LIGHT AND SHADOW, IN BALANCE

CLOSED SAI OF FIRE EMBLEM SHADOWS. UNAFFILIATED FAITH PROFESSOR WITH THE OFFICER'S ACADEMY.

[liightborne]

Eyes in the Sky

BE Mission Board: Aphotic || Flying +1

[corvuschriisti]

Naesala himself can fly. He's quite good at it, impressive in his large bird form -- he could show these beorc how one should take to the sky if he had the mind to. He' doesn't though, right now he's sitting atop one of the academy's own flying mounts with a little frown on his face. It's a bit ridiculous, a bird atop a pegasus, but here he is.

It evens the playing field in case they are shot down, he can help his friend escape with his own wings. He'd rather avoid that possibility, though, this is still a living creature beneath him. Honestly, he only wants to help to gather information and not necessarily get involved in the scuffle itself; he would much rather run away than have to deal with any of that.

He's lost in his own thoughts when he's addressed. He turns, giving the newcomer a polite-yet-distant little smile. "Oh, you seem eager to begin," he says. He seems friendly enough, and Naesala doesn't mind another person to round out their duo into a trio. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Naesala, with the Blue Lions."

next ! -> @nagaficat

[nagaficat]

"And I am Deirdre, with the Black Eagles." The professor bows her head slightly. She has become rather close with Naesala but Sai is new to her. Even if she is familiar with Naesala and his wings, she does find her eyes continuing to drift toward Sai's distinct features. It is amazing how vast this world is!

"I was hoping my skill with a staff might be useful. I am sure that, through our magic combined, we will be quite unstoppable."

It might be the first time she has borrowed one of the monastery's pegasi outside of simply practicing and training, but she has done so enough times that she feels confident enough. All they are doing, after all, is searching for those who might need their help. It is not as though they are expecting trouble!

"Shall we be off, then?"

@liightborne

[liightborne]

With the... Blue Lions? The Black Eagles...?

Sai obscures the depth of his thought by tucking his head next to his pegasus. He had heard of these names before... these houses, yes? There was a third one, too, perhaps something to do with an elk... or something else, but, why, he cannot seem to remember...

Blink. Now is not the time for this. Have they not work to do?

His new comrades have readied themselves beside their mounts, so it would behoove (ha ha) him to do the same. Sai gently hooks his foot into the golden stirrup of his saddle, pushing up once, then twice, then an embarrassing thrice to settle himself atop his steed. If anyone bore witness to that display, no they did not.

"We shall," he quickly replies instead, smiling with hopefully enough brightness to blind onlookers. "I have utmost faith in our abilities. Although my sight is not as grand as my sister's, I make up for it in hearing." Hearing... what pirates sound like. They do make sound, yes? "Yarr!" "Yo ho ho!" et cetera, et cetera.

@corvuschriisti

[contempenitent]

some say in fire, some say in ice

Mauvier & Sai V - Epidemic Non-Mission Board [Any Skill +1]

[contempenitent]

Mauvier hadn't necessarily expected Sai to repeat his own vow, but it fits with the rest of him, that Sai offers his own aid. It has never once mattered to Mauvier that Sai may lack physical strength; what he values far beyond such trifling things Sai's his spirit, his patience. His willingness to listen.

What surprises Mauvier the most, perhaps, is the shy little note of doubt in Sai's question. As if Mauvier may say no, and Sai would be okay with that. In a way, that's a comfort in itself, that he can be honest. In another, Mauvier does not want Sai to ever feel doubt in his presence. He wants Sai to be secure in Mauvier's trust in him.

But that is not easily won. It will take time, and work. Much like the unseen, wandering soul who tends these flowers that he so loves to bask near.

How strangely circular, Mauvier thinks. To trust that the other person will accept them, as they are. That they are enough. And also to trust that they trust themselves with that trust. It's starting to make his temples throb, thinking about it.

"I am honored," Mauvier answers, somewhere between a nod and a sitting bow, "to be able to confide in you, Lord Sai. As long as you do not grow weary of me." His own smile perhaps reflects some lingering doubt of his own, but he's working on it. Blooming.

[liightborne]

Sai blinks, perhaps a bit too strongly for his own liking. His expression retracts into a sort of confounded shock as quickly as curtains part to a jerked cord; before he can stop himself, his hands grip at the edge of the tea table and his head ducks down resolutely. "I could never tire of you, Sir Mauvier!" he blurts. "How could I possibly? You exude such kindness... like a hearth you are. That energy does quite the opposite; I enjoy each moment we spend together!"

A momentary pause brings him back to his senses. Although his ears pinken at his momentary loss of calm, he does not show any further signs of embarrassment. "...Ahem. Do excuse me.

"I suppose I've no right to make these sorts of declarations when I say much the same about myself, but... well. It seems that not even I am free of contradiction." It is not a pleasant thing to say with regards to himself, but Sai is able to excuse it for the sake of lightheartedness. "I am just as honored to speak with you plainly. It is not an easy thing for a man of the cloth to put to word his own troubles, but I find it strangely simple telling them to you over a garden tea table."

He giggles again with a less weighted sound. Without his full knowing, he has become a touch lighter. "There is not even tea to be had! We may surely have some next time we come here, yes?"

[corvusi]

ᯓ amidst every stage of life

au | horror

[corvusi]

They left this man at the edge of the woods — go any further than the border of trees, they yelled, and they would kill him without mercy. A faceless, no matter how seemingly human he was, could not be considered human enough to be rescued. And thus, the man was left sitting against a tree to tell his story to thin air.

Oh, and Henry, too!

Lavender eyes gleaming as they looked at the empty face ( was he supposed to be making eye contact with the man who no longer had eyes? ), Henry nodded eagerly throughout the story. A monster, tucked within the shadows of the woods — how cool! Don't be fooled, the man warned, for the face that had greeted him was wholly human, even if it was anything but — even cooler!

"Did you get a chance to see its legs then?" Henry giggled, resting his head back against the tree trunk. "Was it like... rotting? Maybe allllll covered in bandages? OH, or horse—"

The frown was evident through his voice, through how his smooth face tilted ever-so-slight toward the grass. "No," he clipped. "I didn't. They're monster legs, alright?"

But monster legs could have plenty of different interpretations, and although Henry opened his mouth to try and ask for more, the man had already continued with his story. A forest so dense that it felt like he was suffocating with each step further in; paths so convoluted in the darkness that he was left questioning every bush and tree and shadow he was greeted with.

As the sun set and Henry's flashlight flickered on to grant the man space to continue, he shifted further up until he was on the edge of his seat grass. Stories of voices. Other people. Other faces that were just like his, and other faces that were more contorted in their unrecognizability. Adrenaline crept into Henry's core as he drummed unsteady fingers along his thigh, and fully settled once the man paused with his final plea.

"You must go. Who knows how many people may still be alive in there? Perhaps you can free them." He paused. "Maybe even fix them."

He didn't have to ask twice! No, really. Because the moment that man had given his last blessings ( "don't do anything reckless, kid." ), Henry took off into the woods. One flashlight, one backpack with a half-filled bottle of water, and a dream were all he needed tonight. Deeper and deeper into the woods he trudged...

...and all he was hearing were his own footsteps against dried leaves. No strange monsters, no voices. His smile faded. He paused in the midst of a clearing and spun around — once, twice, thrice — in hopes of catching something, only to find air.

Hm. But the man was faceless! But the man also didn't have a flashlight, did he? Which meant that if Henry were to see this crazy monster that he was yapping about and if Henry really wanted to start seeing super strange human-not-humans, then—!

He clicked the flashlight off. "There we go!" He grinned, waving into the pitch-black void. "You guys can start coming out now!"

@liightborne

[liightborne]

Knowing the dangers, whispers the wind to itself, bristling as the human rushes past, he has continued. What a fool.

It is not simply that he knows them, replies the eavesdropping trees whose gnarled branches peer overhead, but that he invites them. A pity.

A woman sits beside a rotten stump half-a-ways between a pocket of forest and an aged riverbank. Her hands stutter through her hair as she attempts to wash it in the water, head bent over the stream and the silt deposits beneath, catching knot after muddied knot as she combs again and again and again. Plop, plop---an earlier tumble into the mud has seen it caked into her scalp, but can a routine hair-washing properly see it all soaked away?

No matter what she tries, each jagged pull of fingers through locks produce new knots to undo, often in the same exact places as the last. Regardless of the vigor with which she washes, more dirt continues to dye the waters! It feels like such a futile movement, but she cannot stop herself, this woman. It soothes her to watch each patch of mud splash and drown in the current. It makes her feel productive. Soon, her knots will all be gone.

She will not feel them anymore when she drags her fingers through her hair. That is when she knows she will be finished.

( cw: gore, body horror, blood )

In truth, the feeling will long have disappeared before her knots do. A mane of thorned branches sprouts from the lines in her scalp, spindly and sharp-edged in thundershock silhouettes, and each pencil-length needle weeps with blood and scraps of skin.

Her fingers are pocked with gashes that window to small bones and joints. Echoes of thorns remind in scrapes along their surfaces (and are more blatant in areas where foliage has snapped off in punctured and fluid-leaking gaps). The middle section of her left ring finger has found itself nearly pried away from its proximal brother by way of the greedy tendrils it rakes through, only barely keeping its place with a desperate strip of skin and muscle between them.

Ambiance of repeat thornpunches into weakened skin decorates the lazy flow of water. So entranced as the woman is, she hardly notices anyone's approach; when footsteps draw close to her, she startles. "Oh!" she exclaims, catching herself before she falls. Gravel crackles as it finds itself pressed against bare, bleeding muscle before forcibly nesting between its myriad gaps. "You startled me. I would rather you not have caught me at such an inopportune moment... my hair must look filthy to you still."

[liightborne]

activity check: march 2026

-> Passed!

Earned Skill Points:

+1 Faith (dropped thread) (Faith C -> Faith C (1/2))

+1 Faith (Activity) (Faith C (1/2) -> Faith C+)

Unlocked/Mastered Classes:

Monk Mastery (Pending)

Rank-Up/Mastery/Event Prizes:

Magic+ (Pending)

[contempenitent]

some say in fire, some say in ice

Mauvier & Sai V - Epidemic Non-Mission Board [Any Skill +1]

[contempenitent]

Sai's words send a ripple through him. Of warmth, of light, of something mostly unfamiliar. Mauvier's own company has hardly ever felt like enough to sustain anyone. Even if they had told him similar things, it was difficult to believe them. He believed it to be pity, or misplaced faith.

But who else in Mauvier's life could he believe so easily? No other person has made him feel secure enough to laugh, to cry, to share such a sacred private space. It's terrifying, to trust someone so much. Even now, a tiny voice trapped in his ribs screams for him to run!

Still, Mauvier breathes deep. He does not listen. He lets those strange, warm feelings wash over him. He does not repel, he does not riposte. Just sits as still as he can, and lets himself feel.

"It's been such a short time since we've met, so I pray I'm not too bold," says Mauvier. "But you may call upon me for anything, at any time. Even if it is just to observe these flowers with you. I do not say that as a Knight of Seiros, or even as fellow faculty of the monastery. I..." He sets his palms at his thighs, tipping his head back to the sky. He forgets that it's there sometimes, focused so much on the ground. "I say that as your friend, Lord Sai."

[liightborne]

Your friend.

Sai's ears twitch as the wind blows along their tips. It is the only movement he gives---the rest of him has stilled in a moment of surprise. The words were not out of character, no! Nor were they unwanted! From a man such as Mauvier, born from the bond that they shared, one could even call them expected.

There is simply not a time Sai can recall having heard those words at this monastery. Simply put, this is the first time he has been granted a friend.

Though he knew many, his nomadic nature mixed with the necessity of his duty meant that very few could ever become more than acquaintances. Sai has lost count of the people he has left behind, not for good but for long enough that their faces begin to melt away, and he has long since settled for this truth. The pain of it has ebbed, or perhaps he has grown accustomed to it, and that was all there ever was to it.

Hearing this affirmation now after what could have been months, years. Must he relearn how it feels to harbor these connections?

How embarrassing. And yet, he does not fluster.

"I... I thank you," he says after quiet deliberation. "It has been some time since I have known the gift of friendship... odd though that may be to admit.

"Though I am not as stalwart as you, and though my physical strength is quite lacking... heh... I would still like to be someone you can come to in times of need. May I have that honor, Sir Mauvier?"

And then a short pause. Tongue finding the right way to present it: "Ah... My friend?"

[lunaestice]

My dad could do better. And he’s dead.

(Sai & Ashe, Homesick recipes)

[lunaestice]

“Wow, it really is busy huh?” Having been cooped up in the kitchen for a while, Ashe had been mostly unaware of the pileup happening outside of it. If he had to guess these students had likely just come fresh from the training grounds. Any classes held there always left him ravenously hungry afterwards, at least.

The crowd reminded him a little of busy days at his parents’ diner. Back then, his father would clang the pans and speak in an imposing tone to create order, backed up by his large stature. Somehow he doubted that would work for them. Neither he nor the professor had the physique to make that work. Instead he tried to appeal to them. “There’s plenty of food to go around and the kitchen is plating more as we speak! If we could all just stand in line, I promise, everyone will get their meal in time!” Accompanying that request was an earnest smile.

“…I-I guess we can do that.” The students that had been pushing the hardest relented, slightly flushed. And like most mobs, once you take care of the most difficult bunch the rest tends to fall in line. There were still some people making a fuss, but all in all the crowd became much more manageable.

“Phew, that’s a relief.. let’s get these people served then, shall we Professor?” He turned to Sai with empty arms, all the meals he had now given to the people that waited in line.

[liightborne]

Sai breathes out in deep relief as the waves of crowds settle. No longer does he feel a dinghy battered by the furious ocean! The waters have calmed and, most importantly, he can lower his arms that had begun to shake from the weight he had to hold aloft. Thank goodness for that.

This silver-haired student shows... business acumen, Sai thinks, for what else could it be that allows him to sway what are effectively demanding customers? The pacification was one part of the solution, but the boy had known exactly to whom he had to appeal! A domino effect had transpired right before his very eyes, and a practiced one at that! Just what kinds of calculations were happening in that mind of his?

"Yes," he says in reply to the student's request, a smile gently pulling at his lips. A touch exhausted, but renewed and ready to keep going. "I shall return to the kitchen to receive more orders. You seem quite organized, so might I entrust the task of hand-off to you, then?"

Loathe though he might be to assign a heavy task to a student instead of himself, is it not the duty of the professor to nurture the talents of those under his wing?

[liightborne]

Not Naked, Just Afraid

Non-Mission Board: Infamous || Laundry Swap

[liightborne]

Starter for @itsuwaru

Sai is awake before the sun even crests over the horizon. It has always been a habit of his, rising early; he revels in the feeling of accomplishing a task or two just in time to watch the sun rise in the cool morning. Clad in aught but his nightclothes (just as billowing as his typical wear to the point that the less observant would not tell the difference), he hums to himself as he pulls wet clothing from a straw basket: today is laundry day.

Being an early bird comes with many perks at this monastery, none the least of which being that there are less occupants in the laundry room before dawn. Sai is able to borrow a bucket-and-washboard and have them returned within the hour, even with all of his meticulous scrubbing of his sacred robes. It might be better to simply purchase one to keep in his room, the thought has flitted in his mind on occasion, but he wakes so early that there is no real benefit to doing that.

As he hangs his clothes on the line by his room, Sai takes special care in hanging his amice—he turns the sigil of Naga towards the sun so that it might bask in the first rays that arrive.

With that, he returns to his room for his morning prayers.

---

Sai smiles with the refreshment of his Blessed Naga hanging on his shoulders. Communing with Her always leaves him positive, even if the earlier moons threatened to drag him beneath the earth. Today shall be another day dedicated to Her, he decides, as soon as he goes outside and pulls his robes from the clothesline—

…

…

…Where did they go.

All of his clothes…

…

…have disappeared.

[liightborne]

🍪 i want a big cookie

"Anything for my little sister!"

You got: Ginemanasaurus... Gimenamaurus... Metamorphis... Chocky Chip!

[liightborne]

🍪 It's me. I'm the sufferer. I'm suffering. Help.

"?????????????????????????"

You got: Magnificent Mariposa Macadamia Nut!

[liightborne]

🍪 "Hehe.."

"I legally cannot have an opinion of you until we interact in-story. It was a missive passed down by Blessed Naga, you see."

You got: Generic Sugar Cookie But It Is Shaped Like A Fox So That's Fun Right?!

[liightborne]

🍪 "Oh! These look delicious! You made them yourself? You're really talented, huh..." Alear leans over slightly to look closer, brow raising. "Can I try one...?"

"Uh---?! It is telling me to buy orbs to give you this cookie. What should I do? Is this a ransom? Do I need to pay it?"

You got: Ransomed Digital Cookie (He did end up paying the 3000G just to send it)!

[liightborne]

🍪 coukie

"How do people use these odd tablets again...?"

You got: Digital Cookie!

[liightborne]

🍪 x

"Prince Kurt! What a joy it is to see you here. And what a polite posture! Here you are---a nice, big cookie for you."

You got: Big Ol' Naga-Blessed Blueberry Muffin Cookie!

[liightborne]

🍪 shall we trade confections? here's a strawberry daifuku!

"Ooh, what a shape! You did not need to trade anything for the cookie, but I will treasure this for certain!"

You got: The Perfect S'more Cookie (filled with melted-just-right chocolate and golden brown marshmallows)!

[liightborne]

🍪 in exchange for 🧃

"Oh, thank you! I am quite parched!"

SCHLLRRRPPRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

SCHRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPLPFPPPDPSPPFPPFPDSLFKSDPF

You can't hear the name of the cookie over the vigorous life-sucking that Sai is performing on the juice box.

[liightborne]

🍪 (:palm_up_hand:)

"What fascinating robes you wear! Take care not to let the powdered sugar dirty them too much, now."

You got: Apostle's Absolute Almond Crescents!

[liightborne]

🍪baa

"Oh! The little king who annexed me into his kingdom! I am afraid I cannot subscribe to the same religion, but I appreciate the sentiment."

You got: Rightful Ruler Raspberry-Diamond Chip!