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.
The Hovel was just as she remembered it to be when she was a little girl. Full of life and with a few skeevy individuals who knew better than to touch someone that didn't seem like an easy mark. Arion often wondered why she chose to come to the Hovel for her shopping instead of going into the Central Plaza like most others of her station would have. In truth, it would've been easier for her and less dangerous if she did so. But this was also a way for her to remember where she'd come from and to interact with the people that she'd grown up with.
Just because she became a Helios Knight didn't mean that she was any different from them in any way.
She just had more duties and responsibilities than the average witch and that was something that she brought upon herself.
Don't let those thoughts dampen your mood, it's hot pot night, remember?
A chuckle escaped her as she agreed with her familiar's sentiments. She bought ingredients for Loraina to make them dinner tonight. Despite her many other talents on the battlefield, the kitchen was an entirely different field and she wasn't exactly versatile in its uses. So she enlisted the help of her friend to teach her how to make some dishes that she loved as a child.
But as she continued walking, her train of thought came to a stuttering halt. She could hear something. Music. A beautiful voice accompanying a beautiful song which seemed to fill her every sense and pull her in the direction of its noise. She was enraptured and could barely hear Arion's voice in the back of her mind as she continued down an alleyway.
Pulled into a lull by the melodic tones, every nerve in her body screamed for her to turn away but she wanted to hear or see the source of this song. And yet once she turned a corner and noticed someone singing to another person who seemed in a daze just as she was, the trance was broken. A burning fire spread throughout Valencia's body and her hand loosened from the shopping bag. It dropped to the ground and she was moving with as much speed as she could muster to grab the singer by their robes and hold them against the alleywall.
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
"Sing to me."
Okay so Anass had heard some weird requests in his time. This one? Not as strange and you'd think. He regarded the middle aged drunk man with scrutiny, then eyed the pocket where his wallet was. They negotiated a price, and Anass felt his soul grow heavy in his chest. He was afraid of course of falling back into old habits constantly, and here he was indulging the habit once more just to earn a few bucks to better himself. But the heat in his apartment was broken, and it got cold at night, so he felt he deserved to fix it.
So he began to sing, something simple and sweet that quickly entranced the man before him. He felt he was at a good volume, a good speed, but apparently not. While he was distracted he'd let his guard down, and found himself shoved into a wall. As if this wasn't bad enough, it was a woman. He'd hardly heard her and instead froze up with a panicked expression, assuming he was being assaulted. Instead, when it finally registered what she'd said, he glanced around her to the drunk guy.
The guy, startled out of his episode, dropped the agreed upon cash and bolted. Anass pointed to the money on the ground, hoping a breeze wouldn't blow by.
Valencia's eyes narrowed as she stared at the man in front of her. Spellsingers. She'd felt that familiar lull once before and the pull to seek something or someone that she wouldn't have normally felt. That tug in her chest and blank state of mind where she couldn't feel but she knew something was wrong. It made her blood boil that someone would so carelessly use their —.
She felt something tug at her sleeve and glanced back in time to see Arion in all of his glory. Her horse stood there with his mane ablaze and knelt his head to stare her in the eyes. His gaze said it all. He wanted her to let him go. But she couldn't and even though she barely registered the man who fled the alleyway or the money on the ground, she just couldn't.
"Valencia," he said aloud. "Let him go."
Her grip loosened and she slowly lowered him to the ground, turning around to pick up the money. It was grimy and dirtied from being dropped amidst trash. And she was fairly certain that it would've needed a good airing out from the amount of alcohol she could smell.
"You were doing this for money."
She was asking but it came out as a statement, possibly even an accusation and anyone with eyes could see that she wasn't entirely sold on letting him go. Arion stayed silent and looked between them before turning his gaze to the young man in question. It seemed that not even her familiar trusted her in the presence of a spellsinger, not by herself at the very least. If Arion was human, he would have frowned because it wasn't often that Valencia lost control like this.
The look in her eyes when she held him was the expression of someone ready to kill.
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
Admittedly his gaze was focused entirely on the money. It wouldn't seem like much, but for him it was a lifeline. He was sucked back into this trashy world no matter how hard he tried to pull out, and the grim set of his mouth would reveal how much he needed it honestly.
"Yup."
Was his oh so eloquent response. But then? Then he got mad. He dusted himself off and straightened up, and reached forward to snatch the money away from her. He grit his teeth and turned his back to her for a moment, shoulders hunched as he counted out one hundred...two....three.....good. It was all there. He sighed and shoved the money in his pocket, loose bills crinkling in the otherwise silent alley.
"We can't all be well off, where do you think we are? I don't exactly live on the hill in the residential district. If you have to know my water heaters busted and I'm strapped for cash right now."
He wouldn't tell her of the nights he'd been going hungry, of the pains he suffered, of the sleepless nights these past few spent shivering no matter how many blankets he managed to find. It wasn't worth it, he didn't need her pity.
"Listen are we done here or is your hatred of spellsingers going to end up killing me because if so then get it over with and end this miserable existence I just love to call my life."
Alarm spread through Arion like wildfire because in all of her years of drawing breath on Salem's soil, no one ever snatched from Valencia Godfrey. Her eyes narrowed to the point where they could've been slits. She took in his physique and the way that he spoke but something inside of her couldn't erase the effect that the song had over her.
Spellsingers.
The whole lot of them were vexing and absolutely unnecessary and she would've rather they'd been done away w—
Valencia.
She snapped back to reality and drew in a deep yet shaky breath. Even if her despise for spellspingers was so great, she couldn't ignore someone that was in need of help. Dire need if his appearance was any indication. That money wouldn't have been enough to last him. She'd known, considering that she walked these streets many times before. And despite what she felt about him, he was right. It was hard to survive in the Hovel. And most people had to fight tooth and nail for the things that they had.
"Answer my questions with honesty and in sentences with a maximum of ten words."
Arion looked to her and would've breathed a sigh of relief as he vanished into the realm of familiars.
"When was the last time that you've eaten?"
She held up one finger.
"Were you only singing out of a request by that man?"
She held up a second finger.
"What did you need the money for?"
A third finger.
"And how much were you to receive in exchange for your services."
The word 'services' said with a clipped tone and remarkably, it took all of her strength not to want to wrap her hands around his throat and fulfill his wish.
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
He glanced at her with an argument in his eyes, prepared to bitch her out for demanding shit of him so soon after he'd scraped his voice up by singing so damn much. But then she plowed right on, and he was tired, and he closed his eyes and sighed.
"None of your business, he may have wanted a blowie I don't know, water heater is busted, and three hundred flat."
He frowned down at his hands though, wondering where here was going to get the other money. He'd have to....
He'd have to do this shit all over again. Again.
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sighed, looking at the sky and wishing that he smoked so that he'd have something to do with his mouth and hands. Anything really, just for a distraction. He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face, shaking his head back and forth slowly.
"Listen you got what you wanted, I'll give you a free hit then leave me alone okay? I don't need your pity."
There were quite a few things that Valencia could've said. Many that she could've done and maybe she could have just walked away from this and saved herself the headache. That would've been a lot better than going off the rails. No one would've been able to prove that she had a moment of weakness and if he was as pathetic as she thought he w--
You're doing what ifs again, Arion said.
And she knew and she hated it.
She hated it for two reasons.
The first was that she let herself lose it just because she heard him singing. The melodious tune was one that haunted her every waking moment. But when she thought of the second reason, it only served to make her blood boil and this wasn't the time for hotheadedness. It was a time for calm reasoning and understanding because she wasn't the only one having a bad night.
"I'll say this to you in the nicest way possible," she told him. "Shut the fuck up."
One of her hands rested on her hip and the other squeezed the bridge of her nose.
"You need help, whether you want it or whether you know it, you need serious help."
People with bravado were her bane and she was one of them. But her fatal flaw was never being able to turn away from someone that was in need.
"But of course, singing for a drunkard or sucking someone's dick would be better than accepting a person's pity," she continued. "Is that because it helps your pride or because it still lets you be the victim?"
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
If there was any time to bare his fangs and fight, now was the time. But he wouldn't, because then he would be admitting defeat. He was used to the slums, used to being cold and hungry. Because people like him? In his situation? Often went cold and hungry even though they had a roof over their heads. It was just the way things went, no matter how hard they tried, and try he really did. But to hear it from a woman he just met, who clearly wanted nothing to do with him except some weird sense of duty that she had?
He really couldn't stand her already.
"It's because it's a living and it's the only thing I've ever been good for. Just ask the clientele, but hey I'm turning over a new leaf, just need a bit of leeway to do so and some missions are just too high level for me."
He tugged a lock of hair that was getting a bit too long for his tastes, a bit too harshly for his liking but it kept him from getting ahead of himself. Kept his tongue in check. He shrugged though and frowned, rubbing his face.
"Insulting strangers though, that a pastime for you? Cause you sure as shit are bothering me."
"Only when those strangers are as infuriating as you."
She took a deep breath and then exhaled. The fire building up in her gut would've been strong enough to be seen through her mouth after awhile. And she wasn't interested in setting someone afire by spitting fire. That would've been distasteful. Almost as distasteful as his attitude which was gradually becoming clearer ---
Valencia.
I know.
"You're turning over a new leaf and yet you say that this is all you've ever been good for," she said. "I may be bothering you but maybe its because no one has ever given you a good kick in the ass before."
Valencia!
I know what I'm doing.
Valencia walked closer and looked him straight in the eye. In the back of her mind, she could feel Arion pleading and begging for her to just turn around and walk away. If she continued down this path as she was right now then there wouldn't be anything boding well for either of them. Her body felt warm and she knew that anger was guiding her but as she got a better look at him, the anger seemed to die down and vanish almost completely.
"You--"
She reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose and shook her head.
"I hate spellsingers, that much is true," she admitted. "But my reason for hating them has nothing to do with you. I was wrong for taking my anger out on someone who didn't deserve it."
She sighed.
"This isn't a charity case and to be fair, I threw away what sense of pride and duty I had when I almost crushed your throat."
Valencia rubbed her face and felt the head radiating from her hands.
"I bother you, what you are vexes me, but that doesn't mean you're not human. You want leeway, this is it. I help you and once its done, you can just scurry off and this'll be just a bad dream for the both of us."
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
A good kick in the ass? He raised a brow, he'd been "kicked in the ass" plenty of times before, and nearly opened his mouth to say so, but hesitated. His private life could stay that way, private. He felt tired, the bags under his eyes weighing him down and reminding him of nights lost and gone. He closed his eyes as she approached, waited for a hit that he didn't know wasn't coming. He braced himself for what wasn't to come, held his breath, then opened his eyes again when she spoke.
He was a bit....confused.
He furrowed his brow, took a look at her, and pursed his lips. She was offering help, which he could begrudgingly admit that he needed. But why? He wanted to ask, but what he could say was this.
"Why do you want to offer me money? I need 200 and that's not exactly cheap."
He shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets and leaned back on his heels, waiting for an explanation.
Why almost always seemed to be the most difficult question for her to answer.
Ever since she was a little girl, it was always what she wanted to do. What she had to do. She never questioned why until all the chips were down and her own reality was shaken to its core. And now he was asking her why and she didn't have an answer. Valencia didn't have an answer and it left her speechless. She looked down and the heat receded from her hands. She felt warm but she didn't feel hot anymore. It wasn't as if she had to do any of this. There was no record of her doing anything and she could've just walked away.
So why?
"I'm not just offering you money," she said. "I'm giving you what you asked for. Leeway."
She folded her arms across her chest and sighed. It was much easier for her to say this when she didn't have to look at him. Didn't have to see what she had done or witness the person that she assaulted out of anger towards another. But life lessons demanded uncomfortable situations. So she looked at him and felt the constricting weight of guilt on her chest.
"I haven't lived your life and I haven't walked in your shoes."
Her grip on her forearm tightened at the very thought of it. There was a time where she just wanted to leave everything behind.
"But if this is the way that you're living, I'm guessing you could use a break or two."
it's easier when you know you'll be fine on your own
Honestly, a break or two sounded nice. But if she was offering something like this, he felt he owed her an explanation. Especially since he was considering accepting it. He considered his options, sighed, and weighed them some more. He mulled this over, then kicked at the ground and groaned.
"No, you haven't. But I'm kind of a cliche. Grew up in a racist orphanage, ran away, got attacked by wild dogs then ran away from the hospital to here."
He spread out his arms, looking around as though this were someplace...grand.
"It was better than there somehow. I was young and stupid though, got hungry easy. Learned to steal early, learned to beg earlier. Prostitute by 16, men like young flesh which is fucking disgusting when you think about it, but in my line of work you learn not to think about it. Now....I'm sick of it. I still need it to make ends meet because it's not enough, joining a coven isn't enough. Missions aren't plentiful enough. So there, you've basically walked in my shoes now, because it isn't a story you probably haven't heard a million times before now."
He shrugged, shoving his hands back in his pockets and kicking at the ground again. He ducked his head down, sighing softly and waiting for her say something, anything.
