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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!
It's getting quite late in the season when Niki is finally able to take the skyship from the Greatwood across to the Hollowed Grounds, bringing with him a number of his recent projects, along with some tools in case there are any supplies worth purchasing whilst he's there. He'd intended to go a lot sooner, but the rain and the endless (endless) mud had prevented him until now.
And, well, perhaps the arrival of a certain snarky demigod in the forest had spurred his departure on a bit too.
Having acquired lodgings at one of the inns bordering the Inner Quarter - and Niki had spent a good while gawking at the enormous bonfire, the busy rows of buildings and businesses, the stalls, the Temple towering overhead - he eventually makes his enquiries about Astaroth, which is how he ends up at the Dusklight.
It's only here that he's told, of course, that the brothel(!?)'s resident head of security is out at present, gone to Torchline for some shindig or another, but that he's due back today. Not wanting to face the steps back up from the Last Whisper, when asked if he'd like to stay to wait, despite every bit of good judgement he has, Niki opts to say yes.
He's shown to a small table with a good view of the door, and has settled himself with a cup of coffee and a book from the satchel he's brought with him; all in all, a truly absurd sight when considering the rest of the Dusklight. It's also why he keeps his eyes firmly on the text in front of him, not wanting to see more than he's bargained for.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
It’s true, the butcher has been out for a little while – fully indulging in a true Torchline vacation with a mixture of it coinciding with a lovely party for the Maverick. Such that when he returns, there’s a hint of a tan that darkens his otherwise tanned skin and an ease of which the butcher holds himself. No longer in pain from the fight with the mud behemoth, he’s managed to heal quite well to the point that it almost looks like nothing ever happened.
Upon arriving back home, however, to the dreary mud and the rain, to say the butcher isn’t eager to get indoors is a lie. He’s on a mission so much that he doesn’t notice Niki reading a book and settled into a booth of his own, that he takes the moment to beckon Danta away with a warm kiss of gratitude. They both have work to do – or so Asta had thought when he turns toward the bartender.
His tail flicks idly behind him but stills as he perks up to hear that he has a visitor, and the second he hears the name of said visitor he abandons the plan of body guarding for the time being to go and see his favorite necromancer. Unsure of whether or not the young man is still reading the book, the butcher easily makes his way over to him – people parting as he passes lest they know what awaits them for interfering when he’s on a mission.
“Ah, my dear Niki. I am sorry for not being able to receive you – it was Danta’s birthday and Flora threw him a party in Torchline.” He murmurs, sliding into the space across from him with a shark tooth grin aimed at the young man and a shadow that peeks up over his shoulder to add its own grinning greeting. “I hope you did not wait too long?”
True to his original plan, Niki does not look up at the sound of the door opening and the warmer-than-usual welcome from the greeter and surrounding patrons. But at the sound of laughter and the familiar purr of the butcher's voice, he finally risks a glance in the direction of the door, giving him an all too clear view of Astaroth parting ways with the Theocrat of the Hollowed Grounds - with a public kiss, no less.
Feeling his cheeks immediately heat up, any potential greeting dying on his tongue, Niki turns his attention right back down to his book, figuring that he will wait for the Ancient to approach him instead after all. And approach he does, after a few minutes to get accustomed, giving the necromancer time to reassemble his wits and to order a new cup of coffee.
"You do not need to apologise," he says with a polite smile up towards Asta, marking his page and setting the book aside on the table as the other man sits himself down. "I hope you enjoyed your time in Torchline. Is it less muddy out there than here?" He imagines - and hopes - so.
Caught by the sight of Asta's grinning shadow for a second, and finding himself smiling a little more brightly in return, he gives his coffee a stir and shakes his head to the butcher. "Not very long, no. I was told you would be returning today - I only arrived this morning myself. Apologies for not sending word ahead; I was not sure where to direct the raven."
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
Not knowing whether or not the necromancer has spotted him ahead of time, he settles into the bench across from him and settles in. The two of them look far too prim and proper for this setting – but Asta is quite delighted with the idea of it as his smile brightens and he nods, reaching up to brush a stray dark hair back behind an elongated horn. “It was quite lovely. And yes, far less rain than here and therefore less mud, thankfully.” He’s almost nostalgic for it, despite having only been gone a short time.
But this was his home, his work, and the region he called home. Once the rain stopped with the heat of Longheat, hopefully they’d all be safe from the terrible mud creatures.
The shadow smiles a bit wider and wiggles as if a bit excited to have been noticed as Niki takes note of it, but it’s the butcher’s warm voice that orders a spiked cider quietly before turning his attention entirely back on his friend. “Ah, very good. And you do not need to apologize either. I am happy you found the Dusklight regardless.” He murmurs, shifting a little in his seat. “How are you finding it so far?” He asks, taking a moment to glance out at the Dusklight as a whole and the variety of couples (and sometimes more than two), indulging in one another’s deeper sins, before the butcher’s gaze flits back to Niki.
"I almost feel as though I cut my Torchline vacation too short, given how Flowerbirth has been," Niki admits as he hears that the warmer region has been spared the worst of the mud. He glances up as a server approaches to take Asta's order, the boy already having gotten himself a fresh cup of coffee, and so he takes the opportunity to slip his book away back into his satchel while he waits for the older man.
It also allows him to admire the shadow in a little more detail, and once Asta has placed his order for spiked cider, he can't help but nod towards it. "Are you in control of it?" he asks. "Or does it just act that way on its own?" He's not sure which he might prefer, honestly. Before he can get that response, though, the butcher is asking his opinion on the Dusklight, and its with cheeks flushing pink again without his permission that he scoffs a laugh and drops his gaze to the table.
"Educational," he hazards. "I was not aware the human body could contort itself in such ways until today. I confess, I did not expect this to be your, uh, place of work?" Presumably.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
“Perhaps you did.” Asta murmurs softly – his tone taking on a touch of mourning given the fact that he too would have loved to indulge in Torchline more this season. Maybe it would have prevented his battle with the mud behemoth. But knowing the butcher, it wouldn’t have stopped him from stumbling across it – knowing his luck, that is.
He makes his order for the spiked cider, settling back into the bench as his tail flits at the tip while his gaze flits back toward Niki with that same sharp smile on his face, mirrored in his shadow that continues to greet Niki with a smile and a happiness to be acknowledged. “Mm? Oh.” He hums, turning toward the shadow that smiles. It sinks a little lower like it’s shy, like it can peek up over the edge of the bench seating to peer at them. “I am, however it was a magic I had all that time ago in the Climb that I recently got back. I had gotten into the habit of keeping it on a subconscous, so it does tend to do its own thing.” The explanation is relatively easy, he thinks, even if he’s not going to think about the semantics of it.
As far as what Niki thinks of the Dusklight, he leans forward, arms braced on his elbows as he takes in the answer with his own quiet chuckle of a laugh. “It is quite astounding, isn’t it?” He hums. “I did not imagine myself here, either, however it had a room available at the time and work to be done. I am the Security.” He winks, and given the way that people seemed to calm down a touch with his arrival and his continued presence, it’s obvious he’s done more than enough work making sure people followed the rules that they didn’t step out of line. “It can get rather rambunctious at times.”
To hear that Asta is in control of the shadow on some level, even if it's subconscious at this point, has Niki's smile growing a touch softer, especially to see the darkness at the butcher's shoulder creep lower as if shy at being acknowledged so openly. He has no doubt that the magic being described doesn't extend only to smiling shadows and is probably a great deal more ominous in practice, but he certainly isn't going to provoke a demonstration. "Well, hello to the both of you," is what he opts for instead.
Astounding is certainly another word for the Dusklight, and as a waiter returns with Asta's cider, Niki has to pointedly not glance at the man's bare midriff on display right at his eye level. Instead, he listens painstakingly to the butcher's explanation, raising his eyebrows emphatically and taking a much needed, grounding sip of his coffee. "This is not rambunctious?" he asks, tilting his head and risking a glance at their surroundings (and immediately averting his eyes again).
"Security, though. That must keep you quite busy in a place like this." And likely involves keeping quite odd hours, too. "Please do not feel as though you need to entertain me for too long, on that note. I just wanted to say hello and to let you know I was in town. I wondered if you would have time to meet while I am visiting so we can share the things we have made."
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
To hear the hello, the little shadow rises a touch higher and flashes a brighter smile – a hollow little space allowing for the sharp shadowy teeth to sit as it waves back. Asta, in the meantime, casts a glance over at it with a small snort and a shake of his head.
Focusing instead on the cider as it arrives, a warm hum of gratitude is extended to the waiter – the hot cider cradled between his hands not at all fearful of the burn of the steam that arises from the heat of the cup as he lifts it to take a sip, letting his dark gaze linger on Niki once more. “Oh no, this is rather tame if you can believe it.” The hum trills from his lips with a laugh that softens a moment after.
Setting the cup back down and keeping it in between his hands to warm away the rest of the chill in his fingers that thankfully haven’t turned a shade of grey from the trek back here, the butcher nods. “It does.” Confirmation over whether or not security in a brothel would keep him busy. But his brows shoot up, his head tilting slightly – a gesture mirrored by the shadow that watches Niki playfully. “Oh, no, darling. They shall manage themselves. I am still technically on vacation, after all.” He winks to the necromancer, the wrinkles of his crows feet deepening with the motion before he’s offering another solution – almost as if he can sense the fact that Niki is well out of his element in the devilish propriety of a brothel.
“Which means I have a perfectly open schedule to show you the trinkets I have made.” The butcher straightens up, tail flicking by the edge of the booth – the ashen tip seen here and there in a flash by the edge of the table. “It will also provide some.. mm, privacy, from the main floor?” Which if his guess of why Niki was definitely not looking at the waiter and his scandalous clothing was any indicator, might be a necessary break.
"I would not have believed it if you had not said," Niki remarks quietly, his smile slanting towards something more crooked. At that moment, of course, he can hear the sudden pop! of a cork and a cheer from over at the bar (it's Danta, of course, and it's a sign of impending chaos), and the boy glances automatically over his shoulder before returning his attention to Astaroth.
Some of the tension eases from his shoulders to hear that he isn't unintentionally interrupting the butcher's work, with another sip of his coffee he also finds himself straightening up, glancing fleetingly at the animated tail tip flicking beside the booth. "As long as you do not mind," he says, sounding a touch too happy about it to be able to play it off as nonchalance.
"I have been eager to see the sorts of things you craft from bone since we found those antlers in the Greatwood," he confesses. "Given that I work mainly with metal, I have never considered incorporating that sort of thing into my creations." But he might in future, based on what Asta shows him.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
“I am sure.” Asta hums with amusement, glancing over at the time the pop of a cork erupts the crowd by the bar. His gaze lingers a touch longer, affectionate toward the blond int eh middle of the chaos that would surely ensue. Perhaps it is a good time for them to depart before the antics get a touch too crazy. At least, for Niki’s standards, that is.
Standing and collecting his cane, his shadow trails with him, smiling and staring at a few customers purely out of curiosity, but Niki might notice the way they grow a touch tense under the eye of the shade. “Ah yes, I have that particular piece still.” He hums, trying to catch Danta’s gaze in the distance at the bar to tell him he’ll be back – silently, as they often were able to do.
Then, he’s guiding Niki toward the hallway, pausing by a particular door that’s closed and signified with a particular dark shadow of a swipe of paint across the front of it toward the top – as though it was a blood smear for some kind of biblical prevention of the plague. It isn’t, and the skeleton key he slips into it unlocks it easily as he cradles his drink in his other hand, the cane hanging limply from his forearm.
Once the door opens, though, he ignites the fireplace within – the room warming merrily and free of any dust. A table sits at the back, slew with a variety of bones (and very few of them animal), there’s a bed decked out in red with a sheer curtain of a canopy, and shelves that harbor the large variety of trinkets made from the bones in question.
Particularly one that’s got a rack of very familiar antlers, set atop a wolf skull, feathers from varying corvids crafting wings of a sort that rise from the edges in a unique kind of halo – pale string hangs each piece perfectly – it’s a wind chime, after all – but the string themselves have a particular look of spider’s webbing. “This is what I made with those antlers.” The butcher says, paying by the wind chime with a vibrant and too sharp grin.
Niki concentrates on getting himself on his feet as Asta readies himself and exchanges a brief but warm glance with the man in charge of the champagne bottle; by the time he's got his cane in hand, in fact, the boy is able to spot the way the butcher's shadow focuses rather intensely towards a few patrons. And if he'd not received a much more friendly welcome from the smiling darkness, he'd have likely reacted the same way.
"You do? I would love to see what became of it," he says as he falls into step - more or less, given his bad leg and Asta's long strides - with the other man. It isn't a long way to go, as it happens, and Niki keeps his eyes very politely on the butcher's back so he doesn't get distracted by the acrobatics going on in hidden alcoves or, in one case, right on top of a table. And when they arrive at the black-smudged doorway, he can only raise a curious brow towards the marking.
"For good fortune?" he hazards, though the wry smile on his lips says he knows better.
But then they are heading into the room and the boy's attention is immediately captured by the plethora of trinkets on display, not to mention the independent array of bones on the worktable. The fact that not all of them are animal (and he knows that all too well even from a glance at some) doesn't bother him at all, and as Asta makes mention of the windchime, he pauses before it to admire it in its haloed glory.
"That is quite something," he says, sounding unashamedly impressed. "Did you already have the concept in mind when you picked up the antlers?"
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
A crooked smile blooms on the butcher's face — a few more of those too sharp teeth on display that are otherwise hidden by his traditional smiling. Niki would certainly see what’s become of the antlers he’d found, but first they have to get to his room.
It’s an easy feat, at least. And with the mention of the smudging above his doorframe, a low chuckle escapes Asta as he casts a glance back toward the necromancer. “Mm, yes. Something like that.” It was mostly so everyone thought it was cursed and they’d leave it alone in their drunken attempts to find a random room — though not many tried when the butcher’s smudges started. Warded away by the quiet fear it instilled.
Upon entering the room and letting the door click close behind him, Asta ignites the smattering of oil lamps alongside the fireplace, eventually settling beside the trinket made from the antlers they had just talked about. He looks as if he’s proud of the result — his posture appears straighter, his chest puffed out a little. “Thank you, my dear.” He hums with a playful yet content flick of his tail. Turning to it to inspect it himself, he answers the question. “I had parts of it already in mind. Only the feathers at this point, though. Between my partner and his companion, I was able to find the perfect amount to craft the wings. The wolf skull came later, another addition of myself given my soul-shift.” He turns back toward Niki, his sharp smile brightening as the grinning shadow makes a reappearance, grinning at Niki as if pleased he likes it as much as he does.
The windchime seems to dance and twist in the light as Asta ignites the lamps around them, the teeth from the wolf skull grinning all the more ominously and casting ghoulish shadows of its own. That doesn't put Niki off, of course, the boy peering this way and that at the creation, knowing better than to touch or reach for it. Looking with his eyes is more than enough anyway, and he can openly admire the craftmanship gone into it.
"Ah, I see. So this is almost like parts of both of you combined," he says softly, finally stepping back to gaze at the piece in its entirety once more, catching Asta's beaming shadow out of the corner of his eye. Smiling back automatically as if finding the gesture contagious, Niki turns to the butcher and nods his clear approval. "It is beautiful work," he confirms, gesturing to the rest of the room and the worktable.
"What is your next project?" he wonders, thinking of his own trinkets and delicate filigree, the majority commissions to keep food on the table, but a few - just a few - for his own personal enjoyment.
my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
// make me bleed if you need to confirm that it's something i can do //
“Precisely.” Asta purrs with all the confidence and appreciation that his artwork of this particular design was understandable enough to know it encapsulated himself and his partner, something that he knows at the very least would not have been a possibility if it weren’t for that braided bracelet that’s on his arm, hidden beneath the cuff of his shirt. “Thank you, Niki, darling.” Completely content to take the appreciation and approval from the younger man, the butcher steps away – his smiling shadow trailing after him.
He drifts toward the table in question – the bones scattered about. His hand rests on the edge of the table, nearer to a smudge of ash from the pipe not far from where the bones sit. “I have not decided yet. I am debating whether to craft a knife handle or if I should use most of this collection for another chime.” Gesturing to the finger bones and the bird skulls, the butcher’s head tilts as he tries to think. “I am in the mind of collaboration, if you had any ideas?” Turning to look back at Niki, he steps to the side, offering him a chance to look out and see the variety of items at their disposal.
