#virtufide

“then, with the champagne.” as if on cue, a scowl. “need you to be reminded of the rules, caspar?” [2/2]

He hadn’t actually expected his diversionary stamp-ask to be answered, let alone nicely, by the monastery’s foremost disciplinarian (especially given he’d just tried to walk past the man with what is technically his second glass of champagne), but Seteth soon follows it up with a terse word of reprimand. When the viceroy refuses to release his stamp-card despite beckoning him to take it back, Caspar matches his scowl with one of his own. Now that’s more like it. "Well, excuuuse me, princess sir!” he retorts (casually kicking memory of his semi-recent spat back out of mind). “For your information, this is my first glass, and I was planning on giving it to Dorothea because of the dance contest! I haven’t broken any rules yet, not even that Goddess Tower one no one enforces! Whether you believe me or not, I’ve done nothing wrong - Now can I please have my card back?”

Whether Seteth actually listens to him or not, his grip relents enough for the young Eagle to yank his card free and escape towards the crowd. As he leaves, he takes a big swig of his glass - just one more thing to spite Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass.

(He’s probably going to see the inside of that detention hall again real soon... and he’s going to need to find some other way to get a full glass of champagne for Dorothea now.

Bernie squeaked in surprise. “I-Is it really?” She hadn’t planned that at all. She’d gotten overwhelmed by the list of teas that had to offer, she’d just panicked and chosen one at random...oh no, what if he thought she was following him around to learn these kinds of things? “I-I hadn’t planned for that, I promise!”

There’s so much hustle and bustle in the ball, her eyes momentarily flickered away. It’s stressful...she’s run into so many friends, sure, and people have been impressed by how long she was managing to stay, but it never made it any less stressful. So many people, everywhere, all the time...Bernie wished it was just her fellow Eagles. At least then she would be in a room full of people she knew.

“S-stamp? Oh! Right. Um....” Bernadetta fumbled about for a moment before she pulled out her sheet. She frowned at it. She really had filled it up, huh? Who would have expected Bernadetta of all people to get the number of stamps needed for that secret prize? Certainly not Bernie.

however, kana is still so young and vigorous, eyes sparkling with childlike wonder. to see the small dragon roam about so carefree warms seteth's heart, reminded of memories now long past. "here. a present from flayn and i.” inside the box lays an assortment of the marketplace’s finest treats: an array of taffies and hard candies that seteth had requested for flayn to pick out. most curious were the sugar-pops pulled and twisted to resemble small animals, translucent and gleaming with all their beauty. “happy birthday, young one. may your future be as lustrous as your spirit.” [2/2]

While Seteth has walked enough years on this earth to fill hundreds of lives, it is only Kana’s thirteenth of many. For times to come, he’ll be as excited as he is today when the decades pass and he’s another year older. That’s just how he is; how he’ll always be; finding joy in the simplest of things. 

“Mister Seteth! I didn’t think you even knew it was my birthday!” Of course he’d know; Seteth would make it his business to know everything about another of his kind. “You and Flayn even got me a gift? Oh, thank you so much—make sure you tell her that I said thank you!” 

Gingerly, he opens the box, and grey eyes widen at seeing the assortment of treats. “Oh, Mister Seteth—these are almost too pretty to eat!”

She’s drawn to him, even from across the hall--feet unconsciously taking her through the crowds. Even through the masses of people, she can smell him, the scent of her kin. Nah blinks up at the tall green-haired man, “you’re like me.” A statement, not a question. To think--there’d be other manakete in the monastery--and so high up too! 

She smiles widely, revealing sharp teeth as she reaches into her ever-present bag and draws out her dragonstone. “It’s an honor to meet you, Master Seteth--I have so many questions! Oh--have dragons always been present in Fodlan’s history? How have they influenced the flow of history--are they tied to the religion here too?” Nah hardly pauses for breath as she continues. “Back home, in Ylisse, manakete are rare, but everyone knows of their existence...we worship the Divine Dragon Naga, after all. Can you hear the goddess’ voice? I haven’t been able to since arriving, despite being able to commune with Naga back home...Maybe it’s because I’m not from here? Oh! Is the goddess even a Divine Dragon?”