absentia ( WIP )

“So, are you guys going home for Fantasy Thanksgiving, or staying at school?”

   A NOISE FROM FITZROY that sounds like a strangled squawk, almost. he had removed his frames for an instance to wipe some dirt from the lenses. dark lashes fluttered in bewilderment, matched by irises that almost swallowed his pupils from their depth. they were almost black, but there was sections of a warm brown speckled throughout the iris. his ears folded down in embarrassment. 

@knightfailed​ said: " SO YOU'RE A PALADIN!! i haven't met many, though us knights are a bit similar! we fight for people, but they're flesh people usually and tragically most cannot give us SUPER COOL powers. your cause is rather noble! how did you find out about that? is it,,, common? i apologize i really don't know much at all about your profession!" ( that's the BEST homebrew also ur interpretation of anna? chef kiss )

───  𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃, 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒, seeped in an intonation peculiar enough to make Anna’s brows raise a near-inch. The curiosity alleviates into a demure smile at the mention of his noble cause.   ❛ Aw, thanks ! And it’s … a long story, a 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 long one, but basically I saved my sister with an ‘𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄.’ ❜   Fingers curl for air-quotes, thinking the phrase to be baronial when the sacrifice itself was a piteous display of stumbling feet and trembling fingertips. ❛ And I’m not good at much else, but I think I’m good at love sooooo I took it up ─ Getting a cool sword is just a bonus. ❜   It takes a moment longer for him to consider the second question, thoughts tilting his head to and fro.   ❛ Hm, good question !  I haven’t met another Love-Loving Paladin outside of my kingdom, but to be honest, I think everyone’s got an oath of love in them someway, somehow !  Most people’s got a lot of love to give, right ? ❜   In the depths of his heart, he can only hope it is so, and a stubbornness holds the belief like a child’s fantasy. No, not many have a love that beams in all directions, but how wonderful that reality could be, to have a warmth like sunlight on skin with every interaction. Though, he understands why there’s a lack of it; a heart can have a weight few can bare. 

       His smile takes on something sheepish.   ❛ I feel like I said the word ‘𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄’ a bajillion times right now, aha, sorry. But can you blame me ? ❜   He lightly, most humorously, poses in his armor: bright metals adorned with rose hues and motifs of his distant kingdom. A shrug is coupled with a straightening posture before his smile widens, nose crinkling.   ❛ But that’s enough about me !  Tell me about you and your knighthood ─ anything ! ❜   The decorative metal resting on his shoulders unpleasantly clank as he gently bounces on the balls of his feet, easily enthused as always.   ❛ Or maybe start off with who or what you’re pledging yourself to ? ❜   A pause as he finally realizes,   ❛ 𝐎𝐇 !  Actually, a name would be nice to know first. ❜ 

   having someone who also could ramble a lot was comforting. fitzroy listened to anna speak about his oath with a curious expression which seemed to shift to reflect his thoughts on whatever was being said. for example, he nodded when anna mentioned he thought there was an oath of love within every person. fitzroy knew it was idealistic, but he was sure no matter how nefarious a person was there was some semblance of love within them. in knight school, he had learned about evil-doers && their complex motivations. even if people were very well the worst there was always some form of love within them. though, for some it wasn’t for others but themselves. yet, love is a love is a love. he himself loved a lot of things! he loved justice, he loved his roommates, && he loved listening to the word love. he hoped, in equal parts, a lot of things loved him. that was fairly silly, wasn’t it? 

“ i think love is a nice word! one that should be said more often, i believe. it’s really quite interesting that it’s something that- i don’t know, isn’t tied to romance sheerly. i suppose that sounds odd, romance of course can be noble! but, people really undervalue the love we can have for our siblings, though i don’t have any. i have heard that! people can love them a whole lot. i always thought it would be neat to have a sister, or brother, or whatever they so wish to be called- i also think getting a sick-butt sword is also great-” 

     his knighthood! a small smile, awkward even as he attempted to put into coherent words. he supposes he’s not a knight of traditional manners. a sort-of knight. still, that didn’t have to be known. his name was a good place to start. “sir fitzroy maplecourt, knight of goodcastle! i studied to be a knight at clyde nite knight’s night school. minored in shielding, && such!! i have a lot of fun stories about it, i think. oh, this is very exciting! i haven’t been able to talk about my, little knight-boy adventures!!” argo once said that calling them little knight-boy adventures was a very underwhelming && silly way to describe them, but fitzroy thought it was nice. he was a little knight-boy at the time! about three years younger, in fact! 

   fingers interlocked && an uncharacteristic laugh left fitzroy. he pressed against his companion, the light buzz of a drink from the local bar making him less opposed to some mild goofing. his eyes were alight, local bardic sidekicks && heroes alike having a jam session perfect for the evening. the yard between their dorm && the tavern had a sky overhead that was dimming pink to a dark-colored sky. the wink of a moon smiled at them from above. 

All this talk of limes made him fidgety. Did he have one in his bag? He stuck one hand into his satchel to search hopefully. No. He frowned lightly at the bag as if it had stolen the limes from him, but alas. He’d get ahold of some later.

Argo cocked an eyebrow, managing to miss the goobering. “I would never suspect such behavior from, as you say, ‘that cat I love so much’.” Hm… not actually a bad suspect though… He’d honestly just seen Fitzroy first and hoped for the easiest outcome even though the chances of Fitzroy bothering with Argo’s things were small. He didn’t have much, and certainly nothing he thought would catch any high class folks’ eye.  

He glanced around as if his books would conveniently be lying on the ground nearby. It wasn’t a huge deal they were gone really, mostly just confusing. Still he had the time free and figured a search might as well be what he filled the afternoon with. 

“I guess thanks anyway.” Even though nothing had really happened. “Figured I’d ask you first.” Because he was who Argo had seen first. “I’ll keep looking.” He might walk around a few minutes then take a nap. “I’d ask you to help, but I wouldn’t want to interrupt your knightly business– or expose you to any allergens.” 

   fitzroy considered letting him wander && search for the books on his own, but that wasn’t really very roommately of him, now that he reflected on it. “ even small acts of goodwill encompass knightly duties! assist for the betterment of others, && whatnot, argo! i suppose if i’m exposed to any allergens you’ll simply have to warn me, a small price to pay for my assistance.” there was something inherent about fitzroy, && it was that he very rarely allowed someone to deal with something irksome seldom if he felt like he could get some approval from helping. he supposed the best path of action would be to go to their room && search his section, he made a mental list. 

“ your bed is... clean, right? perhaps you knocked them into some crevice! we should investigate your half of the room thoroughly before somewhere else. are you the kind of person who shoves your books under your pillows? i had that habit as a younger elf, that was until sleeping became a real mess of literature.” 

     hand extended, nervous at first towards madeline. it seemed silly, it really was only dancing. however, when their fingers interlocked && he brought her gently against him to lock them in the proper posture of a ballroom dance it reminded him why he was always prone to jitters before the sway of the music warded away his anxiety. a waltz, very simple to him as the muscle memory returned. 

    her hand was brought into the air, careful to allow room for her to push him away if she decided against it last minute. his other hand moved to the small of her back, searching for somewhere respectable to land. the bow of a violin pulled to announce the beginning of the song, he gave her a smile that was softer than his usually strained, socially acceptable ones. 

Argo watched Fitzroy with open amusement. He was so easy to rile up… “I’ll do my best in the future,” he lied politely. Uh oh. Maybe the ‘lord’ joke had been a mistake. He worried his lip for a moment before assuring himself that the elf probably wouldn’t change his own title without having earned it. Still, he was saved from thinking about it as they returned to his original inquiry. “The peel is where the nutrients are! Just like lemons, potatoes, and bananas, you gotta eat them whole to get the benefits!” Argo punctuated his point with lots of gesticulating. Then digressed, “but no, the opposite actually. I had a couple books go missing. I thought you might’ve taken them.”

it was honestly disturbing at first, him ripping into limes like a horrifying animal, but after a bit it became endearing in a not so pleasant way. sometimes argo would glance at him && bud with a huge bite from the poor victim lime of his choosing with juice staining his mustache && fitzroy would smile, albeit somewhat noticeably strained && silently horrified along with endeared. he mulled over the fact, not really knowing enough about citruses to protest it. he saved the potential quip for another day when he figured out the nutritional value of the food. 

books? missing? fitzroy contemplated it for a bit, trying to recall if he had seen any books. sure, the others had their stuff, but it wasn’t his so he basically erased it from his mind unless it seemed like it would be important healthwise ( he hadn’t spotted a fantasy epipen, but just in case! ). he looked at him, very cautiously testing his own little goobering waters.