ooky spooky

@apostatizing | an office is a definite upgrade from the confession box. obvious reasons. there are windows, for one, so it doesn't feel nearly as stuffy while he was sitting in there and listening to people's concerns for hours. two, and pandreo thinks this while he stretches and sprawls across his chair until he feels the muscles in his calves threaten to conspire against him, there was plenty of leg room. more than he could say the confession box that they keep over at the cathedral and more, he expects, than the old girl could've offered him at his own church.

still, he didn't exactly—need one.

hearing someone out was almost exclusively situational. you couldn't make people just open up to you because you told them to. so, he doesn't see much of a point in having a space that probably wouldn't see much use anyway? ' hey, stop crying; let's talk about this back at my office halfway across the monastery, huh? ' but saying as much wasn't enough to get the church authorities to back down on it, and he wasn't going to be the one making things difficult over something that didn't really matter in the first place. so, office hours—he has those now.

and just like he thought, not a soul to be seen.

he'd have better luck sitting in the open market with a sign that said ' free hugs. '

But the monastery didn't seem to agree, 'suggesting' that she seek counselling for her 'anger issues'. To call it a suggestion was laughable, really, but unless she wanted to be left behind on future missions at least one counselling session had to be attended. It wouldn't be difficult to sit there and pretend nothing was wrong for thirty minutes.

A number of you are sent straight to Fhirdiad to warn King Rufus, only to arrive too late. The guards say that he is with two young princesses, a “Celica” and a “Corrin”, and are naturally aghast when they find out the truth. That said, this must be dealt with carefully: the king’s, nay, all of House Blaiddyd’s reputation is on the line, and an embarrassment of this magnitude would shame the family for generations to come. There is only one option: to don a variety of disguises as you follow after the king’s date night through the market district and separate him from the ‘princesses’. [Grants Heavy Armor +1]

The situation was far from ideal. The King could be undergoing a shakedown at any moment now -- though, Stahl would be surprised if the thieves were foolish enough to rob a royal in a busy marketplace -- and there was little time to waste in separating him from his crooked companions.

Still, that wasn't going to stop him from going all out with his disguises.

As soon as the guards had been informed of the deception and a hasty plan formulated, they had ushered the two students into a dressing room holding a variety of styles to choose from. The most important thing was that the faux princesses didn't suspect that they were being followed, so multiple disguises might be required throughout the night. As such, he had donned a large hooded cloak and sunglasses, which could be easily discarded after some time to reveal a trendy oversized jacket and a slicked-back hairstyle. Finally, if a third option was required, the jacket could be removed and his hair mussed up to transform him into a unremarkable plain-clothed peasant.

Having now arrived at the market district, it look little time to locate their King; they just followed the whispers and pointed fingers of the townsfolk.

"Over there," he said under his breath, inclining his head towards an artisinal wine vendor, where the trio were sampling the wares.

If only the disguises provided were not ridiculous.

As to not draw attention to the fact that she and Stahl were together on this mission Panette was dressed in drastically different attire. Her hair was tied back and the gown given to her was not only uncomfortable to move in...but also a strikingly bright shade of pink. "...Gross," she spoke under her breath, trying to focus instead on the task ahead. Hopefully if this went on long enough she would get to wear something much more suited to her tastes.

Are you stuck with glass bones and paper skin? Sick of just having pedestrian magic to your name? The professors are holding a special class for the squishiest of mages, clerics, and archers, where they may learn close-quarters self-defense if they’re ambushed by an enemy. [Grants Gauntlets +1]

mission board starter for @apostatizing and @breidabloom

Zephia would never call herself a "squishy mage" but it seems she has put herself in a position that she is meant to be teaching a seminar on self-defense. How curious. Why her of all people? She knew that she was strong, but anyone else would guess that she was just a typical mage looking at her. Except for Lord Sombron, he had always known the true strength lingering within her.

She smiles at the two kids before, well... more at the one who did not happen to be from Elyos. Luckily, she is not stuck with one of those little royals who seemed to plague her so much. Or even worse: the Divine Dragon. Still, that orange that burns as bright as the desert sun reflecting across the sand blazes her heart, driving another stake into her as if to push home the point that she would never be the good that everyone wished to see in this world.

"How wonderful to have you both here for this little lesson! I simply couldn't be more excited to impart such useful life lessons upon you children." Her words are through gritted teeth, trying to keep up a smile as to not terrify the poor little Blue Lion. As for Panette, she didn't care what the girl thought of her. Surely she shared the same sentiment as her liege, if she had even bothered to remember who Zephia was at all.

His instructor and classmate for this seminar are... very colorful, in his opinion. The orangette wouldn't look too out of place at the harvest festival, for starters (not that he's judging, she pulls the style off well in his opinion), and the lady with the horns reminds him a lot of Freyja. She speaks, and it's obvious in her inflection and paralanguage that this woman is putting on a façade. No thank you, he'd rather deal with someone being genuine, even if he won't like their true colors anyway. Although she seems a little too close to what he remembers of Misuade for his comfort, the teen holds out a little hope that the lady won't be that much like his birth mother.

'First, please drop the act,' he writes. 'It makes me uncomfortable when you're not being yourself. Second, we might want to introduce ourselves. You may call me Kiran; it's nice to meet you both.' The ravenette smiles and waves at the orange-haired student. He tilts his head and taps the end of his pen against his cheek in thought, then continues, 'And third, I think we should probably start with the basics, like how to throw a punch safely without breaking or damaging your fingers—unless you feel we can skip ahead?' Of course, he would prefer not to, but who knows what this instructor has planned?

He finds he's a bit grateful for the orangette's presence, otherwise he would have a more difficult time being on his own with the lady. She doesn't show the same behaviours indicative of his possessed Heroes, but her aura kind of screams "cultist" to him, like Veld. (The Loptous follower, not the Turk director Sloane mentioned to him once.) Rose resolves to watch her and see whether she'll be someone trustworthy after all... the other student he'll likely just end up worrying about whether he'll see her often enough to be friends with her.

It was only when she saw who would be the one teacher the pair that she both regretted and rejoiced her decision. Many times does she bite on her tongue, hands already curled into tight fists by her side as Zephia speaks. Only when Rose 'speaks' does she visibly react, barking out a laugh. "Ya got that damn r-- a-ahem-- I mean to say...I would also greatly appreciate it, Professor Zephia, if you would please treat us unlike your other students... Though I do not know Kiran, I am quite certain we will be able to handle whatever it is you have planned!" Her smile is as fake as Zephia's, trying to focus solely on Rose, lest she wish to shed blood much too early. "My name is Panette, retainer of Solm! It is an absolutely wonderful pleasure to meet you as well!"