filthtouched.

kirablik​:

Kiran’s room is organized. Never messy, never perfectly clean, simply organized. Everything has its place, except when they’re in the middle of a study session or research. If they get distracted during moments where they’re super focused, they’ll forget what they were even doing in the first place. Luckily, there isn’t as much pressure to always have a battle plan ready to go at this happy-go-lucky-but-kinda-weird-academy. 

And luckily, Niles is the last person in this entire world who could annoy them. Sure, his innuendos could, you know, not exist, but they’ve heard worse. Way worse. Besides, he’s freak, but at least he’s a loyal, weirdly compassionate freak.

Kiran bites into another jerky as she watches him. All the people with eye-patches act like they got big terrible secrets. She moves her cup of jerky to the desk and sits back, just as Niles reaches out to take a piece for himself. She watches, unbothered. Yeah, he could have just said yes earlier, but she might as well just let him be him. He ain’t in her house; she doesn’t have to worry about him.

“Bold…?” They repeat the word quietly as they chew slowly. Was it that bold to let someone into your room? They’ve napped on him; they’re practically almost-friends.

“Okayyy,” they say, after swallowing their jerky. “A favor? I don’t really need your expertise in anything, and I’m already a few weeks ahead in classwork, so whatever… Sure, why not?”

They laugh, taking another piece of jerky from their cup. “I know you’re used to shady deals or whatever, but we’re both students here, so if you want something just say it.” 

Jerky placed down on the desk, they clap their hands together in the form of a prayer when they (mockingly) say, “We are at a monastery, dear Niles.” They flutter their eyelashes, voice becomes more high-pitch and smile turns sweet and innocent. “Behave yourself~” 

Then they relax and take a bite from their jerky.

Niles scoffs. “Are we? Everyone had me fooled, then, when I saw how often and how willingly they got down on their knees. How disappointing.”

No one can say that Garreg Mach is in sore need of devout followers of their Goddess, at least.

“In any case, it’s not a shady deal. I’d just prefer to get the terms ironed out now so it doesn’t come to bite me in the ass later—and not in the way I normally wouldn’t mind,” he says, finishing off the jerky and folding his arms over his chest. “Everyone has something they want; you included. Here’s what I want.”

...Gods. This is going to be embarrassing, isn’t it?

“...I need you to teach me to read and write,” Niles says, voice clipped. “I never had the need nor the opportunity to learn, but it’s growing into a thorn in my side now that I have to take written exams. There’s someone I need to stay here for, and I can’t do that if I fail every test.”

heartstringbound​:

Oh, that’s surprising. Setsuna pauses long enough to stare at Niles for a moment. Carefully. Considering. Most stopped at confusion. And then dismissed it as Setsuna being Setsuna and not putting any further thought into it. Niles was right, of course, but that would mean talking and explaining. Setsuna didn’t like doing that.

Instead, she shrugged, and kept walking back towards the dinning hall.

“Not really.” She admits. “Most people just ask why me.” She says it matter of factly, without any hesitation or emotion underlying it. Because they did. How she felt about it didn’t matter. That wasn’t what he was was asking.

“I didn’t ask them. I didn’t think it was any of their business. We would’ve been fine either way.” Her parents had been happy enough with her becoming Lady Hinoka’s retainer. The subject of marriage hadn’t really been brought up again since that happened. Setsuna didn’t blame them. Even she knew she was a hard sell. “Who knows what they would’ve planned otherwise.” She didn’t care to find out either.

Getting back to the dinning hall is quicker than wandering around to find birds, it turns out. Setsuna pauses before they approach, turning to look at Niles again before any students can wander too close to accidentally overhear. “I won’t tell you what the sex is like, before you ask.” Factual, again. And a little bit of amusement back in her eye. “I’ll start asking about Nina if you try it.”

“As if that would ever stop me,” Niles scoffs. The amusement in his is sharper to match his smile. “But fine; I have my guesses, anyway. I’ll let you keep that big, throbbing secret all to yourself. Try not to get too excited thinking about it.”

She’s one of the few people here who know that Nina is his, and if he’s honest, he’d like to keep it that way—not because he’s ashamed of her, but because it’s for the best. Niles is proud of her, truly; she’s grown into a fine young woman, and he knows her mother would be happy to know she’s healthy and well. But he hasn’t built a sparkling reputation for himself here, and he doesn’t want to risk that bleeding into how people perceive his daughter.

So, the less people who know, the better.

The dining hall isn’t terribly crowded anymore by the time they arrive, but there are still enough people to warrant an end to that topic—which means, of course, he feels no guilt at all in circling back to his original question at hand.

musing-fantasies​:

It all happened so fast. One minute Niles was holding her hand and the next minute he was holding the toy bow. She wasn’t that surprised that Niles made the shot but she was extremely happy- of course she hid it slightly but the twitch of her body gave it away. 

“Thank you father.” She took the teddy bear from the man and laughed at his shocked expression. An idea came to her as she grinned at Niles. “Dad can I get you something now?” Nina didn’t let him answer as she grabbed his hand again and pulled him towards another station. 

So maybe she didn’t understand that she was supposed to use the toy bow and not a real one but that wasn’t the point. Before the attendant got a chance to speak, Nina handed him a coin before looking at Niles. “Hold this.” She mumbled as she handed him her teddy bear. Taking a deep breath, Nina pulled out her bow knocking the toy one out her way and onto the floor.

She notched her arrow and pulled the drawstring back, ignoring the whispers from people around her. She closed one of her eyes and took another deep breath before releasing the arrow from her fingertips.

The only noises she heard was a thud, a crack, and a gasp- well a couple gasp but she didn’t care. The arrow nearly hit the attendant but that was his fault for standing so close to the target- or was it her fault for using the wrong bow? 

Looking at the target, Nina realized that she not only hit the target but her arrow went through the board the target was on. The only thing she could do was laugh as she bounced up and down before turning her whole body to face Niles. 

“Pick your prize old man- pick the biggest one there.” She ignored the look of fear on the attendants face as she put her bow back. Her body twitched as she bounced slightly. “Did I do good?” She still didn’t realize that she wasn’t supposed to use her own bow- 

“What the hell d’you think you’re doin’?!” the stall attendant snaps, and indeed, Niles wonders the very same. “You’re not allowed to use real weapons here, lady! You tryna kill someone? You’ve even ruined my target!”

Understandably and predictably, there’s quite a scene; the shopkeeper yells louder and louder, drawing a crowd. And while Niles certainly couldn’t care less of any negative attention and attitude towards him, it’s another entirely if it’s directed at his daughter.

...Never mind the fact that she is the one at fault, here.

“Nina...” he sighs, deciding he ought to first deal with the stall attendant. Niles has never considered himself to be very prideful; it’d be laughable if he were, with how long he’d gone with almost nothing for nearly his entire life. The difficult part, then, comes with doing what’s right. He has to set an example for his daughter to follow. He has to teach her what he should do and what she shouldn’t; what she can do, and what she can’t. 

He’s failed already at being a parent the moment he left her in the Deeprealms. He can’t fail twice.

With his lips pressed thin, Niles turns to the shopkeep. It takes the kind of self-control he didn’t really think he’d have, as heartfelt of an apology as he could manage, and a hefty bag of gold that he knows is more than enough to replace a shoddy target, but finally, they are allowed to go. Niles takes Nina’s hand to pull her away, easily pushing his way through the crowd that’s gathered. 

arcstral​:

               Be it the timelessly offensive ‘Royal Baby Catapult’, or the indomitably misplaced Heroic Lance of Child-Making, to Marth these euphemisms are the first of their kind. Just as Niles of Nohr is the first of his. In his imagination, and perhaps even in all plausible likelihood, the man could very well make a living for his remarks—if given but a dime for every time they struck a creative, never-before-heard chord in the ministers and nobles who endured them.

               “  Er, y-yes… I believe you’ve made your point abundantly clear,  “   the king punctuates with haste, making a flustered face somewhere between crucified and moderately strangled. He straightens gratefully at the question for its opportunity to feel otherwise.   “  Oh, indeed…! This saying I have heard. Caeda is my treasure. If circumstances did not demand it, we would be together, and even long wed by now as we initially intended. But, the reality is that my presence here is also necessary.  “

          There are no end to the things he can say; most strategically, that a good leader assumes the unending responsibility of his schooling, as much a dedicated scholar of his lifetime as any historian or archivist. There is always something he can learn, always a lesson he can use. Garreg Mach with its colony of professors will teach him more than the childhood tutors he has either surpassed or outlived. 

              ….Or he could admit freely that his decision to unify his continent follows the will of his former suzerain, and even his own, but he cannot do it effectively as he is. Make the seven lands and the seven people whole when he has only ever ruled one meager slice of an island kingdom. And so he is here, while his betrothed is there.

               On the point, Marth decides upon a thoughtful hum then a smiling train of words:   “  My queen monitors our kingdom while I am here to resume my studies, because I am still lacking for many things. And a king cannot afford to lack. Now, Niles, I believe it is my turn.  “   A mild tilt of the Hero-King’s spangled head predates his curiosity, smoldering in the friendly blue fire behind his eyes. It would take a blind man, or an obsessively uninterested one, not to wonder of the bridges between this raunchy one-eyed sneak and the brilliant professional that sat prim behind a desk.

               “  …If you don’t mind me saying so, I would wonder what it is that brought you to a life of service to Professor Leo? I am acquainted with your master, truth be told, and the two of you are… Well. As vastly different from one another as east is far from west.  “

               And perhaps even those terms would be underselling it by far.

“Hm.”

When put like that, how can Niles not be made curious? It feels almost like a trap, except Marth is far too genuine for his own good. Not naive, not fully, anyway, but honest. Isn’t that just as bad?

“A good lady so adored,” he says, starting up his slow walk around the king again, “yet not already wed. And though she is not your wife, you’ve still made her queen and left your country in her naughty little hands. The order seems to be a little skewed, don’t you think? Typically, it is a fair woman adored, wed, and then made queen... but for all your excitement and adoration of the bountiful treasures to be found with a turn of your key in her lock, you seem to have found something far better here. At least, better enough to delay claiming what you say you want.”

He’s never understood it, and Niles doesn’t think he ever wants to. Men like Marth whose legends have become too great for them, who are too good to be true because to be anything else would mean to be honest, and somewhere along his journey to kinghood, he has lost sight of where the seam between ‘man’ and ‘king’ is—they always chase so desperately after some measure of sacrifice. And for what? To be lauded even further for their bleeding, selfish hearts?

Ugh. Please.

princepsumbra​:

continued from here. @filthtouched

He knows people view Niles as…different. Other. Some crueler reports describe him as nothing more than Leo’s faithful dog, doing whatever dark deed the prince demands. Funny, how they never bring up Niles’ loyalty. Determination. They don’t know the circumstances that led him to serving the youngest prince. 

It explains the complaints he’d found stacked outside his door. 

Some claims he’s sure are true—incredibly thinned innuendos in nearly every conversation, using expletives like commas. Others—like purposely killing a teammate or outright despising everyone around him—require a bit more explanation. 

For every harsh word said or written against Niles, Leo can reconcile the reasoning behind both the archer’s actions and the offended party. Frankly, Leo himself would make the same assumption about Edelgard. She appears a driven woman, goals defined in her head with little room for deviation. 

He would, however, think of every possible consequence for potentially murdering an Imperial Princess. 

“Most outsiders assume I am the stricter brother. Requiring everything aspect of my life to be perfect, which includes the behavior of my retainers. Yet I have never seen fit to place either of you under house arrest the way Xander punishes his own retainer.” For as much as he values Odin’s insights, the man might never cease shouting about unjust spirits. Leo would never get any work done then. And for Niles…the mage privately worries it might crush his spirit. 

“I have defended you before, and I will continue to do so. You must remember the position we’re in here. As a foreign royal from a country few here seem to know, my influence is tenuous as best. Should her Imperial Highness demand action, there is little I can do to stop her.” 

Leo pushes aside the stack of papers. “Political talk aside, I am relieved to see you well, Niles.” 

He thinks he would’ve preferred it if Leo flogged him, but his lord has never been one for physical violence. Losing a limb would be apt punishment, but it would affect the quality of the work he can offer to his lord, so unfortunately, that isn’t much of a choice, either. Something else, then. Something to blister or burn, something to cut and scar. Something more than a simple verbal admonishment, as if the return of an ill-behaved tool is really worth any relief.

As silly as it sounds, it jars him every time, even when he knows that it shouldn’t. His life is Leo’s; of course his lord would want something he owns to be returned to him. But such a strange thing purpose is, isn’t it? It creates such a disconnect between what he feels and what he knows that he feels like a fool for it. 

“...My humblest apologies, milord,” he says, entirely for the trouble he’s brought. (But if given the chance to shove Edelgard again; if given the chance to open his mouth during a fight to distract Innes again; if he could do all of that without a word of it sneaking back to slip between Leo’s ribs like a knife, oh, wouldn’t he?)

“I offer no excuse; I’ve brought you undue trouble, and I can only ask that you inflict whatever punishment you deem fit.” He raises his gaze to meet Leo’s. He waits for a blow that will never come. Camilla had been like that, too—so easy to forgive him, despite the wrongs he’d leveled against her. It’s difficult to digest the siblings’ forgiveness when they are so often merciless in all other dealings.

heartstringbound​:

Oh. Setsuna pauses, smile still in place. That was more sharp than Niles usually was with her.

She blinks at him curiously. Had she done something wrong? She didn’t think she’d done much of anything at all. Niles had gotten the first shot, after all, she just helped…

“You’re stepping on my foot.” She says, even though he isn’t Azama and doesn’t know what that means and wouldn’t understand. It’s fine. She’s used to it.

“I don’t usually get stuck in traps on my knees, no.” And Ryoma definitely isn’t there when she does. He always tries to stop her from falling. 

Setsuna turns and starts making her way back to the monastery, sliding her bow back into place. “They should have herbs in the kitchen…I don’t think we’ll find anything they don’t already have. They would be very bad at living here if that was the case.”

She’s quiet as she walks. And then she’s not. “You can stay and look around more if you want to though. People don’t see your knees either, so it should be fine.”

Sometimes, he really does have to wonder how the Hoshidan king had managed to get his intentions across. That Shiro is alive—that Shiro exists—is a little mind-boggling, at times like these.

...Then again, he supposes the venerable King Ryoma would have been more direct and obvious. Few people use innuendo as Niles do, after all, even when he doesn’t mean to be malicious. If anything, it ought to be a bigger surprise that Nina exists... but, he supposes everyone has their tastes. Some just have worse ones than others.

“That isn’t what I meant,” Niles sighs, tracking after her. “And I wasn’t anywhere near your foot, so that’s not what you meant, either.”

But it’s easy enough to guess, isn’t it? He’s gone too far, and now, she’s quite annoyed. That’s new; it seems the married life has taught her a thing or two, and while Niles normally would delight in the knowledge and do what he can to take advantage of it, Setsuna is, again, one of the very few people that he can stand.

musing-fantasies​:

Her smile widened at his response. It calmed her nerves to know he liked it. “Cool- I would love to show you more later.” Nina leaned closer to Niles so she could hear him speak.

She takes a quick glance around. A couple men here and there- it was wonderful. She nodded her head along to what he was saying as her grip on his hand tightened slightly.

She pulls him towards one of the stations that was filled with stuffed animals and other things- she only cared about the stuffed animals. The man at the station was kinda cute. She pulled Niles a bit closer. Her eyes went from the man to Niles. Then back at the man. They looked cute together.

“Hey…h-how does this g-game work?” Nina mentally died as she stuttered. She knew how it worked and she also knew how rigged these type of games were. It made her hand twitch. She could just steal the bear and move on.

“So all you have to do is get the bow and shoot the target to win the prize. Though you only get two chances.”

Her hand twitched again. All she would have to do is make a small distraction and the bear would be hers. She tightened her grip on Niles hand again before looking at him. “You wanna try?” If he missed his shot then she would have no problem twisting the rules.

It’s easy to see that the chances of actually landing a shot anywhere near the center were slim. In fact, a cursory glance at the toy bow and arrow that the stall attendant is holding tells him that they’re more likely to send the arrow flying anywhere but at the target. The string’s drooping, for fuck’s sake. How can anyone even look at that and think there’s a fair chance?

“Two chances, huh.”

...But Nina looks excited; she’s been eyeing one of the dolls here ever since they came close enough for her to see. How can Niles ever refuse her?

Besides—he knows all about playing a little dirty.

“I only need one,” he says, and hands the required coin over. The bow’s lighter than it looks; the arrow is pathetic. 

He remembers, now, that he’s shot with worse.

With a slow breath, Niles takes aim. An appropriately-trained archer—perhaps someone like Setsuna, or that Prince Takumi—might be able to figure out the boring details. This is how you shoot a bow. This is how you adjust for the wind, for the distance, for the tension and thickness of the string. Look at the arrow’s fletching; you’ll how how it’ll cut through the distance between you and the target.

But Niles isn’t a properly-trained archer. He was taught by members of his crew, and by mistakes, and by experience. He might not know why a certain method is right or wrong, but he can feel it. It makes him more flexible. 

Thwap!

...It also lets him fire a shot, and see the arrow land dead center for a bullseye.

dragon-kiddos​:

It didn’t matter if it was a pegasus or a roly-poly, Kana valued its life all the same. Were it not for the fact that he loved meat so much, he’d probably be a vegetarian. (But chickie nuggies were too good to give up.) 

Arms crossed, one foot stomping against the ground, and a pout on his lips, Kana makes his best I’m-so-totally-mad-at-you face. If students were getting hurt, it was because they were agitating the poor pegasi—!

Just like he was doing. 

Little dragon bristles and calms down. A frown paints his features; the shaking timbre in the air was stronger than before, no doubt to his yelling and gesticulating. Kana casts an apologetic glance towards the flock before looking back up at Niles. 

“How was I gonna grab a feather?” he echoes. Little dragon hadn’t really thought that far ahead. 

“I guess I was just gonna approach and ask nicely for one.” Like he was talking to some street vendor instead of a wild animal. “They’d listen to me, right? ‘Cause I’m not human.” No.

“They’d trample your little body before you could say ‘hello’, I’m afraid,” Niles replies, because as gruesome as it is, it’s the truth—and he’s never found much point in shielding Kana from the awful realities of life. If he doesn’t learn now, when he’s allowed to grieve and stumble and make mistakes, when will he? Later, when any of those things will cost him his life? The life of a loved one?

“And even if they were calmer, I doubt they’d be very happy if you went up and plucked a feather from their wings. You wouldn’t like it very much if someone approached you and pulled out some strands of your hair, would you?” No; that would lead to Kana being trampled, too.

...Really. This is why an arrow to the heart would’ve been the best option.

“But I suppose if you’re really that insistent on not killing one... you could try spooking them into flight instead. There’s a good chance some feathers will fall out naturally when they beat their wings for flight.” 

“Pfft, far from it! But even if I was going to tell you about him you wouldn’t believe me so why even bother!” She pauses only a split second before continuing. It’s incredibly clear she never planned on not talking. Maybe if he learns about her late husband, he’ll finally recognize her for the woman she is and stop treating her like a little girl! “He was a duke, you know. I had a proper title and everything!”

But the second she starts going into detail about the life she led before, it’s suddenly difficult to keep the smile plastered to her face. People don’t pay to see a pretty girl cry and so she pushes through. She can save the thoughts of Claud and the way he actually made her feel like she was someone who mattered for the next time she falls asleep alone.

From the alleged wife of a duke to a homeless dancer, willing to press herself to the side of any man who might want for her warmth in their beds for a night. When the mighty fall, they certainly tumble less-than-gracefully to the dirt, don’t they?

scionoflegend​:

Leo wanted his.. other retainer back? If even a slight bit of that is possible, he’d want nothing more.

It hurt knowing the prince thought his retainer had abandoned him. It may be silly of him, but he had begun to see Leo as a.. friend.

Silence struck Owain, but only for a brief moment in time. In this moment… he’s finally him. He can do whatever he wants. The choice is his.

The Ylissean was planning on doing something like swearing his allegiance on the sword he carried, but…

That didn’t feel genuine. That didn’t feel real.

So, he’d speak plainly.

“I promise to you, not as Odin, but as Owain.. I will be a retainer loyal to Leo until the very end.

If he takes me back, that is.

I’ll come clean to him, and maybe he’ll forgive me.

…I just pray that you can learn to trust me, again, too. If not now, some day.”

Niles scoffs. He turns to leave, though the stall in his step does enough in showing that he’s waiting for Odin—for Owain to follow.

“There wouldn’t be a point,” he replies. “Regardless of whether or not I trust you, I’d still be more than happy to stab you in the back if you ever did anything to betray Lord Leo—or if he ordered for me to do it.”

It’s the kind of sentiment and loyalty that he thinks Owain should have, too. This is the life they’ve chosen for themselves: not one of free men, but of bound men, who tie themselves to their liege and find both meaning and purpose in it. Niles still doesn’t know what someone like Owain can get out of it when he’s of royal blood, with a royal family out there somewhere likely looking and waiting for him, but...

(...but for him, this is all he has. This is all he needs. Odin understood that. Would Owain?)

divinetyrfing​:

sigurd watches niles’ face for a moment, and that’s about the reaction he expected. though… ‘noble, sparkling character’… is that what people got when they saw him? because he certainly doesn’t feel like that. he feels more like a traitor to his own country, cursing the generation after him to deal with the problems he’d created.

he doesn’t linger on that thought for longer than a second. “well, yes. you do have a rather filthy mouth.” sigurd hums, rather nonchalant for the conversation topic. “and i can imagine the type of things that people have you do, but that’s not really a concern for me. i personally think there are far worse people in the world that i could befriend than you.” and sigurd reaches his hand out for a shake on it, smile all the same. “there’s nothing else i want so it’s either that or you live with this on your mind forever.” a little threatening, perhaps, but he is very stubborn about getting niles to be his friend (for whatever reason).

For whatever reason, indeed. Sigurd’s probably going to come to regret this, but it’s not like Niles didn’t give him adequate warning. Niles enjoys the terrible reputation he’s built for himself; it leads to people giving him a wide berth, just the way he’s always preferred it. The less that people crowded around him, the better he’d be able to do what he actually came here to do: see to Leo’s every need. 

...Even if that very need also brought him to take dancing lessons, of all things, from Sigurd—just in case. Niles won’t go as far as to say he’s even halfway decent, but at least he won’t be tripping over his own two feet (or worse, tripping other people on his feet) if there were an occasion where he’d have to dance, so that’s.... something.

“...You’re stupid,” Niles says flatly. “Fine. You’ll have my friendship. I’ll come by tomorrow to ask about the weather, or... something.”

Like hell he’s supposed to know what’s expected of him, now.

kirablik​:

Homework is already done. Now, they sit at their desk, memorizing the terrain of the new three countries they’ve been introduced to. They’ve had the pleasure of already being to some parts of the continent, but they have yet to become as familiar with it as they are with the other worlds the Order has been too.

Sitting comfortably on the windowsill, Feh hoots. They don’t even glance in his direction as they chew slowly on a piece of beef jerky. “Lotta mountains ‘round this place,” they comment quietly to themselves. “No wonder the pope or whatever chose this place to establish the monastery.”

Feh hoots again. Kiran looks up, hand gesturing vaguely. “Natural defenses,” they say matter-of-factly.

Feh hoots again, this time head jerking in the direction of the door, just as there’s a knock at their door simultaneously. Kiran looks at the door than to Feh. Feh cocks his head to the side and ruffles his feathers.

“Shoulda listened to you the first time. I get it. Sorry,” they mutter as they move to open the door.

Lo and behold, it’s Niles… something. For a split second, they’re worried they forget his surname until they remember he doesn’t have one (as far as they know). “Hi, Niles. Jerky?” Another bite of their jerky, and they hold out the small cup of jerky to the thief.

He gives them a look, and they give him a look back. “Okaaaaay, message received. No jerky, then”

Kiran steps away from the door to let him enter, and once he’s inside, they shut the door with an easy elbow nudge. “So, whaddya want?” They get straight to the point when they sit down at their desk again, one leg tucked under them and the other pulled onto the chair as they wrap one arm around it.

“Kinda late. What if I was asleep, huh?” Bold words. They wouldn’t be, even with the special tea blend gifted to them by Niles. Which reminds them that they also had to finish their tea, so, while watching Niles with piercing gold eyes, they take a long sip of their tea.

Niles almost rolls his eye. “You were talking—to yourself or to your bird. I could hear it from outside... something about mountains and defenses.” He’s always had good hearing, though nowadays, it’s a convenient trait instead of a necessary one. For Leo’s sake, Niles doesn’t let himself grow complacent.

(...which, at least now, is kind a of a lie. It serves him well, too. For instance: mountains. Defenses. It’s the kind of thing a strategist would worry about. Is that all Kiran is? For whom? And how did they figure out a secret that Niles hasn’t told a soul, guarded so well that not even Leo or Odin surely know of his little disability?)

Niles looks around with a quiet hum as he steps inside. And though he’d rejected at first—though he always will, when it’s offered to him so casually—he helps himself to a jerky. He hopes it’ll make Kiran huffy; innuendo certainly hasn’t been doing the trick.

“Kinda bold,” he says, borrowing their phrasing. “To just let me in like that without even knowing what I came here for.”

Too trusting? Or is he simply not seen as a threat?

(Looking at them, it’s almost impossible to tell.)

dragon-kiddos​:

For a few moments, the little dragon is happy to tuck himself up against Niles’s side. 

Only a few moments, though, because Niles then proposes murder. 

“What?!” If the pegasi weren’t scared already, the shrill screech that escaped Kana’s lips certainly did the job. 

“Absolutely not! You’re not going to hurt these innocent creatures just for a feather, Niles!” Tears well in wide eyes, bottom lip quivering and pushing out in a pout. Kana can’t control the way his voice cracks, just a little, as he continues on. 

“I can’t believe you would even think to do that! That’s— that’s so mean, Niles!”

And it doesn’t stop. 

“I’m telling uncle.”

And Leo, with his love for his own mount, would never accept such a tragic action for a simple feather. 

“Hey— alright, alright, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.”

It’s just a pegasus. He doesn’t doubt its meat is a delicacy somewhere; in fact, he’s pretty sure he’d stolen a few pounds of it, except it’d been dried and spiced. Not a very legal operation, but by the gods, was it profitable for the brief time his group had spent digging their hands into that particular patch of dirt.

“You’re going to scare them away and no one is going to get a feather, Kana,” he advises with a sigh. Another glance towards the beasts say they’re antsier than before... which still isn’t saying much, considering they were already on edge by the time they got here. “Besides, you sacrifice one. How many students here do you think would be able to get feathers then, without being sent to the infirmary?”

Plenty, he’s sure—but he also knows that’s not quite the point that Kana is making. Life is life, life is precious, yadda-yadda...

(...Just like his mother. Honestly.)

heartstringbound​:

“Eventually.” She answers, following along. She makes a lot less of an effort to walk quietly behind him. She wasn’t the one trying to hunt after all. And Hinoka had suggested once that maybe if she was less quiet, she would be easier to find when she disappeared. 

“It’s been nice here so far…but it’s not like Hoshido.” Which wasn’t Fodlan’s fault. Not everywhere could be as nice as Hoshido after all. “Besides, it’s a school, right? Students have to go home eventually, and then they won’t need students anymore…Doesn’t Lord Leo plan on going back to Nohr at some point too?”

Maybe she shouldn’t ask that. They had no need to tell her the answer anyways. Setsuna didn’t mind. She starts humming absently, looking around the trees. A bird pokes out of hiding, looking over her way curiously. Setsuna smiles. She can still do that trick then.

She pulls her bow out and aims a shot at the bird, looking around curiously. “Little bird at your mercy…” She mumbles to herself. “What about mine?”

Her shot flies. It pierces the bird through the chest and it falls with a cry, landing on the ground in front of Niles. She giggles. “I got one!” She sings.

It’s never very surprising at all to see a noble excel at one thing or another. They’ve always had access to opportunities and resources that street rats and commoners couldn’t even dream of; of course there was bound to be something they were good at, because they had an abundance of time and instruction on their hands.

...Still, it’s difficult to hate Setsuna for it. He’s tried. And clearly, considering the effort he’s putting into helping her hunt, he wasn’t very successful.

At worst, she’s annoying. At best—he can stand her. It’s a touch of envy, not hatred, that has him roll his eye at her, these days.

“You did,” he says, bending down to pick up the bird. It’s... probably the cleanest shot he’s ever seen on an animal. 

(—because there’s opportunity and resources, sure, but he knows there’s also hard work. Effort.)

Hopes and wishes, fate and destined love.

It is, quite possibly, one of the dumbest things that Niles has heard upon arriving in Fódlan—and after the month he’s had, he’s heard quite a number of really stupid things. This, though? This takes the cake. Not only is there an entire festival of sorts, gathering students and faculty and even the local villagers within the monastery’s walls, but there is an entire festival full of those people who think, at least in part, that hanging a ribbon from a tree can help them find their true, destined love.

“They’d probably find it sooner if they go to the right place with some coin,” he tells the merchant passing around the ribbons, but she only laughs, nonplussed by his suggestion.

“Maybe,” she says, and looks past him to press another ribbon into someone else’s hands—someone slighter than he is, with blue hair carrying a streak of yellow. Alfonse of the Blue Lions... probably. “But nothing they find with coin will last. Trust me; it’s how I met my second husband—and the third!”

Second and third. Niles doesn’t even have time to ask her about it before she’s off, preaching the merits of hope and love and destiny to the crowd.

“Hm.” The ribbon is soft, and though the material wouldn’t last against a bit of good pressure, it’s still a nice shade of pink when held against Alfonse’s skin. He seems like the type to fluster easily; Niles simply can’t help himself. “I can think of better things to tie up than a branch on a tree... can’t you?”

At least then, it’ll be used for something worthwhile. Who the hell could possibly think a tradition like this has any merit?

As a thief, reading was unnecessary; break in, grab the shiny stuff, and get out. Try not to lose a limb. Hand it over to a fence. Profit.

As Leo’s retainer, he didn’t need to know, either. He could find out what his lord wanted to know by making use of his contacts, and no matter how well they hid themselves, he always knew how to find them—and with criminals, steel always spoke louder than any written text.

But here, at the Officer’s Academy, Niles isn’t a thief, and while he still certainly is Leo’s retainer, he’s also a student. And being a student means having homework... which, quite unfortunately, means he has to not only read, but write, too. And while Niles doesn’t like to think of it as a dilemma, it’s very quickly growing into one—mostly because there’s only so much he can do to distract his professors from the fact that he hasn’t turned in a single written assignment since he arrived at the monastery.

...All of this to say: it’s why he’s currently standing outside of Kiran’s room, brow furrowed, looking every bit like he’d chewed on bitter roots and still couldn’t get the taste of them out of his mouth. He still doesn’t know how the hell they even found out about his illiteracy, but once again, it’s frustratingly not what’s more important; what’s important is that they’re the only one at the Academy who knows of his little problem. 

Kiran isn’t just the best person to ask; they’re the only one that he can.

Thus...

Knock, knock.

“I know you’re in there. Believe me when I say these locks are much easier to open than you’d think.”

ephemeralove​:

People, Katarina had come to realize, find the strangest things to decry. In her thus far short time in Fódlan, she had come to be aware of so many grave injustices… and yet, here at the church’s gates, a crowd had gathered to decry magic of all things. Magic! Not even as youthful here as it was in her homeland, nor so reliant upon enchanted ink and blessed pages– it was inherent to their very being, but they denied its existence… she couldn’t understand it.

And as in uffish thought she stood, a reason professor, with eyes of flame… stormed up to her, an appraising glance cast over her before latching onto her arm– she flinched at that, shrinking away– and pulling her over to an equally misfortunate student, quick to chide their idleness and turn it into cause for– ah, busywork, or so it seemed. 

She slid far and away from the professor’s grasp long after they’d departed, gentle gray eyes dulled by storm. So the church was as gentle here as it was in Archanea… The thought shook her abruptly, a tiny gasp slipping past her lips as she realized it. It was unfair to the church for her to think like that, she amended in silence, shaking her head. And Eremiah had saved her from the streets… Her mind unkindly roiled, an e’er repeating procession of guilt anger guilt hurt guilt jadedness guilt guilt guilt–

“Ah…” She blinked. Looked back at him when he looked to her. Niles. She was well aware of him in a similar manner to Kris, though she took less issue so long as her lord was uninjured and amused. Unhappy, perhaps, with his sheer misunderstanding, but no more worried than that. “It does, doesn’t it…” 

Whether impassive or simply unimpressed, the mage idly rubbed at her arm. Whatever the professor had wanted had little to do with her; though she acknowledged a task was given, it was not her lord who had given it. And these people, while misguided, were innocent; Marth would not want their blood spilled, most especially so needlessly, and she did not wish to hurt them either. There was no reason to hurt them, save for some stranger’s selfishness; it mattered little to her – would matter not at all, if it weren’t for the fact that they might punish her king for her inaction. 

“…My liege wouldn’t like that,” she said at last, malcontent gaze settling on the ground. It was as easy as that… except it wasn’t; she couldn’t allow the academy to punish him– would not let them. So long as they were too cowardly to admit they wished for murder, she could not be considered as shirking her duties so long as she did something. “But we should, um, get them to be quiet, at least… A-as long as we do something, they can’t complain.”

“Well, the dead certainly can’t talk—or use their mouth for any other fun activities.” 

But the fact of the matter is that Leo probably wouldn’t be too pleased if he went around killing the naysayers, either. It isn’t to say that his lord was averse to Niles using underhanded methods to get the right results, but... there was nothing for Leo to gain, here. Not in blood, anyway, which is unfortunate—not because Niles woke up in the morning, breathed in the fresh air, basked in the warm sun, and thought, yes, today is just a fine day for murder, but because this means quieting the protestors would take effort.

This is what he gets for coming out today to take in the sights. He really should’ve stayed indoors to terrorize a noble lord or lady; that would’ve been far more fun. Saying something obscene to see if it’ll make Marth blush? Or something offensive, to see Kris’ hackles raise like a cat’s? Stepping on Sigurd’s toes. Teaching Leanne a filthy word. Lobbing something at Matthew to see if he really has eyes on the back of his head.

Anything.

Niles turns back to the protestors. He’s not terribly good with magic—has tried casting a spell once, only for it to nearly singe the hair right off his head—but he’s been surrounded by people who would fling a devastating spell with nary a thought. He might not be a fan of it himself, but he knows for a fact that magic is very, very real.

“Aren’t you a mage yourself?” Niles asks, breathing a grunt of effort as he stands. “You wouldn’t be killing them if you just set a cape or two on fire... probably.”

But considering what they’ve been ranting about, they’d likely blame it on a hidden match or something equally ridiculous.