#ofdusk

It is unmistakable; the visage of her mother, the image of grace and beauty in a flourish of silk like the early morning tide, moving in time to the high trill of distant strings.

The visage of her mother. Of a stranger. A face she had known for longer in death than in life. Her hands have begun to tremble.

Absently, as though pulled along a string, she moves closer. The rest of the room has faded, fallen away to nothing, and left only Hoshido's queen. She is resplendent, undeniably, and a voice in Corrin's mind hisses that she is not hers to gaze upon.

But she is already moving, closer and closer still until she can catch a mother's hand between her own two. Until there is warmth-- as true and as alive as the day they were reunited.

It is only then that the world returns. Flustered, Corrin ducks her head in shame. "S-sorry, I couldn't help myself..." She hasn't let go of that hand, stares at it as though trying to comprehend it herself. "Mother... Is it really you?"

It has been a night of dazzling wonder and dance. Every moment a treasure, whether she was whirling across the floor with one of her children or with someone new. It was a delight to see everyone dressed up for the occasion and enjoying themselves.

Though the true vision came in the form of a familiar face, soft features and a gaze she cherished, someone she'd know in any lifetime: Kamui. Except she had never known her, only been granted glimpses, visions of a world not hers, one where she'd died while protecting her child. Her daughter.

Mikoto raised her hand to cup her cheek. "Kamui," she breathed her name tenderly, "Oh, I'd hoped but..." To actually see her here, to have her within arm's reach... She thumbed her cheek, tears forming in her eyes at this most improbable encounter coming true. The two had crossed universes and defied fate to find their way to each other.

|| Starter for @ofdusk

--

It didn't take very long at all for Tharja to fall back into her usual habits. One habit, in particular, would surely get her into trouble. Tharja had taken to tailing one of the Knights of Seiros. Something about Corrin was so unsettlingly familiar to Tharja that she found herself drawn in completely.

Tharja felt as if she was playing with fire. If she was going to be scolded for her actions then she would get in as much stalking as she could before that happened. The notebook she kept in her satchel was coming in handy. She looked away from Corrin to glance down at it, jotting down notes as she did. Her notes were eerily detailed and anyone to look at them would likely think she was planning something dark-sided with those she was so focused on.

It wasn't until she looked up again that she realized Corrin had disappeared from her line of sight. Where had she gone?

KEGuard2023 Starter for @ofdusk

Assist with chopping wood [Max 2 muses per thread] - Gains 1 bundle of timber per post

He was getting a little better with an axe. Roy held the handle with gloved hands, taking aim at a medium sized tree in front of him. Chopping wood was more difficult than the simple nature of the task let on, but he wouldn’t give up.

Maybe he could use the help of a friend.

“Corrin, I confess I’m still getting used to handling an axe. This might go faster if we both work together on the same tree.”

They should be able to alternate their swing times and get as much wood as possible that way, right? He swung once and grunted. The exertion was good for training, but he was worried about how much time they had to fortify their defenses and make anything else they needed to.

Starter for @ofdusk From July, 2023 - Mission Board Small hunting parties regularly venture beyond monastery walls to hunt for additional food to pad out supplies. On one of your patrols, your arrow manages to sink deep between the ribs of a young buck. He flees, alive, but leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Tracking him down will take all night, which is bad news when there’s snow already falling. Even so, you can’t just return empty-handed. [Grants Bow +1]

... Well, that was a mess.

Few times had Ashe's marksman skills failed him, especially when it comes to hunting as opposed to real combat. Blame it on it starting to get dark, or the winds growing more intense by the moment, or the cold messing up his hands even when they're gloved... regardless, it was no excuse. Ashe's prey has fled quicker than he thought. The poor thing was still bleeding, which is good for Ashe by all means, but not that pleasant of a thought. He hoped to down it quickly, for both their sakes...

He could follow its general direction for a bit, but as his view got obstructed by trees, he lost line of sight, instead looking down, trying to find any visible tracks. A frustrated sigh could be seen leaving his mouth and dissolving in the cold air.

it was a knight that entrusted her with word from faerghus.  and at first, mikoto thought nothing of it than a joke.  a humiliating feat that only simmered into realization at the grim expression of her colleague.  now that she remembers the moment, trudging through the thinning snow up to her ankles, the idea of it all is horrid.  though she is optimistic, a bitter emotion swells in the spaces of her mind and chest.  not even the healing light of her staff can numb the feeling of desperation.  how else is a mother to act when word passes of her daughter dragging her reputation through the ground?  and not by disgracing herself with bad mannerisms, but theft and foolery!

her substitute mount, amber, follows after the guidance of her grip on the reins.  the few faculty and students deployed on the missions were far beyond their position.  it’d be out of her jurisdiction to venture into the foreign land without an official mission pledged to her name, but still... she is here. only in the outskirts of the kingdom will she attempt to find a hint of the fool behind her daughter’s fakery.

“   —and she’s a kind lady, i tell you!  have i told you of the time she tripped in a river and was concerned of hurting the fish there instead of the scrape on her knee?   ”   mikoto sighs, a pleasant smile warm on her lips as she recalls the fleeting memory.  amber makes a noise behind her.   “   to think of her stealing from the poor is baffling!  corrin would never dare to. she’d never have the heart to.   ”

snow and dirt crunches beneath hooves and soles.  mikoto opens her mouth to bring forth yet another memory when the reins grow taut in her hand.  a branch snaps and the silence that follows is deafening, immediately torn by amber’s neigh.  dirt is kicked up by the horse’s hooves, reins yanked against impatient tugging.

“   calm yourself, amber!   ”   mikoto exclaims, tightening her grip and raising her hand to beckon her mount’s attention.   “   there is no threat, darling.  be still!   ”   thankfully, the fright had been small.  the panic settles, slowly, but when it does, the sound of footsteps becomes prominent.  hoshidan queen keeps herself from startling, aware of the focus her mount has on her.  slowly, she raises the reins before amber, and kneels to rest them on the ground.  mikoto backs away, once as an experiment, whispering a command of steadiness, before moving around the nearest tree.  a borrowed sword is pulled from the sheathe at her hip.  when she peers back from her hiding place, silver tresses are the first things she spies.

corrin, she realizes grimly.  still, she does not move.  instead, mikoto listens for the voice of the imposter, insistent to hear the bluff of identity on their tongue before moving to intervene.

Hunt in the forest outside of the village [Max 3 muses per thread] - Receive small game (1lb) every 1 post - Every 5 posts, you will have the chance for a large game roulette (deer, boar, bear, wolf, giant bird), which will grant additional resources if successfully hunted. WARNING: Muses can be injured during this. (but when has that ever stopped us from fucking around) - Characters with bow rank > C grant the team greater chance of taking down large game.

There's a comforting weight to the bow in Python's hands. A makeshift self bow it may be, but it's far preferable to being unarmed. Simple wooden bows are what he was trained on, with rabbits and squirrels as his targets. Hell, it'd be embarrassing if he couldn't pull this off. The only less familiar factor is the presence of a hunting partner—the knight of the group. Hopefully she's better with a bow than she is at cards. A faint path through the brush shoots off from the one they currently travel. He raises an arm to draw Corrin's attention, then drops to a crouch. The soft shoes customary to the village make it harder to distinguish manmade trails from ones created by game, but there are subtle differences. Leaves press deep into the ground from past footfalls, and—there. A hoofprint in the dirt. "Gonna be honest, I didn't know you were the rule-breaking type." He stands back up with a quiet grunt of effort. "But while we're out here, why don't we make it worth our while? Looks like there might be something bigger down that-a-way."

Turbulent clouds eclipse the bright sun; shadow is cast on the monastery’s courtyard, making for a so-so day.

Not that this would ever stop Idunn from taking brisk walks in her free time, running her hands through ambient foliage--letting caterpillars crawl across her finger. The rain and frosty snow could not take away her draconic curiosity, so why should the clouds? Now that she has a heart--breathes with soul--Idunn can open herself to the joy of being.

And so she wanders. Aimlessly, but with the aim of discovering something today. Be it about herself, the behaviors of humans, the grass or trees... Anything might do. Footsteps fall against a ground padded with lush green. They carry her around to see all the little gardens and singing birds, until she happens upon it: the shady gazebo.

Not that it provides much more relief from the sun than simply standing around on days like today, but it stands as a monument to human design. For when humans get too hot, she resolves. And she remembers that her village is hot, too. It has many shady spots, many broad-leafed trees. But eyes of carmine and emerald squint at this place’s structure, and they quickly see that it is not a human standing beneath it today.

Another dragon. Easy to tell from the loud and obtrusive presence she exudes, but there’s also something else.

...

“Your tail,” says a monotonous voice, “you have it out... And yet...” The figure is not just dragon, but manakete. Idunn had strode across the yard until she could also take heart beneath that gabled roof. And now that she is well within reach, her hand stretches from her body like clockwork. But it stops just before it can touch the stranger’s tail. It has forgotten something, and so has she. 

Friends are... Easier to make, with introductions. A fact she is slowly beginning to grasp.

“I am Idunn,” she announces, and her retracted hand fishes through the satchel at her side. It grasps onto the cool crystal that she always keeps close by: her dragonstone. As though there is a need to prove her identity, she presents it and fastens her bag shut. “I am also a dragon.” 

Eyes betray no hint of warmth--the line drawn across her lips is only cold. Yet a bubbling sensation simmers at her core. She is... Excited? to meet another of her kind. The emotion is not one she’s learned to describe. And this dragon is hardly the first she’d met at the academy, but before it used to be just her and those Arcadian girls...

Divine demon continues, trailing back to its first thought, “Your tail. How is it out? While you are a Manakete...”

@ofdusk @cursedbluebird @princepsumbra @unsungblade

The previous round went by in a flash compared to the first round of fighting, and Felix found himself wondering if he even had an opportunity to contribute. If he wasn’t pulling his weight for the team, then what was the point of being there at all? The point of training in the arena was to work as a team, unfortunately, and Felix took that as the challenge it was. He was not about to let himself be a slacker.

So, as the next round began, Felix steadied himself and surveyed the enemies before him. His lip curled up in a snarl of disgust at the sight of rats. Ugh. He hated rats.

[Felix attacks with Brave Sword: 9, 11. Two hits resulting in -4HP to Bodyguard A]

[Bodyguard A counters with Double-Edged Blade: 7. Results in -10HP to Bodyguard A and their counter misses Felix. Bodyguard A is defeated!]

The largest enemy—the disgusting rat king—wasn’t optimal to attack first, so Felix charged for the underlings, sights landing on the one to the furthest left. Quick on his feet, he landed his two hits with ease, and the bodyguard fell just as quickly as they had appeared. A please smirk made its way to Felix’s lips, which replaced his previous repulsed snarl. He turned to his teammate, amber eyes ablaze with determination to eliminate the enemies as soon as possible. No one could call him a slacker after that, certainly.