#&&||query.

it doesn’t make any sense to her. what could have possessed the elric boy to leave behind blue skies && green pastures in favour of returning to the unforgiving mountain range?? what could he possibly want from her this time?? there are many questions that steer her thought process in this moment, but no complaints. there is a part of olivier (fine && granular but no less tangible) that is… not //unhappy// to see him. he’s grown taller since their last encounter && he has most of his limbs now – sans the one. yet, somehow, he’s still the same whiny brat she remembers. a hero?? of course. but a whiny one,all the same.

1) fortitude2) resolve

valuable traits, otherwise held in high esteem, mean less than nothing to her if tangled in a mess of idiocy, idiocy which sends arrogant men charging headlong to their deaths. she has zero sympathy for the reckless morons who meet violent ends because their balls happen to be bigger than their brains. olivier isn’t particularly well-known for being a compassionate woman…

…nor an especially cruel one.

a fine brow raises in silent scrutiny, a wordless response to plucky youth. ❛don’t hold back for my sake❜? does this arrogant brat even realize what he’s saying? each day it becomes more evident that, of the two, his brother is the smart one. although her countenance is half hidden behind her fringe, the visible portion of her face conveys an odd medley of disapproval… && thinly veiled amusement.

nobody is immune to stress. not even the formidable ❛ice queen❜. sometimes, she is strained by duty && obligation; sometimes, she doesn’t have all the answers; sometimes, her expectations (of herself && of others) are too damn high. cause doesn’t matter. effect does. insomnia… anxiety… an impaired thought process… the physical consequences of stress are weaknesses that can, in her mind, be exploited.

olivier has two preferred means of dealing with stress, depending on her inclination at the time.

EXTERNAL:

take to the blade. a sparring match is a two-in-one solution. she can train her body && detox her mind. the only drawback is the difficulty of finding a willing partner when in a foul mood. she isn’t exactly well known for holding back.

INTERNAL:

with status && pedigree, comes tradition. her lineage bears no exception. as the eldest daughter of the household, olivier was honour bound to adhere to family values, && to set an example for her sisters… && alex. she was expected to act like a lady. as the years came && went, she learned the lady-like ways of her house, PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY LINE FOR GENERATIONS! she was taught how to waltz; how to play the violin; how to write cursive; posture; etiquette; the works. she took pride in these skills – minus dancing. she abhors dancing. olivier’s eventual deviance from tradition (from silk, to leather; from strings to steel) was, at first, met with mixed feelings. but if the armstrong bloodline values tradition, they value strength more. perhaps it was strength of body && of mind that made olivier worthy of the prized family heirloom… && not alex.