#aurulent

is he bothering you queen

There are many faces here she does not recognize. When she sees Claude, her memories of bows and axes swinging and maneuvering push themselves at the forefront. The last time Edelgard had saw him, they parted ways with few words. Full of tactics he always seemed to be, even as the Adrestian Empire further strengthened its regimes and reached ever-so closer to a unified land.

To find him here is jarring- Perplexing, even. Still, she does not show this on her face. Instead, she confronts him with pointed words.

( seteth  and  flayn?  alois?  ashe or marianne or dimitri? — or. perhaps even edelgard? she  silenced  that  thought  and  the  emotions  she  DID  NOT  wish  to  discover  and  name  as  soon  as  it  came. )

      so  there  she  stood  ,  waiting  at  the  doorstep with  only  her  own  wondering  in  the  absence  of  a  certain  goddess  to  wonder  for  her.  (though  ,  likely  ,  sothis  would  probably  only  CHASTISE  her  and  prompt  her  to  worry  less  if  she  could  help  it.  still . . .)  was  he  safe  after  the  attack?  what  about  the  others  ,  did  he  know?  what  happened  when  she  had fallen?  what  of  the  emperor?  the  archbishop?  when  and  how  did  he  get  here—?

      and  then  there  he  was . . .  and  wasn’t.  the  man  before  her  ,  certainly  ,  was  claude.  she  could  recognize  his  face  anywhere.  but  he  was  taller  than  her  by  a  full  head  now.  older.  hardly  at  all  the  mischievous  young  duke  who  she  had  invited  to  tea  only  a  month  ago.

        it  took  byleth  a  moment  to  realize  she  was  staring.

“. . .you’re  . . . taller.”

Every December, she remembered the time when she got here by a strange eclipse in Spirale, leading to her own exploration about this place but the days and months pass by, she’s getting used to this place.

Something came up in her mind and wondering. Does Fodlan celebrate winter festivals? She couldn’t remember but maybe Claude does.

"You’ve been here for a while, huh? You kind of have that look in your eyes! The one that isn’t all like a lost little puppy dog!” Her cheerful tones seems to almost gloss over her intently observing the handsome stranger. She gives him a wink and continues. “You wouldn’t leave a poor and defenseless woman such as me all on my lonesome after we so dramatically ran into each other! It’s almost fate!” Haha... like she still believed in that kind of stuff anymore.

               ❝  N-NO... not you too---  ❞ he cowered in the other’s shadow. a sorry sight indeed, but if any were so deserving of this opportunity, be it the ghosts whose blood might as well stain his own hands--- whether or not he held the sword was irrelevant. upon arrival in this strange new place, he stole himself away to the darkest parts, hiding away from everything and everyone, but even there they would find him. 

        he should’ve known, he should’ve tried harder, he should’ve saved them.

                                                   ... and the voices of the damned only grew louder.

               ❝  don’t---! look at me like that... !  ❞ he turned his face away, as if from the very sun, closing his remaining eye tightly and shielding his face behind an arm, his grip upon his wooden lance beginning to tremble, ❝  just... leave me be. i beg of you...  ❞

Hubert holds his head in his hands, down low where his stomach is. It’s an odd height, he hasn’t seen the world at this level since he was a child -- but he continues to watch as people mill about and consider going to hunt some monsters. He’s considering it too, of course, though he has to admit his powers here feel incredibly limited. He’s only been able to demonstrate the heal ability which, as far as he’s concerned, does not do enough.

A familiar face does catch his eye, however, and Hubert shifts the head so it can be more at eye level. The weight of it is heavy, and he might need to return it to his shoulders soon.

he was no fool. there were smatterings of previous paths, hollowed out from walkers of the past, which became his guide through the slightly less dense part of the woodland. he needn’t stray too far, thus the distant sounds of the city remained somewhat on the breeze, reassuring him that he would easily find an exit later on. but the woodland was as wild as he had been told, with hanging vines looped like nooses + roots curled in the manner of reaching, grabbing fists. nature begged for fresh blood and she had certainly laid her traps.

as a newcomer to the island, there was much he did not know about the bestiary of the land. he did not know much of the denizens, or of the monsters that might appear within the trees. he was guarded of course, but still somewhat ignorant nevertheless. thus, when a loud crack and the sound of a distant shout caught his ear, he immediately turned and hot-footed it to the source of the sound, sprinting headlong into danger at the mere suggestion of a sound similar to that of a human in trouble.