misfortunate spirit;

"If I come with you guys, it looks like I'll be able to fight a whole bunch. If you can't trust me, you can just kill me you know~" || ARCHIVED OFFICIALLY 12/2018 -- thanks for the memories!

[kanten-rosna]

MY BOYS FROM AWAKENING… I’ll just draw them while I wait for echoes to arrive in the mail….

[kowaretakokoro]

Flame

Watch it glow, watch it flow. This flame, it dances, prances, with no blame. From the tippity-tip of his fingers, a warm ember comes to fruition, so there’s no need, indeed, for her to be so uppity-fussity about the whole thing! But, that’s a threat! A threat? No, wait… not yet. That’s right, the Risen have yet to make this fight, human soldiers of adverse thinking have yet to show their might. It’s just her and him this time, a player of sparks and life and harbinger of crisps and death - oh! Does anyone think he’ll go out in a blaze of glory, not so much gore-y, but all the more and wondrous story? 

But, hold on super tight, that’s the stuff that makes the tactician’s lips a sealer-away-er of blight. This isn’t pillages and plight! Henry, oh, Henry dearest is okay and in sight! His grin, clear, seems to flicker with all twists, illuminated by the light that heats his fingers. Should he leave it there, so plainly, much longer - why - his skin will surely start to smoke and steam, just a gleam. 

Not that he minds, not at all! He’ll not feel a thing! That’s why he likes fire; it goes out without a cry, in the bat of an eye. It’s strong, ever so, and you can see where the enemies are to go. 

“Missy Tactician Robin~? Need a little more? A smidge more power will last us more than an houuuur, and, haha, it’ll bridge anything for coming up toooooo hot~!”

Whatever is it, though, that squeezes shut any last sort of rut? Could Henry say? Nay, nay, those stones are too out of it!

“You know, fire’s a great tool of waaaar~! There’s a distance, and then they’ll all fall! That’s what you want, right? One and two, three and four, they’ll all have to stay on the other side of the door… They’ll think you’re too fired up to approach and encroach~!” He pauses, tilting his head, “Ohhhh, I see~! You want me to be more careful, huuuhh? Haha, will do, will do, allll for you! Probably. As long as the flames you say are ones I like~”

So he watches her expression, is that a ringing-twist of worry? But Henry, he likes Robin, Robin’s not bad, Robin listens! And he doesn’t want Robin’s fire to go out! If it does, then Chrom would be sad, right? There would be many, many, many sad, right? Hnry would be sad too, oh how an eruption might overtake! But, Henry smiles, “I pinky swear to noooot be toooo careless, haha, buuuut you’ll have a little fun too, riiight?”

[dulcefraudator-deactivated20171]

A Very Disturbing Cake - Gaius and Henry

[kowaretakokoro]

( dulcefraudator )

{{ Starter for @kowaretakokoro

Gaius felt bile rising up in his throat at the very disturbing cake that was currently being presented to him by Henry. The fact that the sun beat down on them relentlessly did little to help the pounding headache Gaius was currently dealing with when faced with the noxious fumes of this supposed cake.

“G-Gods, I’ll just… take that and… eat it later,” the thief choked out. 

Grabbing the sludge from Henry, Gaius would then set it aside under the shade of a palm tree. He was lying about wanting to eat the waste later, though he didn’t have the heart to tell Henry that his supposed Plegian delicacy was nothing more than inedible trash.

Swallowing the vomit that threatened to claw its way up his throat, Gaius again gasped out, “thanks, Junior… Wouldn’t want… to miss out on something real tasty like this. Gods, you Plegians sure know how to eat.” The minute Henry would have back turned, Gaius made a pledge to himself to chuck the blasted thing into the ocean… though he worried the toxicity of it would kill all the wildlife that flourished within it. Ah well, it was either the wildlife or him; Gaius had no intentions of dying from food poisoning today just to spare the feelings of the dark mage.

Is Gaius happy? Is that the face of someone so, so pleased with a gift just for them that they can hardly hold back every wit of their stomach? Is he making room – wait, wait! Is it that great? 

“Okayyyy~ Enjoy, Gaius!” 

Friends give friends, right? That’s what the others say, and there’s no way, no way, he’d let the opportunity pass up. Now, now, he’s never, ever, really made something like this, and his taste isn’t really all the keen. But he tries, certain as the air flies, to give what he can. 

“They used to make it back then, you know~. Something like this and that, I’m not really suuuure though. They never let us watch them make it, but when it’s an offering, it’s an offering, hahaha!”

His head tilt. If Gaius will wait, then one, two, to the count of eight, Henry can close his tight, lock away his sight, so his friend can enjoy that peace. But that’s not it, is it? Is it? He still took it, right away, far away from his hands, placing it down, down, down under the cover where darkness twists how well it’s seen, why, how joyously kind he must mean to mean!

“The cake you make doesn’t look like this take, huuuh~? See, see, the others say to be super resourceful during war, so I did so! You’ve been helpful out there, so I wanted to try to thank youuuuu~! I’ve never made cake; we never had the ‘stuff’ that’d make them like how you would.” 

Like mist, like wind, this was made quick, easy, sorta thrown together in something that looked and maybe tasted sweet? Good to eat? Is this what he stomached? Perhaps, mayhaps, Henry isn’t quite sure, but he thinks Gaius sounded grateful enough! That’s right, that chopped back hesitance and means the expert is ready to try it!

Even if Henry lived in an area that offered the resources, probably, honestly, totally in total that wouldn’t have been offered well to him so. Still, still, does Gaius like it? “It’ll get dirty if you leave it on the ground to long though, you know~”

[kowaretakokoro]

Animal

“Have you heard the word of a story about a boy who was very, very lonely~? I think that’s the word Olivia used, and wonderfully wandering alone boy whose parents didn’t care where he was~! That’s right, he was sorta neglected, but it’s okay, it’s okay! That’s a day, a day way in the past!”

Maybe, within the holds and withholds of his distant, pleasantly unpleasant old days, rings true an answer to who is, who he wants to be, and why, why, why there’s a certain way he views the sky. So he chooses to tell her, not as a friend, but as a father to a daughter, as a father to a future mother. He hasn’t known her as long as that other self of him would have, but that changes not the fact that she knows him, that their clocks tick and click so that they can meet like this. 

Is there truly, truly a forthcoming reason for his choice? Yes, no, maybe so? Regardless, Henry… Henry has always, constantly, found comfort around animals. The crows, they’re his good friends, warning and warning him of dangers, the magic that’s always one snap away from breaking not only him strengthening those curious shakes. Why did he tell them? Why did he approach them? Not only one, not only two, but more than a few. 

And she, the daughter of some “friends” of his, and the likely love of his dear, dear son, should now, right, right, she should know a little! Overshare or over-care? What is it? What is it? Henry cannot say, not tomorrow, not yesterday, not today.

He smiles at her, that wide, wide grin, the one that doesn’t drop ever, ever… well, maybe when the fear does hit, but what is that fear? To lose the stars again? The one, cared for by animals, a wonder, a wonder though, how he didn’t end up too feral? Pain and pain so much it numbed him, as if he’s always, consistently and persistently, within the reigns of freezing rain.

“This boy, he grew up wandering about the woods, because his parents didn’t mind where he went~! Buuuuut he wasn’t alone, he had a friend, a good friend, that gave him a homeee~. But one day... one day that friend had to go away, because that friend went to wrong place, and people didn’t like that very much.”

Does he sound sad? That day, he was really like an animal, no, beyond that. Moving with magic by instinct, kind of wiping out soul by soul without even really remembering it too well afterwards. He had been attached, attached to that warmth, that comfort. Spikes and spikes, punishment and absence of adoration, war became fun, when he had something to do, to keep doing, but those orders, no, he didn’t like all of them too much.

“Miss Rabbit, Panne, her name is, has the same air as that friend of the boy. At least, she reminds him of his friend. Hahaha, but you seeeee, the boy no longer has to search for a home, because he has one now. Animals, animals like the friend that helped him stay safe will always be close, but it’s these people that are fuuuun to him tooo~!”

Henry pauses, looking at her curiously, studying Severa as best he could. They... They’re around the same age here, aren’t they? And she ended up having a portion of her life where the stars grew distant too...

“That animal friend of him aught him about allllll the bright stars, but they disappeared after she went away... They’re back now though, so don’t worry~”

Afraid? Yes, he’s.... afraid the stars will fade again. He is, he is! So very much so! Steady, steady, and that’s all to say that’s ready.

[kowaretakokoro]

Frost

“Sayyyy, Missy Tactician Robin~? Aren’t you curious, curious how I staaaand? Want me to lend another hand?”

Perhaps he’s worried still about how she took his little… “experiment” with the Risen arm, but that’s behind them now. No, this time, while the clock goes tick-tick-tock and the stars become super clear, Henry has to wonder, what is it he can do for her? 

Keep moving, going, doing, doing something. 

There’s something really chilling that bites at him. It’s really, really, really confusing. Has he ever felt this way? It is a new kind of day? Now, now he has friends, ones he’ll stick with so long as the war is here, then he’ll burden them no longer, that’s the stronger way, huh? Leave, unweave all those ties, that would make every one super, duper happy, right? Take that stress away, take heed, total need, no one has to get hurt! 

Is that what this is saying? 

But of course, he’s smiling! Never drop that, even when the heart feels so distant. One beat… two… beats… is his skin cold? Is his heart slowing, slowing still to a stop? No… Not that he’s afraid to die right here, right now, but it might scare Robin, it might hurt her, and she said it’s not good to hurt innocents in situations. So that won’t do. 

“So I’ve been experimenting with an icy hex!” He tries to reason, just a little with himself, see if this sort of prodding will help Robin give him an answer that clicks and clicks, “And I’ve been feel reallyyyyyy cold lately. Maybe I struck myself somewhere along the way? Funny, huh? Oh, don’t worry! Freezing an enemy should make their death super painless, we should try it sometime for all the mercy and stuff youuuu were talking about~. Kill or be killed, but noooo sharp objects involved~!”

There’s no resistance, right? Wind, Thunder, and Fire and the usual tomes Robin uses, Henry sports Flux and Ruin in addition to all that sort that Robin uses and uses, but Ice, that freezing freeze of a frosty ice over means no blood, no pain, all the gain! 

Right? Right? 

Robin doesn’t wants friend nor foe to suffer so, correct? 

But the look on her face, it’s curious, that’s concern in her eyes, isn’t it? Olivia’s been teaching him about it, about “feelings” and being “honest” with himself, about how it’s okay to let things melt. But he doesn’t get it yet, only that this isn’t what Robin wants yet. 

“Henry... that’s...” 

“Not right? So we scrap the ice? Would that be better~? Beeeee ourselves?” 

Slowly, slowly, tick, tick, tick Robin nods, but oh she is not late for it. What does she see? Why is she looking at him so? Is there something in his eyes, something that tells more of the freezing, numbing cold in his heart, the one that keeps his smile up, up, up! He’s so tough!

This is frost... over his heart? 

“Okayyyyy, tell me what I should do then~! Help you more? I think I can do a thing or two not related to Risen or Ice, riiiiight~?” 

“Just... Henry, understand that no matter how... endearing your endeavors may be, I’m grateful for the help. If you really must do something... let’s clean this up first.”

Maybe, Henry is slowly getting it too. That these are his friends, that they actually want him around. Robin, she’s really something, isn’t she? His plans have yet to change, he’ll go away another day, but step, step, step the solid ice begins to crack, his heart beats more and more with feeling, warmth coming, because now he’s got people around him! And this will not shatter the tatters that are already trying to peace together. 

Life, life doesn’t have to always be so freezing, cold, frosty. but, but that deal has yet to take the spinning, whirling wheel.

[kowaretakokoro]

Sacrifice

In every life, there is something to give. Something to release, relinquish, to offer up, up, up to those around him. When life has been take, take, take from him, he’s learned to numb himself, to smile even when pain tries to pull his very core, ignore, ignore, ignore! 

But, that is now a nay, is it not? From spirit here to spirit there, Henry knows that he will give everything he can to see them live. For his son, for his wife, would he be so willing to devote his life? Now, now, he does care if he dies or not, thanks to them, but if he were to perish, then it would be to be sure they wouldn’t. 

A threat, not a sweet, neat, beat of a treat, arises one day. A risen this way, a risen that, it’s almost as if despair wants to be his best friend, the best of all his besties! It’s horribly adorable how positively deplorable it is! 

They’ll not touch his family; the stars in the sky will not go dull again, timing’s bad, but that’s not what will make him up, up, upset and stunningly grinning, sharp and wide, a broadsword in the mental guise. What’s this? What’s that? Close call, a flicker to burnout never felt so close, but it’s approaching, doom encroaching every single inch and corner. 

Before, before these days, he had an inkling that it would be okay to die, in the midst of a terribly glorious battle. He’d go out painlessly as possible after being surrounded. He had been numb for so long, you see. He thought it’d be okay to simply no longer be, you see. But that’s no more, no need to think that way, you’d see. 

“Time to say bye-bye okaaayyy~”

Hide their son away, be the guild he needs, the guard he deserves. Alight the night with crackles, fractures, works that explode with vibrancy, how pretty, how pretty! A happier moment would have, could have made it nicer. What a pity, a pity! He’d much rather have a partner dance Olivia loves so much to be sweeter, but spin and spin they have to win. Inigo knows, know to keep zipped up zapping zippers tight. That’s right? That’s right!

“Y-You’re bleeding!” 

“Am I~? Oh my, oh dear! That’s no good, the path’s not yet clear~”

But he fears, he fears! For this time, a flash of worry filters in, danger, it’s all the stranger! But fall, fall, they must delay, for little Inigo to live another day. Battle, battle, not yet time to let the Risen fully rattle. (One, two, three, four, look how many, many more! That Fell Dragon’s out to get them, huh? Huh?) 

Magic dust, eyes closed, are those tears? Tears! Will his son see? Covered by ash and fog, Henry must make his last ditch effort, one last stitch, to clear the area for good and long. Sorry, Inigo, so, soooo sorry, forgive your mother, and forgive meee… He gives his life, they give their lives, so the youth’s flames yet smother out. One more star in the sky saved, but two others no longer shout. 

It’s the final attack… and then fade to black… 

So what of this Henry, who smiles still, seemingly with glee? That one is not he and what he is to be? In this realm, to which he has been pulled, it’s a gather up and down of people, fighters, from many, many different worlds. Would he be willing to give the sacrifice his other version gave, back when things are done? Would that suffice? Would that be nice? 

“Sayyy, Corrin, is it?” She knows one that’s like his son - or is him, though truths are sworn to be tied shut, lest a curse strike him down! (How fun! But a promise he keeps for Inigo.) “If someone was very, verrrryyyy important to you, you’d protect them to the end, riiiiight~? I think I would, I think I might~! Hexes aren’t enough to defend them when they’re in that much trouble, and I’d never, ever, ever want to lose those bright stars~! Someone once told me another like me gave up more than just a night for him, and I see it, sooooo bright~” He can’t say directly, thank you for helping my son, but he’ll thank her mentally, for sacrificing her thoughts, her moves, her time, to him, to Severa, and Owain too. He only hopes, hopes, hopes, that none of them will actually have to give up their lives for each other to keep breathing! Death... is welcoming, but a frightening thought for those that deserve to live. 

[miyuliart]

Sometimes I just like to think about my Fire Emblem OTP…

[kowaretakokoro]

( kakuretatsuki )

{ ☽ } - “And uhm. Thanks for looking after me, I guess. Well, thanks for the times you will look after me. Y’know. When this timeline’s Severa is born.” If she could talk to her parents without any fear, then she wouldn’t hesitate to tell them to make time for the her to be born. So that maybe… that Severa could be happier. So she could grow up not minding the comparisons, focusing on that the fact that she was trying, and she was learning. Still- she did value the time she’d spent with Henry, and Olivia. “I always thought I felt lonely back then, but spending time with your family wasn’t the worst thing in the world…”

{ ☽ } - “Huh!? Friends?! I told you I wasn’t planning to get close to anyone-” She pauses.  Biting back her bitter words. She… should stop acting like he’s such a stranger. He is, after all, the father of the one her heart reluctantly yet uncontrollably longs for. “Mm… Though I suppose I can make an exception. Not because I want to or anything! But because of all of the great tales I’m sure my parents have, I’m sure we’ll have to talk to each other more than once…” Henry, with all of his odd antics, words, and actions- she did miss him. Considering just how long ago he’d passed away, it’s settling to her mind. Even if he had been quite the strange character. 

{ ☽ } - She shakes her head, shifting closer to him. “I swear, you’re all the same. Taking the blame all on your own, stomaching it by yourself, family resemblance is strong.” A small voice in her head seems to pipe up. She couldn’t be like her mother even in her dreams, let alone reality. Being close like this, similar… maybe things would’ve turned out differently had she received the time to spend with her mother. “I can’t speak for him directly, but he sees you pretty fondly. Are you so daft that you already forgot what I said before? He lost it when you passed on, I don’t think he’d knowingly settle for anyone else.” She clicks her tongue. “So stop being so selfish. ‘It’d be better if we weren’t related?’ What a dump of cowpile.“ Even if that thought crossed her mind for her own family issues, it was stupid. Easier? Maybe, but it was a pathetic, loathing thought none the less. “Well, you’re stuck with Inigo now, and he’s with you, there’s no turning back. You’re just wasting time if you planning on leaving when he worked so hard to see you again.” Would she do the same, she wonders? Well, that’s an easy one. Her storm stirring heart wouldn’t hesitate, not for them. Especially not when there did lay a daughter who loved them above all else trapped beneath her own thorns. 

{ ☽ } - “In my opinion, you did make for a good dad. Nice, and goofy. And like, he wouldn’t have tried to mimic you and your habits if you weren’t some kind of star to him. So if you tell him straight then… he’ll probably listen.” She sighs. Not that she knew what was going on in his head. His heart may be on his sleeve, but that mask was opaque, though it seemed to crack and crumble. 

{ ☽ } - She looks at him questionably. “Me?” Was she capable of comforting another person? She sure was always relied on by the other children, but that was always for something childish; the boogie monster, the dark, it was never something deemed serious. When she couldn’t even calm her own insecure fears, could she help him in his times of need? When the words she wished to say never came out the way she meant… Could she pull him up when he drowns? “Have you heard me talk ever? I don’t know if I could even pull that off…“ She trails off, but it doesn’t feel right to say that. Cracking that giggly tee hee facade of Henry’s by mentioning that flaw… she didn’t need to be this… bratty. ”… but I’ll try. I don’t think I’m as fit for your job as you are. I doubt he’ll stop faking it unless the person who taught him the tricks tells it himself.“ She pokes his shoulder. “This isn’t my battle to fight. I mean- I could be here for support or whatever, but that doesn’t solve the problem. I think you stop loathing yourself and grow up a little.” Genuinely, she should take a page out of her own book. It stirs a strange feeling in her, the fact that she was scolding another for thinking like this. All of the traits that she, herself, carries. “Don’t just wait for him to crumble and rely on me to piece him back together. Gawds, that’d be so annoying.”

{ ☽ } - Bringing her hands together, Severa looks at him, hopeful yet shy eyes. “Hey, uh, Henry. There’s something I want to ask of you. A lighter topic I guess.” Her grip on her hands grow tighter with her embarrassment. “This is going to sound kind of stupid, but y’know what I described about him…” She closes her eyes tightly. “I t-think it might be love… I-I’m not sure though!! I’ve had this weird on and off feeling like- ‘No way could I be in love with this idiot!’ but still…” She feels awfully pathetic. Why was she saying all of this now… “S-so.. You know how in my time, you’re dead, and so is Olivia…” She opens her eyes. Pointing at her chest, over her heart.

{ ☽ } - “But when I’m more certain of whatever’s happening in here… I think I want to tell him- Inigo.” Because of the way she is, she’s sure that one day Inigo will find someone who can dance with him a dance graceful and joyous. Where the mask falls off, and the rabbit can bounce free, deep down she prays that she can be his moon. But that’s so unlikely, isn’t it… “I, uhm, I know I’m jumping way a-ahead of myself but m-marriage doesn’t seem that bad. Not with him.” She shakes her head quickly. “I know he probably won’t pick me! But if he does, the chance is slim… Oh- I’ll take things slowly for sure…! But if something like that ever comes then I… I’d like your blessing.” Ah, speaking her feelings must sound like she’s such a fool. Bambling, stumbling, stuttering, how embarrassing! But this… now… while they reside in this time, that is the only chance she’ll have to ask!

“Of course~.” When friends ask friends to watch over their important people… that’s surely why the him of her world took care of her, and once Stahl and Cordelia make that request, then he and Olivia will do their best. That Henry knows, swears, a complete, head-to-toe promise that he would not dare to break. Cross his heart and hope to never die in pain. “I’m sure we adored you, you know. Inigo must have toooo, it’s in his eyes~”

Friendship comes and friendship goes, friendship comes and friendship grows! Henry likes having friends, having someone or three next to he. It’s nice, to have people he can trust, people he can speak to, once upon an every time. Does it hurt? Does it hurt to lose a stranger you fought with just as much as when you lose a friend? Probably, probably, definitely! Especially when the strangership is forced, when you actually know the strange, stranger, strangest person on the field! “Yes~, we all have stories to tell, say, share, wear up in the air~.”

He blinks. One, long, long, two. “The… same...” Family resemblance… that’s right. No matter what, no matter what better mind he wishes for Inigo to have, Inigo is stuck with the passed-down, down, down mind of himself. But things are how they are because he fell in love with Olivia, because he was fortunately fortunate to have his life lifted with her spell.  Henry’s only really known how to bear it through smiling through it, okay, okay, no matter what the day. But he has gotten better. And he should learn, is learning, to understand what all it means. “A good kid, a very, very good one~. Sorry, sorry, sorry for being soooo…” Selfish… Sorry, my dear, dear son for a hex that that’s impossible to dispel… “But I alsoooo don’t wanna leave him either. That would make Olivia sad, and me too… He’s stuck with a mind I gave him but, if he has people like youuuu, he’ll be okay…”

A good father… good to hear, close and near! At least there is love in their airs, all for them to care, share, a release to all those burdens they all bear. He loves war because in war he is needed, but now, and then too, he supposes, there had been a different need. “No need to fake… numb is not what a strong heart needs to maaaaake~” But he nods, he nods! It is her, and him and Olivia, perhaps the other children too, that can help him. But Henry is certain, his level is ascertained on the subject now, that Severa is a key player in his future son’s life.

“Buuuut, I think you can~. Maybe not today, tomorrow, or days and days soon, but one day, he’ll reallyyyyy need you. Yes, yes, let’s both try our best, our minds and spells are put to the test, but it’ll be fine, fine, for this son of mine, so long as weeeee…” speak to him! Tell him it’s okay to not be okay. Henry, Henry, you can do it~.“work together~.”

A lighter topic? What does Severa call for? Is it love? More peaceful than a fluttering dove? Knows more than a friendly crow, but less chatty so it’s hard to know? Oh, so it is, it is! 

“The heart’s a strange, strange thing, fickle, so it puts us in a pickle~. It’s got the strongest hex no mage can place, soooo hard to trace~. If you looooove he, and it speaks true, then don’t say things soooo blue~. Gooooo on, when your moment comes, when your spell is ready to be cast, remember that the me of present and past, says you can, you can~.” Say a word or two, or less than a few, “I believe in you and heeee, thank you, thank you for being a friend of him and me~!” he believes, that Inigo’s heart will follow what it seem to call, what emotions and concern stir within his eyes, what hopes and dreams are buried underneath his heavy act. His blessing - his approval, there’d be no removal. From what he learned about these children, he’s sure that they, side-by-side, step-and-glide, are promised to this life’s ride. So his smile is back, that’s an a-b-c, cross his heart and definitely not die guarantee, you see!

[obscure-sentence-starters]

Send In A Word, And I’ll Write A Drabble Or Starter Based On It

Or send in multiple words and I’ll attempt to work out a drabble around all of them!

Pale

Melody

Spiral

Whiskey

Broken

Shatter

Cards

Dawn

Dance

Crimson

Shadows

Flame

Freedom

Paint

Dishonesty

Envy

Run

Trapped

Blade

Command

Theatre

Disease

Dust

Soft

Animal

Coffee

Frost

Ocean

Imagination

Family

Home

Power

Sin

Steal

Hands

River

Prison

Ring

Gaze

Warm

End

Beginning

Time

Box

Youth

Sky

Blind

Magic

Edge

Glow

Mysterious

Alone

Masquerade

Sleep

Wings

Photograph

Worship

Storm

Wild

Sacrifice

Submission

Devotion

Life

[kowaretakokoro]

It was odd visiting this realm, their younger selves now born. Before she can return with no regrets, she visits the home a couple reside happily, the duo now her in law parents to her delight. With a young Soleil in her arms, and a bag of treats, she knocks, grinning as the door opens. "It's been a while- but look." She shows off the bracelet. "I did it.. so I got you something for father's day. It'd be a good for you and Olivia to meet Soleil too. Her smile's as bright as her daddy's."

Days absent of war. Had Henry been still merely a lost youth devoid of affection, unknowing of the gentle truth behind emotions, then this would have been boring to him, pointless, he likely would have entirely disappeared once the conclusion had come, had it not been for Olivia. A true, truly true good in this big, very, very big world! He really, really, deeply adores her, and the family they have been able to form. Knowing his son from the future is strong, is okay, is something entirely better than perhaps was able to cross his mind (a curse of his blood, he thought, would have been the realest bind).  

What strong children, he hopes, no, no, no, he knows, knows for certain within his very bones, that his little Inigo will grow up amazing too. He has Olivia for a mother, after all, and Henry swears, absolutely so, that he won’t slouch super-duper low either.  

“Listen, liiiiisteeen, Inigo~. Daddy’s gonna suuuper make sure you know how to smile, when you really mean it!” In this world, there won’t be a need, he hopes, for his son to hide behind a cushion of safety, at least, he’ll do his best to make sure Inigo knows he can be honest to others, and with himself. It’s safe. No facades, his family isn’t going anywhere. 

There’s a knock at the door, so he leaves Olivia to tend to making sure Inigo lays down for his nap; the young boy is very agreeable in this matter - why, Henry is tempted to nappity-nap nap a few hours away right beside them once he sees who it is. They’re both more night-owls anyway, so a few daytime hours lost isn’t the end of the world. 

Ah, look who it is! The future Severa, the grown up one, the one from the time of a terrible, terrible future yet gone! What a sight to see, it’s been too long! And she - well! She’s gone and done it, confirmed the winnings of his son’s heart, gotten her feelings out for him to know, know that he’s consistently returned them too. How exciting! He knows not the circumstances surrounding it, whether it was messy or clean, whether they nearly broke before they managed to get it out. Regardless, they are here, she is here, and they - they are wonderful, lovely, he’s so, so, ever so proud!

“Severaaaaa! Congratulations~, I’m suuuure you were family to your version of us, so that makes you family to us too, forever and any and always~!” 

A child, a real new life, thanks to a union that Henry, despite all he still is tying to grasp after all these years, knew would happen. This little girl, she’s adorable! Related to him? She must be, she must be, if Severa says it so, if she’s his son’s daughter - if she’s his daughter-in-law’s child, then - he’s so fortunate to have a family pan out like this. 

He hopes, hopes she won’t be cursed with a need to mask herself behind self-ingenuity. This cursed blood still runs through his veins - and now hers, huh? Let her stay okay, let her shine so bright, like a sun to complete their sky. 

“Soleil, her name suits her, and you both tooooo~.” He reaches out after asking carefully if he can hold her, and lifts his small grandchild up, high, higher, the highest he can manage! “Upsie-daisy, upsie-daisy, the sky is yours to lighten, little sun, of allllll the lights to your parents you are nuuuumber one~!”

And the little girl’s smile is real, her laughter purely ringing, so much so that Olivia ends up coming out before he even manages to call her, a swift hug to Severa is given before she too is gently looking over Soleil fondly. 

This is what a father like him can always be happy about, good times, good days, he’s elated in so many ways, no way his finds itself varying. No, his spirit is carrying him so far. There is no certainty that his Inigo and this realm’s Severa will fall for each other; different circumstances lead to different paths, but… but Henry is fortunate, lucky even, that he gets to have this experience. Tears? Yes, there really are tears, but there won’t be any accompanying fears. Not now, any how. 

His family, yes, his family, he loves them, adores them so much, they are his stars, the sky, his world - they’ve opened it for him so well, after all. Little Inigo, asleep in his bed, should know that his older ‘brother’ is living a life he deserves. 

“Thank you so veryyyy much, Severa~. And thank you too, Soleil, don’t worry, don’t worry at allll, no matter what, you’ve got a part of me, a part of Olivia, a part of Cordelia, and a part of Stahl! Inigo and Severa, they’ll be yours to hold! One and two, the world is gonna be wonderful for youuuu.”

[gzeidraws]

-Laugh-

Henry, Fire Emblem Awakening 

[kowaretakokoro]

Small twinails bounce up and down, her hands gripping the sides of a bag. A sweet aroma of what used to be home made cookies, now reduced to a small pile of crumbs. 'Let's make a little thank you gift for Henry, and Olivia, okay!' Her father said, before an hour or two of hard work to make lovely treats. Unfortunately, those treats failed to make the trip. Looking at Henry, and his wife, she bites her lip before mumbling quickly. "I made you a cookie but I eated it."

Yet another visit from Inigo’s friend, the teeny-tiny daughter of some of their friends, comes into the day - time to play! Henry has become fond of the little girl, it’s almost as if she’s part of  the family, without being cursed with my blood… slips into Henry’s mind, but he’s soon moved on from that to see what this little one has in store. 

Olivia and Inigo are currently outdoors learning the ins and outs of the buddings of one of Olivia’s dance routines, which leaves Henry indoors to keep Severa company in the absence of his son and her parents. 

Ohhhh, did she bring a giiiift this time~? he thinks, seeing the bag in her hand and recognizing the gentle aroma as some sort of super sweet treat, that would be ever so, so fun to eat! The reluctance in her eyes as she bites her lips - ahhhh so this is the look of regret, the pure apparition of this was something bad I did. 

Childhood expression and innocence is so fascinating! And good that these children haven’t completely been tainted by the burdens of what is, has been, and might always be. 

“I made you a cookie but I eated it…” 

She says, crushing the sides of the bag in a tight but nervous grip.

“That sooo~? Well, what a shame, a shame! I’m sure they were suuuper, extra tasty too. Did you like them? If you did, then that’s what count the most~!”

He bends down to look her even in the eyes and to gently take the bag from her. 

“Weeeellllll, I’m no good at the whole baking thing, but what do you say we surprise Olivia and Inigo and make some to make up and up for the fact you ate them all~?” That’s how things should go, right? Make up and give her something to do while the rest of the family tires away, “I think, yes, yes, I think that something sweet will help Inigo, and a present, presented by you in this present time is a good thing!”

Since she feels bad about it, or looks like it, then this should make her - and everyone very, very happy, right? Unless they turn out very, very scary, so that’s something to be very, very wary of… Henry’s sure Severa knows a thing or two about it, and he can take care of anything dangerous. 

They really did get themselves into a tough cookie of a mess, but lookie here, there’s laughter in the air, so vibrant, though smudged and messy they may be, hand-by-hand they take a stand, a jolly merry fleet of shaking of feet. No pain, all the gain!

Needless to say, on the cookies, it’s the thought that makes the count so sweet. 

[nohrian-trashcan]

Henry makes Mimikyu cry tears of joy because he actually LOVES it's horrifying appearance underneath it's cloth. :O

Henry would totally love mimikyu and mimikyu deserves all the love in the world!! It’s amazing and needs more friends!! ;u; 

On a side note this ask coldn’t have come on a better time as I’m getting back into pokémon go right now with the spring weather! ᕦ໒( ՞ ◡ ՞ )७ᕤ

[kowaretakokoro]

( kakuretatsuki )

{ ☽ } - “I mean- sort of. My parents just happened to drop me off at your place, whenever they couldn’t look after me. That’s all it was!” Not that she minded too much. Playing with Inigo always brought a smile to her face, and hours seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Even if she had to cover her face with a bear, and he with a rabbit, as odd of a duo they seemed to make, she loved every moment of it. Looking back at them fondly. “I mostly spent time with Inigo, but sometimes he would be out with Owain, or Brady, so I’d spend the night following along with whatever you, and Olivia wanted to do.” Once Inigo began to grow his confidence, he was always out and about during the day to flirt with some random floozies, but she would still swing by. In a sense, she felt like she owed them. It felt like they’d raised her just as much, if not more, than her own parents.

{ ☽ } - Would a parent go to say something like this? She.. she wouldn’t know. She doubts the source would ever be the mother that left her in the dust. But her father… yes, maybe… maybe he would say something like that. And in the end, Severa was also merely just… trying. Efforts.. they really do count.

{ ☽ } - “You died before Inigo ever got the chance to protect you. He was a kid, so maybe if you fight together, it might make a change. I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but the both of you seem like annoying optimists.” Protecting her parents is the least she could hope for, even with the distance she intends to enforce between them. “Whatever, I hope the both of you have fun prancing around in your little overly positive, freak show world.” She sneers.

{ ☽ } - “ “Hmph! Five, six, it’s not easy to fix. Seven, eight, look- we’re trying to change fate.” Nothing can truly take away the pain of losing the parents that they loved, but at the very least she can rest easy if they’re proud of the task they’re trying to carry out. The parents might give it their all, but even so they weren’t just children anymore, they were soldiers. 

{ ☽ } - “That’s a stupid reason, I’m sure they’d much more enjoy your company than I do. There’s no fun talking to someone who’s just going to yell at you for everythin- Wait what?!”

{ ☽ } - “W-what I think of him?!” She sputters, clearly flustered, even though.. this isn’t an unexpected question, and certainly isn’t out of place. She… she also wanted to know about her own family too. Their relationships with others, the way they carried themselves, things she never got to see. Even if she didn’t want to directly sit along side them. “Well.. If… If I tell you about your son, and what I think about him, or whatever… Then you give me your fruit rations, and tell me about how Stahl and Cordelia are like in this time line, got it?!” 

{ ☽ } - Severa looks down at the grass again, watching the blades sway lightly from the gently winds. “Since you came all the way out here just to ask, I guess I have no choice but to be entirely honest. But if you don’t keep your end of the deal, I’ll kill you and blame it on some random risen lurking about!”

{ ☽ } - She bites her lip, trying to piece her thoughts together. Just how did she feel about him? He made her feel so light, so warm- and it… it was always Inigo that seemed to see through the ice queen persona. Even though she truly fell in love with the rabbit under her care, the man now really did seemed to have control over her heart. Still, with no outline in mind, she answers quietly. Her heart guiding the words she speaks, warmth tinging into her tones.

{ ☽ } - “W-well, I think he’s annoying, and kind of stupid- no wait, scratch that. He’s as daft as they get. But even so…” She smiles. “I really like him… L-love him, even. Not that I can tell him that! I doubt he’d want to hear that from some useless brute.” She shakes her head, this wasn’t a time to talk herself down. “I liked him more before he felt the need to flirt with everything that breathes. He used to be like a rabbit. Shy about everything and anything, acted just like his mother- he was so cute.” She chuckles. The warm feeling in her chest fading away as she moves on to say her next lines. “But there’s something that bothers me, above anything else about him.” She closes her eyes. “He smiles a lot, but he doesn’t mean them. He gives them out like they’re some kind of sample at the market, and sometimes it looks like… it looks like he’s hiding behind it. Like he’s forcing himself, or that he doesn’t think he’s allowed to react in any other way so he just- smiles. I’ve tried to ask but he… he won’t tell me. He insists that he’s fine. It’s like he’s lost his genuine smile, or whatever. That annoys me.” 

{ ☽ } - Sure, she held her own fears behind her scowl. It acted like a shield for her heart. But he… he was always pretending like everything was okay. Even when it was clearly not, he forced his smile, and when he was secluded- she swore that she heard him crying. But when she sent Owain to check on him, he reported that Inigo simply smiled, saying everything was okay. 

{ ☽ } - At last, she look over to Henry, eyes boring into his own.

{ ☽ } - “I think he might’ve gotten that habit from you.”

“I seeeeee~”

His nod is simple, but he’s a bit confused by this, even if he had assumed it had been a case like that, that his and Olivia’s home had become a place like that for her. Her parents really had been that busy? Busy in business that probably meant the soils were soiled before they were lost… That’s a cost, heavy, unable to be levied, he hopes, hopes, hopefully hopes that she had a glimmer of happiness in the company of his family.

There’s no way he knows of his future son’s actions, but just a look at him tells Henry that he cares about his peers, no matter his actions. Distance… huh? “I don’t know the me I cannot see, but I’m sure we adored your company verrrrry much.” This all fits in, more and more the puzzle pieces turn and click together. Even if Inigo started to branch out, even if things had changed, nothing changes his eyes, the way they alight when… but those are just parental observations from an unknowing father who’s still grasping his way through truly living.

How do parents work? What does it mean to be a father? Henry really doesn’t know, for the experiences he really has to draw on, he doesn’t like thinking about. Neglect is what he does not want to give to any child of his. Be more like the sweet wolf, be that kind of guardian and guard those that are unguarded and need a good guarding, huuh? He’s going to try, tie the strings and make it, don’t fake, be true to those he adores. He doesn’t ever want to lose the sky. 

So that’s the case. He really does wonder just how much pain his son has been through because he and Olivia couldn’t live through another day.

“Then we’ll alllllll fight together for tomorrow~. That’s how it works, huuuh? Severa should join us too…” He says. There’s his smile again, however much he feels his son really has been chasing a numbing path. That’s… not good, it’s very bad! Very, very bad! Terrible even, but… but he still isn’t sure. There’s a lot of masks on the field.

“Nine and ten, we’re allies here sooooo let’s be friends~”

It’s hard to understand how to be a parent to someone that’s basically the same age as him, if not almost older in this moment. Still, he does stand by the fact that he wants to give Inigo and Olivia their time to bond – is it only so he can prod? Of course not, not at all! But it so happens to pan out that way, or so appearances can tell. “But it’s fuuuuun!”

He tilts his head, her face is really red, just as red as Olivia’s when she’s embarrassed, does his son… make a face like that too? What is it, what had Olivia said it was… something that fits over a person like a glove, tumultuous – perhaps heavy, nothing too peaceful like a dove.

Ahahaha! It’s love!

“Got it! I’ll tell you all I can and give you those rations of mine!” He has to hear as much as he can, he wants to know everything she wishes to tell him. Speak of affections? Nu-uh, wouldn’t happen. Inigo needs to settle his own out first. “Ohhhh sounds like an exciting way to die; that’s merciful, huh? I wouldn’t make you sad or mad, but make it painless if you must.” Ah, there the words slip, the ones he cannot help.

She’s not useless, this young lady, but he isn’t going to stop her fond speech to protest when he hardly knows her.  But… his son… sounds so sweet, a good kid. One that… really can’t be related to him, huh? No way, no way, a good young man with heart and will, a image of the good will Olivia is, a star, the sky, and – these thoughts jumble and fly until she gets past the remarks of his lack of now being outwardly a shy guy.

When? When did his son last give a true smile? Has it all been him lying, guising, blocking out what could be bad? Hiding his true self… that’s… that’s… “A fake smile…”

It drops, his own smile. What’s this? Wet around the eyes, so he feels as he moves his hand to wipe them. This kid... his kid, got his bad habit, huh? His fault... His fault... This old habit of his heaves onto his family’s shoulders and crashes them. And he’s so, so sorry. That he gave Inigo the mentality he has, that he couldn’t be there to protect him further - rising as an allied Risen or something or the other would not have been sparing to his soul. “Ahaha... I’m soooo sorry, to him, to Olivia, to you. Inigo... he must’ve gotten that from my mind, huuuh? It’d be better if we weren’t related, then maybeeee he’d be... more honest to you all.” 

That’s him, what he used to do, what he does, what he’s learning better and better to not do. “Severa, Severa, promise me you’ll be there for him if he breaks?” Or when, is better terminology. With shattered heart, where the pieces are merely glued together with a smile that doesn’t dance about his eyes, it’s only... only a matter of time. Oh let him have a chance to recover, oh let him have a chance to be so, so different from Henry. This burden, he shouldn’t have it. None of these kids should. And he’s serious, definitely serious, “I think... I think, no matter what he’s doing, even if he’s flirting annnnnd everything~, he’s chasing something he doesn’t understand.” A way out of bad thoughts, validation, company or something he doesn’t want to toss on others, a way to be able to talk past the nerves he still has, anything and everything just... 

“I don’t know how much it will do, but he’ll need support.” Help him like Olivia’s helped me. 

[jejesart]

a surprisingly good father

[kowaretakokoro]

( kakuretatsuki )

{ ☽ } - “Hmph, I spent a lot of time with you and your family in the future! You might be Henry of the past, but I’d be pretty angry if you couldn’t even bother yourself to know my name.” Not like she could’ve stopped it. With her mother constantly insisting she go, spending the nights there, the company of his family wasn’t rare in her life; not when her parents, namely her mother, would put work ahead of her. 

{ ☽ } - Anger seems to collect in her stomach, as her hands ball into fists. “So what?! Some of our parents from our time said they didn’t plan on dying either! That they could handle it, because they would protect us! But you know what?! They did!” Promises like that only give a temporary sense of reassurance, she wasn’t naive. Not anymore. She knew that the outcome of battle wasn’t something that could be predicted, that could be concrete and safe because something like a mere, worthless exchange of words. If only it were that easy. “We’ve made it this far, we don’t need to be protected by the likes of you. Gawds! You were the one that died in our time, not us!” She huffs. Maybe, she shouldn’t be so rude to the father of the love of her life, but… but he was so infuriating! Smiling like that… is so annoying. And saying things like that is an even bigger pile of rubbish. 

{ ☽ } - She couldn’t understand why someone would smile while saying such crude things but… Ah, she lost her smile that day, didn’t she? When she waited for her parents to return, but they never did. When the news reached her ears, and all she could do in sink into a state of regret and self hatred because of her parting words. Constant thoughts of how much better things could’ve been between her mother, but instead their time spent together was spent arguing. ‘I hate you!’ She hissed at her own mother, stomping away. Gods, if only she could’ve changed that… but her words were all set in stone. That Cordelia was long gone.. Even if she travels back in time, these are not the same people. And… she didn’t deserve to face her parents again. She’s a terrible daughter.

{ ☽ } - But… it’s because of Inigo, that she can remember that it’ll be okay. That’s when her genuine smile can peek through her frosted facade. He… matters so much to her, and maybe… one day she can tell him that. But when war is brewing, when this timeline’s stability is weakening, it’s not time yet. No matter how much her heart yearns for him to look away from the maidens in town, from the other women in the army, just so that his gaze will meet her- but… but not just to flirt with her, speaking lines that would make her gag. She wants to see the shy rabbit who would run to her side for protection, that’s genuine, kind, and just… lovely… that’s the one she fell in love with…. But even with these desires… they have a task to complete.

{ ☽ } - “Huh? Why did they get so much brighter out of no where? You’re not making any sense.” She could agree with that part about being untainted no matter the strain that happens below them. Even if the skies are dusty, and dim, and the view is not so clear- the stars are still twinkling above the clouds. “Him? If you mean Inigo, then… just go messing it up.” ‘I’ll be doing my best to make sure he doesn’t lose them either.’ 

{ ☽ } - The corners of her lips are turned up slightly, solemn sadness creeping into it. Her anger dissipates. “I guess… but it doesn’t matter. I’ll have to go back to my own time eventually. No point in getting attached to something you’ll have to leave, that’s just a waste of time.” She could enjoy it while it was there, while the moon was full and vibrant, but she knew she would miss it dearly, so what’s the point? “Doesn’t matter either way, considering I’m sitting out her with you, instead of my family.” Perhaps, it’d also been that the star were shining brighter because a natural, genuine, smile was on his face again. He really does have the universe’s worth of stars in his eyes when he saw them… so many stars, he may as well be the sky. 

{ ☽ } - “So, what do you want? Why did you to come bother me, when you could be enjoying your time with the others?”

“A loooot of time~? We must have been prettyyyyy close~!”

That or, Henry thinks, her parents had been too busy, in one way or another, to keep watch of her. Ah, it’s sad to think of, but, if that’s the case, then Henry really is sure he – and Olivia – would have definitely taken her in, for as often as they needed to. Olivia especially, she’s that kind of good person, the one that would do that sort of sweet thing. Henry is trying to understand these sort of things… maybe the him of their time had it down, by age he was. That’s hope? That’s hope!

Oh, she’s mad? Steaming, gleaming, why so? His words, they must’ve done something… Whoops, his bad! Seriously. Although these, this promise, ah it’s something he wanted to hear from his parents, isn’t it? That they’d be there, that they’d try. No matter if it’d shatter, even if life make it unpreventable, it’s the thought that counts! Thinking, thought-ing, thunk? No, that’s not it…

His smile doesn’t drop, not right now, but there’s still – yes, still! – a drop in his expression, a gentleness. Of course, of course, things can’t be predicted, but things change, they really do! For someone whose last faith in the world had been that it could give him a glorifying death if he casts his spells right, he’s come a long way, and he really, really doesn’t want to keep her locked in this sort of upset state. No, that’s not justice to her, it’s a disservice to the young lady his son has talked about.

“A parent would do this sort of thing though, wouldn’t they~?” It feels right, to be there. Does it anguish them? The potential for loss… is unavoidable? Ah, how to balance this slippery slope, Henry tries to think. “But, we can fight together this time, and watch the other’s backs! War is soooo exciting, but a painful death isn’t really so.” He can’t remove what happened, that horrible memory will always carry with them, but he just has to avoid it happening to him, huh?

He doesn’t know exactly what this children went through, but he… he knows how much loss hurts and – oh! – how he’s become so, so aware of how terrible it is to mask it all behind a smile. It’s bad! Bad! Ever so bad to try to numb yourself. Even if he’s so numb only the most severe can cut him, even if he’s so numb that he can’t notice… but! This is her spotlight! Right? That’s what’s right.

Sometimes left from right jumbles, mumbles, grumbles, but it happens, it happens. And he – he wants to know his son, give him at least some time back that the other him never managed to. “When you have something that’s affected you greatly, it’s something a hex can’t even match! Brightness comes with happiness, doesn’t it?” That’s what he thinks, anyway, from what Olivia tried to explain to him. And it makes sense, total, full-on sense. The stars in the sky are twinkles of hope, for a better future. He can’t lose them, not again, and that’s… that’s probably why the other him died fighting for them.

“Ahhh, I see~. Though still, I don’t think it’s a waaaste.” A waste is letting yourself stay in the pain, a waste is not being able to escape it, that’s why the lights can come in, “No matter who you spend your days here with, your still doing something amaziiiing! One and two, we can prevent the fall of alllll of you…”

He tilts his head and continues, he hears her, sure, but that doesn’t stop him, “Three and four, we go to war so you have more~” A pause and then, after a soft giggle his answer to her question comes, “I want to give them time together, and I had questions! That’s a reason you talk to someone, riiiight? Buuuut, as an ally of yours, and as the future father of Inigo, I wanted to know what do you think of him? Are you glad? Are you mad? Hexed? Perplexed? You know him better than I doooo~!” 

And there, he throws it out. He wants to accommodate his son, he can tell he’s holding back and that - that makes him ever so sad. If she wants to leave, to be alone, instead of humoring him with answers, he wouldn’t stop her, not at all, especially since it’s him that pulled the invasion game, right?

[kowaretakokoro]

( kakuretatsuki )

{ ☽ } - Severa lays under the sky and the stars, secluded from the campfire and people. Most of the children at next to their parents, but she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to get attached to the point she can’t leave them again. So instead, she’s away from the crowds, thinking of him and how happy he was to meet his parents again. It’s been a while since the light could reflect in his eyes.

{ ☽ } - But speaking of his parents…

{ ☽ } - “Huh?! O-oh.” She looks up, jumping at his sudden appearance. “You got that right. And you’re Henry, I know.” The times he, and Olivia, had looked after her when her parents were off for work- those were fun times. The sleepovers she would have with Inigo… back when things were peaceful. But she shouldn’t judge him by her memories- he may bear the same identity.. but they’re different.

{ ☽ } - “A whole army?! How daft are you to make such a crude joke, you loon!” She snaps, whipping around to look away from him. Her voice is loud, disturbing the quiet night sky above them. “You know, the thought of your death alone… that would crush your son.” She remembers it clearly. The amount of agonizing pain that crossed his face when his parents passed, the days he sat alone in the dark, not listening to anyone. Any words she could say would be ignored… He’s mentioned it before. How he still clings onto the hope that his Henry and Olivia would still watch him along side the stars. “Ugh, I don’t know what I was expecting, but don’t be such a flake of a dad. Even if your kid isn’t around.” 

{ ☽ } - “The stars?” She looks up. Ah… the sky.. it was cloudless, clear, the stars visible. It… almost leaves her breathless. “Y-yeah, they’re fine I guess.” Fine. That’s not the right word to describe it. She loved the stars. She loved the serenity, the calm… But the stars seemed to taunt her. Far up in the sky, scattered about, so far away from any of the pain she was forced to bear. And the moon… even though it seemed to be distant, it seemed to lead her, to heal her. The way it shimmered, showing the light in the darkest time of day… she wanted to be like that. But.. it’s been a long time since she’s seen the moon so vividly.

{ ☽ } - “In the future… It’s hard to see it so clearly. The rumble and clouds would block out the whole sky, or the moment you try to look, you have to be on the edge. You never know when those damned risen will come to ruin it.” She mutters under her breath quickly. “But now… I’m finally able to look at the same sky my mother and father are under, again.”  

{ ☽ } - “What do you think of them?”

This whole thing is such a curious setting, so Henry thinks as he settles himself on the ground, sitting to start but oh! Should he lay down? She had been so maybe, maybe that’d be a good idea! No? No is right, a seat like this, maybe it does feel more… light. He doesn’t intend to ask her why she follows a choice outside of spending time alongside her parents, that’s not of his concern. Her choice? Yes, her choice is just that. But this young lady, no matter what she chooses, happens to be in the focus of his son, so he – he’s curious.

He doesn’t really know her, but if his future son has such a connection with her – does that mean that the other himself did too? Well, that really isn’t that big of a deal right now! Since he is different from that him – probably? 

“Yuuuup~! I’m glad I got your name right, though, it’d be baaaad if I didn’t, I think.”

Huh? Her reaction seems different than what he thought it would be? Then again, Olivia would be the same… wouldn’t she? He tilts his head, looking at her curiously. What kind of pain did his son go through? Never, never ever would Henry want Inigo to feel that way, not ever again. “Buuuut I could do it, to protect you guys.” He pauses, thinking just a bit more. Her words had been harsh, angry, so she’s upset, definitely. That’s far from good, so very, very far, so he adds, “And wellllll, I don’t plan on dying. Not anytime soon, anyway. I don’t want that anymore. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t put others first though~”

There really is a lot he doesn’t understand but, when he looks up at the stars, when he thinks about them, Henry can make connections. Within the seclusion and bumps of his past, laying out, being out under an open sky that can’t inflict anything him – that had been just right, right? Right! He doesn’t… He doesn’t want Inigo, his Inigo, to suffer, to feel a constant stabbing pain through his chest, replaying and replaying memory upon everlasting memory.

“Mmhmm, I would haaate for the Risen to stroll on in while I was staring up!” He falls backwards laying down against the soft ground, staring up at the sky, the dark, clear sky, with every little twinkle ever so bright, vibrant. He… he likes this. The way the sky looks now, how light it feels. The last time, why the last time he saw the sky in this way, why that… had been way back then, huh? When hope played its game softer, when innocence danced about. But he, he feels it.

“I used to think the stars were faint, really, reallllyyy dull~. Haha, what a sight that was, dealing with that every day! But now, nooowww, everything is okay with them. They’re really bright, you know~. The kind of shininess that even the fun of war can’t taint that, at least,” he pauses, a brief moment of sadness and fear washing over his natural, fixed smile, “I really hope not~” He wants the world to be something his son can be okay in; he really does. He’s not the safest, and Inigo, does Henry really think he deserves such a sweet boy as his son… “I love the stars! I could die for them to shine on painlessly, but isn’t too much death what hexes them? I don’t want the stars to go out... for them... stars dulling means there’s something important missing, and I don’t like it. If someone’s suffering, I’d want to help them stop. With something like that, the lights start dying too.

“I think it suuuuper obvious to Olivia, but I can tell too, we don’t want him to ever feel like he’ll lose the stars! It’s noooo fun at all if they’re allllll gone, so now~ we have to make sure! And Severa? Because you have your family here, even if they’re different, are the stars even brighter for you?” 

He’s curious too, about how his son thinks, how she thinks of his son, despite the fact he hides feelings behind a smile too, there’s still a core, fragile, are they... little twinkles in the sky for each other? His eyes open, just so, to look at her, to watch her, an almost childish - but still intent, and focus, gaze fixed on her. No matter the conflict, he really does intend to survive. There will be no leaving his son to break, not again. Not from what he can absolutely, positively help!