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 ANDREA ROMANO on Feb 15, 2020 22:25:00 GMT
Great at Crime
Andrea Romano
Andrea sighed looking around the city center what am I doing? She had recently come into contact with August, a man with a similar story to her own.they both had experienced the life of organized crime and found their way to Silvertongue. He interacted with her with open arms, constantly flirting with her. Something would never admit to but that she rather enjoyed, that a small part of her, a hopeful part didn't want him to stop. She shook her head god, what am I thinking? She let out a deep sigh at her own behavior. This was ridiculous, she was acting like a teenage girl with a crush, something she had long since abandoned the hope of having. So what exactly was she doing here? She was meeting with August at the library to discuss their seemingly intermingled past. You see, her father thought of himself as a bit of a bigshot criminal. Unfortunately, so did other people. Glancing around the square she took note of the amount of Helios Knights wandering about near the entrance to their hall. She couldn't help but tisk softly to herself as she leaned her head down weaving through the crowd to make her way to the library. As she reached the front door she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, partly due to the rush of the crowd at her sides but admittedly, also due to the man she was meeting here. Pushing in the doors she made her way to a table off to the side but still visible to the door. Softly drumming her hands on the table she waited for him to arrive. August Rysh
Last Edit: Feb 17, 2020 19:03:09 GMT by ANDREA ROMANO
Great at Crime [break] i'll never say sorry, cause i'll never be free
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"Shit! Shit, i'm late!"
[break]
The boy ran through the street, scraggly hair still damp and, honestly, looking like a mop atop his head. At it's best. He haphazardly spun and slid his way through the crowds of people, a coffee in each hand and a pocket full of totally-legally-obtained creamers and sugar. His shoulders bumped, his shoes scuffed, and from the outside, he would look like a complete mess.
[break]
He was on the inside, too.
[break]
"Sorry! Apologies! I'll, uh...make it up to you later! Complete stranger!"
[break]
After an embarrassing amount of time, August came to the entrance of the library. He took some time to organize himself, putting his clothes back in order and deciding which coffee still had more in it. He was still debating whether that was the one he'd give or keep. Afterwards, he would walk into the library, with all the obviously not fake confidence he could muster. And sure enough, there she was. A table, just off to the side and almost tucked away.
[break]
Every single time he saw her, it was like the first. And it stole his breath away, just like the first. Damn near brought him to his knees. She made his heart race, his entire system kick itself into fight or flight. She was perfect. Yes, he knew that there was no such thing as general perfection, obviously. But personal perfection was achievable. He could look at her for days and he wouldn't find a single flaw. Nothing but upsides, as far as he was concerned. Everything moved in slow motion. The tap of her fingers on the table made time with the steady thump of his heart. He was gonna make an ass of himself. Oh god, he should run. Before she caught sight of him and he had the potential to mess this up.
[break]
His legs took a shaky, small step forward. And then another. And another. And before he knew it he was at the table, setting the coffees down and sliding into a seat opposite Andrea. Quick, say something witty, idiot!
She couldn’t help but tap a rhythm on the table as she waited for August to join her. Fuck... why am I so nervous? Letting out a deep sigh she shook her head trying to get rid of these thoughts, to calm this ridiculous line of thinking. [break] Andrea looked up as two cups were sat in front of her, and he sat there giving her this ridiculous smile. Good, at least he was nervous too. She couldn't help herself she smirked, smirked at him. As much as she hated the way her father raised her, it did give her confidence."Awe, are you nervous dear?" She practically purred this out to him. God messing with people was fun. She couldn't help herself maybe a part of her thought that if she could make him squirm it would make her feel less nervous about all these... feelings she was having for him. [break] Glancing down at the coffee she nodded, "Thanks for this." she took a sip of the coffee closest to here and squinted a bit. God, this is bitter, gross. Yeah, she'd admit it she had a sweet tooth and coffee was no exception there. If she had it her way coffee would be light and sweet, that's how it should be.[break] How does small talk work again, man its so much easier to let others lead the conversation. I can talk and manipulate but starting a conversation, especially small talk, I'm awful at. "how are you August?"
great at crime [break] i'll never be sorry, cause i'll never be free
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As August settled into the chair, he noticed the look on Andrea's face. Good, thank god he wasn't the only nervous one. Of course, then she had to make a comment, practically purring it out, the sarcasm dripping off every syllable of her sentence. Quick, idiot, say something smarmy back![break][break]
"I'm the nervous one? Andrea, my dear, that sentiment was so coated in suggestion i'd be crossed if I didn't think you were taking a little bit of joy in the fact. Sadly, er, happily I should say, it would appear i'm not alone."[break][break]
Fucking killed it.[break][break]
August took a swig of the jet fuel coffee, the bitter taste flooding his mouth, sticking to every tastebud as it rolled itself to the back of his mouth. Quickly swallowing, August would exhale a barely noticeable single plume of steam, an aftereffect from the chill outdoors meeting the burning heat of the coffee. He would look across the table to Andrea, noting the squint. Others probably wouldn't notice, but August had spent years attuning himself to the slightest changes of people's expressions. Believe it or not, being a pickpocket does that to you.[break][break]
He also may have memorized the details of Andrea's face and become overly familiar with the tiniest displays of her emotions. It was rare that emotion got far enough to reach the surface. Whether it was positive or negative emotion, it was beautiful.[break][break]
"Oh, sorry. I snagged a few of these if you want 'em."[break][break]
August would reach into his pocket, shifting his posture to put one leg into the chair, hanging the other leg from the front to reach fully into the pocket. He would grab a handful of creamers and sugar packets and slide them onto the middle of the table. After, he would grab his coffee and take another sip, letting the bitterness overwhelm his again, a slim smile making it's way to his face. He had so few comforts in this world, and here he was enjoying one, and in the presence of another. As Andrea spoke, he would turn to look her in the eyes, the smile on his face growing wider.[break][break]
"Well, i'm sipping coffee in a beautiful library with you. I can't complain. How are you, Andrea? Any reason for calling me here, or...did you just want someone to flirt with?" the boy would say, the smile on his face sliding into a smirk that was just shy of smug.
Her smirk faltered for a moment as he called her out for being nervous as well, how dare he, I work very hard for such things to go unnoticed.Though, as he notes that she was taking joy in his nervousness the smirk spread across her face "Oh, I most certainly am enjoying it darling, I cant help but want to make you squirm at least a bit." [break] She watches as he takes a swig of his coffee he unlike her seemed to enjoy the bitter taste of the plain coffee. "Oh, sorry. I snagged a few of these if you want 'em." She looks down to see a pile of creams and sugar in front of her. She laughed softly to herself. [break] "Did you steal these?" A soft smile spread onto her face, one she rarely showed to people but felt safe showing him. He had that effect on her, she felt like who she was, was good enough, that she needn't hide who she truely was or what had take place in her past. Taking a few moments she took in the image of the man in front of her. She had to admit that he was very attractive, the way his eyes shown made her heart beat.[break] Flirting? She rose an eyebrow to him. "flirting? Is that what we're doing?" she stopped momentarily to give him a sly look. "To be honest, I wanted to see you... because, well, you and I seem to have an understanding of eachothers pasts. I quite enjoy being able to talk honestly with someone." As she said this she trailed her finger along the rim of the cup, giving herself a distraction from whatever face he would make in reply to this bit of honesty.
great at crime [break] i'll never be sorry, cause i'll never be free
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August saw Andrea's smile falter as he pushed her buttons on the topic of being nervous, which only served to make his smile spread. He could do this for days, this back and forth. It was beautiful, and though he'd never admit it, it made his heart flutter.[break][break]
"...steal is such a...strong word. I...liberated these sugars. They'll never miss them." August would say, winking slyly at Andrea. This was more or less an every day practice for him. What was it they said? Old habits die hard. [break][break]
"Oh, is that not..." he would say, pausing for a few seconds to raise an eyebrow and point between the two. "Is that not what this is? Shame, here I thought I was being heavy handed. If you need a more obvious sign I could reach across the table and plant a kiss on you."[break][break] The boy would laugh a little to himself. He would kill to see the look on her face if he actually did that. He'd probably end up with a slap in the face. Or worse. But god, would it be worth it. Not just to see the look on her face, but also to kiss her. He'd daydreamed about the opportunity more than he'd ever admit. He had fifty different scenarios, and each of them was picture perfect.[break][break]
The boy's other eyebrow would raise at Andrea's continued statement and his eyes would widen slightly. His cheeks would flush, if only momentarily. He was...at a little bit of a loss, honestly. Andrea was very rarely open and forward. This was serious. She was genuine. His eyes tracked her finger tracing the rim of the cup as her own eyes traveled, trying to latch on to anything that wasn't him. Vulnerability from the veritable ice queen, the boss's daughter. It made him happy. Not proud, but genuinely happy.[break][break]
It meant she trusted him. It meant she felt comfortable and safe around him, at least in a small aspect. And he would sooner die than betray that.[break][break]
"Our history..." the boy would say, putting one hand in his shaggy hair, his cheeks flushing just a little bit more as he realized his own phrasing. "Our pasts. Yeah, of course. Which bit of our pasts do you wanna touch on?" he'd continue, his speech noticeably jilted. He wasn't upset with her in the least bit, but...the past was a touchy subject with August. He still woke in cold sweats and screams on off nights. He still preferred to sleep against a wall, on the floor and next to an exit. His hands reflexively flexed around his cup, the hand in his hair reaching lightning quick to tap each of his pockets under the table. He could practically feel his eyes dilate, his breath beginning to shake. His hand next made it's way to his neck, his fingers tangling in the necklace he never took off. Dangling from the necklace was a medallion with the Gebo rune carved into it. It was rusted to all hell, battered and barely pieced together. For all intents and purposes, it was trash.[break][break]
It was also the last thing he had from his sister.
She laughed, an honest to god laugh. This was rare to Andrea but, she seemed to do a lot of rare things around August. "Liberated you say? Well, thank you, August," the smile didn't leave her face as she said this. "Guess you and I both still have bad habits hmm?" She had to admit at times she would do small "illegal" things as well just to see if she could. From pickpocketing to graffiti, though she had to admit that one was her favorite. [break] " If you need a more obvious sign I could reach across the table and plant a kiss on you." [break] At this, her eyes snapped up towards him a blush quickly spreading across her face, her eyes narrowed at him trying to hide her embarrassment "you." taking in a breath she tried to collect herself, "you wouldn't." She thought about August for a moment "don't take that as a challenge. It's not one, I promise." [break] Noticing out of the corner of her eye how his body language changed, how nervous he got at the mention of their past she looked more directly at him. "I don't want to dive deep into it. I'm not proud either of what lies there, If you were looking for it you might notice the slight shaken look in her eyes, it didn't spread further than that but, it showed that what has happened affected her. "I really just wanted to talk to someone who-" she took a moment preparing to admit more to him, that she wanted to see him in particular not just someone who had the same past. "someone who understands and, I thought who better than you." [break] She scowled a bit I can't believe I'm admitting this to him of all people "I," she almost grimaced, "wanted to see you August." She started to tap a rhythm with her fingernails again. God, this made her uncomfortable.
great at crime [break] i'll never be sorry, cause i'll never be free
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August's smile would widen immensely at the genuine laugh Andrea let slip. It was rare that she show emotion. Rarer still that she laugh. It was some kind of personal miracle to hear and see. He'd compare it to an angel chorus if that wasn't so cliche.[break][break]
"BAD habits? I prefer the term useful, Andrea." the boy would say, his smile slipping into it's more coy looking variant.[break][break]
It, of course, changed right back when he saw her eyes snap upwards and the blush race across her face, almost desperate and hungry in it's attempt to paint her face red. She stuttered, and August got a chance to see her caught not only fully off guard, but also thoroughly embarrassed. She was...God, she was...[break][break]
She was the cutest tomato he had ever seen.[break][break]
At the word 'wouldn't', August would begin to push himself up and crawl halfway across the table before the managed to push out the last bit of her sentiment, forcing August to retreat and retract back to his previous position in the chair. "Good thing you got those words out before...well, you get it."[break][break]
The boy would retract the hand wrapped in his necklace, putting both hands on the table, wrapped into each other, his knuckles noticeably white. "Pride is...fickle" the boy would say after a brief silence, his eyes lifting to meet Andrea's. "Yeah, I can understand that. Not many would understand what i've been through, or what you've been through. What we've been through. There's a...lot of history. Any particular part you wanna touch on?" he would ask, the light slowly returning to his eyes.[break] [break]
"Aww, i'm honored. If I didn't know better, i'd think you might feel something for me in there, Andrea. But I wanted to see you, too. In case that wasn't already obvious." August would say, the crooked smile creeping back to his face after returning the sentiment.
"Hmm," she hummed softly to herself, "maybe it's just mine that are bad habits." A smirk steadily grew across her face as she thought of her weekend activities. [break] Oh god he's moving towards me, he's not going to, is he? Andrea's blush would grow to a bright red at this point seeing him move so close to her. At her interjection, though he begins to move away, her face contorted halfway between a pout and a glare. what are you doing to me? [break]
She shook her head trying to clear away how much he had flustered her. Unfortunately, she knew he would have taken notice already and began to prepare for yet another flirty comment to come flying from his mouth. [break] "Pride is...fickle" [break] she let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, "yeah," her eyes drifted away from the man across from her "that it is." [break] She hated to admit that a bit of her was still proud of her father, that after everything she knew, everything she had been put through to be the perfect bosses daughter, that she still cared so much for him. Her father had a hold on her, one that was incredibly hard to break. His sway gnawed at her, as she was acutely aware that if he tried there wasn't much he couldn't get her to do. Maybe that's why she didn't see him much anymore. [break] Her hands clenched on the edge of the table, as though if she didn't hold herself down she would begin to float away. Clearing her throat she shook her head at him, "you're an idiot you know that right?" Her eyes narrowed towards him slightly, her voice beginning to fade more into a mumble, "can you just take the hint that I asked you to meet me here so I could see you, not because I wanted something in particular." [break] After saying this Andrea's eyes focused on anything but August, as much as she had wanted to see him admitting it, was something else.
great at crime [break] i'll never be sorry, cause i'll never be free
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The boy would smirk at Andrea's words. "Oh? And just what are these bad habits you seem to reminisce so fondly about"?" the boy would say, placing a hand under his chin as he propped himself up, the other hand raising the cup to his lips for another drink.[break][break]
Upon leaning in, August would note the blush spreading like wildfire across Andrea's cheeks. He would never admit it, but he loved the way she looked when she blushed. The deep red contrasted so well against her skin, and it played beautifully with her eyes, making them sparkle, something August could pick up even now as they swapped back and forth between his own rapidly. And as he moved away, her face betrayed her yet again. The top half of her face contorted into a glare that did it's best to be menacing, and it would have turned the blood in his veins to ice if not for the lower half of her face, her lips pursing into a pout she was trying her very best to quell.[break][break]
On the one hand, he might end up getting punched. On the other, it made his heart beat fast in his chest to make her this flustered. Eh, about equals out.[break][break]
August would lean back in his seat at being called an idiot, his eyes widening a little bit at her blunt phrasing. She sounded borderline frustrated at him, not at all his intention. Her voice hushed itself into a mumble, and her eyes darted around, taking in the beautiful background of the library. Her body tensed itself, her hands gripping at the table edge like it was grounding. Yeah, okay, he understood.[break][break]
"I... i'm flattered, Andrea. Honestly. It means a lot that you would just want to see me." the boy would say, his own gaze dropping, one hand finding itself entangled into the roots of his hair while the other brushed over the graffiti carved into the table, digging for meaning like he was trying to read braille.[break][break]
Or maybe he was trying to find distraction.[break][break]
"I enjoy seeing you, Andrea. Spending time with you makes me feel happy. And... not alone. You make me feel...understood."
Now could she have simply told him about her artistic endeavors? Yes, is that what she did? God no, instead she leaning into him, as though she was going to tell him a secret, a smirk falling onto her face like the cat who ate the canary. "perhaps I'll show you sometime, she paused, " you know, if you prove yourself to be good enough company. It is something I hold quite dear after all."
This was a challenge, plain to see, she hoped that he wouldn't back down from it, because ultimately she did want to see him more.
She took note of the seemingly panicked look on his face and couldn't help but wonder if she been a bit too harsh, he had frustrated her sure but, the second half of her sentence was the more important part.
She was gripping onto the table for dear life, as though it was the only keeping her grounded to this conversation and it honestly felt as though it was. Feelings were not Andrea's strong suit, she had trained herself for years to ignore them and pretend they didn't exist, which means being so open about them made her want to run.
"I... I'm flattered, Andrea. Honestly. It means a lot that you would just want to see me." She watched him fidget for a bit before he continued "I enjoy seeing you, Andrea. Spending time with you makes me feel happy. And... not alone. You make me feel...understood."
The blush once again returns to her face this time a soft pink the painted her cheekbones and made her look softer than she normally would. A soft smile grew onto her face that didn't stop her from fidgeting though, she was still avoiding his eyes. "I'm glad August..." she paused for a moment chewing on her lip "I feel the same." With this she glanced up at him looking a lot more vulnerable than she normally did but, that matched how she felt.
Great at Crime [break] i'll never be sorry, cause i'll never be free
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August took note of the look on her face, much akin to a predator staring down it's prey. She enjoyed being the one in control of the situation, that much was clear. However, what he didn't expect was the borderline vicious smirk on her face, the toothy grin that, had this been some sort of cartoon, would have been drawn with razor sharp shark teeth rather than the normal pearly whites.[break][break]
She was trying to bait out a whining response from him, he was certain of it. She had already said that she enjoyed his company enough to spend time with him just for the sake of spending time with him. At the cat-like grin, the boy would shrug nonchalantly. "If you say so. If it's something you hold that dear, perhaps it's best that it stays something you partake of alone, Andrea. I wouldn't want to step on any toes or anything, y'know?" the boy would say, a sly grin overtaking his face despite his best attempts to not let it onto the surface.[break][break]
Her knuckles were a ghastly white as she gripped the table, seeming dazed and almost lightheaded. It was clear to him that she combated her feelings regularly. It was like her mind had developed an immune system that fought her own emotions like a disease. Letting them out must've been not only difficult, but frightening. She seemed like she was in some sort of state of shock.[break][break]
A soft blush took over her cheeks, and a small smile grew on her lips. Her fidgeting grew more intense as she started to gnaw on her lip, her eyes still doing everything possible to avoid his own. As he had this thought, as if to spite him, she looked up, her face displaying a rare moment of sheer vulnerability. The boy's own face would display incredible surprise in the first moment before he composed himself. Rather than reply, he would just smile. An honest, wide smile that seemed to light up the air around him.
