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 kaelin ó'coileáin on Apr 4, 2018 7:33:26 GMT
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y the time kaelin has made her way to the verdi banks, she has read over the information given to them - adult cat, black, green eyes, blue collar, last seen by the river - over three times; and each time, no new information has come forth that would possibly make this task easier. she is not one for impatience normally, however nor is she normally one to take a mission such as this that might take so much of the little free time she actually has. nonetheless, she has agreed to this with all the time it may entail, and so she will honour her promises.
golden sunlight dilutes into an idyllic stream, a picturesque scene of plains as verdant as their name implies spread out before a meandering river and a high, wide sky; she arrives with a pomelo spring woven into her hair and windchimes trailing in her wake, a skirt blue as the ocean dancing alongside snow-white braids. kaelin glances around for her erstwhile mission partner before leaning against a small wooden bridge to wait for him, kiska curled into her hair like a tiny crown of ice.
caleb d’grayson - she knows absolutely nothing of her mission partner aside from his name. not unusual, certainly - she has only been a part of jester’s den for a very brief time, and the majority of said time has been spent training - but it would have been nice to have a general impression of what to expect at least.
here lies everything, the world i wanted at my feet
The last thing Caleb knew, he was suddenly called over by the coven for a mission that he and another witch needed to accomplish. There was a lost cat that needed to be found, they told him. Devin Orsella, fourteen and new to Sundial, has lost an adult black cat, which has last been found by the river before it was lost. Caleb and another coven mate -- one who he was not familiar with despite being in Jester's Den for long years, and whom he learned was named "Kaelin O'Coileain" -- was tasked for this mission and to search for the cat.
There were little to no leads for chances of the cat to be discovered again; black cat, an adult, green eyes and a blue collar. Those clues were not enough, if Caleb had to say so himself. There were a lot of black cats in Sundial, with chances of ever having blue collars possible for some of them. The only clue probably able to lead them to Devin's said cat was the name of the owner said to be engraved on the cat's collar... but nothing else.
Aria flew over to the river where the cat was last found, and she directed him towards a figure just leaning by the bridge near it. Ah, there she is. Kaelin was a lovely maiden, he must say. The young male arrived near the bridge wearing a simple green hooded jacket, and a blue turtleneck shirt underneath it.
The male walked up to Kaelin with a small wave at her, with a small wink to her then to Aria. The falcon understood, then, perching up to Caleb's right shoulder as he neared his mission partner, she started to talk. Hello there, Kaelin O'Coileain and Kiska, her familiar. It's nice to meet you, but now is not the time for introductions, unfortunately. Shall we, then?
mind if i borrowed one of your templates again? XD • kaelin ó'coileáin • 0000
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Apr 6, 2018 10:50:29 GMT
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iska sees the bird before their mission partner arrives; the hawk-eagle is a regal silhouette against the high blue skies, wings spread wide in a banner of banded browns and pale golds. and then comes footsteps, a young man on the cusp of leaving adolescence behind arriving with a small wave. kaelin returns the gesture with a nod and a smile ( and a faint hint of pink blooming against her skin at the cheeky wink he directs at her too ).
"good morning-" she opens her mouth to greet him, only to pause when he beats her to it, a stream of sentences with no pause in between for her reply. she blinks, processing the words, then settles into a wary stillness. kiska let's out a soft, low hiss, coils tightening in her hair. how does he know kiska's name? kaelin's name, she knows, was included as part of the mission assignment, but her familiar's certainly was not. perhaps as a product of her ice skating career then - it is not uncommon knowledge there - but perhaps not. caleb does not seem particularly the ice skating fan.
or perhaps she is merely overthinking it. it matters little, and from the abrupt introduction she is getting the indication that he wishes to finish this mission as swiftly as they can. kaelin can certainly agree with the sentiment. "very well," she agrees, inclining her head gracefully. "shall we split up, to cover ground faster? kiska can go with you to ensure we can communicate. your familiar, being flight-capable, can scan the more treacherous terrain."
here lies everything, the world i wanted at my feet
Caleb glanced over to Aria with an awkward look on his face. She didn't really have to go fast; he would sure like talking to Kaelin for a while. But then, she did have a point. There wasn't any more time for them to just chat while a mission was going on. The young man then glanced at Kaelin and her familiar, a shiver running down his spine once he sees the snake's reaction. She seemed to act hostile! And how did Aria know of the familiar's name? Well, that was certainly a question he would need an answer for from Aria, but then again, this was no time to ask questions. They have a mission to complete today.
Then Kaelin told him about their navigating plans, and he nodded in agreement. Her plan was quite smart, and would certainly help in this matter. Aria can travel through the more dangerous terrain, and since she had good vision even on air, she can certainly do it. She also mentioned Kiska going with him, to ensure they can communicate. A part of him became nervous at the mention of her snake coming with him, but he didn't really mind. He nodded once again to this plan.
Aria flapped her wings and flew over to Kaelin, a beaked smile plastered on her face. Well then, shall we start?She asked, then winked over to Caleb, before flying over to a tree to start navigating. Caleb nodded to Kaelin and to her familiar with a small smile.
i am so sorry this is late! but here it is anyway! • kaelin ó'coileáin • 0000
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Apr 20, 2018 14:02:17 GMT
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er mission partner nods in wordless agreement to her suggestion, so kaelin lifts her hand up to her hair to allow kiska to coil around her arm. the snake slithers down her forearm and into her palm, tiny and delicate and fragile-looking as sunlight catches on her crystalline scales and sends sprays of iridescent glitter scattering against kaelin’s skin. she steps closer to caleb, hands out so that he can accept her; unfortunately, kiska is far too small to travel efficiently unless carried.
there is a hint of nervousness in caleb’s eyes, though it is faint enough that kaelin wonders if she is even seeing it at all. of what, she wonders too - her familiar is not exactly one to inspire fear ( in this form, anyway ), even in people who dislike snakes. but he does not mention anything, so neither does she; it is none of their business.
( nor is it any of her business that caleb has not spoken even once yet, however strange it is. )
a flutter of feathers and the eagle-hawk swoops to her side, something like a smile on her face. perhaps it is merely the oddity of such an expression on non-human features, and perhaps kaelin is simple inexperienced in interpreting them such, but somehow it looks more like a grimace than a smile to her. but there is little time to ponder the intricacies of non-human expressionism; she nods once, gesturing towards the western banks of the river.
“i’ll search in this direction, then,” she says. “shall we meet back here in an hour if we haven't found the cat before then?"
here lies everything, the world i wanted at my feet
Caleb simply watches as Kaelin lets the snake rest on her palm, and she steps closer so that the boy may take her. The mute young man observes the beautiful scaled creature, long and with scales that seem to glitter in the sunlight. With a nod, he carefully takes Kaelin’s familiar with his hands, making sure he doesn’t crush the snake’s figure by gripping on her too hard. The young man then smiles at Kaelin and nods gratefully. Maybe the snake isn’t so hostile after all. She seemed only taken by surprise when Aria suddenly mentions their names, though he doesn’t know why that would be surprising. Kaelin, he already knows the name since he was already told of it, but her familiar he does not know about. Aria did seem to mention it a while ago, though... my, my, was he really that forgetful?
Aria on Kaelin’s side and the snake with him, Caleb then nods once Kaelin mentions which path she would be taking. That would mean he and the snake would take the opposite side. He nods again in agreement to this plan. But when the time to meet was suddenly brought up, he hesitates for a bit. After an hour of searching is long enough time to search for the cat, of course, but then adding thirty or fifteen or ten minutes wouldn’t seem so bad. He figured that after that one hour after searching for the cat, they could use ten or so minutes to recheck if they missed something before finally trotting right back here. Caleb walks up to Kaelin and scavenges for something under his pocket, cold sweat of doubt seemingly rolling from the side of his head. He hoped his notebook was here. That means he could communicate with the other witch even if he couldn’t say a word, and he wouldn’t burden Aria into telling everyone what he wants to say anymore.
He then felt a flat bump from the inside of his jacket, then pulled it out. His notebook.
Caleb smiled and opened the notebook, before taking out a pen from his pocket and then started to write down something on a blank page. The thought of having to write would be quite annoying and he knew that, but what choice does he have? After finishing up, he showed the girl what he had written down in blue ink.
“I should think after an hour and ten minutes or so, if that is okay with you. We could use a few minutes rechecking if we missed anything after that one hour of searching before we head back here to meet if we haven’t found the cat yet.”
And then he smiles and waves goodbye to her, trodding off with her familiar to the opposite direction. Aria watches him go to the opposite direction before turning to Kaelin, tilting her head with a sigh. You must be wondering why he hasn’t spoken a word during this whole encounter. She flaps her wings next to Kaelin. He’s mute, you see.
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Apr 22, 2018 23:20:54 GMT
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iska slithers down kaelin’s palm and into caleb’s, bumping her head into his fingers gently in gratitude for his careful handling. “don’t worry,” she tells him kindly, cheerfully, smiling up at the boy. “i may be small, but i’m not that delicate. you won’t squish me that easily.” she considers their position, then cocks her head. “may i sit up on your shoulder? that should be easier on both of us, i think.” it would free up the boy’s hands as well as give the snake a higher vantage point - not to mention reducing the possibility of being squished.
she might fall off if the witch moves suddenly, but kiska has had plenty of practice staying firmly put with kaelin’s spins and jumps and high speed turns. and if she does fall, well. small she might be, but she is still a familiar with all the capability of magic it implies.
kaelin watches curiously as her mission partner appears to search for something within his jacket, even more so when he pulls out a notebook of all things. she steps slightly closer for a better look, in response to the implicit request to see whatever is written in the pages. and then, caleb pulls out a pen and starts writing in lilting blue script, and she thinks, oh.
that…. explains some things.
but she was raised polite and raised with manners; kaelin rapidly processes this new information without a change to her expression and mentally nods. and that’s that. she scans the words presented to her and nods again, physically this time. “sounds good,” she agrees, smiling. “an hour and ten minutes, then.” and she returns his wave, and too turns to begin the long trek by the river’s edge.
she glances at the familiar remaining at her side and shrugs slightly at her words. “okay,” she says, casually accepting. “that’s okay. kiska can talk enough for both of them.” and she casts her gaze wide, scanning the rolling verdant banks for any flash of black, any sign of a cat. and she does not make a big deal of it, because it isn’t, because that’s only polite.
here lies everything, the world i wanted at my feet
Once both Kaelin and he part ways with different familiars, the search for the lost cat has begun.
Caleb makes his way through the Verdi Banks, searching for any cat to be found. Black, a blue collar, and green eyes. Hope seemed quite lost at this point. But there weren't that many cats that have green eyes, weren't there? Most cats might've had brown or light blue colored ones, but still... green is just as common. He would just have to pay some more attention if any black cat would pass by.
Doubtfully, he turns to the snake. Would she hear him at this point, even if his mind is the one doing the talking? Caleb closes his eyes and breathes out a silent sigh, before turning to the snake. Uh... can you... hear me? He asked, before sighing again. This is ridiculous. But he has to try. Umm... can you hear me? Even if my mind is the one talking?
While experimenting though, from the corner of his eye, he could see multiple sounds of meowing from nearby. Cats. His eyes widened, before walking over to the direction where he heard the animals. Turning to the snake, he tried again this time. I think I heard cats over there. Maybe one of them is the cat we should be searching for.
Meanwhile, in Aria and Kaelin's side, the hawk flew over the skies, watching for any movement. There should be a cat here somewhere. Or if there were multiple others, one of them should be Devin Orsella's cat. She kept an eye out for any movements, but found none.
Kaelin, she called out, flying toward the girl. Have you found anything yet? I haven't had, so far.
Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jun 30, 2018 7:14:09 GMT
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hey walk along the riverbanks with eyes peeled for any hint of black fur, any chime of a collar bell, but there appears to be nothing more than a roiling expanse of grass and a rippling foliage sea. "i haven't had any luck either," she admits to the hawk, shading her eyes from the sun to peer down a grassy knoll. still nothing. the wind that trails its fingers down her braid and ruffles the indigo of her skirt almost seems to laugh at their struggles.
"perhaps the others are having more luck." she sighs, and straightens, about to suggest starting to head back, when a flash of movement in the peripheries of her vision catch her attention. "wait, there!" she points to the other side of the river where something small and black is darting away in the grass. "is that-?"
without waiting for a response, kaelin sprints towards the river and leaps across it with the help of augmented strength, and starts chasing after her target.
meanwhile, with caleb, kiska watches the boy as carefully as she watches their surroundings and comes to the tentative conclusion that he may be trying to communicate with her. "are you trying to talk to me mentally?" she asks kindly, then gently nudges him with her head. "i'm afraid it doesn't work that way. it's okay, i'm a pretty good guesser!" she tells him cheerfully, "and i can read."
she hears the cats at the same time he does, and based on that, guesses what the young man is attempting to communicate. "i can hear it too. let's go check out those cats!"
[attr="class","victoriousscroll"]Aria sighs and shakes her head once Kaelin mentions that luck wasn't on her side as well. The bird looked around the fields by the banks to sense any movement. Yes. They might be. She mumbled in agreement to Kaelin. The snake and her master must've found a cat that looked like Devin Orsella's right now.
Just then, Kaelin calls out to her and tells her that a cat has been sighted. Really? She exclaimed, flying over to Kaelin as the girl sprinted off into a run. Let's follow it, then. If that was the cat that they were following all along, then perhaps they were in luck all along.
Meanwhile, Caleb got Kiska's message about following the cats, and with a nod, he runs after them towards the north where the cat sounds were made. If they were lucky, one of the cats he heard must be Devin Orsella's. Just have to watch out for blue collars and Devin's information tucked into the said collar.
They arrived at a group of trees lying over the fields, and as they got nearer, the meowing sounds got louder. He nodded and walked faster towards the huddled trees, but got behind them in case the cats were actually fighting. If they were, he didn't want to get into trouble with them, as well as get the snake familiar into trouble.
Some of the cats around the said trees were, unfortunately, mostly black and had collars, so this wasn't going to be an easy job. He turned to Kiska and, making sure she was safe on his shoulder, he grabbed his pen and started to write something on his wrist. He just hoped Kiska would get the message. Once he was done, he showed it to Kiska, while eyeing the cats if they moved or not.
tl;dr: aria and kaelin follow the cat they saw, as well as caleb and kiska
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Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Jul 1, 2018 16:59:16 GMT
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he races after the blur of black fur she had seen scamper through the grass, but there is a gust of wind and she loses sight of the creature within a ripple of grass. it seems perhaps inconceivable that something could vanish so quickly when she had been only a few meters behind, but reality can be as strange as dreams sometimes, and there is nothing to show for her sighting other than her memory.
for a moment, she begins to doubt if she had ever even seen anything in the first place, or if it was merely the product of imagination. but then a flash of black fur reappears and she wastes no time in chasing it down with a bit of augment-enchanced speed. she gains ground, eyes fixated on the creature now definitively a feline with a flash of blue around its neck; unfortunately, kaelin has no idea how to possibly stop and catch the fleeing cat.
"do you have any idea how to catch it?" she shouts back at aria after making an unsuccessful grab at the feline.
meanwhile, with caleb and kiska, the tiny snake hums in consideration after reading the message. "i'm not sure. i see three black cats with blue collars and greenish eyes, but we'll need to be closer to see if their collar information matches." she taps her tail gently against his shoulder, then coils herself and indicates the direction of the cats of interest. "that one to the left, and those two near the wall. the one sleeping in the shadows there may also be of interest, but i can't see clearly the colour of its collar from here."
Any Devin cat in the group? scrolls used: (1) augmentation for dummies 1, (2) augmentation for dummies 2
[attr="class","victoriousscroll"]Aria flies after the struggling Kaelin and the running cat, searching for anything that could possibly make the cat stop, or at least climb a tree. She could go for the collar, but she couldn't risk choking the life out of the poor feline. Then she sees a spot of bushes and a branch of a tree just above Kaelin.
Kaelin! Branch! She said, a tone of alarm in her voice. Hurl it to the ground! Hurry before the cat gets away further!
Aria knows that cats are very good climbers. So if she'd be able to know what the cat would be up to next, once Kaelin grabs the branch and hurls it to the ground where the cat is running, it would climb up the branch and hold on to it, even if Kaelin would let go. That way it could stay put on the tree and not run away anymore.
Let's see if that would work.
On the other side, Caleb nods and looks over to the cats Kiska had indicated him. Sure, they could be of interest, but multiple of them had blue collars that could match the Devin cat. Plus they have greenish eyes... This was harder than I thought, Caleb thought to himself.
Creeping over to another tree that was nearer to the three cats sleeping near the wall as Kiska had indicated, her turned to the snake and wrote again in his wrist. Could you go over to the cat in the shadows and see if the collar matches? I'll take care of the three others over here. He asked the snake, then turned to the three others who were still resting and wagging their tails.
Unfortunately one of them was starting to move. They have to hurry.
tl;dr: aria and kaelin follow the cat they saw, as well as caleb and kiska
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Post by kaelin ó'coileáin on Aug 26, 2018 12:03:36 GMT
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ranch? kaelin admits to being confused as to what the eagle-hawk wants her to do. but there is no time to ask for clarification, not when their passage is measured in milliseconds and adrenaline speeds up the world around them. so she takes a wild guess: she stretches an arm and calls the low-hanging branch ahead of them until it crashes to the ground in a flurry of leaves.
what aria was thinking, she still does not know. but the cat screeches in alarm, fur all but standing up along its spine, before launching itself up a tree adjacent to the one she had pulled a branch off of. it disappears into the shifting foliage in the crown of the tree, a bundle of tension and bristling fur huddled in a branched fork hissing at the two of them - but it, at least, is now still.
she does not know if that was the eagle-hawk's original intension, but whatever it may be, the outcome is advantageous. "that was smart," she says, and leans against the trunk of the tree as adrenaline and mana drain out of her. the cat hisses, and retreats further. "can you check its collar?"
kiska, meanwhile, smiles softly, wrapping herself around caleb's wrist and squeezing lightly before returning back to his palm. "that should be within my capabilities," she says cheerily. "if you could set me down, i would really appreciate that." and she winks at him. "if i become mistaken for a cat toy, i'll count on you to rescue me though," she teases gently.
although, in all seriousness, kiska is just about the right size for a cat toy, and sparkly enough to draw attention. but she has magic, and she has defences, and she is fairly confident nothing too bad will happen.
scrolls used: (1) augmentation for dummies 1, (2) augmentation for dummies 2, (3) witch's call
[attr="class","victoriousscroll"]Kaelin looks confused when Aria instructs her to hurl the branch at the cat, but she does it anyway; with a little bit of magic, that is. Aria stops flying and stays in one spot in the air, watching the scene before her. The eagle-hawk smirks as she knows her plan worked; Kaelin was smart enough to hurl the branch on the ground even when far away.
The branch is dropped down and the cat yelps in surprise, hairs standing on end after that impact. It then climbs up the branch because there was no more way to escape; once Kaelin lets go of the branch, the cat stays on the tree, snarling and wagging its tail rapidly.
Kaelin comments at how smart that plan was, and Aria chuckles to herself. I just happen to know some of animals' motives. She states, followed by another chuckle. After Kaelin tells her to check on the collar, she nods and flies over to the hissing cat, snarling further once it sees Aria approaching it.
The eagle-hawk rests on the branch and carefully advances towards the alarmed cat, now waving its claws in the air in an attempt to drive away Aria. Sorry, but I'm not leaving here until I see if you're Devin's cat. She thought to herself, finally leaping through the air and grabbing the cat's collar with her talons.
The cats hisses and struggles, waving its paws, but Aria does not let go. She looks at the collar and frowns; it's blue alright, but no sign of Devin's name anywhere or the name of the cat itself, T'challa. Aria huffs and lets go of the collar, then flies off with the cat screeching and attempting to catch her. Aria flies over to Kaelin and shakes her head. Unfortunately, it's not Devin's cat. We'll have to go elsewhere.
Caleb, meanwhile, smiles at Kiska's request and follows it; he sets the snake down softly on the ground and nods. Then the snake winks and states that she'd be counting on him to save her if she happens to be mistaken as a cat toy. The young man chuckles, but nods and stands up. He'd be counting on Kiska to find out if that was Devin's cat, then. But being a cat's toy isn't a funny experience.
Once all was settled, he waved at the snake before turning to his task. He decided he take a visit to the cat on the left, so he carefully walked over to the sleeping cat. The two black cats near the wall are awake and staring, but they didn't do anything that alarmed Caleb. He'd just take a quick look at the collars, and turn to the other two, then everything's done.
He kneels down in front of the sleeping cat and carefully holds the collar, slowly turning it back and forth to see if there were any names written. The cat moves, but remains sleeping. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything that told him it was Devin's cat; no name of Devin Orsella or T'challa was written.
He slowly stood up and turned to the two others, who were very much awake and looking at him. Great. Time for you two to be investigated, He thought, slowly walking up to them with focused eyes.
tl;dr: aria and kaelin successfully catch the cat, caleb and kiska investigate the multiple cats
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