sacred healer

it is rare to smile for the sake of smiling. it pulls at his cheeks, feels strange on his face. he does not dislike it.

he is also smiling from relief. that the spell works as intended, that they're seemingly in no danger. her magic is strong, as is her—faith. the former is something he understands. the latter, not as much. regardless, he is impressed by her, as he so often is.

he watches her pray, and finds only curiosity in her faith. he enjoys watching her pray, though. she is a vision in a cleric's vestments, casting holy magics.

It takes him a moment to answer. He seems curious about her prayer and she resists the urge to explain her steps. He understands it, maybe not the same way she does but she knows he understands it nonetheless. It is not a lack of understanding which keeps him from faith and she does not wish to try and force the gods onto him.

"Every place is... worth learning about?" she echoes. There is something in that which she likes. She is not well-travelled but she agrees anyway.

A nod. A widening of her smile.

Or maybe it was an extremely crowded event and the student he's helping is just a really observant person, able to notice things and people others miss.

Wouldn't that be a useful skill? Chrom didn't think he was bad at observation but his prowess in it often left a lot to be desired.

"I don't mind helping out. Really."

She has an air about her that he finds comforting. The kind of air Emmeryn sometimes had, a natural healing aura. He wondered if this young woman was a healer herself or if she just reminded him of that kind of person. A calming essence.

She is glad that he does not mind helping. Her smile is pleased.

"Don't be surprised by that... I've noticed a lack of volunteering among many people..." Trailing off, trying not to sound agitated. It is not just something that affects this place or these people or something as small and meaningless as a ball. If it were so, she would not be so annoyed.

No, though she knows many people who are happy to help others she has also known too many who would turn away.

This topic is no longer about cleanup, of course. But seeing the willingness with which he offers to help puts her mind somewhat at ease. Just as there are people who will not help, always are there people who will. She is grateful for that.

"Ohhh, yes! I would much rather capture a beast then have to kill it!" Killing meant blood, and blood meant the ever constant churning in his stomach that made him want to run away and hide forever, just so he didn't even have a chance of seeing or smelling it. The thought was so nauseating that he wanted to run just thinking about it. But he wouldn't.

This was exactly why he was here at the academy; right? To learn and to grow, to be better than he once had been. And that included learning how to overcome his fears. Didn't it? He could do this! He knew he could!

She smiles. There is joy in that smile and she is more than willing to accommodate the scope of his comfort.

His promise to protect her if danger arose made her smile. While she was not completely helpless, fighting was definitely not her strongsuit.

"How gallant. What a fine friend I have made today."

She looks happy.

HAND comes up to tap rest upon chin. "You weren't even at the ball, were you? Unless you spent the entire time masked I would remember having seen someone with your good cheer."

The young professor who volunteered to assist with cleanup certainly has a presence about him. Something similar to that of Prince Ephraim if she isn't mistaken but if that's due to him being of a similar position or merely in how he carries himself she can't say & isn't going to ask. Instead she leans over to clean a particularly messy spot on the floor of piled-up decorations & spilled drinks.

She is glad to know that she did not volunteer alone though and will take any assistance.

"You're kind to help clean up a mess you didn't even make."

"Wait, half off?" Kurthnaga tilts his head in confusion, "If this vendor is asking for such an impressive catch; why would they not just give you the bow then? To make someone pay after doing all that work, it doesn't seem right."

Not that he didn't have the money, but... hm, he would have to ask Nasir about this later. If a vendor was scamming people by making them catch game and then still pay at least half price, that couldn't be right; could it?

Wait, wasn't he missing something very important?

To her it is more about the effort than the outcome & the promise of learning a new skill. She lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "If there is a legendary beast around perhaps we can befriend it and catch it that way. Unless it is a very dangerous beast."

More likely they will find and catch a deer and receive nothing for their trouble. But it can be nice to dream. "I'll say a prayer for good luck on our journey."

She clasps her hands and begins to do so before something occurs to her. Oh. She didn't have a bow either.

"Wait right here."

She heads off & returns swiftly with a pair of training bows. Would this do for the meantime? Could they even catch anything with such weapons? It was worth a try.

but she asked him a question, didn’t she? he can’t let himself grow so flustered he doesn’t answer. “i… do not believe i have changed in any regard.”

not a very good answer; he grimaces internally. she will need her hands free to cast, he thinks, but for the moment he takes the lead through the valley. it looks from where they are that the further in they go, the more dangerous it will get. he is no stranger to hostile landscapes, as much as he wishes he was, and is grateful (‘gratitude’ in a form that from someone else, someone like natasha, would take the shape of a prayer) that at least there are no monsters about.

he thinks of the sorts that would thrive amid fire and lava, then pushes those thoughts aside. this place is dangerous enough without conjuring worse from his imagination.

She can't help but wonder what he's thinking. What lurks behind his expression which she has always found inscrutable. Do others? After his forced departure from the side of Grado's Prince is there anyone who can claim to have much insight into him? Could even the Prince? She can't help but wonder. Nosy but never one to press too deep or risk hurting.

Instead she smiles at him. Knoll's words are reassuring. They walk through what should realistically be a blistering heat set to cook them alive and yet they are unharmed. She cannot help but be grateful.

"Thank you," she says. Her hands clasp together in prayer. "Please bless us with continued safe passage."

WHEN Natasha approaches, it is not with any hesitation. She extends a hand to Knoll & offers a friendly smile. Her eyes are alight in a way that suggests that the good mood of the evening is getting to her, or perhaps that she's had more champagne than the students were told that they could have. But only a little more, she is a cleric after all, & will not indulge unnecessarily.

"Master Knoll, you are always so serious. Is that the case tonight? And if so then is there any way I can tempt you into a friendly dance?"

knoll takes the offered hand, bowing at the waist with one hand behind his back ( a stiff and rigid posture, befitting him in a way ) as he presses a feather-light kiss to it. she seems to be in good spirits, which is nice to see. he remembers all too well the way the weight of past conversations had once sat heavy in her throat when they used to speak, during the war.

She keeps her hand within his and draws him toward the dance floor as if to test his words. "The direction of my choosing hm? Then I choose this way. It's not too crowded. I wish to dance."

he's less familiar with what this continent dubs magic of faith but curiosity can drive a man to all sorts of unexpected places. and the desire to help others can drive him even further than that.

he denies himself very little, when it comes to indulging these aspects of his nature. he wonders if she's the same—if there's an indulgence to her, the sort that clerics and holy women are supposed to avoid. he sees the eagerness in her, marks it down for future consideration.

"no, i suppose it wouldn't." they're both serious sorts, focused and diligent. she is, perhaps, one of his very favorite people for this trait.

She smiles behind her hand, before taking his offered arm. "When did you become such a gentleman, Master Knoll?"

He is correct however. Staying together will make it easier for the spell to continue to protect them both regardless of which of them is actively casting it. The magic draws allegedly from the faith in this land's goddess but considering she has cast it without issue it is more likely that it will draw itself up from any sort of faith.

Something she knows Knoll lacks in any significant quantities. Another smile forms. She cannot help herself.

If this is indeed a magic she takes to better than he does she doesn't mind helping & would relish the chance to be the reason for success.

Kurthnaga ignores the turn in his stomach and smiles at the beorc woman who has approached him politely, "I have never handled a bow before, but it would be an honor to embark on such a mission with a valued classmate." Bows were what beorc usually used for hunting, right? He assumed that was the case but one could not always be certain when it came to an area they were not experience in.

(He tries desperately to not remind himself that a hunt involves the killing of the prey, and killing involves blood. Would it be different if the blood was not beorc or laguz in nature? Kurthnaga did not think it was worth experimenting with, but it was a question that he could not help but to pose to himself.)

Even if that experience just means she's observed and done a few demonstrations. They are both here to learn though. That is why one attends an academy.

Natasha bows back at him. Her hands grip her skirts tightly and the gesture is stiff. She smiles.

"The vendor suggested that if anyone caught any game that was as legendary as the one described in the tales of these parts, the bow will be half off."

BIG game hunting is an interesting pursuit. There are many reasons to hunt, trophy & food both, & Natasha would never begrudge someone for either. Reasons can be thought up for both and despite the reputation of healers being soft-hearted she does not think that a hunter should be relegated to mere survival and notes the ways in which impressive game can be traded for gold or reputation, helping the hunter beyond what a single winter's game can manage.

It is with this admiration for necessity in her heart that she approaches the situation. She is a little bit excited if she is honest. Village girl she may be but her home was not known for being near good hunting grounds.

A new endeavor, & one she approaches with determination. She approaches a stranger for she needs to make new connections here. He seems approachable indeed and perhaps around her age; give or take.

"You are in the Golden Deer class, yes?" she asks conspiratorially, eyes twinkling. "That vendor has posed a hunting challenge. You're one of my classmates, so I feel comfortable asking you to assist me with this. What do you say?"

THERE is a happy smile upon her face when she sees Prince Ephraim yet again. Though his presence here was something she had been aware of when she chose to come here to learn it was something that still made her somewhat nervous. She admired him greatly and respected his opinion a great deal. She had always assumed she was on friendly terms with him but still she sometimes felt...

What would be the word for it? ' Anxious ' fit most well. It came the closest. She who had walked away from Grado and then walked back again. Perhaps she could have stayed in Renais but the road had curved & bent & taken her home again. There are things one can't reach but people like Natasha reach out to them all day long. The wind, the bird flying away, the gods in their temples.

She hopes he isn't mad at her for leaving and she greets him with a smile. "Prince Ephraim," & bows her head, "Humor me, for I know very little about jewelry and I don't know if you know much more than I, but these gems are all the rage. If you were to pick what was done with them, where would you even start? Is this whole discussion not all very frivolous?"

NATASHA does not yet know the culture and geography of the continent. It is a fault mayhaps but she is as ever an eager student. The method by which she is to be exploring the strange area (blaze of eternal fire, punishment from divinity itself if the legends were to be believed) is one she has not ever heard of.

Eyes dart toward her companion wondering if he has ever done anything like this. Knoll is a learned man and though when she spoke to him she learned that faith means little to him magic is far more tangible. The spell they are expected to test is experimental but assurances have been made that it will work.

If it does work its uses could extend far beyond this singular place. Bravery is one of the few things she can boast and so it is with an eagerness that goes beyond her trepidation that she casts the spell. It will likely come down to both of them to keep it going but she cannot hold back her eagerness to do it first.

"The ' Valley of Torment ' is it? That is quite the name. Well, I suppose it would not do to dally, would it, Knoll?"