#lazulienne

FESTIVITIES WELL-UNDERWAY MEAN SHE'S FINALLY　𐂂　seeing the end of the line for the flower arrangement station. for a while there, she thought they'd be strapped here all night——which was one thing for her, but a bunch of these students were probably the proper and important types who the ball was really for. they should at least get some time to enjoy it.

for that reason, mostly, she'd offered to stick behind and keeping manning the station for a while as everyone else departed to get something to eat and drink and chat for a while. it gave her some time to herself, and she honestly didn't mind sorting through the mess of stem and leaf clippings, fallen petals, and spilled water. but just when she's figured that everyone here tonight must've gotten all the flowers they wanted, she spots another girl: pink hair like hers, which catches her attention first, but quietly touring the pots of flowers around the perimeter of the space. how long had she been there? she seems to feel the eyes on her as soon as she's noticed.

"yeah? i never thought of it that way before, but you're right." into the basket for the trash the clippings go, and she turns around to grab the washcloth to wipe down the tables with. "it's nice to see flowers as healthy as these again. where i come from, most of them were trampled and died out a while ago."

Peeking inside, he can find a deep crimson cape with some black trim, sewn to have a bit of flair to it so as to not be too plain.  

“I wanted to make something that could help you seem distinguished even in battle. If you're going to be walking beside your knights in battle, you might as well have something that can help your men find you and shield you a bit from the weather too.”  Indeed, it even has a hood, not unlike her own cape she wears into battle.  “Ummm... I wasn't sure what colors you liked, but red's pretty striking, right? But battle comes with blood. And so it's an easier color to keep things looking the same, keep you looking strong, even if blood gets on it.”

Something to show he wouldn't flag and wouldn't mar his image. As far as she knew, bluebloods really did have to care about what they looked like to others and lead that way. It's what inspired her own anxieties in mimicking them after all.

“And... if you're gonna be looking after your people, a cape is a perfect source of spare cloth on the field to tear and bandage up people's wounds. You gotta keep going, as do the people you fight with. If this could help you and those you wanna be beside...”

Then she'd consider it a good use of cloth, no matter how tattered it gets.

Winter Festival

"Lapis! what great luck!"

there they were, two members of a society so entrenched in curation and performance— in the great divide of noble and commoner. the young woman respected the line drawn between them, yet the depths of her contributions made her soul a noble one. Ferdinand, bright-faced and bright-eyed, postured himself all too openly, with a cock-sure swing of his arms. she was one commoner that did not look at nobility with horns, and for that, the line felt less a line and more a bridge. one day more. two days more. someday soon, he would hope to walk that bridge with her.

"may I?" a pause. and only then did he slip his gloved hands into the bag to admire the cape that peeked from its covers. a shield and a banner, the kind of red that has parted lips and the cry of battle in mind. he held his breath, emotions first drawing out his brows before rounding his eyes. he hated to admit it, and loved it all the same: Lapis may have been one of the first to truly see him as a respectable commander. did that mean that it was working? that his service as a noble was being acknowledged? or did that mean that he had failed to perform nobly until now?

"why…" his beam is too kind to be that of a commander. too naive. he knows of blood but its stench has not reached skin-deep. he is too gleeful, too grateful. "…Lapis, this is tremendous! my heart is galloping like a dozen pegasi!"

"you have thought ahead ten steps for my one. is it so natural to think of tearing a gift so soon after recieving it? Lapis, I shall serve my soldiers well enough that I will not need to tear it!" what grand declarations when he knows war. he knows the roles they will serve in it, even if the board appeared differently in her shoes than it did his.

clearing his throat, he pulls the sturdy fabric over his shoulders, taking a spin. "well."

"if it comes to that, will you tear your cape for me as well? is this cape not hooded just like yours?" they had fought together on the battlefield, so he had gotten a glean of it moons past.

"if it comes to that, I will bleed with you. those front lines are for you and I alike."

what good use of cloth, that it could bind blood of blue or red.

—

a little later, Lapis finds a present by her doorstep. Ferdinand knows the steps to those commoner dorms almost as well as the noble dorms now. he has counted, he has walked, and he laments almost, at how reality feels heavier with each step down. in a gift bag is an expensive rope belt, that appears to have braided cords, tough and painted in an exorbitant gold pigment.

With that, she presents the wrapped box over to him. Unraveling it and opening it reveals two mugs, one pink and one blue, both with glass stirrers. At the end of each stirrer is a heart tip, and the cup's packaged stirrer's heart is colored to match the same hue as the other cup in the set.

“Ta-daa~ What d'you think?”  she invites his opinion after he sees them.  “I made them for the both of us to use together. You can keep both of them with you though. That way, anytime I come over, we can bring them out and share a nice, relaxing treat together...”

It's an idea borne of realizing she's inviting herself more, and the excuse to spend a little more time with each other is... well, she'll take what she can get. Though she does worry that, even if the cups themselves are pretty plain, maybe the stirrers are a bit TOO girly? But without it, it's not really matching, is it? And that's the thing she wants most of all. 

“... just you and me, yeah?”  

"Already done giving out presents to our friends?" It's hard to miss Lapis running around the monastery grounds with gift boxes in her hands. With how talented his partner is, Alcryst always looks forward to seeing everything Lapis makes for the winter festival. Last year had been a warm muffler and a wonderful dinner with potatoes from her family's farm. This year...

"Oh! They're so cute!" Blue and pink matching mugs, obviously for them to share. The stirrers having opposing colors is an especially nice touch, he thinks. "Thank you! We should try them out soon. I'll find us an especially nice treat for us to share... just you and me."

Alcryst imagines a full pot of his favorite tea and a slice of strawberry cake for Lapis, an afternoon shared in the spring sunshine. He hopes for many days like that in their future...

Speaking of...

"Lapis... I have something for you too..."

It takes all of Alcryst's courage to straighten his back and stand tall. Not a day goes by where he doesn't think of how this moment will go. He would step into fear and imagine the countless ways that he could mess up this single chance he has.

Alcryst pulls out a small wooden box from his jacket pocket, presenting it in his hand. Swallowing nervously, he opens the box to reveal one of the rings he had been hiding for almost a year.

A silver band inspired by the Ring of the Holy Knight. And at its center, a smooth gemstone swirled with hues of red and blue, part of the very same stone that King Morion gave to his second son.

One day, I hope you give this to someone very precious to you.

@lazulienne

Right, so, about those monsters! It turns out they might be smarter than you are, because you can’t just walk up to them and start swinging, and they also look to have little interest in your cute traps and snares. You’re going to have to get creative about it, before the hunters become the hunted. [Grants Any Skill +1]

“Perhaps we ought to ambush them.”

In truth, ambush them was sort of a calling card, when it came to being a pegasus knight. Pegasi were good at hiding just out of reach — behind a mountain range, above a canopy of trees — before rising or descending suddenly upon an enemy, and then once again darting away, were they to find themselves in extensive danger.

hc + a word > WINDS

Becoming lord to the Four Winds marked two important milestones for Rafal.

First, in the bubble of Gradlon you can trust only yourself and your twin up to a certain age. Children of Sombron are rarely allowed knights with Veyle being a notable exception. Rafal, a Fell Dragon who has only ever trusted Nel, is then suddenly given four knights after the war who would effectively give up their lives for him, and whose lives he's deemed responsible for in turn. It's a jarring contrast, one where he not only has to adapt, but ease into opening his heart.

Second: before the rest of the Four Winds came along, I highly doubt that Rafal extended any semblance of major trust to anyone outside of Nel, Alear, and Zelestia; and what is it that Nel, Alear, and Zelestia have in common? They're all dragons.

At the end of the day, the Divine One's army was never truly unified. We see during the Fell Xenologue how quickly the human characters revile Nel and Nil for their Fell Dragon lineage when things turn south. Rafal isn't ignorant, he definitely held consciousness over those facts and kept his emotional distance. You can't be burned if you don't come close to begin with.

(is summer arena au silly)

The corrupted form of Lapis does not speak, no matter how much Andrei's teammate might attempt to provoke her. However, despite this lack of seeming humanity, when the swordswoman rushes forward, blade of fire summoning an inferno to try and consume any foe that stands in her way, there is a strange moment where there is something.

“ ..... ”

When she brings her sword's edge up to Andrei, piercing past his defenses, she delivers with it a kiss to his lips— one that invokes the warning of death before she tries to slice at him. Had it happened? Had it not?

She could never tell, for the only thing she can wreak is the swing of her blade.

another kiss prompt (accepting!)

The longer the battle drags on, the heavier his weapon and shield begin to feel, the dead weight rooting him in place as he could do nothing but watch the battle take place before him.

One girl, in particular, stands out. Lapis. He's not sure how he knows her name — but she is, undoubtedly, danger. One by one, his allies fall, until there is nothing but his shield standing between them. A shield, much too heavy to stop her whirlwind of attacks.

She passes his last line of defense so easily, and for a heart-stopping moment, Andrei finds himself inches away from her face, from her blade.

He expects the blade to reach him first. He is wrong.

Their lips meet, then, brown eyes staring into muted crimson. Despite being nothing more than a puppet, a harbinger of death drawn up by the illusions that govern this arena, her kiss is as soft and sweet and real as—

Her lips silence his gasp of pain as the blade slices cleanly through flesh.

...

Andrei's eyes shoot open, a hand coming up to cover his mouth before he even registers the bounds of dream and reality. From his bedside table, Cranberry gives a sleepy, warbling coo at the sudden movement.

"No, it's... it's nothing," Andrei whispers, more to reassure himself than his pigeon who could not possibly comprehend what he'd just been through. Rolling over, he stares hard at the wall, trying to shake the feeling he is left with. As far as nightmares go, this one isn't even particularly chilling or horrendous, just... odd. He's all but certain he doesn't have any such feelings towards a girl he only knows as an enemy, all other information supplied to him only by proxy.

"O-Oh..." Jealous? After the difficulties they encountered back in Happyland, the thought of running into another relationship problem so soon is worrying. Alcryst didn't think this was the sort of thing Lapis might be into... personally, he isn't sure if he'd like that sort of attention from one of the household servants.

Alcryst leans into Lapis' touch, bowing his head slightly so that she's better able to pat his head. "...Thanks, but, I don't know... they said that I had potential, but all I can think of is how I'm not charming enough to pull off the character I'm supposed to play. Not to mention, I don't even know what 'domestic bliss' is supposed to be..."

There's absolutely no hiding it, her having carried a somewhat big case with her this whole way. She gingerly passes it over to him, encouraging him to open it and take a peek inside. What awaits him is a violin and bow set in a sleek, dark, plush interior.

“ It's been a while since I've heard you play. I've wondered if maybe you didn't bring it with you? So I figured I'd make you one to have any time you feel like playing while we're here, ”  she explains. She's certain it's not as splendid of quality as what he had access to back in Brodia, but she's glad she's had experience making a violin before for her neighbors if only so she could have the confidence to present him with one crafted by her own hands here and now.  “ I made your case a little bigger than it had to be. Figured you might be able to get more use out of the accessory pocket if it had some more room. Though, obviously, it can't be anything too big. ”

Though that wasn't the only reason she'd made it bigger. Upon peeking into the accessory pocket, a closer examination would reveal that the plush covering can be lifted to show a hidden message carved into the case's wood. It reads: 'You make me so happy every day.'

Just thinking about it lying in there in wait makes Lapis start to fidget, suddenly feeling embarrassed for having left it as an extra surprise even though she'd been more than content the whole time she'd been carving it for him.

“ ...I-I'm sure you've got plans with your family today! ”  she rushes to speak to distract him from investigating too much into her present for him.  “ But if you have any extra time to spare, I've taken the day off! So... Yeah! You, um, could say that's my other gift for you today if you want... ”

Lapis is one of the first people Alcryst sees today, as he hoped. “Thank you,” he replies warmly, though he can’t help but be distracted by the instrument case Lapis carries. A violin, maybe a viola? Wait—“What, you made this?!”

Alcryst doesn’t doubt Lapis’ honesty, nor her skill, but he can’t wrap his head around the beautiful violin within the case. As soon as he lays eyes on it, he closes the case for a moment, then opens it again. It’s still there! “This is, I can’t imagine how much time you’ve spent on this…!” Alcryst wonders how much of the material was scavenged and how much of it was bought. Running his hands along the velvet lining, he imagines Lapis working tirelessly to get the details just right, the love she put into her work…

Alcryst grins, an easy and genuine smile that comes naturally to him. “I…” he chuckles nervously as giddy delight settles in his heart. “I, I don’t know what to say. Just a ‘thank you’ wouldn’t be enough.” So he closes the case carefully and pulls Lapis into a hug. Where his words fail him, he hopes this will convey the depths of his gratitude. Alcryst squeezes her tight. “I love you,” he whispers, just for the two of them to hear. “Thank you for this.”

Alcryst is reluctant to let go, but eventually he does, hands still resting on her arms. “That’s good… I’m glad you’re taking the day off, if only to rest. You work so hard after all. And please know you’re welcome to join us today! I’m sure Father and Diamant have something planned, though I don’t know what…”