Roleplay Inspiration!

PLEASE DON’T REMOVE LINK BACK/CREDIT. Sometimes I draw colorful animals and sometimes I surprise myself, anyway here @Remarus I put this here for you SPECIFICALLY. ---------------------------- “Lace?” her mother calls up the stairs. She doesn’t answer. She stares at her wall. Not at the posters that hung or in search of peeling paint. Not at anything, really. “Lace!” her mother calls again, more insistent this time. Still, she doesn’t answer. Finally, she can hear the dedicated clip of her mother scaling the stairs. She should care, but she doesn’t. It was almost like this happened every day. But this wasn’t every day, was it? Her door creaks open. Her mother pokes her head in. It was dark. She faces the far wall. “Lace,” her mother says, more gently. They were tiptoeing around her. It was annoying. “Rooster came to see you.” “Tell her I don’t want to talk today,” she answers. It wasn’t even exactly true. She was bored out of her mind up here. But she knew what her cousin would want to talk about, and she wasn’t interested. “Lace, I really think you should get up to see her,” her mother insists, less gently. “She took a shift off today just to see you, you know.” Good old mom. Always good for a guilt trip. She sighs, gustily, and rolls off the edge of her bed onto the floor. She lands lightly. Except for one leg. That one CLUNKS. “LACE!” her mother exclaims, pushing through the door. “For goodness sake, you have to take it easy on that leg!” “Fine,” she mumbles, rounding on her mother and hobbling with her towards the door. Three soft steps. And the clunk. Her mother falls back and watches her worriedly as she pauses in the door way. “Careful on the stairs,” her mother calls. “You don’t want to chip your cast or fall.” “Yes, mother,” she responds, shifting sideways and taking each stair insufferably slowly. Tip. Tap. CLUNK. What a racket! If her mood could get any worse than it already was, she’d be at a new low by the time she reached the bottom. Well, there’s only one way to go when you’re in the dregs, right? That’s what they say, right? She opens the door. Rooster was there, waiting patiently like she always was. She puts on her best attempt at a smile. “Hi, Rooster. Do you uh. Want to come in?” “Oh. Lace!” her cousin smiles. She can’t help but notice that her eyes immediately dropped to her LEG. She’s so sick of everybody’s pity. She’s so sick of not being able to DO anything. “Your ma’ said you were on bedres’ this week, but… I, ah… I thought… we could have a picnic?” She pauses and drops her eyes for a moment. “I know you can’ be feelin’ too swell but I already set it up, so I hope… you’ll come.” “Okay,” she sighs. “Yeah, sure, Rooster.” She couldn’t bear to see her cousin frown, anyway. And mom’d said she’d taken off work. She knew how much the café meant to her. “Where, out in the yard?” “A lil’ further. Think y’can make it Lace?” she knew Rooster wasn’t challenging her on purpose, but she fluffed up anyway. Of course she could make it. You think a little broken leg was going to stop her? Well. Her parents sure thought so. The doctor thought so. The barracks CERTAINLY thought so. She was off training for weeks. “Yeah, Rooster. No problem. Lead the way.” She follows behind her cousin, making small talk as they followed one of the nicer cobblestone paths through town. It felt empty. She knew what Rooster wanted to ask. It was the same thing all of them wanted to know. This wasn’t a big town. She could feel the eyes of people they passed. She kept her own straight ahead or on the path. It was hard to walk in this thing. “We’re here,” Rooster says at last, just beyond the last houses and at the edge of the greater forest. She raises her eyes from the uneven stones and blinks away the sun filtering through the trees right into her eyes and-- They weren’t alone. They REALLY weren’t. “Hey, Lace!” calls the big guy in front, grinning and sunny as ever. “Thought you might not come out. Ah well, I said, Rooster set us up even so! Haha, come’re, kid!” “…Hey, Raal. Uh. Everyone.” It wasn’t just her barrack friend, after all. Blanche was there, peeking around the plucky’s legs. Ciel, too, straightening the corners of the blanket laid with care over the grass. Off on his own was Tyger and—how had Rooster even gotten in contact with them all? She guessed it was true what people always said—you serve enough food, eventually you know everybody. “Sorry… I wasn’t… expecting you guys.” “Rooster invited us,” Ciel looks up from his work, peering over the rims of his glasses. “Could use the sun. I brought games.” Of course he had. Her friends smile as she greets them in turn, eventually settling on the blanket. She hadn’t realized she needed this, she thought as they took turns signing her cast and telling her what was new in the Capitol. How much snow had fallen this year in Snowhurst. Rooster set out food for them and Raal stuck his flowers in her hair and laughed about how they looked so much better on her than on him. It was… nice. It was really nice. Time had been dragging. Until that afternoon, where surrounded by friends, time seemed to race away. It was gone before she knew it. The sun began to set. Her friends dispersed, one by one—it was a long way home, they said. We’ll see you soon, they promised. We hope you feel better. Then it was just the ones that lived nearby. Rooster hung back to tuck everything away in her basket. Raal offers to walk her home. She takes him up on it. They walk in companionable silence for a good long while before he clears his throat. “Hey, Lace…” “Please don’t, Raal.” “…Listen.” The older squire continues. “We’re all worried about you, you know? Why won’t you tell anybody what happened?” “I fell.” The plucky exhales “Bullshit.” under his breath before falling silent. She could see her house. Maybe he’d see her to the door without taking it any further. “Lace…” Ah. No such luck. “If any of the guys are pushing you around you can tell m—“ “Raal. I fell. Okay? I fell. Alright, well, look at that, we’re here, so I’ll see you later? Alright? Okay.” Raal’s mouth quirks to the side and he runs his tongue over his teeth before smiling like he always did. He dips his head slightly, acquiescing. “Okay, Lace.” “Okay. See you later.” “…Yeah. You will. I’ll come by every day.”