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!
11-04-2024, 02:29 PM (This post was last modified: 11-12-2024, 06:34 PM by Vesper.)
I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
In the far corner of Haulani sat somethin' Vesper was willing to guess that even the locals had all but forgotten about, given the overgrown pathway he'd needed to take to get to the Star Gate, nevermind the fact he'd had to ask three different merchants about where the fuck it actually was.
"I can't say I care much about havin' this thing work any different, but from what I've noticed folks seem real keen to take note of who helps out with shit like this." Vesper mutters to Nova, glancing at her over one shoulder as they stroll along the pathway. "I ain't even really sure what needs doin', but I doubt it'll be hard to figure out. Now with you as the brains, anyway." Tipping his sister a wink, the demigod chuckles dryly under his breath before slowing his steps to let her go first through an overgrown section.
"Jack's gonna meet us." He adds once he's back at her side.
Up ahead, the star gate sits looking wildly anticlimactic. Overgrown with weeds, nearly a third of the stones had been covered up with sand thanks to some of the monsoons and the effects both of the war and Starfall's arrival.
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Nova follows behind Vesper, her blue eyes scanning the little piece of forgotten Torchline. "I noticed that too! I helped find a missing cat that turned out to be multiple cats, and all of a sudden people seem to notice me!" It definitely had nothing to do with her impeccable fashion sense or bubbly attitude. No, it had to be the rumor of her brief act of 'kindness.'
Although she had no idea either, the compliment has Nova lifting her head, a confident smile pulling at her lips. "Weeeell, when you put it that way, I guess you'll just have to follow my lead." She returns his chuckle with a bright one of her own, thoughts sparkling optimistic excitement. Using her hand to secure her sunhat to her head, she dips under a particularly overgrown plant, emerging to see the dilapidated state of the Star Gate. She hums a light tune as she tilts her head, scrutinizing the structure with narrowed eyes. "I expected... more." The name 'Star Gate' made her think of twinkling pieces of gems adorning a glimmering arch, like the physical embodiment of a galaxy. This is... anything but. Dirty and dull, it shows no signs of its celestial namesake. But she supposed that was the reason for their visit.
Her hand absently brushes aside a leaf as she wonders about meeting Jack again. "Do you think he'll still be all 'serious' and 'commanding'?" She drops her voice dramatically, giggling at her own theatrics as she looks back to her brother. The movement spins her blue floral dress out, her golden hair catching the sunlight for a moment to match the cascade of eager anticipation.
"I'm always serious and commandin', yes," Jack drawls, having been waiting for them around the general vicinity of this sorry excuse for a 'stargate'. "Not quite so bad now we ain't on my pride and joy, granted." The Ark brokers no room for fuckery, it's true. This, though? This he's more than happy to figure out as they go along. "Y'know, I can't ever remember this thing bein' used. Maybe once, durin' the war?"
Scoffing and shaking his head, Jack circles the stargate and its sad, overgrown appearance, the sea breeze ruffling his dark hair. "Where'd you wanna start?" he asks, fishing around in his pockets for his cigarettes and sparking one up, using his air magic to keep the match from blowing out.
I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
"You are hard to miss." Vesper agrees, the skin around the corner of his eyes wrinkling ever so slightly as he shoots his sister a wry grin. Though he wasn't sure how much she'd actually helped in finding the lost cat, he was positive that regardless of her efforts, there wouldn't be a single person who'd come within her orbit who'd be quick to forget her.
As for the StArGaTe? The demigod can only huff under his breath as Nova's disappointment sloshes against his magic like a brisk wind. The melody on her lips has warmth spreading through his thoughts, but before he can relax into the music of her mind, Vesper's eyes snap to Jack, arguably the only man in all of Torchline who could ever sneak up on the young demigod.
Unable to answer Nova's question before Jack does, Vesper can only smirk at his sister and shrug; that answers that his flat blue stare seems to say. "Figure we can clear the plants away first and see what we're really workin' with." The demigod drawls before an idea occurs to him as Jack keeps the wind from moving his flame around too much. "Think you can do that on a larger scale?" Lifting his eyebrows, he nods toward the overgrown foliage which had already begun to dry out.
"We could break our backs tryin' to pick it all, or.."
Vesper suggests that they burn all the surrounding plants with Jack managing the spread of the fire via his wind magic.
VESPER
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Having successfully lit his cigarette, Jack draws deeply on it and tilts his head as Vesper speaks, before glancing to the foliage covering the stargate. "Might be a bit slow goin' since all this is still green, but I don't see why not." Dried out plants would be a lot easier to burn, but anything will go under with enough fire, he's found.
Tossing the matches to Vesper so he might use them to light further areas of the gate, the captain exhales a soft stream of smoke and draws his air magic around him as he leans down to use the cigarette to smoulder a few of the more limp looking leaves. Once they catch, he keeps the breeze at bay at their backs, at the same time encouraging the little flames and trying to keep them from blowing out entirely.
Jack hands Vesper his matches and starts trying to encourage some fire to grow!
Jack's sudden appearance (or her noticing him) has Nova startling, turning quickly to take in the overconfident figure. Although she had been caught quite literally mocking the man, she gives him a charming smile and a little wave. She almost says, 'Hi Daddy' out loud, but lets the thought share with Vesper, unaware that the Captain would hear it too. Instead, she says, "Hello again! You'll have to pull back on the 'commanding' part today. According to Vespy, I'm in charge." Nova places a hand on her chest, puffing it out with mock authority as she giggles happily. Those weren't his exact words, but she gives him a wink, skipping her way around the gate to inspect the work to be done. Meanwhile, her thoughts are filled with a light humming that somehow twinkles light a starlit rainbow.
She pauses her progress to admire her brother's idea, her smile widening as she claps her hands together. "Fantastic!" Snatching one of the matches out of the air, Nova proceeds to light it, her laughter sparking as she makes her way around the overgrown gate. Every few skips, she delicately bends over to catch a new section of foliage, eyes and thoughts glowing with excitement as she watches it all start to burn. It's not quite as colorful or loud as she'd prefer, but it's better than manually pulling up every weed.
Nova accepts the match with way too much enthusiasm, helping to light anything she can find.
I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
Wincing a touch at Hi Daddy! if only because he knew Jack would be able to hear them too, the demigod shoots the captain a look over one shoulder. It isn't apologetic, not given the way Vesper's sea-blue stare seeks out his father's matching one, but serves as more of a reminder that his temperance has been bought and paid for.
No doubt Jack would feel the full watercolour rush of his Nova's emotions just as surely as Vesper did, the joy and enthusiasm in them coating them both just as completely as buckets full of paint would have. Pulling his hand out of his pocket to catch the matches, the demigod feels his sister's intention before her quick hands snipe the small book from the air, leaving Vesper chuckling quietly under his breath. "Maybe I'll just go read in the sun since you two seem to have this handled." He scoffs, grinning at his sister before plucking up a burning twig and helping to light a few more dry leaves.
Drawn by the thick white smoke billowing up from the still-green plants, a small congregation of vampire gourds rolled their way over, strange lumpy eyes taking in their surroundings before misshapen grins appeared on their mouths. Instantly they began to roll over the small flames as if wanting to try and use it to levitate like their spooky brethern.
Oop, Vampire Gourds because why not have it be an SE too.
We gotta keep the fires going, but also clear out the gourds!
VESPER
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Giving Vesper a quick glance as he feels the boy's eyes on him, whether it's because Jack is in a particularly good mood today or because he remembers the agreement they'd made, either way he offers Nova a pleasant enough smile (for the smuggler). "We're at your disposal then, I suppose, pet," he says, inclining his head to her. He'll give Vesper more than a smile if he decides to duck out and sunbathe, granted, but luckily it doesn't seem to be going that way.
Concentrating on the fire and pulling down some of the foliage with his bare hands where it doesn't look as if it's going to catch well, Jack spots the gourds out of the corner of his eye, raising a brow and wondering, briefly, whether Fangorn has found some friends to torment them. The Honeybee is nowhere in sight, though (and he doubts her companion would go far without her in tow), so Jack feels safe enough in what he does next.
With a blast of air magic - since he's already using it - he sends one of the gourds hurtling and tumbling away through the foliage. And if it should fall and splat open somewhere? Oh no.
Jack keeps dealing with the fire and foliage, and blows one of the gourds away with his magic!
Unaware of secret deals and glances between the men, Nova accepts the smile with unbridled delight. She returns it with her own dazzling smile, unencumbered by the strange and uncomfortable nickname, although she does make a note to come up with something better for him to use. For now, she sticks out her tongue with a decisive "Good" and a following giggle.
Twirling around again, she lights another patch of foliage, continuing to hum a bouncy tune. She doesn't let Vespy's sarcasm hinder it, more than happy to pick up any slack from her brother. It just meant more sparking heat for her!
A crunching sound has her turning to spot the impending chaos. Nova gasps at the intrusion of the creatures as well as their attempts to smolder the fires she worked so hard on. "Rude!" Grabbing a flaming stick, she starts hitting any vampire gourds within range, trying to protect their progress.
Nova uses flaming sticks against the gourds in lieu of all her offensive magic.
I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
Pet? Not entirely sure how he felt about that, given that Nova didn't seem to mind it—even if Vesper could already feel her mind sifting through more accurate and affectionate things to be called—the demigod just sighs and shrugs to himself.
Were it not for the arrival of the gourds Vesper very well might have gone to recline in the sun, content to watch his sister and father spray flames and mayhem in what was a relatively safe environment. The floating gourds however drew his attention just as much as it did Jack's and Nova's. "Fuck is this?" He mutters under his breath, frowning deeply at the glowing-eyed ovals that snapped rather sharp-looking teeth given that their bodies seemed just to be made of orange pulp.
Stretching out the tendrils of his own magic, Vesper yanks at a few of the gourds with his shadows, sending one tumbling after the gourd that Jack's air magic had sent splattering against some nearby rocks. Nova's approach has a number of gourds actually gathering around her, as if drawn to the fire that she was waving about.
Jack and Vesper both dispatch one of the gourds, whereas Nova seems to have attracted them by waving around her flaming stick!
VESPER
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
"Vampire gourds - pain in the ass but they don't usually appear in Torchline," Jack grumbles as he turns back to the stargate, only to find Nova all but surrounded and harrassed by the creatures. Drawing his air magic back around himself and flinging out a tendril of it to try and herd the gourds to one side, it will hopefully allow him to get closer to the rainbow-minded girl.
And if he manages to do so, well, magic is all well and good but there's something satisfying about giving something a good kick, so Jack attempts to boot one of the pumpkins away as well for good measure. "You'd reckon if they wanted to interrupt they'd at least have the decency to fuckin' help." Can't they eat the moss or brambles or vines covering the gate?
Jack tries to herd the gourds away from Nova and gives one of them a kick for good measure.
Nova barely listens to the others as she waves the flaming stick around, savagely determined to land a hit on one of the elusive creatures. Through the haze of her murderous pyromaniac thoughts, she starts to notice that instead of scaring weird gourd-things away, they seem to be attracted to her (how could they not be?). Spinning around, she sees that she's nearly surrounded by the hoard. Gasping again at the rude reaction, she takes another swing at them. "Hey! Go away!" Her shout is firm and confident, certain that they will follow her command.
Just to prove a point (in case they don't get her previous message), she shifts. Her black fur pokes out from beneath her skin, followed by sharply glinting claws and fangs. Her tide jaguar form slowly takes shape, the glowing rainbow rosettes appearing last as she lets out a loud REOWR at the invaders. And in case that doesn't get the message through their thick skulls (do they have skulls? or even bones? what about organs?), Nova happily unleashes a whirlwind of attacks, a spinning and pouncing chaos of color, the internal giggles of pure delight only heard by the two men.
Nova shifts into her tide jaguar form and goes wild!
I'm just a cherub riding comets through the night sky
What happens next is the sort of thing Vesper will be very used to in the coming years, though for now it takes even him by surprise. Watching as Nova shifts into a body every bit as sleek, beautiful, and dangerous as she was on her own, the demigod's blue eyes go uncharacteristically wide as he watches his twin snarl and slash, lunge and lacerate the vampire gourds around her with the sort of precision that only cats seem able to manage.
Pulling the tooth pick from between his lips and tossing it onto the ground, Vesper moves to stand by Jack with his arms folded across his chest. "She sure is somethin', huh?" Glancing over his shoulder at the captain knowing that Jack's mind was as full of kaleidoscopic chaos as his own was, Vesper smirks before fishing out another toothpick from his back pocket.
Nova's claws make quick work of the gourds stupid enough not to roll or float away, and by the time she's done her black fur will be covered in pale orange goop. "If you wanna stay like that, bet your claws can make quick work of that ivy." Vesper calls, nosing toward the overgrowth around the stargate itself before glancing to Jack. "Let's you'n me see about putting out these fires." He didn't have any magic to help with it, but he could kick sand easily enough.
Nova can jaguar-claw the ivy away from the stones around the Stargate while Jack and Vesper put the fires out!
VESPER
Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
11-26-2024, 07:31 AM (This post was last modified: 11-26-2024, 07:32 AM by Jack.)
JACK
hellraiser risk taker
Having successfully sent one of the gourds tumbling, Jack feels the chaos and violence sweeping through Nova's thoughts just before she unleashes herself on the unsuspecting pumpkins, and he wisely drops back to stand with Vesper. "You can say that again," he mutters, resting a hand in his pocket and tilting his head at the tide jaguar. If anything Nova's flare of temper and dramatics reminds him of himself when he'd been younger, before time and responsibility had cooled his blood somewhat.
Anyway.
"Mm? Sure," he acquiesces, mostly because he doesn't particularly want to get in between Nova and what her claws seek out, the captain glancing at the still smouldering fires and their plumes of thick white smoke. He does have magic to hand, at least, and ribbons of clear water soon begin to twist through the air around him, directed towards the flames to swiftly douse them out.
