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.
[attr="class","pipostpost"]It has been weeks after The Empyreal Cup and Sundial has coped relatively well. Claire knows that there are grey areas around the whole commotion, questions that don't have answers (yet) and mysteries that can be just a fickle of imagination or a trick of the mind. But in a world where your mind can be manipulated (by ill or by good faith, it's up to luck), it's hard to delineate fantasy between reality. [break][break]
Claire doesn't know much, but she does know that many Knights have fallen in that chaos. She can only be thankful that Emery manages to escape with her life. Seeing her limp and cared for by medics ignites something in Claire. It's not that deep--it's just caring. Emery is important for Claire, too. She tries not to be an overwhelming presence for Emery. Even as she tells herself not to creep too close for comfort, she still finds herself being in the same room as Emery. Watching. Trying. [break][break]
Today is Saturnalia and Sundial has been keen on continuing the tradition. Claire does, too. The headquarters has always been quiet and unassuming at this time around. It's a lax atmosphere, and the parties are held somewhere else. Claire doesn't really attend parties--those things are alien to her. She also doesn't attend ceremonies as a whole, exception is when she's told explicitly so. [break][break]
At this point in time no one really tells her what to do, except for the higher-ups--and she's already one of them. Today, she finds herself in the same garden inside the Headquarters. She finds the same rock, dusts it off, and puts on the ground. The slab has a flat surface, perfect for holding up a candle. [break][break]
Claire kneels on the wet ground, then--wet from the morning dew--and lights a purple candle. She senses a presence nearby, but they can wait. She closes her eyes and pays a small vigil towards the deceased. And when she is done, she speaks. [break][break]
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Emery is not sure if she would join the festivities of Saturnalia for the second day. But all she knows is; she needs to go outside and breath fresh air. Breath.
[break][break]She's walking along the Helios Knights Hall without any real destination in mind, thoughts clamoring like a steel plate hit with an iron rod; they constantly echo around her head and it's all disturbing and too deafening to hear multiple thoughts trying to break her down. She's crippled from the spears that had pierced her calves; even though it had happened long days ago, each steps still pains her and makes her flinch.
[break][break]Salem, if she hadn't been weak in that fight then she could have done something about it to make it feel better. But instead, she had screamed, and she tried attacking, but it doesn't make things any better for her. She might have only caused damage, nothing more.
[break][break]Emery spots a familiar blonde from a few distances from where she is walking; Emery raises an eyebrow and squints, approaching the figure while limping to get a better view.
[break][break]She smiles once she realizes who it is.
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Her father is reduced to nothing but memories in Claire's mind. Even when he's with them in Eclipse Town the rare moments he spent the whole month with the family without any "errand," he paid Claire and her siblings little attention. He was always preoccupied with something else. Always staring at the distance. But he wasn't looking at anything or anyone--glassy, hazy eyes have worlds of their own. Perhaps that's where he was. He was not with his family. [break][break]
There were moments, though, where he watched the siblings from a distance with a small smile on his lips.[break][break]
Claire understands now--why he was shut down on worlds of his own. Solitary, alone and lonely. Claire remembers him. She always do. For a lone solitary man who raised his family till his death, it's the most she can do.[break][break]
She still doesn't understand many things. Her past remain shrouded in mystery, and her future remains uncertain. Perhaps her father didn't understand, too. Perhaps he, too, asked too many questions but received no answer. Yet he forged on. [break][break]
And Claire will, too. [break][break]
The candle burns bright, for a while blazing brighter than the sun ( or so it seems ). [break][break]
"Good morning, Emery," she says. Despite the melancholic mood, she tries to make her tone brighter. "How are you feeling?" She tilts her head, looking at the blonde Knight. [break][break]
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Everything seems... sad. She would not question Claire why, of all things, as she knows the limitations of privacy and what little information is given just by looking at everything. But she does not expect the blonde adept to be so silent today, and for Emery it seems like some pride is stripped away from her, one by one... but she may be wrong. It's the aura of a person that is required by a grave, after all.
[break][break]So instead she smiles back at the higher-up. She's not about to make the atmosphere sadder than it already is. As Claire asks her how she had been doing, Emery shrugs and looks at her newly-bandaged knees. "Still alive and alright, I suppose. My knees are crippled, but it's fine. I can walk perfectly still." She winces once she tries to bend her knee. "Though it still does sting quite a bit."
[break][break]She looks at the grave Claire seems to be visiting, and her eyes soften. "...Did I come at the wrong time?" She asks, her voice soft and stripped off of the strong tone it displays all of a sudden. She knows how sensitive these topics can be. "I'm sorry if I intruded you at the wrong moment, then. I'll be taking my leave if you do so request."
[attr="class","pipostpost"]The fire burns and so does the sun. Its light slowly warms the cold morning, though never above comfortable, it seems. It's the perfect warmth. Claire always leaves the candle to itself to melt. Today, though, she might stay. "I'm glad you're healing," Claire says. She stands up and goes to the shade. She doesn't detest the sun's rays but she does not like being exposed to it. Which is actually quite the contradiction. The Helios Knights thrives as long as the sun burns. It basks in the sun's warmth, while Claire hides from it. [break][break]
She takes quick look at Emery. "You've had it rough," she muses. "But no worries. It's not decapitated so it should heal." It would heal faster if Emery sits, and so Claire walks to the nearest bench--there's plenty of them--and takes a comfortable seat. She pats the space beside her. "Come sit. And no, you're perfectly fine. I was just remembering my father. It's hardly a sensitive matter." [break][break]
Claire observes Emery, too, in case she requires assistance. She knows she shouldn't be... too clingy... but before she is a Knight she was a big sister to her siblings. Perhaps she does miss her family.... Her world is different now, though, and so do the lives of her siblings and her immediate family. They will meet again, the mystery is when and how and why. [break][break]
"The festivities are elsewhere, Emery. May I ask what brings you here?" Claire asks. Several reasons come to mind, and perhaps, they aren't different from each other. If what Claire thinks is the right reason.[break][break]
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Emery is curious, but she does not let it push and get the best of her. She knows the adept has better things to do than answer petty questions that should not be asked, and Emery is good at minding her own business. "Thank you." She smiles at the statement, and the stinging pain on her leg seems to dissipate at that one little statement; she'd needed that, but she is not obnoxious for her to want more. But Emery is flattered, that is for sure.
[break][break]Claire remarks on her injuries and Emery simply nods, struggling to walk with her crippled legs, but she does not let that bring her down. "I hope it does. It's been three days already and I fear I won't be able to walk again, but that's an exaggeration." She sighs. Claire is right; it's not decapitated, so she should hope for the best.
[break][break]Claire offers her a seat at the nearest bench and Emery limps towards it to seat herself. She sighs in relief once the adept tells her she hasn't disturbed her in any way. "Oh. That's... good then." She says, unsure of what to say. She's gone through the accusation of a loved one before and the results are anything but good, but she is glad that hasn't resulted in the death and execution of her grandfather. So Emery is not sure what to say to the adept who's loved ones life has been taken, but... "I offer my deepest condolences."
[break][break]Then she asks whatever she is doing here, when the festivities are elsewhere; Emery simply chuckles nervously, though she knows how to respond. "Well, for one... as you can see." She indicates her crippled legs and raises it slightly to tell her what she means, but hisses once it starts to sting. She places it back on the ground and sighs again. "I don't want to go too far. I'm crippled. And secondly..." Now this she isn't too sure. Of course it does have something to do with accompanying Claire, but she wouldn't want to say something that shouldn't have been said.
[break][break]"I don't like mingling with large crowds. I rather accompany one person or two, given my condition."
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Injuries are not alien to Claire. She had hundreds of those in her twenty-four years of existence. They range from something as small as a broken middle finger (which is a bum because she really likes giving the bullies at Eclipse a good dose of the count of fucks she gives) to as severe as a twisted ankle and some broken ribs. Luckily, she is able to counter the pain with her augmentation, at least for a while, until the battle is over. [break][break]
Instead, Claire gently taps Emery's arm twice. "That's a common fear that only comes true during the worst times, when the nerves are damaged. Besides," Claire's left mouth twitches slightly. "Vani would be more than happy to help you around with mobility."[break][break]
Condolences, huh... Claire realizes that Emery is the first person she ever hear offering condolences to her father. No one but her and her immediate family attended the burial, if it can even be called burial. All they left to mark the her father's rest is a small wooden cross. When they left, their worlds continued like normal, and for Claire it was very odd. But the man has never been deeply involved with the family. The family continued on with only a lingering memory of his. Now, it's Claire's turn to say, softly, "Thank you."[break][break]
For a while the two sits in silence. Claire waits for Emery to follow up the second reason, while she watches the purple candle melt ever so slowly in the heat of the flames. Claire doesn't really mind what Emery would say, whatever her reasons--it's without her business. [break][break]
#@emery[break] hope this is okay! sorry for the delay c':
[attr="class","j1scroll"] The blonde Knight, admittedly, is still worried about her injured knees. Any moment now it could break into two and she won't be able to walk again. But Claire addresses her worries with a statement that immediately calms her down. Of course, broken legs only happen to in worst cases, and luckily Emery is not in one. She finds herself understanding and nodding her head, but upon hearing the statement involving Vani she could not help but chuckle heartily.
[break][break]"That's very nice, Claire, but I don't want to be a burden to him," She states, and even when she wants to say more she minimizes that into one statement, in case Vani may be around and might be offended by her words.
[break][break]Emery offers her condolences to Claire's late father, and finds herself being silent for a moment. She's given condolences to the dead before, yes, but she doesn't offer them as a friend to the ones who have lost the dead, but rather only as an acquaintance and colleague. Well, she isn't too sure that Claire and her are now friends, to say the least, but... well, she's offering them as she is a young woman with a conscience.
[break][break]Claire thanks her shortly afterward, and it makes her smile and nod. "You're welcome," she says softly. Because it's the least she can do.
[break][break]Claire asks why she is not taking part in the festivities, and she gives her reply. Well, half of that could be a lie; she did make her way to the festivities, but she'd only stayed there for only but a short time, and moments after she exited the festivities that's when she happened upon Claire. After speaking, everything is silent again. Emery would not want to intrude a person's personal space, but people being quite worries Emery, to an extent that she would ask.
[break][break]"Claire...?" she calls out, voice only soft enough in case she is ignored. "...Is everything alright?"
[attr="class","pipostpost"]Emery is modest, mindful, and largely independent. That makes Claire realize that all she can do at this point is be there. Emery is right, and Claire understands her. If she is to put herself at the shoes of the blonde Knight beside her, she also wouldn't want to be a burden to anyone else. Besides, Emery is recuperating well. In no time she would be able to walk and get right back into shape. [break][break]
They fall into silence--Claire really hasn't much to say. The purple wax of the candle continues to melt. The sun continues to rise. The beams hit their feet, but their body and face remains shaded. The festivities continue, the world still spins. Time continues running and Claire is more than happy to bask in this moment of idleness she rarely ever experience. [break][break]
"Yes," Claire says, nodding. She looks at Emery and still wants to ask her, for the fifteenth time or more--she really can't remember--if everything is fine for Emery. She already knows Emery and the answer she would give, there's hardly any reason for Claire to ask. [break][break]
"You know," Claire starts. Suddenly the Knight has spark registered in her voice. "I may just have something that could heal right now and then. You said that your knees still sting a bit?" And it's perfect, really! The worst of the injury has already passed. The healing augmentation should just about repair the body to its full function. [break][break]
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Claire responds to Emery's concern with a single 'yes'; that's all Emery needs, really, and even when she is still not convinced, she does not press on any further. It's certainly none of her business. So, with a nod, she turns away and eyes her bandages knees; they're bleeding less, but they sting, and even when Emery is still holding out, she could not help but flinch as she moves her legs back and forth on the bench.
[break][break]All was silent for a while, but then she hears Claire speak. "Yes... it still does, but only a little..." She responds to Claire, with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" She adds, looking at the adept curiously. Her legs stop moving back and forth on the bench then and there.
[break][break]She becomes curious to things she is not well-acquainted with, but for her that is only natural. In all the noise from the festivities and from all the silence they have shared just a while ago, Claire is suddenly asking if her wound still stings. Emery thinks the adept has a plan for this, but then again, she is not one to question the whereabouts of higher ups. She is only left to ask questions, not sure about receiving answers.
[break][break]But whatever Claire's planning, it couldn't be bad, now could it?
[attr="class","pipostpost"]A sparkle can be found on Claire's eyes. It's not everyday she has this kind of excitement, this kind of glow. She looks at Emery expectantly. To answer Emery's question, Claire simply says, "I am an augmenter." [break][break]
In a classic Claire fashion, she begins to talk about augmentation. "Augmentation is an affinity that is focused on adding to some kind of attribute. Strength, speed, flexibility. You name it. It can also be used to speed things up or slow things down. And right now, I think," Claire gestures to Emery's crippled limbs, "I can use it to speed your recovery."[break][break]
She hasn't done anything like this before. She has healed minor cuts and bruises herself, but never anything in this magnitude. Even so, she has always used augmentation only offensively. Using abilities to make her impenetrable, to heal wounds and fade bruises so she can continue to fight. [break][break]
It would be a nice change to try to heal not to fight, but to live. [break][break]
She shifts on her seat and clasps her hands together. Her palms are rough against each other--a manifest of her countless years in fighting. Today, she is not using these hands to draw blood. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Can I try?"[break][break]
#@emery[break] ohohoho look who's posting after forever
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Emery sees a glint of excitement in those eyes, and for the blonde knight, it's certainly a first. Emery hasn't known Claire for long, but she'd always thought of the other blonde as serious in all situations. Right then and there, she regrets stereotyping Claire, as she looks at those eyes she sees something clearly different from what she'd thought.
[break][break]As a response to her query, Claire states that she is an augmenter, and she begins to explain what it is. And as she listens to her explanations, Emery takes a hint as to what Claire is about to do. A small smile manages to make its way to her face, and as she turns away to face her legs again, she heaves a small sigh.
[break][break]"...Claire, I... you really don't have to do this..." She begins, suddenly embarrassed though she does not know why. "It would probably heal soon, you don't have to-"
[break][break]But she looks at Claire again and it seems the adept has already made her resolve clear. As Emery watches her clasp her hands and ask if she could try, Emery could do nothing for a second but blink, turning back to her legs again. Will it work? Well, she hopes it would, but... what she had just said earlier, to be a burden to others... Claire really doesn't have to-
[break][break]She faces Claire again, and with a small smile, she nods. "Alright then."
[attr="class","pipostpost"]A soft smile catches Claire's lips. Emery is such a down-to-earth person. Claire gets the distinct impression that Emery doesn't want to burden other people--even when she, herself, needs help. Claire is not any better. Even when wounded, bleeding, limping, Claire would just numb the pain away to last for a few minutes longer. Until everyone is safe. [break][break]
So she understands Emery. That's why she insists. She keeps silent as Emery speaks that, really, Claire doesn't have to do this. Emery's healing. Claire meets the blonde's eyes, and finally, she relents. Grateful, Claire nods and shuffles off the bench to kneel in front of Emily.[break][break]
"Here goes nothing," Claire says. Both of her hands are already shrouded in a soft, golden glow as she lowers them, slowly, slowly. When her hands touch Emery, the soft glow seems to transfer to the woman's injured leg. Claire closes her eyes, concentrating hard. She imagines blooming, growing, life being restored, instead taking it away, and it's suffocating because this feeling is alien to Claire. Because she takes lives even when she is protecting someone else's. [break][break]
Please work. Please. Please. [break][break]
The spell is done, and Claire brings her hands down. In one swift motion she stands and steps away. She stares at Emery with eager, earnest eyes.[break][break]
