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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.
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03-17-2025, 07:53 PM (This post was last modified: 03-17-2025, 07:54 PM by Nova.)
I can. I will. You better watch me.
It was boring without her siblings at home. Nova had exhausted every means of entertainment within their little house; crafts, baking, sewing, singing, dancing, knitting, drawing, even games (which are very hard to play alone), but nothing cured the lethal BOREDOM hanging over her like a fog. Once she'd finished her last batch of black rainbow cookies, she had made the executive decision to go out. Despite all the warning from her mom and siblings, she couldn't just sit around doing nothing or else she might combust! Plus, she was planning to be very 'careful,' staying within Torchline for the moment.
As such, the only place that looked any fun right now (after she got her daily ice cream fix, of course) was the bar, The Hanged Man. Nova hadn't been inside often, since neither alcohol or 'companionship' were anything that really interested her yet, but that just goes to show how bored she is.
Her pink and blonde head pokes in the door first, taking in the lay of the land before she tries to look all 'mature,' lifting her chin to stride in with confidence. It's hard to look older than fifteen when wearing a white dress with glittery rainbow stars and hot pink leggings tucked into purple flats, all while standing at a whopping 5'2"; but she certainly tries. Nova approaches the bar like she's done it a million times, glancing at all the bottles like she just can't decide rather than the fact that she has no idea what any of them are. Scrunching her nose, she asks the bartender, "Hmm... Do you have anything sweet?" Despite her attempts to make it sound thoughtful, there's a heavy dose of uncertainty tinging her tone.
Ronin has moved on from hanging out in the tavern to get steaming drunk (not that he could even if he wanted to, with that END) to merely keeping an eye on the place while Flora is away. He's got other plans brewing in the back of his mind through the haze of upset at Seren's death, and they need a little longer to percolate before he feels up to putting them into action, but things don't seem quite as impossible as they did. Sometimes that's a positive. Other times, Ronin resents feeling better. And such is the cycle of learning to live with loss.
Having been sitting at the bar with a small glass of rum on the rocks, he glances up and away from his conversation with the bartender as someone approaches, the Knight raising his eyebrows at the veritable splash of colour in the form of a young woman. She reminds him of Flora, just a little, in the veneer of confidence if nothing else, and a smile sneaks across his face.
"Try some of those," he suggests to her in a low voice, pointing at a small chalkboard frame on the back wall with colourful descriptions of cocktails. "They'll be sweet enough for you, hopefully." If not just the drink, then the sugar rim.
03-19-2025, 09:32 AM (This post was last modified: 03-24-2025, 11:03 PM by Nova.)
I can. I will. You better watch me.
Nova jumps to look at the familiar voice of the hunched figure next to her. She hasn't seen him since the funeral, but even then, they hadn't spoken, the mood too somber and melancholy for her liking. Despite their brief interactions thus far, it's hard to forget the man and her blue eyes brighten in recognition. "Oh! Hi Ronin! Thanks!" She stretches up on her toes to look at the chalkboard, momentarily wanting to try all of them.
Finally settling on a choice, Nova spins like a puff of glitter to look at the bartender. "Can I please get a cranberry dayquerry?" Because surely that's how 'daiquiri' is pronounced; and when the bartender doesn't correct her, how is she supposed to know?
Confident that she must has come off very mature in her choice and phrasing, Nova leans against the bar 'casually' to look at Ronin. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity, glancing at his own beverage that doesn't look very colorful, sweet, or fun. She tries not to look too disgusted (and fails) as she asks, "What are you drinking?
"Any time, madame Marin," Ronin says with a respectful nod of his head, the hint of a smile curling across his lips as he recalls his time in the would-be fortune teller's tent. He's far from one to tell Nova she's wrong in her pronunciation (he's ordered many a dayquerry in his time besides, especially after a few warm up drinks), and the bartender doesn't seem to care either way, offering a polite nod and turning to whip up the cocktail in question.
Swirling his drink in his glass enough to make the ice clink, he raises his eyebrows at her question, unable not to look amused at her obvious disgust. "Spiced rum with ice - on the rocks, they say," he tells her, sliding it across the bar if she wants to be brave enough to try it. "It's sweet compared to some other liquor - there's some vanilla and cinammon in this one - but it's strong." And she almost definitely won't like it neat.
Pleased to hear that he remembers her (who could forget?), Nova lifts her head proudly with a gracious smile. "Please, feel free to call me Nova out of business hours." Which is always, considering she isn't really a fortune teller, but she won't admit that aloud to anyone. That would ruin all the fun.
Giggling at the term 'on the rocks,' she inspects the supposedly sweet drink. His offered glass is met with understandable reluctance, but Nova's curiosity is too strong to resist, and she reaches forward to accept it. The scent hits her first, already too strong for her liking, but she still lifts it to her lips, never to be called a quitter.
Her face scrunches like a baby trying a lemon for the first time, nearly reeling with the taste that sears through her mouth and throat. "EW! Gods! That's disgusting!" As the initial burn fades, she can taste the vanilla and cinnamon dancing across her tongue. She hums softly as she reconsiders the drink, her lips smacking lightly. Maybe it's not that bad...
She takes another small sip, immediately regretting her decision as she pushes it back to Ronin. "Nope. Still gross."
"Ah, forgive me. Nova," Ronin says with a dip of his chin, as if to say hello to her properly in her leisure time rather than in her Madame Marin garb. And he doesn't try to stop the smile curling across his lips as she accepts his drink, smells it, dislikes it, and then tries it regardless. With a laugh rumbling in his chest, the Knight accepts his glass back once she has indeed confirmed that she's not a fan, and he shrugs as if to say c'est la vie.
"It's an acquired taste," he agrees. "You might like it mixed with something else. And if nothing else, that should wash the taste away."
Nodding towards the counter as the barman sets down her cranberry daiquiri, the bright pink colour, sugar rim, crushed ice and cranberry garnish certainly makes it seem more appealing. "Don't be fooled, though. It can be just as strong as what you just tried, but it'll fool you into thinking it's just juice." He winks.
She doesn't get the feeling that anything could make his drink taste better, and she certainly doesn't want to 'acquire' it. But seeing her own drink that's practically sparkling with sugar, Nova lets out a light gasp of delight. "It's so pretty!" There's even a cute little umbrella! With a rushed smile of appreciation to the bartender, she pulls the daquiri across the bar top.
Not truly heading Ronin's warning, she takes a large sip, already knowing that something so bright has to taste good, and sure enough, the sweet cranberry splashes across her senses. The young woman's 'mature' facade falls as she wiggles and hums through the enjoyment. If there's any alcohol in it, she certainly can't tell, and she settles onto a barstool to gulp at the drink, her feet dangling off the floor. With the straw still between her lips, she asks innocently, "No hubby today?"
"It is. Flora believes that presentation is just as important as taste. I don't reckon any of her cocktails are quite as pink as this one, but they're all just as pretty in their own way," Ronin agrees, smiling to himself and lifting his glass back to his lips for a measured sip of liquor. It's a smile that only grows as he sees the size of the sip she takes, and while Nova absolutely seems to enjoy the drink, he doesn't know if he wants to be here after she orders her third or fourth in quick succession.
"Mm, not today, no," he says, his expression instantly seeming to soften as the conversation turns to his absent husband. "Remi is something of a coastguard for Torchline. He's out hunting ghost whales or sinking pirate ships. If he gets back early, though, you might see him swing by." And if not, at least she can rest easy knowing that the Arclight is well protected, at least around the islands' immediate vicinity.
"No brother and sister today?" Ronin fires back with a tilt of his head and a grin.
Taking another deep sip of the drink, she lets out an excited giggle. "Well, if she ever needs help brightening things up, I'd be happy to help!" Whether that's decorations or the colorful visage of her beverages, Nova is always willing to lend a glittery hand (literally and figuratively).
She props her head on said hand, straw still in her mouth as she listens intently of Remi's whereabouts. Her eyes shimmer by the end, pausing in her sipping to express her awe. "Wow! That sounds so cool! I've never seen a ghost whale. Are they dangerous?" Because that makes it even more impressive! And she hasn't seen many reasons to be impressed with the demigods yet.
Suddenly reminded of why she's here - in this bar - a loud groan pushes from her face as she smooshes it dramatically against her hand. "Ugh. Nooo. They had other plans, and the house gets so boring when I'm all alone." No one to admire her creations or laugh at her jokes. The agony! And when left to her own devices, the young hybrid comes up with all sorts of strange ideas. "I almost went to go see my mom - just to say hi - but I didn't want to interrupt her important work, so I ended up here." It sounds childish, a little girl crying to see her mom, but after recent events, could anyone really blame her for wanting to cheer Safrin up?
"I don't imagine she would say no to another helping hand around here, but that's probably something for you to bring up with her directly." Ronin grins, setting his glass back down. He's not sure if Nova will want to be part of the Hanged Man's employees when she realises there's more involved than just decor and glitter and sugar rims, but again, none of his business to get in her way.
Happy - as he always is - to chat about his husband, everything about the Knight seems to relax, as if he can forget about his other problems if he's thinking about Remi. "It is cool," he agrees with a nod. "And ghost whales can be pretty dangerous, yeah. They can swallow ships whole if they put their mind to it, and they look really eerie. Imagine a huge skeleton just swimming around in the dark."
Raising his eyebrows empathetically - Ronin can imagine, even after only five minutes in the young woman's company, that she might find it boring to be by herself - he nods his understanding and runs a finger around the rim of his glass. "Maybe you could make something for her, to bring to one of her shrines?" he suggests, smirking at the cocktail board. "Maybe you could even learn how to make her a drink."
Mouth opening around her straw, she stares in amazement. "WOAH. That sounds so creepy! Are they very common around here?" Nova may be into the brighter end of the color spectrum, but she could appreciate a good, gory piece of horror. As long as it's not trying to be part of her outfit, that is. Blood and guts only go with glitter on rare occasions.
Nova glances down at her drink, trying to decipher if she could make it herself. It can't be that hard, right? (It perhaps is if you're already thinking about ways to 'improve' it.) Although her thoughts are getting a little fuzzy around the edges, so it's hard to focus on what the ingredients might be. "Oooh. Do you think she'd like that?" Because although she knows her mom pretty well, she gets the feeling he probably knows her better.
"Not too common, thankfully," Ronin says with a gentle laugh, not having expected excitement in the wake of his description of the massive creatures that haunt the Arclight. "Especially not here in the relatively shallow water. I hear they like it where it's dark and deep and there's enough space for them to move around." He bounces his eyebrows, voice lowering to something exaggerated and ominous.
As for what Safrin would enjoy, Ronin can only give a gentle shrug of his shoulders. It's only very recently that he's been able to speak again to the goddess who had threatened to ruin him, and it had hardly been under happy circumstances. Even so, he can imagine well enough what the lady of the stars would like. "I bet she'd like any opportunity just to spend time with you," he says simply. "Whether or not it's making cocktails. Either way, I'm sure our barman friend here could give you a list of the ingredients if you asked him nice."
"Ooooh. So cool." She remembers talking with Soh about eventually getting a shift with fins, and she immediately adds ghost whales to her list of 'things to see.' Taking another gulp of her pink drink, Nova hums with delight, still managing to wiggle despite the glass nearing empty.
"Mmmm. Okay!" It doesn't take her long to agree, and she quickly summons the bartender with a dramatic wave of her hand. After entertaining her very polite question (and the way Nova rambles through it), they're skilled enough to recognize that she isn't going to remember a single ingredient if they tell her, so they pull out a sheet of paper and jot it down, an amused quirk to their lips as Nova bubbles a slew of thank yous.
It's not until she places the recipe safely in her pocket that Nova turns to look at Ronin. It's getting a little harder to keep her eyes on him when he keeps moving like that, but she manages well enough. A question appears through the haze of her mind, perhaps a little familiar for their recent meeting, but when has Nova ever had a filter? "Do you miss her too?"
More than accustomed to the signs of a drink going to someone's head - he's been there himself enough times after all - Ronin sips from his own glass and opts to remain silent as Nova conducts the recipe exchange with the barman. He feels as if any attempt by him to help will only end up complicating matters somehow, and besides, she does manage to get the daiquiri written down on a slip of paper for future experiments, so all's well that ends well, right?
Setting his (near empty) drink back down as the girl finally turns back to him, he turns on his barstool a bit, not realising of course that this is going to constitute moving around quite a lot in the hybrid's cranberry-soaked mind. "Hm?" Raising his eyebrows in honest surprise - there are few people who don't know his jaded history with Safrin, so it's not a question he's had to really consider - Ronin clears his throat and shrugs his shoulders.
"Sometimes," he admits. "But we aren't all that good for each other. I realise that now. It might be nice to have a civil working relationship in the future though."
