#- ic

With a sigh, Edelgard places her right hand on the bottle and gives it a strong spin— So impactful that, were it to spin any more times, it may have shattered then and there. While their last encounter ended in awkwardness, this one is no less strange. The princess stares intently at Alm, if only to try and make a judgment on his expression for herself. Removing her hand, she draws it to tuck away white locks neutrally: "Ah.. Very well. You did leave me to my lonesome not so long ago. I didn't forget." A jest. She wasn't truly bothered, but she did recall it vividly enough.

Scooting herself closer, lilacs meet the greens of her classmate. She squints. "What do you make of this.. game?" Oh, she makes her own obvious enough with the awkward shuffle forward and intensity she seldom diminishes. "I feel as if we're being stared at. Therefore.." Keeping the gaze constant, she leaned and pressed a quick kiss to his own lips.

When she backs away, she removes her hues and looks to the right of his shoulder. "I'd prefer for our next encounter to be less.. embarrassing. This is not a request, but an order."

cupido bash 2025 | speen the bottle

“I…I sure did, yeah,” Alm confirms the princess’ accusation with guilt, already knowing there was nowhere to run after the hosts had made their arrangements. Honestly? It might’ve been for the best that the bottle swings his way once more on Edelgard’s turn. It makes for an immediate second chance for redemption - though one that, as she makes clear with colder expression, isn’t the greatest for reconciliation.

She makes some quick, passing statements, but otherwise the moment is silent even in its shortness. Perhaps it is due to Hilda’s “palette cleanser,” but…somehow, Alm feels less awkward staring down his house leader? It’s a lot more serious in nature, making the awkwardness less upfront.

And just as he is pondering over what the mood of the night truly is, Edelgard swoops in for the engagement. It’s a much, much shorter one than with the playful Hilda, but once more it makes things feel more natural, more practical. It allows him to avoid thinking of the consequences of embracing the political figure of this foreign continent.

He finally finds the chance for words upon her backing off. “An order, huh? I’m used to taking those. I’ll make sure to follow, then.”

Feeling a bit more comfortable around her noble air, Alm quickly rushes in one more remark. “Oh! And the name’s Alm. A pleasure to be working alongside you…flirtatious parties or otherwise.”

❝ AH── Apologizes , I wasn’t paying attention . You alright ? ❞

The angel seemed to drift off into her own little world for a moment , lost among the colorful décor people were setting up to welcome the upcoming holiday . So many distractions that she doesn’t even look to make sure there’s no one behind her before she moves .

His head turns, and that confirmation is all she needs. She is flying, feet barely skimming the ground. All thoughts of class, of her worries, gone as clouds in the summer.

Momentum too great to stop, she laughs and finds his arms around her. A tangle of limbs, she spins, once, twice, then meets him on the grass, giddy as a child.

Her face meets his chest, and when his arms find their way around her, she is gone. He is warm, and smells of the ocean, of sea winds and travel under fair skies.

"Oh, Alm..." She hadn't even realized how badly she had missed him.

A dream. A wish that this one moment could stretch into infinity.

Gently, the world returns to her, and is all the bit brighter for it. She pushes herself up from his shoulders, and looks into those eyes.

"Why are you here? Has something happened in Valentia? Who's running the Kingdom?"

“Hmm?”

A script all too familiar. But even with the benefactor of deja vu, Alm is none the wiser to avoid what was written next. With a turn of his head, he is met with the sight of the most calming, yet fierce fires barreling straight for him with arms outstretched. 

What comes next is the lady wrapping around his body, though her touch is more well-defined without a suit of blue armor covering his physique. If the charade were to continue, Alm would be down for the count in no time. But he has matured since then. They both have.

The king obliges with the first spin, moving his legs around to wrap alongside her. Then instead of keeping arms swaying aside, they meet her own body to keep her uplifted as their spirits. His balance is still…admittedly not perfect, causing them to inevitably tumble just the same with him on the bottom. At least this time, he can manage to laugh away alongside her, in on the act.

Rather than getting up right away, she buries her face into her chest. It makes it tough to get a good look of her…and is a little awkward out in the open.

“Uh, Celica? We’re right in the middle of-”

Oh, whatever, Alm concludes to himself, unable to complete his comment with a second sight of her caring touch.

They can afford to be immature, for at least another day.

He allows her as much time as needed for her to regain composure, the push on his shoulders feeling less stressing and more warm. The red eyes, orange hair, and golden headpiece…it has been only some months, but Alm is relieved to see Celica remain the same - outside of dress code.

It’s mid-observing of his beloved that he gets hit with all of the hard questions. Oh…right. Guess writing to the person you were about to meet across seas would be a little important, not to mention the whole royalty thing. But…it’s supposed to be a surprise!

“Woah woah, one at a time would be better! The kingdom’s doing fine, Celica. Just fine. The recovery’s been going smoothly…I just wish I could be doing more. Grandfather’s seen to manage rule, alongside your brother. Both were fine with my temporary leave…though it did take some back and forth on gramps’ end.”

Alm chuckles at the memory of a shocked Mycen speaking a little bit out of character. “Oh, and that first thing. I’m sorry I never wrote before coming. It’s just…I could - no, should be doing so much more back home than I am. If this academy is good enough for you to learn at, I’m sure it’s good enough for me too.”

Alm turns temporarily to his caring friend as they come close to arriving. For someone who has lived on an island for most of her childhood, does this strip of sand and shoreline simply feel familiar? Or does it invoke excitement all the same?

It’s something the two of them will have to find out as the night progresses…but he shouldn’t forget to enjoy himself tonight as well!

–

Alm has arrived at the ball! He has come with Celica and is equipped with the Pearl charm.

Seashell:

Starfish:

Anchor:

Turtle:

Pearl:

"Oh, your flowers!" Deirdre leans in with a girlish giggle. "Are you Lady Celica's sweetheart?"

She hopes so. She remembers speaking with Celica when they visited Brodia together. Their shared feelings of missing their loved ones. It would be nice to know that Celica has one of her loved ones with her again.

cupido bash icebreakers

“Huh?” Alm’s most natural reaction to hearing his beloved’s name come from a complete stranger is a passive gasp. To be honest, he is still getting over how outright long that sheet of silverish purple is, her hair rapidly yet cleanly flowing from head to lower body. The boy can only think of one other, a cleric, that could pull off a similar look, yet even her green hair barely fell for that long!

When the initial stun has worn off, in part thanks to the other’s glowing giggles, Alm idly taps at his neck-flower crown with his left hand. “You mean these? Well…I see no need to downplay your investigative work. That’s right, I’m her…sweetheart.”

The pet name comes out somewhat shaky, as if to state his uncertainty on how he feels about the title. Is that how his name has been spread around here for the past few months? Or is this just the mystic language of girls’ talk that he will never come to understand?

“A…Anyway,” Alm shakes off the awkward beginning with a welcoming smile. “Has she spoken of me to you before, then? I’m afraid I can’t speak much for your identity. May I have a name?”

a pause. his face, completely unreadable. his hands, clasped prudently behind his back.

"forgive me for asking... i noticed from afar that you had struck up some conversation with my sister. might i ask your opinion of her?" he doesn't even wait for alm's answer before yapping on, though. "her cherubic innocence belies the many hardships she has faced. as her guardian, i worry. i would very much like for her to get along with her peers and enjoy a peaceful life. as such..."

finally a hand emerges, lifts to his chest. he speaks with sincerity, and respect. "here, i speak not as the head of administration, but simply as a brother: should you cross paths in the future, i hope you may take it upon yourself to treat her kindly."

And there he is.

Idle thoughts of the developing king cannot help but wonder just how he managed to catch wind of speaking to his sister so quickly. Surely it couldn’t be some magical third eye that always trails his sibling. Another sort of magic spell, perhaps? The more Alm tries to think on it, the more inconclusive he gets…plus the more time he avoids getting out of this situation.

Although…the sweat that starts to track from his hairs nearly stops once he’s interpreting what Seteth is saying. His protectiveness for his sister…of course, it is a suggestion that Flayn had brought up, but there’s still a shock to confirm it from the boss’ mouth himself.

And then there’s the following part, where radiant authority shines through to express a will to…treat her kindly? Alm cannot resist feeling some déjà vu from the same descriptor his sister used to describe himself earlier come back to describe a golden rule. Now the Valentian cannot help but feel some guilt regarding the hushedness he’s used to address Flayn…as well as the entire assumption that sparked this whole mess.

That being said, vocalizing any of these apologies or comprehensions isn’t the simplest when his mind feels like mush from all that had just been told to him.

She doesn't. They lost, plain and simple, and she doesn't have any pretty words or bright statements to make that better. Yunaka reaches out to give him a pat on the shoulder and a light squeeze.

"Sorry we weren't able to pull out a win after you left. But that doesn't mean we can't support those still fighting, yeah?" She puts on a bright smile. "Not quite over for the Eagles just yet."

Yunaka catches him right after he is done with the “immediate care” session of his healing. Definitely a lot better than how he hobbled along after getting swung back - he can comfortably walk about, for one. But the healers still forbade him wandering anywhere beyond the base tents. Jeez, could the fighting get that rough in the later rounds?

An even bigger shame, if so. He’s gonna miss all of that.

“So you lost too? Shoot…though unfortunately, that doesn’t surprise me,” he sounds disappointed, but his frown is far from a sad one. “You seem to know the strength of Leif pretty well. I’ve seen it firsthand too, back in those- Uh, you know what? Doesn’t matter where. Point is, he’s a tough one.”

The professor gives a pat on his good shoulder and a small squeeze. It sort of reminds him of Mycen encouraging a smaller him into trying harder. A good ol’ mentor squeeze…not of disappointment, but of hope.

“Yeah, there’s still gotta be a couple more of us fighting about, right? I don’t think they’ll let me out to cheer anytime soon…so can you root for them twice as hard for me? If you don’t mind.”