songstress.

“Ah… It is about time all this snow started to melt. I was beginning to fear the winters here rivaled Faerghus… but even the weeds are beginning to blossom. To see this kingdom in bloom must be a sight worth waiting so long for!”

❝ Oh, yes.. The bee should look forward to blossoms, don’t you think? ❞

ƒ. ❝ Uh… How do you eat this again? ❞ Nobody knows how Tachibana still hasn’t eaten a taco before in 20XX. Japanese hamster gets culture shock’d.

❝ What.. is that? ❞

Dorothea stares.

It looks like food, but is it really?

@chanteuser​

It was probably a bad idea to try and take care of cats within this city. Only probably though. As it were, he was able to feed them when they lived outside, so what was stopping him from being able to do the same from within his apartment?

Well a few things actually but he’d deal with that when the time came.

Right now was the time for actually getting said cats—or more reasonably, a singular cat—to his apartment. They liked him well enough, especially since he had food, but every time he reached to grab one, it scampered away a bit then looked back at him. So he’d shuffle forward, still crouched, and try again.

This repeated with one particular cat—all black with two white front paws, as if it were wearing gloves, or socks—all until it got distracted playing with the trail of someone’s outfit. He took this opportunity to grasp the cat, but it’s claws were still stuck in the fabric, causing a loud rip to sound once he pulled the cat to his chest. Immediately looking up to apologize, he simply stared, blinking carefully. He knew this face.

“Ah…” there was a pause as he had to remember her name. “…Dorothea.”

As much as she liked cute pets, Dorothea didn’t have that particularly on the mind today. She had seen them around, sure, but she hadn’t had the time to stop and pet them, give them her undivided attention. For now, she wanted to find a nice place to practice her singing, someplace secluded preferably. Someplace where they wouldn’t mind her increasing in volume, practicing her range. 

It just so happened, at the time, that she paused away the busy walkway, debating about the places available. It was.. hard to think about what she did to practice before the war. And after the war, all that came out were sorrowful lamentations.

Ah.. The war.

She almost doesn’t notice the cat threading its claws through her dress until.... –– RIP!

Her eyes widen as she look behind her, threads of her favorite red dress hanging around the hands of a rather defenseless cat. And the person holding the cat? The only thing Dorothea could do at this point is stare. .. It was a lot to take in at the moment. The silence? Deafening. 

@chanteuser​

“Mmmm… you don’t seem to fit in with the others I’ve passed on the street. Your clothes are different… like mine. Your outfit, it suits you rather well.“ Nanami was always quick to drop a compliment or greeting to another when the mood suited her. She would be lying if were to say that the other woman didn’t have a pretty face and gorgeous clothes.

Of course, she wanted to know something, but there was no need to be so rude in going about this.

“Can you recall anything before coming here? I can, with frightening clarity. Maybe that’s good? …Or maybe that’s bad.“

She followed up her statement with a tiny chuckle. Why?

No reason.

❝ ... Oh, me? Thank you, that’s so sweet of you! ❞

❝ Your hair is gorgeous, though, you must tell me how you’ve gotten it so long and so healthy.. Unfortunately, my hair deeply needs the help. ❞

Dorothea still wasn’t quite used to compliments thrown her way for any reason at all, much more comfortable with the turns and whispers as she walked around.

❝ Before coming here? Hm.. I remember there was some of what lead up to my arrival here but nothing too vivid like you would say. ❞

Dorothea’s brows slightly knit together, the tiniest bit of confusion on her face from the chuckling. 

He hadn’t noticed anyone else approaching. Hearing a voice beside him had Rui glancing quickly to the side, silently cursing to himself that he had such a tendency to let his guard down here. The woman who had decided to window shop with him was… very pretty, though, and as confused as Rui found himself by the display in the store it seemed as if she, much better fitted to judge this sort of thing based on appearance alone, was rather fond of it.

“…absolutely gorgeous…”

“… I guess?”

No… no he still didn’t get it. Try though he might to try and make sense of an outfit in his mind, nothing got conjured up that made any sense, and Rui was certain that how lost he was must have been painted all over his face. His head turned and he glanced across at the woman, raising his shoulders in a shrug.

“I’m not used to – this.” A hand gestured at the display. “Things were… different. Back home. So I haven’t entirely figured out… anything else.”

It just sounded stupid, saying it out loud like that, but the woman’s clothes didn’t look entirely like they were as… as strange as things could get, here. Maybe she’d understand.

“They just seem strange to me.”

She tilts her head to the side, silently watching his reactions. From his clothes, the impression that Dorothea got was that perhaps he wasn’t too interested in modern fashion. He looked rather formal, and perhaps even a little lost.

No matter, she did always have a soft spot for kids. They were so young, so impressionable, more vulnerable than most. 

❝ Do you like it? I think red is such a lovely, vibrant color. ❞

Perhaps it seemed that the only thing lost on him was fashion, clearly confused as to what she was talking about. Dorothea turns back to look at the clothes on display, thinking about her time back home.

“I suppose there are silk flowers and fragrances, and those would last longer. But there is something very nice and cool about the touch of a flower petal, no? A bee indeed… Perhaps I have finally solved that riddle?”

No, likely not, he thought. He doubted Dorothea paid any attention to his attention to flora. 

“I do not see why it would not include you. You must remember–your animosity toward me is completely one-sided. We have shared many experiences, both at the academy and on the field of battle. I had not even considered the thought of not making you a crown of flowers.”

…Ah, hesitation from the noble was rare; most of the time, he was so sure in his actions that he simply went through with them with little regard to those around him. But…

“…Would it upset you if I made one for you? I assure you, I had no ulterior motive in doing so.”

❝ Maybe you should consider the receiver of the gift. Would they prefer the velvety touch of a flower petal or of cloth? And no. You’re still a bee, though you don’t buzz as much now that we’re here. ❞

At the mention of it being one-sided, Dorothea flinched for a second before smoothing it out. Being a Diva taught her many things, such as the ability to control her features quickly. Still, she grips his arm just the slightest bit tighter. How could he lie so easily to her, to her face nonetheless, and sound sincere all at the same time?

❝ One-sided.. Right. ❞

She trails off for a second, looking much like she did in-between battles during the war – deep in thought. Maybe mournful. But Dorothea’s smile returns, not quite meeting her eyes.

❝ You’re sure? A big-shot noble such as yourself shouldn’t be wasting his time making flower crowns for us common people, you know. ❞

“With pleasure.”

Whether the flourish and bow was for theatrics or in earnest was always a bit hard to tell with Ferdinand. Regardless, he did so, and even offered the songstress his arm.

“There is a local festival here in this city, celebrating the bonds between others. My intention, therefore, was to make crowns of flowers for our housemates. I know not how to put them together, of course, but there is nothing I cannot do when I put my mind to it. And while I have ideas for Linhardt and Lorenz, nothing comes immediately to mind for our other friends. So–I must make that decision at the location itself.”

Perhaps the festival had put him in a good mood!

As much as she wanted to tease him not so playfully, Dorothea does, instead, take his arm. If he was going to offer it so nicely to a commoner like her, she’ll take it.

❝ A festival you said? That’s... rather nice of you to make a gift for them. I’m sure they’ll turn out lovely, especially if you use fresh flowers. But I have to wonder, does that also include me? ❞

She brings her hand to her mouth in a giggle. 

“Ah, Dorothea!”

“I am buying flowers, yes. But not for someone, rather many someones. Care to join me?–You do have a good eye for such things.”

❝ Many someones? May I ask what the occasion is? 

“This does remind me that I do need to find a suitable flower shop. I imagine I shall be very busy preparing everything…”

❝ It’s fitting that a bee would find himself there.

oh that’s an easy one

i’m perfect, not unruly

and a poor liar i see..

ohhh i getcha next time…

i’ll let your scary face chase away any unruly noble lords!

if my face is scary enough to chase unruly noble lords,

It seemed strange to Iriste that there hadn’t been anyone else that complimented Dorothea’s name. Perhaps it was something those in her world were used to, she reasoned. Even when home in Eorzea, Iriste found many names interesting, especially the ones with unique names that held onto the naming traditions. The woman nods in response as she leads them through the residential district, searching for a hidden path.

Her attention is drawn to Dorothea while she answers, then drift back to the path. Her focus seems far and distant while her mind returns home. A world recovering but the scars of calamities remain on the land. Existing as a reminder to what everyone in the realm experienced during those times. There was no arguing though how breathtaking most of the realm was, each new sight and scenery had taken her breath away. “It has a certain beauty to it,” she admits. “It is hard to find beauty in lands you know have been ravaged by war or calamities.”

“Hm?” Something catches her eye, compelling her to stop and stare at a path lined with flowers. Their beauty beckoned her to follow. “Shall we try traveling through here?”

Considering that the people who picked Dorothea’s names were out of her life now, she’s never really found it something to celebrate. The only names to admired back home were the nobility – and many always seemed to have some sort of pride with the prestige their last name held. 

As a commoner, Dorothea never had to worry about things like that.

❝ I agree. Once you see what the beauty was before, the difference between the two is.. troubling, to say the least. I’ve spent many of my nights just thinking about it. ❞

She follows silently for a bit, until Iriste finds another path, easily looked over if one wasn’t looking for it.

chanteuser replied to your post: “Are we continuing the trend of complementing…

dorothea vc: im bout to start staring

sometimes u gotta show ur homies u love them dorothea

it’s not about the homies, it’s about the