» Will you not lay down your lance and walk the right path?

He glanced back at Nadia who, getting the hint, comes closer to him and rubs against his legs like a gigantic cat, prompting some giggles from the charmed audience. It doesn't escape his notice that some students cast brief looks at their own wyverns - wondering, perhaps, if they could have a bond quite like that.

"Well, not to get too personal or anything, but I refer to Nadia as family," he responds, scratching the underside of her chin fondly. "I was there when she hatched, and we grew up together. Of course, that type of bond is not a requirement for a good relation with one's wyvern, nor does it guarantee anything," he continues, slipping into the double role of both a student and a teacher at the same time. "I could be Nadia's favorite person in the world, and I probably am, but still not earn the respect and trust needed to fly on her."

"How... does that work?" A young man nearby mumbles, maybe to himself, but still loud enough for Claude to hear, and he glances at him.

"Well, it's simple. Think of it this way - you probably have a good deal of friends and pals, both at the Academy and outside of it. Some of them you may have known for a few months, or years, or even since childhood. You may have been through all sorts of stuff together. Still, and give it a moment of thought before you answer: would you trust every single one of them with your life?"

A few seconds pass in silence, before the student shrugs with a smile. "I could probably... Think of a few that I wouldn't."

Smiling, the House Leader nods. "Yep, and the same goes for wyverns. It's important to not think of them as regular animals. Both wyverns and pegasi are smarter than your regular horse, even if that's a statement some horse enthusiasts would find offensive." He chuckles before continuing. "A lot of the time they know what they're getting into with you, and if they don't trust you not to lead them straight into the ground, they will make absolutely sure you do not get on their back ever."

With that, he looks back to Minerva and grins, though his expression remains warm still.

"So to return to your question, I'm her family, childhood friend, and a partner trusted enough to be permitted to lead her into the fray. We stick together through good and ill."

He then glances beside her, to the large, beautiful wyvern resting by Minerva's side. A subspecies from outside of Fodlan for certain, the animal has curiosity in her eyes, but also mixed with the kind of dignity that speaks of experience.

He definitely deeply care about her, she thought to herself as he concluded his first part of the speech, abruptly interrupted by a nuisance question, but of course that was part of the lecture –stupid question, which actually weren’t stupid, if asked with intention and curiosity, genuine curiosity. The man asking this seemingly was a bit nervous and he possibly sought a reassurance from him, perhaps an encouragement that even he could actually do it, could actually work that way.

Despite the rolling eyes of Minerva, the young man – which Minerva still wasn’t sure how to call, but she was sure she was an House Leader – eagerly gave a simple and steadfast response, something that Minerva clearly saw as a statement of a good teacher, but also of a model student: his reasoning was very easy, practical, but also effective –he not also made the crowd think about the concrete experience of each one of them, but he also did manage to make a wise statement about life and about that particular type of mount.

How brilliant of him, another thought, this time she kept it for herself as the young teacher was still explaining what for Minerva has been quite obvious since the very first time she saw Freyja; obvious, but not foregone as many adults around her seemingly were quite oblivious to that knowledge. Then, he eventually returned his glance over Minerva, who kept the gaze with curiosity and interest, grateful to hear such extraordinary response from a young student like him.

Then, another point-blank question, which wasn’t absolutely intended that way –he probably just wanted to acknowledge more about an experienced wyvern rider like her or perhaps he was just curious about a mysterious woman coming from abroad with a creature that was quite different from the rest of the wyverns in the Training Hall –as a matter of facts, Freyja did have some different features; scales, paws’ size, even the behaviour of her was different, but it the end, she was just lucky to find a resourceful companion like Minerva.

“When I was very young, I used to explore the surroundings of our home and during one of my exploration, while a snowstorm was going on, I found… a cub” she paused, giving a moment to let the memories flow in her mind, “It was so tiny and she was left alone, in the cold season, which was even greater and heavier in my homeland..” she made another pause, a glance at Freyja as to make sure she still was intact, safe, under her protection. “My parents always told me that wyverns were terrible predators in wild nature and that was why they usually tame the ones growth in captivity. Probably many of the participants here have received their partner this way” she gave a quick look around, observing each face and each muzzle, noticing a nervous one, but she kept on going with the speech. “She was… harmless, defenceless. I just couldn’t let her die out in the snow. So I decided to take her with me and.. well, the rest is story” she eventually concluded, a satisfied smirk appeared on her lisp as she shifted her gaze on the young man, recalling his name by the flyer she saw before entering the seminar.

While it’s been a while since she accustomed with her dress, the heady experience she just lived with Altena definitely put the red-haired woman in a very excited and on cloud nine mood and as she casually walked towards the first table she saw just to put something to ease her thirst and lust, as she grabbed the glass filled with a purplish liquid, she turned and she couldn’t help but bump into another person, causing the inevitable.

“Oh my, it totally was my fault!” she blurted, but soon after, she couldn’t help but widely smile, “Leif, I’m so glad to see you, ehh… of course not for the mess I’ve just made” she scratched the back of her head with an apologetic glance, then she reminded that she could at least make herself forgiven.

“Here.. This flower is the first excuse I can make for you” she offered it to him, “But of course I can repay you with whatever you want” and she bowed her head in the hope to look apologetic enough and with a bittersweet sensation, this situation kind of reminded her of someone else… ( ethereal ball — second half. )

    Wearing white came with it certain dangers. The shade is loved for its ability to represent purity, pristine as it is. The moment that color is touched however, it is difficult to hide the way it's been marred.

“Minerva! It's fine...”

He tells himself he should have definitely been able to dodge that, but alas, the violet hue stains quite prominently on his jacket. He slips out of it, slinging it over his arm as he thinks about how in the world he's going to get the stain out. Despite his words, his expression is clearly disgruntled as he ruminates on this, each second he thinks about the consequences, the more severe his face gets...

...but he still knows it's not good to blow up in Minerva's face about it. Tonight he plays a prince, and with it, the attitude expected of one. It's not like this is the first time he's gotten white attire ruined anyway, and it will hardly be the last.

“I certainly have something to properly clean up the stain” she immediately said as she casually exchanged the flowers, “Maria should certainly know a trick or two…” she thought aloud as she observed the flower in her hand, flipping it with her fingers, until she eventually realized something, the question coming from his mouth brought out a solution in her.

…Which was to say his ego was massive, but he also felt the size was justified.

Eyes follow the Macedon’s then, drifting past their immediate circumstances and finding what was likely the aim of their travels: the cave, as well as the waters rumored to swirl around it. (If he was being honest, he’d expected something a tad more dangerous, but then again—if such a course could truly be labeled so, they might’ve been required to take with them a guide; Valter would take whatever small mercies he could find.)

Regardless: the water wraps around the cave, leaving no simply walkable pathway, and the apparent depths of the lake means that simply wading would not suffice in this instance. Had they steeds, it was entirely possible to simply fly over and land beside the entrance—or, on most earthbound mounts, to trot through the waters until they arrived—but such was not in their arsenal. (To go without assistance had been the appeal to begin after all; and here would be no exception.)

…Still, the Moonstone is loath to imagine the nuisance of actually having to swim. (There was no question of capability, but it was impractical in even half armor, and then figuring out how to bring it along undonned–)

“ Hm? ” (The question draws him from his thoughts.) “ Of course I can. ” What kind of question is that? It was seeming to be the way forward; but a nuisance it was, and there was no pretending.

—which plunges him back into his thoughts: what was the practicality of trying to bring his armor along? (It would weigh him down, and that, along with his other layers, would make traversing the distance as a swimmer nearly impossible—for anyone, including himself.) Carrying it on his back would be even more irrational; but he was not going to simply leave it behind.

His brow furrows further—now this is an issue! Illogical to bring along and impossible to go without; what, then, are the depths of the lake again? (Was it possible to wade through? What if he held his breath as he traveled?)

Then his eyes lift upwards—to the sky, which may provide an answer where the land and sea would not. (If he could makeshift a way across, then he would be able to carry all his equipment without the encumbrance of water.) The ideal circumstance, surely, if he could make to have it happen.

“ That wouldn’t settle the issue of our equipment, ” he finally says, a late addendum to his earlier statement—yes, he could swim, but that alone wasn’t enough. “ Unless you were willing to traverse the cave without some inventory—and risk having it vanish while we’re potentially underground—we’ll need to solve that issue as well. ”

It was his way of offering a say—to allow the other to weigh her judgement and posture an idea or two of her own: cooperation, however rarely the Moonstone may ask or offer it.

Minerva studied the water for a moment before her gaze drifted back toward the shoreline. “Our mounts would be quite the lifesaver in this situation” she pondered aloud, but of course they weren’t given the possibility to bring them for this mission –oddly enough. “Yet, perhaps we're treating the lake as though it must be crossed only by swimming” she suggested as she immediately caught the opportunity to concretely cooperate with the man and as her burgundy eyes gave a quick look around, she noticed a cluster of weathered logs half-buried among the reeds.

“The water only needs to support our weight” she hinted with her head at the direction where the logs where, nodding in sign of approbation. “We could gather timber, lash together a platform and ferry ourselves across the lake” she paused, wondering if the idea crossed his mind as well, “This way we could bring our armours and weapons with us –I rather take more time to get there instead of became defenceless and possibly sink in that pond” she smirked, then she shifted her gaze on the cave: it wasn’t that far, it wasn’t that impossible –they could do it without too much of a trouble.

“The distance isn't far either and with two people working, I’m sure we’ll be able to finish quickly…” she returned her glance over him, a soft smile tugged her lips, sincere but a bit mischievous too. “Are you in for the hazard?”

With the wooden sword pointed at them, a smile broke out on their face. They tapped the hilt of their sword as a way to clap. Her words sounded like… yep, battle time. Well, time to find out if there really was a chance for them to beat a professor in a fight. Maybe her lack of experience will help me…?

No time like the present to find out. As the other moved away and switched to a combat stance, Kiran did the same. Okay, just gotta do the same as she did, parry. Or dodge. Whichever ended up happening first. 

Roll: d20 — 19

She pushed forward. Kiran could have parried but chances were she was far stronger than them, and so they dodged to the side. While she was still in the momentum of her attack, they pushed forward themself. They pointed their sword at her throat, some centimeters away of course! It’d be, like, soooo bad if they actually poked at her throat. After a couple seconds, they moved back.

And they were damn right; as Minerva slowly realized the consequences of actions, she lowered her weapon and stared at the weapon of Kiran for a long moment, admiring the bravery and eagerness they put into a reaction that was perfect and unexpected –exactly what Minerva wanted to learn from a seminary like that, not the obvious, ma the most unpredicted.

“That was…really good” she complimented them, backtracking a little just to put enough distance to observe the standing professor, “I’m so glad I’ve chose you as professor Kiran” she bowed her head a little, then she continued, excited at the thought of the new request: “In a situation like the one from few moments before, my best option probably was to attempt a disarm, so…” she paused, wondering if it actually was a correct choice for the situation, but soon after continued with her new request, “I’d like to see and learn how to disarm an enemy using a sword!” and she posed herself ready to watch and learn the proper way to deal with an close-up enemy, which meant two options: disengaging or disarming –she chose the latter, of course.

The innocent look in his eyes immediately made the Macedon woman hesitate for a moment, as they incredibly reminded her of her little sister Maria. How could she say no to such naïve and gentle student? She made a sincere smile and after a gentle pat on his shoulder, she consented to his request.

“I’d be glad to be helpful to you and to that little kitty” and she glanced over, to try spotting the kitten around, but obviously it escaped from the hustle. “We shall start looking around the area where you found it, I’m sure it’ll be back if it’s hungry” and she nodded a little as she listened to him eventually explaining where he found it before arriving there.

Despite everything, she couldn’t really give up on him, especially when she spotted a pure soul and a gentle heart like his. But before anything else, she wanted to returned the flower, since by pure chance, they shared the very same bouquet.

“A token for your gentleness” she exchanged the flowers, then she settled for the research. "Lead the way!"

She's not entirely sure what she should do with her own hands but, thankfully, there are enough other couples dancing that she's able to look around and figure it out from their example. Shoulders then. That's doable. Her hands hover awkwardly a moment over Minerva's before she commits to it.

And she's not entirely sure where she should look either. When she looks around to see what others are doing for that, the inspiration is less helpful. That person has their head leaning against their partner's shoulder. And over there is someone looking deep into the other's eyes. Both options feel way too bold. Awkwardly over the shoulder it is then.

“Don’t worry… we don’t need words” she simple said as she delicately felt the head of the young woman placing over her shoulders, a soft touch that Minerva enjoyed with guilty pleasure. In all response, she simply twiirled around with her, moving along the ballroom with slow pace, but steady, until the music eventually finished –dancing, enjoying each other company, feeling each other bodies, hearts, feelings. As most couples bowed in gratitude to their partners, the two of them were still there, together.

“We can do another round, if you wish” and she let go of her sumptuous body, her hand handed her one of his flowers, a hyacinth. “For you and for your boldness in dancing with me”

Lapis is brought back to her senses, broken from that brief period of captive thought, when Minerva stops and speaks again, commanding the Brodian's full attention.

“Minerva...” She's not sure if Minerva actually fully means that compliment; her, perfect? But the more the Dragoon speaks, the more it continues past those uncertain praises and towards something easier to believe.

Your choices are always what matter the most.

It gives food for thought, and she lets that strike its chord with her to mull over. The flower transfers bouquets, and for it, Lapis at last breaks out into a smile.

“Thanks. I should've pulled myself out of there first, but these balls still make me nervous, it looks,” she admits with some degree of shame. Nevertheless, she tries to stand a bit taller, a bit more radiant. “That's the second time you've pulled me from a weird situation, huh? One of these days, I'll back you up with my full strength too! On my pride as a tourney winner.”

But before that, Lapis pulls one of her orchids from her bouquet and finishes the trade, planting it in Minerva's own.

“I am truly glad to be able to protect you twice” she answered, a gentle smirk tugged her lips as Lapis always reminded Minerva of her little sister Maria; that was probably why she felt so attached to her and she felt the urge to protect her from any danger, even though she proved herself strong enough to take care of herself.

To complete her trust, a special gift given by the petite girl, a kind token she happily added to her bouquet, a proud present from her adoptive sister, even though she perfectly knew it wasn’t the case –but perhaps Maria wouldn’t mind about it, huh?

The audacity with which he slammed the flower on the table was quite impressive for Minerva, who changed expression, a smirk tugged her lips and as she quickly rummaged in her own bouquet, she did it as well: she slammed a hyacinth on the table and defiantly, she accepted the challenge –she wasn’t the type of person to  retreat in the face of these occasions.

“Deal. Now, let me sip that thing” and she picked the little spoon inside the dessert, she took a small portion of food and she finally put it in her mouth: the taste was familiar, not totally known, but a strange numbness gripped her tongue, causing her to express disgust. He as kinda right.

FRESH STALKS OF EUCALYPTUS IN ARM ,　𐂂　she's dropping them off in one of the buckets where only a few last strips remain when she spots an empty gap at one of the tables ; easy strides slide in to fill it easily——"hey hey ~ !"——and a cheerful greeting brings the next customer in. mom used to tell her she'd run a great shop in a big city near the capital somewhere when she still had the energy to dream, and she thinks of that out of the blue now as she listens to the woman's question, weight resting on an arm braced on the table top.

maybe if things had been different, she would be doing something like that: ' ananke's flower shop ' didn't have a bad ring to it, but it'd never have brought in enough money.

"honestly? i'm actually best at wreaths. but that's not what we're doing today. we can do bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, crowns ; something simple, something complex." she gestures as she talks, indicating the different buckets of flowers and filler greenery they have available, encouraging the stranger to start with anything that catches her eye. "just make sure you leave enough for everyone else. it's gotten pretty popular, but once the flowers run out, they're out."

“A crown sounds quite pretty for her..” she thought aloud as she observed the various arrangements already done and displaced on the table, then she shifted her gaze over the young girl speaking, confirming her choice of flowers. “Lillies. I like them very much. Possibly white” and she looked at the stand, searching for them.

“I want to make a special gift, so, would you recommend to put other flowers too?”

The gentle manners of the young man reassured Minerva, who eased up a little and as he carefully put the corns kernel in the skillet, she patiently waited to see what kind of sorcery would happen to make those little corn transform into something bigger and satiable for both of them.

Few seconds passed and the magic was beginning to happen: for the skillet, the little corn kernel they started hopping around the pan, popping and changing shape and colour… until they eventually became white and kind of fluffy at the sight.

What kind of magic is that..? she thought to herself as she admired the transformation in awe as she never expected such happening to a handful of tiny seeds. Even the words of the man next to her were of bewilderment and as the magic finished, he put the remaining food into a bowl, offering it to her. in all response, Minerva picked the tiny exploded corn kernel and as she savoured it, she nodded, looking around to find a proper topping.

Still getting into the hang of her dress, Minerva couldn’t help but catch with the corner of her eye a familiar figure, a petite girl that reminded the Macedon princess of her little sister: as she turned, to properly watched the young student, she realized that the fluttering dress she wore perfectly matched with the orchids in her arms, delicately depicting her figure with soft tone. She was quite lovely, if it wasn’t for someone who accosted her with a persistent and pushy manner, seeking something from her, but clearly not giving her the right time to reply or react.

Without further delay, she immediately walked towards her, shielding her a little as she came by her side: “Mind if I take her for a moment?” she hissed at the other interlocutor, harsh in tone and manners, “Be my guest and let her breathe for a moment, shall we?” she was a bit intimidatory, but also authoritative.

Is that some sort of déjà vu? ( ethereal ball — first half. )

    Though Minerva's tone makes the supposed scout flinch at first, they quickly rebound, gaining a second wind as the sly grin works its way onto their face once more.

“If you're a friend of hers, then you'll want to hear this too. After all, you're concerned for her well-being, aren't you?” the silver-haired beauty says. They're as handsome as they come, able to have matched the general air of the event guests with relative ease. Even as Lapis's complexion is pale and she nervously holds the bottom of her dress in her clear anxiety, the scout seems to appear no longer fazed, holding the conversation in the palm of their hands.

“I know the pay for knights and faculty members here isn't as good as it could be. The constant threat of getting involved in petty problems and bandits every season... who would want to be tied down to such a life?” they elaborate, starting to spin their pitch anew to Minerva. “I mean, look at her dress! Hardly fitting for the season, no?”

The silver-haired stranger takes their cane and flips up one of the tails to Lapis's ribbon on the front of her dress. The Brodian's face twists in her surprise before it scrunches up in a simmering frustration. Her brows furrow and her eyes narrow, but the scout only seems to take it as a good thing, laughing it off.

“But with a sponsor the gifts of those who adore you, a gorgeous gown fit for each specific occasion is no trouble at all. She could better match you too,” they hum, looking over Minerva's own elegant gown with an approving nod. “So I was telling her to quit her job here and join my company. I'll make her a star, and she won't even have to think about money.”

Lapis clenches her fist, having half a mind to punch the scout to scare them off herself. A thin thing like them would be nothing, but it is in seeing all these splendid outfits that she's reminded where she is.

It's not a den to brawl. It's a place to dance, something out of her wheelhouse.

And for it, she suddenly can't find her strength despite the fact it's her biggest asset. She's pulled into a darker place than when she'd simply been adored by an unwanted admirer the last time Minerva came to her rescue. That one plied with compliments.

This one meanwhile hit her where she was weak.

Minerva kept quiet, she wanted to understand where they wanted to end up, but the more they spoke, the more she felt the uneasy feeling of dragging Lapis away from that unrealistic situation; they just wanted to convince her to leave the academy and begin a career as a model or who knows what other nonsense they could invent as the dialogue continue on.

As the Macedon princess shifted her gaze on Lapis, she could hear the petite girl asking a very silly question, or at least, silly for Minerva; in all response, the red-haired woman grabbed with delicacy the hand of Lapis, made a small hint with her head to the stranger and dragged the young girl away from that situation, hushing any possible questions coming from that liar from behind them.

“She had enough” she cut him off and she proceeded to distance them far enough from both of them to calmly speak to each other, in order to reassure Lapis from what have just happened. She stopped, turned to face the girl and stared into her eyes, trying to sound as honest and sincere as possible.

“Your dress is cute and you are perfectly fit for that” she started off, letting her feel a bit more confident, hopefully, “And what you do not define you as a person. You do it because you chose it and tour choices are always what matter the most” she wasn’t very good with words, but she tried her best to help her getting through that situation.

“You know what’s lacking though? A flower” and she brought out one of her hyacinth from the bouquet. “Here, now your dress and your look is very complete and very beautiful”

“Me neither” she simply replied, the smirk on her face slowly grew wider, into a genuine smile, a somewhat allusive expression, but she just picked her hands and placed them on her shoulders, then she gradually let her hands slide along Altena's bare arms, brushing the petals of the tulips, which were placed together with the hyacinths between their bodies, wisely put as if they couldn’t fully became that close to each other. Then, Minerva’s hands lastly landed on her hips, slightly above them, she didn't want to appear too intrusive in front of her.

She accepted the compliment with a glance, her response was not long in coming, “You shine like a diamond in the night sky, Altena” she actually admired her dress a lot, her boldness in choosing that was somewhat attractive to the Macedon princess, who considered it a trait of beauty and strength.