even in impolite work , she is elegant , moon-silver hair framing a face centered by lilac gaze , beautiful in a way aerith herself may never be. her eyes , the same too-green color shared by the children of sothis , that accursed blood which binds her to such blaspheming children that sit atop fodlan's power structure , whether they wish to admit it or not. there is little room for a girl like her , whose holy blood is diluted with that of mankind , whose divinity is sullied by nature of her birth. she cannot seem to fully align herself with anyone without betraying her own blood , human or not. perhaps that is her greatest struggle , caught in a war not between nations , but between both parts of herself.
& of that sullied blood , aerith is certain that much of it now resides in edelgard herself. so much of it was stolen from her , weaponized in service of their so-called goddess , as if sothis would've wanted the blessings of her children used to inflict mindless suffering on children for some self-proclaimed greater good. aerith's own suffering was minimal in that regard ; her blood was stolen , enough to leave her weak & weary , too weary to resist them , to fight back. too weary even now to muster the kind of righteous anger she should feel. it makes her feel weak , useless , as though she doesn't matter. it doesn't serve to stop her anger , though she wields neither righteous axe nor just arrows. her only weapon is herself & the slivers of autonomy she has been granted , the ability to run unhampered within her gilded cage. but gold plating chips & whether or not rhea likes it , aerith knows exactly what horrors lie beneath the surface.
ā mm , not at all. i kind of like watching people work with weapons. ā
sothis' daughter speaks lightly , head tilted that gentle chestnut locks frame her face. rosy lips part on a hum. she shifts , hands clasping gently behind her back , her too-green eyes dancing over edelgard's form. they are bound by their shared horrors , by the chains which bound them once. with something taken & forced upon them in turn , perhaps it was fate that led her to align herself with adrestia's heir. perhaps that was why aerith felt as though this was the only choice she could make , why seiros' gaze seemed to burn on her back. but she pays that line of thinking little mind , a small peal of laughter leaving her.
ā it's kind of soothing , watching someone get lost in their work like that. ā
but she can't help but light up when edelgard accepts her invitation , rosy lips curving into a warm smile , cheeks delicately carmine now. she didn't often get the chance to spend time like this with her peers , sothis' daughter too tightly chained by her rosary , too burdened with the weight of her existence , a secret she dare not reveal to anyone else. no one else would understand her , & those who could never deigned to acknowledge her. perhaps that is for the better , as lonely an existence as it may be. at least she is unburdened by whatever divinity she may bear , at least her identity as aerith is no lie. not even seiros herself could make that untrue.
ā great !! wherever you'd rather sit is fine. honestly , i don't eat in the mess hall much myself. ā
people tended to stare , & staring brought questions , ones that she wasn't truly able to answer.