already, he's free to inspect the sketchbooks (and maybe partake in a little snapdragon merriment from one of the creatives at work), and of course what he sees is beautiful and perfect and needs absolutely no refinement. "I particularly like the tentacles and the open mouths," he informs them with a nod.
Mateo (naturally) loves the lewd designs his group have come up with, and gives them a big old stamp of approval!
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
"I don't know if you know this Mateo, but Torchers aren't really known for abiding by signs." Flora says with a grin. Not unless those signs were accompanied by the likes of Jack or men with daggers keen on enforcing them. But issues of law enforcement aside, the queen tucked the idea away for later.
Ronin will find that at least most Torchers are fairly amenable to his charming brand of leadership, though now his largest problem seems to be chiefly that his presence is serving as a bit of a distraction. While he's around, couldn't he quickly help fix this broken wagon wheel? And could he help peel potatoes for dinner? And did he have the time to chat to a rather troubled teen about his dating life?
If Mateo is happy, his group is happy! Quickly the search now turns to stones that seem to hold within them phallic or otherwise suggestive shapes rather than ones that are simply a pretty colour or pleasing shape.
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
A distraction? Ronin? Never. Or rather, he doesn't plan to keep it that way. Allowing his progress to slow somewhat by letting his projection deal with the rock smashing (and he hopes that the rest of his group will pick up the slack now that they aren't coasting by on his strength), the Knight does allow himself to lend a helping hand where possible.
The wagon wheel is easily sorted, for instance, and he invites an opportunity for the unlucky-in-love teen to chat to him whilst he finishes his tasks here. Only the potatoes are a bit of a stretch, and he replies to that request with a sincere apology and a promise to come and visit soon to help with all of dinner - including the eating of it, he hopes.
"If you stare at these any harder I'll make you break some yourself," he quips to Mateo with a broad smile, having noticed the botanist watching expectantly for any phallic shaped pieces to shatter and reveal themselves.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"I am not staring, I am observing," Mateo replies haughtily to his father, though the amusement in his eyes absolutely gives him away, and he promptly skedaddles so he might 'observe' a few of the other members of Ronin's group as they chip away at the slabs of stone. Able to find some good pieces of rock with gentle curves befitting breasts (or tentacles) and glittering bits that could be eyes or lips, he glances back at Flora with a grin.
"Are there any gemstones we might also use?" he wonders, just in case the queen has any expensive tricks up her sleeve. "Pearls or sapphires would really set these off, you know." Not that the design has even been remotely finalised yet. His point still stands either way.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Flora, who was in the process of sorting out various wagons to be used later, glances over her shoulder at her brother with a smirk. "If you use actual gems they'll be gone within five minutes." She points out, shrugging affectionately. "If you want, you can take some of your group and head that way toward the Rainbow Road to get the colours you want?" Pretty as the stones were, they were common enough that not even petty thieves would go to the trouble of prying them out of the statues and fountains.
With the wagons assembled, Flora lifts a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, spying not one, but two Ronin's on the beach. Grinning, she rolls her eyes as she places her fingers between her lips and whistles loudly enough to get his attention, before waving him over. "Okay, I figured if we used wagons we could move the stones a lot quicker and we wouldn't risk breaking anything in transport. Can you arrange to have people start stacking the stones into the wagons?"
Ronin - lets start loading! Mateo - off you go to the rainbow road!
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
It probably won't come as a surprise to anyone to learn that, had Flora not whistled for him on the beach, Ronin would have continued to break stone into pieces until there was more fountain in Haulani than city. At least this way he looks up, shielding his eyes and beaming at her, and his projection is already moving to start stacking the stone into the wagons. "You got it," he tells her cheerfully, before turning back to the group.
"I can pull two wagons, but I might need a hand with any others," he says. "If we split into two groups, one can stack the stone and whoever is leftover can be responsible for moving the wagons for this first leg of it?" Unless Flora has some ponies stashed away behind her back, that is. Providing that's not the case, though, the Knight proceeds as he's instructed.
