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 was a lovely day in a lovely part of town. The sun rising high up in the sky, a chilly breeze to counter any excessive warmth, and the chirps of little sparrows and cardinals and many other birds whose names she did not know filled the air with a cheery sense of peace. A brown-coated rodent the size of a cat basked under the sunlight, rolling on the high grass of a garden. Everything was well. It was precisely the kind of atmosphere Vera loved.
Not the blonde witch sitting next to her, though. If he could help it, Vera was sure they'd be far away from Sundial and facing the biggest, baddest, ugliest, scariest creatures in all of Salem.
"Oh, Percy, don't look so glum. I know what you'd rather be doing right now, but can't we just enjoy this lovely weather for a single day?" she tries to reason, to cheer him up, but by now she has little hope of it achieving much. "It's Saturday, you know. Don't heroes get Saturdays off?"
As she speaks, Vera pours two cups and two bowls of earl grey tea: the first two for Percy and herself, and the latter for their familiars. A plate of cookies sits invitingly in the center of their garden table.
"Here you go," she says, handing him his cup with a smile. Earl grey is Percy's favorite, or at least that's what Vera's decided after the first time she served it to him, and she's eager to find out what he thinks of the rose petals and honey she added to accent its flavor. She's even more eager for him to try the anise-sprinkled cookies she's set out to go with it.
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Super short, I know, but I wanted to give Percy time to complain about the lack of missions to do, before he could complain about the lame mission they got. Lmk if you want more to reply to or if you want to skip to the action!
Sometimes it's hard to learn from all your mistakes
Honestly, Percy hated tea more than anything in the world. However, too polite to do antyhing but force it down his throat during their first meeting and consequently now stuck drinking it every time they got together, Percy was screwed. He stared down into his cup with a frown, from a combination of depression from two different source. He wanted to go out! To fight monsters! Not take this mission Vera had accepted on his behalf.....that an this gods awful tea. Man he hated tea.
He pretended to take an exaggerated sip and handed a cookie to Cassi, who lay in the sunlight with herself spread out on a small blanket. She lapped at her tea lazily, actually enjoying the stuff and nibbling on her sweet. Once Vera turned her back Percy tossed the entirety of the tea into a nearby bush and then played with the cup, smiling at her weakly when she turned back.
"I'm just....I'm bored! This mission is fine and heroic but....we could be fighting real monsters and you know that heroes don't get a day off!"
Percy sighed dramatically and sat back in his chair, nearly slipping and having to grab the table before he really fell over. He grimaced and set his chair back down on all four legs before groaning and resting his head in his hands.
As expected, Percy wasn't happy with the turn of events. He never was, with the lower scale missions they had access to as fledgelings.
Vera reasoned that one of the reasons he was so impatient was that the higher tiered missions posted in the Helios Knights' Hall usually stayed sticked there for a few days, some for as long as a month or two. Meanwhile, the easy missions that new members like them had access to were taken up so fast she almost had to fight for the right to claim them first.
Naturally, Percy would have found himself staring at those missions for novices and up and growing restless. It was precisely the reason she was the one in charge of accepting most of the missions they took together, now. She didn't want her friend feeling useless in the face of those missions.
"We will, too," she answers with all the fervor that characterizes her. Vera may not be as excited as Percy is about the idea of fighting off monsters, but she understood what the implications—fame, riches, and most importantly a sense of fulfillment for having helped the community that already gave so much to them. But the truth was they were still learning how to control their magic, how to make the best of it so it could in time save lives. "We will fight real monsters, when we're ready."
The blond's sigh was as loud as dramatic as he himself was, which made her smile a little. Percy had such noble intentions, she was determined to do everything in her power to help him achieve his goals. Be the hero he wanted to be. "And, for that, we need to rank up by completing these other missions."
Vera's expression softens at the words that follow. Percy speaks softly, almost in a whisper, as if his words weren't meant to be heard. The brunette almost didn't, too. For a moment, she wondered if he'd spoken at all, or if she'd just imagined it.
Nadia was a subject Percy didn't like bringing up all that much. Vera often didn't know what to say when it happened. She knew that something bad had happened to Percy's foster mother, and she wasn't around anymore, but she'd never gotten around to asking exactly what had happened. Percy always looked so hurt when he spoke of her, she didn't know if she could ever bear to ask him the question.
"Listen to me, Percy," she says, taking his hands in hers. Her tea and biscuits were momentarily forgotten. Right now, she wanted—needed him to be strong. "You've grown into a wonderful young man that would make anyone proud. Nadia would be so proud of you." She squeezes her hold on her friend, before continuing. "But she won't be proud, or happy, if you rush into harm's way. So. Let's help Mrs. Rosie first, and I promise you I will get us the most heroic mission I can find next time."
Vera offers him that easy smile that's let her get away from angry neighbors after provoking some sort of mischief when she was small. "I'll even bribe our higher-ups with food, if that's what it takes."
Her hands leave the warmth of Percy's then, and return to her own cup of tea so she can finally take a sip of it. "Speaking of which, how are you finding the tea?" Although she's trying to hide it, the eager expectancy with which she's staring at him isn't easy to ignore.
Sometimes it's hard to learn from all your mistakes
Percy stared down into his empty cup, lost in thought at the momentary gap of silence that filled the air between them. He hated feeling useless. After everything that had been thrown at him, he wanted to start throwing things back, but in reverse. The opposite really. He just wanted to do good, but he was happy to have a friend like Vera who knew that. Who seemed to understand, and who never made him talk about it. He didn't want to dwell on these sad thoughts anymore, though he did cling to Vera's hands for a moment before letting them slip from his grasp.
"Okay, sounds fake but okay."
He puffed out his cheeks, banishing the thought of tears or anything else so unheroic in this time. He played with his cup and shook his head, giving her a look that was almost as playful as it was overly dramatic.
"As heroic as possible huh? We need a surefire way to rank up Vera, I'm tired of all these baby missions. Let everyone else take them so we can deal with the real ones, you know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that sit there for days and weeks and months?"
He pushed his shoulders back just thinking about taking one of those missions. And then....she turns the subject back to tea. And he feels his stomach drop because he threw his in the bushes what felt like years ago and she's looking at him with that face and...
"Oh I love it! You've uh, made it really uh, special this time!"
"Okay, sounds fake but okay." Perseus Fonseca's exact words. Vera lets out an indignant puff of air, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. It's an act, of course; a playful act that lets him know exactly what she says whenever he's being impossible: "Why do I even bother anymore?" She never stops bothering, though, which would certainly make an outsider wonder why indeed.
"Yes, the most heroic mission any fledgeling could take—" she begins her attempt at reassurance, but is cut short by the realization that Percy has, indeed, been noticing those higher difficulty missions she was so against him seeing. Again. Well, shit.
"U-um, yes, one of those, preferably on the shorter week span. I'll see what I can do."
Ranking up was quite important for their goals, but Vera wasn't quite sure that Percy had taken her words the way she'd meant them, and was instead meaning to rank up by doing dangerous missions, rather than the usual, infinitely safer route of ranking up and then taking on those missions.
When she notices the dreamy expression on his face when he starts fantasizing about such a mission, though, she knows that her promise isn't empty. She will make sure Percy gets to take one of those, whatever it takes.
"Oh, truly, you think so?" she beams at what she hasn't realized was a blatant lie. Whatever he means by calling her tea "really special this time" could only be a good thing—a great thing, really, coming from him—and so Vera's next question strikes in quite the sensitive topic: "Would you like another cup, then?"
They still had a bit of time before Mrs. Rosie went out to do her weekly grocery shopping, after all. They could one or two cups more.
Sometimes it's hard to learn from all your mistakes
Percy lowkey starts daydreaming about finally taking a higher level mission. He wonders how Vera will manage it, how she'll convince the higher ups to let him prove his worth. Through food as she said? Or maybe....he plays with his cup as he listens to her, and frowns slightly. Did he want more tea? No not in the slightest. But he puts a really bright smile on, crooked and lopsided, and nods in what he hopes is eagerness. She tries so hard to please him and he'll admit he feels like an ass for not being able to enjoy something she clearly loves making.
Cassi on the other hand is in love. She laps at her tea and nibbles her cookie, an example that Percy quickly follows. He shoves about three cookies in his mouth in rapid succession before he looks like a chipmunk and chews slowly, checking on the time. They still had so much time left....he sits dejectedly in his chair and slumps over, groaning as he swallows.
"Man, Vera I'm just bored. Is that literally all the mission is, is helping her grocery shop? Doesn't she have a son who can do this?"
He furrows his brow, wondering what he's done to deserve this. His stomach turns as more tea appears in his cup, and he wonders if she'll turn around anytime soon.
Vera, too, is wondering how exactly she's going to manage her promise to Percy. She had no doubt her baked goodies were good, very good indeed, they were the only thing she was good at, probably the only family trait that got passed down to her. Bribing her coven's higher-ups with it, though? She knew some of her father's relations to be partial to her cooking, but nothing guaranteed it'd be enough to allow her to skip certain security measures.
For a moment, she paled. Would she have to ask her father for a favor, if her attempt at bribing was fruitless? Vera quickly turned around, hoping Percy wouldn't notice the ill thoughts going over her mind. No, no, we'll just have to work extra hard.
Luckily, it was Percy himself that saved her from further considering such a path. Or rather, it was Percy's whining about the mission they did have. "From what I could gather, Mrs. Rosie was adamant on doing her weekly groceries this afternoon, rather than on Sundays, like she usually does. She knew her son would be in a meeting for some time now, though, isn't that the weirdest thing?"
Vera has a feeling there is something more to this mission of theirs, but she's too concerned with the tea party she's dragged Percy into to really think about it. When she looks down at his teacup again, she's surprised to find it empty already and, although she's ecstatic that he likes the tea so, the speed with which he's downed it is rather concerning. His inflated cheeks, too, are of great concern. "Percy!" she exclaims, her tone reprimanding. "You can't stuff yourself with so much of it in such short a time! That's no good, either, you know."
Oh, if only she knew.
When the brunette turns to look at their familiars, she is greeted by the sight of both happily—and calmly—going through their own plates. Pleased, she offers them a loving pat as she adds, in no more than a whisper and the shaking of her head, "Your witch has no table manners, Cassi."
She's still caressing Fondue's fur when she next speaks up. "I hear Mrs. Rosie has the habit of buying a lot, though, and that her eyesight isn't very good these days, which is why she needed someone young to help her."
Sometimes it's hard to learn from all your mistakes
He notices her turn, and then dumps over half his tea into the bush next to him. He leaves the bottom dregs in his cup to seem less suspicious, and makes a face at Cassi who gives him a disapproving look, but otherwise minds her own business. He listens during the small exchange that he has with his familiar, but pauses.
"Yeah...very strange actually."
And then he's suspicious.
Which is never a good thing. He doesn't want to interrogate an old lady but he also wants to know why she couldn't just...wait? Instead of spending even more money by hiring some fledglings to do it. Honestly though, it seems to him like the writers weren't very imaginative.
As for her other concern.....
He shrugs and grins once he swallows it down and Cassi chitters softly in agreement. Percy takes a moment to rest - rudely - his elbow on the table and rest his cheek in his palm.
"You ever wonder why Cassi doesn't talk? It's because she doesn't like her voice."
He kept an eye on the clock, noting that Cassi bristled up slightly and angrily chittered at him in that cute animalistic way she preferred over other forms of speech.
Percy grins, and Vera can't help but shake her head in disapproval. One day, Percy would learn to listen to her and stop chucking so much food into his mouth at once. She just hopes it doesn't happen while he literally choked. That would probably be too late, and too hurtful.
Were all heroes supposed to be this reckless?
Her eyes widen at his next words. "No way!" she says, and already she's turning to the familiar and whispering a comforting "Oh, Cassi, I'm sure your voice is lovely. Don't mind Percy, he's just being a bully because you'll get to eat more of those cookies and he won't."
Percy breaks that train of thought when he asks what time they were supposed to start.
"It's at one still; don't worry, we're still—" She follows Percy's gaze to the clock. "We're going to be late!" she shrieks, followed by a string of "Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin," that seems to be intensified when she pulls Percy to his feet and starts to drag him out her garden and towards Mrs. Rosie's residence, and only stops once to catch her father's attention. ("Papa, we're leaving now! Can you ask one of the maids to clean this up? We'll be back by five!")
She's sprinting through main streets and avenues and, later, through smaller alleys, Fondue on her feet. One shortcut after another, and at last she makes it to Mrs. Rosie's place just as her own clock is ticking 13:01.
"Vera Lindt and Perseus Fonseca, rookie Helios Knights at your disposal!" she introduces the two young witches. "We were told you needed help with your weekly groceries?"
Mrs. Rosie nods, and guides them towards the shopping district just two blocks away from her house. If she does her groceries this close to her house, does she really need help from us? Outwardly, she doesn't show any signs of being bothered by their tardiness of one minute, but everything would be revealed when she filed her review of the fledglings' performance to their coven.
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That awkward moment when the mission actually starts 8 posts in.
Sometimes it's hard to learn from all your mistakes
There's a laugh that trails on the wind as they rush from the house toward the residence they were due at. He runs easily next to Vera, keeping pace as they approach with a lopsided grin on his face. Of course the closer they get to Mrs Rosie's house he seems to change, becomes quieter and more focused.
More like a hero should.
Because no matter how big or small this mission was a hero was still needed to do a job, and do a good job he'd damn sure try. He made eye contact with Vera and nodded with a confident smirk as they slowed and approached the house, Cassi clinging to his shoulder.
Vera introduced them and Percy bowed respectfully, and Mrs Rosie laughed. He took that as a good sign, especially since they were late, and he gave her a sunny grin of his own.
"I hope we didn't inconvenience you, we deeply apologize!"
Cassi chittered an agreement, and the two trailed after the older woman to the shopping district. He offered her his arm and though she seemed surprised, she chuckled and accepted it, and Percy beamed like the sun.
The shopping district was bustling and busy today, and Percy made sure to use his body as a blocker between the worst of the crowds and Mrs Rosie. They approached the grocery store and he grabbed a cart for her, and winked at Vera.
"Lead us to where you'd like to go and we shall follow Mrs Rosie!"
