GRIM SIGIL

[ ♒︎ ] –  Noticing the attention he was giving her blade, Aqua held it up a bit more clearly until he was satisfied. She didn’t blame him for the curiosity, given the relative rarity of such a weapon, and she herself was unfamiliar with the use of tomes or… Levin Swords. 

❝Well, they’re not very common anymore… Or at least, that’s what my Master told me. They tend to choose their wielders and are a bit… Picky.❞  

Warmly the girl smiled at the other boy– Dimitri, he said his name was. He certainly seemed eager to help despite not knowing much about her weapon or magic at all, something which Aqua was grateful for. It was nice to meet a friendly face after such a long period of uncertainty. But his mention of Faerghus caused questions of her own to stir. From what she had gathered, this world was named Spirale, not Faerghus. So he wasn’t from this world, either. Just how many other people and worlds were affected? And was this not really a test from her Master after all?

Those questions could wait. Though a bit awkwardly, she mimicked his bow in return– Was that customary here? 

❝Nice to meet you, Dimitri. I’m Aqua, from the Land of Departure. And don’t worry– I don’t mind answering your questions.❞ A pause, before she continued.  ❝I might ask you some, too, though. Like… What exactly is a Levin Sword? Is that a kind of weapon from your World– Um, Faerghus?❞

As she brought the blade up closer he took a look at it; it was definitely a strange one, and quite frankly he was a bit fascinated it even functioned as such. The pickiness of such a weapon didn’t surprise him.

Still, Dimitri tilted his head and looked at her. World....Land of Departure? It was a name that sounded more like something out of a myth than an actual locale. 

Neither of them were from this place, it seemed.

“Levin swords are ah, a sort of tool where I’m from, they’ve got this blade that zig-zags like a lightning bolt...it’s primarily used by those with skill in magic and swordsmanship. You know, oddly enough, there’s weapons kind of like this back home--though not of the same composition.” He gave pause...why did he feel like he was forgetting something?

“There’s weapons that respond to only certain compositions of...well, blood, I guess is the best way to put it.”

[ ♒︎ ] – So he had been hit by it. Immediately she felt guilty, picking up her Keyblade from where it laid on the ground as she made her way over to the other. Thankfully Magic Pulse wasn’t a spell that’s intended to do any real damage, but still… His words as Aqua approached meant that luckily enough, he hadn’t been affected in any other way besides falling over. Silver linings, she supposed. As she neared, she was able to get a better look at him– Close to her in age, though from his outfit she guessed that he also wasn’t from this island. That was about as good a guess as she could make, though, since this was the first World she’d ever been to outside of home.

It came as no surprise that he was unfamiliar with her weapon. Keyblades and their wielders were uncommon nowadays, though according to Master Eraqus that didn’t used to be the case. Extending a hand in order to help him up, Aqua smiled apologetically. It was the least she could do after likely giving him such a shock.

         ❝It’s a Keyblade,❞ she explained. ❝I guess in a way, it is the problem. It usually works really well with magic, but not since I got to this World. That spell was definitely not what I was going for at all.❞

He grasped her hand firmly and used it to lift himself up. Dimitri dusted his legs off, unsure how much foliage got relocated onto his uniform. 

“Keyblade...? I’m not familiar with such a weapon, actually. The mages I know usually use tomes or Levin Swords....,”  Finally pleased with his inspection he straightened up. Hm, she was around the age of a normal academy student, but like many others here, not dressed for such a position. He got a look at the blade in her free hand--it definitely didn’t seem like much in terms of a blade, with its zigzagging edge.

It only vaguely looked like a key, too. He likely wouldn’t have made the connection unless she told him. He scratched his chin. “The shape seems similar enough, though! I know there’s a lot of arcane crystals used in the construction of Levin Swords, but the shape seems to be conductive to magic...could you tell me more?”

He was far away from home, then. But far as he may be, as he put a book back on the shelf he saw...was that Claude?

That was definitely Claude.

He didn’t realize he’d been looking with a slack-jawed surprise until the book hit the carpeted floor with a muffled thud, and he hastily went to pick it up. Thank goddess, another classmate--he’d been getting worried it was just him, but...why Claude? Why not Edelgard, why not Dedue, why not...?

“Sorry, sorry,” he seemed to be apologizing to himself more than he was Claude...

[ ♒︎ ] – It had been a bit of an adjustment period, living here in this strange World without her Master or her friends, but she hadn’t given up on trying to figure out a way to get back home. This had to have been some sort of test from Master Eraqus, right? That was the only thing she could think of, but even then, dropping her off alone on an outside World seemed like a bit much. She was lucky she still had her Keyblade. Though she had yet to completely master the ability to summon her Armor and Glider, the girl had woken up this morning determined to give it a shot– Maybe that was what this test was for. In summoning them, she would have her way home.

Jaw set and will focused, Aqua raised her hand, summoning her weapon to it in the blink of an eye and a flurry of petals. It felt so right in the moment, as if anything were possible– The familiarity tugged at her heart and lifted her spirit. But even as she raised it towards the sky, the magic which stirred around her felt… Inadequate, as if its purpose was not that which she willed it to be.

Brow furrowing, the girl pressed her lips together and forced the magic upwards, outwards, channeling it out and around the blade, willing it to become something greater– Only to fire a Magic Pulse, the iridescent orbs spreading out and around the immediate area before dissipating. It was nowhere near the transformation she had sought… In fact, it was the only spell besides Barrier that she’d even been able to perform since she got here. With a cry of frustration, Aqua threw down her blade, running her hand through her hair. As she did so, she caught sight of another, and realized she wasn’t quite as alone in the bamboo grove as she originally thought.

          ❝Oh–! Who’s there? I didn’t accidentally hit you with that spell, did I? I should’ve been more careful…❞

@exaliant​ / PROXY!

Dimitri was hanging around the grove more than anything. It was convenient, at the very least due to proximity. Even if he wasn’t sparring, sometimes he’d just mill about, or something of the sort. It was one of those idle days at this moment, before he was hit by a shockwave of something.

It didn’t do much except knock him off his feet, but he was certainly loud about it, the plants around him tattling his presence. 

He could see a figure as he rubbed his head. Blue hair, some kind of blade on the ground...

It was a very superficial sort of nostalgia, though. Nobody was in any sort of uniform. (Except, maybe him. He honestly felt a bit overdressed if this wasn’t academy grounds--) It was...the same, but not. But still, maybe being someplace like here would help him relax a bit. 

He took a breath and grabbed the attention of someone who looked free.

“Ah, excuse me--I don’t quite know the etiquette here for these things, pardon--did you need a sparring partner?” He didn’t even have a lance on him right now. It seemed there were a lot of training weapons, at least.....he hoped this guy didn’t mind.

“Professor--?”

He couldn’t believe his eyes; for a while here he thought he was simply on his own with the sheer unfamiliarity of the place here. But while grey was easy to miss in the crowd; the make of his jacket and the pauldrons upon his shoulders weren’t. 

“Professor! Professor, I--!” He kept calling and weaving his way through the crowd until he was able to stop before Byleth. He wasn’t winded, but his heart was still pounding.

“Is that really you? I thought I was in some sort of unending waking nightmare...”

            Oh, he liked the look of this one. Bright, stern eyes, a solid posture of confidence - Siete was reminded of dear ol’ Quatre, almost. Must be someone who shared his ferocity, as well. There are some differences though, and he was clearly more refined than the Eternal. Would be best to approach this one formally, rather than jest.

            …Well, not too much jest, at least. He simply wouldn’t be Siete if he couldn’t drop a quip or two! “A fellow swordsman? Then you’ve come to the right person!” Who else would be a better pick, other than the greatest one of them all? 

            Outside of a blacksmith, of course. 

            “If you’re curious about my own, I’m afraid this was custom-made out of the city. Special belongings and all.” He patted one of them by his side, for emphasis. “You don’t get your belongings right away - this one took some months before I got them back.” And oh was he so glad to have them back! He might have brought them to his bed and hugged them in his sleep for a week.

            “But I have a good eye for these things, I can help you shop for a good one, if you’d like!” He winked. Little would brighten up his day more than getting to know someone else who shared his avid enthusiasm for swords!

tagged by: yoinked it tagging: the germ reading this

► ARE YOU SINGLE?  ↳ “Yes.” ► ARE YOU HAPPY? ↳   “There are still things gnawing at me, things that I cannot do here, but...it is not bad, right now.”

► ARE YOU ANGRY? ↳   “No.”

► ARE YOUR PARENTS STILL MARRIED? ↳  [stares at the camera in orphan]

NINE FACTS.

► BIRTH PLACE ↳  “Fhirdiad, Faerghus; I presume...? I have no reason to believe my mother was outside castle grounds...”

► HAIR COLOR ↳ “Blond.”

► EYE COLOR ↳ “Blue.”

► BIRTHDAY ↳ “December 20th. There’s simply too much happening around it already, I’d prefer it wasn’t celebrated....,”

► MOOD ↳ “....Alive.”

► GENDER ↳ “Male.”

  ► SUMMER OR WINTER ↳ “Winter.”

► MORNING OR AFTERNOON ↳ “Morning...in the afternoons I tend to get sluggish.”

EIGHT QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE.

► ARE YOU IN LOVE? ↳ “....not right now.”

► DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? ↳ “Perhaps it happens for some. It’s more of a process, I believe. You cannot know every facet of a person at first glance, and maybe what you learn is too much to bear.” He clutches his own chest.

► WHO ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP? ↳ “Technically, he did, I presume.”

► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART? ↳ “Probably.”

► ARE YOU AFRAID OF COMMITMENTS? ↳ “I..take things seriously. I cannot treat courtship lightly. .....................but perhaps there is some fear there. Fear that I could not be accepted that wholly.”

► HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK? ↳ “No.”

► HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SECRET ADMIRER? ↳ “I do not know, but I would not doubt it. ....it’s simply a matter of fact of my position I’ld be courted. For my position.”

► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN YOUR OWN HEART? ↳ [smile]

SIX CHOICES.

► LOVE OR LUST ↳  “Love.”

► LEMONADE OR ICED TEA ↳ “Iced Tea, I guess.”

► CATS OR DOGS ↳ “Cats seemed to have grown fond of me over the years I was in exile....I do appreciate that.”

► A FEW BEST FRIENDS OR MANY REGULAR FRIENDS ↳ “A few best friends.”

► WILD NIGHT OUT OR ROMANTIC NIGHT IN ↳ “Romantic night in. I’m not one for parties.”

► DAY OR NIGHT ↳ “....day.”

FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS.

► BEEN CAUGHT SNEAKING OUT   ↳     “yes.” ► FALLEN DOWN/UP THE STAIRS   ↳     “Yes.” ► WANTED SOMETHING/SOMEONE SO BADLY IT HURT?   ↳     “Yes.” ► WANTED TO DISAPPEAR   ↳     “More than anything.”

FOUR PREFERENCES.

► SMILE OR EYES ↳    “When someone smiles, truly, deeply....it’s lovely.” ► SHORTER OR TALLER ↳     "I don’t have much choice there with my own height!” ► INTELLIGENCE OR ATTRACTION ↳     “.....I quite value wit, actually. Intelligence.” ► HOOK-UP OR RELATIONSHIP ↳     "I would die before I had a casual tryst.”

FAMILY.

► DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET ALONG ↳     “Not currently. Sometimes the dead require blood.” ► WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A “MESSED UP LIFE”   ↳     "That is putting it lightly.” ► HAVE YOU EVER RAN AWAY FROM HOME   ↳     "No.” ► HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN KICKED OUT ↳     "...do political assassinations count as ‘getting kicked out’?”

FRIENDS.

      ❝ That’s understandable. This place seems to be having an influx of new arrivals, myself included. It isn’t too strange to get lost amidst the confusion of it all. ❞

     certainly, it was an intriguing place to be summoned into — especially alone. gilgamesh was without the watchful gaze of his mother for the first time, and the gods of the heavens remained silent to his calls ( in a godless realm, there were no prayers to sustain their strength — not even the wedge of heaven could change that ). still, he remained optimistic all the same. new experiences were beneficial to a budding ruler, were they not ?  ❝ I have been wandering for quite a while, so I have some understanding of this area. Would you like some assistance getting somewhere? ❞

“Ah, well, I was more concerned about your being lost...,” He hung his head pensively, this youth had to be naught more than his own age when....Dimitri shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. “I was trying to find a place to buy food and seemed to have lost track of the apartments in Cotes... are you from this ward?”

There were many things that looked like weapons in his room, yes, but he was not going to steal those, and a member of the Officer’s Academy should be ready at the very least for training studies. This was the equivalent of coming to a lecture without a quill. (Also, this was unknown territory, he needed to be prepared even if he did not wish to cause harm.)

The problem was, this was made all the more vexing as few people seemed to carry blades on them. So desperate he was to find someone with weapons he knew, that, as soon as he caught sight of someone with something even resembling a sword on their hip he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Excuse me--I am in need of a blade, where would I find one here?” upon closing the space he noticed he was just barely taller than him--strange, he seemed older. Perhaps he wouldn’t be so easily ignored, then?

Ok, so he was here without supervision, this much was aware to him. But this blonde youth was much younger than he was, standing beside him at this place that seemed to be the junction where people would cross once these strange horseless carriages got done moving past loudly.

Now where were his supervisors?

He was supposed to be at the academy; he didn’t know where the professor, Dedue, or any of his classmates were. This place had the population density that made the monastery look like a ghost town, and the metal structures climbing skyward only proved to remind him how foreign this was.

Dimitri was a long way from home, and this slab in his hands only taunted him. As he had no idea how he even got here; the most he could do is simply make sure that he adjusted, for now. But surely this was some sort of mistake, and he would talk to whoever was in charge promptly to get this reversed.

He entered the room he was apparently given, and made a distraught face. It...it was already lived in! It was a bit of a mess, actually, and kind of sparsely decorated. Whoever lived here simply didn’t care--!

Did Dimitri want to touch someone else’s clothes? Absolutely not; but nobody else was going to clean this room out, so he stiffened his upper lip and went ahead and did so. 

The more he worked through the belongings, the more was apparent to him. This person had a lot of weapons. The clothes seemed all a few inches too tall, much too wide for him, though sometimes he’d find himself intrigued by this mystery person’s fashion sense. If it wasn’t for the complete mess of the place and lack of decoration he’d almost say he and this person could’ve gotten along, maybe.

I can always go do the other canon point if i want I guess? 

For now Dimitri is back to being a spaghetti-headed teen. This is Dimitri before the timeskip; he’s seventeen and he has a lot of problems but learning things about Edelgard hasn’t ruined his life yet. Actually, Edelgard hasn’t ruined his life yet in general. 

He has...insufferable student council president energy. He’s a nice kid that’s got heaps of that classic dimitri brain funk going on, but its (somewhat) bottled up and he’s trying his darndest to be a model leader. Hurting people is downright abhorrent to him. (If he knew what became of himself in five years he’d probably want to cry, then kick his own ass, then cry again).