Once her customer is taken care of and they had negotiated a price (He was to fetch her fresh cat’s claw from his side of the forest for the next couple of weeks...and as many newts as he could get his little hands on.) Naya washes the blood off her hands and dries them on her apron. As she is cleaning off the table and ritual site, the sound of muted music trickles into shop. “What…?” she murmurs, eyebrows knitting together as she goes to the window, shifting the curtain to better examine the situation.
...There was an angel in the square. An actual, real life, goddamn angel in the square.
Naya had only ever seen a handful before and with good reason. While there weren’t any laws prohibiting certain races from entering Minora, it was common knowledge that the children of light were looked down on as lesser beings by most of the town folk. Curiosity wins out and the witch pulls on her gloves and heavy wool coat, winding a dark scarf around her neck before heading out into the cold, being sure to lock the door behind her, even though it wasn't really necessary. The shop was weighed down with no less than half a dozen warding and protection spells. It could hold it's own against most intruders.
The angel continues his song, either oblivious or heedless of the dark looks that he’s getting from all manner of creatures. There is group of children giggling and swaying around him, also naive to what a peculiar sight they make. Honestly, the kids were probably the only reason a street brawl hadn’t started up yet.
There is also a creature in a lovely set of armor behind them, but Naya can’t make out their features through the helmet.
“Excuse me, bird beast,” Naya starts when the child of light finishes his song. The witch muscles her way through the crowd and stands closer than what is considered polite, appraising the angel. God, he was so clean looking, it was almost hateful. Her hand snaps forward and she runs it over the tip of his wing, marveling at the soft, downy texture. “What price would I have to pay for ten of these feathers?”
In reality the human wanted a whole wing, but he would probably make a scene if she asked for that. Oh, but she could make so many potions and Caezel would be so jealous. Were angel bones hollow like birds, or were they just like humans? Was their magic in their blood like hers, or did they draw it from a different source? So many questions. Maybe she’d visit a battlefield soon and pilfer a fresh angel cadaver. Wouldn’t it be enchanting, to dissect one and find out what made them tick?
But for the most part she tried not to harm the living (well, animals and werewolves excluded...), so she settled on tugging insistently on his wing, firm but not hard enough to cause much discomfort. “Well?” she asked impatiently, her dark green eyes meeting his much brighter ones.
@Jangel13 My character is at her shop (In a border town called Minora!) and I think @Slendy's character Don is leaving a graveyard on his way to find a drink or two. Other than that I think everyone else is in search of a certain red headed angel. ;)
Naya is fitting a fresh sheet over the table when the bell chimes, followed by one flash of blue light that signified one guest; human species. "Come in, come in," she calls, smoothing out the wrinkles in the linen before turning and scowling at her new guest. "No. Absolutely not."
"B-but miss, please!" Begged a little boy, his round eyes beseeching as he clutched something covered in a gray cloth close to his chest. Against her better judgement the brunette crosses over and lifts the scrap of fabric, her scowl deepening at the sight of the dead starling that lay underneath. "I only want--"
"No," Naya interrupts, dropping the cloth. "I don't bring back the dead. Everyone knows that."
"But I only need a minute!" The child continues, heedless of her protests. "Please miss, I've had him for years and he died while I was away. I only...," the little human trails off, lip trembling and eyes going watery. "...I only want to say goodbye."
The witch falters for a moment, cursing the bit of softness she still has left for the little ones of this world. "Go fetch me a field mouse. And be quick about it, boy," she orders, taking the corpse from him. The child nods enthusiastically, racing back out into the cold to do as she says.
When he returns Naya had the little song bird spread out on the slab, a triangle of salt, lavender, and bone dust drawn out around it. "I found one," the boy tells her, holding out the tiny beast held firmly in his hands. Its little breaths are frantic and it squirms wildly in his grasp.
"Good. You know what must be done," she says, glancing between the mouse and the boy. "You can not buy a life without a life."
The boy looks horrified. "Can't you do it?"
"No, boy. It has to be you," she huffs, quirking a brow at him. "Get on with it or get out. I can't spend all morning on this."
He hesitates a moment longer and Naya is about to make him leave when he finally does the deed, the mouse's neck snapping with a sickening crack. "Good," she tells him, her voice gentler than before as she eases the creature from his hands. With deft fingers the witch pops the head off and puts it at the top of the triangle, followed by placing the heart and lungs at the other two points. Wordlessly she pulls her dagger from it's place on her hip and slices her palm, watching intently as the blood begins to well up. Gingerly she dips a finger in the liquid, glancing at her open grimoire before drawing the appropriate runes around the corpse.
She feels it welling up under her skin, an electric current that hums louder and louder until it overwhelms her and Naya can't focus on much else but the sensation of being a conduit for this dark magic.
When she can focus again the little starling is taking labored breaths, but it lets out a happy warble when it sees the boy. "Yo-you've only got five, maybe ten minutes before he passes on again," the witch pants, bracing herself against the table as she tries to get her wind back. "Best say your goodbyes fast."
She has an armful of slobbering human child before she can even blink. "Thank you," he sobs, pressing his face into her belly.
"Hush now, child," Naya scolds, but there is a hint of warmth in her voice. "Tell your friend goodbye. We'll talk about your payment later."
On shaky legs she heads back up to the front counter to give the two companions a bit of privacy.
@ArenaSnow Oh, friendly colleagues! They can swap ingredients and Caezel can bring her any, ahem, spare parts that he's not using for his ultra secret experiements. Maybe he can help her out when one of her recipes goes wrong or something?
Of course, I'm a little worried he'd want to eat her. XD
Previously belonged to her mother. It can be seen strapped to her back whenever she is not working in the shop.
Also belonged to her mother. Naya only uses it for bloodletting for spells/potions
Personality: Naya doesn't actually murder people. But some spells call for certain, er, more visceral ingredients, so if someone wants to trade their dear old mum's corpse for a love spell, who is she to deny them?
It is this sort of practice that makes some people leery of the witch. It isn't an uncommon sight to come into the shop and find the body of some animal or person up on the slab, their organs floating in jars as the lithe woman serenely wipes her scarlet hands on her apron. It doesn't help that when she does her shopping she occasionally forgets to change out of her work robes and gives some poor merchant an eyeful of her bloody clothing.
Her time around the occult has made it virtually impossible for her to get squeamish at the sight of gore and her ability to joke and see humor in dark circumstances makes her a very strange human indeed. Naya is also innately curious about creatures of different races and will often badger them with all sorts of questions until both parties are exasperated.
Well, except werewolves. Those guys are terrifying.
Oddities aside, Naya is a clever girl with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. She is not easily frightened or intimidated, but is smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut lest she upset something more fearsome than her. The witch is also a bit over protective of those she cares about and doesn't much understand the concept of personal space.
Bio: Naya was born to a hardworking witch who owned a little apothecary on the outskirts of a sleepy border town by the name of Minora. The little girl spent long days helping her mother tend the garden, grind down the herbs, and adding new recipes to their grimoire. It was a strange life, but Naya always felt loved and most importantly, she was very happy.
Her magic doesn't come in during her twelfth year like it does for most of her family, but her mother doesn't seem concerned about it. "These things take time, my girl. Your blood will wake precisely when it is supposed to," the witch told her, dropping a kiss onto her daughter's hair. "Now be a dear and fetch me my hammer. This man's skull is thicker than I thought."
Her mother dies during Naya's nineteenth summer, when a freshly turned werewolf loses control and attacks her in the market. The town folk manage to subdue the creature, but the damage is done. Naya brings her mother's body home, stores her insides, and grinds her bones, just like she would have wanted. After that the young woman takes over the apothecary, making the salves and ointments that don't require a supernatural touch.
Then in the twenty third winter of her life it happens, precisely when it needs to.
Naya is out in the forest, scraping yellow lichen off an old oak tree when her blade slips and slices open her finger. The blood oozes out of the wound, crimson rivulets landing on the bark and suddenly she feels potential and vertigo all at once. A surge of something passes through her and in the next moment the youth is on the ground, breathless and blinking up at the canopy of leaves above her. When she looks back to the tree it is utterly engulfed in the fungus and a cluster of nightshade has begun to blossom around it's base.
The magic in her blood had finally awoken, long after she had given up on it.
It's second nature after that to start honing her craft. Sure she fumbles a bit and turns a few more people into toads than she'd originally planned, but her mother's weathered grimoire guides her and by the time her twenty eighth spring comes around she's gained quite the reputation for being a talented, albeit strange, alchemist.
Extra: The palms of both of her hands are scarred from all the bloodletting she’s had to do for various spells. Does not go anywhere without her grimoire.
@Ace of Flames01 Alright boss, here's my character application! In her history I put the name of her town in italics, since I wasn't sure if you were okay with me naming it. If you don't like it or already have a list of city names just let me know and I'll be more than happy to change it!
Let me know what revisions you would like to see! ^.^
Naya Ashgrave
Child of: Darkness
Nickname: N/A
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Relationship Status: Single
Species: Human
Occupation: Witch. Also owns an apothecary.
Likes:
Horticulture
Shiny things
Embalming tools
Forehead kisses
Grilled newt. Delicious and nutritious!
Dislikes:
Hot weather
People trying to swindle her
Bad breath
High pitched voices
Carrots. Because ew.
Fears: Being eaten by a werewolf.
Previously belonged to her mother. It can be seen strapped to her back whenever she is not working in the shop.
Also belonged to her mother. Naya only uses it for bloodletting for spells/potions
Personality: Naya doesn't actually murder people. But some spells call for certain, er, more visceral ingredients, so if someone wants to trade their dear old mum's corpse for a love spell, who is she to deny them?
It is this sort of practice that makes some people leery of the witch. It isn't an uncommon sight to come into the shop and find the body of some animal or person up on the slab, their organs floating in jars as the lithe woman serenely wipes her scarlet hands on her apron. It doesn't help that when she does her shopping she occasionally forgets to change out of her work robes and gives some poor merchant an eyeful of her bloody clothing.
Her time around the occult has made it virtually impossible for her to get squeamish at the sight of gore and her ability to joke and see humor in dark circumstances makes her a very strange human indeed. Naya is also innately curious about creatures of different races and will often badger them with all sorts of questions until both parties are exasperated.
Well, except werewolves. Those guys are terrifying.
Oddities aside, Naya is a clever girl with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of humor. She is not easily frightened or intimidated, but is smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut lest she upset something more fearsome than her. The witch is also a bit over protective of those she cares about and doesn't much understand the concept of personal space.
Bio: Naya was born to a hardworking witch who owned a little apothecary on the outskirts of a sleepy border town by the name of Minora. The little girl spent long days helping her mother tend the garden, grind down the herbs, and adding new recipes to their grimoire. It was a strange life, but Naya always felt loved and most importantly, she was very happy.
Her magic doesn't come in during her twelfth year like it does for most of her family, but her mother doesn't seem concerned about it. "These things take time, my girl. Your blood will wake precisely when it is supposed to," the witch told her, dropping a kiss onto her daughter's hair. "Now be a dear and fetch me my hammer. This man's skull is thicker than I thought."
Her mother dies during Naya's nineteenth summer, when a freshly turned werewolf loses control and attacks her in the market. The town folk manage to subdue the creature, but the damage is done. Naya brings her mother's body home, stores her insides, and grinds her bones, just like she would have wanted. After that the young woman takes over the apothecary, making the salves and ointments that don't require a supernatural touch.
Then in the twenty third winter of her life it happens, precisely when it needs to.
Naya is out in the forest, scraping yellow lichen off an old oak tree when her blade slips and slices open her finger. The blood oozes out of the wound, crimson rivulets landing on the bark and suddenly she feels potential and vertigo all at once. A surge of something passes through her and in the next moment the youth is on the ground, breathless and blinking up at the canopy of leaves above her. When she looks back to the tree it is utterly engulfed in the fungus and a cluster of nightshade has begun to blossom around it's base.
The magic in her blood had finally awoken, long after she had given up on it.
It's second nature after that to start honing her craft. Sure she fumbles a bit and turns a few more people into toads than she'd originally planned, but her mother's weathered grimoire guides her and by the time her twenty eighth spring comes around she's gained quite the reputation for being a talented, albeit strange, alchemist.
Extra: The palms of both of her hands are scarred from all the bloodletting she’s had to do for various spells. Does not go anywhere without her grimoire.
"...And for the love of darkness don't go see that vampire down the street! Word is his brews will burn your eyebrows clean off your face. And don't get me started on the side effects..."
@Ace of flames01 Howdy! I'm interested in this one, I was wondering how you felt about a witch character? Not like a mage or anything, but someone that used a grimoire to make potions and encantations. I'm not sure if that would be considered its own race or if it would just be a human that uses blood magic, but I think they'd be a child of darkness. ^.^
I sort of liked the idea of them selling their services to either side, as long as they have something shiny to trade! It could be anything from silly potions (To cure split ends/baldness/etc.) to minor protection wards and the like.
I'm a twenty eight year old American girl who loves a good cupcake!
Here's a link to my [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/90158-dolls-romance-interest-check-looking-for-male-characters-open-for-busin/ooc]interest check[/url] and [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81137-dolls-character-list/ooc]character bank[/url]. Shoot me a PM if anything tickles your fancy!
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I'm a twenty eight year old American girl who loves a good cupcake! <br><br>Here's a link to my <a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/90158-dolls-romance-interest-check-looking-for-male-characters-open-for-busin/ooc">interest check</a> and <a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81137-dolls-character-list/ooc">character bank</a>. Shoot me a PM if anything tickles your fancy!</div>
Bozo
Apollosarcher
