"I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still." Delilah Bard from the Shades of Magic series semi-open rp blog Affiliated with Hiraeth Academy Starter call 1st year | Dorm #101 | Elective: ranged combat | See full schedule here
So it really was a reaction that they were looking for, judging by how their body language changed into those of uncertainty as he simply stared past them with a disinterested look. The unsure actions of one of his aggressors did not escape his notice, just as he noticed the presumed leader seeming to only be aggravated by things not going his way, his grip on the knife tightening, yet trembling much more than it initially had been. It was then when Dio caught sight of a girl seeming to be surveying her surroundings that the knife that had been held before his face clumsily lurched forward, too quickly for him to react as it scored a line across his cheek.
It was nothing more than a shallow wound, caused by an unintended party who was now unnerved by the sight of blood forming at the cut– yet there was still a stinging sensation that caused him to wince instinctively. Hand raising with the intention to disarm the culprit of his newly acquired cut, seeing that said cut was the result of a weapon being handled by a blatant amateur, the familiar sight of knife being thrown towards his general direction caused him to instinctively move out of its path. Instead, the knife hit its target of his assailant’s hand, eliciting a cry of pain and shock from him, effectively, though in a much more brutal manner he had personally intended to, disarming him. Metallic clattering was soon to follow, both his assailant’s knife and the thrown one falling out of his grip and to the ground respectively.
After all, said hand now had a freshly procured stab wound that was far more deserving of attention.
Whatever the reason for a bystander to have chosen their victim to be coincidentally his assailant, he kicked the two knives on the ground behind him, before looking over to the crying, shaking mess that had been attempting to threaten him mere moments ago. “ .. You’ll need to bandage that up and put force on it to stop the bleeding. I’m sorry, but the only bandages I have right now are these… ” Said bandages were the ones wrapped around the right side of his face, seeming deceptively easy to unravel, though it came to a stop upon his realizing that those bandages were there for good reason. “ Oh, sorry, but I actually need them… ”
Those close enough to him would be able to see it. What seemed to peer through the cracks between the lines of bandages struck terror into those who saw it, causing eyes to widen and even the wounded one now more terrified of the sight before him than in pain. All of a sudden, the false bravado from the group of bullies vanished in an instant, their respective knives clattering to the ground as they collectively took a step away from him, staring in fear.
Most of the crowd around the group of boys had now quickly dispersed. Once Lila had thrown the knife, having seriously hurt somebody, everyone scrambled to get away. It was one thing if there was a fight going on between a distinct group of boys; it was another if a knife came flying from seemingly nowhere and could hit anyone at any time.
The boys had taken a step away from their victim, most of them clearly looking at ways to escape. Only the leader looked paralyzed from fear. He lost colour in his face, either from blood loss or from being a scaredy cat. Had Lila’s knife really caused them to be unnerved? She huffed, unimpressed by their “confidence.” If they were going to bring knives to a fight, they should fully well expect for other knives to come into play. After all, they weren’t the only geniuses to think of being armed.
She casually strolled over to the scene with another knife in her hand in case of a fight, bent down, and picked up her bloody knife. When she stood up again she made sure to bring her height to the fullest as to tower over the pubescent boys. She just gave the leader a side glance, “Oh, sorry, I missed your head. It’s just so small.” Then she followed it with a smile, sharper than the knife she had just thrown, “I guarantee you that next time I won’t miss.” For once Lila was glad that she wasn’t wearing an overly-sized coat that hid her figure. Although her clothes were boyish, it was clear that she was a girl. One that scared the crap out of five boys. It wasn’t that impressive from her end, but definitely embarrassing from theirs.
“Hey kid, try not to be such an easy target next ti- The fuck are you?!” Lila caught a glimpse of what was under the kid’s bandages. Instinctively she raised the two knives she held in her hands. From what little she saw, the skin underneath the bandages looked charred, and a blackness from where his eye should’ve been. Although Lila had a black glass eye of her own, there was no way this kid could’ve also been an Antari. If he had been, Lila would have known about more Londons than Grey, Red, White, and Black. Plus, she didn’t trust Antaris much.
It had probably been a mistake to interfere, but it was too late now.
Krakenberg is rife with liars and thieves: so he knows a liar when he sees one. (A thief, alas, is apparently a harder fiend to spot.)
Unfortunately for the impertinent miss, however, that his offence at the waste has now faded, he turns his indignation to that which most others would consider the primary crime- And seeing for certain now her face before him, minute though the smile is (it is still more than imagined in a glimpse, after all), he knows her to be the culprit.
“You would do best to save your breath for an apology. My own breakfast has been cut short by needing to change into a second shirt, as well you know.” A bird of prey who, after having its feathers ruffled, returns to its resting majesty, he stands with his arms loosely folded across his body – trying, for what little it’s worth, to pry an admission of guilt from her, futile though demanding reparation might well be. He does not flinch in face of her pretence, steadily keeping his gaze ‘pon her apparent disinterest: quite apparent from his reputation as Nohrian royalty, he has a personal pride to keep. “As soon as I am able, the dirty shirt will be sent for cleaning, the bill for which - justly - will be sent to you.”
–Met only with continued apathy, however, Leo finds himself all at once struck by the truth that his titles meant nothing here. Though always adamant that he would not abuse his authority (as so much of the rotting court did), he cannot help but wish for even a modicum of that respect given as standard.
Though his mouth hangs open in momentary disgust, he can only press his lips into a firm frown in the end, finding no recourse to her belligerence. Embarrassing as this whole incident has been, he hasn’t the energy to waste on her – not, indeed, with physical education imminent. After retrieving his capelet from the back of his chair and draping it ‘cross his shoulders, the irritated young man inhales pointedly by way of curt farewell, that he himself isn’t later to the first class of the day. “–Tch. Very well, then. I will call on you later to settle the matter.”
…Of course, by the time he does, at last, reach for the brooch to refasten his mantle, it is woefully too late.
Lila bounced on her way in the opposite direction of class. With Mr. Don’t-Waste-Tomatoes having graciously granted her permission to leave and he was now out of sight, she took out the item out of her pocket, viewing it for the very first time. It was a brooch, pretty ugly in her opinion. It didn’t look like there was anything particularly special about it, but maybe it had some sentimental value to him or it had magical abilities that Lila didn’t know about. Either way, it was hers now: a token to another world.
On impulse Lila pinned the brooch above her breast and turned towards the closest window. She could just make out her reflection in the window to see how it looked like on her. Oddly enough, the dragon head looked pretty good with the rest of her outfit. It was nicely accentuated on top of the black jacket she was wearing. It would pair up nicely with the devil mask Lila kept on display in her room. Maybe it wasn’t that ugly after all.
Still, it would be better not to have it on display. A good thief never showed off their prizes, unless they were asking to be caught. She took it off and put it up to the sunlight. If she were to sell it in the market she could probably get quite the penny for it if she haggled a bit. Of course, she wasn’t planning on doing that. This was all hers now.
Attempts on his life somehow stung less than this. There is a tragedy in how accustomed he had become to the sheer wretchedness of Nohrian court life, unregulated by a king in declining health; or else simply how - with that world far away, and with such treachery (on the whole) further away still - his day seems to have been set up already as one of misfortune, even before the seventh hour… In either case, the pace at which the young man heads back to the dining hall is markedly brisker, noticeably more purposeful than that at which he ventured out the first time.
A more optimistic sort might have found blessing in an early-morning ambush by a bowl of salsa at least ensuring they were fully awake. As Leo stalks back to the hall (with his shirt this time buttoned correctly and, more importantly, altogether free of stains), however, he finds no such contentment in so rude a wake-up call.
So far as he can remember, he had started the day as any other, with the same admitted bleariness shortly after waking. Yet conscious of his appearance in some - if not the entire - regard, he had unfastened his capelet, draping it over the back of his seat so as to not risk dirtying it; the dragon-head brooch pinning the two ends together he had slipped away so as to not lose it, and no sooner had he settled thus than–
Ah, yes. He could have sworn he had even caught the smallest glimmer of a smirk from the enemy before taking dignified flight to change his shirt. Judging, too, from the trajectory and the accuracy of the shot, it couldn’t have been anybody of his fellow fast-breakers but her.
“You there.” No longer interested in his morning meal, he stands directly across from the accused, head held high and gaze indignant. “How dare you waste tomatoes like that–!”
Lila glanced up, feigning surprise. “I’m sorry but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A small smile lingered on the edge of her lips. It was all too funny for her. The person she had just stolen from was standing in front of her, and the best part was that he was mad about being a bit dirty and didn’t have a clue that she now had something of his. By the way he was looking at her now, Lila had judged him correctly: he was just a spoiled and arrogant princeling that thought the world belonged to him. Even if he wasn’t a prince, he definitely was a noble of some sort, which was worse.
She cocked her head a bit to the side, pretending to study his shirt. “I think you forgot to do your laundry. You probably should go change your shirt since the one you’re wearing is, you know, dirty,” she teased. If he thought that that small stain was insufferable, he should try being a pirate, where the waters of the sea could easily drench someone and if a fellow crew member was drunk, it could result in their drink being generously poured on top of a head.
Lila took a few more bites of her toast, finishing it off. Although for most it wouldn’t seem like much of a breakfast, especially with the unlimited food that appeared thrice a day, she really wasn’t used to eating a lot. Lila was at a healthy weight, a lot more meat on her than a few years back when she lived on the streets, but she liked where she was at and didn’t want to eat more if she wasn’t hungry.
She stood up, leaving the used plate on the table. “Now, I have class to go to. If you have a complaint to make about me, you can stick it up your arse.” Was she actually going to go to class? Probably not. Maybe she would go back to her room to study the stolen item in peace. After all, once he realized he was missing something, it wasn’t a good idea for him to know where she was going to be.
It went against the principles that he had developed over the years, being among the living when he ought not to be. To wander amidst so many other people in a market, of all places was the last thing that he would have done… if he were not in the magical realm where Hiraeth Academy existed, that was. Somehow, there were individuals that were stranger than himself, to the extent that his appearance did not quite garner as much attention as it usually did, allowing him to simply browse through the wares being sold in a rather relaxed manner.
Of course, just as he had caught sight of a faraway stall that piqued his interest, soon came the sound of raucous laughter from some ill-mannered… students, that seemed to have caught sight of him. He did not quite understand their intent in approaching him, neither did he understand their need to surround him and continue laughing, the very sound beginning to grate on his nerves. Laughter that was far, far too familiar to him, similar to what he had heard from those that had shunned him for his heterochromic eyes.
His lack of response seemed to agitate them, knives being pulled out all of a sudden in an attempt to appear more threatening, wanting to get some sort of reaction from him, he supposed? He had his own assortment of knives on himself, but it seemed hardly necessary, seeing that the brutes before him were handling their knives like amateurs did. Though, the crowd that was beginning to form due to the spectacle was starting to make the air suffocating, and that, he did not find pleasant in the slightest.
Hand now resting on the nearest knife on his person, fingers curled around its handle as one of the students suddenly lunged towards him with an ugly sneer, not quite using the knife in hand whatsoever. He simply let himself get pinned against the wall, his aggressors not noticing the accessibility that he had to a weapon as they continued to spit out choice words, seemingly projecting their own feelings of inadequacy onto him. Though he was staring back at the one pinning him against the wall squarely in the eyes, he was acutely aware of the knife being clumsily held near his face, wondering if he actually might not need to draw his own knife after all, if the matter of taking the knives from them would really be as easy as it seemed.
Lila hadn’t been the only one to notice obnoxious boys surrounding the smaller one. Fingers pointed towards them, hushed whispers wondering about what the smaller one had done to make the others act like this. While Lila had been ready to jump in and maybe give a few warning cuts, two things stopped her. For one, nobody else in the crowd seemed to be keen to help. Everybody just watched, but kept a respectful distance in order not to get hurt. They were so immersed in what was going on that nobody had even noticed the knife that Lila was holding in her own hand, or the danger that she could pose to them.
The other reason: the boy’s reaction. Or actually, lack of reaction. Despite being outnumbered, pinned to a wall, and having a knife next to his face, the boy didn’t show any signs of fear like any normal person would. Then again, nobody in Hiraeth was normal. While there were those that didn’t exhibit any magical powers, there weren’t many of them. And even so, most knew how to handle a weapon of some sort.
She still kept her own knife out. Maybe it wouldn’t be necessary to step in, but usually a fight where the party with the greater number of people had weapons out never ended well for the person opposing them.
The boys seemed to be unsettled. One of the boys that were at the side, previously sneering, now gave what Lila presumed to be their oh so courageous leader a confused look. It clearly asked Retreat? The leader grew angrier at this clutching the knife tighter. Only then Lila noticed that he wasn’t holding the blade properly, it clearly only being an object he flashed around to show his power but never had to actually use it. She looked around again, and still nobody that was watching looked willing to step in. In fact, some people got bored with the display and started to go about business per usual.
The leader’s hand slipped, nicking the boy’s cheek. At this Lila had had enough. Nobody was doing anything, and if the boy was able to defend himself, he should’ve done it before he had been pinned. She pushed the people in front of her out of the way and threw her own knife, aiming for the leader’s hand. It would be enough pain to teach him a lesson but not enough to kill him. There was no point in killing a bunch of stupid kids.
Male. Around her age, maybe 19. Prince-like. Possibly careless. Definitely had some valuables on him. Tired. Easy to steal from.
With her target in sight, Lila was ready. She had seen this guy in the Grand Hall for the past couple of days during breakfast time, and with the air he had around him, she knew he was going to be a fun target. Not only that, but the reward was sure to be great.
Nobody from Hiraeth was actually from the area. At least, that’s what Lila had deducted. Everyone had come from different worlds, ones that even an Antari couldn’t travel to. She had learned early on that even with her tokens, she wasn’t able to As Travars her way back to any of the Londons. Still, she planned on getting out of the place. And, with whatever she could steal from this guy, she could then use it as a token to travel to his world.
Lila silently followed him as he walked towards the Great Hall. Despite being easily visible in the hallway, there was a slim chance that he would notice her. It wasn’t uncommon for students to walk from the dorms to the hall in the morning, especially for breakfast. The food disappeared at seven on the dot, so nobody wanted to miss breakfast. In fact, there were a few other students in the hallway.
They got to the Great Hall, Lila taking a seat a bit further at the same table, making it seem normal. Then, while he wasn’t looking, she threw what looked to be a bowl of salsa at him. With the target now distracted, she ducked under the table, quickly crawled where he was sitting, carefully slipped her hand into his pocket, and took whatever was there. Before he looked up again, Lila was already back in her seat again, eating her toast with a bored expression on her face, concealing a triumphant smile.
She toyed with the object now in her pocket, not even knowing what exactly it was. Whatever it was, it was now hers.
In the marketplace, Lila looked at some items, wondering what she should take. Luckily, around Hiraeth, it was always nighttime, so it was easy to slip something from a stand into her pocket without anyone noticing. Most of these stalls weren't protected with anti-theft spells.
Lila was weary of her surroundings when stealing, making sure that nobody else saw what she was doing. After all, it would’ve been terrible thievery if somebody did. A group of boys that looked younger than her - probably other students from Hiaeth - passed by the stall, not giving her a second glance. They were being loud and rambunctious, jostling each other and clearly being an annoyance to other people: the perfect distraction for Lila.
She grabbed something off of a table. It looked to be a gemstone or something but for Lila it was something she could sell off herself. Whatever its purpose was, it was hers now. The boys that had passed her were now laughing even louder than before, clearly having something to laugh at. Out of curiousity, Lila looked over at the group, seeing that a smaller boy was the target of their laughter.
There was no need to get involved, but Lila still decided to keep an eye on them. There were five boys in the group, all of them either the same size or slightly larger than the boy they were laughing at. All of them were smaller than Lila, however. Even though it seemed harmless for now, five versus one definitely wasn’t a fair fight.
It was only when two boys took knives out of their pockets that Lila took out her own, making her way to the group.
It wasn’t her business. But damn, it was about to become her business.
9:55 in the morning. Time for the first class of the day. Or, at least, the first class that Lila was actually going to attend.
The only reason Lila ever bothered to attend her Ranged Combat class was because occasionally the professor would allow the students to practice what they learned. And because Lila never paid attention, being fully confident that her techniques that she had learned from living on the street were more than good enough, she just did whatever she wanted. Of course, she never went far enough to actually kill another student. Maybe a few cuts here and there, the worst she had done was break a leg, not her own, at the very beginning to show that she wasn’t to be messed with.
She got to class, sat in the seat she had claimed in the back, and put her feet up on the desk. The professor got to class exactly on time, and spoke. “Today we will be doing demonstrations to see what you have all learned throughout the year. I would like to ask for two volunteers to fight in front of the whole class.”
Lila smiled sharply. Without any hesitation she stood up, declaring herself as the first volunteer. “So which one of you want to fight against me?” She was itching to fight somebody strong. This was going to be fun.
The moment Lila regained some consciousness she knew something was wrong. One because she never allowed herself to fully fall asleep, lest someone attacked her in her sleep. Two, she definitely didn’t have a fluffy pillow on the cot she was sleeping on. Lila instinctively tightened her hold on her knife, which luckily was still in her hand.
As soon as Lila fully awoke she jumped out of the best, the cold air hitting her, although that was nothing strange to her after living at sea. She patted herself down, seeing what she had on her. All of her knives were accounted for, as well as Caster. It was a good thing that she always slept with her weapons on her.
She then looked around, taking in her surroundings. The bed she had been laying on was in the middle of a path on the very top of a hill. What a stupid place for a bed. From the hill she could see a village down below, and a castle in the distance. If it wasn’t for the obviously missing equivalent of the Thames River, Lila would’ve thought that this was maybe just a long lost London that she hadn’t known about. It would’ve been Blue London, but it didn’t have the same feeling of magic that the other Londons had. No, the magic here felt different.
A shiver ran through, the body, the cold from the obvious winter around her getting to her. At least it was nighttime, which would make it easier for Lila to sneak away from whoever had brought her here. But there was another person already there, a young man with the stupidest smile Lila had ever seen. Lila got another knife out, ready to slash his throat should he try to attack. But all he did was point to a carriage that had either appeared from nowhere or Lila had completely missed it, which she highly doubted.
Lila glanced towards the carriage then back at him. He was still grinning like an idiot. Although the guy didn’t outwardly pose a threat, Lila didn’t know where she was. She walked towards the carriage and entered it, eyes on the guy the whole time. He followed her in, sitting cozily beside her. In such a small space it wouldn’t be hard to put a knife in his stomach.
The guy knocked on the ceiling of the carriage thrice, and it started to move. Lila still kept her attention on the guy, watching for any attack he might make. She tried to use the movements of the carriage to keep track where she was going, but then it started to fly.
Then the guy started to speak. "We’re headed to Hiraeth Academy now, where I’m the secretary. We’re very pleased to say that you’ve been accepted in to the school, Miss Delilah Bard.”
She had never heard of this school, let alone applied for it. And she had never told him her name.
They arrived at the castle Lila had seen earlier, which she now realized was the school the secretary had talked about, and not a king’s castle. It looked like it was made of ice, but nowhere was there any indication of it melting or any cracks. Surprisingly, it was warm. Not just inside the castle, but just on the grounds, even though Lila was standing in the snow outside of the carriage.
Lila entered the castle, not sure where else to go. On her left was a door labelled ‘Main Office’. She went into it, seeing the secretary sitting there, still smiling. She frowned, sure that she left the guy behind in the carriage. Beside him was another figure, this time a more serious-looking woman. It was only later that Lila would find out that she’s the headmistress of the school.
The woman welcomed her, “Hello, hello! Welcome to Hiraeth Academy~. I do believe this is the first student I’ll be welcoming personally… how exciting.
“Delilah Bard, I believe you will find suitable lodgings in Dorm #101. Eventually, you will have a roommate. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your education here, easier. Stay out of trouble, now!”
When Lila blinked, the woman was gone, the air that was around her not even disturbed. She put her hands in her pocket, finding an item that wasn’t there before: a key labelled ‘101′. The secretary piped up, “Now you’re going to want to leave the way you came from and go to the end of the Grand Hall over there and go up the staircase. The dormitories are there.”
Lila did as she was told, quickly finding room 101. It clearly was her room, as there was a nameplate with her name on it right on the door. She didn’t like that. She didn’t like having everyone being able to know exactly where she resided, or even knowing her full name. ‘Lila’ was just fine with her.
The key fit into the lock and Lila was inside. There were two beds, two nightstands, two wardrobes, and two desks. Great, she thought, I might get a roommate. Hung up on the wall was the cypher she had stolen in Grey London when she was 15. On her desk was the small element set she was given. On the nightstand was her white rook and her glass Antari eye. Then laying in the middle of the bed, her prized possession: the devil mask she had worn during the Essen Taisch. At least she had some of her most valued possessions.
It didn’t seem like these people meant her any immediate harm. If anything, it seemed like she was stuck here at least for the time being, until she found a way back to Arnes. But maybe a new adventure here wouldn’t be so bad.
A sharp smile came onto her face. "I think it's about time I get to have some fun around here."
Guess it’s time to stop procrastinating actually rp. Like this post for a starter, currently capping at three, and I will slide real smooth into your DMs.
Edit: now that I’ve finished the starters there is no cap!
List of reasons why you should appreciate my beautiful knife wife Lila Bard
She starts out the adsom series as reckless and STAYS RECKLESS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE BOOKS thank you ??????
like this never happens in books especially with girls, usually if they start out reckless their arc is to become demure and reserved and “mature??” but lila bard really stayed out there ready to throw hands the entire time god bless her heart
she holds essentially a limitless power source mcguffin in her hand, and the first thing she makes is a fucking sword
deliberately stakes out her pick pocketing hits in rich areas like yes girl go for their throats!
was ready to cut a bitch when she saw people stealing from an obviously homeless orphan boy. girl may be a thief but she has a conscious
has no less than 10 knives on her person at all times so she’s ALWAYS ready to cut a bitch
is the literal definition of the person who brings knives to a gun fight
her ultimate goal in life is to become a pirate and have a ship of her own AND SHE FUCKING DOES IT WHAT AN ICON
ok but the suit!!!!!
she has to sneak in to a royal ball and passes on a dress and decides to saunter in in a full blown suit and devil horned mask my bi ass was QUAKING
ditches the opportunity to live in a castle among royalty TWICE to become a pirate i-
is so lethal and cutthroat after only 4 months being a pirate that there’s already a song that sailors sing about her she’s literally a legend
makes a bet with her other crew members that she can take down one of the most infamous pirates crews (made up of around 20 men) AND SHE FUCKING DOES IT WITH FINESSE
even knowing that holland was under astrid and athos’ direction, she never forgives him for killing barron and honestly, same
like she even sends an assassin to kill him with her own knife while he was in prison and i wasn’t even mad
her complicated father/daughter relationship with barron and mother/daughter relationship with calla were the purest things to come out of this series
i’ll never get over how long this girl can hold a grudge it’s honestly such a mood
like after defeating astrid and kell turned her to stone and crumbled it she KEEPS A PIECE OF HER FACE ive never admired someone so much
doesn’t even know if she’s an antari that can travel between worlds but says “fuck it” and tries to do it anyway
her entire life motto is essentially “fuck it”
oh and the whole time she’s been doing it with ONE EYE
and rocked her shattered glass eye for ¾ of the last book im actually still upset they decided to switch it out it was such a Look
the entire time they lead you to believe she’s going to settle down with kell in the red london palace because he has to be there to protect his adopted brother rhy BUT THEN THEY PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER YOU IN THE END LIKE NOPE SHE’S A PIRATE CAPTAIN NOW AND SHE’S SO COOL KELL DITCHED HIS HOME TO FOLLOW HER
i dont even know how to conclude this lila bard was just the ultimate female protagonist she’s the peak of my reading experience nothing can ever surpass her
ellievsbear
gummygunk
prguitarman
tangentwithtanner
yousharknotpass
