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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!
Raising his eyebrow at the finger-gun, as well as remaining delightfully oblivious to the fact that the jury is still out on whether he's a ghost (do ghosts pass out or eat soup...?), Niki merely smiles and goes back to his meal. "What I do when I sleepwalk is none of my waking self's business, as far as I am concerned," he says succinctly, as if binge eating bread in the middle of the night isn't something he particularly wants to know about. "Not until it comes to putting everything back in its proper place, at least."
Bland clearly isn't a problem for the necromancer, and given that he's just magically gotten over an illness and he's not particularly healthy looking to begin with, it's not a bad thing either. Besides, everything that everything Flora has made is undoubtedly good for him, and he falls quiet to eat. Only when the bread has disappeared and the bowl is mostly empty does he glance up again, taking his mug to sip at his coffee. "If I were to go to Torchline," he says slowly and quietly, as if worried she might implode at the mere prospect, "I would want to return here after the snow thaws. Would you allow me to use that... compass, was it? To make the trip?"
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
"So what you’re saying is, your sleepwalking self is out here living his best life, while your waking self has to clean up the mess?" she teases, eyes sparkling with amusement.
As Niki goes on, Flora’s grin is instant, bright and victorious, because—he said it. If I were to go to Torchline. Even phrased as a hypothetical, it’s still more than she’d expected. The thought of the necromancer wandering around Torchline is a delight she hadn't known she needed, the image of him sleepwalking through the bustling port town, maybe clutching a loaf of bread like it’s his midnight security blanket, making her chuckle But before she can get too ahead of herself, she lifts a hand, palm up, in an apologetic gesture. "Soooo, bad news first: my compass only works with established regions, and ever since the Greatwood fell to the Void, it can't take me here directly anymore," she explains with a small grimace.
But rather than looking too put out by it, she leans forward, propping her chin in her palm as her grin turns conspiratorial. "Buuut, lucky for you, I do have access to the two best ships in all of Caido. The Ark is Jack’s—big, beautiful, flies through the air, mostly legal," she waves a hand dismissively, "—and my brother’s schooner is probably the next best thing on the water. If you’re serious about coming to Torchline for a bit, I can bring you back to the Greatwood no problem. VIP status."
She tilts her head, watching him carefully, giving him an easy out if he wants it. "I promise I won’t even try to make you stay forever. But I might put you in front of a fireplace with a drink in your hand and make you reevaluate every life choice that’s kept you stuck in the snow." Her smirk turns wicked but adoring. "And I’ll make sure you have all the bread you could ever dream of."
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
"Something like that, yes," Niki agrees readily; he has no idea what he thinks he's doing while he's wandering around asleep, but apparently he has quite a wonderful time of it. Even if he's something of a menace. Falling quiet to finish the rest of his meal, he doesn't bother to pretend he hasn't seen Flora light up from within at the mere notion of him coming to Torchline. Still unsure quite why she's so keen and insistent on his paying a visit, but starting to understand the personality behind it, he sets his empty dishes to one side just as she starts her apology.
"Ah, that would prove something of a complication," he agrees, though her tone gives him the impression that she's not going to let that stop her. And he's not wrong, it appears, the necromancer cupping his hands around his mug of coffee as he hears her out, and he tilts his head towards her. "And your brother and your boyfriend will not mind you volunteering their services - and their ships - without permission?" he asks.
Sipping at his coffee, Flora will undoubtedly notice the hints of a smile curling at his lips around the mug. "The Greatwood is only snowbound one season out of the four," he reminds her teasingly. "It is not as if I have been stuck out on the tundra in Halo all this time. But noted. Bread or no bread, I will consider it," he assures her.
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Flora waves a hand, dismissing Niki’s concern with a smirk that borders on smug. "They both owe me, like, a thousand favours," she says as if that alone is enough to settle the matter. Whether or not it’s actually true hardly matters; what matters is that she’s confident she can make it true if she needs to. Mateo would give in if she gave him free rein in her closet, and Jack? Well, she'd find a way to make it worth his while. She always did.
What she doesn't say—what she doesn't even let herself think too loudly (a thing she only knows how to do thanks to Jack)—is that she’s hoping it never comes to that; that once Niki is in Torchline, once he’s standing on a warm beach instead of buried in snow, once he's watching the sunset from the porch of a cozy little inn with a drink in hand, he’ll decide he doesn’t want to leave at all.
But that’s a problem for later.
Pushing her chair back, Flora scoops up her bowl and Niki’s without giving him the chance to argue, carrying them toward the kitchen. "I'll clean up," she says over her shoulder, tone breezy, not quite giving him a choice in the matter. "Consider it part of my long con to make you feel indebted to me for when you become the next Voice." She glances back with a teasing grin before turning on the tap, rinsing out the bowls with easy familiarity, as if she’s done this in his home a dozen times before instead of just once.
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Like, a thousand favours seems exactly like the sort of thing Flora might say in response, leaving Niki with little choice but to accept it, which he does with a quiet nod and another sip of hot coffee. Of course, had he known that not only was Flora elated for his visiting Torchline but also fantasising about his staying there forever, he might have been a little more reticent to start coming around to the idea. Alas, Niki is many things but he is not a mind-reader, and her plans remain her own.
About to reach for the dishes himself when he realises they are both finished eating, the necromancer finds them being promptly lifted away, Niki blinking up at his guest as if too stunned by her actions to offer anything in return at first. "I... Wh-- Alright," he says softly, if only because by the time he finds his words she's already doing the chore. "Thank you," he adds, his hands dropping back around the warm ceramic of his mug.
Feeling better in a way that has him almost reeling from it, it's with clear eyes and an easy intake of breath that the necromancer finally rises back to his feet, crutch in hand. "I will actually go and fetch that box for your bracelet this time," he tells her with a crooked smile. "And I have the full intention of staying conscious throughout."
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Flora hums a singsong "Okay, best of luck!" The words dripping with playful encouragement as she rinses the last of the soup from the bowls. She doesn’t glance back as Niki moves to fetch the box, but she's definitely listening; her ears are tuned to every shift of his crutch against the floor, every measured step he takes. If he so much as wobbles, she’s prepared to descend upon him like a particularly smug guardian angel.
She finishes drying the dishes and sets them aside, leaning a hip against the counter as she waits. For what, exactly? Hard to say. Maybe just to make sure he doesn’t collapse again. Maybe just to see if he actually brings back the box this time. Or maybe—just maybe—she finds herself lingering in his space more than she needs to, the warmth of his home settling around her like an old, familiar weight because it's nice to be back in the Greatwood.
"You still vertical back there?" She calls over her shoulder, smirking. "Because if you pass out again I'm going to build a pillow fort around you next time."
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
Luckily for Flora (and perhaps even more luckily for Niki), thanks to her blast of healing magic earlier, the boy is able to get to and from his workshop without so much as a stumble, and he soon returns to the kitchen with a well crafted box in hand suitable for holding rings, earrings and bracelets like the one he'd crafted for her. "No pillow forts necessary," he assures her with a quietly amused smile, holding the box out for her to take.
"And I am as vertical as I might ever hope to be," he adds, gesturing to himself and the easy - if not hunched - posture he keeps while leaning against his crutch. "You did not have to stay to help me, you know. But I did appreciate it." Niki's smile fades into something more genuine, and he adjusts his grip on the cane. "As before, if you ever need anything and you are in the area, you know where I am." Providing he's home at the time, of course.
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Flora accepts the box with an approving hum, slipping the bracelet inside with the kind of careful precision she usually reserves for daggers and crown jewels. She catches the way Niki phrases his words—if you ever need anything and you are in the area, you know where I am—and she wonders if he realizes he just gave her unlimited permission to drop by. A mistake, truly. One he’ll come to regret when she inevitably turns up at odd hours with questionable requests and absolutely zero explanation.
Instead of pointing this out, though, she pulls her compass from her pocket and holds it up for him to see. "This is how it works," she explains, her thumb brushing over the engraved surface. "Press here, think of where you wanna go, and poof—you’re there." She grins, but before she activates it, she leans in, quick as a flash, and presses a kiss to his cheek.
"See you soon, ghost," she purrs, flashing him a smirk before pressing the center of the compass. In the blink of an eye, she’s gone.
And in the next blink, Niki will probably notice that her coat is still draped over the back of his couch, perhaps intentionally left there so Flora would have reason to come and bother him again soon.
~FIN
Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me
Misery, Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
