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!
Unable to say much about a potential demonstration, either way, the rest of the bar certainly gets something of a show as Asta's lips crash against Danta's. Letting his free hand slip along the top of the butcher's thigh beneath the table, he relaxes into the press of shadows at his back and the curl of a tail around his leg, almost determined to lose his breath completely before he draws back.
Left softly panting as well, it's with a fanged smirk curling across his lips that he whispers his response against the scruff of Asta's jaw. "Still too sweet for me. Luckily, you made up for it. If I get to try it again this way, I think I can probably grin and bear it," he says with a quiet chuckle.
Drawing back with visible reluctance, and only enough to settle in against Asta's side, Danta reaches for his own drink again and lifts his gaze to watch the world outside the window. "You know," he says conversationally, "I don't think I have ever been on a ship."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
It’s a shame the tavern isn’t as busy as the Dusklight was, for the show that they receive. The butcher’s not at all shy anymore, either, content to indulge in the taste of his lover and the warmth of his hand on his thigh. Parting only because they have to, the butcher’s fully affectionate, feeling the movement of the Maverick’s lips against his bearded jaw. “Very good.” He hums softly, punctuating it with a kiss to his ear before Danta’s pulling away.
He loosens his magic at the same time, it remains an easy and soft pressure against Danta’s side as he nestles in and the butcher’s arm remains tight, leaving him with a free hand to sip from the still quite warm hot toddy. Following his gaze out, it’s with some amount of surprise to hear that he’s never been on a ship.
“No?” He asks, tilting his head to brush his cheek against the golden space beneath Danta’s rainbow horns, he peers out the window toward the ships in the distance. “In general or for a trek? I admittedly have never been traveling on one not in the sky, but I have been on one. Thalassa’s, actually.” And for a moment he squints to see if the Marauder is in the harbor.
[ssay]"In general or on a trek. I've only ever been on skyships, and that's only comparatively recently," Danta freely admits, tilting his head as he admires the patchwork of sails that fill Jack Tar Landing. Sipping at his drink and letting his thumb brush absently across Asta's knee as they chat, he wonders how it differs to be on the sea compared to in the air.
"Oh? Should've seen that coming, honestly," he says of Asta having been on Thalassa's ship, his head tilting ever so slightly as if to enjoy the casual affection offered by the other man. "What was it like? Full of pirates?" Grinning and glancing back up at the butcher, he clearly expects a full (and possibly embellished) description.
"I helped her out the other day finding some echo sharks, actually. She's a real prickly one, huh."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
The butcher relates. He’s never once been on a ship of any kind before he’d become Ancient or fallen into his stony slumber. So his ship experience was recent as well, but he had experienced the feel of the ship’s deck beneath his feet, shifting with the waves that lulled against the sides.
Chuckling, he nods his head. “Yes, however they all worked like a seamless machine. I was there to help her decide who would be her first mate.” He hums with a touch of conspiracy. “She would give an order and the rest would immediately fall into line, collecting the ropes and winding them up, cleaning the decks, shuffling items from above to down below.” He recalls it easily, before he settles to hear their adventure recently.
And honestly, it’s an apt description. Something the butcher can agree with for himself as well, and something that he imagines Danta can relate to roundabout — even if they all did things differently. “She was with me at first, as well. I believe it is that she doesn’t give much of herself away until she’s fairly confident that you will not use it against her.” Which is how their relationship had blossomed, but at first? She was quite standoffish toward him. “How was it?” He asks, meaning the search for the echo sharks.
”First mate, huh? I never realised you were so qualified, Asta. Picked many in your time?” Danta can’t help but tease given how they’d both just confessed to never having had much to do with ships, grinning across to the butcher. ”Though by the sound of it, they all seem very skilled as crew. I’m sure any one of them would have done an adequate job.” Because Danta can also make sweeping statements about things he’s got no experience in, see?
Taking another long sip of his drink and relaxing further against Asta’s side, as the other man explains about Thalassa and the reasoning behind her behaviour, he grumbles some quiet, good natured agreement and nods his head. ”Probably not a bad way to be,” he concedes, which of course is code for yes, we are all incredible standoffish when it comes to strangers and even acquaintances.
The echo sharks, though, earns a grin. ”Pretty fun, actually. I got to be a crow and eat shark fin, and she mauled one and ate the rest. I’d not be disappointed to repeat the experience.”
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Snorting and rolling his eyes affectionately – he hadn’t been qualified. He’d simply been in the right place at the right time, and as far as he was concerned, he was an excellent judge of character. “Some were better than others, I will admit.” He murmurs with a soft snort, head tilting a touch dramatically as he thinks about that day and the stranger that had helped him pick Spook, a man who had hardly a voice to run the ship but was as fucking meticulous as the butcher when it came to how things should be done.
Either way, the butcher takes a sip of his drink again as his arm twines a little tighter around Danta’s shoulder, keeping him pressed against his side to exude and share all of the warmth he could. “Precisely.” His agreement is quick and doesn’t dwell on more of the younger Ancient, instead focusing on the task they’d gone out for. Hearing and hunting echo sharks.
The grin is reflective on his own as Danta recalls it, his thumb brushing gently against his lover’s arm as he nods. “That sounds quite lovely.” He murmurs almost wistful of the moment, before he’s letting a small snort escape him. “I do not recall ever trying echo sharks.” He murmurs thoughtfully. “I wonder, do you taste the echoeyness of it all?” It’s a shitty joke, but one the butcher can’t help but to say, already looking away as he realizes it falls vastly short of his usual ability to be witty.
”Evidently, if one became first mate after all was said and done.” Danta grins. ”Do you know if they still hold the position or if Thal has gotten fed up and eaten them yet?” It’s only half a joke, given what he knows and has experienced from their fellow Ancient, but he also imagines that Asta’s choice won’t have been a dud. See above as to the meticulousness of the man.
Leaning against the butcher in turn as he tucks him closer into his side, Danta peeps up at him with raised eyebrows to hear such a comparatively terrible joke fall from his lips. With a shit-eating smile, he can do little more than softly shake his head and reach out to tap at one of the menus. ”You’ll have to order some and find out, I think,” he tells him. ”They’ve got a special on for it. I saw it as we came in.”
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Snorting, allowing the affection to bloom through the creases of the smile lines in his face, Asta nods. “Yes. Last I spoke to her she was intending on testing him out without her around. So, perhaps it might not be too much longer. Hopefully she invites me, if that is the case.” The last part is quieter, an accented whisper for his lover’s ears only, before he lets that subject slide. Not that he’s opposed to it, of course, but the potential to try echo sharks is suddenly upon him and he feels as though he could be in the mood for that.
His dark honeyed gaze shifts from Danta’s shit-eating grin to his hand as he taps at the menu, and there in big beautiful bold letters, sits Shark Fin Special. Because of course it was there. He should have known. “Mm, so it seems they do.” It’s an almost exhausted tone, like he should have had the forethought to read the menu before bringing it up. “Shall we, then?” He asks, lifting his hand and tilting his attention to wave the waiter over so that they can order their meals and fill up for the rest of the trek home.
