guard dog

Do me a favor and die quick! Marni, Ashen Wolves Student | Aff. TOA

[machiot]

closed marni from fire emblem: engage. ashen wolves student affiliated with the officer's academy . written by limit (they/them)

notes:

because of the nature of marni's character, expect spoilers. these will be tagged # engage spoilers. similarly, if there's anything you ever need tagged in her posts please let me know and i'd be happy to oblige!

i'm primarily interested in writing marni as she is, but i'm not opposed to writing au threads/responding to asks as madeline! just give me some sort of indication :)

emblems need not reciprocate any familiarity she feels towards them; this is a one-sided oomfship just think of her as delusional

i recognize marni is an antagonistic muse, but please give me a heads up beforehand if a thread is going to veer into outright hostile. i'm not opposed to ic conflict but i do prefer for my own comfort to go in knowing what to expect. thank you!

mobile links: dossier / stats / thread tracker

[machiot]

her life for mine

mission board: herald (any +1)

[machiot]

The incident report reads as follows: After returning from an off campus mission, Abyss resident M (double check with the Archbishop on proper redaction procedures before submitting the final report?) slipped on a patch of ice and as she was falling, grabbed at the "object" under investigation that was being transported by a nearby knight to steady herself. After placing her hand on the "object", M became disoriented and asked a knight on the scene where she was, but did not seem to recognize her surroundings when told of the location. M then thanked the knight on scene, refused medical attention, and then made her way to the training hall. Onlookers familiar with M commented that it was out of character for her to not return to Abyss immediately after a mission, but ultimately no one stopped her. Currently under observation to gauge the effects of the "object". Awaiting further instruction on how to proceed.

To be frank, M's reckless and destructive behavior is a pain to clean up after, so it would be fine if she stayed this docile... (This part is hastily scratched out by the original author.)

In the present moment, however, "Marni" is completely content keeping herself busy on the training grounds. There are no boats back to Elusia currently scheduled due to the winter weather, so it is up to her to make the best of this situation for the time being. Even if she can't exactly remember how she got here, that's no excuse for a knight to slack off on training. The odd looks are something she has gotten accustomed to, so the confused looks from others doing their training hardly even register as out of place.

Were it not for the sea of unfamiliar faces, the chill of the winter wind is almost enough to pretend like she's still in Elusia.

Just as this thought crosses her mind, a familiar face crosses her field of vision, leading her to stumble mid-swing of her axe. Catching herself at the last moment before taking out her shin, "Marni" snaps to attention.

"Your Highness?! Why are you..." It perhaps isn't very knightly of her to be so caught off guard by the unexpected appearance of Brodia's king, even though she had already known he was away from home at the moment. She had better compose herself quickly. "No, uh, rather, good day, Your Highness! If you aren't busy, would you care to train with me?"

@heriteur

[machiot]

wanted plots july

short and sweet, but i have a few threads that look to be transitioning into wrapping up so i finally feel comfortable taking some new threads*!

*for the weekend. when i do not have to be at work in 100+ degree weather.

Marni (you're here!)

Any +1: The concept I have here is that when Marni put her hand on the orb, she switched places with Madeline. Madeline is now in Marni’s body and Marni is in Madeline’s body over in Elusia (visible through the orb in a bird’s eye perspective). They won’t switch back until Marni(’s body) puts her hand back on the orb. I want to take this with someone that already knows Marni; what I’m looking for is a muse that will react. Maybe your muse prefers Madeline entirely over Marni. Maybe they prefer Marni and are unnerved to see her acting differently. Anything is fine with me as long as they have a reaction. (Diamant)

Hand Holding: look usually i try to come up with a little description for these so people know what they’re getting into/what i want to hit with the thread. you don’t need that for this one. you know what you’re getting into here. good luck with your new untrained dog model students/faculty xoxoxoxoxoxo (Finn)

Kurt ( @lobeiro )

Rumors (Unaff Required!): What I’d like to do here is have our muses spitball different rumors of what they’ve heard the festival is like to each other. This doesn’t need to be a terribly involved or lengthy thread. What I’m looking for here is mostly just an outlet for us to do some improv with these rumors. (Zasha)

Hand Holding: Here’s what happened: our muses are paired with Kurt as the model student. The magic breaks for a few minutes so that your muse can go bathe in peace. And they take off running. Congratulations, we are now playing tag with a threat of hand holding if you’re caught.

If you're in the server, I highly prefer pings in the #plotting channel over dms. If you're not in the server, dms are fine (on discord or through tumblr), but expect delayed responses!

[twistedisciple]

All the Soft Things [Griss & Marni]

Epiphany post-event reunion

[twistedisciple]

"My head's not messed up!" Griss wrenches his fingers into the ribbons around Marni's collar and drags her nearly face to face with his snarl. "This was different. Visions."

He waves his other hand between them.

"What if someone made you see Zephia's disappointed face again and again, huh? Right before she stabbed you so you don't even get any of the fun out of it." Because obviously that had been the best part of that whole dying thing. It must have been. Griss had looked away, but she had to have been smiling, and he can't think of anything worse than all that lead up for nothing. Over and over again. That's how it'd felt for him to see what Pasithee had confronted him with, and there wasn't anything that these punches and kicks were going to do to come close. His fingers clasp just below her throat like it's the only thing to keep them both grounded in reality. This reality, where they're both still alive.

"So yeah, being stuck on some dumb boat is better."

For Griss, maybe, but Marni had always been his opposite in almost all the ways that mattered. He doesn't consider what loneliness is to her, because being dead is worse. Being dead means he can't shake sense back into her kiddie brain, or tell her that her stupid boat is a stupid analogy.

"It's all over anyway." With the shake of his head, Griss finally releases her again and his stormy frown calms into something a little more neutral when he glances over her head at the rest of camp. "They're gonna be finding bodies under the rubble for weeks."

But at least you're not going to be one of them.

[machiot]

Marni wants to retort that hallucinations of all things does not help his case on trying to convince her there's nothing wrong with his head, but the example he follows up with kills that desire on the spot. The taunting grin that threatened to make its way back onto her face freezes, somewhere in the halfway point between a grimace and incredulity.

"...You thought that was fun?"

She'd meant for her voice to come out as a snarl, a fierce warning for Griss to not push his luck, but it ends up coming out as little more than a quiet squeak.

She could live with the disappointment. She was used to that. It stung, sure, but she could live with it. As long as she could try again, the bitter taste of disappointment isn't hard to overcome. It was everything that came after that she couldn't bear with. She would choose that look of disappointment every time, that same face that Griss makes at her now.

No, she could probably be forgiven for assuming the look on his face isn't quite disappointment (for what?). It's something else. It's an expression at odds with the way Zephia had looked at her on that day; one she can't neatly categorize as pleased or disappointed.

Just like in his example, the 'fun' part never comes.

"I'm stupid for asking. Fine. Whatever. I get it." Marni breathes out through her nose, sweeping her hair back into place. "What are you all mad at me for?"

She's of half a mind to turn heel and storm off now, but she follows his gaze out to the rubble and debris. It's much worse out here, where the evidence of something enormous is harder to hide. The people she's come to know since coming here are all accounted for, so it's hard to think of the bodies as anything but that—bodies. Unfortunate, but wholly unrelated to her.

But if it had been someone she knew in there...

"What, did you think you'd find me in there? No way! Someone has to move all this rubble and it definitely isn't gonna be you!"

[misericordel]

there’s still a lot of stuff i have to make up for. 

her brow furrows with excess worry. marni was still trying to make up for everything? veyle can’t help but think that a fell dragon like herself doesn’t deserve the kind of guilt her knight expresses, but she knows she’ll only upset marni if she says that kind of thing. (it would have upset mauvier or alear if she said it to either of them, after all. )

“no.” veyle shakes her head, her grip on marni’s hands tightening anxiously. “you don’t have anything to make up for, marni. you already did when you laid your life down for me.” her lower lip wibbles as she struggles to keep it together. “… so don’t say that.  you’ll make me think you’re going to leave me again and— and that would be worse than anything else you could possibly do.”

[machiot]

She had disliked Veyle once, thought her to be a soft-hearted weakling whose reckless kindness hadn't actually done anyone any favors. Marni might have even continued to think that way if Mauvier had not told her about the life she had lead, sprawling for hundreds of years longer than Marni had been alive.

From one unwanted child to another, there is likely no one else that understands the loneliness of being discarded so keenly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lady Veyle," she reaffirms. "I'm gonna keep making mistakes and you're gonna keep shaking your head at me, but you'll forgive me anyway. I'm totally fine now, so... don't cry, okay?"

[ulircursed]

what you want, what you need

⤷ anniversary 2025: axe +1

[ulircursed]

As the mallet crashes down, Andrei has a fraction of a second to consider whether this had been a bad idea all along. He himself had less experience with kneading dough, sticky or otherwise, than Marni had of swinging a heavy weapon, and that disparity in skill can easily lead to a terrible accident.

But he had brought her here for an experience of accomplishment, and to allow his own unease to impede that would be… counterproductive.

"Alright," he says, "Establish a rhythm to your swings…"

The downward swing of the heavy mallet cannot compare to the speed of hands relatively interested in self-preservation, after all, and he manages to understand the movement eventually, his own adjustments growing more bold and assured, utilizing the window of time more fully to work the dough.

"Enough!"

Withdrawing his hands after a few minutes without mishap, he gestures to Marni to stop, peering down at the dough that they had managed to thoroughly pulverize. Honestly, it looks quite normal, though he has little idea what effect their particular ratio of pounding to kneading would have on the final product. Instead, he looks at Marni.

"What did you think of this?"

[machiot]

The motion itself is reminiscent of chopping lumber, although rather than the satisfying snap of wood splitting, there's instead the slight give of the mallet hitting a squishy surface. As tempted as Marni is to stop and check to make sure it truly is the dough she's hitting, the continuous rhythm of the motion is more important at the moment.

If she really did hit his hands, he would probably scream. He hasn't yet, which meant she hadn't broken any bones yet. Usually for her that would be a bad thing, but today it is the goal.

When the call to stop finally comes, she pauses mid-swing. She is not far enough in with her swing that the momentum carries it forward forcefully, the mallet tapping at the dough lightly.

"It looks... like dough, I think." Marni leans in close to examine the final product with a squint. "It doesn't look like there's blood in it! Which is good."

Because that had been a real threat, to be fair.

"I mean, it was fun, but I dunno what we're looking for here. Is there a texture or something we're aiming for?" She pokes at it with a finger. "Is squishy good?"

[dcggersedge]

a day in the life of someone else

restoration

[dcggersedge]

Her boots finally hit the ground as she kicks the both of them off. The soft thumps of them hitting the ground are echoed in her laughter. She falls backwards onto the bed before crawling upwards until she can lie down on it properly. She's tired. It's been a lot. This is a lot. One of them is definitely a lot less burdensome to deal with than the other.

"Sure, I'm not good at it anyway." Maybe she'd get mad about Marni's words if she was more of a holy woman. Maybe others might get mad at her for not getting mad. Who knows? Not her, and she's not planning on telling anyone about this. More so for Marni's sake than her own.

It would be a lie to say she's totally comfortable and fine with everything. She didn't survive Brodia by being an idiot. She could very well wake up in the middle of the night to Marni grabbing her axe, and she'd only have herself to blame for it. But…when she glances at the young girl from the corner of her eyes to see her stubbornly fussing over her pillow, she wants to believe at least that it won't turn out that way.

Isn't that a funny idea?

Well…she's got a room and a bed, and that's more than some people can say. Yunaka closes her eyes and breathes out slowly, allowing herself to sink into the mattress and relax for the first time in what feels like more than just a moon.

"…where have you been hanging out, anyway?" Come to think of it, she's never seen Marni in any of the classes, and she doesn't remember catching her in passing on the grounds either. She'd have probably heard about her from somebody else before now, if that was the case.

[machiot]

"Haha! Good. Okay."

Anyone could tell it's not really good, but it's a dropped conversation topic that allows a bit of the tension to leave the room. They don't need to talk about it. They can just drop it and the ensuing moment of silence doesn't need to be about measuring who lashes out first, but just a normal lull in conversation.

It's almost like they're normal roommates and not people who tried to kill each other once.

This isn't to say, of course, that Marni is thrilled to be here in this room. Just that she can pretend for a second that they might be normal people. Travelers, maybe, sharing a room at a small inn.

"Oh. Y'know. Around," Marni supplies vaguely. She'd really rather not have any more unwelcome visitors poking around Abyss. Being annoying on other people's territory was her thing. Much less fun when it happened to her. "Places. Not really any of your business."

She lets a moment of silence pass.

"...They're pretty nice to me if I help out around the monastery. And it's all stuff I already know how to do. Churches are pretty similar no matter where you go."

This one was just a lot bigger than she's used to.

Feigning horror, Marni crosses her arms over her chest defensively, "Why do you want to know, anyway? Are you planning on following me back? That's a crime, you know!"

[misericordel]

marni flails awkwardly in her arms but veyle doesn’t mind at all. that seems to be something that both her and mauvier have in common— they don’t know what to do with themselves when they receive any affection.

it’s nice to be the person to give someone the love that they deserve but don’t usually get. nice enough that veyle doesn’t think about why that is for long enough to get sad about it.

“uhm, not that long.” veyle smiles and giggles as she forces herself to pull back from the crushing embrace. she’d like to hug marni a little more but she doesn’t wanna make her precious knight uncomfortable.

marni asks if she missed her as if she’s unsure of herself. fell princess clasps her knight’s hands and leans forward slightly. “of course i missed you, marni. you’re my knight and….also my friend.” she pauses, clasping marni’s hands a little tighter than before. “honestly, i was a little scared when i left…. if you weren’t here when i got back i would have wondered if seeing you again had just been a dream. i'm glad it wasn't."

[machiot]

Knight is a word that precious few people would use to describe Marni, especially as she is now. Friend, even fewer.

Nuisance, maybe. Failure, definitely.

Despite all of the hot air, she knows exactly where she stands. She hadn't fully understood back then why Mauvier found the title of 'friend' more burdensome than 'knight', but she understands more clearly now. The weight of harming and continuing to harm your liege is one thing, where your relationship is based only on how well you do your job. It is another thing entirely to hurt someone that cares about you beyond what you can do for them.

You missed me even though I messed up again?

That's the question she wants to ask, but Veyle holds her hands like a priest ready to absolve her of sin. She swallows down the words like bile, letting the guilt burn on the way back down.

If they had been friends sooner, would she still be like this?

"Nope, still here. I'm pretty tough to get rid of, you know!" If she had a hand free, she could pull the neck of her blouse down to show off her new proof of not dying. But maybe it's for the best that her hands are occupied at the moment. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Lady Veyle. There's still a lot of stuff I have to make up for."

[machiot]

@selkitsune sent:

[ SQUIRM ] - Some may recognize the blanket that’s been laid out in a momentarily-unoccupied corner of one of the dance halls. On it are rows of circles separated by color. Off to the side is a wooden board with an arrow pinned in the center and divided into four quadrants with colors and labels: right hand, right foot, left hand, left foot. Spin the arrow and put the respective appendage on the corresponding color. Just be careful not to step on any of your fellow players in the dark!

This is already a hard enough game to play in a dress without having the extra obstacle of a moving appendage to dodge. Worse, it appears to be a real tail, because it moves in a way that the weirdo from Solm's tail never had. By that, of course, she means that this girl's tail keeps thwapping her in the face at this angle.

Salvation from having fur in her mouth comes in the form of a spinning arrow: left hand green. She just has to reeeeeach over and...

Hm.

This could be a problem. She'll practically have to climb over the other girl to get to one of the green dots. Her chances of slipping when she lifts up her hand are high.

Unless, of course, if something were to cushion her fall.

"HYA!"

Marni all but launches herself across the board. As expected, it isn't exactly the cleanest maneuver, but she does make it to the green circle. Were it not for the tail she now has pinned to the ground underneath her, she would be splayed flat against the board.

As if this is something to be proud of, she boasts, "I'm not touching the ground, so I'm not out!"

[machiot]

@shadoll sent:

[ Mint ] + [ Spill ]

For the record, Sara is not actually following her. What Sara follows is instinct, a sixth sense which tells her they might be able to become friends. She has nothing to show to back that claim, of course, but everyone from Leif to Miranda had warmed up to her eventually. The only obstacle seems to be that neither of them happen to tarry in the same place, making it difficult for her to strike up a conversation.

This time, however, she wants be more proactive. When the flutter of pink ribbons hitches in her vision, Sara spins with an outstretched arm to seize the opportunity, knocking over a bowl of mints in the process.

Glass loudly crashes to the floor, shattering in all directions, and a not insignificant number of heads to observe the scene. Her eyes dart away from the mess to the other girl standing there along with the crowd, inadvertently implicating her.

To be honest, Marni still doesn't understand why Brodia's second prince had given her the stink eye. Honestly, her behavior tonight could be described as nothing short of saint-like. There's nothing she'd done tonight that would warrant nagging from one of Abyss' guards or worse, Mauvier. If they were giving out awards for ballgoers on their best behavior tonight, she would surely be among the recipients.

CRASH!

.......?

Was that the sound of breaking glass or her losing that imagined good behavior award?

Her sleeves were pretty big, but they definitely weren't big enough to take out an entire glass bowl without her noticing. No, she hadn't been reaching for a mint in the first place, so it definitely wasn't her. It wasn't her, but when she's standing next to the shattered remains of what had once been a bowl, it's hard for onlookers not to jump to conclusions.

Marni waves her arms hastily, "No, no, no, it wasn't me!"

But it's too late. The whispering has already begun.

A glutton...!

Scum of the earth, trying to take too many mints at once...!!

The Mint Man was right...!!

Even though the only other person here clearly looks away from the carnage of broken glass and floor mints like a guilty dog???

"It was obviously her! What are you looking at me for?!"

[machiot]

@verseandrhyme sent:

[ STEAL ] - Purposeful or not, it looks like you've gotten your hands on something that isn't yours. You may want to return that before anyone notices. Or you may want to start running.(you're not gunna believe this but I almost sent from the wrong blog again)

My, how quickly things in the dark fall apart. It is none of her business, but after noticing, it feels wrong to simply standby.

"Excuse me." Is all the warning the other girl gets before Mitama steps closer. Gently, she reaches up to the girls hair and begins to tug and gently reposition the large ribbon she wears. "It seems to have fallen askew."

There. Now centered once more, Mitama steps back with a smile. "How lovely. Here." The pink lily she offers matches the girl's outfit quite nicely. "As an apology and thanks for indulging me."

If someone who knew her had seen the way Marni freezes, they might have found it slightly unusual. The way she sucks in a quick breath is a reaction unlike her, a far cry from her usual overconfident attitude.

To a stranger? Well, she probably just looks like she'd been startled. It's nothing unusual to jump a little when someone approaches you in the dim light. By all means, it's a fairly normal and expected reaction.

"Huh?" A hand comes up to feel around where the girl had touched and unsurprisingly brushes against the ribbon she'd already known was there. That made sense than suddenly grabbing her for no reason. "Oh, the ribbon."

An event like this was the sort of place where your accessories could get knocked loose throughout the course of the night. The noble ladies might excuse themselves to freshen up and readjust their outfits, but Marni had never seen much of a point in doing all that. At that point, why not just go home?

But it's lovely, she says. Marni preens under the attention, color returning to her face as quickly as it had left. The trepidation she'd felt earlier is gone, replaced by a rather annoying smugness.

"It's super cute, right?" The edges of her lips curl upwards. "Since you helped me out, I guess I can give you a lily, too."

A lily to match an outfit and a lily to match a hair color. It's a pretty even trade, if you ask her.

[machiot]

@misericordel sent:

"marni!!!!!!!!"

veyle shouts almost at the top of her lungs, running and jumping into her embrace."i'm so happy to see you!!" she sobs and— oops. people are staring now.

She did think about leaving when the lights went out, tucking her tail between her legs and escaping before the nerves of being back in such a dim environment can claim her. After all, what is there to gain from being here? She danced a little, she ate food, she begrudgingly said hi to people. It's not like she really needs to stay for the whole night. As frustrating as it is, the chances of anyone noticing or caring that she'd turned tail were pretty low. If she leaves now, she could—

A singular voice disrupts her train of thought, followed by the warmth of a human body crashing into her.

"Lady Veyle?!"

Marni, who is still in the single digits in terms of hugs experienced, has no clue what to do with her hands in this moment. Even putting aside her status, when she thinks about what she'd done to her brother(?) on the other side of the mirror, a pang of guilt freezes her hands in the air.

Here's Veyle happy to see her again, meanwhile she'd messed up again while she wasn't looking.

"When did you, I mean..." She's never quite known what to do about other people's tears. What is she supposed to say here? "Huh? Missed... me?"

[machiot]

@gondul-fang sent:

[ FLOWER ARRANGEMENT ] - No matter how many flowers you gather, your bouquet won’t look its best unless you have the skill to make it so. A couple of students have taken upon itself to imbue their peers with the knowledge of flower language and the art of flower arrangement, and as a result the garden has become something of a workshop.

"Woah, that's a whole lot of flowers!" Nino takes hurried steps over to the pincurl-blonde girl, as if she could hold up a leaning tower of blooms. "Do you want a hand with those? I know a thing or two about arranging flowers, y'know. I'm Nino!"

This is perhaps the first time in Marni's life that anyone has ever implied she might be having trouble carrying something. Normally people would see her shield or axe (which she has unfortunately been banned from bringing to this stupid event) and assume that she's capable of carrying just about anything. Which, to be clear, she can. Weapons, dead kings, there's probably nothing she wouldn't be able to lift without breaking a sweat.

But flowers? Marni, member of the Four Hounds, struggling to hold flowers? Flowers??? 

People used to scream when they saw her coming, you know!

"Look, it's not that I'm struggling, got it? There are just so many that it's a little awkward to hold." As if to prove a point, she offloads a handful of lilies on the other girl. "See? Perfectly manageable. Besides, what's there to know about arranging flowers? You just have to pick out all the ones you like, right?"

[machiot]

@starrook sent:

Alcryst normally does all he can to avoid contact with Marni. That doesn't change tonight. But he still watches from a distance as she picks through a table of sweets, waiting to see if she puts poison in one of them.

Brodia's sniveling wretch of a second prince is watching her. Why? What does he want? What could possibly be his issue with her? Well, his issue with her currently. She's done a lot of things to him and the people around him, but it's not like she's done anything to him recently.

By all accounts, she's been as well behaved as a dead rat.

Is he just going to stand there and watch her pull off the fruit ruining some perfectly good sweet buns until she goes away? Why? It's not like it's against the rules or anything. He's the weird one for staring her down over it. Does he think it's less weird if he does it from a distance? It's not. It's still weird.

"Do you, like, not have a friend who you can ask for a lily or..."

[aliberation]

machiot asked: [ STEAL ] She is, of course, here to hopefully filch back what had been stolen from here. The closer she gets, though, the more obvious it becomes that the Divine Dragon did not show up to the ball in an outfit that includes the wonderful invention known as 'pockets'. In general, that is a lot more skin and a lot less ring than she'd expected when she'd spotted that distinct red and blue hair. Unfortunately for all involved, Marni's mouth has always moved faster than her hands. "...Hey, did you always have boobs???"

Okay, well that's a question she didn't expect! The light yelp that comes from the sudden voice quickly sputters into something closer to a gasp of disbelief as she whirls on her heel, eyes wide and.... uncertain? Alear would recognize that voice anywhere, for better or for worse-- and despite the fact that she'd run into both Zephia and Griss, there was a part of her that was certain she'd never see her again. "... Marni?! You're alive? You're HERE?" Wait. Slow down. First things first. "I-- YES! OF COURSE I HAVE! W-what kind of question is that?!" It's nigh reflex for her to cross her arms over said boobs, feeling her cheeks heating up. "I mean, I guess armor can kind of cover them up sometimes... THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT, THOUGH! Why are you looking?!" @machiot

[machiot]

"What do you mean why am I looking?" Marni asks in that 'are you stupid?' tone that teenagers excel at. "They're just... out! You were totally flat the last time I saw you and now you aren't!"

She should know, since she's been flat her whole life, unlike this dragon who is so obviously lying to her right now.

...Wait a minute.

Marni squints. Isn't that hair of hers (is it her now???) a whole lot longer than she remembers, too? But Lady Veyle and Zephia both have ridiculously long hair, so maybe dragons just have hair that grows really fast? No, but surely she would've noticed if it really did grow that fast. It's not like she had only known Lady Veyle and Zephia for a day or two. She would've noticed their hair tripling in length. She's not that unobservant.

Weird. Anyway.

"Look, you obviously didn't bring Emblem Roy's ring with you in that outfit, so." With her arms crossed defensively over her chest, Alear's bouquet is unguarded. Marni yoinks a lily for her own bouquet of... also lilies. "I'm taking that."

[machiot]

@mxlusine sent:

[ LIGHT ] - A complex waltz uniquely performed blind, requiring both trust in one’s partner and in one’s self to successfully pull off. While it has only recently made its way from Ast to Fódlanese soil, it has quickly gained popularity in local dance classes as the ultimate test of faith in a pair.

"Come now, dear; I thought you'd be jumping at every opportunity to dance. You've always wanted to take part in events like this, haven't you?"

The blindfold slips on easily, secured by a neat bow in the back. Zephia's hands settle on small, tense shoulders—and they are small, aren't they, without the bulk and jut of useless armor—as she guides the girl to an easy place to dance. The music plays, sweet and charming, an encouragement of trust and faith and everything that has been irreparably broken between them.

"Shall we?"

"It's not all that great," Marni huffs. "I'm pretty good at this dancing thing, but there are so many people around that no one really cares what I'm doing. Besides, one year Griss, he..."

Self-preservation kicks in and she promptly shuts her mouth. That one might be better kept to herself lest Zephia get any ideas. She doesn't particularly want another ice cube down the back of her dress or whatever else Zephia might come up with after hearing about what happened.

"Anyway, Mauvier danced with me last year. And Lady Veyle danced with me the year before. You're the only one who hasn't..."

Marni doesn't meant to let an edge of bitterness creep into her voice. She knows she'll probably pay for it. But the sudden darkness is more distressing now than it had been before and the pounding of her heart in her ears puts her on edge. She wants nothing more than to rip off the cloth obscuring her vision and let her sight confirm to her whether or not Zephia intends to walk away from her again.

She hates it. She hates fumbling around in the dark, simply just trusting that someone will be there. Nothing is ever where she expects it to be. No one is ever where she expects them to be. She hates the dark. She hates the way the blindfold feels on her skin. She hates it.

But she leaves it on.

If you won't bite, neither will I.

"Once you see how good I am at dancing, you'd better praise me, okay?"

Some might call it naïveté to expect to be forgiven no matter what, but hadn't that also been trust?

"I really did want to dance with you, you know."

[machiot]

@ulircursed sent:

[ SWEET BUN TRIO ] - Three delicious, bite-sized buns from Faerghus. The first bun is filled with sweet cream and topped with icing and a candied cherry. The second is a sweet roll filled with almonds, pecans, and dried cranberries and glazed with honey. The third is a bun sliced in half, filled with almond paste and whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar on top.

"You didn't really miss anything skipping out last year," Marni says dismissively as she rolls up her sleeves. The last thing she'd want is to get honey on them and then have to walk around for the rest of the night with sticky sleeves. "They served practically the same food. It just, y'know, had more sand in it. Fountain Boy or whoever's dad should've just kept the food inside."

The coating of sand didn't really do much of anything for the taste, if you asked her. The rain didn't help much either.

Marni picks off the cherry and cranberries from the buns with surgical precision, unceremoniously depositing them on Andrei's plate instead. They drop onto his plate with little clinks, hardly audible over the band's music. Once the buns have been sufficiently stripped of any fruit, they're finally worth eating.

"...So? Do you feel better this year? Since you actually came and all."