#brighidia

“—did ya get the flowers I sent ya?” he asked as he had managed to follow her in her steps as they walked by the lake and he grinned at the young elven woman who he had grown fond of. It was not the usual flirtatious kind of fond he was. There was something there and Styles was not sure what it was- some kind of familiar affection or something else.

He just knew he wanted to protect Brighid from anything that could harm her; including loneliness.

“Did anyone else sent ya flowers? Do ya have a date for the Valentine’s ball?” he asked her, plucking a leaf that had dared to fall upon her from her hair.

“I could take ya, ya know. If ya want to go.”

You could call it servitude. Or you could call it selfishly wanting to spend more time with the young lady he felt very close to despite her Elven blood and student status at the academy. It’s not that he couldn’t be friends with students as that happened more often than not. As for the Elven problem, it was more an issue of where the line blurs between respectful servant to Elven kind and a caring friend. Despite this very minor inner debate, the bot did well to keep her in his thoughts. They would occasionally share short conversation between classes as well, with this one’s theme being fall tradition.

The steambot was very well aware of pumpkin carving. It wasn’t that far off from a tradition in his homeland that involved these gourd-like vegetables called sboncen and little light up bugs called tany. He also had made impressive pumpkin carving displays for the academy grounds for the last two years. So, you could imagine that when Brighid casually mentions pumpkin carving and pumpkin pie, the teacher began to plan an endeavor doing just that.

He tilted his hat and gave a genuinely warm smile as he approached Brighid later in the week. He had to admit the air of positivity was far past the simple fact of her being an Elf. The two of them made their way through town to the pumpkin patch, a few people eyeing Inguk as he dropped heavy, thudding footsteps. He took in the sight below as they reached the top of a small hill. There was a large patch of land covered in green vines and dotted with pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and sizes. “Ain’t that pretty.” He commented. “You’re s’pose to start by picking the one ya’ want. I’m wonderin’ if I should just find the biggest one I can carry.” He chuckled, then turned to face her. “Hell, I forgot to ask. Have ya’ ever carved a pumpkin before?”

           Vee didn’t have a lot of girly friends, they usually tried to hit on him or giggle and touch his hair and wings and then try to kiss him. Brighid wasn’t like that though, she was cool and her eyes were pretty and he would be delighted if he ever heard her giggle. She was very different from others and he loved it.

           It was a Thursday afternoon when he appeared on her doorstep after texting her they were going out that afternoon. Put on comfortable shoes and something you can easily pull off- we are going shopping and for food and then a movie he had texted her, wearing an oversized sweater himself (he stole from Suga, who in turn had stolen it from Namjoon) so she would feel comfortable.

           “Briggie!” he chirped and hugged her when she opened the door. “Let’s get you happy clothing!”

@brighid-ia

More than food, more than touring the academy, more than anything, it was getting acquainted with her new living situation that the girl had wanted most. After all, it would be the basis of her new life on foreign lands. Stepping into the room that would be hers to share with a stranger, she had taken in the sight of two small beds on opposite sides of the room: one of them was well-lived in. Just beginning to acclimate to the sights around her, there was movement and a boy that looked about her age.

“Hullo. I’m Brighid, but I prefer Billie.” Without hesitation her hand reached out to place itself in the grasp of the one being offered in her direction. They shook, and her arm fell back to her side. Silver tresses threatened to spill over her face when she bent over to deposit her bags near the empty bed. “Does your cat have a name?” Said cat looked personally offended at having been moved from wherever he’d been previously, and seemed to be considering leaping to the ground.

@thomas-ia

“Billie, huh. Nice to meet you, where you from?” Thomas asked with a smile as he looked at the scruffy looking cat, and the cat looked back at him, seemingly challenging him in something. “Oh? That’s Sally, she was bullying Jack at my boyfr- fiance’s place so I took her with me. Jack is our baby-gryphon. Or well, toddler maybe- anyhow her name is Sally.” he grinned at Billie, his hazel eyes were kind but around them were white lines that were a sign of demonic possession. A possession that had come and gone but left it’s mark, literally. 

There was not much that the poor pirate could do but to just dress up for the occasion. He had even asked his new captain Emilia to help him with the outfit since they were so stuck up at the academy when they introduced a dresscode. With the help of both‌‌ Emilia as well as the strange man in the golden tent he had a long pirate coat (red) and even put on a piece of cloth that looked like a tie (with some fantasy) and a frilly black shirt. His pants were the usual dark leather and he was wearing his high black boots. Quite a handsome pirate, or so Emilia told him and kissed his cheek as if he was her son rather than a member of her crew.

Well then. He wouldn’t complain though. He had a mission and that was to invite the young lady that had been so kind to gift him a present for Christmas (the necklace dangled around his neck) and was always so timid and seemingly unhappy to the Christmas ball. Emilia had even gifted him a dress for Brighid to wear but Styles didn’t think that she would be very comfortable in it since it was very different from what she usually wore. Instead he had grabbed one of the green bowties that Zitao had bought him for Brig to wear.

“Brig?” he asked as he knocked on her door “Are ya in? I wanted to ask ya to the ball, it’s now ya know. Or well in half an hour or so- It’s me, ya Styles. I wan’ted to thank you for the gift too it is real nice of ya- Briggie?”

“I bet they’re freezing their asses off.” Inguk’s evening stroll was interrupted by the sight of what he assumed to be a student in the astronomy tower. The steambot’s incredibly horrid eyesight didn’t help his case in figuring it out, so he decided to go investigate a little bit closer. The front opening at the top of the tower was quite large, big enough that at least three people could stand in it and about a foot of railing from the floor. Obviously, it was built this way so telescopes and other, less earthly, sky charting objects could be used properly. It made for a wonderful location to gaze upon the sky. A teacher’s first thought likely would be ‘They could jump to their deaths!’ No, Inguk was more concerned that the other could be shivering right now. He certainly didn’t like the cold, and figured whoever was up there felt the same.

This would be the explanation as to why a huge pile of blankets with legs (and a few puffs of steam venting from it like a steam engine) went walking across the academy and up the tower. After a few minutes of grumbling about his joints, the bot managed to best the arduous journey up the stone steps.  The higher altitude led the winds to become steadier and more persistent, therefore increasing the chill factor. It was enough to stop the nearly 300 pounds of bot in his tracks before he began his work. He lightly laid a blanket onto the other’s back and dropped a pillow just behind for his... behind. Inguk then situated himself behind the person, metal knees creaking as he sat down. His abdomen was hovering just behind their back and the warmth of his furnace began to bleed through the layers between. It didn’t occur to him at first that this may not be the most normal way to treat a stranger. Inguk hadn’t even seen their face, but something did seem familiar about them. He felt the need to make sure they were okay.

“Ya’ must be crazy trying to freeze yourself to death. I don’t care how pretty that night sky may be, it’s too damn brisk up here.” He had the student to go back to the dorms Inguk only took off his gloves in certain situations, but this seemed to fit that bill. Just as his hands began to glow red with heat, he spoke up once more. “You ain’t an icebeing, are you?”

@brighid-ia

It was more the sound of weeping than the sensation of her hair getting desperately mused that caught the young elf’s attention. After all, the noise was curiously close to her sensually tapered ear, and she knew for a fact that she had no such power that promoted her own hair to cry as though it were its own being. Calmly, she paused in front of a window whose view of the outside grounds of Insolitus was mostly blocked by a rather grandly obtuse oak tree. In it, she could see her reflection faintly as though it were a very poor-quality looking glass. Turning her head slightly, she saw a little figure struggling against her strands of silver hair. This was a new experience, indeed.

“Crying never solves a sticky situation. Not really.” She said in a soft voice to the weeping captive.  

@vee-ia

The wind in his back as he stands on the deck, brown hair flowing around his head and he laughs. The sound getting lost in the salty wind as he looks behind him at the crew, the captain, the large blue-tinted birds that were common to these waters.

“Miraear’’

He turned to look, it was a long time since he had someone call him that- yet on the ship they did so all the time. It was strange, he frowned. When he blinked everything was gone, there was only fire and then darkness. Cold grabbed him as lady ocean tried to claim him.

---

Styles blinked, frowning as he ran a hand through his hair and shook his head after. His daydreams had taken a strange turn, he wondered what the fuck that was- the part after the blue birds. Clearing his throat he took in his surroundings when he saw a pretty girl- and an elf too! He jumped up and grinned as he walked over (ignoring thew fact that he had been outside to take a short break from work, work he should return to soon). “Hey, hey! Pretty lady hello”