the good news is that lynnie has officially lost her shit, like more so than usual
the bad news is that martha said it wasn’t her who took the ring and that it must have been someone else and so they’re searching everyone’s rooms, as if that’s gonna do anything but ok
anyway i’m hiding out at yours so you can return the favour for me letting you stay at mine the other day
so you better not be being a thot in there
what was my muses 5 last unsent texts yours ??
n/a, i feel like she always sends what she feels like to holst ( for now )
what my muse saved your number as ??
coworkers dni
what contact photo my muse has set for yours ??
here !!
what ringtone my muse has set for yours ??
no scrubs / tlc
how many times my muse has called yours this week ??
claude, may i talk to you about this month’s mission?
i understand that you have said that you are unable to attend, but i implore you to take it up with the powers that be in an attempt to have them reconsider.
you are the leader of the golden deer house and, as such, you should be present.
it is unfair of them to force anyone, let alone you, to stay behind.
also, please come and retrieve marigold from my dormitory. she is your cat when she becomes whiny like this.
what was my muses 5 last unsent texts yours ??
i simply do not understand.
aside from a few select pranks that i will not speak of, you have done nothing to be treated in such a manner, at least that i am aware of.
you cannot tell me that you are fine with this arrangement, having holst take your place (as much as i respect and admire him) when he graduated several years ago.
i understand that there are people with their suspicions out there due to the sudden nature of your arrival, but how are you supposed to fight back against such ideas when they will not even give you the opportunity to?
if only i could bring up the idea of your attendance without raising suspicion.
what my muse saved your number as ??
claude von riegan
what contact photo my muse has set for yours ??
here !!
what ringtone my muse has set for yours ??
default ringtone
how many times my muse has called yours this week ??
is it normal to call your friends words that mean ‘ little bitch ’ ?
i mean, felix said it was alright, but i don’t know :/
or maybe they were teasing me and it doesn’t actually mean that.
but enough about that, do you want to sleep over ?? :)
i’ll steal some redacted !! well, manon will give them to me if i ask nicely, but still !!
what was my muses 5 last unsent texts yours ??
i know you’re probably asleep and i won’t send these but
i think lady rhea hates me
and i’m never gonna tell you that because she’s important to you like family and stuff and i don’t want to make you choose because that’s mean and i never want you to do that
she just doesn’t like to look at me and she never lets me do anything :(
sometimes portia wants to leave the monastery on a trip too
what my muse saved your number as ??
fishy fishy fwayn 🐟
what contact photo my muse has set for yours ??
here !!
what ringtone my muse has set for yours ??
baby shark ( trap remix )
how many times my muse has called your this week ??
she thinks that, perhaps, she should have focused more on being a responsible older sister. ( tw for injury mention )
THE MESSAGE RECEIVED from her sponsor had been clear to her, even if the sender had been confused about the situation. she knew exactly who was around when she read the words ❛ a young boy is looking for you, using that nickname of yours and saying you’re his sister ❜. the statement was followed up with the question of whether she knew him or not, and she snorts at the thought of it. of course she does.
it seems that kenta is much like his older step-sister: rebellious, stubborn, and loud.
a quick debriefing with her sponsor makes her insides squirm. not only is her brother all the way here in fodlan, but he’s managed to attract the attention of local bandits. she doesn’t waste a second longer, abandoning her sponsor in the middle of the road and dashing to the outskirts of town where the altercation is taking place.
sure enough, there is her brother, surrounded by people far older and taller than him. he may have grown in the years they’ve spent apart, but he is still a child, and her body still moves to protect him without thinking, just like when they were younger.
she tears through several of the bandits before she feels a sharp pain in her side, bringing her back down to the reality that she is one person and there are too many enemies for her to count. she can almost hear the scolding she’s going to get when she returns to the monastery with all this bumps and bruises.
she doesn’t know whether to be relieved or not when she hears help arrive.
when the threat is gone, she takes a moment to breathe in, breathe out, breathe in — it’s over. her brother is safe and sound and she doesn’t have to worry anymore. at least, not as much as before. the immediate danger is gone.
strong arms wrap around her torso and she takes a brief moment to be surprised at how kenta can now fully enclose his arms around her, unlike when they were younger. now that she can see him properly, tell that he truly is older than when she left ( which, of course he would be, that’s how humans work ), she doesn’t know how to feel. she’s staring at another reminder that she hasn’t had a real home in a long, long time.
she opens her mouth to speak, but he beats her to it.
❝ neko !! i was so worried about you !! and papa said that he wasn’t gonna look for you since you were over in fodlan, but then i heard him and mama saying that your real mama hasn’t seen you at all, so i got worried and now here i am !! when i asked around, i heard you’d come to this place, but you don’t actually live here ?? at least that’s what the sponsor guy said. do you not have a home ?? where have you been living all these years ?? did your mama not let you into her place ?? because if that’s the case, i’ll go yell at her. i will !! ❞
she wants to speak, to say that everything is fine, that her mother never told her to leave ( because she was never able to speak to her in the first place ), that she has a home ( which wouldn’t be a lie if she considers the monastery her home for now ), but the words are stuck in her throat. she is very aware that her class is right there, likely waiting for an explanation. she feels sick to her stomach.
❝ i’m fine, ❞ she manages to say, then forces herself to put on more of her usual attitude. ❝ now come on !! let’s go get you cleaned up, dammit !! ❞
she doesn’t look anyone in the eye as she trudges past them, dragging her rambling brother along behind her.
ashe has definitely had better conversations with his siblings.
ASHE’S THUMB HOVERS over his phone, the lions’ group chat minimised for the moment, and he doesn’t know when he’ll have the courage to maximise it again. for now, he has to focus on what’s right in front of him. the title ❛ triple a ❜ glares at him with an almost blinding light.
he supposes he should get this over and done with.
ashe: hello, you two.
ashe: how is school?
abigail: good !! we had a big exam yesterday, though, and i’m not sure i did all that well on it. :(
apollo: if it’s a magic exam, which i bet it is since that’s what the damn school is for, then you’re fine.
apollo: and school’s fine, i guess.
apollo: if you can even call it a school but whatever.
ashe: good! :)
apollo: is that it?
apollo: no going on and on about knights and shit?
apollo: no fawning over his royal highness?
ashe: i do not fawn!
abigail: hm, you do sometimes, ashy, i’m sorry.
abigail: really, though, you don’t usually text us just to ask how school is going.
abigail: is something wrong ??
ashe is typing.
ashe: i think so.
ashe: have either of you heard from lonato lately?
apollo: nope.
abigail: now that you mention it, no. i sent a letter the other week, but he hasn’t responded yet.
ashe: i see.
apollo: well, what’s going on?
ashe is typing.
ashe: we just received our mission for this month.
ashe is typing.
ashe: our mission is to quell a rebellion against the church.
apollo: yeah, and?
ashe is typing.
ashe: the rebellion is being led by lord lonato.
apollo: the fUCK?
abigail is typing.
abigail: are you alright, ashe ??
apollo: dumb question abi, how could he be alright?
ashe: i’m fine, but thank you for asking.
apollo: for fuckssake.
apollo: you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
abigail: apollo !! language !!
apollo: i think it’s warranted.
apollo: you can’t tell me ashe is happy about this, you just fucking can’t.
ashe: i never said i was happy about it. far from it, but i’ll try my best.
apollo: and what does that mean?
apollo: what does ‘try my best’ mean?
ashe: it means that i will do my best to fulfil my duty to both the academy and lonato.
ashe: none of this changes the fact that lonato is our adoptive father.
apollo: that doesn’t answer my question but go off i guess.
abigail: you’re right, ashe, lonato’s love for us hasn’t changed, and neither has our love for him.
abigail: i think him leaving us out of his plans proves that.
apollo: leaving us out of his plans?
apollo: ok yeah sure he’s leaving you and i out of his plans, but ashe literally attends the school the archbishop of the fucking church runs, how could he not foresee that this might happen?
abigail: perhaps he assumed that lady rhea wouldn’t send the blue lions since it could cause a conflict of interest, or perhaps lonato is hoping that ashe will stay behind for this particular mission.
apollo: of course he’s staying behind wtf
ashe: no, i’m going.
apollo: excuse me what.
abigail: ashe, are you sure?
ashe: i am. i simply cannot hide away from this, not as a knight hopeful, nor as lonato’s son.
ashe: if there is anything i can do to prevent harm coming to both lonato and my peers, my friends, then i want to do it.
ashe: i can’t just sit on the sidelines.
apollo: you’re kidding
apollo is typing.
apollo: always a fucking martyr.
apollo has muted the chat.
ashe is typing.
ashe: i’m sorry, pol.
abigail is typing.
abigail: i can’t say i’m not worried, but i believe in you, ashy.
abigail: if you need anything, i’m here, and i know that deep down, pol is as well.
ashe: thank you, abi.
abigail must take that as the end of the conversation, for she doesn’t respond. he knows that if he were to say something else, she would be there in a heartbeat, but tonight has already exhausted him more than it should.
he never likes lying to his siblings, but perhaps if he says that he’s fine enough times, it will become the truth.
✧ * — THEY’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINING YET ; they’ve been given specific instructions to wait another day but there they are , standing in the training room , wooden sword in hand. it’s relatively empty , just how they like it , leaving no distractions. nothing to take their attention away from their form , nothing to diverge their frustrations from recent events as they extend their arm , checking their strength before lowering it.
❝ i just need to train more. i need to get stronger , ❞ they murmur it under their breath like a prayer to the goddess above to give them that strength ; they weren’t enough yet. they couldn’t protect themself then , which means they could never protect others on the battlefield. they’re weak , they’ve gotten that nailed into their head to avoid dealing with the other thing circling around in their thoughts. this is how they cope though , training as if it’s all they could offer the world , until their legs could barely stand and their eyes stung when being hope.
they don’t have it in them to do this today , though. no matter how much they want to , they stop before they strike the dummy in front of them , groaning in frustration as they drop their training weapon to rub the temples of their head. they weren’t even sure what they were supposed to do for the rest of the free day if not this ; sure , they could go find sylvain to bother , maybe ingrid would need help with something , and dimitri … well , no , they knew what would happen if they went to dimitri. they sigh , though , picking the sword back up to drag it over to the wall , sliding down it before crossing their legs together. maybe they’d get their fight back if they thought of something that made them angry , but right now they kind of just wanted to go take a nap.
IT’S NO SECRET that annette is worried about felix. what she saw during that mission still hasn’t left her mind, and she desperately wants to make sense of it ( though she fears that the answers to her questions will only make her angrier, but at least she will know ), so going to felix seems to be the best course of action. talking about it in depth with anyone else in a genuine search for answers seems counterproductive and, quite frankly, rude to felix as a whole. she isn’t going to do that to her friend.
when they aren’t in their room, she automatically becomes concerned. she knows that they are supposed to be resting to the best of their ability. while she’s disappointed, however, she can’t say that she’s surprised, and it doesn’t take her long to figure out the most likely place they would have gone. she can’t say she can see into their mind and understand all of their motives, but she’s been able to pick up various habits during the couple of months they’ve been attending school together. their predictability is handy in times like these.
sure enough, she finds them in the training room. she expected them to be hacking and slashing at a dummy, and at first she is relieved to see them sitting down and resting, only for concern to rise within her when she realises that probably isn’t a good thing when it comes to felix. she power-walks over there, almost at a run by the time she reaches them, and she sits down in front of them in lieu of a greeting. ❝ felix, there you are !! ❞ she keeps her voice a little softer than usual, just in case, but she is as bright and bubbly as always. ❝ are you okay ?? you didn’t hurt yourself training, did you ?? ❞ she scans them very quickly, as if doing so will give her a decent idea of whether they’re hurt or not. ❝ i’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t be here, though. i think you already know that. ❞
