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 iolani kótsyfas on Dec 2, 2017 6:04:04 GMT
she's seen the bakery before while randomly exploring the streets of sundial - it's a pretty little place, all rustic charm and minimalist aesthetic mixed together in some weird but stylish decor. she'd even, in fact, wandered in to buy an eclair or two; service was nice, food was hella nice, coffee could have been stronger but it was nice too. she'd absently thought about going back there again - it's certainly a place she wouldn't mind patronising often.
so, it's weird coincidence that the mission she'd randomly accepted out of ( relative ) boredom just happened to lead her right back there.
unfortunately, it's not to sample the lovely wares the place has to offer.
quite the opposite, in fact. she and 'heath ambroise' - name sounds somewhat familiar, isn't he a journalist or something? maybe she should try and strike up a 'friendship'... - have been contracted to prevent whatever it is that's helping it/themselves to the bakery's food. iolani admits, she's vaguely fond of sugar & spice ( in so much as anyone can be after only two visits ), so she's rather hoping this mission will be a success. or, well, hoping isn't quite the right term - she's gonna make it a success.
dusk has just begun to settle across the sky in hazy shades of grey when she sees him, a blond guy with reddish eyes, heading her way. wriggling her fingers in a casual wave from where she's slouched against the wall, iolani smiles at him below cat-like grey eyes. "heath ambroise? i'm your partner, alana. you up for catching som pests tonight?"
He’s no police officer or knight. Heath didn’t accept the mission because it innately helped someone, but because he was curious. Who was stealing from Sugar & Spice? Was it a who? Or was it a what? Why wasn’t it taking the money from the cash register? Obviously, it wasn’t some common thug. They would’ve gone for the registers or the safe first. So then what? He didn’t know. But he wanted to. With multiple possibilities and little proof to cross out any of them, Heath had come prepared. Sneakers, a hoodie, and a pair of mist chocolate chip muffins stuffed in his backpack that he'd managed to hassle the owner to leave him with as a, sort of, bonus for promising to catch whatever was threatening their livelihood.
The visit earlier in the day had served two purposes. Firstly, he’d had a chance to quietly look around the place without bringing too much attention to himself. He hadn’t learned much other than it was a pretty locale, and where the exists and dumpsters were, but whatever. It as a start. Better than going in blind. And secondly, he had a trump card if he didn’t hit the right note with his partner on the first impression. Couldn’t do this if they didn’t get along. He really hoped that wouldn’t be an issue though, but one could ever be too careful. He spotted her from a distance but didn’t call out first, afraid of being a little too loud if he tried to get her attention that way.
He pulled his hands out of his pockets and returned the wave, along with a small smile. “Yeh, nice to meet you Alana.” He greeted before letting out a snort. “I’m kind of hoping we turn out to be more than pest control, but a job’s a job.” He added with a shrug. The blonde gave his partner a once over and did his best to commit her face to memory. “I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waiting.” The witch added as he averted his gaze to look at Sugar & Spice, already closed for the day. “You’ve got a plan in mind?” Heath prodded.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Dec 2, 2017 7:05:51 GMT
she eyes the casual hoodie and sneakers the guy is wearing. not too shabby, not too pretentious, not too brightly coloured so as to stand out in the dark. good good, first impressions? not bad. she hasn't seen anything to be able to judge his skill yet - but considering the baby mission they're on, that's not the most important. iolani herself has her hair tied back, ash-grey tunic pulled on over sturdy dark pants and robust boots with a soft sole so that the noise they make will be minimal.
lips curled up in the ruby-red smirk, she lifts away from the wall she had been slouched against and rolls her shoulders, casual as anything. iolani waves a dismissive hand at heath's apology. "nah, it's fine. hasn't been that long," she says.
storm grey eyes following his gaze to the bakery that is their contractor, she tilts her head towards it, dual-toned bangs falling across her face as she does so. "head inside, poke around so we know where everything is, then hide out and see if anyone breaks in?" she suggests with a shrug.
Alana’s demeanor gave him a small sense of relief. She looked confident enough, and he is eternally grateful one of them knew what they were doing. He still didn’t have too much experience with missions and jobs. Some were easier than others. This hopefully wasn’t as shit as tracking down giant wolves in the farmland. He nodded quickly. “Good.” He returned with ease before giving her a thumbs up for the plan. “That sounds good to me. Let’s go by the dumpster then.” With one last glance at her, he made his way to the back of Sugar & Spice after taking a few minutes to go in a roundabout way. There wasn’t a hurry yet. It wasn’t like they had seen something attack the storefront. That would’ve been ballsy when it wasn’t the dead of night.
“I couldn’t find many entrances. I guess some windows would work, but didn’t seem like anyone broke those yet.” he said quietly to his partner. It was still early, as far as crime committing went in Sundial. Heath personally preferred waiting until 2:30 am. It was a sweet spot. The streets were better, quieter. Unlike now, where he could hear the distant cawing of birds. The bustling of the town was dying down as a chilly night overtook them, but nothing like past midnight just yet. Heath made a face as the sweetly acrid stench of rotting pastries in a dumpster hit him. He held back a gag, and made note of the freshly thrown out trash at the bottom of the smelly thing. “It…just occurred to me that I neglected to ask for a key.” The writer looked over at Alana, briefly wondering if it was rude to assume she could get them inside. Maybe she had a copy of the keys. “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy?”Good save, Heath.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Dec 2, 2017 8:29:11 GMT
she studies him carefully, eyes intent behind her devil-may-care facade and all-too-gleeful grin. heath seems... well, not quite nervous or hesitant, but he has the air of someone perhaps unfamiliar still with the structure of missions, or not quite accustomed to operations like this. maybe he's still a baby witch. her smile gains a slightly mischievious edge at the thought.
iolani admits, she doesn't really get why he's going in via the dumpsters when they could just as well go through the front door - it's not like they're the ones breaking in - but she shrugs and ambles after him, not particularly bothered. they've got time - it's rather unlikely their mystery perpetrator will be appearing until the night has fully settled and the people hurrying home have entirely gone.
the smell enemating from the dumpsters is obviously not a pleasant small, but iolani's smelt a heck of a lot worse before (rotting corpses and burning flesh comes to mind); she just casually shoves her hands in her pockets and grins with undisguised amusement at the face heath pulls. amateurs. "my familiar's checked the windows," she informs her mission partner. muninn, for once, is actually deciding to be useful without nir usual snark, a state of matter iolani is quite happy with. "ne'll keep an eye on them when we go inside." with feathers an indistinct tenebrous blur, the crow is all but indistinguishable from the rest of the shadows cast by the night.
the blond kid does seem rather green in regards to mission matters. oh well, sometimes the rookies are the most fun. "here," she says, eyes smirking, tossing him a copy of the keys. she'd been half tempted to just tell him to pick the lock, or climb in via the windows, but then she'd remembered that good, upstanding citizens probably wouldn't have those skills. shame, they don't know what they're missing out on.
She doesn’t seem terrible, but he still can’t help but feel slight unease at how she looks at him. But it’s probably just him, really. The unfamiliarity of coven rituals and mission protocol was obvious, and he honestly found himself feeling more like a bumbling giraffe than a capable fledgling. Hell, maybe if he had been a little bit more involved with his coven he wouldn’t have this issue at his age. Nevertheless, he smiles appreciatively as she passes him the keys, and quietly sets to unlocking the back door. The lock clicks and he holds back out the key to Alana. “Thanks.” He stated curtly before stepping through and holding open the door for her.
There’s a smell of lingering baked goods. Hints of jams and sugar mixed in with the smell of buttery breads all seemed to be a permanent feature of the bakery. Not that he minded, it was far more pleasant than the dumpsters outside. He doubted anyone but them were inside yet. Sinclair appears at his ankles, body low to the ground. “We should’ve come later.” The coati hisses before sauntering off to inspect the rest of the rooms. Heath closes the door behind them once his companion has passed through, and locks it as well. “Were you planning on hiding out inside or in here?” he asked softly as he began to carefully maneuver through the kitchen. He made his way around the rather large island and began stepping towards the double doors that let into the actual storefront. All the way to the right of where they had entered was a small hallway, probably where the offices might be. Heath hadn’t exactly been granted a grand tour of the place. He’d only sat with the customers and quietly spoken to the owner.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on Jan 6, 2018 12:39:12 GMT
she follows him inside in an unhurried stroll, casually looking around with all the care and concern of a random tourist. which is to say, not much. they're not looking for signs of entry or evidence of breaking in yet, after all - they're just poking around and getting a feel for the place. no need to rush.
eyeing the familiar that materialises in interest, the part of her that is and will be eternally dedicated to information fixes its form and appearance into her memory. the rest of her doesn't give a shit. at his question, she looks back to her mission partner and offers an offhanded shrug. "one of us could stay inside, the other outside," she muses. "or we both stay inside, one of us with the storage, the other in the kitchen. they're bound to go for one of those spots, and my familiar's keeping watch outside."
another casual shrug, a glance around the kitchen, and she smiles at him, languid and roguish, before turning in the opposite direction of where he's headed. "since you're going out front, i'll check out the offices then." she'll actually be looking for possible points of entry, of course, but if she just so happens to snoop through a couple of documents, check out the accounting log, poke around to see if there's anything interesting, well. no one has to know, right? yeah yeah, mission is important, blah blah blah, but who's to say she can't serve herself while at it?
Post by heath ambroise on Jan 23, 2018 1:54:08 GMT
“Right then, I’ll find some nook in the storage and hunker down.” He states as the separate to begin inspecting the place. The fading smell of warm food makes him sleepy for a moment and he rubs his eyes before looking around at the cash wrap. Register untouched, some leftover foodstuff still decorated the display. Sinclair jumps on top of the counter before looking up at his witch. “I don’t smell anything off.” he explained, his tail flicking around in boredom. Heath shrugs a response. It’s a bakery what were they expecting?
He then turns on his heel and waves for Sinclair to follow before the familiar takes the lead and drag him through the rooms he’s snooped through. There’s nothing special about storage. And there’s no basement to hide in. He doesn’t hear anything, and his partner is quiet. Very briefly Heath casts a glance at the double doors once more, suddenly craving something sweet before shaking the thought off. No. He must have self-control.
----------
And yet… a couple of hours of nothing but dead silence, he finds himself scooping up some of the left-over pastries from the display. They don’t feel stale at all. “You really need a snack right now?” Sinclair hissed as Heath’s quick break to stretch his legs had become a ‘Committ Petty Theft in Your Employer’s Place of Business’. “It’s a display, it’s not going to be eaten ever. It’s a waste.” Heath whispered back as he placed the napkin with a couple of pastries on the kitchen island. He’d figured Alana may want one as well. If the owner even noticed he would pay for them but he wasn’t exactly used to sitting around and doing a stakeout. He had been about to find Alana when Sinclair stiffened at a sudden noise. Heath did as well before as quickly and quietly as he could backing out of the kitchen and waiting. He was almost tempted to call out to Alana but if it was her she would’ve already said something wouldn’t she? So he waited, frozen solid as he tried to resist the temptation of moving or looking. He held back a sigh, about to bite into a croissant he’d taken.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on May 28, 2018 4:07:48 GMT
okay, so snooping around, looking over the ledger and documents and meticulous records of sales and imports and whatnot, iolani can safely say that sugar and spice is one of the most boring places she's ever snooped in. everything is in order, painstakingly kept, and there's not even a single hint of scandal or double dealing or skimping out on their customers. not even any sign of someone skimming some cash from the till! it's so utterly reputable and clean that she almost wants to mess around a bit in their records, y'know, add some chaos.
she doesn't though, because given their ultra-careful records on everything, chances are the owners would probably figure out it was either Heath or her, and she really doesn't fancy getting into some fuck ass legal problem and ending up having to skip town again. she's already wanted in one town, and fuck that was annoying.
time ticks by, but there's still nothing. everything is still and silent and boring, no hint of unexpected presences or break ins or even a single wild animal. she's used to long waits and stakeouts, of course, but it doesn't mean she enjoys them; it's so mindnumbingly dull that she's really tempted to go fuck around in the records and screw the consequences.
'hey,' says huginn, also bored out of nir mind. iolani takes it that nir helpful streak and silence is now over. not that she blames nem. 'hey, i'm gonna go fuck around with the newbie. you can do the rest of this dick ass chore yourself.'
'fuck you too,' she shoots back, but she knows better than to think that ne'll change nir mind. fucker. scowling, iolani to check the entrances all again, just so that she'll be doing something. of course, the instant huginn leaves is the instant something happens. there's a quiet scabbling sound coming from the vents, like claws against metal but muffled with something; iolani cloaks herself in shadows and stands still, eyes glinting. waiting.
huginn, having amused nemself making quiet sounds near Heath and watching his reaction, grudgingly flutters into view upon this actual event. really, ne's just hoping this mission will be done soon so they can go home and do something far more amusing and productive. "lana's waiting to catch some fucker in the vents," he tells the other familiar-witch pair, tone flat and bored as if ne could not care less. "check around for any others. or whatever."
Post by heath ambroise on May 28, 2018 5:18:19 GMT
Heath tenses up, his heart practically stopping at his partner’s familiar shows nemself. He lets out the breath he’d been holding. “The vents?” Sinclair echoes before giving Heath a look. So, help him if they had been hired to help solve a pest problem. The coati would riot. The familiar didn’t seem to care too much for the current state of affairs, so the blonde simple nodded and tried to make himself useful. There couldn’t be that many vents in the building anyway. It was just a small shop after all. “Right, ok.” He said in affirmation before moving quickly to check if there was a vent in the storage room. There was a small window, for who knows what reason, but it didn’t look open. Sinclair scrambled up some supply boxes to stand closer to the vent in that room. After a few minutes of twitching his ears he shook his head.
With that settled the pair moved back out to the main café area. This time Heath had enough time to, as quietly as he could, grab a chair to stand on while listening in on the vent. There was the far off sound of something moving along though it was pretty far. He tugged on the vent. It didn’t budge. He moved back towards the kitchen to see if Huginn was still around. “We didn’t find anything of note.” Heath murmured, just in case the familiar was still somewhere in the dark. In any case, his partner seemed rather capable and he had already checked the other vent escape routes. If there was something in the vent it’d most likely come back out from where it had entered. But where?
Shouldn’t there be a vent to the outside by the back of the building? Sinclair suggested as Heath crept around in the dark. The witch paused mid stride before nodding a couple of times and quietly going through the back door. He closed the door gently enough that it didn’t click shut before making a face again as he passed that disgusting dumpster bin. Even with the lid on it, it still reeked. “There.” Sinclair whispered, forcing Heath to step around the bin. It wasn’t flush with the wall at all, like he had thought initially. There was a crack of space and in-between was a small hole where a ventilation lid lay on the ground. The hole was wide open. “Fuck, it is a rat.” Heath growled to himself. They really WERE pest control. UGH. “Flush it out then, try to avoid Lana.” Heath stated as he patted his familiar who swatter at him. “You figure out a way to communicate to her I’m going in.” the coati hissed, before turning on his witch a wriggling into the vent. He figures Sinclair will be fine but moved back towards the back door and carefully cracks it open. Sinclair all the while curses in the back of his mind. He can smell the rat bastard. He can smell it and Sinclair swears, he will skewer it in icicle needles when he finds it.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on May 28, 2018 5:46:41 GMT
standing stock still waiting for whatever's in the vents to show itself is almost as boring as the stakeout, or watching paint dry. but hey, at least this time there's actually something to be done, a reason, and an end in sight. she figures if she gets too bored of waiting she could probably just grab it out with some shadow tendrils. but she's not quite at that stage yet, thankfully ( for the vents ).
a nose appears, twitching and pink, poking out from the vent hole. she narrows her eyes. then, shadows drift around, coalescing into tendrils that have nothing to do with iolani; the tentacles curl around the vent cover and quietly unscrews it. ah ha! she thinks, something like victory and vicious satisfaction gleaming silver in her eyes, her lips curling up in a smirk. so the rat or possum or whatever is a familiar. which means witches are involved, which means this mission is about to get interesting.
suddenly, she's rather glad she took this mission.
waiting for the possum ( for it is a possum ) to ease itself further into the room, secure in the fact that it appears to be empty of all presences aside from itself, iolani smiles as it comes closer, and closer, and closer; without warning, her own shadow tendril lash out and wrap snugly around the familiar, capturing it. "now what do we have here?" she coos at it, deceptively sweetly.
huginn, meanwhile, follows heath and co outside like some sort of feathery shadow, staying well clear of anything resembling light. ne lands on the blond's shoulder, deliberately digging in nir claws a tad harder than necessary, and says directly into his ear. "we caught a possum familiar. your rat might be one too." that said, ne spreads nir wings ( making sure to whack heath with a wingfull of feathers ) and takes to the air, circling from high above in an attempt to search out the witch of the intruder. because somehow, they really doubt any higher leveled witch would bother resorting to sneaking in at night and stealing pastries what with the larger mission rewards and whatnot.
Post by heath ambroise on May 28, 2018 6:32:28 GMT
It’s easy to ignore the crow familiar, until ne makes nir presence known. Heath holds back a hiss in surprise. He clenched his fists and listens quietly. He hadn’t meant to anger Huginn, but as per usual he did. He had a knack for annoying other people’s familiars. It was a hidden talent of sorts. “Mmm. Thank you-” He sputters loudly as he’s slapped by the bird’s wing. Truly, he had a talent for getting on the nerves of other witches’ familiars. Sinclair is rummaging through the dusty vents before freezing in place as Heath’s voice whispers in his head, Come back. She got it. Sinclair doesn’t protest, disappearing into the outer strata for a few moments, before reappearing next to his witch once again, clean but still a little upset about rat catching duty.
Heath meanwhile, can’t quite see Lana’s partner anymore so he moves back inside to meet up with Lana again. Sinclair follows close behind. “Lana.” The blonde utters, his voice low as he carefully roams down the hall and towards the offices of the bakery. In the darkness he can see something writhing in an inky black grasp. “What’d you catch?” he asks quickly, curiosity getting the better of him as he takes a few steps closer to the mass. “Too fat for a rat.” Sinclair declares, disdain dripping off his words. He is tense, ready to pounce and bite at something for forcing him to degrade himself in such a manner as to walk on sludge stained concrete next to a dumpster. There’s a snarl form the fat animal, a sense of indignation coming across as it registered Sinclair’s words. “I don’t think that’s a rat.” Heath offered as the familiar began writhing a little more violently, probably out of anger and panic that it had been caught.
“Squeeze it while you’re at it.” Sinclair offered lightly. Heath gave him a look hoping the coati would settle down. They’d caught it everything was fine now. “What are you doing here?” Heath asked slowly. A growl. More writhing. “I ain’t a snitch.” The words come out muffled. The blonde defers to his partner, frowning at the familiar.
Post by iolani kótsyfas on May 28, 2018 7:21:31 GMT
"yo," iolani says, turning to face the jester with a gleam in her silver eyes and white teeth pretty and perfect against red lips. "it's not a rat, but might as well be. a dirty little possum~" she sing-songs, turning back to her captive. it struggles in her grip, flails around with useless claws and teeth, attempts to disrupt her hold with its own shadows, but even iolani, apprentice as she is, barely feels the attempt. yeah, weak witch indeed.
she flashes a grin at heath's coati familiar. "i like the way you think," she tells her, and proceeds to do just that. not too much - they still want it to be able to answer questions and all - but honestly, with how fat and squishy the possum is, it could really do with some compressing. it would make a good stressball actually, now that she thinks about it.
"it isn't very smart, is it," iolani observes airily, in a tone practically tailored to annoy and patronise and enrage the captive familiar. and it really, really isn't. case in point: it hasn't tried to dematerialise yet, even though that'd get it out of this bind. literally.
"you take that back!" it snarls, instantly outraged. success. "you take that back right now! if we weren't so smart, we wouldn't have gotten away with this for so long!" iolani looks up at heath with a smirk, raises her eyebrow and gestures at the bundle. 'see? idiot,' the gesture implies.
huginn, meanwhile, spots a shadowy figure crouched low in the bushes out to the side. ne narrows nir eyes, a wicked look crossing nir face.
Post by heath ambroise on May 28, 2018 8:00:34 GMT
Heath gives her a nod and feels obligated to return her grin with a smile of his own. They’d at least caught it. Whatever it was supposed to be at whatever it was supposed to be doing. Sinclair straightens up, happy to have helped in their endeavors by offering a legitimate suggestion. “Don’t encourage him too much.” Heath pleads, though his tone is playful as he gives his own familiar a quick look. “No. Which leads me to believe it’s witch isn’t either.” Sinclair states, a little more serious now. Heath nods in agreement. They shouldn’t underestimate the enemy, but thus far, it’d been easy to outsmart them. He supposed the complacency had made them neglect to do counter surveillance before they entered the bakery again.
“Who’s we?” Heath asks, crossing his arms as the offended familiar gets heated under all three of their presences. “You and your witch? Or are there more of you rats crawling around in the vents?” the blonde continues. ”Piss off you moron. I ain’t a rat! I’m a possum! the familiar yells, still writhing. Sinclair bristles, the hair on the back of his spine sticking up before a fine layer of ice began coating the bristles. “Your options now are crushed to death by a witch or skewered to death bu yours truly. Cooperate.” Sinclair added. Heath looks over and can’t help but return Iolani’s gestures with a smug smirk.
The pressure seemed to be working. This was a petty thief after all. “There's a few of us! There's a few- I swear! And they're on their way to kick yer asses!"