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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!
"Nikkkiiii!" Flora’s voice spirals through the echoing halls of Wildering House, somewhere between a sing-song lilt and a cry for help. It ricochets off coral walls and sun-warmed stone, filtered through arched doorways and high, stained-glass windows that shimmer like ocean spray.
There’s a clatter, somewhere near the walk-in closet she’s converted into a seasonal wardrobe graveyard. "Niki, do you know where my light-up umbrella is?" she calls again, louder this time; louder and mildly accusatory, as if he’s personally hidden it. "The one that glows like a jellyfish?" The spirit lights in the hallway flicker with amused mischief, responding more helpfully than Niki so far.
Buried somewhere between sequinned beach wraps, tiki torch replacements, and a tragically deflated inflatable narwhal, Flora tosses a floppy sunhat over her shoulder. "It should be in the summer party box! Unless it got moved to costume storage after the foam fight!"
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
"Why, are you expecting rain?" Niki's voice comes echoing down the hallway, dry as ever, and followed by the soft tap of his cane as he makes his way towards Flora's voice. He raises his eyebrows at the flickering lights overhead as if to ask their opinion, and glances to the left as a cupboard door creaks open of its own accord. Within, wouldn't you know it - a light up umbrella that glows like a jellyfish.
"It would not happen to look something like this, would it?" he continues, collecting said umbrella with a murmur of thanks to the spirits and continuing towards the sound of Flora's voice until he can offer the item out towards her. "I do not think I have ever seen a jellyfish in person, you know. Do they truly glow like that?"
Thoughts for later, probably. For now, having been drawn out of his little reading nook to see the chaos Flora is unveiling, he has to ask the question they both know is on the tip of his tongue: "What are you doing?"
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Flora pokes her head around the edge of a doorframe, curls slightly askew and a sunhat still tangled on one shoulder like it tried to flee and only made it halfway. "You’re a miracle," she declares with delight, eyes lighting up the moment she sees the familiar jellyfish glow tucked beneath Niki’s arm.
She squeals—not the dramatic, staged kind but a genuinely delighted, sunshine-through-a-stormcloud sort of sound—as she scrambles up from the floor. Her knees are a little dusty from rummaging, but she barely notices, already darting toward him like a beach-blonde hurricane of joy. "Let's see!" she chirps, plucking the umbrella from his hands and immediately popping it open without a shred of indoor superstition.
It unfurls like seafoam made solid: the translucent cream canopy shimmers faintly as its inner lights blink to life, soft blues and pinks pulsing from within. Tendrils drift from the edges, filmy and whimsical, casting dancing patterns across the floor and Flora’s legs as she twirls with it once. "Some do," she says absently, answering his earlier question about jellyfish as she spins, casting little glows across the hallway walls. "You’d love them. They’re ghostly and weird and kinda beautiful. Like underwater ghosts with jazz hands."
His question finally filters through, and she pauses mid-turn, lips parting with a bright "Mm?" before her grin curves wider. "LongNight’s coming!" she announces, like it’s the Festival of Lights rather than, well...literal darkness. "Which, here, means week-long beach party with booze and bonfires."
She exhales, twirling the umbrella shut again and holding it to her side like a parasol, her gaze sweeping the chaotic sprawl of party gear, half-unpacked bins, and feather boas of questionable origin. "Only...I have no idea where half of my stuff ended up," she sighs, brushing her hair off her face and gesturing vaguely toward the endless sprawl of Wildering House.
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
"Do not thank me, I was merely given it." Niki grins and nods over his shoulder to where, presumably, some of the spirits of the house are preening and swanning away to swap the salt with the sugar and whatnot. He surrenders the umbrella to Flora and - unlike the Doubletake - he does take a measured step back to ensure he is not caught beneath the unlucky orbit of one opened indoors.
It is quite the spectacle, though, the boy's eyes widening as he sees the lights blink softly to life and the tendrils cascade down around Flora as she twirls. "Quite beautiful," he agrees with a nod. "Perhaps I shall see if I can find any at Longnight along the shore - I imagine they will be easier to spot when it is completely dark." Speaking of which, though, Flora has answers to that too, and Niki does an immediate mental backtrack.
(He doesn't think it would be wise for him to wander the shore in the midst of a week-long rager when he can't swim, honestly).
"I find myself being surprised that you have stuff for it when I should not be," he admits through a laugh. "Have you... asked for it? From the house, I mean? I can help you look of course, but I will need to know what I am looking for, and if these feather boas are a part of it."
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
"Oh, definitely," Flora says with a sudden glint in her eyes, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "We can take the Sugartide and get far enough out that the torchlight can’t reach us. I bet we’ll see a whole glitter parade of them out there, just vibing beneath the surface like little disco ghosts." She flutters her fingers near her shoulders, mimicking the jellyfish tendrils in a way that’s probably biologically inaccurate but extremely on brand.
She doesn’t seem remotely offended by his surprise, in fact, she lets out a breathless laugh and shrugs like it’s a compliment. "I did ask," she confirms, already ducking down to rummage in a nearby basket, from which a snorkel and a feathered mask both emerge, neither of which are remotely helpful. "But I think the spirits are in one of their moods. Like...mischievous but make it domestic. I wouldn’t be shocked if they’ve stashed everything just to see how long I’ll keep searching."
Straightening, she tosses the snorkel aside and sets the mask on her head like a crown. "So we’re looking for: one ridiculously cozy blanket—brown and teal, probably smells faintly of coconut rum—two chroma torches, the kind that make fire go rainbow, and my magical Booze Bag™." Her tone lifts dramatically on the last one, clearly a prized possession. "Keeps things icy cold and has a compartment for lemons."
She flashes Niki a grin as if this is all perfectly normal, which, as he's quickly learning, for Flora it is. "Also maybe a pink inflatable flamingo? Hard to say if that one got retired or not...but also it might be in the pool."
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
With the words glitter parade and disco ghosts filling his mind with all kinds of ludicrous imagery, Niki finds himself openly smiling and nodding his agreement without much needing to think about it. One thing is for sure - occasional raging storms or not, Torchline's has been good for his willingness to try new and wild things. Then again, perhaps it's not having the routine of his usual work to keep food on the table. And also the flamboyant company.
"When are they not in one of their moods?" he asks regarding the spirits, though if anything Niki seems quite at home with the Ludo-blessed roommates that Flora has commissioned. "This morning they had laid out clothes for me, which was thoughtful, but they had procured what I think was one of your sarongs to go with it." And by the look of him in a sweater and plain, dark pants, Niki had not taken them up on the offer.
Hearing her out on the list of items, the boy brightens at least - because he knows where at least two of them are. "I think I spotted your blanket draped over a rocking chair that was still rocking on my way down here," he says. "And the flamingo lives in the pool. I see it from my window."
The chroma torches and the Booze Bag™, alas, will still need finding.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Flora lets out a warm, musical chuckle, eyebrows lifting with an expression that lands somewhere between mock-offended and conceding. "Touché," she hums, lips curving, because he was absolutely right. At the mention of the sarong, though, her gaze drops meaningfully to the very sensible pants he’s chosen. Her mouth purses in the faintest pout, disappointed not for modesty’s sake but for the sheer missed aesthetic.
"A sarong would let you move your legs so much more," she points out breezily, making a vague wave with one hand like she’s painting the image. "Let those muscles stretch," Her tone is pure theatre, but there’s a glint in her eye as she adds, "Maybe they were just trying to help loosen you up a little."
His intel earns an actual gasp, one hand flying to her chest as if she’s just received news of a royal inheritance. "You do? That's amazing!" she cries, and if it weren’t for her ingrained awareness of his balance, she might’ve launched herself at him in dramatic gratitude. Instead, she skims her fingertips lightly up the length of his arm in a feather-soft tickle, a grin blossoming across her face like a flower soaking in sun. "You’re my hero."
Turning her attention to the great expanse of the hallway beyond, Flora narrows her eyes playfully. "Alright," she calls aloud, to Niki and perhaps to the mischievous house itself, "if I were a magical torch that turned fire into rainbow light and only came out to party—where would I be hiding?"
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
"Nobody - not even the spirits - actually want to see me in a sarong," Niki assures Flora, expression utterly deadpan, though there's amusement on his face as he taps his cane against his knee brace; it would not add much to the aesthetic in his opinion. "And I have been loosened up plenty, thank you very much, especially given how much exercise I apparently get trying to sleepwalk around this house."
He hadn't found his way back into any forbidden rooms, at least, but he has woken up down in the kitchen once or twice, and also at one point on a balcony holding a pineapple. Wisely, Niki didn't question any of it too much.
"Thank you, Flora," he drawls, nodding indulgently as he takes the part of her hero. "I have been told I have quite a lot of heroic traits, you know. Dark, flowing hair, piercing eyes, a unique physique. If you kick my cane out from beneath me I will briefly fly, also." In a purely downward trajectory, but still.
Turning to face the hall as well, he tilts his head and raises an eyebrow, as if expecting the house to cough up the goods now that Flora is calling it out on their shenanigans. "Do you suppose it is in one of the fireplaces?" he asks eventually.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
"I do," Flora interrupts immediately, not even letting the question fully settle before she’s responding, bright as coral and just as cutting, her grin equal parts playful and sincere. Her aqua gaze dances with mischief as it lands on his face, then flicks meaningfully down to the knee brace. "The sarong would have tied the whole look together. Very windswept romance novel, you know."
She shrugs like she’s absolving the spirits of all guilt, arms spreading as she glances around the opulent sprawl of Wildering House. "Anyway, if you’re going to get lost in your own home, might as well get toned thighs while doing it, right?"
And because his mock-heroics deserve nothing less than dramatic affirmation, Flora leans in with a hum of approval, eyes gleaming. "Let’s not forget your mysterious and tragic backstory," she adds, as if ticking off a checklist. "And scars. And you're actually wonderfully charming and kind, which are also crucial traits."
At the suggestion of checking the fireplaces, her lips twitch thoughtfully. "Too obvious," she declares at first, but then she sighs, lifting one shoulder. "Then again...hiding in plain sight feels like something a torch would do. Come on, dark and brooding hero, let’s go see if the rainbow torch of destiny is hiding among the ashes." She sweeps forward in the direction of the nearest hearth, jellyfish umbrella still in hand and glowing faintly like a beacon in a very glamorous storm.
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
"Oh, yes, I can see the look coming together now. Assuming I am the crippled damsel in this romance novel, of course, or are you expecting a malnourished, sarong-clad lead to sweep you off your feet? Because if the answer to that is yes, I am going to start putting a lock on my door, Flora." Niki smirks. "And how dare you suggest that I do not already have toned thighs. For a man with a cane I do a startling amount of wandering around, awake or asleep."
Were Niki actually straight and not thoroughly locked in the closet of his sexuality, Flora leaning in might have gotten him very flustered and hot under the collar indeed. Instead, it's with a self-satisfied curl of his lips that he nods to her. "Demigods, step aside," he boasts before, with a soft chuckle, conceding to her search of the hearths of the house.
"Is this torch how I will locate you during Longnight?" he wonders as they walk. "Because I confess, I am not one for much of a week-long party. Shocking, I know."
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Flora huffs like he’s just insulted her deeply held aesthetic principles, rolling her eyes with all the performative scorn of a theatre kid denied the lead. "Times are changing," she declares, swanning a little ahead of him, the jellyfish umbrella casting soft, rippling light along the walls. "These days, women get to do the sweeping. And frankly? Leading men without a barrel chest and protein shake dependency are very in right now. It’s giving nuance. It’s giving realism."
She tosses a glance over her shoulder, the grin curling at her lips belying her faux-exasperation. "But maybe I’m just biased," she muses with a shrug, "since I’ve never dated anyone who could keep up with me stats-wise."
The first fireplace is—unsurprisingly—just ashes and a half-singed paperback novel. Flora bends to nudge it with a finger and gives a small, confused tilt of her head, having no memory of putting it there. Turning toward Niki as they continue the search, her tone softens just slightly, folding around a warmth that doesn’t need to be loud to be sincere. "Maybe," she begins lightly, "you could be my date for one night. Or afternoon. Or morning. Gods know it’s pitch black the whole time so it barely matters."
She smiles at him, eyes crinkling at the corners. "And then you could vanish back to Wildering House like a very elegant ghost while the rest of us keep glittering in the distance. No pressure, but it is kind of a thing, and it'd be a shame if you missed seeing it."
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
Niki is quite practiced at listening - and responding - to Flora's theatrical monologues by now, such that it's with little more than mild amusement that he follows dutifully at her heels. He does raise a skeptical brow down at his unimpressive physique, as if to ask his own body whether it considered itself a product of nuance and realism, before scoffing lightheartedly with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Maybe you need to let yourself be swept, then, even though you know you could put any barrel chested hero to shame. Sometimes it is nice to put your feet up, Flora. Take it from someone who needs to more often than not." Grinning now, Niki falls to a halt to examine the fireplace alongside Flora, and although he doesn't remember putting the paperback in there, his quick grimace-emoji face tells that he doesn't entirely rule it out either.
Tilting his head at the prospect of being Flora's date for any part of any of the days of Longnight, he gives it some consideration and offers a gentle nod. "As long as you do not let me wander off into the sea," he says. "And assuming that your other date does not mind." He doesn't say Kaisel directly, but neither is he blind.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Flora laughs, and though she tries to wave off the pink dusting her cheeks, it only makes the blush rise higher. "I still haven't recovered from the spa day he made for me here," she mutters, eyes wide with mock horror as she fans herself dramatically. "I think there's still clay in the orangery and seaweed in one of the showers." Her smile softens into something fonder, rolling her eyes as if Kaisel had inconvenienced her by being so unexpectedly, unfairly romantic.
Her gaze drops again to the fireplace, and then flicks sideways to Niki, but she decides not to press the issue; the house has its moods, and questioning them too hard is like trying to find the bottom of the ocean with a measuring spoon. She lifts her shoulders in a breezy little shrug and lets it drift to the back of her mind.
When she turns back to him, her expression is brighter again, animated by the kind of optimism only Flora can summon when she's elbow-deep in soot and spirits. "I’ll stay glued to your side," she promises, reaching out to loop her pinky through his for a quick second before letting go. "We’ll look like the world’s most fashionable conjoined twins. No wandering, no sea-ventures."
As for Kaisel, she lifts her brows and lets out a tiny sigh, somewhere between indulgence and amusement. "Apparently my dad said something to him about it," she says, scrunching her nose. "So now Kaisel’s all fired up to do his patriotic duty. Wants to patrol and flex his soldier-boy muscles." She smirks. "Which is fine. It means I get to spend time with you."
passion is a passing thing, it's accidental chemistry caught up in a feelin', it can be deceivin'. this is like breaking for me
"There is," Niki confirms, at the very least, of the clay in the orangery. "I saw a broom attempting to sweep up some of the more dried parts of it. Without success." He doesn't need to mention that the broom was apparently acting of its own accord, because look at where they are. His smile is wry, however chaotic Kaisel's occasional addition to the household has become, because he'd much prefer to see Flora flustered and happy than how she has been lately.
Finding his pinky finger briefly stolen with the knowledge of a promise, Niki smiles faintly and nods to her. "I wonder if we will start a trend," he says. "Though if you think being a fashionable conjoined twin is how you persuade me into a sarong, you are mistaken."
Raising his eyebrows to hear that Kaisel won't be one of the people dive-bombing through a bonfire or streaking across the beach, Niki doesn't try to hide his soft laughter. "Ah, well if that is the case, perhaps we could risk the shoreline. You never know - you might run into your patriotic soldier-boy in the dark out there, patrolling."
Waggling his eyebrows, Niki almost casually points behind Flora at the same time, where wouldn't you know it, her missing torches are propped against the wall as though they've been here this whole time.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
