#lykirae

name: saera of serault

gender: cis female, she / her

general appearance: it was safe to say the matter of who saera's father was did not raise many arguments, considering this looks like a little aerion. save for her eyes, which are warm and brown like her mother's, despite the way they have the tendency to have a naturally more sharpened gaze, and a judgmental look in them almost the moment she left the womb. she is beautiful in a more valyrian way, bearing more of a resemblance for her father with her silver hair though not as striking of a color. she liked keeping them in braids and accessories woven into them. saera was paler than her sister nymeria, though spending so much time under dornish sun changed that when she was growing up.

personality: even though she was born with sharper features and a piercing gaze that remained permanently etched onto her visage, saera was a kindhearted girl at her very core, mostly because of the way her mother raised her. as strong and as stoic as she tries to make herself appear, she was still empathetic to others, especially those within her own family. she would bleed for them if she needed to. she is incredibly proud, as she had shown early on that she had no tolerance for being insulted, and she hates to lose. unlike her mother who thrives in courtly intrigue, saera would rather face any trouble head-on, and will be very honest with them if she thinks that someone is acting like a cunt. a stubborn girl. house yronwood hater #2. she could be smiling and laughing with her friends one moment, but the second her attention is called elsewhere, her expression immediately changes into a colder one.

special talents: nymeria is a great rider on horseback, ever since she was a young girl and had her first lessons. you could hardly get her to stop and come back inside. she is also very good with a bow, said to have perfect aim even while she's atop a moving horse. it's something she likes to show off with

who they like better: kira, because she was the one who raised her and her sister more, and was there more often as they were growing up. she thinks the world of her mother, but there is a longing inside of her whenever she sees her father. the times when she and aerion were getting along were somewhat rare, but it was mostly because they were too similar in certain ways that they are more likely to argue than agree on a matter.

who they take after more: there have been so many times as saera was growing up that kira sees aerion in her, and it made her stare for a moment when saera started doing things that aerion as a child once did. she definitely takes after aerion more, but bringing it up will result in her scrunching her nose up and not saying anything afterwards. sometimes, though, she would like to be taken fishing... and asks her father for stories when she feels like he was in a somewhat better mood. she has a reluctant want to be someone he would think is worth being paid attention to, because she does not like being cast aside.

personal head canon: magic still exists within saera, given her mother's lineage, but she does not heed it's call as strongly as her sister does. it comes to her more in feelings, a vague kind of foresight like a sharper instinct. in the verse where dragons are still around, she used to watch out the windows in serault hoping for the sight of caraxes outside, though kira would say that saera was more excited to see the dragon than her father. a lot of people her age are intimidated by saera at first, but the smallfolk in serault adore her. for a lot of reasons, i think she'd bond with silverwing.

❛ i know. ❜ if there was any fear within the witch 'pon hearing such a declaration, she does not show it. she does not move to make space between them, where she lounges on a soft chaise with the prince's head 'pon her lap, surrounded by the cloth of her skirts which were the same color as his mother's house. there is not a sliver of terror in the way she looks at him. almost perceived to be flooded with adoration, is the gaze kept alight by the warmth of brown hues. she does not look away, even as his own eyes become sharp enough to cut, lest she be accused of her attention being elsewhere when he was right in front of her. a terrible crime, that would be, and the punishment of which she does not intend to discover.

despite what he had confessed, it does not stop the witch from brushing away the ends of silver - like hair from his forehead. as though she is looking at the knife meant to cut her and still holds it by her own volition. tightly, close to her heart, if the sharpened end should choose to find it. tenderness from hands that have slaughtered for shadows and brewed to kill from the mouth, given to a man who thinks himself a dragon made flesh. she cannot say for certain that she knows all that happen within his mind, but since the days of their childhood, she has been learning about his mind. it does not surprise her that he thinks of such things, and she knew it was well within his capabilities to bring forth a favorable attempt.

if death should come, then it was better from the hands that knew her better than any soul living or dead, rather than a stranger's or a foe's.

she herself has pondered the same, at times. when he draws himself close to her and her gaze is drawn to the jugular, or moments where he infuriates her as though the only thing he could set ablaze is her patience ... oh, the many beautiful things she could do with his blood. even now, as the edge of her nail traces a vein along the length of his neck.

❛ i would hope one of those ways is with your finest blade, or your own hands bared. ❜ she smiled. and i'd hope you'd miss me. ❛ but i would not make it easy for you. i intend to be your nuisance, until the very end. ❜

Borte was still learning new things about the man she was meant to marry, but one thing she had picked up on rather quickly was that Aerion Targaryen could put on an impeccable performance. So much so that, despite knowing this about him, she hadn't an inkling that he was displeased until after the gathering had reached its conclusion and they had returned to the prince's bedchambers for the evening. 

It's the sweetness that tips her off first, enough to make her pause where she stands. It feels like a trap, a trick question, and so she does not answer. Instead she watches as he crosses the room towards her, a dragon toying with his prey because he knows she will not run.

And then he is close, so close that it flusters. His touch is surprisingly gentle, and though she thought herself to be more guarded her heart responds; its beat stutters, picking up pace when met with what it interprets as tender affection.

At such close proximity, Aerion is sure to hear the hitch in her breath when he speaks. She is unable to discern whether it is the man's thinly veiled threat or the graze of his breath as he speaks into her ear that causes her to shiver.

Tonight had been the first night in which she had been introduced to Aerion's family as his betrothed. As little as her fiancé cared for his family gatherings, it was a big deal to Borte, and she had fretted endlessly over making a good impression. They had been gracious enough, to her relief, and it is true that she'd conversed with Valarr a decent amount — for some reason or another, he'd taken quite an interest in her, and she'd worried that not entertaining him would reflect poorly on her. Perhaps she should have tried harder to excuse herself…

❝ It was not my intention to offend, ❞ she says, voice soft. Cautious. ❝ I only wished to make a good impression on your family… ❞

She turns her head ever so slightly towards him, trying to see his face, to look at him so that he may see the sincerity upon her own features. It is difficult when he's this close, yet to say she'd prefer him further away would simply be dishonest. 

❝ I'm sorry. I was overly familiar. ❞ She murmurs, reaching as if to grasp his sleeve before stopping herself. ❝ I do not find him interesting. ❞

🥹 Do you ever get emotionally affected by your threads?

🎭 I LOVEEE ANGSTTTTT and i love exploring complex relationships/dynamics with other characters. I rarely get to do so and be a little geek about it! Equally though, I also just...love writing thought-provoking pieces, so anything that is explorative of mine and my partner's characters IS JUST SO GOOD. whether its platonic, romantic, antagonistic, i just love being a little weirdo about deep character dynamics.

the worst punishment that kira gives to a betrayer in her army is turning them into one of her shadow assassins. she hates traitors in her ranks more than anything because it means they thought she was fool enough to hope she wouldn't know. it's the reason why she sends her swords out to find them with instructions of bringing them back alive. she'll kill them herself, take the shadows from her body, and ensure that they will pay for their transgression in death by serving her. it's part of the terms and conditions of working for her, it's not her fault they didn't read it.

kira has long since refused to wear the colors of her father's house because... she doesn't like the man. she wears hues of lilacs and violet because in a way, it honors house dayne where she was warded. they were the first house that had treated her kindly. it also became the colors of serault later on when she became it's lady. it isn't to say that kira hates everyone of house yronwood because she gets along quite well with her half-siblings. her dad's just a cunt.

aerionkira are messy in court, i just know it. to see the two of them standing together despite the difference in their positions isn't a surprising occurrence anymore, though fleeting, because they really are the only two in the room who probably know what the other is really like beneath everything. it's also because kira likes to tell aerion all of the pettier parts of gossip that she hears from her ravens. they're over there slandering some of the nobles, and if he chooses to do something with what she tells him well… dinner and a show i guess 🤷‍♀️

also bonus: kira's ravens don't like aerion. they just collectively disperse when he's around kira. out of fear or just the general vibe, who's to say?