huntsman.

cursedbluebird:

Marianne had to jog to keep up with Kiragi. She paused, a little shocked, as he took off his boots. “um… No thank you… I’ll keep my jacket on for now… Are… are you sure that you want to go into the woods bare foot?” What kind of kid was Kiragi!? Wasn’t he the son of prince Takumi or something? Then again… how did some one as young as Takumi have a son as old as Kiragi…?

Marianne decided that it was not important. And it was probably too convoluted to make sense.

“Mari is fine.” She frowned, examining the road. “Um… how long has the pet been missing? The is the main road through the woods, it’s the only one she could take if the Lady was traveling by carriage… But there’s many other foot paths and horse paths that branch off from this road…” They needed some kind of clue… Marianne wasn’t a hunter or a tracker… She didn’t know what to look for, and there were too many branching paths for them to search each path… “I… I don’t know where to start…”

this is it: this is where he feels the most comfortable. arms stretch high over head, boots swinging loosely between pinched fingers. “just for now; i won’t the whole time, i promise. i’m not that careless.” it’s nice not feeling nothing but polished wood and stone beneath his feet. though, he mutely regrets the thought that he’d definitely have to scrub them later once he got back to the monastery to avoid tracking mud into his own dorm. kiragi’d made that mistake before in his deeprealm and the last thing he wants to do is—

well, you know.

no one wants to accidentally find bugs in their room. “oh, they said like a day or two?” kiragi scratches his cheek. “i think they said it couldn’t have gotten really far.” honestly, he doubts it. how could a creature as big as they suggested it’d be not? it wasn’t as if though the forest couldn’t be navigated, but he supposes pets were different than most normal animals or creatures. something about street smarts. people were kind of like that too. “don’t sweat it; i can figure it out.” he replies, grinning as kiragi eventually evens out his pacing to match hers. he kneels down to the ground, searching for any signs that it might’ve left behind. there were some tracks from the wheels of the carriage ...

opnaskr:

there is rare opportunity for askr to simply relax in his divine dragon form. though his mortal form is comfortable enough as is, he could not deny it wasn’t so easy on his powers— especially not so after the supposed loss of his life near yggdrasil in his domain. his powers since then had weakened, no doubt.

regardless, there is not much room within the monastery for his dragon form to reside. he could crush buildings— students and innocent mortals if he were not careful with his hooves nor his horns. so every once in a while he takes to the forest where he doesn’t have to worry about such a thing.

of course sometimes trees and the plant life weren’t so fortunate, but it was better than potentially hurting the students at the monastery. his tail swishes back and fourth as he steps through the forest, careful to try and not change the terrain too much. it is only when he hears (most likely mortal) voices that his head rises too quickly and too sharply to look in the direction they had come from. roots are upheaved thanks to his horns and a tree falls, crashing to the ground.

oops. still he stays alert for the voice again, watching and waiting with a curious gaze.

@kiraumi HO CURIOUS MORTAL WHAT BRINGS U HERE

the fall isn’t as rough as he expects it to be. the nice leaves and mulch at the bottom of the forest does a lot to cushion his legs and the tug at his collar is enough for him to know that ranulf kept him from, well. eating aforementioned mulch. kiragi can’t help the nervous laughter. “thanks! man, you’ve got really quick refl ... ex ... es ...” it’s kind of just like he can’t help the way that his expression goes from relieved to shocked to, well—not really knowing a whole lot of what to do with his face. the corners of his lips twitch, now that he’s face to face with one really big cat.

he wanted to ask about the ears.

wanted to ask about the cat tail too, but he was so certain that it must’ve either been a wolfskin or kitsune thing that he didn’t ask in the first place.

he knew what those looked like.

heck, at least two of his friends were! not to mention their two dads and then their collective clans. cats, though—cats were new. he wants to pet him. his mind briefly wanders to his cousin shiro and archer sends the thought into the ether as if though he were capable of telepathic communication to let him know that his cat girl fantasies may really truly exist somewhere out there in the world. “ahem—” because he doesn’t know what else to do to clear the air outside of mention that there are a lot of books about people like ranulf in his homeland and that he doesn’t want to divulge the contents of over half of those were, “—did’ja see what it was?”

lightly removing his collar from feline’s mouth, he jerks a thumb in the direction of the trees. there was one that had fallen over now. narrowly avoided crushing him, mind, but he’s never met anything so big. not in fodlan.

heck, not even in hoshido.

“too big to be a bear right?” he scratches his cheek. “but what’s bigger than a bear? an even bigger bear? we’re not in grizzly country. too high, too cold for that.” now on his hands and knees, kiragi crawls toward the newfound path through where the tree had fallen. he keeps low to the ground, but turns back to ranulf with a lone digit against his lips to ask for quiet ( not that he expects to have to tell a—shoot, he’s going to have to ask what to refer to him as. can’t be disrespectful! ) before peeking over the trunk.

“oh dip.”

vermilique:

‘ mixed feelings ’ would probably be the most accurate descriptor for her current state of mind. on one hand, she has a hard time believing that old wives’ tales could really be any more threatening than figments of the wild imagination. on the other hand, she’d seen enough the last couple of years to be unsure if she really beileved that quite as staunchly as she always had. if these overgrown ruins really were cursed or what have you, why hadn’t they heard about it until now? why hadn’t anything ever befallen the village, or anyone from it? it’s unlikely that no one who lived there had ever not gone inside before themselves, even with all the warnings. wasn’t it true that the more one told the average adolescent not to do something, the more likely they were to go and do it anyway?

but, say this labyrinth really was more than met the eye — which she’s willing to entertain considering she knows for a fact there’d been a path here on her left beside this pillar the last time she’d seen it, and now there very clearly isn’t. in that case, wouldn’t it have been wisest for the villagers to just to leave it alone? it wasn’t really an eyesore, nor did it seem to be bothering anyone unless it was bothered first.

—plink.

what feels like a raindrop hits her cheek, but its horizontal trajectory and, when she looks back, the sight of kiragi aimlessly playing with the damp leaves despite their predicament, reveals the culprit as the morning dew still beaded on the vegetation. it’s then, pulled out of her rapidly-moving thoughts, that she realizes how tense her expression is, brows knit close unintentionally, a sharpness to the line of her mouth. she tries to smooth that out.

“kiragi, does anyone come here often? that’s the whole point why we’re here, if i remember.” she never doesn’t remember. 

after the vines had closed the entrance in behind them, their priority should’ve been to find a way out. to most people ( as it should be, also, to them ), this would be an urgent situation. but kiragi can’t be said to be the only one handling this with maybe an inordinate amount of dispassion, and as much as caeldori would like to claim so, it’s not just the result of training and self-discipline. “i want to get to the heart of this,” she continues unprompted, eyes forward again and scanning for any differences this time around, any clue to the way forward. “if these ruins really do have a mind of their own, even if we make it out, they’ll just trap anyone else that comes in after us. there should be something that’s making it come alive.”

—plink.

“and can you stop playing around with the branches?”

he’s never really liked it when people told him that they had told him so. but, kiragi told him so. his smile tenses and he raises his hands up innocently. he really should’a known better than to try and make casual conversation. caeldori was a stick in the mud. a nice stick in the mud, but still a stick in the mud. even if it was a joke, she had a way of turning their attention all the way back to their current predicament, which was that they’d gotten sealed inside of an overgrown labyrinth that clearly had no interest in letting them back out.

“yeah, yeah dori; i know.” arms drop back down to his sides, hands eventually finding their way into the pockets of his uniform. 

kiragi turns his attention back to the surrounding walls of the labyrinth. their path from the neighboring village into the forest had opened out into ancient, but overgrown ruins. they’d managed to follow a path that opened up into a slightly larger room. it was probably no more bigger than one of their own dorms and before they’d had a chance to even realize where the labyrinth began, a decision was made and then they were sealed inside. caeldori marches on, searching her half of the room for another way out. kiragi searches on his half, the southernmost part by the hall they’d entered through. 

at least they didn’t have to worry about a lack of oxygen or anythi—drip, whap! a stray branch swats at him. huh? he looks up. wait, was that caeldori? the thought passes as quickly as it occurs to him. no, it couldn’t have been. she literally just told him to stop messing with the plants. besides, she was ahead of him! maybe he’d pulled on one and just didn’t realize it? ( it's a bit of a stretch of the imagination. ) he rubs at the back of his head, shakes it off, then hurries after her.

“well, don’t say if like that! then, we really won’t get out!” he laughs, lightly tapping a few of the stones fitted into the wall and tugging on stray vines that have grown through the cracks. “yeah; you’ve got a point there. guess we should solve this ol’ mystery here, but,” hand lifts to reach for another branch, then he decides against it at the last minute. all business. “what do you think it is? or why, i guess. magic, definitely, but why a labyrinth? most normal people would get lost in a normal forest.” he scratches his cheek. “you reckon it’s to just keep people—”

It’s your turn on cooking duty, and you know exactly what you want to make: delicious pizzas! The kitchens are well stocked today; *too* well-stocked, in fact, because there are way too many choices for toppings, with everything you can imagine from meat to veggies to more unorthodox choices like chocolate or mapo tofu. Will you and your cooking partner come up with a brilliant new recipe, or spend the entire time arguing over whether or not that pineapple belongs on the pizza? [Grants Authority +1]

he’s never heard of pizza before, but it’s delicious. who could’ve known that a little bit of tomato sauce, bread, cheese and an overabundance of toppings would’ve resulted in one of the tastiest meals ever? he sure couldn’t have! and it seems that the culinary minds of the monastery’s kitchen have been dishing out pizza after pizza in light of current demand from not just the staff but the students. and who could blame them? kiragi has half a mind to sneak a slice himself, but he promised that he wouldn’t.

he’s been entrusted, after all, with an important package—four of them, actually.

leif, over here, was entrusted with the other four.

and leif, as it turns out, is a real person. it’s kind of funny seeing it now ‘cause it hadn’t seemed so obvious then in quiet wood. the guy had been dressed like the rest of them and he didn’t have hair that stuck out like a sore thumb like the others, so he’d wrongly assumed that he fit right in! when he thinks about it more, kiragi just gets embarrassed ‘cause it’s like how could he not have noticed, right? adjusting the crossed straps that tether warm boxes to his back, kiragi glances up at their pizza chariot. it looms high overhead, the first wheel larger than he thinks he himself even is and the back wheel painfully low.

“well, this is ol’ bessie,” he chirps up, hands tucked around one of the lone straps. they were supposed to be carrying it horizontally, but he doesn’t see why carrying a pizza vertically would be a problem. “the cooks said we can’t use the pegasi or horses ‘cause they smell bad and that’d ruin the taste and wyverns is out of the question,” he waves his hand. 

“i’m not sure how we’re supposed to get up onto it ...” kiragi searches around for a stepladder of some kind, but no such luck. so, he pauses then squats down. lacing his fingers together, he holds them up for leif to plant his foot. “upsie-daisy!” he grins, but kiragi quickly adds as if to clarify his intentions, “don’t worry! i’m an archer! i’ve got core strength, buddy! i won’t let’cha down!”

Rumor has it that life-giving fairies reside in a nearby forest. They say if you’re dexterous enough to catch one, she’ll stay with you and heal you even when you’re at death’s door. Investigate the forest and see if you can’t put these rumors to rest—or prove them true. [Grants Reason +1]

he finds himself staring at the treeline. it’s become something of a habit these days, always searching and waiting to see if someone will wave back. not that avilitis ever entertained things like that. kiragi finds himself staring at spider webs in equal measure, muscles always involuntarily tensing in case he needs to dodge out of the way of a knife. he doesn’t know if fairies really exist in this world, just like how he doesn’t know if he really knows if spirits exist. but if they do, there’s a not so small part of him that wants to search for them anyway.

although, trying to explain that to people is hard because how do you tell a total stranger that? so, it’s just easier to explain away as errant curiosity.

“i’ve been to this forest before,” kiragi offers, holding back a branch for ranulf to pass, “but only once and it was with marianne. have you met marianne? really sweet gal!” left unsaid is the fact that she was a little nervous and he thinks she probably wouldn’t enjoy having more unsolicited company, but—well, you couldn’t tell a story without the subjects. “i’ve never seen a fairy,” a lie, “but what kinda fairy tale fairy is gonna only show up when we’re super dead?” a pause, a thought and kiragi steps lightly down the path.

“that sounds like some kinda horror story to me.”

“no, i’m pretty sure that if there is a fairy that it’s gotta be lying out in the middle of the forest or something, right?” lying? flying? “i mean; that’d make sense, right?” kiragi prided himself on being a good mountaineer, but tracking a story sounded kind of hard. did they really leave behind dust or anything like that? archer’s glove presses onto tree trunk as he searches for the trail markers, gesturing for the other to follow as they weave through the trees. “so, anyway: what brings you—” thud. “what brings you out—” THUD! “—out hEEreeereeEE?” trees are uprooted and kiragi’s feet are swept from under him.

HEADCANON ASK MEME.

hell yeah, a bitch loves being alone. haha, i think kiragi's actually an ambivert or at the very least is a fake extrovert. he comes off as very friendly and outgoing, you know? the kinda guy who's happy to talk to just about anyone and everyone if the opportunity presents itself, but i don't think he actually actively seeks out the companionship of others in both formal and informal settings.

put in example, i think he's the kinda guy who'd eat lunch alone happily, but if someone happened to sit down beside him then he'd make small talk.

he's the most in his element when he's alone and able to just kind of do his own thing. it's how he recharges and he values that time alone and probably gets a little more than snippy when people are infringing on that time with the expectation that he is consistently this perky. ( which, i think those boundaries he hasn't had to establish with the fates kids yet since i don't think he considers himself to be particularly close to any of them, ironically. ) i don't know if i'd call it an outright preference, though.

he likes people. loves spending time with them.

mockiatto:

Jakob was skilled in the art of many things… but making friendship bracelets hadn’t been high on Gunter’s list of duties to train him on. He squinted, leaning forward to keep tying the tiny knots of the bracelet. It was certainly bracelet-shaped, but it lacked real finesse. About to simply untie it all, he jumped at a sudden pat on the back.

Who had the nerve—!

“Kiragi.” He hissed in a breath, fingertip ensnared into his own bracelet. He grumbled, fighting it out and twisting around the chaotic mess of string. “I am not helping any children, so get that straight.”

With his fingers free, he turned, frowning. His eyes drifted to Kiragi’s bracelet, which seemed much nicer than his own. It was a gift actually worthy of Corrin, and he frowned louder, if possible. “How did you… and its heart shaped.” How cute and endearing.

Whatever.

He drew himself up, eyes back on the bracelet intended for a lance. “I am making this for Corrin. I need my concentration.”

Obviously still in a flustered, peeved mood, he managed to get a nail caught on the rope.

“What utter tedium and anguish! This is not fit to be called a craft!”

ohhhhhh, okay. that made sense. kiragi had thought it was odd for jakob to be wanting to help any kids do anything. but, he couldn’t think of what else it could have possibly been. it wasn’t like jakob had friends or anything, but if the bracelet was for corrin then that actually made a lot more sense. “are you and corrin friends?” he wonders outloud, turning his attention back to the threads woven in his hands. hisame always said that vassals were supposed to be subservient to their lords. made it easier when things, you know, happened.

he didn’t really know how it worked in nohr, but that seemed like the case when it came to the royal retainers too from what he saw.

he’d never been fond of that kind of thinking himself.

dad and hinata and oboro were great friends, so he thinks it’s possible. he just doesn’t know or think it’s possible for someone like jakob, who’s always so particular about this and that. the toe that the loop of his bracelet is hooked on flexes slightly as he deftly weaves another row of knots into the chain before the butler’s complaint gets his attention again. “oh, it’s easy! you’d have to start over from the beginning, th—jeez!” kiragi jolts back at jakob’s sudden complaint and archer nearly tugs off his own toe in the motion. yeesh, someone was taking it kinda hard, huh?

In collaboration with the kitchen staff, the archery professors have come up with a fun game. Each ring of the target corresponds with a piece of cutlery. Outer ring = Knife, Inner ring = Fork, Bullseye = spoon. Each student gets 3 arrows and whatever they hit is the cutlery they get to eat dinner with that night. Will they get all three or a strange mix or none? Either way the chefs hope they enjoy a hearty meal of soup, pasta with pesto & sausages, chocolate pecan pie and ice cream. [Grants Bow +1]

man, that’s one giant woman. kiragi doesn’t mean to be disrespectful. it’s just kind of hard to not stare. honestly, he’s never met anyone quite that tall in his life except for the nohrian kids. those guys shot up like weeds! his eyes wander to the right of him, archer shifting back and forth a little awkwardly as he adjusts his grip on the toy bow that they’d both been given. height didn’t matter in archery.

at least, he doesn’t think it matters. targets were usually always on the ground and at the end of the day what counted was precision!

fingers press lightly into the bowstring.

he was good at that. he was takumi’s son after all. wielder of the fujin yumi! second son of the kingdom of hoshido! yeah, that was right, and he was kiragi! he didn’t have a divine weapon or nothin’ yet, but he was a mighty fine archer in his own right! a hunter extraordinaire! he’d do great! that kinda talent was why the archery professors had called him and eir to go on and help them test out the game. so, that temporary insecurity gives way to enthusiasm which then gives away to the tiniest bits of trepidation as he watches the targets get hoisted up into the air. rings hang suspended above ground and smaller than that is an even tinier ring from which each utensil is independently suspended. 

his mouth hangs open.

he looks down at the dinky toy bow again, then glances over at eir—that’s the name he’d heard, but he doesn’t know if it’s a nickname or something and likewise doesn’t want to be rude. kiragi’s never been the competitive type. well, competitive in a nice way! not so much in a ‘i’ll crush you and your dreams’ kinda way. besides, it wasn’t like they were going to be vying for very specific cutlery right? they both had their own targets, right? “you both will be sharing one set of cutlery, depending on what you shoot down,” the professor says aloud, as if to answer the question plainly apparent on kiragi’s face. “... huh,” lips seal. “uh, well.”

turning to face eir, he offers a hand and an easy smile. “may the best archer soup!”

now, kiragi doesn’t like to lie. it’s a fact. he’s pretty bad at it, actually. that does not, however, mean that he isn’t inclined to a little bit of mischief here and there when the opportunity presents itself. he doesn’t like the mean kind of pranks. for sure; of course. the last thing he wants to do is actually hurt someone just because he wanted to have a laugh about it. but, this isn’t that, though he reasons that it might just be the tiniest bits of embarrassing for ol’ uncle ryoma if he actually believed him.

it’s been a while since he’s seen ‘im. 

on all accounts, uncle ryoma was back home in hoshido running the ding dang country. he’s here now, which kiragi presumes must mean that aunt sakura must be coming sometime soon too between both hinoka and takumi also present.

with at least three of the nohrian siblings here also here along with corrin and her whole family, he can’t say he’ll be super shocked to have the whole of the entire royal family here sooner than later. he supposes he should be worried, but it’s not really his problem so much as it was shiro’s. and wouldn’t shiro have a hoot when he got to read a letter from his favorite little cousin about how he managed to pull the wool over his old man’s eyes? so, kiragi sits here with his hands folded over one another and a calendar spread out in front of him.

he had to start with something easy.

something too crazy and ryoma’d catch onto him for sure. “no, for real; they added an extra day to the month here.” a hand is waved. “you know how we have leap years? they just add the extra quarter every four months.”

“no, for real! i was confused too. i guess it’s saints’ day or something? you’re not supposed to work on the lord’s day.” 

Friendship bracelets are making a resurgence, but this time, lance wielders are tying them to the shafts of their weapons to show off their popularity. Join the cool kids and decorate your lance with some sick new threads. [Grants Lance +1]

he’d never really gotten into friendship bracelets as a kid. kid. heh. well, kiragi supposes he still is a kid so maybe he wasn’t too late to it at all. it just wasn’t the kind of thing he learned how to do. honestly, he was pretty knuckleheaded then. anything with embroidery floss? a hard pass. that’s not to knock on the skill. he’s sure that it’s very useful for a lotta people! like forrest? oh, shoot; yeah of course! forrest was great at anything that required a little handiness and style.

people had things that they were good at and that was true of kiragi too. but more importantly, he wasn’t going to waste a bright and sunny day just sitting around to stitch into a loop about how he was bored out of his eyes.

embroidery aside, it wasn’t like he had a whole lotta friends to make bracelets for. his friends were the woods and a handful of kids from the nearby village that could keep up with him when he went running off through the mud.

there’s a little part of him that regrets it now because it sure would’ve been funny to have made friendship bracelets for the things that he did consider his friends. a little bracelet on that boar that nearly gored him when he was ten? or maybe that nice flat rock that he used to sun on after a day of swimming in the nearby lake? he snickers now as he deftly weaves a thread through another looping knot, tongue peeking out as his brow furrows with newfound concentration.

but see, friendship bracelet weaving wasn’t embroidery. it was just tying a heckuva lot of knots in a pretty pattern. kiragi was real good at tying knots! pinching the end with his toes and his fingers arranging the threads, archer carefully recreates the heart shape that he’d been showed earlier when he hears a muffled sound of frustration. peeking over, he belatedly realizes that it’s just jakob—and he does mean it’s just jakob ‘cause that guy’s never liked him—fiddling with a kinda funky looking bracelet of his own. “huh,” he says unconsciously, stroking his chin.

the knots are a little all over the place and it’s kinda messy, but—kiragi heartily pats butler on the back. “well, good on ya for helping the kids out, jakob! i didn’t know you had it in you!”

There’s been word of crumbling ruins, remnants of an old town and its gravesite becoming overgrown with strange greenery. Beautiful though its blooms may be, superstition and old maid’s tales have painted it as a beautifully haunting omen for a disaster to come. To that effect, the neighboring villages are too afraid to venture and clear it up, avoiding any and all routes that might cross it, and so have pleaded for aid from every passerby willing to help. As you enter the mouth of the ruins to dispel their needless fears, however, you find that these are no mere ruins.

The vines close the entryway from which you came, and, looking ahead, you find that the ruins are, in fact, a huge maze. To make matters worse, the vines that now prevent you from leaving don’t seem to be content to stop there. All around you, the labyrinth shifts and changes; the walls move, the plants snake and snap. You and your companion must hack and cut your way through and find a way out, lest you intend to bury yourselves in a grave that never needs to beg for flowers. [Grants Sword +1]

“once you’ve seen one spooky forest, you’ve really seen ‘em all, huh?” kiragi wonders aloud, gloved hand gently guiding away a thin and wayward branch as they step lightly through the brush. leaves rustle and mud slops onto old worn leather. returning to the wilds of fodlan wasn’t his first choice of things to do. after all, he’d spent the better part of his short stay here on this continent trapped inside of some book, then trapped again inside of another book.

kiragi had thought that maybe it’d be better to take some time then between their return and his departure now to acclimate to the monastery. but, the relief and familiarity gave way to an anxiety that he still can’t quite place but knows more intimately than he knows his bow.

and so, he’s here again, walking through an overgrown path with his hand idly extended to the branches and leaves that he still can’t quite reach. apprehension is temporarily sated as his eyes wander to the canopy as they wander aimlessly through the woods. kiragi half-expects avilitis to be sitting there, strewn out across the branches, but knows that they aren’t.

he still waves anyway, as if they’d would wave back. he can’t help but think this part is familiar too: walking alongside someone that he knows, but doesn’t know.

thoughts wander to ji and how ji’s easier to talk to than caeldori, who he can’t help but think is probably even more intense than hisame and hisame’s already a chore to talk to as it is. dew snaps forward as he lets go of one of the low-hanging branches. they’d been assigned to this mission together because, well. outside of the logistics of it, they knew each other. the least he can do is at least try to talk to her.

besides, what was the worst that could happen? before, seeing caeldori usually meant ... well, chores or guard duty, which seriously cut into his time spent in the outlying woods. here, it would just be awkward or a little naggy at best. he was good with that. “soooooo,” he swats at another passing branch. 

“yooouu come here often?” 

frauleindermorgen:

Micaiah has always feared time, but never memory until coming to Fodlan. Now, standing in the line outside the library she considers how this is the second time she’s had to check her memories against the calendar and realize there’s too much there - as of living two lives at once.

It’s the life she’s left behind that she worries for now

She’s seen to many tragedies unfold before her, so she’d like to think without her there, without the Agarthans, there might be hope for a happy ending.

She isn’t the only one there for the new books that have appeared to line the shelves of the monastery but she is the first to approach the one titled Quiet Wood; or so she thinks until she notices the spot steps of the hunter behind her.

Turning to him, she smiles a little sadly.

“Kiragi. You’re worried about Ji too, aren’t you?”

@kiraumi

he never thought he’d be so sad to see the sky. a normal, regular sky. puffy cloud here, puffy cloud there. a shining and brilliant sun. it’s a relief in some ways, knowing that he didn’t wake up into another reality where he’s been trapped inside of some book that he doesn’t know how he got in in the first place. but from the sounds of it, it seemed like he was hardly the only one. half the monastery had gotten spirited away by the machinations of some bad guys that he doesn’t know how to name or place just yet and some, he notes, returned in worse off shape than others.

he’d been unlucky enough to fall when the monster lashed out in its last moments and kiragi would have thought that it was all a dream in the first place if it wasn’t for the dull ache in his wrist that still lingers or the fact that he still recognizes their faces and names now.

micaiah smiles a little sadly and he can’t help but do the same.

they’re—well, he doesn’t know if they’re friends. people lumped together by coincidence, wasn’t that just like home? laughter comes out in a soft breath. “me? worried?” he replies, taking a few steps past micaiah to reach for the book sitting neatly tucked into the shelf. he’d never really taken to reading. it wasn’t that he couldn’t or that he was bored to tears by doing so, but it just wasn’t his thing. thumb swipes across the letters on the spine and book thuds shut when he opens and turns the pages lightly. his smile tenses. 

“maybe just a little bit.”

frauleindermorgen:

Standing by Celica’s side she watches as the queen rains purifying flames down upon the man in the tree and his soldiers. Soon after it is Professor Arvis who sends out a magical conflagration - this spell tinged with his signature Reason, rather than the afterimage of a ferocious mother like Celica’s.

Lachesis strikes down the last of the soldiers after Morgan’s rending of the earth, and seeing them all come together like this, spirits and humans both, Micaiah feels her heart soar.

When she reaches for Thani strapped to her hip it is with renewed confidence. 

“Flowing light, gather,” Micaiah commands in the common tongue, sensing familiar power come to her fingertips; for a moment, she looks down at the tear in the miko robe she still wears and hears in her mind the clear chime of kagura suzu bells.

“And strike my enemy down!”

[Roll to attack. 1d20! 16. Hit for 1.5 damage.]

She sends the stream of magic straight for Melanthios and feels the spell take, a halo forming around the face in the tree before a blinding flash. Now was the time.

[Corona activates! Melanthios Res down to 0.]

@opnaskr @avemaera @diadic @amnesiac-pawn @pridelessdaydreamer @alluxerim @lionheartedsunflower @seraphiia @kiraumi

and then, there was just one. kiragi got a good laugh in when lachesis took down the last of the tree’s allies and, likewise, just kind of tensely smiled when leif told him to quiet down. the last thing they need is more attention, though he thinks a fight in stern silence is just the tiniest bits boring. dad’d probably disagree though. he’d probably be telling him to pipe down too. this is it: just one last guy, a few more pot shots and they’d be home free. he glances around, half in search of avilitis and also half to make sure that these trees didn’t also want to kill him.

he leaps into another set of trees, steadying his feet on the sturdiest part of a branch before drawing his arrow and taking aim.

shooting a person or an animal is pretty easy. it’s a matter of finding where the blood ran deepest. how did you find that with a tree? his thoughts wander to its roots, the ones that had ripped themselves from the ground and that lay dormant for only just now. he’s almost sure that they’ll try again. tree roots were usually sturdy, thick things. he couldn’t imagine an arrow could sever that connection. but, he also didn’t think that shadowy illusions could be eliminated either. so, he likens the roots to the veins and lets the arrow fly.

it—

kiragi attacks melanthios with deadeye and misses ( 4 ).

well, he doesn’t know what he expected.

seraphiia:

     She watches as Leif dispatches the executioner and its wicked blade, as others dart across the battlefield to cure toxins and mend wounds. (And Kiragi, coming to a revelation she didn’t quite realize he needed.) The slash to her legs has left Celica collapsed in pain, immobilized and nearly defenseless against any incoming attacks. 

     But she still had fire, oh, did she have her fire.

Melanthios attacks the party with Root of the Grudge (2), and misses Celica.

     When the ground begins to tremor violently, roots bursting forth from the earth, it’s all Celica can do to curl up on the ground and hold her arms over her head defensively, laying low so that she might avoid the worst of the onslaught. Fortunately, it seems the lashes miss her entirely, and by the time she begins to push herself up, Micaiah is fast at her side.

     The familiar notes of Avlitís’s song dance on the air, mending her injuries and fatigue. And the burn of poison in her system soon fades at Micaiah’s touch. The other fire within her refuses to die, however. “Thank you, Micaiah… and you’re right.” She glares at the warped tree. “We will.” She holds onto the light mage for support as she pulls herself back to her feet, carnelian hues turning toward the minion that had been weathered down by Arvis and Lachesis’s attacks.

Celica attacks Soldier A with Ragnarok (8) for -6HP. (Soldier A: 0/10) Soldier A has been defeated!

     The heat that surges through her comes with a swell of power that is all too familiar—exhilarating, overwhelming, intoxicating. Yet, it is a double-edged blade. She fears the tempting impulses it summons, the lack of control if she were to ever allow herself to succumb. Although it is not the true form of the magic bestowed upon her ancestor, bestowed by Mother Mila herself, the flames of Ragnarok manipulated at her fingertips rain down with an unimaginable force, dancing gloriously in the air as it incinerates the soldier in an explosion of hellfire.

    It’s frightening, really, how right it all feels.

@kiraumi

that’s one angry tree. not that he expects him to say anything other than big doom and gloom junk. you know, the same kinda stuff that you hear every mega supervillain say at the end of every battle. he’d heard plenty of it from all sorts of mercenaries that were up to no good and plenty more from the criminals that they fought and occasionally allied themselves with. the others seem more familiar with melanthios than he is. but, he supposes he doesn’t really need to know in the end to stick an arrow in his? ( its? ) eye.

when the tree strikes and sends the earth trembling, kiragi all but manages to keep himself steady as the roots whip out violently. striking a few of their comrades, who are thankfully and swiftly healed with the careful attention of the others—more real people that he doesn’t know, he realizes with equal parts exasperation and embarrassment—with their heal staffs and magics at hand. 

where the others are quiet, kiragi can’t help but laugh.

“haha, missed me, missed me. now, you’ve gotta—” one of the roots slams down on the ground just beside him. “yeesh, alright! someone’s cranky!”

scampering off to his next hiding spot to put some distance between himself and their enemy, he watches as the others strike down another one of their enemies with so much ease that he dares to think that this might actually end swiftly. the looming tree overhead is something he should be afraid of. sure, he knows that. but with celica magicfingers over there and the sort of choppy-haired red guy with his spirit guardian, he dares to be optimistic that this will end well.

optimism does not mean acting blindly and stupidly, though.

as another soldier falls to fire, he draws an arrow and fires. arrow clips through armor and into the soldier’s arm, though kiragi half-wonders if there’s anything for it to really hold. his mind wanders, briefly considering the possibility of magical gravity before reminding himself to stay light on foot and aware of his surroundings.

kiragi attacks soldier b with steel bow. 1d20 roll: 17+4. hit! (-1hp) soldier b’s hp: 9/10

rocking forward onto the balls of his feet, he retreats backward into the surrounding tree cover and waits for the next opportunity. at least, you know. until he realizes leif's also here. “man, you too?!”

“i'm real; you're real. is there anyone else who's real that i should know about?” he shouts from the branches on high.

opnaskr:

the situation has turned dire quickly. askr has no familiarity with the enemies that they face but all he knows is that they must fight. the man that suddenly appears takes ji and the holy tree away and askr knows that this is not something that will end with a simple conversation. he looks to his people, the mortals he had grown so incredibly fond over his time in this storybook.

bruised and injured almost beyond repair, they would not survive without the healing of the spirit’s songs. his lance gripped tight with his hand, he looks toward avlitis. he would keep them safe. he would keep them alive. one glance at the spirit is enough to convey his intents.

[ askr rolls (with avlitis) to heal with that on the lotus leaves water rests, 1, +1hp ]

but the song that plays from their flute is nothing compared to what has been played previously. it’s short brief, and the melody is almost grating to the ears. askr is loathe to believe it helped at all, but he feels the tingle of something within his body. hopefully the others had felt it as well.

NEXT: @kiraumi

he wakes up from the dream. but, there’s no relief like he expects. he isn’t awake in his nice, fluffy bed back in hoshido. he’s not in the middle of a camp somewhere in the woods. he’s not even back at the stupid monastery, which he’s probably only stayed at for the whole of a few weeks before he got trapped in a stupid book and then got moved into just another stupid book. except, it’s not stupid—it’s not stupid at all. his hand clenches into a tight fist at his chest, his heart a stutter as he watches friend plucked from this earth turned to broken ivory. the tree looms, the bark warping into a face he doesn’t recognize.

he closes his eyes.

he opens his eyes.

close. open. close. open. he rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands, but the tree does not disappear just as the rest of the forest disappear. he claps his cheeks. “come on,” he grunts, as the others pass him by with their weapons and magics at hand. “come on, just wake up!” he slaps his cheeks again. harder this time, but the enemies that lie before them don’t disappear. he turns, watching as askr calls the spirit that they’d befriended forward and celica lunges forward with her sword at one of the illusion. they—he swallows. they were?

eyes widen. “man, you guys were real the whole time?!”

and that meant—oh mama, that meant this battle was real. like real, real. as in, if he doesn’t start shooting that he’s going to end up being fertilizer. kiragi takes a step back, half-skipping before he retreats for cover. bow is pulled out, arrow is drawn and he eases into a comfortable position just as celica’s sword cuts an opening through. the string strains in his ears and he breathes. as the illusion swings its own blade, he finds his mark and lets the arrow fly. it lands true, which. well, honestly. he didn’t think it would. “i can’t believe no one told me!”

man, now that he thinks about it; there were plenty of hints! he can’t believe he just missed all of them and—and the flute? wait, hold on a second. head snaps in askr's direction, kiragi aghast. “and the spirits were real too?!” as he takes another arrow out of his quiver and does a quick look around to make sure nothing’s gotten close to him without his notice, does kiragi complain any further: “everyone’s got a lotta explaining to do when this is over!” he hoped it was over fast. he’d promised ji that they’d be in and out in two days. kiragi doesn’t ever break his promises.

lionheartedsunflower:

The siren-song of Avlitis’s tune reinvigorates, and her wounds which dripped with poison closed so that only cuts ~~~ no longer gashes ~~~ littered her figure, but the sting of the poison still lit her blood aflame. Recklessly so. 

TURN 

Killing Edge @ Flesh Monster B  15 (-2: Sense of Smell) = 13: HIt: 1.5 dmg (+0.5: Charm) = 2dmg (-1: Decaying Flesh) = 1 dmg against Flesh Monster B (HP: 2.5/6) 

A swift leap allowed the tip of her blade to pierce the resilient flesh of the death-defying creature, and the momentum carried her so that she stood a fair distance opposite from the company~~~ distance was key; split the creature’s attention, and mayhaps confusing it would benefit them. It did seem unwilling to perish a second time. 

COUNTER 

Rotting Claws @ Lachesis 8: Hit: 2 dmg & -1 (Toxic Poison) Lachesis (HP: 2/10)

It pounced for her, and the familiarity of its stinging talons sank into her flesh, but she didn’t allow another cry to leave her; gritted teeth jailed the sound, and she forcefully pried the creature from her, heaving in the aftermath. Blade in hand, she retreats a few paces back, weapon raised, hopeful that the distance might allow her time to adjust to her flaming, searing muscles. 

Much of her consitution had left her by now, and she could only thank Askr’s request of Avlitis ~~ and Avlitis’s willingness to allow the request ~~ to remedy what of their wounds the spirit could. Otherwise, she may not be standing on her feet. 

“Just a little longer!” She huffed. “We… We can hold out!”

the last of them is more stubborn than the other two. they’d gone down quietly. this one seems to have benefit a great deal from the injuries that the others had suffered. frustration gives away to a sort of calm serenity as he draws another arrow, crouching where he has found cover. he isn’t mad. he doesn’t feel guilty about it either. kiragi just doesn’t allow his thoughts to wander anymore than they already have. the creature, distracted by lachesis’ attack, isn’t looking at him. realizations pass at a clip. not through the head.

a headshot didn’t promise a swift death to the undead. the neck was too thick, just as the chest and arms were. russet hues fall to its leg. there.

arrow flies, burying itself in the creature’s foot in kiragi’s futile effort to bind it to the ground. the fleshling does not howl, but pulls on its foot without an ounce of trepidation. its shoulders are bowing and its limbs turning inward before they violently lash out again at anything in its vicinity. he knows the final death throes of a creature that's lost. this time, askr—made silent by a spirit, but a comforting presence all the same—is struck by its poisonous claws and kiragi draws another arrow in the same breath.

it’s in moments like this that he regrets he’d never picked up a sword.