rose petal prince

    “I see…?” He doesn’t. 

    “I always assumed it was some sort of… I don’t know, inspiration crap? Not just… whatever you’d like.” It seemed very simple when you put it that way. Why didn’t more people paint if it was as straightforward as picking a subject and practicing? (Alright, he knew why, but still.) “That… doesn’t really help, though. I still have no idea what to do.”

“Well, sometimes it’s a burst of inspiration. Usually that’s why I start painting, but there have been times where I simply sit down and put my brush to canvas for the act of it.” He chuckled lightly, “Or I’ll find myself drawing on things in the corner of important papers I really shouldn’t have drawn on.”

@wiltedprince​​

   What on Earth was he doing taking an art class, again? (Sure, Motonari had insisted he attend some classes while he’s here with Hiroko, and it wasn’t like he disliked the idea… painting was actually quite enjoyable, he’d found, but… still.)

   “How… do you know what to paint?” He glances at Takamoto, then back at the empty paper in front of him.

Ah, it was always nice to watch an artist start to bud...even if Katsu was a little ways off from that at the moment. Nothing could see the light of day if an idea didn’t germinate, but the poor thing didn’t even know what to plant. 

    Ran takes his hands, entwining his and Takamoto’s fingers together; familiarity and sweetness and he takes the other’s palm before pressing it to his own cheek, next to the curl of hydrangeas and hyacinth festooned in his hair. ❝ You should say pretty things like that all night, my love - ❞ it was actually quite fortunate that there were not too many people from the North around in retrospect, why he recognized had immediately recognized the warlord of Greenleaf by his own ceremonial armor -     - and watching Moto clad as his own dragon, well … how enchanting.

     though they really should enter the main hall rather than mingling in the hallways.

     ❝ I’m Yosei, ❞ he announces to Tsubone; there’s a soft irony for the prince of dragons going as one of his kingdom’s legendary enemies, but Ran supposes that it was alright. these fairies were not the ones of his legends but rather that of Greenleaf’s - sweet and enchanting as the two people in front of him. he really did love all the Greenleaf fairytales. ❝ I’ve brought some flower petals to hand out too, ❞ he whispers to the little princess, showing her a sachet concealed in his sleeves.

“I brought flowers too!” She announced, scooping up one of her sleeves to reveal the full blooms dangling within. “We can find people to sprinkle them on later! Brother says that someone’s bound to fall asleep.”

Takamoto chuckled between the two, a little envious of the mischief the two fairies could find themselves on a night of debauchery. While Yumemaru still pointed to his country of origin, he had no such greenery to share for the drunkenly dreaming. 

“As the fairy wishes,” he coo’d, taking one of Ranmaru’s hands to place a kiss upon the back, “though, call this dragon selfish, but I expect a price of petals for each sweet breath of spring. Call it my hoard to take sweet pixies for my own.”

Tsubone huffed softly besides him.

       the cloak shifts as he twirls, it’s a far brighter color than the muted violets and shy navy of his usual livery yet it’s quite lovely, bright prints of viridian and dappled sunlight with marmoreal underpinnings. footsteps compel him to turn around and he offers a full grin to Takamoto, presses a kiss to the corner of the other’s mouth as hands fuss over cape and the latches of armor. his soft darling in blue armor, like the dream he’s named himself for. 

       ❝ You look good, ❞ he breathes with full appreciation; he would rather be there without these masks proclaiming his adoration greedily for his prince to the world and yet - there would be time and time again afterward when the battles are over. ❝ How do I look? ❞ he asks cheekily, fishing for a compliment which is owed more to the seamstresses of Greenleaf but it takes so little effort to tease the other and watch Takamoto’s cheeks flush like blossoms during the spring was divine. 

      ❝ Though I suppose Tsubone-hime-chan outshines all of us, ❞ he adds as the young girl slipped into the room. ❝ My lady, ❞ a deep bow and a wink at the young girl. ❝ Yume and I shall follow your lead, ❞ // @wiltedprince

Takamoto returned the kiss as best he could under the beak of his mask. At least the nose of a Dratini was not as harsh of that of his father’s Haxorus. The wings on the side of his crown still made him feel like as much of a fairy as his wife and baby sister, but he would keep the air of sophistication that a dragon demanded. 

“You look like a thousand dreams, my love,” he whispered into his cheek, hands finding his sweet fairy’s as he fret over his costume. Was he not put together enough by Dragnor standards? Whatever would he do when he met them without a mask if he was so out of shape?

                   greenleaf is exceptionally beautiful - the sun brilliant and the leaves green. the bronze windows in the great halls soar upwards and there are trellis of ivy as far as the eye could see. there are also pokemon roaming freely around, a chikorita scampering around followed by an oddish and he wonders for a moment if this was the same chikorita whom he had met when he was young and a student here. 

                  it’s a lot different coming to Greenleaf as a lord in his own right yet there are moments of deja vu where the light hits the green tiled floors just right that takes his breath away, the sounds of laughter from students and of bells ringing signifying the end of the schoolday. soba slithers next to him, his stalwart warrior of a dragonair all grown up now and no longer inclined to hide in the shadows. 

                  something gives him pause, a scale of green. soft movements and he turns before finding himself staring at a regal serperior, a familar one and his breath catches in his throat. has she been following them quietly? 

            ❝ Serene? Reine? ❞ // @harmori/ @wiltedprince​

So the orchid had lived on past so many winters.

She always knew he was a hardy flower, being kin to the dragons, but she thought the same of her prince. It seemed everyone around him had flourished with the setting of her sun- not that she would wish them anything but happiness. It was just...a coldness she could not shake. 

    “Right, the two’ve you met in school, yeah?” He really didn’t know much about Greenleaf beyond what Ranmaru had told him, not being one who’d traveled particularly far during his time in Ransei, but he could probably extrapolate based on the name. Hell if he knew exactly how far south it fell, though. 

    “It’s fine. I come from Unova, lived there my whole life until I wound up here. It’s… pretty different, you could say.” Modern Unova? Ancient Unova? Both were accurate.

“Ah, yes, the university. Well, not that we met in any grade that encompasses that specific term, but the capital’s school has always just been called that.” Maybe it was a little funny that four year olds and forty year olds studied at the same place, but it was cute to watch the children talk college kids into playing with them.

     “We’ve all been there, son, don’t worry yourself over it.” Or at least he’d been. More than once, for that matter. God, in retrospect, it was no wonder everyone teased him and Clara so much when they were young. They were insufferable.

    “I’m just glad to finally properly meet you. Ran tells me you’re from the south?”

“Ah, yes- from Greenleaf. It’s about as far south as you can get, I think, though some of Fontaine may peek out a little farther. I haven’t looked at a full map of the continent in quite some time.” 

Was that bad in Dragnor? How seriously did they take their geographical knowledge? Adair didn’t seem.......aligned with the kingdom’s usual quirks and expectations, but he certainly didn’t want to catch the disapproval of his adoptive father. Then again, he did just say he wasn’t from Dragnor.

     Were he in a less tired state, he may have tried catching the towel as it flew on its way. Instead he is left to watch as it gets closer, closer til all he can see is the cloth, still damp from tap water and not entirely cool, nor comfortable. But alas, he’s far too tired in the moment to bother pulling it from his face and properly looking up to Takamoto. All he can do is try and look in the vague direction his voice is coming from.

     Arceus, no not fish. It’ll take a good few days for him to work up an appetite for fish again. Soda and a Star Crunch sounded incredibly tempting. Something cool for certain.

    And getting a Star Crunch in quick before one of the kids inevitably found where he’d squirreled it away.

     It takes a bit of forcing on his part to left his upper body, folding his forearms so he can rest on them. Finally the towel falls from with a few furious shakes of his head and he can offer a half-assed, tired smile. “Star Crunch? Well geez, y’know I can’t say no to them. A drink sounds good too…. surprise me.”

     Heavy intake of breath and he’s forcing himself over to rest on his back ( the couch groans in response; there’s another couple days off its lifespan no doubt ). He’s already sullied the scent of febreeze, can no longer smell it, but that may just be the lingering scent of fish and oil and smoke from the harbor.

     “I’m so tired I may not even do that… you’ll just have to febreeze me down with the couch when you go through again.” A lie. There’s no way in hell he was going to sit around like this through the night. It would only double how bad he’d be tomorrow, and at that point he can’t even guarantee he’d be let in the house after work. “I hope you’re day has gone smoother than mine. No trouble?.”

Star crunch it was. Certainly not a feast for a king, but a little sweetness to take the string out of the day would do him good. Pairing the treat with a drink was the hardest part. Nothing citrus.........a coke, perhaps? 

Woah, they still had milk?  And it passed the smell test. Maybe this was turning out to be a kingly feast after all.

“I wouldn’t febreeze you,” he called over his shoulder, giving it a beat before adding on, “I think I’d need the bleach. Maybe a hose. Febreeze just wouldn’t do it.” Not to mention the skin irritation. 

With the milk poured, he went back to the couch, offering both over with a shrug to his question, “My trouble doesn’t start until the parade rolls in from school.” Then there was the yelling and the homework and the mess and the cleaning and oh God the cleaning. 

“Oh, there was one thing- not trouble, though. Misses Yamada was thinking of pooling everyone together to get a couple lottery tickets. I guess if we match six numbers, we can split six hundred million yen. I said I would have to ask you first.”

“Ranmaru!”

The sudden onslaught of affection caught him off guard. Not that sneak attack kisses were anything new, but the sheer force and enthusiasm behind these particular smooches were enough to stagger the poor man. For someone so tiny, Ran could sure pack a punch.

“You’re going to bruise my cheeks one of these days you know,” he teased, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind his ear before returning the kiss, albeit much more carefully. Two on his cheek, one to the tip of his nose- delicately placed butterflies.