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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!
Her demand request for a healer from the Green Circle had been short and sweet, and maybe a little vague. She figures it doesn't matter why she needs them, they're going to get paid either way - and she's not (unfortunately). At least this is probably easier than dealing with some sickly elder or screaming baby. Drop by, heal a fountain and some marble and move on. She doesn't expect them to complain about an easy day's work.
Thal props her hip against the fountain, flicking her tail as the time approaches. The black of her cloak pours over the structure, silver daggers glinting beneath where her hands are never far from even as she presses one into the cold surface of the fountain. Her blue gaze runs over the architectural phenomenon, the obsidian and metal tipping precariously. Her horns are a close match, tinged slightly blue as opposed to the deep black of the stone. The wine hasn't been added yet, but it's already an intimidating and impressive sight.
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
Having lost his flower shop when Stormbreak, you know, unalived itself, Mateo has found himself with rather a lot of time on his hands lately. He spends much of it being a general nuisance, assisting the flora in his sister's house to grow appropriately, and making the odd trip to the Grounds to tinker around with requests for the Gilded Market, but this is something a little different. He'd normally not trouble himself with Green Circle business - not because he doesn't think it important, but because there are much more skilled healers out there - but apparently there's a shortage of healy types in the Hollowed Grounds.
Such surprise. Much wow.
And so the guild member they send to Thalassa might not look like your typical robe-wearing light magic user, but Mateo has his membership card to hand if needed. (It's a bit of paper he's scribbed a green circle onto, and he'll defend it to the death). Wearing a burnt orange coat that flares dramatically with each step of his boots and shimmering eyeshadow to match, Mateo is the picture of Leafchange, and he raises a hand in a wide arc as he spots the person beside the torture devi-- er, fountain?
"Damn, is this what will be healing the Ancients of the Grounds?" he exclaims as he draws closer, whistling through his teeth. "Are you sure they got the request right? It looks deadly."
I wanna wake up Can't even tell if this is a dream
Thal doesn't know what she expected. Maybe a prim and proper type with a stick up their ass or a depressingly old guy that should probably be a patient himself, but definitely not this pop of bright color with glitter on his eyes. Her eyes narrow, roaming over him as she tries to piece out whether he's just a passerby rather than the healer she's requested.
His questions about the fountain certainly imply his business has to do with it, and she gives a curt nod to confirm his guess. "Mhm." There's a sharp gleam to her eyes, a dark amusement in the flat tone of her voice as her shoulders lift in an uninterested shrug. "Would you expect anything less from a deadly race?" It'll look even better when the wine flows through it - not that she's an expert on anything 'artistic' like that.
Rising to her feet, Thal crosses her arms, ready to get this done and over with. "So what do you have? Magic? An item?"
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
"Deadly?" Mateo's tone holds a note of dramatic skepticism, though it's amusement rather than mockery that fuels the dimpled smile on his face. "If you say so." He'd once found the Theocrat of the Hollowed Grounds passed out in an inflatable pink flamingo in his sister's pool, so sue him. But they aren't here to dickswing about Ancients, they're here to make sure this spiky looking fountain is capable of keeping them safe. "It is impressive, whatever I expected," he concedes.
As the stranger asks what the point of him is (in not so many words), Mateo brightens again. "Oh, better than all of that," he declares, reaching into the white, flowing silk of his shirt to draw out the glittering silver chain around his neck, and the bleached ivory phalanges threaded onto it. "I have brought you my nonna."
Looping the chain over his head, already the bones seem to be aglow with soft power. "She was a witch," he explains, like it's the most logical thing in the world, "with healing magic." And then, because he realises he's gone quite without introducing himself, he grins to her. "I am Mateo Taliesin, by the way. Nice to meet you."
I wanna wake up Can't even tell if this is a dream
The narrowing of her eyes suggests she doesn't appreciate the doubt, although perhaps the representation he's seen hasn't properly demonstrated their inclination for blood and violence (way to go Danta). If he sticks around her long enough, he might get a better idea, but she's a job to do and so does he, so she dips her head in agreeance with his compliment and moves on.
His eyeshadow shimmers when his expression brightens, Thal waiting impatiently for him to get to the point. At least he doesn't keep her waiting long - though she's more than a little baffled by the ivory bones he reveals from beneath his gaudy shirt. The unassuming and brightly colored man does not seem like the kind to enjoy gore or skeletons.
She flicks her gaze down him again, wondering if she missed something in her first evaluation. "You kept your... nonna's bones?" It wouldn't surprise her if a glamour suddenly falls away to reveal horns and a tail. He's definitely more than he appears, but as he finishes the explanation with an introduction, it all seems to make a bit more sense.
Recognition clicks into place and Thal nearly laughs at the coincidence. Instead, a small smirk rises around the opening of her mouth, head tipping up as she says, "Aaaah. The botanist brother." If only because of that, she nods her head, some of her edges dulling a fraction. "Thalassa. Captain Thalassa Sanguis."
Her tail waves slowly behind her, somewhat more interested as she comments, "Surprised you didn't bring some plants to heal the thing."
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
"Well, yes," Mateo says, and the bemused logic in his voice is only missing an obviously? at the end of it. "I do not possess healing magic, but her hands did. I like to think that she is pleased to still be helping people." He knows it, in fact, given his father's ability to bring her back and say hello on a regular basis. And as she smiles, clearly recognising him in come capacity (the botanist brother is another helpful indicator) he offers a roguish bow, the necklace of bones clutched to his chest.
"Piacere, Thalassa. I see my reputation precedes me." He doesn't ask what kind of reputation he has, because it truly doesn't matter to Mateo, and the botanist is already walking a circuit around the jagged fountain to admire its architecture. "I was considering it," he confesses of the plants, "but then someone told me that this will be a wine fountain? And I did not want to risk contaminating the taste of good wine."
Grinning across to her from the other side of the fountain, the chain of bones in his hands are now glowing in earnest, Mateo passing it over the obsidian and granite as if to offer what purification he can. Nearby, he notes, a herd of unicorns nickers and watches them with interest. "I assume they are part of this also?"
I wanna wake up Can't even tell if this is a dream
Still grappling with the idea of this seemingly inconspicuous man toting around the desiccated fingers of his dead relative, Thal raises a single eyebrow. "Didn't realize magic worked like that." Like an echo of something gone, she never thought to believe magic could linger in a space - or someone's bones - for alternative use. It might be something for her to explore...
Huffing a laugh, she pictures all the ways Mateo would have to dodge death if he dared to tamper with the taste of their wine. Her shoulders shrug in concession. "Now that would be sacrilege." Dygra might just smite him herself, supplementing the offended wine with his blood.
Considering her current role to be a supervisory position, Thal continues to stand grounded with her arms crossed, eyes and tail the only part of her moving while he works. Both flicker towards the unicorns that hang off to the side, uninterested. "Hell if I know." This had been the only task she'd been given, too uninvested to bother keeping up with the other portions of the plans. She swings her gaze back to him, a smirk taking form as she suggests, "Maybe they're Charlie's snack for later."
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
"Neither did I," Mateo confesses freely, his dimpled smile suggesting that he's not remotely bothered by the mysteries of the world and how they fold around his grandmother's finger bones. "But here they are, and that is a good for you and this fountain, no?" Continuing to pass the glowing necklace over jagged gemstone and the other oddities adorning the strange sculpture, he looks for a moment like a Leafchange-coded priest bestowing a blessing, before he finally returns to Thalassa's side.
"I am not in the habit of being sacreligious," he agrees, tipping her a wink. "Not in public on a weekday, anyway." A lie, of course - Mateo is very much in the habit of being however the hell he pleases, whether the gods approve or not. Still, he's not one to tamper with wine.
His gaze returns to the unicorns briefly enough, eyebrows raising at Charlie's name. "Ah, that is right. She is the priestess here, is she not? Gods, it has been a while since I saw her. Perhaps I should pay a visit after this."
I wanna wake up Can't even tell if this is a dream
"Guess so," she says of their luck. Perhaps it's one of those oddities of the world that they'll never understand, one he doesn't care to think on but glad to reap the benefits from. An opportunist at their finest.
The lingering glow of the finger bones gives his wink a nefarious glint. She highly doubts he's one who bothers with people's opinions - not in that shade of orange - and her head tilts, amusement curling through the sarcastic lull of her voice. "How solicitous of you."
Thal nods her head, humming her confirmation as he talks. "Mhm." Everyone seems to know the lively priestess, but her grin sharpens as he mentions seeking her out. "Bring a snack with you. I've heard pregnancy cravings are a bitch." Maybe unicorns are the current flavor of the month, although it wouldn't be a shock to discover pregnant Ancients have an insatiable blood lust for anything with a heartbeat.
Glancing over the fountain, she notices that it looks very much the same as it did: jagged stones and gleaming obsidian. "Is that it?" she asks, doubting that it's as simple as walking around and waving a few bones.
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
"Mm, I do try," Mateo says of being solicitous, taking it as a compliment whether or not it was intended as one. He sets his hands - one still wrapped with the glowing finger bones - against the smoother parts of the fountain as they speak, as if to inject further healing magic into it, but it wouldn't surprise him at all to learn that a blood sacrifice was necessary to finish the task. Thal doesn't ask for one, though, and so he'll keep it all safely in his veins for now.
"Ah, yes. I have heard that pregnancy cravings can b-- wait, Charlie is expecting?" Clearly this is news to Mateo, the botanist's expression brightening into a mix of surprise and delight. "Well now I will have to make it a point to see her. With a snack in hand, of course." He winks at Thalassa. "As for this, though? I think it is done. If you are not satisfied with my work, though, I believe you can contact the Green Circle for a refund." Like, review and subscribe tho!
I wanna wake up Can't even tell if this is a dream
Pleased with the reaction, Thal's tail waves playfully behind her, the grin on her face a littler sharper with mischief. "Yeah. I'm assuming that's why they're throwing her a baby shower." Although, with Ancients it's more than possible they plan to actually shower a bunch of babies. Possibly in blood.
Not really caring about the scheduled events for the party (which will turn out to be more than she bargained for), Thal shrugs her shoulders to add, "Supposedly it's a demi and she's very excited, so make sure the snacks are appropriately dramatic." How the priestess can be more energetic than she usually is, Thal has no idea, but she imagines she'll show Mateo exactly how momentous this is.
Her tail flicks dismissively. She'll have to take his word for the status of the job, considering she has no magic of her own to check such a thing. "I'll certainly let them know." And if it turns out that he just waved his hands around and played her for a fool, he'll be the first to know - and he won't like how she tells him.
With the work done, she has her own business to attend to. Waving a flippant hand his direction, she turns on her heels. "See you around, Mateo."
[FIN]
is my value based only on your perception? or is your opinion of me… not my responsibility
