[veintitresonce]

[enduring-statice-blog]

"He disappears towards the light... with a smile from ear to ear."

[enduring-statice-blog]

kowareta-shiroi-usagi started following you verfalle started following you arisu-bi-rabitto started following you

"What do you want? If you have something to say, speak up."

[jcoju-deactivated20190607]

"No, of course I don't! How am I supposed to know when I'm not allowed  over your house?"  Oz put his hands on his hips and inhaled deeply, puffing out his chest a bit. But it quickly deflated and he returned his hands down to his sides. "Um.. I don't... have one yet. But I'll think of one, definitely!"

[enduring-statice-blog]

"Take my word for it. Mention the name 'Vessalius' in my house and the mood turns sour. It's no wonder Gilbert never talked about you."

[enduring-statice-blog]

virtuous-valet

The sun's rays beamed down on the grounds of Latowidge on this warm afternoon, deflected only by the occasional cloud. It was perfect weather for reading outside, and Elliot had taken a seat with Leo underneath the shade of a tree, the latest volume of Holy Knight propped open in his hands.

But interrupting their quiet reading was a faint meowing noise that grew persistently louder, causing the nobleman to look up from his novel.

"Leo...do you hear that?"

Not far from where they were, one white furball belonging to Ada Vessalius was visible, but the poor creature had unfortunately gotten itself trapped on the branch of a tree.

[jcoju-deactivated20190607]

“It might have been out of nowhere, but at least everyone got time to relax for once. Even Reim-san seemed clam.” Oz held up a finger, the tea party may have been a bit random but tons of good things came from it. ”Really? I’m glad you had fun! I did too~”

[enduring-statice-blog]

The event had been calming, he couldn't dispute that. Though he still believed the photo at the end had been completely unnecessary, despite Leo's insistence.

"So what's your grand plan to mend the relationship between our houses? Do you know how pissed my sister was when she found out where I'd been?"

[whats-been-lost]

Their swords continued to clash, the sound echoing in the afternoon calm. He always knew Elliot had potential, but when the boy slowed down like this, it was even more obvious. Actually, it was almost interesting to be able to give lessons to him like this. Amusing, yes, but it was something different when the one being taught was full of so much promise. Yes, there was something he liked about it.

The thought brought a slim smile to Break’s face. “Ah yes, that~ Heh, I really am a bad example~”

“When you begin a battle, you want to evaluate your opponent first. Understand? Before you do anything, make sure that you understand their flow. While there is a definite rhythm of the fight, each player also has a specific flow; their style, if you will.”

He brought his sword down strongly, impressed when Elliot blocked it. “If you’re having a serious match, it’s important to get a feel for your opponents flow and make your advance from there. Test them, I suppose. See where they keep themselves open and what their weak points are. From there, you can both make your advance and show off at the same time, it’s perfect~!”

[enduring-statice-blog]

They fell into a rhythm of striking and parrying as they exchanged blows across the grounds, and Elliot focused on incorporating the man's advice into his moves. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and his chest heaved with effort, but the other looked as composed as he was when they had first started. Just how strong was Xerxes Break?!

Then, with only the slightest forethought, Elliot broke out of stance and swung towards the man's left side. It was an impulsive decision that left him open as he tried to catch the swordsman by surprise, attempting to disrupt the 'flow' that Break had mentioned. If he could just land one hit...!

[baskerville-heir-blog]

“Yes, yes. Just give me a minute.” The noirette had felt obligated to at least thank Elliot. He gathered his things and looked up, seeing that Elliot was already outside. A small chuckle escaped him. ”Holding the door for me? You really are so kind~” Leo teased upon noticing this gesture.

He quickly got out, taking in the same old sight before him. He had known this place for the two years he lived here, so nothing much would have changed. It had sure seemed like longer than two years in that place, until Leo had met the person who stood next to him. “What were you planning on anyway? You didn’t expect to foolishly stay here overnight, did you?”

[enduring-statice-blog]

"Sh- shut up and move it!" Elliot slammed the door once Leo was out and stalked off towards the orphanage without waiting to see if his servant was following. The House of Fianna looked as it did the first day he had set eyes on the old building, a strange haven situated in the midst of Sablier.

He shrugged at the question. "Why not?" Sure, it may have been an impulsive decision on his part, but it wasn't as if the orphanage lacked spare beds. "You don't want to stay?"

[enduring-statice-blog]

coming of age

[jabberwocks-contractor]

Instead of teasing his friend about his huffy denial that he had been staring, Leo chose to simply smile. He was attempting to be on his best behavior for his friend; even though he found giving digs and jests towards Elliot hilarious and all the more fun, this was Elliot’s day. Despite the circumstances regarding his family to be declared as a man and be seen as such in the eyes of fellow noblemen was something of an achievement for the beige-haired young man for he was also recognized as the rightful scion of the Nightray Dukedom. Nonetheless, in the end, Leo couldn’t help but grin at how easy it was to get his friend riled up with even the slightest of teases. “Here I had thought, instead of ogling me, you would have been staring to the young ladies attending your ceremony.~” In the end, Leo was not able to hold back the desire to tease Elliot after all. Oops. Looking down to himself, the servant inspected his clothing then raised a hand to slightly touched his hair. “I would rather they not push it. I dress appropriately every day, don’t I?” While Leo was one to wear the tailored suits Elliot gave him he didn’t care enough to properly straighten out his clothes - as why all of his ribbons tended to be crooked -  nor did he care enough to run a comb through his hair for any day but today.  There was little reason to motivate the raven-haired one into doing a thing that would make his eyes more visible to others and damn it if he allowed stuffy, irascible nobles - like the members of Elliot’s family - to make him do anything he didn’t want to. “I did this for you, Elliot, not for them.”   “Keep your voice down. We can’t have them hearing that.” While the valet could imagine the annoyances that come with materialistic and vain nobles going after others for their status and name said valet also knew well of the importance to save face. After all, Elliot’s father wouldn’t be pleased to know if his son made his less-than-flattering thoughts about the nobles known. In any case. The servant looked to his friend and nodded as he made note of the time so his master would not be late. When the beige-haired noble stepped over to the desk Leo stayed where he was and glanced to the desk as he wondered what was the importance of the object on it. Eh — it was the cloak for the ceremony. Elliot was giving it to him …? ”You want me to place the cloak on you at the end …?” This was said with questioning for the noirette was concerned on what criticism Elliot may receive for having a commoner take part in the ceremony. Surely the Nightray scion was aware of this problem as well. “Are you certain?” 

[enduring-statice-blog]

“D- don't be ridiculous!" Elliot blustered at the sudden mention of noblewomen and the implications Leo was making. "They have nothing to do with this! Not to mention I’m not interested in them like that! And I wasn’t staring--!” His protest faded though he still looked indignant. It was simply the way his valet had his hair done up. Without his messy rat's nest, he looked almost like a different person. Before he knew it, Elliot caught himself staring again and willfully forced his gaze onto a nearby painting instead.  “…Shut up.” He abandoned the argument entirely and simply knocked Leo in the shoulder with a fist. No, there was absolutely nothing different about his servant despite his new appearance, Elliot decided. Leo was still as infuriating as ever.

In contrast, there was no hesitation in his next reply. “Of course I'm certain. There’s no one else I would trust to do it. You’re my servant and my best friend. This is a ceremony to mark my place as heir, and I know as the future duke, I want you to stand by my side.”

To him, Leo was the natural choice for the position. It wasn't a split-second decision, but more like a matter of fact, because it only felt right that Leo would be the one to place the robe on his shoulders at the end of the ceremony. Even so, Elliot was aware that his request was unconventional. He hadn’t run the idea by his family, nor was he eager to. Vanessa was under the impression that their father would be the one performing the task, but no matter how outraged she was, he doubted that she would interrupt the proceedings. He wasn't so naive to think that there wouldn't be criticisms from the nobles as well. As if reading Leo's thoughts, Elliot spoke up.

"Let them say what they want, I don't care. You'll be by my side from now on so they had better get used to it." He had made up his mind, but he wouldn’t force his decision on Leo. The noble's piercing blue eyes met his friend’s gaze. “Will you do this for me?”

[baskerville-heir-blog]

Leo had gotten though a good portion of his book by the time they got to the orphanage. Those children were so very precious to him, and they always loved it whenever the noirette came to see them (They liked Elliot being there too). Once again, he would probably be welcomed with many hugs. He places a bookmark between pages and looks up at his master.

“You’re excited to see them too, right?” He asked Elliot. This was all his idea after all, so he didn’t expect anything much as a response. Besides, Leo knew he cared for the children too. “Again, thank you for this. It has been too long indeed.”

[enduring-statice-blog]

Elliot woke with a start as the wheels of the carriage jolted to a halt. He had dozed off to sleep in the middle of his novel and now shut the book in his lap as he straightened up and glanced over to Leo. "It's been a while since we were last here. It'll be good to see them," he answered noncommittally, not sure if excited was the right word for how he felt at the prospect of getting mobbed by a group of eager kids who would no doubt want them to join in on their games. Still, he had warmed up to the children and was looking forward to seeing them.

"It's not anything you have to thank me for. Come on." Elliot opened the door to the carriage and dismounted, propping it open for Leo to follow.

[whats-been-lost]

Their swords met in the air again. This time, instead of changing his position and taking Elliot off guard, Break let the two of them stay there for a lingering second. “Good. Don’t focus on beating me, focus on matching my movements. Think of it as a rhythm, yes? Like a dance. I’m sure you’ve been trained in that. You need the same kind of control.”

He took a step to the left, swinging his blade low at the boy’s waist. Slowly, of course, so that Elliot would be able to keep up. “Think about what you’re doing. Reacting blindly won’t help anything.”

[enduring-statice-blog]

"...so you can't make any wild moves, or you'll throw off the rhythm. In a fight, that would leave yourself open." He mused out loud, thinking over what the man had explained. Elliot would certainly not have thought to equate dancing with sword fighting, but he was starting to understand what Break meant.

The boy brought his blade low, matching the swordsman's movements to meet his weapon and deflect the strike. As they locked swords again, he spoke up, impatient to learn more.

"But you can't gain the upper hand if you only match your opponent's moves, can you? How do I put this...when you fight, it's like you can read my next move."

[jcoju-deactivated20190607]

“Elliot-kun!” Oz waved smiling and bouncing over to Elliot, that name was starting to sick. Not that he wanted it to. ”How’re you? I’m super glad that the tea party went well, aren’t you? ”

[enduring-statice-blog]

"Your uncle has no common sense, throwing a tea party in Pandora out of nowhere!" Though he answered Oz gruffly, there was none of the spite that used to cloud his tone when he spoke of the Vessalius. He had to admit... "It wasn't so bad, I guess."

[enduring-statice-blog]

Username change!

nightray-pride to enduring-statice

[baskerville-heir-blog]

nightray-pride replied to your post: ( Hey there, I think we had a thread going on a while back. Did you want to continue it? )

Great! I reblogged my reply, though I wanted to ask if you’d like to timeskip ahead to the orphanage?

((Sure thing! I’ll publish my reply with my drafts, okay? I must have missed it before. I’m sorry ^^;

[enduring-statice-blog]

(No worries. Sounds good!)

[baskerville-heir-blog]

The servant shook his head softly; he had no need to go anywhere else. Leo had been reading all day, so it wasn’t like going back to their room would be any different. Just more quiet, perhaps.

But he perked up at one thing. “Um, yes. It has been some time since I last saw them.” Those children that were there in the House of Fianna… They were like his family, his ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’. It was as he had said once- Everyone in this place is already family “Why? Are you suggesting we go there? That…would be really nice.”

[enduring-statice-blog]

“Yeah. Why not? We can spend the weekend there. They’ll be surprised.” He knew the moment they arrived, the kids would probably ambush Leo with hugs, happy to see the boy who had become like an older brother to them. Elliot had grown fond of the brats, too, even if he’d never admit it.

Straightening up, he let out a soft smile. “I’ll call for a carriage. We can leave as soon as we’re ready.” Though the orphanage was a ways away, it was still early enough in the day that they could arrive there before nightfall.

[okaba]

【手書きMAD用】maybe tomorrow by 

菁winni

[enduring-statice-blog]

cottontailed-cakehoarder started following you

“Yeah? What do you want, Shorty?” Elliot hadn’t seen the Vessalius since the tea party his uncle had held, where they had agreed to work together to change the relationship between the Nightray and Vessalius houses. The blonde had really pissed Elliot off the first time they had met, but one thing led to another and he supposed that they were now…friends, or whatever it was.

[mystic-artes]

[enduring-statice-blog]

"Say, Elliot... I want to keep my back turned and remember all those times we used to spend with one another. I want to see the same bright lights that, even though knowing what I was, still made me happy to know I had someone like you around. I want you to continue composing something special for yourself, and for those you care about most. I still... never want you to change. ... Goodbye, Elliot."