yours will be a happy future

Status: Passed

Activity check:

1, allocated to sword C+ (1/2)

Items obtained: Accuracy Ring, Evasion Ring

settling dust

Careless.

Lucina had been careless with planning their mission, leading them right into a trap, and now she and her friends are paying the price for her foolishness.

They run through the forest, and she looks back to see Morgan has stopped running and instead has turned around in the direction they were running from.

“Go, go! Save yourselves! I’ll buy you some time!”

“No-!” Lucina knows what her friend is planning to do, and she rushes forward, though a hand catches her arm, pulling her back. 

o ye who wield the sacred blade

One of the students has been hounding their peers to     join their newest club, one where you “roleplay” a “hot     myrmidon” on a quest to defeat a dragon, using dice to control the flow of     combat. You may be familiar with tabletop versions of this game, but this     student insists that “live action roleplaying” is the     best way to do it, with costumes and props and all. Defeating a dragon?     For some of you, that’s “been there, done that”!     [Grants Sword +1]

@futurerequiem

“It’s… quite the replica,” Ingrid remarks upon seeing the “dragon slayer” blade placed on the desk before them. She and a few other students are gathered in a Golden Deer classroom for the purpose of learning this playing of roles, and despite the long lecture her senior with glasses had just given her Ingrid still feels quite out of her depth.

(Why were there so many numbers involved?)

“Not a replica,” the Golden Deer student tells her sternly. “It is the mythical sword and you are tasked with bringing it to the master knight in order to defeat Nefarious the Drake.”

“Mm,” Ingrid says, licking her lips and turning to Lucina – the only other person she really knows in the room, and only because they’ve shared classes before. “So Lucina –“

“No using real names!”

“Er, so, is it that I am this Sir Knight’s squire and she is tasked with slaying the Drake correct?”

Appeased, their senior in the Golden Deer nods and sits back down behind a resplendent screen bedecked in the various crests of the saints; Ingrid has little time to wonder if that was cleared by Seteth ahead of time and sits down in her own appointed seat.

“Roll the dice of fate, young squire,” the senior intones, and then turns to Lucina in kinda. “You as well Master Knight! The dice will decide if you can lift this sacred blade.”

Ingrid does not comment that said sacred blade is laying on the desk right before them and obediently shakes her container of dice, giving Lucina a side look as she does so.

Lucina feels… awkward, dressed in her armor for this… game of theatre. 

She still isn't quite sure what she's doing, but she had been asked to participate, so here she is. 

Well- that and the 'mythical sword' on the desk is really her Falchion sheathed. Another reason she is participating in this game in the first place. They had asked to borrow the sword for ‘authenticity's sake’, and requested she dress the part, she had agreed.

She still doesn’t quite understand how rolling dice is supposed to determine anything, and Ingrid (the only person she really knows in the room) seems willing to try, so she will too. She picks up the container of dice and shakes it, before letting the dice fall out.

She-... doesn’t understand what the numbers are supposed to mean or do for her.

“Your rolls are low.” the Golden Deer student in charge of their ‘game’ states after counting the dice, “You attempt to pick up the sword Master Knight, but alas! It is much too heavy! As if it’s being weighed down by the sins of your ancestors!” she laments, and Lucina just stares with slight confusion. 

“This really is similar to improvisational theatre…” she mutters to herself, though their senior seems to frown and glare slightly at her, before going back to their game.

"Lucina! I've missed you so much!"

Lucina doesn’t recognize the student that runs up to her, but… something about them is familiar. 

“Do I… know you?” she asks, before realizing how rude her question sounds. “Forgive my rudeness but- I don’t believe we’ve met before?” Upon a closer look at her face, she realizes- “You look just like my brother.”

Is she my little sister from a different time? Would she have been my sister had Father and Mother not died that day?

She shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions. It could be just a mere coincidence that she looks like Morgan.

settling dust

Rain batters down on Lucina, as she stands in the middle of the battlefield. Her comrades move around her in a blur, and she’s tired, she realizes. So very tired of fighting. 

“Why are you fighting in a war you have no part in?”

…Because I want to give others a better future than my own.

Lucina flinches at the hand that grabs her arm, sudden but gentle. When she turns to look at the person, Edelgard von Hresvelg, Emperor of the Adrestian Empire, stares at her with concern.

"Are you hurt, Lucina?"

“I’m alright Lady Edelgard- really I am." She doesn't allow herself to speak her thoughts. The thoughts that plague her mind since she joined her House Leader's cause all those years ago.

Is your cause really worth this war? All this bloodshed? Is there no other way to bring about unity and peace?

The rain continues to fall on them, and Lucina already knows the answer, lying between the former princess and the emperor, unspoken.

settling dust

Lucina patches herself up in the medical tent. She’s waved away the healers, insisting that they should see to her comrades before tending to her. Her injuries are minor, compared to the injuries others have sustained. 

A familiar blonde walks in, eyes scanning the tent before landing on Lucina and walking over to her. Drenched from the rain and mud (as they all are), Ophelia’s face is pale and taut with distress.

“Ophelia.” Lucina greets them with a smile she hopes is comforting. “Are you alright? You look a bit pale-” she’s cut off when Ophelia pulls her into a tight hug. They cling to Lucina, burying their face into her shoulder, and she realizes they’re shaking.

They must have been worried about me...

A little note attached to the vase requests her most delightful presence in the dining hall come breakfast time--he promises not to be late.

It's a testament to just how seriously he takes romantic gestures that he's early. Not even a pink hair out of place as he grins at her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"Good morning, my love! And the happiest of birthdays!" Tucks some hair behind her ear before sitting down. There's a little box on the table, perfectly wrapped. (He'd enlisted help on this end.)

Perhaps he's going overboard, but that's okay. They both deserve a chance to be spoiled.

Inside this most recent gift rests a set of buttefly stud earrings. He knows she won't like dangly ones. They'd just get in her way.

"Heh, I hope you'll forgive me for planning to spoil you today."

Sunflowers are not the first thing Lucina expects to see when she opens her door, and she nearly trips over them on her way out. They’re beautiful, and she sets the vase on her desk with a smile, next to the bouquet of roses gifted to her. 

She already knows who gifted her the sunflowers with the little note, just as she knows who is waiting for her in the dining hall.

"Good morning Inigo." She greets the other with a smile, her affection for him bubbling to the surface, and presses a kiss on his cheek before sitting down beside him, "Thank you for the sunflowers. They were lovely." when he pushes the perfectly wrapped box to her, she opens it carefully.

"Oh-” her breath catches at the sight of the gift inside. A pair of earrings in the shape of butterflies. 

Lucina has never been one to wear jewelry, save for the pendant she wears carved in her mother’s likeness. When she had been a child, maybe, but as she got older she hadn’t had the time to worry about such things. Jewelry was something unnecessary for her to wear during the war.

But the stud butterfly earrings are small, subtle enough that they wouldn’t get caught in her hair or be a hindrance to her day-to-day life, but still beautiful in their simplicity.

She holds one of the earrings up to the light, watching as the butterfly gleams from the sunlight hitting it.

She’s always been fond of butterflies. Just like how she’s always been fond of Inigo.

“They’re beautiful.” her smile is soft, eyes full of warmth as she turns to Inigo and kisses him. “Thank you.”

When was the last time I've been truly happy and at peace on my birthday?

"Velouria!" Lucina greets the wolfskin with a smile, and is pleasantly surprised when Velouria hands her a small bouquet of daisies.

Perfect Date

> starter for: @futurerequiem

Honestly, he’s still trying to wrap his head around it all. 

Confessing his love to Lucina went far differently than he’d ever imagined—no grand fanfare or romantic gestures. Only a stolen kiss in a quiet corner of the monastery. The longer he thinks about it, though, he realizes it’s better that way. She’s not the type to enjoy surprises or lots of attention. 

Still, he could have at least given her a flower or something before asking her out of the blue for a kiss. For the man who prides himself on romance, he was sorely lacking when the moment of truth arrived. 

So naturally he approaches her dorm with a bouquet of flowers in hand. A tasteful bouquet. Nothing too gaudy; only a handful of roses grown from his little section of the greenhouse standing proudly in a simple glass vase. 

Inigo has to make it up to her. Nothing over the top—only flowers and one more question on his lips. Knuckles rap gently on her door. Perhaps all he needs to be, after all, is himself. He has never claimed to be anyone else; the dramatics and endless optimism are nothing more than a manifestation of his desire to make others happy. 

I love you, Inigo. She’s always seen right through him. 

He hears footsteps on the other side. Dancer inhales, releasing his nerves on the exhale. 

Confessing her feelings to Inigo had never been something Lucina had planned for. Or meant to do, really. She hadn’t meant to fall in love, especially after leaving everything behind in the other world and coming to Fódlan.

It would be more accurate to say she hadn’t meant to redevelop feelings for Inigo. But it happened, and she doesn’t regret it.  

Lucina knows though, that there is more she needs to tell him. But she had been caught up in the moment of unfounded happiness and love that she hadn’t really been… thinking about the secrets she keeps from everyone. 

When they eventually leave the academy, would Inigo want to return to Ylisse? Would he ask her to go back with him, or expect her to go back?

You’re not the Lucina from his world. A part of her whispers.

But what if I am?

What if you aren’t, and this happiness you’ve found doesn’t belong to you?

The quill in her hand snaps at the pressure from her grip and being pressed too hard into the piece of parchment she was writing on.

She sighs, putting the quill to the side. She doesn’t know what to do.

The knock at her door alerts her, and she stands, going to greet whoever is on the other side.

The Princess and the Wolf

Velouria clung to the princess, startled by the sudden amount of people gathered in one place. She hadn’t expected it to be so busy, but this was why she had asked someone to come along with her. So she hopefully wouldn’t get too overwhelmed. Agh, all the scents mixing together hurt her head.

“I… I don’t know. I kind of want to buy a dress for the ball, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking.” She didn’t want something too frilly or fancy, she wanted to still be able to wear her cloak with it after, she needed to wear her cloak. That, and money was a huge issue. Her coiffers were almost never full. She only had her collection, which wasn’t worth money anyway, not like she would ever give it away.

“I thought you might know, since you’re so stylish and all.”

"Ah- I wouldn't say that I'm stylish…" Lucina trails off. She's been called many things, but stylish was never one of them. Her friends have always said she has… unique tastes when it comes to fashion. That and the last time she had dressed up for such an occasion had been so long ago… "I'm happy you think I am though."

"Let's try that shop over there." She gestures ahead of them. "Perhaps they'll have something you like." 

The Princess and the Wolf

With the Ethereal Ball just around the corner, it’s high time that you start getting your ballroom attire in order. Naturally, wealthy students have long made it a tradition to visit nearby fabric shops with friends so that they can get a custom piece in time for the event. However, with more and more students of humble backgrounds attending, a few new shops have popped up recently selling ready-made outfits for everyone to try on.

starter for @futurerequiem

Velouria hated even the idea of a stuffy ball. It sounded awful, but she figured if she was going to be forced to go by the school or her friends, she might as well go shopping. What did a ball gown consist of though? It was probably very expensive, given the gowns that she had seen back in Nohr. Though, she didn’t have that kind of funds. Or truly any money at all. That was probably her biggest roadblock. As she passed by a group of girls, she heard them chattering about some shops that had opened, ones that sold clothes for cheaper that were already made. Huh… if she was going to get something for the ball, that would probably be her best option. Well then, that only left one problem: she didn’t want to go alone. She didn’t know anything about fashion, she would probably end up picking something terrible if she went by herself. She paused in thought for a minute, thinking about who she could bring when she spotted a familiar shock of blue hair.

“Lucina! Will you go into town with me?” Her tail wagged behind her, actually somewhat excited for this outing. Hopefully the princess would say yes.

A free day of nothing to do for Lucina is a rarity. She has plans with Inigo tomorrow, so she had decided to get as much work done today as she could. Of course, she didn’t anticipate that she wouldn’t have much work to do, seeing as she is already caught up with much of the work from her classes.

Maybe I’ll spend my time in the library or the training grounds. Which… really isn’t any different from what her normal routine consists of.

“Velouria?” She turns her head at the familiar voice calling her name and greets her friend with a smile. “How are you today?” if the other isn’t busy, perhaps they can spend the afternoon together reading or having a conversation over tea.

“Into town?” She hasn’t been to the town in a while. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

There are crowds of people gathered around various new shops when they arrive. Specifically, the fabric shops as well as clothing stores. “Everyone here must be shopping for the Ethereal ball.”

And if that’s not enough, soon after you hear rumors that Drayden was actually being serious when he kept suggesting a trial by combat to decide who wins the seat. Gladiators from all across the Alliance are gathering for an underground battle royale, all in hopes to receive a fabulous sum of money as well as become Drayden’s champion. Hearsay won’t be enough to confront him–you’ll need to gather evidence. Sneaking into the underground arena should be enough, but fighting directly in the tourney might yield some extra information… [Grants Axe OR Brawl +1]  

Sneaking into an underground arena is relatively easy. It reminds Lucina of the time she had been in Ferox's arena, fighting her father as the West-Khan’s champion.

She isn’t alone this time though. Her companion for their mission is an old friend, brown hair kept up in messy signature pigtails.

Just like with the others, Lucina hadn’t expected to ever see Cynthia again after leaving Ylisse. 

She’s happy they’re reunited all the same of course. She’s missed Cynthia and her lively disposition. There had been... yelling on both ends when they had reunited at the monastery. 

“Cynthia,” she calls the other's name, coming to stand beside her as the crowd moves around them, noisy as they clamor to get to their seats or to prepare for the tournament. “Signups are still being accepted for the competition. Should we put down our names or find somewhere to sit and see how this all plays out?”

Coincidentally, Lucina of the Black Eagles is found after the masked swordsman leaves, emerging from her room to find something to eat at the dining hall.

“It seems I slept the day away.” she admits when asked about her whereabouts. “I suppose all those nights spent staying up late have finally caught up with me.”

“A masked swordsman? Hmm... I admit I don’t know who you are speaking of.” she answers, “Though, I hear it was a rather strange and eventful day today. A shame that I missed it all.”

'Marth' doesn't know how they ended up here exactly. The people passing by stare at them, and when they asked about their whereabouts, they learned they were in a monastery (others had answered the name of a school).

So it seems they are not in Ylisse.

"Did Naga make a mistake?" they mutter to themselves, and startles when someone begins talking to them.

'Marth' doesn't know this person. They don't recognize him, though he addressed them as Marth...