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.
the library is open twenty-four hours. it's for students, no doubt, so that they may cram for last-minute exams or--like the unfortunate soul to her left--to fall asleep with their noses in their books. it's somewhere around four o'clock in the morning; she'd made the trek here only an hour and a half ago. several books, all of them splayed open, share her attention. she absorbs only some of what she reads, but luckily enough for her she's not here for academic purposes (as much as she wishes she could be). she's here for the solace because if she's going to be forced to another night's restless sleep (or lack thereof), she'd rather spend it here, surrounded by others forced to stay awake through the night.
there are nightmares waiting for her in her bed sheets. nightmares that have been plaguing her for years now. it's nothing she's not used to.
she leans back in her hard-backed chair, chipped nails scratching at the wood of her study table. she regards her charcoals, scattered haphazardly next to her sketchbook, for a moment and then drags the sketchbook towards her. her hands yearn to work with clay, but her studio's too far a walk away and she's sure the inspiration would leave her as soon as she stood from her chair.
she blows strands of straw blonde hair from her eyes and drops her chin in her palm.
MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS
Last Edit: Jan 10, 2018 22:59:49 GMT by briar atkins
Raven does not want to go inside. She wants to stay here, at the open, feeling the cold breeze and gazing upon the bright sky. The Milky Way is visible from here, at least a fraction of it. Raven raises her carefully manicured index finger and points it at a certain light.
"Polaris," Raven says simply. The woman can locate many stars and name each. She can identify major constellations and sometimes, able to make out a hint of the farthest galaxies. Indeed, Raven knows much about her craft. But not nearly enough.
Raven is painfully aware of that. Heaving a great sigh, she bids the stars goodbye... a bit dramatic, as she's only entering Lux University's library. She was a student here, and so navigating the spacious building is not a problem to her. She picks several books and goes to the lounge.
Raven is up early, because by nine in the morning her schedule is set to the stone. It's the start of the year--a busy moment for show business. The hype of change, the public just keeps buying it every year even though it's a capitalist set-up. And Raven will take advantage of it. But of course they'd be entertained as well. A fair deal.
She scans the lounge, surprised to see a lone blonde in it. She shrugs, opting for a seat in the opposite side. A few minutes of reading, and she feels compelled to try.
Dai is sound asleep in the familiar world. And Raven is very careful not to think of him to wake him up--the stag deserves rest. It's been a busy time for him, too. No one is there to advice the woman against unsheathing her wand, and trying to cast the spell she is attempting to learn. The man at the reception desk is half-asleep.
The immediate temperature in the room begins to rise.
she may have started drifting off had someone else not walked into the room. her half-closed eyes open wider and she watches a young woman settle down at a table some lengths away from her. the boy to her left is still fast asleep. the sudden silence in the room speaks volumes. the two of them, herself and this strange girl, are the only ones aware, awake, and it's probably--yes, she checks her watch and it's almost five. the rest of the world will wake up soon, no doubt, but for now they're suspended in this moment.
her fingers itch. the woman has an aura about her, a personality that moves the air around her. so briar reaches for her sketchbook. she has the eyes of an unseen watcher, practiced after so many years, though it's difficult not to make her attempt obvious when there's no one around to make themselves a distraction. having a quiet soul means nothing if there aren't others around to blend her into the background.
though she feels thistle manifest, the cat still gives her a scare when he suddenly appears in her lap, green eyes narrowed. 'something's not right.'
'well, good morning to you, too.'
he flicks his tail. then he jumps nimbly from her lap and onto her desk, eyes keen on the newcomer. 'told you,' he says as he sits down and lifts a paw to his mouth. before briar can ask what he's talking about, a bead of sweat rolls down her cheek. she frowns and shrugs off the sweatshirt she'd been wearing.
thistle probes at her mind, offering himself as a conduit to their shared magic.
"excuse me," she says instead, smile apologetic. "what are you doing?"
She could feel it. Had not for her delicate make-up, beads of sweat should have been visible on Raven's face. She closes her eyes, wand raised level. She recalls the text perfectly, and she could visualize it properly, too. But the temperature is the only thing changing. For a good three minutes Raven stays still, attempting to gather stardust to the tip of the wand.
She does know Starcalling is the affinity for the open air. The library is not the place for it. But, see, this fact was what made up her mind. Starcalling is very weak indoors, and so it wouldn't hurt anyone in vicinity.
If Dai is here, he would have shoved Raven off the library, the madonna still on her chair.
An eyebrow twitches as Raven hears a soft voice. Irritation breaks through, and she feels her hold to the spell weakening. She clutches the wand tighter, and forces it--
A loud pop reverberates across the room. It hurts her ears, Raven drops the wand to cover them. Then, she quickly looks at the counter--somehow the man slept through that. Safe. Raven breathes. "That isn't supposed to happen." The wand's tip is singed, evident with the light trail of smoke.
Of course she failed. But Raven does not view it as her fault--instead she turns to the woman, apparently and obviously the one who distracted her before. "Well, I'm practicing my affinity," Raven finally answers with irritation. "And you distracted me, thank you very much."
Ugh, now she's upset! Not a good way to start the morning. Raven closes her books, faces the girl, then crosses her arms to her chest. She looks up at the blonde. She is holding what seems like a sketchbook, and well, she looks nice enough. Unless of course she's another crazy stalker. "So, what do you want? An autograph?"
she closes her sketchbook neatly when the girl responds. her sudden aggression leads briar to believe that the woman wouldn't be so fond of her sketching. the irritation washes over her like water simply because there's very little reason for her to accept the blame. surely she didn't believe that practicing magic in here, of all places, was the best way to go about things. she must be a fledgling. granted, briar had no idea what kind of magic the girl was attempting to manifest, but judging by the oppressive heat that had swamped the room, she can only assume it was some kind of evocation, a destructive sort of magic.
"oh, i hardly think that's fair," she says. thistle chuffs in amusement.
despite their voices, the student at their left continues to sleep on. she almost envies him. but her thoughts don't stay fixed on him for very long, as the woman has turned her full attention on briar now. she opens her mouth to reply only to close it just as her lips begin to part. autograph?
'she's that actress you didn't like at the film we saw the other day.' briar side-eyes thistle and raises a hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh.
"no," she says honestly. "i was honestly just curious as to why you were turning the library into a furnace." under most others' circumstances, the words would have come out sarcastically, but briar's voice is low and soft. "what affinity were you attempting to conjure? if you don't mind my asking."
Oh, so she doesn't want an autograph. That's fine, Raven decides in her head. Normally, in any given sun, she would have been insanely curious, outraged even, clingy and pushy in this kind of situation. But it's not. The sun hasn't risen yet. It seems that Raven is more at ease before sunrise, though who knows, really.
Dai, probably.
Raven sighs. "Hardly," she says, twirling a strand of her hair. "But sadly, I couldn't, and even if I could, I won't. You see that pathetic spell, if it can even be called a spell. You've got nothing to worry about." She sheathes her wand, then, and is about to resume to reading when the girl speaks of a follow-up question.
Ugh, if this only knows her then she wouldn't have to answer! She has a largely public profile, it's hard to think that there are actually people who doesn't know her.
"Starcalling," Raven says, making a face. She's still as pretty and divine as ever even if she does the wacky. Then she starts ranting off. "That's why I failed, because Starcalling is not effective indoors. I would practice it outside, but then I might forget the lines and will have to read it again from the scroll, and it's just so much of a hassle. It would have worked well outside, in the open air. And that is why you shouldn't worry, because even if it does work it would be so miserable, at least on my level."
A breathe. A pause. Raven's eyes flick to the side, and she huffs. "Stardust is the main element of Starcalling. It's very elusive, so I find it really hard to perform the affinity."
briar blinks, afraid she may have irritated the woman. or, rather, if the irritation from her supposed interruption of the spell has only gotten worse. she keeps a mostly-stoic face when defensive words start pouring from the woman's mouth. the intrigue is there on her face still, but her eyes are glazed from lack of sleep. she suddenly craves ample amounts of caffeine and she thinks longingly about her horde of tea back at her apartment.
"i can imagine how difficult that might be. then i'd say i'm impressed by what you managed while inside." and she is. it's rare enough to be a starcaller, rarer still to be adequate at it, nevermind in a building with a roof over your head.
she starts to put her things away. thistle watches on with curious green eyes. "well, we've still got some time before the sun comes back up. would you mind if we maybe--practiced together?" she shoulders her bag. whether or not the girl says yes isn't much concern to her. should she not choose to accompany her, briar will simply return home and brew a pot of tea.
Raven sighs and waves her hand. "You don't need to sugarcoat your words. I know it's terrible." There is no spite in her words, she's used to these kinds of remarks. Her fans almost always support her even in her worst performances, and Raven would smile and thank them, even thought deep inside, she knows their gold has been for naught. They could have just spent it somewhere else.
The girl leaves him alone for a while, then, and Raven appreciates the distance. Raven needs time to orient herself--The Empyreal Cup is only weeks away, and she has yet to master this scroll. This stupid, stupid scroll--
But then the girl comes back, and Raven wheels to face her with an eyebrow raised. Briar is already carrying her things, and in that bag Raven briefly wonders if she's hiding any starcalling scrolls. "Are you a starcaller too? Or do you practice a different affinity?"
Then Raven raises the other eyebrow. "How would we practice, then?"
That's a partial yes, so to speak. While she waits for answer Raven tidies her desk and stands with the borrowed books up in her arms. "Well, excuse me for a while, I'm just going to return this... if we're really practicing outside," Raven says absentmindedly, already walking towards the shelves. She'll be back in about a minute or less. While walking she tries to recall the words of the scroll, chanting it again and again.
And then she trips, and down she falls. The books hit the ground with a muffled thud, and Raven almost screams. What if she damaged them? Ohmygod the prices would be ridiculous--
