SHARP TONGUE !

 “Tomes.” One word might suffice, but he decides to elaborate, as he always does. “I find magic to be my most natural fit; it has a style and an elegance that agrees with me and with the magnificent history of my house, of course.”

    “But please, do not mistake me – lance work holds its own beauty and benefits, and I do not think any less of it. To be frank, I find I am somewhat uncomfortable with the distance magic provides upon the battlefield. A leader such as myself should do just that – lead, not linger in the back. Lancers are often the first charge, clearing the way, and there is quite a lot to admire in that.”

felix cast no ill will to the manner others chose to fight; as long as the your opponent was defeated, who cared if it was by sword, axe, magic or bow? even so, felix found himself harboring some disdain for how Lorenz seemed to consider aesthetics a factor in deciding one’s proffered form of combat.

“Elegance, Lorenz? Please. Save that nonsense for the giggling inanities within ballrooms.” sure there was need for dexterity and nimble footing when handling a lance or blade, but there was little grace to handling an axe and the lack thereof didn’t stop its descent into your neck.

➤ @bladedspite​ [ STARTER CALL ]

                                           Things have come to an end though the PEGASUS KNIGHT isn’t certain about heading back home just yet. She had other obligations to attend before discussing with her FATHER about this decision she made. No doubt INGRID won’t cease being a knight, later serving HIS MAJESTY to the fullest of her capabilities. Turning over to see someone, one of her friends hadn’t departed yet and it wasn’t something for her to see him off without saying anything. She hoped there could be some form of reconcile between them after all the time they bickered. Maybe he might feel the same should the NOBLE reveal a certain truth. Approaching him, emerald hues gaze at him with a faint smile. “ Have you given much thought to what you would be doing after the WAR ended, FELIX? I see that not much has changed between us. ”

“I think with that haircut, you’ve handled enough change for the two of us.”

but her question struck a chord within him: do you have any other aspirations?

the war besides, he had been very certain of what he was going to do when they younger and his father still drew breath. back then, he had plans to travel the land and hone his blade with mercenary work, to serve the world of Fodlan in way ( he thought ) more practical than navigating the political world as a duke. everything he witnessed had suggested that noble titles only truly served the people who held them, the idea of him doing the same disgusted him. but now? after witnessing what his father had done in order to ensure that the Kingdom and their people had a future? it’s the reason he didn’t recoil when Dimitri referred to him as Duke Fraldarius.

@pegasuslance | INGRID.

physical touch was something of a murky area for felix. for the longest time, he was unsure if he would ever be capable of touching someone without the intent to hurt, but he found himself almost absentmindedly dragging his fingertips from ingrid’s knee to the inside of her upper thighs.

he was embarrassed, uncertain. up until he heard that satisfied sigh of hers. not unlike the one that would typically escape her lips following a good meal. or a long stretch after a strenuous workout. one of the many things he was familiar with.

“Let’s call it my appreciation of your commitment to training.”

and with a uncharacteristic display of ease in such a vulnerable situation, he added: 

dialogue starter  //  @bladedspite​ .

❛   your swordplay is  weak  today.   why.   ❜

felix is not so naive to think that jeritza’s concern is anything but professional. he was typically meticulous, observant; but having mercedes compare him to her younger brother?

distracting.

“Let’s just say I’m having an off day and leave it at that.” 

“ i could not agree more,  felix. ” ferdinand had been content to polish his armor in silence, given his sole company in the knight’s hall.  felix is and never was much of a conversationalist; but the passing comments —– of armor,  of swords,  of war —– have coaxed a dialogue out of him at last,  it seems.

ferdinand plucks a faded silk handkerchief from his pocket.  he swathes his hands in its wrinkles, scrubbing maintenance oil from fingers long-stained with it.  felix will never admit it,  ferdinand thinks,  but there is something that encroaches on understanding between them,  in moments like this.

“ just look at these so-called noble lords,  the ones who so readily flip their allegiance like one might a copper, ”  he says,  an exhale,  cuffed,  slipping his nose.  the handkerchief crumples in his grip. “ such cowardice is a disgrace,  thoroughly. ”

when felix had first transferred, to say he had difficulty finding his footing with the other black eagles would have been... an understatement.

hubert was intolerable, bernadetta’s shrieking tried his nerves, dorothea was uncomfortable to be around, and ferdinand had been the very epitome of what he wanted to leave when he gave up his place in the blue lions. so blinded by noble aspirations that felix doubted he could even walk a straight path to his so-called goal. back then, ferdinand had been a good training partner and little else. felix was always quick with an excuse to leave once their swords were lowered and ferdinand found his breath. 

oh, how times have changed. 

“Your emperor seems to be managing them well enough, I suppose.”  one could argue that perhaps he was desperate for any form of company but felix had never been one to settle. in the years that passed their assault on garreg mach, felix found himself growing more and more fond of the man ferdinand was underneath the bluster of noble status. perhaps it was edelgard stripping him of his title that allowed this... companionship to flourish, but felix would not be so inconsiderate to voice that opinion aloud. 

the heavy slash of a blade cuts through blood and bone and black fur. the demonic beast rages. its eyes burn in the same way that hellhound’s do, and as she stands face-to-face with it, alone, she understands why people believe she truly is one. a deft dodge avoids its giant teeth as the beast pounces on the spot where she was only a moment ago, hellhound rolling behind it as the blade transforms with a flick of the arm into a sharp, cruel bow.  it doesn’t matter, right now, that her hair has escaped its hood and blows around her body as smoky as ever. the students are busy fighting three more of these – she needed to lure this one away, both to unleash her full potential and to protect mercedes from its ire. hellhound’s arrows pierce the beast’s skin, sending it staggering back, and she takes advantage of its stunned state to fire a few more before rushing forward and unleashing a flurry of blows from the weapon’s sword-state. the two have been clashing for an extended amount of time by this point. she isn’t sure how long – ten minutes? twenty? but it’s almost over, she can see that the beast is on its last legs.  until it turns away from her.  its eyes zero in on something behind her. the paranoia rising in her throat causes her to turn back and see felix standing there, watching the battle with blood on his face. damn. no time to think now; his eyes are on the smoke in her hair and its claws are sailing toward his blind spot ––  with a quick move, hellhound brings herself between felix and the blow, barely managing to slice off the beast’s arm at the elbow joint. ❛ stay behind me, ❜ she barks between labored breaths, trading a few blows with the creature to get close to it before rushing in towards its chest. everything clears in hellhound’s mind while she’s fighting. in a strange, backwards way, it’s the only time in which she finds peace and clarity; there’s nothing but the pounding of her heart, the hard breaths from her lungs, the sting of the wind. nothing. when the beast finally keels over on the ground, she feels the same mild disappointment that she always feels when a fight is over – but it’s quickly replaced by fear as she feels felix’s eyes burning into her still. one step over the body, then another. tangled smoking hair swishes around her knees as she approaches, body drawn to her full height, blood and fur sticking to her face and clothes as crimson droplets slide from the tip of her bow-blade onto the ground.

❛ fraldarius. ❜

once upon a time, felix likened persephone’s tale to that of a fairy tale. once upon a time, felix laughed at the ease her background suggested; it seemed rather doubtful considering how she carried herself. but today? felix realized something. 

he only got the type of fairy tale wrong. 

once upon a time a boy walked upon a beast. he had been tasked in retrieving a stolen tome that a thief managed to pilfer from one of his allies in a last ditch effort to spite them while they fought to drive off dangerous creatures off the land. he came across a clearing where he found the rogue mauled to death and a behemoth with fur so dark, he may as well have been a shadow. the only evidence that it wasn’t the case was the fact that when it opening its mouth, the boy was met with rows of perfectly line white death. it commanded dominance with only its presence but the boy wasn’t afraid.

because there was a monster far more deadly that already claimed it as its prey. 

he was pushed aside by a figure with hair like smoke and hands that promised death. for some reason, he was spared. anyone else would have taken the moment to flee, to get to more secure ground, to take the tome he sought and bring it back to his ally and yet... he was transfixed. the boy watched the dance of the figure rolling, leaping, and slashing with a blade as sharp as the creature’s teeth. they did not fight savagely like a beast cornered but the maneuvers they pulled off could hardly be thought of as humanly possible. 

it was over when the figure buried its blade deep into the beast’s throat, not unlike the throat clamp many predators favored. when they turned their gaze his way, the boy was surprised to find a rather reserved and humble approach as they closed the distance to meet him. they... she was met with a gaze of pure molten gold. 

“Persephone.”