Supporting Cast

The Ocean

You are peace after a storm. You are mercy with its hands outstretched. You are the horizons where I am fleeing from the past. I don't know where you got all this fear from, but here, here. Let me banish it for you, if only for a while. Here, here. There are trenches deep enough to sink it.

Tagged: Stole it from myself

It seems fine, like nothing had really been the problem, and Alm dismisses the pause with ease and instead focuses on their destination with a soft hum at his throat.  They could get this done, maybe grab a bite, and he’d maybe settle down with some books to read before sleep— easy.

That she seems happy about his invitation lifts his mood all the more, only for him to stumble over his own feet as she blurts something he wasn’t, well… expecting. “H-huh?” Is probably the best he can come up with, turning and looking at Caeldori with utterly blatant confusion. Mother? Short?! His expression turns to something akin to borderline offended, eyes squinting and chest puffing before muttering something along the lines of ‘I still have room to grow, you know…’ in a rather disgruntled fashion. 

And there she goes, changing the topic, but he can’t for the life of him figure that all out. Mother? Short? Why were those two relevant and even connected? He had only actually mentioned Corrin, too—

A thought strikes him, but he shakes his head and sighs. “Er… you know what? Lead the way— it’s been a dragon’s snooze since I’ve fixed up any arrows, stuff might’ve changed…”

Trailing off, Alm deliberates touching on the topic she seemed to have moved from so quickly, eyeing her up an down and trying to desperately come up for… clues or anything that he was right. Well, she… did have her hair. Sort of. The face shape was a little familiar…

“So, uh, Corrin’s your mom?” He asks, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. “Weird, huh? The Corrin I know doesn’t have any kids— n-not that I think you’re lying or anything! A-and not that it’s weird!” He fumbles, embarrassingly. “W-well, it is, but not weird weird. Just… Askr weird. Like that Hector guy, right? He has a daughter, and she’s around too. But he’s also from a time before he had a daughter. And then there’s an older Hector— and he’s got a little Lilina with him!” It’s… a struggle to get his point across. “So, y’know, the Corrin I know… she’s fresh out of that tower that she was kept at for most of her life. A little naive about the world and all that— it reminded me a lot of how I was like when I had just left the village…”

… Realizing he’s rambling, he laughs it off and shakes his head. “Anyway, I guess I know your mom. She had stories about me, huh?” Well, it’d… make sense, if she had reacted so weird when she heard his name, and weirder when he said Corrin’s name… 

She simply focuses on her march for a moment, trying to regain her bearings. It feels foolish to not expect his presence here, in this remarkable little hub of a dozen or so different worlds and times. Her mother had to meet him somewhere, somewhen, if he wasn’t of her world, but she’s still all the more surprised that Alm- the legend of a number of bedtime stories -was... Gods, was he her age? Or younger, even?!

All those years daydreaming about what he looked like, listening to such vibrant descriptions of the feats he’d pulled, and turns out he’s simply a scrawny, humble lad.

“Oh, I doubt it should have changed that quickly. People should know how to clean up after themselves and put everything back where they found it, right? I’m positive I remember exactly where I left the fletching supplies, and I don’t see why anyone would want to change it.” She’d spent a whole afternoon rearranging it all, surely the stark contrast in efficiency would be delightfully and quickly adopted.

“Um- Yes. Mother- my mother is Corrin.” The chagrin of so awkwardly bringing up the topic will take a long time to leave her tongue, and perhaps it will take her some time to look at him properly, as well, “If Askr’s to have a number of people from a number of times, I should have expected to find strange company like this. She’s always loved telling stories, though it’s...” Well, he wouldn’t know how recently she’s heard one and he doesn’t need to! “been a bit since I’ve heard any.” She does note the names he mentions, though. LIlina, huh? Perhaps she would make a fine ally.

“I don’t mean any offense when I say that she-” She’s distracted when they cross the threshold of the armory, and comes to a neat, military stop, “Now, that’s not where I-” The hair, the cut of her jaw, (even the slightly pointed ears) were not the only things inherited from her mother: there’s a growing pout that looks awfully familiar, too.

There’s a rush of exhilaration as the strike finally hits its mark— well, rather, that it at least has made the great Knight stumble on her feet— maybe he’s got this! Maybe lances aren’t so bad! The fact that he’s learning seems to egg him further.

… Not enough to make him forget what kind of weapon he’s wielding, at least. Mathilda expertly turns her fumble into a follow-up, and Alm is at least aware enough of what he has in his hands to not react instinctively. His block is more appropriate of his weapon this time, albeit clumsy, but it’s then that a thought strikes him.

He has no idea how to take advantage of this with an object that only has a blade at the very end of it.

Thinking quickly, he tries to use the lance to push her away and then sweep her feet under her before she retreats.

Traditional. Using the lance’s pole to block is not an unexpected result, though she has to wonder about how much he thought about the position it put him in. Not unheard of to make a similar block with his sword, but certainly a different position to not have the blade facing its target.

Kiran smirked. “Guess that means only their pride has been wounded.. and maybe a few other things.” Most of the Heroes summoned were fairly young, continuing to learn and grow stronger, Mathilda simply aided them in correcting themselves.

“Alm’s told me a bit, and the library’s pretty vague, actually. The Commander told me that the library is self-recorded, updating it’s history, however has a safety measure that prevents too much information from being mentioned. So the details range from the basics to mid-description.” Kiran glanced carelessly shrugging. “I think it’s so people don’t try to nosy their way into their own and attempt to change history, you know?”

The older Zephiel and Michalis came to mind. 

“Rigel to the north and worshipped Duma, with Zofia to the south Mila.” He learned of the deities from Alm, but the locations of Zofia and Rigel were new. “Eldest of five, huh? You’d get along with my brother. He practically had a hand in caring for my siblings and me.” He teased, chuckling.

Kiran found that rather surprising, although taking consideration in his thoughts, many nobles or ties to royalty seemed to be healers or archers opposed to actual knights. Mathilda was one of the few exceptions to the rule. Inwardly pondered whether that meant Mathilda opened the path for future women that aspired to become knights.

“Curiosity for one thing, and trying to understand, and learn more,” He admitted truthfully. “My talk with Alm awhile ago helped me realize there was still plenty of things which I needed to learn; to grow as a person, so all of you can rely on me more.” 

“Ah, I see. Makes sense.” She had on occasion wondered just how this Order kept things, well, in order when there was so many people from so many times... Yes, it was probably concerning just how easy it was for a hero to learn of things they should not. Especially when there were multiples running around of the same person, in some cases... Or did they simply wear another uniform and take up different arms? No matter.

She smiles at the mention of this brother of Kiran’s. “Ah, part and parcel for the first born to help raise the others, isn’t it? I was never necessarily needed to help raise my sisters, nothing more than the occasional vigil, but they can tell you I doted upon them with little hesitation.” Her eager, proud smile sobers soon enough. Askr makes a lovely attempt at holding a candle to Mother Mila’s verdant fields, but... it is no true match. But, no matter for now, she must keep her bearings here and hold hope that her return home will be swift.

“No man’s progress comes by sitting idly, Summoner, just like I did not become a knight after a few trifling spars with my father. It gladdens me to see that you understand that.” Good to see that Alm, even now, kept a firm head on his shoulders.

He smiles, nodding to her request, and yet her sudden trailing off has him concerned— it’s almost like he said something wrong? Tilting his head a little along with her own cant, Alm’s mind tries to shift through his words to figure it out. Was it just introducing himself?

The girl, however, snaps out of it, expression seemingly concerned with something inwards before she speaks once more, introducing himself. It bring him a little smile, and he nods, even if he feels the name is a little odd. Based on clothes and name… she was definitely from the same lands as Corrin, he thought. “Nice to meet you, Caeldori.” He says smoothly, then shakes his head. “And it’s my bad as well— I should have certainly asked sooner. I really ought to work on my manners if it took me this long to introduce myself and ask.”

With that, he offers a small bow of his head, then glances about to be sure the arrows have all been collected. Oh, a stray… plucking it up and putting it in place, Alm smiles.

“I’ll be happy to teach you, and it was my pleasure to assist. We’re all allies here— might as well help each other out while we’re at it.” Giving Caeldori a pat on her shoulder. “You’re from the same place Corrin and the others are from, right? I come from Valentia— we’re neighbors with Archanea. Well… neighbors across the sea, that is.” 

It’s almost funny to refer to someone so far as a neighbor, but it had a friendly ring to it! With a laugh, he gestures for her to follow. “Come on, lets get those arrows fixed up.”

She chastised herself. He’d noticed her head soaring right into the clouds. How careless to think that she could so easily lose her focus. Was she losing it right now, getting so focused about focus? Perhaps, like some awful oroboros of fixating purely on the point of her flaws.

“Well, thank you, Alm, there’s a lot of opportunities here in Askr, and I-” She stopped. Oh. Oh! Oh he really was- But he was so young-?

“So you do know my mother?” It stumbled out of her like a gangly foal. Ugh. All she’s done is make a fool of herself this entire time, and now she realizes that, yes, it was in front of a dear friend of her mother. “You’re so... Short.” She was somewhat short herself, but she could still hope for taking after her father and getting just a few more inches.

Oh, and she just-

She meets him head on, and her powerful block sends him reeling— almost like hitting a well-crafted wall. With a grunt, he staggers back, raising the lance to block her swing in retaliation. It’s barely effective, throwing him back and away from her, hard enough to land on his back.

Well, he’s had worse and more embarrassing scraps when fighting his Grandfather! With a soft chuff of self reproach, he is not immobile long, forcing himself to roll to his feet.

Before charging blindly again, though, he lowers his stance, listening. Extension of himself… Well, he honestly would beg to differ on the sword, but…

But…

His nose scrunches, trying to parse the rest of her advice. Extension. Room.

Alm’s grip on the lance shifts, and he bolts forward and after the fabled knight once more. This time, he thrusts forward, trying to estimate his new reach with a jab towards her torso.

She resumes her stance with little trouble as Alm adjusts the grip on his spear and scrunches his nose in thought. Good. He’s thinking about this. It’s rather adorable, actually, seeing how those thoughts outwardly manifest, but it should take more to distract her.

Well, ideally it should take more to distract her.

Her stance isn’t quite braced when he lunges, and it’s clear she has a little trouble parrying the blow. “Excellent!” She’s not nearly as surefooted on the ground as she is on Heidi, though, far more used to bracing herself during mounted combat than infantry. 

(( I think I shall kick back and also put up a starter call! Accepting 5, reply if you have a character in mind, just a like will get you Caeldori ))

Frankly, Lucetta still didn’t have much of a clue how to get closer to the fallen priestess, but all her puzzling and reading books about Valentia were going to culminate in one, frankly somewhat imbecilic thing.

Meticulous rehearsal was nothing new or strange to Lucetta, and so her movement is well-learned as she juggles an orange around for a moment. It’s not the most skilled show, but it’s enough to catch interest, and, when she notes that Celica has glanced her way for even a moment, rolls the orange down her arm before lobbing it towards her.

“The- The what-”