#cutestrival

"Woah! You don't smile often, do you? Well... I made it look just like your face right now, so don't complain, alright?"

(( aaaaaaaaaand here's big grumpy baby ))

One such straggler seems particularly receptive to her expression. That is, though she usually chooses to ignore it, Selena can tell she’s actively ruining the atmosphere. The girl is short and shaking, too; she sighs, and uncrosses her arms. She tosses what she thinks a softer look is over in the girl’s direction. Her voice reaches out evenly, as if the girl were but a wild animal Selena is trying to befriend. 

“Hey, sorry. I’m not mad at you or anything.” Selena gestures at the low ceiling, rolling her eyes as if to say, No one wants to be here, right? “I’m Selena, a black eagle student from Nohr. What about you?”

Though her eyes are softened, ultimately her mouth resumes its usual frown.

for everything she claims not to be, bernadetta is sensitive—mostly—to the room. she thinks that, in the very best way, the red haired girl is radiating something noxious. perceiving some mood fouler than the smell of the stables, bernadetta nearly scampers off as she usually does.

until the girl sighs. the sound frightens bernadetta a foot in the air, even drawing out a tiny squeak, but she explains herself and...

she is kind. (there are so many people who are kinder than they look. bernadetta is learning that bit by bit, friendship by friendship.) so gray eyes blink at selena for a beat, two beats before bernadetta realizes she has to answer.

Selena knows her hair is done up perfectly, her face is perfectly cared for, and her clothes are immaculate. But Selena hopes her perfume, though lightly applied, carries on the slight breeze; she hopes Yunaka understands that above all else, Selena might be SLIGHTlY captivated.

The stars in her hair are so sparkling, so beautiful. And how best to convey that?

"Hey, you keep your hair well." Her blush burns up her face, as if mirroring the her scarlet locks. What am I even saying oh my god-

"How do you make it twinkle like that? Can you tell me all about it over dinner? You and me?" Her heart threatens to burst from her chest. "If you want."

hey hey | accepting!

Yunaka hums to herself. She drags the heel of her boot along the ground, drawing out random patterns and shapes as a way to fill the time while she waits. It hasn't been long, but the sound of voices that trickle out from inside the dining hall does make her nerves stand a bit on edge as is. When she hears someone call out to her, she looks up. It's not who she was waiting for, but she doesn't mind.

"Oh, hey there former roomie!" Yunaka grins and waves at Selena as she approaches. She hasn't seen the other around much since the island trip. They hadn't really gotten time to talk much there either, now that she thinks about it. "How's it hanging?"

Her...hair? Twinkles? "Oh, you mean the hair clips?" She reaches up and taps one of them with a finger nail. The star shaped decorations are all still sitting nicely in place. Honestly, she's gotten so used to them now that she doesn't even really feel them anymore once they're in.

"Aw, they're nothing special. I actually make them myself, since it's easier than buying new ones if they break. See-"

"...over dinner? You and me?"

...oh? OH. Oh...

Something slides down the length of Yunaka's spine, forcing her to stand up straighter with shoulders squared. She can already feel the wobble in her smile that's probably giving her away as she awkwardly turns her head away from the other.

"Which colour..." Laylea ponders between lipsticks. "This one is closer to your hair, but this one would also look nice..."

Doing someone else's makeup comes less naturally than applying her own, but Laylea's willing to put in the effort when she has such a cute model.

She settles on the more orange one, a personal choice. "This is one of my favourites." She says, applying it. "But it doesn't quite match any of my outfits, so I don't get to use it much."

Selena responds by kissing her on the lips, pushing Laylea back into her seat. When Laylea opens her eyes a moment later, she sees that the girl's lips are now smudged.

Goddess knows how she'd look if she saw herself in the mirror.

"Really, you should be more careful with that." Laylea giggles, as she pulls Selena back for a kiss on the cheek. An orange mark marks her, and Laylea picks up the stick to apply another coat.

A few minutes (and a lot of coats) later, they're both covered in lipstick marks, and Laylea can't tell if it's the kissing or the giggling that's got her out of breath.

Swordplay was far from her best subject. Setting aside her personal fear of her hero’s relic and the terror her crest held over her, swords were scary. It took away the comfort of distance, forcing her to get close to her opponent. The weapon grew impossibly heavy after a few swings, leaving her arms burning and feeling like lead. At best it left bruises on her opponent, but seeing the blood of another dripping from her sword… as if it were dripping from her own claws…

It was very easy to get into her own head during sparring and it was even easier for her classmates to take her out as a result. Her pathetic attempt at a block is knocked away and there’s a sharp, bruising, pain in her hand.

“Ow! I yield!” She yelps and clutches her wrist, a deep purple bruise blossoming across the back of her hand. It throbs when she moves her fingers.

She is excused to the hospital wing at the very least…

The girl who disarmed her accompanies her, chattering about how Marianne needed to get stronger and to pay better attention or she was going to get really hurt.. Marianne politely nods along, focusing more on not moving her hand and not processing the words.

They reach the hospital wing, and Selena is free to go. But instead she hesitates for a moment before leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss near the bruise and a hesitant apology. The moment is like lightning, electric and quick. It sends a jolt through Marianne’s body, pulling her out of her own head. The girl is half way out the door before Marianne can whisper out a quiet “thank you.”

The rush of seeing a friend, long-lost, was as speaking her native tongue after years in a foreign land. She scarcely reacted. A heel, pushed off the stone floors, was a perfect launch to her finish line. She was a machine constructed from cobblestone and spears, but in this moment her heart beat had found comfort. She swept Lucina tightly to her, arms around her neck, speaking mostly into her hair. "Oh, Lucina, we've made it... look at us..."

Her arms open on instinct, folding around an old friend as though clinging to the warmth of a memory. The corners of her lips have turned upward into a fond smile, her eyes shut and fingers curled where they have found hold upon Severa's back, the slope of her neck.

"Look at us indeed."

She will not ask of home-- will not scrape at scars she is sure the other wishes to forget just as well-- but she hardly needs to. This reunion tells her all she needs to know.

That the other is alive, that she is safe. That she is not angry with Lucina for leaving, and if she is, that she can forget long enough to embrace her like this.

“This is for you.” She had had to purchase something. Choosing a gift for Lucina had been her pleasure! But the matter of giving over the gift itself, well…  Ever so elegantly, Selena shoves her parcel at Lucina’s chest. Her outstretched arm trembles.  She’s far from worried about the gift itself. Immaculately wrapped in ribbons is a ring sporting a single pearl, its band fashioned in gold. Rings were of great importance in Selena’s life, as mementos after all. Selena hoped the single ring didn’t scream “remember me!” as desperately as her intention. Her cheeks now more red than a fire tome, she tried to swallow down her nerves. “Happy Birthday Lucina,” she almost shouted, her heartbeat thumping too loud in her ears. “Can I treat you to something in town? Just the two of us?”

Lucina accepts the gift gently despite the insistence with which it is offered, brows raised not out of concern but interest. She has had years enough to accept Severa's mannerisms as they are, and seldom found asking to warrant a real answer.

So she doesn't think too hard about it, or tries not to. It's a method that has worked for the most part; not lingering too hard on the way the air between them always feels so warm these days, on whatever strange unspoken change has occurred since their reunion.

Which becomes suddenly much more difficult when her eyes flicker from the gift itself-- a ring, simply wrought and undeniably beautiful-- to the flustered expression of the girl in front of her.

( Distantly she realizes that she is blushing too, that suddenly the world feels as though it is moving too fast. )

"This- I-" She's forgotten how to speak, what to say. Thank you doesn't feel like enough suddenly, but then she isn't sure anymore what would. Lucina clears her throat. "It's lovely..." You're lovely.

Oh Naga.

Carefully she tucks the ring away. It's too beautiful to be worn on hands like hers-- she will have to string it on something, wear it closer to her chest where it belongs. Lucina nods.

"Hey have you tried these little... chocolate things before?" It's stated as a question, but Selena's already taken the initiative to shove one in her mouth. It's salty and sweet... but nothing that she expected.

"I'm Selena. Uh..." She gestures vaguely at the festivities. "This whole thing is pretty nuts, huh?"

“Ooh those are the salted caramel chocolates aren’t they?” Ewan looked excitedly at the treats, happily eating one for himself too. In truth he’d already been at the snack table for a while, trying out various sweets and dipping candies in chocolate for an even sweeter experience. “Mmm, I love them! All the food here has been great so far.”

Looking at the unfamiliar girl, one thing that caught Ewan’s eye was her red hair. It was so long and pretty, too! Her voice too, it reminded him a little of something.. though he couldn’t quite place it. “Nice to meetcha, Selena! I’m Ewan, mage extraordinaire!” He introduced himself with a small flourish.