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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!
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Nova does find Caly after, linking arms to pull her away from the festival and towards the glittering pools in the distance. Being reunited calms some of the tearing sensation in her chest, the strange feeling that her world is trying to fall apart around her as she grips desperately at the thin threads within her reach - which happens to be her sister at this moment. "Did you see us up there?! We were so high! I wish you'd come with us!" Her smile is a little too bright, the excitement veiling the confusing knot of emotions.
Determined to enjoy what time she has with Caly, she skips a little higher, blonde curls bouncing around her face. "I saw you at the egg vendor! Did you get anything good?! Where did you find yours?!" She's already reaching her free hand into her pocket, ready to show the coins he'd given her - pretty mundane if you ask her.
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
Tugged offside from the festival by her sister, Caly’s quite a few drinks in at this point – spiked thankfully by their father. “I didn’t..” She admits with a frown, looking up at her sister with her amber gaze, bright and curious. She might have gone up there, but it seemed like they had wanted to talk on their own and she wasn’t going to get involved. And besides, needed to see the egg vendor, and by the time all of that was done with, they were already essentially on their way.
Puffing out her cheeks, there’s a quiet and awkward laugh as she leans in toward her sister. “I didn’t get anythin’ for mine.” Which seemed like a scam if you ask her (she got MP though, so maybe we’ll give her a new shift). “What’d you get?” She’s already leaning in close to try and see what she pulls out of her pockets.
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
It does seem like a scam, and Nova is starting to wonder if they should have just kept the painted eggs for themselves. Pouting, she furrows her brows. "Oh. That's lame. He didn't give me anything exciting, but I got money!" (i.e. MP too) Her expression brightens when she pulls the coins from her pockets, showcasing the small handful of gold he'd given her in exchange. Would she have preferred something fun and cool for the hand-painted egg? Of course. But she's happy to at least gotten something, and she willingly offers it out to her sister. "Here! We can share!" Nova lets Caly take some of the prize, knowing it's not much in terms of a consolation prize, but happy to share if it makes her feel better.
Repocketing whatever her sister doesn't want, she leans a little more into their looped arms, the grip locked tight. There's a forced lightness to her tone, a determination to keep their family whole. "So, since Vespy's leaving for the Greatwood for who knows how long and we've already done so much for the Sunbean, what do you think about asking mom to make it mobile? We could go wherever we want whenever we want and always have it with us. We wouldn't even have to worry about having a place to live anymore, and we could follow Vespy anywhere!" Beaming intentionally bright and sparkly, she tilts her head like a playful cat. "What do you think? Cool right?!"
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
The fact that her sister’s offering to share the amount of money she’d received from the vendor has Caly smiling in spite of herself, huffing a soft and sunny laugh as she shakes her head and lets her sister keep the money – not imagining she needs it too much right now. Besides, if her sister has it then it’s likely it’ll still benefit her in one way or another. “You can keep it.” She hums, closing her sister’s hands around the money and settling back in, sitting back on her heels and clutching the necklace her sister’s made for her.
Listening as her sister explains the plan, Caly’s head tilts slightly. “Yeah, that is a cool idea.” She says but there’s not very much heart in it – the implication of moving again is disheartening a touch and she tries to hide it as she keeps that smile on her face even as her mind races with a million different options. “I kinda wanna stay, though..” She adds a little quieter, because she knows no amount of masking up against her sister would do any good.
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
The illusion of her excitement fractures a little at her sister's response, a crack splitting to let the disappointment seep through. Her smile falters, a pained look entering her eyes as her voice becomes heavy without the forced enthusiasm. "I don't want to leave either, but..." The skipping pace of her walk slows to a drag, sorrowful and full of worries that Vesper had gently soothed on hours before.
Looking to Caly, her eyes betray the fears. "I want to be near Vespy. What if something like this happens again?!" What if he gets hurt this time? What if Caly is the one who wants to leave again? What if they can never settle in one place? Nothing is guaranteed except for the love she has for her siblings, and she refuses to let that go.
Nova takes a deep breath, tightening her hold on Caly's arm and trying to reinfuse the brightness of her attitude with positivity and possibilities. "Just because the Sunbean can move doesn't mean we have to. We could still stay in New Haven for a while, but then we'd have the choice to leave and come back whenever we feel like it!" Her gaze searches out the horizon like she can see their future in the ripples of heat. "It would give us freedom and options! And it'll give the Sunbean a myst~erious vibe that will draw more customers!" She tries to giggle with the same sparkle she usually would, but the nerves strain against the sound, the effort falling flatter than she wants, so she smiles a little wider.
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
It’s the but that gets her, her amber gaze flitting across to see her sister’s bright gaze in return, the enthusiasm sucked out of her voice with the first time Caly’s denied her sister. The answer is one that she expects, though, and is unsurprised by it. And while the young attuned feels much the same way, she can’t deny the fact that she’s tired of constantly feeling like they’re on the run. Like the roots of their lives matter less and less the more they bounce around.
She can’t help but to think of the long deep roots their father had made in Torchline, the years of blood, sweat, and tears that had created a place that breathed his name as much as its own. It’s something she craves, something she can’t get if they continue to leave. Her sister does make a valid point, though, and she draws silent as her sister makes her claim, her arm surrendered to her sister’s touch as she nods.
“Hard to get regular customers ‘n business if the shop ain’t there at least most’ve the time.” From a logistical stance, at least. And it hurts to see her sister deflate so much with her disagreement, to the point that she flashes her a small apology of a smile, squeezing her arm in return. “What if.. What if you went to the Greatwood with V and made sure he kept outta trouble. I’ll stay here for a landin’ pad if you guys need it? An’ we can upgrade our bracelets so it’ll work past bein’ in the same place?”
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Nova's eyes fall to the ground, a light mist forming over them. Upgrading their bracelets would help, but it wouldn't fix the problem, and she can feel her heart breaking into pieces, threatening to scatter across Caido on glittery strings attached to her siblings. It hurts, a dark image forming where she's huddled in a small room, alone and unable to get to her siblings who are in mortal danger. There's no sparkle or laughter without her siblings, only pain and sadness.
Her fingers tighten, breath hitching as she pushes aside the fears to look at Caly. "But... I'd miss you. And wouldn't you be lonely?" All by herself in a big building with no one to protect her or keep her company. The image has her lips puckering, a wobble forming on her chin. "I don't want you to be lonely." She shakes her head, biting her lip as the frustration and indecision mounts. "But I don't want Vespy to be lonely either!" A tear finally breaks free. Nova doesn't wipe it away, struggling enough to keep the raindrops around them from multiplying, her magic threatening to brew a storm in her despair, her heart torn between two places. "Why can't we just stay together?!"
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
Her sister’s fingers tighten and she knows her sister well enough to know the hitch of her breath when it comes – setting Caly’s jaw a little tighter despite the smile that fades there. “I’d miss you too, obviously.” She says it matter of fact, like there isn’t a possibility that she wouldn’t miss her siblings. But when it comes to being lonely, she reaches up to squeeze her sister’s shoulder. “An’ I won’t be lonely. I’ve got dad ‘n all the other shmucks around here.” She tries to laugh it off, but it falls short when the tear falls.
Her smile fades instantly, pulling her sister in for a hug that’s tight in all the ways that she knows how. “Hey, it’s okay. Promise. It’s just.. We just got done settlin’ here and V wanted to leave ‘cause of everything that happened with Colt and I get that. Trust me, I do. I just.. Don’t wanna keep runnin’ around is all. I’ll still be here.” She promises quietly, trying to soothe her sister the best she can.
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Nova shakes her head, vehement disagreement on her crestfallen face. "It won't be the same." They won't see each other every day or be able to share every moment together, and it won't just be Vesper going for a trip or her wandering off to explore, it will be permanent, with no signs of returning to the way it was.
She folds into the hug, a few droplets of rain falling onto them as the control falters. Nova wraps her arms tight around Caly's waist and clutches her sister close, breathing her in like she can tuck her safely behind her sternum, never far from the beat of her heart. Maybe they'd even mold together, becoming one unstoppable entity.
The breath is shaky, pulling back on the glittery strings of her soul that threaten to scatter. Piecing them together slowly, Nova tries to find comfort in the physical presence and reassuring words, refuting all the images of loneliness and devastation that she envisions for all of them. She understands Caly's reasoning, a barely perceptible nod of her head showing that she gets it. She'd had the same thoughts and hesitations - had wanted to stay - but the desire to stay together had always driven her, and it would always trump her whatever hopes she'd had of setting roots or fueling ambition. Her siblings are everything to her.
A soft sniffle finds her, grief clinging like a veil that dims her sparkle. Her voice is wet and wreaked with distant sadness. "I miss when it was just us. I miss mom and being in the stars. Nothing could pull us apart - definitely not stupid boys or annoying ranchers." Despite all the fun she's had exploring and meeting new people and creating art, Nova would happily give it up to go back, to have her family safe and whole again, with the promise of never losing them. What did she have to do to protect them? What new shifts or magics did she need to find that would guarantee they'd never be harmed?
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
“I know.” She says a little sadly, Caly squeezing her sister a little tighter, trying to let it fill the cracks that are beginning to fall and fade. They sit like that for some time, held tight to each other like their choices weren’t going to tear them apart, even though Caly’s sure it won’t despite them splitting up.
She knows her sister gets it, internally and deep in the recesses of her heart. Superficially, though, they really don’t really have the same kind of ring. The hurt is more upfront, one that Caly gets deep down in the golden part of her mind and her chest. “Yeah.” She sighs, pulling away slightly to flash as reassuring of a smile up at her sister as she can. “I’m not sayin’ it has to be forever, either. Just… For right now. Okay?” She murmurs a little quieter.
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Nova only lets Caly get so far, keeping her close in the tight grip of her hug. She wants to go back, wants to cherish the time when her siblings were no more than a thought away, to the place where nothing could come between them and their mom was always present. But her sister does what she can to mitigate the frustrations and make the best of the situation they're in, the life that they've chosen to embrace, and Nova loves her all the more for it.
The raindrops around them slowly begin to evaporate, another sniffle shaking her body before she loosens her hold a fraction to give her lungs enough breath to sigh. "Okay." It's reluctant but willing, yet she adds the firm caveat of "but I won't leave until the Sunbean is up and running." She wants to see it through without leaving the heavy lifting to Caly, and make sure her sister is settled so she has one less thing to worry about when she joins Vesper in the Greatwood for a while.
Finally pulling back enough to give a serious pout of her lips, Nova's watery eyes glimmer with determination. "And you have to promise we'll go to mom about these." Her hand raises, the silver bracelet of dangling stars catching the sunlight like a promise that she'll never be too far, and that she'll make sure that one day they can't be separated so easily.
i know i should trust my gut 'cause i know that there's something up
As her sister accepts the hard news Caly has for her, she brightens almost immediately. Like a cloud that’s just bypassed the sun, it warms her and in turn she hopes it warms her sister where they connect despite the rain that slowly stops falling. “Yeah, ‘course.” She hums, accepting all the help she can in getting it up and running. So far, though, things have gone well. She’s hoping it lasts.
As for their bracelets, her laughter is warm and golden as she nods her head. “Why wait? You wanna go and see her?” She wouldn’t mind seeing their mom either, something about it feeling more warm and confirming in a way that she can’t quite explain. And at the very least, it knocks off a portion of her sister’s worries.
Calypso
i just hate the place that that path would lead me down
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
She's not quite ready to be happy about the arrangement, but Nova is slowly coming to terms with it, willing to let her siblings separate with the decided stipulations. Even if she has to be the glitter glue between them, jumping between regions to keep their bond strong despite the distance, Nova is determined to do it, to keep her siblings safe and happy.
Taking a deep breath, she finally smiles, unable to contain how excited she is to see their mom. "Yes." It's been too long, and if there's anyone she can count on to cheer her up, it's their stunning, all-powerful mom, certain she'll be able to help close the distance between them all. The less she has to wait, the better.
In the blink of an eye, the water vanishes, pulling from their skin and leaving them refreshed, her smile finally making an appearance as she grabs her sister's hand to drag her along. "Come on!"
