lance of legend

A peaceful month was ahead of them, the knight had insisted. A few others had joined in that chorus too, but he just didn't understand how they could possibly make such a claim with no basis. A time to celebrate, and yet when the future was not guaranteed, did none of them stop to think about how easily that could change in just one moment?

Everything, inevitably, crumbled into sand one day. So with clenched fists, Finn had taken his lance and gone to the blacksmith without a word.

The marketplace was filled with life. Townspeople and people from the monastery alike floated back and forth between the stalls, filling the air with the sound of chatter beneath the occasional shout of a merchant. Though as he gets closer and closer to his own destination, the words of the other knights begin to ring even more in his ears. Even the townspeople seem to be giving the blacksmith a wide berth as they go about their shopping. Whatever joyous, optimistic mood has taken a hold on the population of late, it seems to have affected the blacksmith's business the most of all.

At least he might hope that this makes his work faster. Sighing, he opens the door to the blacksmith's and steps inside. "Excuse…" The counter is unmanned, and indoors he finds not the craftsman he expects, but a woman standing tall with hair of gold that he thought he might not see again for quite a time still.

"…Eyvel?"

Finn watches silently as the young student fusses and frets over the flower. He would have thought a task this important, as their employers had stressed, would be given to someone more…reputable and experienced then one of the very students attending Garreg Mach. If this plant was truly as fragile as they insisted, then it made little sense to him that they would allow for such risk.

Still…he is asked to do little more than accomplish his task, and so his questions are swallowed for now. It would not be good to accidentally question the girl to the point she failed to properly focus on what she was meant to be doing and allowed the plant to die.

His horse paws at the ground, clearly still upset about how he had been yanked away from his attempt at eating the plant in question. Finn pats the horse's neck absently as he continues to watch the student prepare for the plant's extraction.

"…You're certain that you have everything you need?" Though he doesn't want her to falter, he doesn't want this to be a complete waste of their time either. "If you're not confident in yourself, you may take more time to prepare before we begin. I doubt they will be willing to give us a do over should we fail to meet expectations."

The Goddess Tower: a tower where if a man and a woman meet and make a wish, it'll come true. At least, that's the legend Leif's been told about it. He vaguely has heard it might've started with the story of a real duo from the Adrestian Empire, but his mind's fuzzy on those details, and whether or not the legend led the duo to the tower or if it worked the other way around.

Here and now, Finn understands exactly what he is saying and says it anyway. For once, there is no hesitation between his roles as father and knight.

...though he does clear his throat and soften before next he speaks.

"No. The exact opposite was what I was trying to impress." He is trying not to let his eyebrows crease too severely, for what it is worth. He imagines if it was not this exact circumstance of him and Leif and Nanna, this sort of thing would be a justifiable reason to reprimand him.

"Nanna is a wonderful young lady who should not be treated as anything less. In the Tower or elsewhere." Would asking the others on duty to keep an eye out be too much? "...in fact, I would appreciate it if you could tell her that I would like to walk her back to her room tonight when she is ready to leave."

A pause.

"Will you dress up for the occasion then?" Her eyes narrow in a tease, smile suddenly present. "Selfina will probably lecture you."

She bends to sit on the floor, trying to hand off the picture to him since clearly she has no use for it.

"I know they will invite me, I do not know that I will attend. You know how people there are. My blood always complicates things." A pause. "It is no great loss to me though, really. When we returned to Jugdral, I understood. I won't be with Leif, Nanna, and even you forever and I am alright with that."

He pauses, considers her words more carefully, then sighs. "But I do imagine that Selfina will have her personal investment in my appearance as well, yes."

The corner of the photo taps against his gloved hand. Though he gives her a curious look for choose to settle on the floor, he accepts it without question.

He looks tired.

"Hm." He's not stupid enough to try and lie to her and deny it. There are plenty who would rather see her in chains or worse rather than in attendance at what will be one of the happiest days for Leonster in recent history. Even so, watching her as she sits on the floor and plays with her device, she looks more like any other child now than ever.

"...we might see about a private place for you to watch from, if you are still around then." He turns away to her and looks back to the crowds of dancers. Finn does not sit, but he returns to his watch silently beside her.

In spite of herself, Lachesis stiffened, felt the tip of sand beneath her feet as the hand gripped her wrists, her elbow, her waist, and she saw the twist of faces surrounding her that flickered in and out with the scorch of the sun overhead before she allowed herself to remember that this was a ballroom, that the ground beneath her feet was polished stone and that the warmth of the light came from candles, and not the desert.

Finn’s words had only washed over her, almost gently, vibrating as though they had traveled a great distance to find her - but he had not, not yet.

She took a sharp breath in and expected sand to fill her lungs and a scream to release, but instead it was simply the same thin mountain air, crisp from the cold of the night, and bubbling infectious with the vivacity of the event.

Her face trembled from its mask of shock, the pinch in her brow tightening before she found that her fingers had tightened also, around his.

“You are mistaken.” On several counts, but scant few of them mattered more than;

“There is at least one here to whose night you have made, and will ever make, an indelible effect.”

Her grip shifted, allowing him to raise from the kiss he placed at the back of her hand, but still refusing to relinquish the steady and grounding feeling of her hand in his.

Because he doesn't know. There's so much of her life that he doesn't know, and yet it translates to so little for her, and all of it falls out of step anyway. There are years of his life that she will never understand in her absence, and years of hers that he will never understand in turn.

But she looks at him as she always had; stubborn, determined, with a fire in her eyes that burned strong enough to make up for the absence of any of in his.

She looks so much like her daughter in moments like these.

Finn doesn't laugh, but his exhale can be interpreted as she wished. "A moment then." And if a moment becomes another, becomes another, becomes another...the he can only thank his luck that he has that moment at all.

The next pair bears at least a portion of familiarity. His eyes linger briefly on Ananke, his head bowing when their eyes briefly catch. How funny to have enjoyed a dance together, only for it to be a premonition to this moment.

Up until now, his lead has been consistent, but simple. That has done them well, but...surely they will not allow such mediocrity to continue to rise? Is it not owed to his partner to try and ensure that she continues to win, even at his own expense?

It is with this in mind that Finn braces himself, taking a deep breath as they wait for the next song to begin. It is with this in mind that Finn takes the lead once more. And it is with this in mind that Finn almost immediately steps against her path and nearly bumps into his partner entirely.

"Ah." How embarrassing. He's quick to correct, steering them back into the same simple and boring steps from before. "My apologies again, I...I seem to have gotten ahead of myself."

He hopes none of the others are watching...He has yet to see them over his partner's shoulders, though the ears do get in the way. "I didn't accidentally hurt you, did I?"

At which point he realizes he seems to have missed a note about some sort of dress code. His eyes scan over the pair with their dog ears and wings before briefly returning to the ears sitting up on his own partner's head.

...and in the end, he says nothing.

He bows once more before taking the lead as the musicians begin the starting strings of their song. "Shall we see then if your faith is properly placed?"

The music begins proper, and he waits for no answer.

It is much the same again. Simple steps, a simple dance. Finn does not think himself one for grand displays and can only hope that his partner does not mind or disappoint at that.

(Estel had laughed during their last dance, and Finn's heart aches at the thought that this was an opportunity Nanna should have had sooner.)

"You follow quite well for someone so humble about your skill earlier." He keeps his voice quiet as they dance, not wanting to disturb her focus.

What was it from? What was the connection?

Her steps faltered as she tripped over her own partner's shoe, attention drawn too far away for her to be cognizant of her own footwork. "Oh, my apologies," she murmured, head snapping back. Then, laughter as they fell back into time, as she reassured herself and her partner, "Imperfection is sometimes needed to make a performance feel human, don't you think?"

But what was the connection? A person that Lady Lachesis knew to some capacity, someone who she wasn't expecting — perhaps a friend, family, or an enemy; and understanding dawned on Azura's gaze. Just as Azura did by partaking in the Cup, perhaps it would help for Lachesis to forget briefly about the past that followed her, too. Performance was never easy when a cloud lingered above one's head, so Azura needed to pull Lachesis away: not for the competition, but because they both deserved to enjoy this moment without ghosts interfering.

So, a change in their steps it was. "Would you mind following me here?" — and Azura swept her arm into the air to pull Lachesis into a spin, before pivoting them to leave Lachesis' back facing the other duo. A little sloppy, a little strange, but they regained their rhythm eventually, and Azura gave a small smile in hopes of returning warmth where it had been lost.

"A lovely spin, Lady Lachesis — you are a natural."

Even as he watches the others take their positions and brave the light few sways of practice before starting, a frown still sits on his face. He had not anticipated that there might be someone here that sought to see him humiliated so much. His clothes had called much more attention to him than expected before this and now, as he steps onto the dance floor, he can only wonder how many people are scoffing at the bloodless stable boy who thinks himself a knight.

Nevermind. His partner's name is unfamiliar to him, as is the face as he turns to find a young lady with...rabbit ears atop her head. Finn stares openly a moment before sense reclaims him and he bows.

"My apologies." are offered along with his hand as he takes her and guides her into the starting position. "You deserved a better partner."

That is not what he may be, but he will strive still for such heights. As Lachesis's voice calling out to him is lost in the rising of the music's melody, Finn guides his partner on as best as he can as he runs through his memory of every dance he has watched from the sidelines. There are no elaborate moves or breathtaking demonstrations. Their dance is simply, but as Finn leads her into a spin, he wonders if, at least, it is something worth watching.

"And...my apologies again. I am afraid that I do not know very many dances beyond the basics."

"Have you seen literally anyone that Leif hangs around? Do you scold Lifis like a child? Or stupid stinky Perne? Didn't think so!"

She does respect her sister! And she knows the truth that all of the exasperated sighs and the "oh Tina's" come out of a place of love. She knows it and she sees it when Safy's mouth strains to keep back a smile at some of her antics. When Linoan has to hold up a hand over her mouth to cover her own laughter.

Honestly...Leif and Nanna had never been this rowdy and disagreeable when they were younger. Safy truly did have the patience of a saint for balancing her duties with needing to care for her sister in the way that she did.

"Besides-uh, Safy isn't even here! What's she even gonna do? Write a scolding letter?" See? Foolproof plan.

Clearly respect was not a particularly good motivator these days, even among blood. He sighs heavily. "Fine, then let me be plain. If your actions here are somehow linked back to my lord in a manner that is seen as detrimental to his reputation, then I will have no choice but to intervene on his behalf."

"I see." At the subject of Finn's daughter, however, Erma's brow lifts with interest. Definitely not as young as she initially assumed. "Ah. Your daughter is to be wed, then? My congratulations to her."

The topic of the competition turns on Erma then, and she shakes her head. "No. I am accompanied by two..." She falters a moment, "Companions of mine. We travel together—at least, we did so before arriving at this monastery. I am mostly here to keep an eye on the both of them."

Her gaze drifts, and she spots an interaction out on the dance floor: two women exchange blooms from their bouquets, after what seemed to be a satisfactory dance.