location: a small gathering of people in the castle's courtyard at night
open to all
finn wasn’t sweating, technically. but the back of his neck felt like it was on fire.
the summer court courtyard was glowing. lanterns that looked like they were floating in the air like lazy fireflies, music lilting gently in the background. people from all over mingling and talking. everyone looked like they belonged.
he’d been clutching the same half-finished glass of something orange and-bubbly for the past hour, attempting conversation and watching each one spiral into catastrophe. one person asked if he was a warrior. he choked. literally choked. another had complimented his jacket and he'd responded by quoting weather facts.
“i-i-it’s… l-linen” he muttered to himself now, practicing in case anyone else asked. “n-not wool. b-breathable. you know. b-because it’s summer.”
he glanced around and spotted someone standing alone near a low wall covered in growing vines.
he took a shaky breath and approached. he walked up to them and suddenly he couldn't remember a single thing to say at all.
“h-hi. u-uhm. i l-like your… p-posture.” he blinked. fuck this was going bad. "wait. n-not in a weird way. just you’re standing v-very confidently, and i thought, ‘w-wow, that’s…th-that’s nice.’ not th-that posture matters. i mean, i guess it does, s-s-socially. s-sometimes.”
his voice trailed off. part of him wondering if he should just run now.