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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!
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
Plates being out of the cabinets was an interesting thing, wondering if it was shattered on the ground or nicely placed somewhere else. Her mind flits toward a bear, perhaps, before she loosens her growl and spots movement – pinpointing it with an instant, her tide jaguar instinct driving her forward toward the shrew. Her golden gaze lands on it, whiskers twitching.
It wasn’t big enough to cause all of this, she imagines. Found a shrew! She calls up toward Deimos, wondering if he would think along similar lines before she begins to try and herd the shrew out of the house and away from its white feather nest. And in the process, maybe she’d find something else.
Caly tells Deimos she found a shrew and tries to herd it out of the house!
His ears turned back and forth as he caught Calypso 's excitement and call; head tilting as he stood near the dining room, nose lifting to see if he could catch any particular scent along the portions. What color is the fur? seemed like an innocuous inquiry at first, but he wanted to make sure they were crossing all the possibilities – though, he also doubted the little shrew was the cause of the ruckus. Likely just a side effect of a wider issue.
The aforementioned tide jaguar would be able to pick up on the rodent’s color (an unremarkable, grayish brown), as it squeaked and panicked at her movement. Rightfully so, given her stature in comparison to its own diminutive state, and it was almost pathetic and sad to behold as she ushered it away – and it scurried towards a hole near the top of the cellar wall – perhaps something else significant.
Meanwhile, Nova and her bird chase was becoming something of anomaly – and neither of them showed signs of stopping. As one of the hybrid’s paws outstretched, it caught the feather of the ningo, and its resulting squawk nearly sounded like a scream. Not content with this at all, it immediately doubled back to the window, vacating the area to go towards the roof with the rest of its brethren – pouting and sulking. But, this would give Nova more of an opportunity to explore the rest of the upstairs, including the bathroom and closets.
--
Deimos is trying to catch any familiar scents, Calypso has found a hole, and Nova has driven away the bigger ningo!
Whether it's skill or just the ningo's patience running out, Nova's paw bats the bird away from the bedpost. Her head whips to follow as it flies to the window, expecting to have a few more rounds of chase before it's disappearing to the roof beyond. She could follow in her dreambird shift, but takes the situation as a win, chest puffing as she trots away from the grouping of birds. A pleased hum flows through her mind, letting the others know of her landslide victory through a chiming, Got it!
Nova flicks her tail like she's waving to a crowd of admirers, her paws bouncing softly on the wooden floor as she does a victory lap around the room, making sure no other birds have decided to challenge her incredible powers. When she sees that all that remains are a scattering of white feathers (a white flag if she ever saw one), her curiosity leads her through the bedroom and into the bathroom, eyes scanning the wallpaper, counters, and shower curtain with quiet scrutiny.
Nova explores the bathroom and their design questionable choices.
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
Hearing Deimos’ deep rumble as she starts to trail after the shrew to pinpoint it and answer the question, it’s after a few moments that she pipes back up. Like a gray brown? She sends up through the attuned bond, following its heels with a much slower pace given her size, until she finds the hole it’s currently using to scurry away.
Lifting herself up enough to try and sniff at the hole and see whether or not she can get any other scents within it, the young attuned sends another mental note. Found a hole by the cellar wall! She pauses here, waiting to see if Deimos has a note about the next best course of action.
Caly follows the shrew and answers Deimos' question and then sniffs the hole the shrew vanished in to see if she can pick up any other scents!
Tilting his head through the information funneling through, he briefly snorted at the insinuation of ‘got it’. Would you be able to close the window? presuming that’s how the birds had gotten in – and the draft wandering about the house – figuring they’d at least cease and desist on one irritating bout of animals for the time being. Nova wouldn’t find anything wholly remarkable in the next bedroom, but the bathroom had more feathers (a customary significance – one would have to wonder how long the ningo had loitered about), a stray bottle of shampoo, and then water remaining on the bottom of the tub, not yet fully drained.
As for the shrew regards, he sighed – noting that patch of fur didn’t match the one he’d found – either another dead end, or information tied to something else entirely. The hole might be crucial though, and he pondered over following down to the basement or letting Calypso carry on, if she could. Do you have a shift that would be able to follow it? Pausing, his eyes narrowed on the choices. If not, I suppose we could always try to close it up too. Eliminate another portion of the house rendered to the wildlife.
When naught came his way regarding his own speculative prowess, he circled back around the dining room table, and noted a bone, fallen from the table. Remnants of a meal, or something more sinister? It seemed chicken like, small, nothing belonging or insinuating a murder or other mayhem…but he was beginning to wonder what had truly been occupying this house.
--
Deimos suggests some things and has found a chicken bone. Nova has found many other feathers and Calypso has some options.
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
She peers at the hole, paws pressing against the cellar wall in a way that she’s careful to not dig her claws in. Her sniffing didn’t result in anything, but after a few moments of contemplating Deimos’ suggestion, her whiskers twitch as she mentally sighs. Nothin’ small enough unfortunately. She doesn’t know about the sunstreak under her skin yet, so she hops off the wall to slip around and see if she can find anything to plug the hole with.
It takes her a few laps to find anything potentially suitable – something that might be easier to manipulate with thumbs, but the height of her vantage point with the tide jaguar was far more beneficial than the alternative. So she settles in to collect things to stuff intot he hole to hopefully block it.
10-15-2025, 05:15 PM (This post was last modified: 10-17-2025, 04:11 PM by Nova.)
When it rains, look for rainbows.
The bathroom is remarkably unremarkable, including the familiar sight of white feathers making a carpet across the tiles. She doesn't pay them any mind, scrutinizing the lack of decor or color as she picks into every corner. Her nose nearly dips into the water when her head pops over the side, immediately making it scrunch with obvious distaste. Eww. Did someone just finish showering? It's wet.
She doesn't think about it too much - maybe birds like to shower. Instead, she tilts her head at Deimos's request glancing back at the window she'd left wide open. Hm? I guess so. Then she's reaching fumbling paws for the sill. It takes a second to snag the top without fingers and then to get the stiff wooden frame to move, but she manages, sealing away the cold draft and giving the birds a teasing wave of her tail as she turns to explore the other small spaces.
Nova notices the wet shower, closes the window, and moves to explore the closets!
Calypso wouldn’t find much wholly grand or great, save for a few bottles, bits of rock and debris, likely from the creation of said hole in the wall. It would be difficult for a lack of thumbs to segment something into the area, but perhaps she’d be able to manipulate and grab things with her teeth or paws to shove the portions within.
Nova ‘s sudden discovery made Deimos’s eyes narrow, mind contorting into further predilections. I wonder if we are not dealing with an animal after all. All signs, including the blanket, the dishes left out, the shower…were verging on the potential of a squatter, opting to exist within the space while the family was out. I found some chicken bones. Which ningo, and shrews, wouldn’t be consuming, unless they were dealing with something carnivorous.
And, likely much to Nova’s chagrin, suddenly the biggest of the ningos was along the bathroom windowsill, staring in at her, tapping upon the glass.
--
Calypso is working to plug up the hole in the wall, Deimos has made a suggestion, and Nova has another visit from the same friend!
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
There’s very little that Caly finds by means of trying to plug the hole – especially in a way that might prevent the shrew and other critters on the other side not to just… Knock it out of it once she’s stamped it in. So she hums a little thoughtfully to herself, snagging bits of rock with her paws and scooping them into a pile she can choose from to try and block it out.
What’cha think it is? She asks as she calls up from down below, working meticulously to try and stuff the hole with rocks and the occasional wrapper that she thinks could be stamped in enough to not budge – utilizing her large paws to try and press them in deeper.
Caly tries to plug the hole with rocks and wrappers!
10-16-2025, 06:38 PM (This post was last modified: 10-17-2025, 04:14 PM by Nova.)
When it rains, look for rainbows.
She's wiping her paws of the dust and dirt that had lined the window frame, annoyed when it stays stuck stubbornly between her paw pads. Her thoughts are listening in on Deimos's deductions - finding no reason he would be wrong - but she's also very intent on getting the brownish black gunk from her fur. After all, she hasn't seen any threat beyond a very large, obnoxious bird that's now staring at her through the window.
Nova raises her eyes, watching the beak click against the glass. It can't get in, and her face spreads into a giant feline grin at having won their little game. Skipping forward, she pokes her nose on the window in a mocking imitation of the ningo, and as if that isn't enough, she sticks her tongue out, wiggling her butt behind her as she does a little victory song of 'na na na na na na.'
Nova and her latest exploits with the ningo seem to yield nothing from the bird except obvious irritation – feathers fluffing, wings expanding, an evident squawking, as it tapped its beak against the solid glass. If the bird’s features were capable, there’d be an aggrieved set to its brow – but seemingly “giving up”, it made another harsh sound, before flying upward, and seemingly disappearing.
Except she’d be able to hear the telltale click, click, click of its talons up on the roof, as it was clearly trying to find another way in. Like the chimney.
Calypso ’s inquiry, as she was fastening in as many rocks, wrappers, and soot as she could into the hole, caused the Sword’s nose to wrinkle. Perhaps human. Someone squatting here while the family was away. It made the most logical sense to him – between the shower, the bones, the blankets, the open windows…though, why would one have been left like that? To what purpose? Halo was already chilled to the bone. It’d make no sense to remain in a house and permitting it to become that much colder.
Unless there was a specific reason…
His eyes narrowed, head tilting as he made his way over to the chimney, ears roaming back and forth as he heard something echoing from above. Either of you have a bird shift? I think we need to check the roof. If not, he’d go – but he wanted to linger down here, to see if anyone or anything came wandering downwards.
--
Nova might have lost her friend for now, Calypso’s secured the hole (and can decide whether to come up, keep investigating the basement, or put some clues together).
As flying enters into everyday life, the dreams of centuries become actualities.
The bird quickly comes to the logical realization that it doesn't stand a chance against her - at least that's what Nova thinks when it puffs and squawks and vanishes higher. There definitely couldn't be any other reason for it, and she smiles to herself with a humming satisfaction in her chest. It makes her perhaps a little overconfident when given the opportunity to follow at the ningo's tail.
Bouncing, she spins back to the window. I'll check it out! Cracking it open just enough for a small bird (no ningos allowed), she shifts into a blur of white and rainbow feathers. Six wings sprout from her sides, moving in a practiced synchrony as she dips out into the cold Deepfrost air, eyes scanning the roof for where that bird might have gone and whether she can taunt it some more.
Nova shifts and flies to the roof!
One by one they take shape and become stepping-stones for other dreams.
// So go and pitch your fit, no one gives a shit //
With the content that the hole is fixed, Caly’s weight drops down onto all four paws again – ears flicking back toward Deimos’ voice. That makes a lot more sense. She admits, tilting her head slightly as she scans the area one more time. Satisfied, she begins to ascend the stairs back toward Deimos’ floor when she hears his next suggestion. She knows Nova has her multicolored bird shift, but something within her stirs at the question too.
It's a strange feeling, one that she doesn’t know what to do with other than tug, and having hesitated halfway up the stairs the young attuned finds her form shrinking much smaller with longer, leaner legs, and a specific sharp beak sticking out from her face. No longer on four legs, she nearly falls as she resettles her weight, wings flapping a touch to keep her balance as delight and excitement crashes through the attuned bond like a train.
No fuckin’ way. She mutters to herself, and as she hops up the rest of the stairs, Caly’s all light and excitement as sparks flit from her feet and wings like little fireworks when she moves. She isn’t sure how well of a flyer she is just yet, so she lingers by the hellhound with a smug excitement radiating from her. It should be clear to everyone here that she didn’t know she had one until this precise moment, such is the elation that blooms around her.
Caly finds out she has a bird shift and joins Deimos on the main floor!
Deimos wasn’t surprised by Nova’s enthusiasm for going towards the top portion of the building. He remained below, waiting at the empty hearth, otherwise still besides the twitching of his ears back and forth, trying to listen in on the potential unfurling or triumph from above. Though, he broke that notion once Calypso appeared by him – adorned in bird formation. New shift? came on amusements; understanding and knowing the way some unfamiliar notions of growth suddenly appeared with naught more than a tug. I figure we can see what happens here jutting his jawline towards the general periphery of chimney, roof, and Nova, and then try to make sure everything is locked down. No more animals, or people, getting in.
Though, above, was a different story. Nova would see exactly where the ningo had gone – right to the opening of the chimney, clearly trying to figure out how to best dive downwards into the section (if it was going to fit at all). It glanced up from its intentions though, giving her another seething glare – and if she were observant, she might’ve noticed a slight angle to its beak, as if giving a menacing grin.
Because suddenly she was swarmed by all its ningo friends – five fluffy, rather unintelligent birds coming straight for her, with loud enough squawking to be heard below, and probably several houses over.
