this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Post by saskia burovski on Dec 5, 2017 8:47:19 GMT
the day keeps getting better. first, the opportunity to hang out with kasimir. second, the fact that they are gardening -- an idle hobby she has always wanted to explore a little more but has never quite had the opportunity. ( a row of small potted plants along her windowsill is all she has the time for right now. ) third, the cats. oh, the cats! and now, the snake, monty! a giant, now-friendly snake! to say that saskia merely smiles upon realisation that yes, indeed, she can pat this snake, is somewhat of an understatement. she beams, sunshine manifest in a single expression, eyes lighting up like the dawn through evergreen leaves, rendering the world in shades of gold.
it isn’t as if she is oblivious to her brother’s hesitance, his concern, so typically kasimir of him that her grin gains some element of sheepishness. not that it stops her from moving forward as mrs powell calls her forward. she does not sprint nor bound nor skip, although her desire to do so is palpable. “you’re the best boy,” she cooes at the snake as it bares its fangs. saskia turns, then, to beckon her brother forward as well. “look! he’s so good! he’s smiling!”
friend-shaped indeed. a giggle escapes her as she reaches up to pet monty, who accepts it obligingly, though the snake’s eyes remain fixated on mrs powell. “seriously, kasi, monty is fantastic,” she chirps, and the old woman looks on with faint amusement. then, a thought crosses her mind, and saskia turns to mrs powell, wonderingly.
“are there more giant snakes around?” a pause. “can i meet them?”
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Dec 5, 2017 9:48:51 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
even though every instinct in his body is screaming at him to grab saskia and run, it is the radiant joy gilding her skin gold that convinces him otherwise. reluctantly, kasimir steps forth towards the snake ( he is both comforted and exasperated by the knowing look mrs powell shoots him ); but he cannot stay grim for long, not when saskia's happiness is so evident. ( it helps, of course, that monty appears to be behaving. )
"he could be glaring," kasimir deadpans, having reached her side. "you never know, with a snake." monty swings around and hisses at him, apparently not agreeing with what his words. mrs powell, observing them all with the same fond amusement another would watch bickering children with, laughs.
he raises his hands in surrender before the giant snake can take too much offence at his presence. "my apologies," he says, dipping his head in a small gesture of deference. it is not ass odd as it might have been, speaking to the reptile as if it were human - monty is evidently sentient to some degree, and behaves not unlike a familiar would.
speaking of familiars. kirjava remains a wary distance away from their little group, cautiously tense while fixing the snake with an unblinking stare, ready to burst into flames or dodge at any given moment. kasimir empathises with his familiar. he really does.
but kirjava's plight is forgotten in favour of exasperated horror at saskia's following question ( it is fine, his familiar will forgive him. she understands ). mrs powell, unsurprisingly, is delighted. "of course, dearie! there are a few more snakes like monty here, i'm sure they'd love to meet you. unfortunately," and here, her eyes flicker to kasimir, and an alarming spark of mischief flashes through her eyes. "they've all disappeared into my garden. i'm afraid the only way to meet them is to find them."
ah. yes. not-so-subtle reminding of their mission. kasimir wants to bury his head in his hands - and heave a drawn-out sigh for good measure - at the prospect of more gigantic snakes like monty hiding within the overgrown jungle of an area mrs powell calls a garden ( kirjava empathetically agrees with his sentiment ); but he does not, because he is professional, massive reptile or no massive reptile. "we will endeavour to return them to you then, ma'am." he inclines his head, ready to return to the ( now more daunting ) mission.
pause. his earlier thought returns to fore. "are the spiders in your garden similarly large?" he asks, almost afraid to hear the answer.
mrs powell smiles at them, dimples appearing in each cheek, still looking like just another grandma who bakes cookies for everyone. nothing to suggest of the monstrosities that live in her garden. "i'm afraid the spiders aren't so friendly," she says, and the non-answer reveals all they need to know. brilliant.
kasimir resists the overwhelming desire to grimace. "we will take adequate precautions, then," he says drily, exchanging a quick glance with kirjava. precautions like fire. illusionary clones, maybe. an atronach or two.
Post by saskia burovski on Dec 5, 2017 10:30:22 GMT
mrs powell’s own enthusiasm is reflected in saskia, who seems all the happier at the prospect of finding even more giant snakes, even if her brother may have his reservations. "he’s not the only one", luci remarks silently, herself a safe distance away. the bear’s eyes are wary still, as always, though she has since settled onto her haunches to simply watch the events unfold.
“come on, how bad could it get?”
“very,” says luci again, eyeing the snake as it yawns.
“friend-shaped,” saskia insists, this time aloud and almost indignant, giving monty a final pat. her gaze returns to the garden in all its odd overgrown glory, and wonders where the other snakes could be. and-- oh. spiders. giant spiders. giant unfriendly spiders. she pauses mid-step on her way to the shed, eyes wide at the kindly, unassuming old lady. “that’s...nice.” promptly, saskia scuttles a few steps back, unconsciously sidling closer to the safety of her brother’s presence. she is keen to meet the snakes, yes, but saskia is not so unaware of her own experience that she thinks herself capable of navigating the spider-infested garden.
luci ventures forward towards the shed, previously blocked by monty, and nudges its door open. saskia peers into the inky darkness, pierced only by what light shines through the now-open door. she can see dust motes swirling, as thick as a cloud; she waves them away to the best of her ability, declaring with dogged cheeriness, “well, guess we should get gardening!”
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Dec 5, 2017 10:47:20 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
well. at least his sister has enough sense not to try and make friends with giant potentially aggressive spiders. he takes a subtle step closer to saskia as well, protective instinct well and truly flaring at the very real danger lurking within their target. mrs powell eyes them knowingly, and turns back towards her house, this time with a giant snake in tow. "remember, don't hesitate to call me if you need something," she says cheerfully.
kasimir swears, he will never regard old ladies the same way again.
nudged by luci, the shed door opens with a long, drawn-out cry, rust flaking off in a shower of copper at the hinges. dust chokes the air, almost as thick as a blanket; it is quite clear that the shed has not been used in a very long time. "right," kasimir agrees, a hint of good mood returning at his sister's cheer.
regarding the chasm of darkness before them, an entrance to mystery swirling with dust as if it were a blizzard, he quickly places a hand on saskia's shoulder to try and prevent her from going any further. "don't go in yet," he cautions. "we don't know if it's safe or not yet." at this point, kasimir is not prepared to take risks on anything.
Post by saskia burovski on Dec 5, 2017 11:02:19 GMT
monty slithers away behind mrs powell, and saskia spares a glance from the shed to follow the pair as they return to the house, still in awe. but the cloud of dust and the shed it partially obscures is quick to reclaim her attention, particularly with a mental nudge from her familiar. the bear backs away from the door, stifling a sneeze at the dust, and waits patiently, poised by the entrance just in case anything unexpected bursts out.
the yawning darkness lies still, and saskia strains to peer into it even as she stays still at kasimir’s caution. she waves away at the air with a free hand, holding her breath in anticipation. all remains silent and still, save for the dust which slows in its spiral until there is some semblance of clarity. still, nothing but darkness.
“let me try something,” she says, spooling pale orange sunlight into threads of light as she does. while typically used to stitch up wounds, as she had been taught by some other light elements at the keep, there is some versatility in its application. a flick of the wrist, and she tosses out a few loops of thread which fall some distance into the shed, its light dimmed by shadows.
a cautious twitch; the thread flicks left-right left-right, casting dim light as it does on a dusty wooden floor and what looks to be like several haphazardly scattered pieces of equipment. if there had been any creature within, it had not been lured out with the light. it dissipates quickly.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Dec 5, 2017 11:29:06 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
"clever," he comments at saskia's innovation, the corners of his lips quirking up in a half smile edged in pride. the glow of the threads partially penetrate the heavy curtain of dust, revealing nothing but plain wooden floorboards and some gardening equipment. nothing out of the ordinary. kasimir twitches, then relaxes fractionally, hand dropping away from saskia's shoulder. "it seems safe," he agrees.
famous last words.
from one of the far end corners where his sister's light threads had not been able to illuminate the inky pool of shadows, a spider scurries forth, massive and furry and dark with eight red eyes and actually visible pincers. it does not hesitate and runs straight at them. "saskia, get back!" he shouts, lunging forwards to put himself before his sister, fire bursting from his hands in a fireball blasted straight at the spider.
the good news is: it hits the spider, injuring it quite effectively. the bad news is: the spider does not die upon impact, and is now heading for them with agonised rage in each of its eight eyes while also being on fire. the good news is: kasimir is immune to his own fire. the bad news is: saskia is not.
planning takes a fraction of a heartbeat; he blasts it with another fireball, this time increasing the intensity of the heat. kirjava streaks into the shed, fur alit in raging wings of fire, and tackles the spider with her own bared fangs, growling and snarling with protective fury.
Post by saskia burovski on Dec 5, 2017 12:02:00 GMT
they both relax, comforted by some thin veil of safety, of which ( the next few seconds thus prove ) is a lie. she has barely a breath to grin at kasimir’s praise before a spider jumps out at them, far larger than would be comfortable. giant snakes? a-okay. giant spiders? not so much. kasimir lunges in front of her, just as saskia bites down on a shriek and stumbles backwards, luci immediately jumping to her aid and tugging her backwards.
“yeah, real clever,” she manages, under her breath. it had been lurking in the deeper shadows, she realises, where the feeble light had not been able to reach. damn it.
a blink; the spider is suddenly scuttling towards them, furious and on fire. “oh-- shit, shit, shitihatespiders.”
the flames sear white-hot in the air before her, and it is all she can do to continue stumbling backwards, luci insistently dragging her away from the flames and stepping between them, a stubborn furry barrier. she watches as kirjava bounds forward, dappled coat set aflame in dancing flames. as terrified as she may be in this instant, saskia has to admit, albeit shakily, peering out from behind the bulk of her familiar. “that was kind of cool.”
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Dec 5, 2017 12:19:08 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
as he blasts another fireball at the spider - taking care not to hit the floor or the walls of the shed - kasimir is immensely relieved to see luci dragging saskia out. he has two seconds to shoot the bear an approving look before his attention is once again demanded by the massive spider currently struggling with kirjava. lunging forwards, he encloses a flame-filled fist around one of its eight legs. his familiar manages to get a firm bite on its other side; a split second of mental synchronisation and the both pull, fire swirling in from both ends.
the spider tears in half, dying as the intensity of their flames reduces it to ash. silence falls. shadows dance across the walls of the shed, cast by the fire rippling along kirjava's coat, along kasimir's back. the acrid tang of burnt spider flesh fills the shed. dust continues to swirl in the air.
"it's dead," he says unnecessarily, turning to face his sister. there is a play of emotions across his face - post-combat adrenaline, fear, horror, exasperation, mild bemusement - before it settles on concern. "are you okay? are you hurt?" he strides to her side, fire wings dissipating into the air as his eyes scan her up and down intently. kirjava follows at his side, amber eyes luminous and worried.
"i would prefer if we did not do that again," she quips in a feeble attempt at lightening the atmosphere.
Post by saskia burovski on Jan 8, 2018 15:27:32 GMT
she watches safely from behind the bulk of luci, her familiar’s pale fur reflecting scarlet hues in the light of the flames. it is like watching a dance -- an odd dance, involving a witch, a ocelot, and a giant flaming spider -- and she cannot help but be mesmerized. the spell is broken only when the two separate halves of the spider flop gracelessly onto the floor. the dust makes a polite reminder of reality; it tickles her nose and she hurriedly waves it away. the last thing she wants is for her lungs to get in the way of this mission. she is determined to have fun on it, rebellious lungs or not.
“it’s very dead,” saskia confirms solemnly, though the fear has since dissipated. “and i’m fine, really.” a grin reasserts her claim as she straightens up, luci now standing close enough to brush against her.
“we'll try not to do that again,” rumbles the bear, her gaze reproachful. luci peers into the shed now, moving forward to shove the spider’s remains away and paw at the ground; in the commotion, a few tools had fallen into the ash. “i believe these are what we were looking for?”
somehow, in light that all that has happened, saskia is mildly surprised to not find a miniature armory in the shed. gardening tools simply seem rather ineffective for combating giant spiders, she considers, examining a trowel in hand. for regular gardening purposes, however, they seem perfectly fine. she grabs a few useful-looking tools ( and having little experience at all in gardening, she is wildly improvising ) and hoists them over her shoulder.
“where to next?” a pause. “or, which corner looks the least spider-y?”
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jan 9, 2018 10:39:53 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
he eyes saskia doubtfully despite her reassurance, scrutinising her closely once more and, finding her words hold true, flicks his gaze over to luci to receive a final confirmation before he reluctantly nods. "take care, please?" he frowns at her slightly, concern still dancing through his eyes. "if you get hurt.... tell me, okay?" perhaps rather hypocritical of him, considering the way he, uh, selectively informs her of his own injuries, but kasimir wholeheartedly maintains that that is an entirely different situation altogether.
( kirjava scoffs, but chooses not to comment further )
warily stepping into the shed once more, kasimir glances down at the tools luci is pawing at, frowns, then moves to inspect the back shelf for better options. somehow, he does not really think the regular implements will be all that helpful against the overgrown mess that is mrs powell's garden, let alone for dealing with errant monstrous spiders or gigantic runaway snakes. behind him, he can hear saskia picking up a choice of tools.
the back shelf, like the rest of the shed, is thick with dust, and does not appear to contain anything interesting. that is... a shame. he had begun to expect otherwise. mentally sighing in mild disappointment, kasimir picks up a set of hedge cutters and a trowel, and pauses before turning back to also pick up the crowbar that sticks out at an odd angle near the edge.
at least, he tries to.
it does not budge beneath his hand, stubbornly resisting pull of his grasp. he frowns. tugs harder. still nothing. debating simply leaving it as is, kasimir decides to tug at it one last time-
and proceeds to yelp and jump back in shock as the entire back shelf springs to life on some sort of odd mechanism, rotating around ( with a truly deafening screech ) to reveal a smaller shelf, this one full of various other tools. those being: at least five swords, three axes, a whole array of interesting and lethal looking blades, shears that look like they would be as effective for stabbing something as they would be for cutting leaves, some strange disk-like implements with very sharp edges, and a scythe. a scythe that would not look out of place in the grim reaper's hands, might he add.
kasimir stares. then sighs. he is beginning to lose the capacity for surprise.
"saskia," he calls, as if she had not heard the cacophony that the shelf had made while revealing itself. "would you prefer a tool from this assortment? ...i have a feeling they would be a lot more useful than the regular implements." speaking as such, he himself takes up one of the swords ( of surprisingly good quality, though in desperate need of a cleaning ) and two of the dagger-trowel hybrids.
then, looking up at his sister, gives her a rather wry smile. "perhaps we should simply start with the undergrowth closest to the shed," he says, desert-dry.
Post by saskia burovski on Jan 14, 2018 14:35:08 GMT
waiting patiently for kasimir, she examines her selection of gardening tools carefully, considering the purpose of each tool and extrapolating what she can from their appearance. she knew what a trowel was ( a miniature spade, right? right. ), but then there were these odd flat scissors, a larger, almost triangular spade with a long handle, more oddly shaped scissors that varied in handle length and blade edge. why did gardening require so many types of scissors and spades? surely, it wasn’t the most cost-effective. did each serve a different purpose? how did people remember?
a sudden, deafening screech; the trowel clatters to the ground as she spins around in shock, eyes wide. she remains like that for a moment, owl-eyed and peering into the dusky darkness of the shed. “...kasi?” was there some sort of mysterious creature still within the shed? oh no. but the moment passes quickly -- he calls out, beckoning her towards what she can now make out to be another shelf, filled with more gardening implements that look more like weapons than simple tools.
she decides she likes this very much.
a dagger-like blade is selected, tucked neatly into her belt, before she considers, briefly, the scythe. one moment of indulgence wouldn’t hurt. it is somewhat lighter than expected when she picks it from the stand, its blade glinting still under a layer of grime and dust. she’s also, at this point, quite glad she is wearing gloves. “closest to the shed it is!” she chirps happily, carefully holding the scythe as she moves out of the shed.
she takes a moment to look over the broad expanse of dark green that comprises the overgrown undergrowth by the side of the shed. it looks relatively snake and/or spider-free, but at this point, she doesn’t trust her eyesight. she starts cutting away at the undergrowth closest to her anyway, the scythe moving in carefully controlled sweeping strokes, albeit bordering on hesitant. luci hovers behind her with a grumble.
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Jan 14, 2018 15:19:18 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
saskia chooses the scythe. of course she chooses the scythe. kasimir turns away with a small grin, watching with soft eyes as his beloved sister skips on ahead; for a hairsbreadth of time, she is silhouetted against the doorway with wings of sun-gold light, a halo of azalea-pink crowning her head and the wicked curve of a scythe in hand - an angel of brilliance and beauty, and he is struck with the realisation of how much she has grown. she is eighteen, she is an adult, she is no longer that same wisp of a girl he had fought so hard to protect, given so much for; she is strong, she is fierce, and he is so proud of her it hurts.
( something tightens in his chest, constricting his lungs and throat and oesophagus all at once; for a moment, for a moment, his vision blurs and his breath catches and he does not know if he wants to cry or beam )
then the moment passes, as all moments do; the galaxy returns to tearing itself apart through a millennia-slow esterification of its ten thousand million stars, and kasimir steps out after his sister into the morning light.
saskia is already working on the foliage that has swallowed the shed whole, clusters of leaves fluttering to the ground with each passing of lethal silver. for a brief moment, he contemplates a controlled usage of his fire element to lighten the sheer scope of their task; then, (thankfully, ) logic prevails. he moves to her other side and grasps a handful of ridiculously long grass, holds steady, slice with sword, repeat. of course, he keeps a very close eye out for anything that could potentially be a snake or a spider - or a lizard, for that matter, given their occasional prevalence in gardens.
and of course, every so often, he glances up and back to check up on saskia, unable to quieten the worry that curls in his chest ( - with good reason, he thinks, given their experiences thus far ).
Post by saskia burovski on Apr 21, 2018 10:20:08 GMT
her eyes are peeled for any unwelcome ( or welcome, for that matter ) guests. giant snakes that were most definitely friend-shaped were always welcome. giant spiders, in her opinion, had too many legs to be considered friendly. she was certain that there were nice spiders somewhere out there in the world, but just not in this garden. a pity.
“one day, i’ll find a nice spider. a friendly one that i can high-five,” she tells luci, swinging the scythe in a motion too wide. the bear bumps the flat of the hilt back into position but doesn’t bother dignifying the suggestion with a reply any more than a huff of breath. for a moment, she gives her silent familiar a frown of mock petulance, then returns her full attention to the long grass. or, well, maybe a good deal of her attention. it’s very difficult to capture a hundred percent of saskia burovski’s attention; her mind has a tendency to wander.
“what if i attached a sword or scythe to the side of monty’s head?” the question is now directed at kasimir, her tone genuinely curious. “like, think about it. monty would be the ultimate grass-cutter. he’d just kind of-” she puts the scythe down to wave her hands in a motion that could possibly be described as slithering, “-and he’d cut down a ton of grass in the way! that’s super effective!”
Post by kasimir burovski ✨ on Apr 22, 2018 15:39:48 GMT
blue moon
you saw me standing alone
he cannot help but overhear saskia's conversation with luci, and finds more difficulty than he should in resisting the overprotective urge to burn down half the garden to prevent any possible meetings with any more spiders, no matter how potentially 'friendly'. there is no telling what she might do impulsively upon seeing a possible candidate, after all - but alas, some things are simply not possible. his only consolation is that his sister's familiar is a far more practical being than most ( more subscript to common sense than even the majority of humans he knows too ) and should hopefully be able to stop her from doing anything too dangerous. although, how much she could possibly curb the force of nature that is saskia with an idea is debatable.
...perhaps burning down the garden is a viable idea after all. kirjava, with memory of monty and of the spider still vivid in her mind, enthusiastically agrees.
the question posited to him draws him out of his increasingly pyromaniac thoughts, and he glances up with a blink. "that is... quite the mental image," he responds with a mix of amusement and horror. in all honesty, kasimir thinks there is a not insignificant likelihood that saskia genuinely will try it, if given the chance. he does not know what that implies about them and he would rather not think about it. "might not be the most comfortable for monty, though. or safe. i'm sure there are other more effective ways of cutting grass."
like blades. or fire. or both. glancing down at the sword in his hand, and then at his familiar who has been slicing through the tangled undergrowth with miniature fireblades extending from her claws, he gives in to the inevitable and summons a fireblade of his own in his other hand, and begins to slash through the grass with double the efficiency of before. if it has the added bonus of potentially burning any creepy crawlies that are hiding in the mess of growth, well.
Post by saskia burovski on May 25, 2018 14:53:46 GMT
saskia, as she is wont to do, sees only the stars, lives and breathes high hopes and wishful thinking. if not for the practical sensibilities of her familiar, there is no telling what she might have done, or might do. most creatures are, in her opinion, friend-shaped after all. even so, luci's influence is hardly a guarantee. even now, the bear can only watch with mild concern and resignation, and pray that no truly monstrous creatures cross their path. that being said, saskia's suggestion conjures up a truly terrifying image, and luci grumbles her dissent.
she's not certain saskia will truly try to do anything, but regardless, the familiar prepares herself to leap on top of the scarlet-haired witch should she truly try to find the giant python.
( to everyone's collective relief, saskia does not. )
"that's true," she concedes, the slightest of frowns drawing her brows closer together as she considers the comfort-related concerns of turning a giant snake into the world's coolest gardening aid. "swords aren't particularly cushy or anything." she examines the scythe in hand and tries to imagine the sensation of it being taped to her arm -- it's probably uncomfortably heavy at best.
she watches fire spring to life in her brother's hands and, for a moment, is struck with the thought of doing something similar. it is, at this stage, but a distant dream. she grips the scythe a little tighter. "don't burn everything down," she chirps cheerfully, returning to clearing out the undergrowth and abandoning the snake-as-a-grass-cutter plan. "there might be more nice critters in there!"