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.
it's too late to turn back now. thistle talks incessantly in her head, reminding her of the dangers, reminding her that she's not ready. she may laugh and smile and chat with someone about the weather, but that's just her brave face. he knows her thoughts. her knows what runs through her head when she's sketching at three o'clock in the morning. he knows her and he knows she's not ready for this. but the t's have been crossed and the i's dotted and they've been handed their first real mission. she'd won the quarrel firsthand simply because she'd made a point thistle couldn't argue with: who were they to sit around and criticize the coven for putting a bad face to their name, when they weren't actively trying to turn the tide themselves?
and he'd grumbled a complaint, accepted defeat, and moved on. until he'd seen the mission she'd signed up for. there are several reasons why this is perhaps the worst 'errand' she could have been sent on: 1. she's not intimidating at all and 2. she lacks the ability to follow through with any threats and 3. if things get dicey, they'll be lucky if they get out unharmed. unlike a majority of other witches' familiars, thistle's true form is still just as small as a simple house cat (which he sometimes relays to her with a sigh in his voice).
he sits by her feet now, tail twitching with irritability and nervousness. "it shouldn't be long now. we're meant to meet our partner here and then head down to the hovel for the meetup."
"it doesn't mean i have to like it," the cat quips back and shudders.
"hush. we're not even there yet." she opens her mouth to say something more, but thistle's ears prick. he rounds his head towards the street just as briar spots someone walking towards them.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown yet longed for still.
The mission had...intrigued her. It involved a somewhat inner working of the knights- it involved organized crime and a potentially dangerous situation. But the reason she had snatched it up was that she was worried that, had she not taken it up, she would've found her sister diving head first into the mess of a breaking-down crime syndicate. So basically, she was volunteering as tribute.
Severa hummed at her from the corners of her mind- you're making excuses again.
The mission was out of her reach, she knew. She wasn't used to making demands of people, but she could sweet-talk them and use her words well. That much, she could offer. She could only hope that her partner would be able to do the actually brute force intimidation that would likely be required for the completion of the mission--
"You're Briar Atkins?" she asked the blonde. She should...really stop being surprised. Maybe small was the new competent. Maybe. Severa laughed in the corners of her mind, and Yvella wanted to turn on her heel and head back home. "Pleasure to meet you. Yvella Strom. Looks like we'll be working together."
Her smile goes on without a hitch; her eyes seem positively delighted. "The rendezvous point is that way, yes?" She wants to get this over with. She wants to get this over with, but the turning of her stomach tells her it isn't going to be that easy. Syndicate Zero...
she's not quite sure what she's expecting. when she sees a slender woman a few inches taller than she is, she doesn't quite know what to think. there had been warnings on this mission. but if the helios knights think that they're capable of this, then surely they can pull through this. besides, this is just a talk. the meet-up has been established, they've had prior contact with this person, and this should go smoothly. if nothing else, she can play to her strengths. she can talk them out of a mess.
"pleased to meet you," she says, albeit a bit too quietly. thistle stands then and scans the woman. she offers silently if he'd like to dematerialize, but he flicks his tail and twines around her legs, content to trot behind them when they start moving. "and this is thistle." she adds it as an afterthought when the cat's made it clear he's not going away anytime soon. worry shivers through her again, but she shrugs it aside. he's just watching out for us.
"it is. as far as i'm aware, we're meeting and he's going to tell us the information we need. then we part ways?" she teethes her hair tie off of her wrist and loops her hair in a loose bun. too-short strands fall out and grace her cheeks and she swipes at them, blue eyes troubled. "should we--should we discuss how we're going to do this? tactics and such?"
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown yet longed for still.
"hello," yvella says pleasantly to the cat- it was a troublesome thing, meeting people. you had to calibrate their personalities and their familiars and figure out what best to say. or you could relax, says severa. but yvella doesn't quite hear it. instead, she focuses on what the blonde has to say.
"yes, you're correct. if all goes well, that is." her tone is grave, but honestly it would be grave even if she were discussing a birthday party. better to be saddled ready for the worst than thrown off course by a too-happy mare.
she frowns- she's quite the rare breed to be legitimately able to cast her lips downwards without making too much of a pout. "you're right. we'll need a clear approach." she's glad the girl isn't the kind to dive into things recklessly. "tactics..." the word is a novelty. no errands before this have required any such foresight. "i think it would be a good idea to remind the man of his position first, an added bluff or two wouldn't hurt. we have to make him feel cornered without feeling tricked..." she's clearly rambling again. the focus of her eyes shifts from the girl to her familiar to the dreary landscape of the hovel beyond.
"basically, we should ask for the information only when he's already accepted the fact that he has to hand it over."
she surprises herself with how smoothly the words flow from her mouth; with how distinctly she can visualize the scene in front of her.
remind him of his position. that sounds feasible. if the helios knights can establish communication with him, then surely they can easily track his whereabouts. the only reason he's probably still on the street in the first place is because he's too valuable to them. regardless, you'd think they would have brought him in. but that would expend more resources than the knights are probably willing. thistle agrees, albeit with a shake of his head.
remember, this is why we're here, briar thinks to him.
"we could probably manage a bluff easily. he knows we have resources and power. we'll have to remind him of what he's got to lose." yeah, yeah, they can do this. they are doing this. despite the stakes of the mission, they have all the information they need. and her companion seems to have an idea of what she's doing.
the buildings start to look shabbier the further they walk. briar draws her jacket closer together out of reflex, but makes an effort to keep a confident stride. the last thing they want to do is stick out like sore thumbs, like targets. because they're supposed to be the hunters in this scenario. at the thought, thistle's laughter echoes in her head and she snorts.
thistle bounds ahead of her then and points with his chin towards a shop with iron bars in the windows; a crudely hand-painted sign above it reads southside dry-cleaners. she watches as a burly man passes by the front of the stop, looks both ways, and heads down an alleyway. she can't make out most of his features from where she is, but his neck tattoo is distinct. "he matches our description and that's the rendezvous point."
she side-eyes her partner, stomach churning. "you ready?"
