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 corvus kasparian on Nov 13, 2018 22:13:03 GMT
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When it rains it pours. Metaphorically. It wasn’t raining right now. Currently, it was simply early morning as the young witch waited inside the Warm Snugs and Hugs Dog Shelter, an old dog in his lap sleepily accepting ear scritches as he waited for his mission partner. At the entrance theres a stack of empty plastic kennels, already filled with a couple of blankets to make the bottoms soft. It was for the dogs they found, depending on how many they caught anyways. On the chair next to him was a stack of collards and leashes ready to be slapped on some sneaky pups.
How was he doing this again? His entire plan to sneakily, rescue dogs that had escaped during a morning chow had gone so great. Everyone had been found safe ans sound, Corvus has dodged property damage bills etc. etc. And yet here he was, weeks later on his way to apprehend more dogs. This was starting to get a little ridiculous. As much as he loved dogs, if a third mission cropped up next month he would NOT be helping. He needed time away from rambunctious dogs. Corvus smiled up at a coworker as they came to pick up the dog he was holding for a quick walk. He let out a yawn, wondering briefly how they would find a roaming pack of dogs. Havoc wasn’t as crazy as it had been last time was it? He didn’t know for sure. He’d been avoiding any news stories about wild dogs, if only so he could avoid worrying over cleaning up after them.
He snapped out of his thoughts as the bell to the front door rang out. Corvus let out a quick greeting and a wave. He didn’t recognize them. Were they here to adopt? “Can I help you?” he asked, before adding quickly. “If you’re here to pick up a dog I can call the manager. They’re upstairs on a call.”
she's seen firsthand the boom in the local stray population. the apartment she rents in the heart of sundial's more unsavory part of town is home to a large percentage of them. she witnessed one of them digging through her trash bins just this morning. nyla, still annoyed that their power and expertise has yet to be realized by silvertongue, refused to manifest and take her to the mission meeting point.
so she walks now, patchwork scarf wrapped around her neck, hands in her pockets. the afternoon sun still manages to warm her through the biting fall wind.
she stops just outside the dog shelter. nyla gives her one more scathing remark about their low rank, of which parker promptly ignores. she squares her shoulders, pulls the scarf down from her chin, and heads inside.
her nose wrinkles at the inevitable dog smell. she grimaces, gaze flickering to her left when someone speaks to her. "ah, no. i'm here to meet...corvus?" she raises a brow in question at who she assumes is her partner for this mission.
i hope you know i'd rather watch you bumble around trying to catch flea-bitten mongrels with your own two hands than help you, nyla murmurs at the edges of their mindlink. parker's annoyance flashes across her face, but then she rolls her shoulders, unwraps her scarf from around her neck, and thinks back good. we won't need your help anyway.
Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 14, 2018 20:06:41 GMT
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At the sound of his name, Corvus stood up and held out his hand for a shake. “Yeh, that’s me. You must be Parker then. Nice to meet you.” He said quickly with a brief smile for courtesy’s sake. He began stacking collars by looping his arm through them and grabbing the handful of leashes attached to them. “The rest are yours. It should be easier than having to stop to pull it out of a backpack.” He explained as he nodded over to the leftovers. “We won’t run the risk of being caught without a means to snag a dog either.” He added as he finished up. He zipped up his jacket and called for his familiar. ‘You ready?’ he asked silently as the bird materialized onto one of his shoulders. “Ready to clean up another mess? Naturally.” They responded.
“You know what the price is tonight.” He added, more ominous that necessary. Corvus simply rolled his eyes as the bird preened before looking back at the redhead. “Parker? This is my familiar, Philippe. He’ll be running surveillance from above.” The boy explained. He glanced over where he’d been sitting one last time to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything before stepping outside, holding the door for his partner before pointing down the street.
“I’m thinking we head through towards the food district, especially since there’s a food market?? Farmer’s market?? Running today.” He said, eyes narrowing as he tried to remember what he’d been told before giving up once it proved too troublesome to bother. “We’re not on quota or anything by the way. There’s other shelters on the move and other people from ours out chasing down strays. That said…they asked for like, five or six dogs. Feral dogs. Dogs that don’t like people.” He pulled on some work gloves as he spoke and held up an extra, borrowed pair. “Not gonna lie, they’ll probably bite.” Philippe snorted. “Not like you wouldn’t deserve it.” The bird said before taking off with a loud flap of his wings so his witch wouldn’t’ get another word in. “Just saying. These aren’t shelter dogs we’ve habituated.”
needless to say, she has no idea what she's doing when it comes to handling dogs. one of he mother's boyfriends had a dog at one point. a nasty thing he chained up in the backyard and coincidentally 'forgot' about when he was kicked out for reasons parker can't bother to remember. but she remembers the yellow eyes, the constant snarl rumbling in its throat. she's thinking this as she mimics her mission partner by looping the collars around her arm.
she grasps the ends of the leashes and nods towards philippe. nyla, without warning, materializes on her own shoulder. steel-tipped talons dig into parker's shoulder, but the witch only chuckles. "good idea," she says while taking her time to introduce her familiar. nyla clears her throat. "and this is nyla. she thinks it's a good idea, too, and would love to join you, philippe."
'better two pairs of competent eyes,' the bird remarks with a click of her beak. parker waves her off.
"five or six dogs. easy enough. farmer's market sounds as good a place as any. i'm sure we'll find some by the butcher's." she shakes her head when he holds up a pair of gloves. "no thanks." if it's going to come down between her getting her arms bitten off and a hound getting just a little bit singed, she's gonna take the latter. and there's no point ruining a pair of borrowed gloves in the process.
she opens the door to the shelter again to let philippe out. nyla fans her wings as well and takes off after him.
"they should get along just fine," parker says wryly and beckons for corvus to follow.
she hums in the back of her throat, wraps the leashes around her wrist. "what did he mean, that you'd deserve to get yourself bitten?" she raises a brow as she glances sideways at her partner.
Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 14, 2018 22:23:05 GMT
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Corvus managed to give a nod to Nyla before she followed his own familiar up into the sky. He squinted up at the pair as Philippe adjusted his height. It was getting easier to push the limits of their connection with Philippe finding out that lately, he could go a little higher without feeling the strain on his material form. As he finds a spot that suits his needs, he then lowers back down a bit to match Nyla’s speed. “Right then. This should be simple. The dogs aren’t exactly discreet.” He said to his companion before breaking off slightly, so he could put his attentions on one area.
“If we find a litter, our job is done. I we can convince the parent anyway.” Corvus returned. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too hard. Especially when they could split up so one could buy some meat while the other attempted to coax the dogs back to the shelter. Easy stuff. “Yeh, there might be some competition for the scraps at the butcher. Easy pickings.” He agreed. Corvus simply nodded back at Parker before pocketing the extra pair of gloves. Long sleeves and leathery gloves were enough to avoid the pierce of tooth and claw. Hopefully, the smell of the dog from earlier clung to him and made him more familiar…or that backfired entirely, and he just smelled like a threat.
Parker’s question makes him wrinkle up his face in mild annoyance at his familiar. “He’s just mean sometimes. There could be a dozen reasons ‘why’ I deserve to get bitten by a wild dog.” The witch stated with a huff as they made their way down cobbled streets. It would be a few minutes before the distant chatter of voices would read them, and with that, the smells of both fresh and cooked foods lingering in the air. Thankfully, he didn’t quite yet hear shrieks of alarm. No dogs going wild just yet. That was good at least. He could see a few brightly painted signs in the distance too. One of a skewer with fat chunks of meat and vegetable on it catching his eye. Corvus pointed it out and leaned towards Parker. “I know where I’m getting lunch today.” He said, tone wistful.
she holds a hand above her eyes, squinting through the sunlight in time to watch philippe's form grow bigger. and, by surprised and annoyed response, nyla's follows suit quickly after. the two birds circle above them, though nyla strains further than she should. parker pinches the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off the headache, knowing that commenting on it would be a surefire way to only make it worse.
"this is going to be fairly hopeless if we don't catch almost all of them. you know that, right?" while she's all for nabbing enough to get herself a reward (and enough cash for the rent that's due in just a few days), she's getting pretty tired of hearing the howling outside her windows at night. "if we don't spay and neuter them all, it's a moot point."
her stomach rumbles as they enter the market square. the smell of homemade pies and fruit preserves has her salivating. she laughs at corvus' remark and clasps him on the shoulder. "now i know why we'll get along so well. maybe our familiars will teach each other some manners by the time they get back."
as they move along the outside of the square, they're faced with the dilemma of being surrounded by more and more people. the chatter in the square is at a high volume as customers argue over prices, scold half-listening children, and laugh over cups of freshly brewed coffee. as they walk, she spends a couple of coin to grab a cup of the drip brew, offers her companion another if he'd like.
Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 15, 2018 0:01:50 GMT
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Corvus looked back at the ginger and laughed slightly. “Yeah, a litter won’t really make a dent, but from what the boss has mentioned we’re not the only ones contracted to find the dogs. It’s likely going to take a week or two of really focused searching to catch that many strays.” He said trying to assure Parker that it was only temporary. Hopefully this was enough. He couldn’t fathom more dog catching missions and for the most part, would let the shelters push their own employees and contracts out themselves. He’d avoid any more involvement than he already had.
He grinned at the woman, snickering at the thought of Phillippe managing to teach manners. Maybe, but it wouldn’t be a lesson and more so a patronizing stance on why so and so needed to be better.“Maybe. I’d appreciate a little less nagging on my end.” He returned with ease. The witch offered a thanks with a bow of his head before sipping on the bitter drink. Despite the lack of imminent sweetness it at least wakes up him, and shakes the weariness form his eyes. Partly, anyway. They moved slowly, more or less following the flow of the crowd. His eyes were distracted by so many bright colors and signs and foods, he almost forgot he was looking for strays. He stands up straight with a start, before relaying the question up to his familiar.
Phillippe had been watching the crowd, eyes scanning towards whatever object seemed to move too erratically for the crowd. He spotted his witch’s form despite not needed to. If they separated he could navigate back with their connection. He doesn’t reply immediately swerving a little to the right to get a better view of passage ways that were less crowded. After a minute or two he relayed back what he saw. ‘There’s a dumpster in an alleyway a block from you that seems promising.’ He slowed his flight, eyeing the storefront. ‘Looks for a sweets shop with a pale green sign with a cup on the side. You should find the dumpster and the assortment of cardboard boxes on its side.’ He added. Corvus nodded before speaking up. “Philippe’s got one lead, kinda. Bunch of boxes that haven’t been broken down coming up. Did Nyla get you anything?”
well, at least there's that. so she can blame the rest of their coven and everyone else at the dog shelter if the problem doesn't get fixed. that suits her just fine. even with all these small things they've been doing for silvertongue, they still haven't made a name for themselves. and staying stuck in the lurch, getting their hands dirty while their higher-ups handle the real shit, is starting to wear thin on her.
"oh, gods, yes, the nagging." she takes another sip of her coffee. liquid warmth nestles in her belly and she sighs. "it's either nyla's way or it's the wrong way. i love her to death, but she'd rather spend her time starting spats than doing anything useful." she twists, shoulder nearly colliding with someone scurrying past them. it really would become an issue if the strays decided to migrate their way into the square. no doubt they're skittish and would rather stick to more quiet areas, but it only takes one incident to cause an uproar.
when you're done gossiping about us, i think we've found something, nyla chimes in, just as corvus poses the question.
"she agrees the boxes might be a good place to start, but there's a bistro a couple alleys down from there with an overflowing dumpster. they might be scrounging for food there. we can check the boxes first and see if we can find pups? then head over that way?" she asks, but she's already walking in the direction of the boxes, given nyla's instruction.
Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 15, 2018 2:26:36 GMT
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Corvus lets out another snort as he seemed to have found someone with the same sort of familiar bond as him. “Phillippe nags about everything. Help out more, Corvus! Do the noble thing Corvus! I’m not your personal chauffer, Corvus!” he shook his head trailing off before he really got into his list of grievances. “Philippe isn’t as confrontational, but when he gets angry things get kind of hectic. I tend to avoid conflict if at all possible.” He added remembering the last time Philippe had started a fight he’d left some really ugly scratch marks on someone’s shoulder. Corvus, on the other hand, had suffered a black eye and kick to the back. Not the best trade off, but he’d been running at that point.
Nice! Two leads then. “Oh, nice catch! Tell her that.” Corvus said taking a gulp of his coffee. It hurt on the way down, but it wasn’t scalding, thankfully. “Right then-” he cut himself off as he spotted the candy shop. He pointed at the pastel green sign with colorful golden lettering. “Lollipop Shoppe. So, the alleyway must be that one.” The boy stated before gesturing over to the alley. He began peeling off to the side to make his way into it. Corvus was polite enough to wait for Parker before stepping towards the dumpster and squatting down to check underneath it, just in case. Nothing.
The smell wasn’t too bad. From what he could see the thing was filled with plastic bags and candy leftovers, but nothing too terrible smelling. He spotted the occasional eggshell when he lifted the lid, but nothing was really rotting on the ground. He gave the dumpster a light kick, and when nothing stirred moved onto the boxes. There were a bunch at the end of the alley. Some were fill up with cut up cardboard boxes while others simply lay empty. Maybe they’d reused boxes? Whatever the case there were a few that looked worse for wear but…he didn’t really hear anything. “Uhh…I think its empty…” he said as he approached the boxed with caution. He nudgedthe box which felt a little heavier than the average soggy box. Though, he didn’t hear any whimpers. He kicked once more before moving onto the other boxes. Finally, he looked into them. There were some shredded papers inside and one had some poop in it, but other than that no dogs. “Its clear, but looks like they lived here for a bit. A few dogs maybe?” he said turning back to his partner.
there's a chance that nyla may care for her witch more than she lets on. the heavy thuds of her wingbeats sound from right above them. she looks over the two witches with critical eyes and, when corvus deems the area deserted, she sniffs, spreads her wings again, and takes off without a backwards glance. how thoughtful of you, parker things and, as one could guess, receives no response.
"i'm not surprised," she says as she stoops down to look into one of the boxes. "we're still pretty close to all this noise. let's go in deeper and try the long way around to the butcher's."
like most alleys, this one is not so inviting. between the smell of feces, rot, and something she can't quite place, there's something unsettling about moving away from such vibrance, so many sounds of life, and into, well, this. she swears she hears the skittering of rats coming from further in.
she polishes off the rest of her coffee and throws the cup in one of the soggy boxes. and, not wanting to look like she's frightened or anything, she starts forward, eyes and ears open to any scuffling sounds of larger animals. she rounds the first bend when nyla squawks loudly from somewhere above.
'a couple blocks down! looks like they're fighting over scraps of some sort?'
parker looks over her shoulder. "phillipe relay that to you? we found some. come on!" her heart skips a beat, but she takes the sudden fear in stride and starts to jog towards the dogs' position.
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Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 16, 2018 15:40:48 GMT
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Corvus nods in understanding and acknowledgement at the redhead. Maybe the dogs hid out here right after sundown to avoid people. Less animal traffic for a place that mainly threw out inedible trash. It made sense right? He was trying to think like a dog. As Parker heads in a little deeper, he sidesteps the boxes not mean enough to kick them over. Some stray might need it, he thought despite this entire mission being catch all the strays.
It's not so bad with the light still out and even then, he’s found himself pretty comfortable in alleyways before. Numerous times he had preferred it over the overbearing guardianship of an orphanage that picked him up more times than he cared to remember. He looked up as Nyla called out to her witch and then looked at her expectantly. He didn't expect her to take off. “W-wait up!” he whisper yelled, sprinting after the woman and grabbing at the back of her coat. He didn't yank but whispered something unintelligible before mana flashed at the tips of his fingers. In seconds, the shadows in the alley seemed to stick to the pair of witches, darkening their forms. The magic strained against the bit of sunlight that broke through the place, relaxing once they passed into shadows again. “It might help from spooking the dogs. I think.” he explained as he let go of the woman uttering a quick apology for his rash actions.
Phillippe stood perched atop a roof, peering down at the dog fight and waiting for his witch and their partner. He'd landed silently and kept watch, attempting to judge if there were mothers or fathers or just loose dogs. He was trying to bank in finding puppies, if only to meet quota. ‘There's around three present. Two small and ome big boy. They seemed to be playing tug of war with a giant rib??? Bone.’ he explained passing along the info to Corvus who only relayed back his position. The young man adjusted his thick gloves as the sounds of fighting and growling got louder. “Fair warning, I don't know healing spells.” he told Parker. He looked pretty ready to bleed.
hands on her--not enough to be threatening, but enough to make the hair rise at the back of her neck. it takes almost all of her willpower not to snap at the boy's mistake. she swallows thickly as she looks back over her shoulder, eyes smoldering just enough to betray some of her fear. and then she notices the thick shadows on his face, smothering him (and, she realizes, herself) like a blanket. and then she understands.
"warn me before you do that again," she says lowly and comes to a halt when she hears the sound of scrabbling paws and high-pitched yips.
she takes advantage of the cover of darkness corvus has provided them and moves to the bend in the alley. she pokes her head around the corner in time to witness a yowl as the largest of the dogs yanks his prize away from the smaller two. she sizes it up--square, stocky build, an unnatural curve to its belly. drool dribbles from its snout and onto the bone in its holding. its ripcord tail wags as the smaller dogs tackle it. that's its pups, she realizes.
'be careful,' nyla warns. 'its too tight for me to fly down there.'
"well, it wouldn't be if you shrank down in size," she mutters.
she flashes a grin at corvus. "oh, we won't be needing those."
she rubs her fingers together and fire emerges from her fingertips, gathering thickly in the palm of her hand. she flexes her hand and it crackles, folds over itself as it grows larger in volume. "get ready with one of those leashes," she says and steps out from behind the alley. she sprays a jet of flame from her outstretched palm, lighting a couple of boxes behind the dogs on fire.
they yelp in confusion and panic and scramble away from it. paws thud against the ground as the three dogs head right for the two witches.
'exactly the opposite of what i advised,' nyla thinks to her with an aggravated sigh.
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Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 17, 2018 0:40:35 GMT
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He flinched as Parker corrected him and offered another apology before looking on at the dogs, getting into position easily enough. He stays close just enough that he can pass messages between them but far enough that he wouldn’t rick bumping into her. When she stopped he found himself crouching and leaning forward so he could get a visual on the dogs himself. It looked just as described he supposed. This wasn’t the menacing, dog eat dog fight he was picturing when told dogs are scrambling over scraps. It looked so much more tame and the bigger dog didn’t seem like it was menacing the smaller ones. Alright then. “Wa- what?” He’s not quite sure what he redhead meant before his face changes to that of horror as Parker reveals her element, and then right after, her plan.
Note to self, next time question people and their personal Dog Catching tactics before confronting wild dogs. But it's too late and the flame starts and the smoke begins and Corvus’ eyes are darting wildly between the dogs as he readies a leash and tries to make a split second decision. He figured he’s more well protected against biting and the like, and also Parker probably wouldn’t suffer too much with a couple of puppies shaking in her grasp, so he steps in the way of the bigger dog calling out, “Dibs on momma!”
He steps into the mother’s path confusion and the added darkness obscuring his form catching her totally off guard. Corvus crouched down like a baseball catcher, a thud coming off him as the dog slammed into him at full speed. There’s confusion immediately replaced with fury and the growling and the wild jerking begins. He feels teeth on his forearms while he forced a leash onto the large dog’s head before letting the go and wrapping the leash tightly around his fist. The dog he’s caught struggled against their bonds, barking and snarling up at them while turning to its pups and continuing to bark what he could only assume were commands to run and hide. He strained against the pooch as she began running trying to rip away by force and Corvus’ free hand flew to his pockets to pull out a bag of doggy treats. With the grace of an electrocuted sloth he managed to toss out a few of his meaty doggy treats at the feet of the mom. She finally slowed her barking, curious at the treat but still relatively suspicious of them. "How's progress with the puppies?!" he called out already tired of dog-catching.
at corvus' call of dibs (and that's fine by her. he can have the monstrosity) parker languidly moves to the side as the frightened dog barrels down the alleyway. the pups' whining has grown into frenzied barks at this point. their noses twitch, eyes widening as they scrabble away from the fire, but nervous shudders stop them in their tracks when they sense something not right with parker's cover of darkness.
she lunges forward when one of them turns their back on her. her fingers dig into the dog's side and it yelps, rears back with teeth gnashing in her face. she jerks her head back with a grunt and decidedly forces all of her weight down on the dog. its legs shiver and then give out underneath it and it snarls as it goes to the ground.
she feels a glimmer of triumph before it's squashed by a sharp pain in her shoulder. "motherfu--" she starts and then there's a tearing sound, a low whine. nyla's too-big wings thump parker on the head as she struggles with the oversized pup, talons digging into the scruff of its neck.
'hurry up,' nyla crows.
parker rips one of the collars free of her arm, ignoring the twinge in her shoulder, and buckles it around the dog. it growls under her and she grunts, pushes herself to her feet and rubs her fingers together again. at the sight of the fire in the palm of her hand, the dog's jowls, pulled back in a snarl, relax, and it puts its tail between its legs.
nyla drops the other dog as soon as parker clips the collar on that one. and by the time she looks up to check on corvus (she'd been too busy with her own tussle to worry about the frightening noises from his area), her jaw nearly drops.
"you had dog treats...this whole...time?"
she pinches the bridge of her nose and attempts a steady breath. "okay. good to know."
"do we take these back first or try to round them all up at once?"
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Post by corvus kasparian on Nov 17, 2018 2:21:15 GMT
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Corvus is happy, and very, very relieved when he finishes up with the mother and turns to Parker and does NOT see burnt up pups or smell the singe of flesh and fur. Still, he gives the pup a look over. Now that their safety is more or less secured, the mother is quick to pick up some of the treats Corvus had tossed at her and dropping at the feet of her pups. Its kind of cute. Aww motherly bonding. He looked back to Parker, confused by her statement before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I didn't pack a lot though. But they're good for calming down dogs most of the time. In my experience anyway." he explained, picking his words slowly unsure as to the importance of having dog treats and revealing such information prior to the whole CATCHING thing. Oh well.
"Lets-" he looks over to the dumpster before stepping towards Parker and handing her the mother's leash. "We can go back now since it'll make moving around the crowds easier." he crouched down, checking under the dumpster. Its a little dark and his wrist flicks forward, sparking a couple of lone flames under the dumpster but their light reveals nothing of importance. "Hopefully...these are her only babies. I wouldn't want to separate a family." He said, despite dogs becoming independent very quickly anyway. It doesn't look like anything else lived here. A glance at the temporary box fires Parker had set revealed a dying fire, thankfully. Thins seemed set now. Of course, there might be more dogs roaming but this was a solid start. He looked back at the mother who had taken a seated position with her pups. "I'm good, unless Nyla's seen anything. Philippe's been silent for a bit." he said as he moved back to his partner. "Oh, you want me to hold the leashes are do you wanna walk the happy family back?" he asked.
