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","caliHead"]I wanna love you You make it so hard not to love you So take my hand take me away Don't want to wonder what we shoulda coulda been a perfect fit a big mistake Doesnt matter I have to know either way I let my heart come undone Hold on to me before i turn and run I wanna love you The corners of your heart no ones been to I wanna know you
[attr="class","caliPost"]The day had been rather ordinary and Drakos had spent most of it if not all of it inside playing with Anya. At some point, Max had gone to sleep in the corner of the living room after the little girl had tired him out and he’d taken a break which the long-haired man could understand. He’d allowed the little girl out in their backyard for a little bit, taking it upon himself to do a little house cleaning while she played. Her squealing laughter filling the area even from where he was upstairs and it filled his heart happily even if a part of him felt like something was missing from their day to day lives. Things have been fine between his placement in Jester’s Den and making a friend within Silvertongue no matter how gloomy the younger male might be.
At the thought of Artemi a small smile grew on Drakos face, amusement the primary cause of it seeing as the young man was a constant source of entertainment. The dark-haired male seemed to be in a perpetual state of disapproval and being unimpressed by the people around him. Of course, there were those times when Artemi was very obviously awkward around people and didn’t know the first thing about socializing. Then he’d have to flick the young man or scold him about how he was supposed to act but the fair-haired male was never sure if they stuck with the dark-haired male. In fact, considering how many times he’d had to scold that particular male about the same thing over and over he was pretty sure it wasn’t working not that he really minded. Often enough times it was, as he said earlier, a great source of amusement other than the times he had to save the male from sticking his foot in his mouth.
Just as the younger male entered his thoughts, he heard a knock from downstairs and he blinked in surprise. He hesitated for a second before heading downstairs, max meeting him at the bottom of the steps with Anya on his back. Drakos lifted her giggling, squirming body into his arms securely and walked over to the door so he could see who was visiting him although he already had his suspicions. Suspicions which were confirmed when he opened the door to look into a sanguine gaze. He felt as though something was off but ignored it for the time being, instead giving the other male a warm smile as he asked cheerily, “This is a pleasant surprise…”
[attr="class","caliFoot"]run my fingers down the creases and unfold you tell me but show me how
Post by artemi zakharchenko on May 10, 2017 19:53:29 GMT
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[attr="class","temipost"]Artemi was reeling. It had all been some sort of sick... trick. A joke. Some fancy ruse meant to astonish the masses. Yes, it had been astonishing; it had been magnificently astounding to watch the hoi polloi devolve into disorder and chaos within seconds, albeit it had only been a scant taste. A mere entrée of entropy. A tiny relish of pandemonium. As soon as the threat appeared, it had been whisked away with the ease you could waft away smoke with your hand. A joke it may have been, but it undoubtedly pointed out how unprepared the populace were. And Artemi included himself in that vast, powerless group.[break][break]
Despite that entertaining event being merely a prank, an unsettled sensation continued to gnaw at his psyche. Not all of the commonfolk escaped the master illusion unscathed due to the hysteria it'd bred and... it'd only be considered kind to check up on a friend of his burdened by the responsibility of a child. At what point Artemi had began to consider that insufferable creature a friend, he hadn't noticed, but it wasn't... all that terrible. At least not when that wretched familiar of his was around. The animal was more detestable than its owner; no doubt a blatant mirror of himself. It took... restraint to deal with that foul minature bison... or whatever it was. And the child! For the love of all northern deities... he wouldn't get started on the child.
The raven-haired male closed his eyes on reaching the door, inhaling steadily through his nose. The door seemed intact, which was good. And when he knocked on it, it wasn't long until he clearly heard sounds coming from the other side.[break][break]
When Drakos emerged, he appeared very... at ease? [break][break]
Artemi studied the man quietly for a moment. He examined his blithe smile that greeted him warmly and stared intently into his eyes, scouring for a glint of something that'd betray his apparently content visage. A... pleasant surprise, did he say? This morning had been filled with surprises, but none too pleasant. The alchemist's expression twisted softly into something that could be described as slightly confused.[break][break]
"Where were you?" He questioned, a certain demanding tone to his voice. His wine red eyes narrowed a sliver as he peered past the willowy figure and into the home beyond him. Everything appeared... normal. His gaze hastily snapped back and, suddenly, Artemi straightened himself up a little stiffly. The way he swallowed, the apple in his throat bobbing, hinted a little discomfort. "Forgive my forwardness. But have you been here all the time?"
[attr="class","caliHead"]I wanna love you You make it so hard not to love you So take my hand take me away Don't want to wonder what we shoulda coulda been a perfect fit a big mistake Doesnt matter I have to know either way I let my heart come undone Hold on to me before i turn and run I wanna love you The corners of your heart no ones been to I wanna know you
[attr="class","caliPost"]Was is just him or did Artie seem a little…off his game? There was something slightly off about the young man’s posture that was sending warning bells off in Drakos’ head but he couldn’t quite understand just what it was that was bothering him. It gnawed at him though especially when he was suddenly asked where he had been. He blinked in confusion at the sudden question before cocking his head in a curious manner, beginning to bounce Anya on his hip to keep her entertained as she played with the toy in her hand. “I’ve been here the whole time, with Max and Anya. Is everything alright??” The concern was plain in his voice as he spoke, the slightest furrow beginning between his eyebrows that meant he was about to go into “mother hen” mode.
The pale haired man blinked once more before a full-on frown curled his lips and the slight furrow deepened considerably at the man’s next question. Instinctively, Drakos stepped forward and reached out to feel Artie’s head as he said, “Yes of course I have, Artemi. You know today Anya didn’t have any daycare so I had to watch her. Are you feeling okay?” He looked over the man and noticed he seemed a little ruffled and while sometimes coming off as lackadaisical Artemi tended to keep himself in rather good shape and that was considerable enough to once again put Drakos on alert. “Did something happen?”
He opened his door wider as he spoke up, “Come in and I’ll set some tea up or something. I don’t know why we’re still standing out on my doorstep.” His features were now set in a frown and Max beside him tried to wriggle from behind his partner in order to get to Artemi, insisting he had to greet the other male in his traditional manner. Ignoring the more serious air they both held instead for the excitement of seeing a friend again.
[attr="class","caliFoot"]run my fingers down the creases and unfold you tell me but show me how
Post by artemi zakharchenko on May 21, 2017 14:36:18 GMT
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It would be considered rude to smack away the unassuming hand that reached for his forehead and Artemi had enough restraint to refrain from doing so. His poise, so uncharacteristically disturbed, did however hint at the sudden closeness wasn't entirely welcome; his eyes shuddered to a slight close and his lips pursed in a gentle movement of recoil. It was almost a flinch. No sooner that the betraying slip of his composure happened, he recovered. His eyes snapped open again with their habitual sharpness and, without missing a beat, he immediately answered Drakos' inquiring into his wellbeing.[break][break]
"I'm feeling fine," he stated flatly. There was a small pause. "Just... it's nothing." Another pause, but with every passing sliver of a moment, there was something clearly growing more riled underneath the witch's skin despite his attempts at reassuming his equilibrium. Not many things swayed his self-control, but being made a fool out of was one of the rare few. "Not nothing, no. Your coven and their... their antics."[break][break]
The memory of the event, freshly painted in his psyche, was vivid and easy to recall. How the firmament was torn in two, as if it were a drop of black oil on a canvas of periwinkle watercolour, how creatures - all illusions - spilled forth and sent the common folk into a panicked frenzy. The fact that it had all been just that, a work of art, a temporal painting conjured up by a talented witch, just to toy with people... tricking Artemi himself, irked him more than anything usually did.[break][break]
Artemi gave an atypically aggressive sigh, one that was coarse with the beginnings of a frustrated growl, and he slid past Drakos without further word. A mere glance was spared for the other man's excitable familiar who had his very... particular way of greeting him. A light scowl touched his hidden features and, on cue, Deimos materialized from his shadow, placing himself in the small beast's path. Even the bird appeared on edge with how his feathers were more ruffled and unkempt than usual.[break][break]
"You know me well enough to know I don't appreciate pranks, I assume?" Artemi spoke up, making a beeline to where the kettle and tea leaves were stationed. Brewing, even if it just be simple tea, would calm him. "This one was certainly sublime."
notes, fite fite fite[break] tag, @drakos
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[attr="class","caliHead"]I wanna love you You make it so hard not to love you So take my hand take me away Don't want to wonder what we shoulda coulda been a perfect fit a big mistake Doesnt matter I have to know either way I let my heart come undone Hold on to me before i turn and run I wanna love you The corners of your heart no ones been to I wanna know you
[attr="class","caliPost"]The pale haired male was more than use to Artemi’s dislike of contact and ignored the way the other male flinched away from his reaching hand. He noted no change in the other male’s temperature but something was obviously bothering the male and so he asked what was wrong again, the concerned frown marring his features as he tried to analyze the male. He debated with himself for a while, trying to decide if he should continue pestering the male when suddenly the raven-haired man burst. Whatever he’d been holding inside finally broke through whatever damn Artie had put up and he was very much displeased. Drakos blinked at the sudden flurry of words but he understood one thing…Jester’s Den had done something they probably shouldn’t have and he sighed heavily. He could feel an oncoming headache and suddenly didn’t want to deal with whatever his friend was about to say but he couldn’t exactly ignore it so he continued to wait for Artie to enter.
Deciding Max needed to preoccupy himself with something other than Artemi he placed Anya on the ox’s back and the creature immediately stilled. He listened to the mini rant as he closed the door behind them and winced when he found out just what exactly his coven had done. He was aware his friend wasn’t a fan of jokes which was why he never explicitly played any pranks or made fun of the other male…that of course didn’t mean that he didn’t find ways to amuse himself with the man but they were always innocent.
He decided to let the male brew the tea even though the host in him wanted nothing more than to take care of the guest in his home. Max carefully picked his way back into the living room as Drakos followed behind Artemi, knowing that it was best if he gave the male his attention. He listened intently and couldn’t help the mild surprise that showed itself on his face at how much vehemence was behind the man’s words and his frown deepened considerably. “Why don’t we try to forget about whatever silly antics they’ve done and try to enjoy the rest of our day. The more you think about it the more it will wind you up.”
Drakos personally didn’t want to even know what they did to get the man this wound up. This was the exact reason he kept out of his coven’s business…as much as they had good intentions…they could sometimes be somewhat childish. However, the thought struck him that Artemi came because he might have been…concerned perhaps? He paused and looked at his friend but decided not to voice that thought…instead he asked, “You know I had nothing to do with that correct? You’re not here to think I had something to do with it right?”
[attr="class","caliFoot"]run my fingers down the creases and unfold you tell me but show me how
Post by artemi zakharchenko on May 21, 2017 17:24:04 GMT
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That was the problem though; while they had been antics, a practical joke gone too far, they weren't silly. The reason that such a deep chord had been struck in Artemi was that the intricate ruse had dredged up memories he'd not visited in a long time. Memories before he moved to Sundial. His breathing came soft, deliberate, through his nose as he tended to the tea leaves, measuring them out by practised eye into a strainer. That, however, was something he could not share and would not. While Drakos was a reluctant friend he'd somehow made, Artemi had never deigned to share too much with him regarding his beginnings. [break][break]
He was fine with pretending his fierce unsettlement was due to his distaste of being deceived. He could swallow the fact that it was attributed to something deeper, more personal.Drakos didn't know of the hamlet where he'd grown as a child nor of the fate that'd befell it. Nor of Artemi's part in the latter and the guilt he carried, so heavy that cumbersome that he'd never felt a meaningful shred of a perduring guilt since.[break][break]
What had transpired... had it been similar in the village? Had the commoners shrieked so much? Had everyone been so... powerless to stop the scourge entirely blighting the hamlet?[break][break]
Artemi drummed the fingers of both hands on the counter in an erratic beat, as noisily as he could, in some inane attempt to be louder than his own thoughts. The hissing of the kettle helped somewhat and the purifying sounds of a small girl's distant laughter in another room, too. What Drakos said was true though - the more you think about it the more it will wind you up - and the witch swallowed hard, hard enough to feel his own neck brush the inner fabric of his collar as the reflex worked.[break][break]
"There's no point dwelling on the past," he agreed in a murmur that could go missed, echoing his mother's exact words, prying them from himself with her same reluctance. And with that, he forced himself to seal the origin of his uncommon display of emotion. Artemi moved the kettle from the wood burner, hearing the airy beginnings of its piercing whistle threaten to sing, and began to pour the near-boiling water into two cups. The steam curled up from the steeping leaves, tendrils of colour taking a mere moment to bloom in the liquid, earthy colours of beige hinted with green. [break][break]
The witch, once done and the kettle back in its rightful place, closed his eyes.[break][break]
"Forgive me for that embarrassing show," he amended, the second apology he'd made so far. "That was very unbecoming of me."[break][break]
When he turned back to Drakos to offer him his tea, it did appear as so the waves of emotion that'd quietly been roiling previously had stilled. There was a palpable air that was almost melancholic intermingled with his sudden placidity, as if Artemi had pulled over his protecting veil of habitual gloom. His eyes didn't meet those of his friend's though, choosing to linger on a stray leaf of tea - shrivelled and brown - that floated innocuously about having escaped the strainer. [break][break]
Still a little distracted, the alchemist - who hadn't even been able to pour a cup of tea with a steady enough hand - didn't notice the unsaid question he was walking into. With the heaviness of someone defeated, the witch slumped into a chair near the pale-haired male.[break][break]
"Of course I know you wouldn't have had anything to do with that; there were children about." he sighed, deciding what he could at least do to make up for his slip of conduct would be to explain why he figured Drakos blameless despite it being work of his coven "You wouldn't have risked catching people so young and influential in such a... violent trickery of the eye."
notes, temi's yearly permitted amount of angst[break] tag, @drakos
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[attr="class","caliHead"]I wanna love you You make it so hard not to love you So take my hand take me away Don't want to wonder what we shoulda coulda been a perfect fit a big mistake Doesnt matter I have to know either way I let my heart come undone Hold on to me before i turn and run I wanna love you The corners of your heart no ones been to I wanna know you
[attr="class","caliPost"]There seemed to be more to that display of emotion that just a prank, something seemed to have been riled up within his dark-haired friend but Drakos had always made it a rule not to pry. People would talk when they wanted to talk and he had always respected that and so he had tried to convince the other male that it was best to simply not think of it. He heard the whispered words but decided it was best to pretend he had not heard them for worry that he would simply bring up whatever had riled the younger male again and that was the last thing he wanted to do for Artemi now. He watched as the young man seemed to recover himself as he poured them tea and allowed it, quietly watching in case his friend needed guidance once more.
When the male spoke up in apology, Drakos gave him an innocently confused look as he said, “Show? What show? As far as I know I invited a friend over for tea and he generously offered to make it for me.” In his own way, he was letting Artemi know that as far as he cared, the whole thing didn’t happen and they didn’t have to speak of it. “Now…shall we head into the living area and enjoy that which you’ve made for us?”
He walked into the living room and petted Anya’s head as she happily played with Max, sitting down contently after he took the tea offered from Artemi. Studying his face for a moment before deciding whatever had happened wasn’t completely settled but perhaps some talking would help distract the dark-haired male. Although he was put at ease to know that Artemi knew he wasn’t a part of that and hadn’t thought he’d be a part of that, granted it did concern him to hear that there had been children apart of this prank. He frowned deeply for a moment before both physically and figuratively he waved it off.
“Well that sort of thing is done with. You’re here now and it’d be a shame not to enjoy this time together.” He allowed a fond smile to curl his lips as he teasingly asked, “And what has the awkward little duckling been up to since I last saw you? If I remember correctly you’d almost gotten into an argument with some man in the street before because you’d just been blatantly starring at him with no explanation.” Those were the kind of things Drakos always had to save Artemi from and scold him about…besides starring was just plain rude.
[attr="class","caliFoot"]run my fingers down the creases and unfold you tell me but show me how
Post by artemi zakharchenko on May 28, 2017 1:40:32 GMT
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This was something Artemi had appreciated about Drakos since striking up their unlikely friendship; he didn't pry into his affairs uninvited, whether they be personal or work-related. Artemi rarely spoke out loud about being a part of Silvertongue, undertaking light mercenary work that could be entrusted to someone with such a low a rank as him, but he'd never gotten the impression that he was being judged in some way. It had passed his mind once or twice as to what Drakos honestly thought about it, but he'd never actually voiced his question. He'd be alright with not knowing, he figured.[break][break]
Perhaps he'd be better off not knowing in case the answer wouldn't be one he'd expect.[break][break]
Artemi obediently followed the pale-haired witch with his tea, leaving the kitchen and, as well, those thoughts behind.[break][break]
Again, the svelte heron appeared at his partner's side once they were in the same vicinity as Max, hoping to serve as a small deterrent should the ox's attention wander from the small girl. Artemi, however, didn't spare him or the child much of a passing glance as he sank down into the sofa near Drakos, with care so not to spill any of his infusion. He took a tentative sip of the piping liquid, still hot enough to sting the tip of his tongue warningly, but rather than move the cup away from his mouth, he kept it near his lips, letting the warm earthy aroma fan over his mouth and nose comfortingly.[break][break]
Awkward... duckling?[break][break]
He's been called many things before but... he's never been compared to a, uh... juvenile duck?[break][break]
"I beg your pardon... but duckling?" Over the brim of his cup, Artemi gave the other witch a look that questioned his intelligence. He held it a moment, his eyebrows gently furrowed, and looked down into the green-tinted beverage, to the leaves that gathered at the very bottom. "It's not an argument if there's only one person raising their voice and making noise." A huff left his lips. "And besides, I hadn't been... staring. I was just looking."[break][break]
Ah, yes. Looking intently. Very closely. Watching every miniscule detail of the curious person. He'd been waiting for someone, that much Artemi could tell, and it'd been interesting to watch how his impatience steadily bled into his body language. How he'd begun to fidget with his shirt sleeve buttons and shift about in his feet, to spare glances for the nearest clock without letting near a minute pass, and then begin to pace slightly and let a certain irritation take a hold. It'd just been unfortunate that he'd chose to take that annoyance out on an innocent bystander who had merely been looking in his direction.[break][break]
"I haven't been up to too much..." Work, mostly, but he didn't talk about work. "Practising alchemy - I've learnt a new potion, actually - and made a couple of new acquaintances. A productive week."[break][break]
A good week, even... if it hadn't been for the sky appearing to rend and spew forth monsters. That had put a damper on things.[break][break]
"And yourself? Are you still having trouble... finding a babysitter?"
notes, duckling ;u;[break] tag, @drakos
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