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

[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."

[machiot]

@dcggersedge sent:

[ GOSSIP ] - For those who don't want to be the center of attention, sitting on the sidelines and observing those who do is a time-honored tradition. Exchanging thoughts with another while doing so is a rite of passage for a student—it is a slightly worse look for the staff to take part.

Marni is only half paying attention to Yunaka's story. She honestly should be paying attention, because news reaches her slowest of all as a resident of Abyss. She should be paying attention, but there's just something weighing on her mind that won't go away no matter how long she tries to ignore it.

"It's not that I don't care about what embarrassing thing happened to the king of Brodia the other day," Marni cuts her off mid-story. "But there was this guy who walked up to me just before you got here. Blue hair, he was making that face Mauvier makes. You know the one."

She pulls out two lilies from her bouquet, uses the stems to mime eyebrows, and pulls an inscrutable, somewhat miserable looking expression. The stem eyebrows really add a certain je ne sais quoi.

"That one. I'm sure you're familiar, considering it's the face he makes probably ninety percent of the time. Anyway. He walked away without saying anything and then you walked up and stood exactly where he was. What was THAT about?"

[machiot]

When it's already your third ball, you kind of know what to expect. At least, that's how Marni felt until she was not handed a crummy little trinket, but a bouquet of pink lilies. It's quite the hefty thing, too. If they weren't flowers, it would probably really hurt if she smacked someone with it. Hell, she could smack someone with it and still have enough non-crushed flowers left over to get whatever prize they're handing out.

What's with the flowers, anyway? What does she look like, one of those Firenese weirdos?

...Er, besides being blonde, that is.

Marni's bloom: LILIES

Bloom Tracker:

Rose: Eliwood

Orchid: X

Lily: F!Alear

Hyacinth: Nino

Tulip: Dorothea

[mxlusine]

tangled like branches in a flood

zephia & marni.

[mxlusine]

"So you have.”

For a moment, it’d almost looked like Marni had grown during their time apart. But looking at her now, small and terrified and shrinking into herself, Zephia realizes that no, maybe it’s simply that Marni had learned how to stand a little taller. To lift her chin. To make something of the second chance she was given, because she certainly hadn’t done any good with the ones Zephia had extended.

Well. Good for her, then. May she live a long, fulfilling life, making tourniquet after tourniquet out of cheap, ephemeral affections. 

“Then, must you look at me with such a pitiful expression? If someone were to see you,” Zephia hums, “they might think you’re being threatened.” She takes one step, then two; in three, they’re well within reach of one another. “Do you feel threatened, Marni?”

Once upon a time—a few years ago; a few months ago; a few days ago—they had stood just like this when Zephia’s knife slipped past lovingly-maintained armor. It could have been worse, and it could have been more merciful; she could have angled it a little higher and driven it a little deeper, just to make sure Marni didn’t have a chance to say her goodbyes.

But Zephia was merciful, and she was kind, and she was angry. Marni was proof that only Lord Sombron could give her what she’d wanted; proof that no matter how much Zephia loved and and loved and loved, they could never love her back. Not the way she wanted, and certainly not the way she needed.

(Is what she feels truly love, then? Does she even know what real love is like?

—no, she had said, and it hadn’t even hurt to admit. If Marni and Mauvier; if Lady Veyle and the Divine Dragon; if the rest of the world loved and hated and left so easily, then theirs was not the kind of love she desired. Theirs was not the kind of love that would survive her.) 

“…Oh, dear. You didn’t think I came all the way here to finish the job, did you?” She should, though. It’s certainly tempting. (But Griss—in that ugly, stifling place, softening the dirt of their graves with his blood, he had said: the Four Hounds were his family, too. And hearing it back; hearing it reciprocated; it was…)

Zephia’s jaw locks momentarily. 

“Well. Fortunately for you, I came unarmed—and I’m not in much of a mood to change that. So.” So. “How did you survive?”

[machiot]

Was Marni afraid of Zephia? Yes, she surely always had been. Even more than Lord Sombron with his jaws large enough to swallow a grown man, she feared Zephia. She feared Zephia's anger, she feared not being forgiven, she feared the conditional love of this woman slipping from her grasp. She feared that the woman she'd come to think of as a mother would also decide she's no longer worth the trouble of dealing with and leave her behind.

A dog that tries to bite its master is not needed. A daughter that doesn't listen to her mother isn't needed, either. She'd known that already, but still made that choice. Faced with the option to do things over, she would make the same choice, even knowing what awaits.

"No, I..." She doesn't quite know where to look, eyes flitting from Zephia's face down to her hands, then back up to her face. "I didn't..."

She can't deny it. If she were the kind of girl that could lie so easily, she wouldn't get in so much trouble in the first place.

Marni is afraid of Zephia, but even as her body grows cold, the memory of Zephia's warm hands cradling her face at times lingers. She is afraid of Zephia, but she cannot bring herself to hate her. Love and fear mix together in her blood, freezing her in place. Compared to a mother who had never given her a single thought, one that paid attention to her was worth bearing everything else.

She hadn't lied when she said that she loved when Zephia had called them her family. She really meant it.

The claim that Zephia is unarmed is at least enough to pry out the words that had become lodged in her throat.

"I don't... actually know. Haha." Her laugh is normally cuter, but it's hard to laugh with such a dry throat. "I remember waking up here after collapsing, but the priestesses who found me didn't tell me how I got here. I don't think I'm a Corrupted, at least. Probably."

That's the most frustrating part. There's a gap in what she knows and what everyone else knows. There's a big void where her life had paused and everyone else's had continued on without her. Maybe it really would be better off for her not to know, but when she thinks about once again being the only one left in the dark...

"I heard from someone that Lord Sombron was defeated, so you and Griss..."

[dyshonor]

collecting old debts

+ any.

[dyshonor]

-- HE WILL TAKE INSULTS (though not without complaint), he will take babysitting a child, he will do all the lovely insufferable things expected of him so long as it means he gets what is already due for him- AND YET! Not even this much is granted as Marni harumphs with some utter bullshit about color-coordination. As if she had any sort of sense in that! He clings his batten-away hand to his chest.

"Please. It's about the entire ensemble rather than anything else- I've got a lovely tapestry of color holding everything together, thank you very much!" He motions at himself. "While you've got, what. Some minimalism going on? It's not 'looking better' if you're just slapping some of the same handful of colors together. I have a sense for coordination. And for what is mine."

He brushes his hand over his chin almost subconsciously. Well. If asking nicely did not work, then perhaps a touch of sincerity would be better. Honesty, even. Ugh.

"Listen," he says slowly. "I have a- curse befallen on me. Terrible tragic, I know, as if I don't have enough woes in the world already. But it involves a less than savory form taking control sometimes. Whatever he says and whatever promises he makes you should be dismissed and forgotten. I'm sorry if he misled you with promises of my ribbon being yours, but it plainly was not his to given. So-"

Pettiness and desperation taking hold, he makes a lunge for the ribbon.

[machiot]

Perhaps Randal feels some annoyance at this interaction, but Marni's eyes sparkle like she had just come into possession of a new toy. A toy that fights back and gets mad is ten times more fun than one that just sits there and takes it. He has more life to him than before, lackadaisical attitude replaced with something more youthful.

It's not quite the same chasing him with her words instead of her axe, but this is fun, too.

Marni laughs in the unkind way that only a teenager can, "Haha, a tapestry? What's with that? Isn't that basically like admitting you dress like some old fogey? I don't think a ribbon's gonna help with that!"

That might be the first time in her life anyone has ever called her a minimalist, though. She can go ahead and add that one to her collection the next time someone tries saying her outfit has too many ribbons.

"A curse? That makes you old?" He had looked to be around Mauvier's age, so if you asked her, that put him in the camp of old. Compared to a teenager, any sign of age at all relegated him that descriptor. "Wow, someone must've really hated you, Randy! What'd you do to deserve that?"

She ducks out of the way, ribbon coming with her.

"Lemme guess—someone confused you for one of their sheep and got mad when you turned out to be a human?"

[dcggersedge]

a day in the life of someone else

restoration

[dcggersedge]

She was willing to do it so long as she got the points, but only if her teammates noticed it…

During the war, Marni wore a lot of armor and swung a big axe. Not exactly the smartest target for Yunaka to go for, so she'd mostly ignored whatever Marni had been up to on the other side of the battlefield. It was easier that way to dodge the unease that crept up Yunaka's spine whenever she caught sight of the young girl fighting gleefully.

She'd killed and fought and stole people's lives for survival. To have something to eat. But…wanting someone to acknowledge that her life was worth fighting for wasn't something she was unfamiliar with either.

"You're right." Yunaka doesn't bow to Marni's raised voice or desperate tone, though she does glance towards the door briefly to see if anyone comes. "Sorry. You probably would've handled it."

She gets to work on her second boot as Marni turns the tables on her. She only gets a few straps free before she stops to stare at Marni again. "That's…you do get to choose not to do that."

Nothing of her past had been worth regretting, but when she'd told Alear and Citrinne and Alcryst who she was, she'd been prepared to face their punishment anyways. Righteous judgement or execution or imprisonment, whatever they decided would be accepted as an apology for who she was. And each time, all three had said no. All three had chosen a peaceful end over what she thought was inevitable.

Marni had done bad things. But if Yunaka had as well, what made their fates so different? What made it so only one had to hurt without even getting redemption.

"I didn't get over it because I got to hurt you." Slowly, she goes back to undoing the straps on her boot, but she keeps her eyes on Marni as she speaks. "I got over it because it was my failure for lashing out, not yours."

Ugh…what was it like being angry all the time and convinced the world was out to get you again? Yunaka frowns. "…ugh, I don't know how to phrase it without it sounding like a worse version of what Alear would say…"

[machiot]

"I would've handled it," Marni reaffirms with a huff. It's not really a win, but she would like to pretend like it is.

There are no more points on the table nor is there a war to be fought. Even if there were a war here, it wouldn't have anything to do with either of them and what they had done back on Elyos. They both know this, but they still watch each other with wary eyes and raised hackles. Like predators, they can choose to lie low, but they know the other can jump into action at the first sight of blood. This peace is all pretend, a little show they're putting on for an audience of none.

That instinct doesn't go away just because you'd learned how to heel. Yunaka's the weird one here for thinking any different, not her.

This room pisses her off. The hastily put away children's toys piss her off. Yunaka's attitude pisses her off. The people who'd let them into their home pissed her off. Being chased out of her room and unceremoniously dumped at a stranger's doorstep pisses her off.

"If I really had a choice, then..."

Why didn't anyone tell me until now?

Marni buries the ending to that sentence in her heart, busying her hands in rearranging the pillow on her bed. It had gotten a little smushed in all of her rolling around. It's the only outwardly discordant object in this otherwise clean room, making it the perfect distraction. Besides, she really doesn't want to go into the other room to admit it if she manages to tear this one.

"Ugh, can you spare me the lecture? I don't want it, regardless of what flavor it comes in. I hate the way he talks, like he's got cotton in his head or something. He's like a bigger Lady Veyle."

They are siblings, after all.

[contempenitent]

Once Upon a Dream

[contempenitent]

Her response is completely incongruous. But it's genuine. If this was the work of the Fell, he'd smell it on her. If it was a disguise, it would not fool him. If it is a trick of his own mind, it's entirely too persistent to be healthy.

It's as if...as if she took a week of leave, and nothing was amiss. Putting aside the fact that Marni lives - did she forget?

But Marni is not wisened enough to be difficult to read. There's the smallest waver in her cheerful voice. Like she does not know what she should feel - and with that, Mauvier resonates.

He wants to drop to his knees an hold her. For the first time in what may be decades, he could cry. With all of these flitting people watching them.

Too many questions bubble up at once. "How did - why are - aghh. Marni." Her name has so long been a lamentation on his tongue, and now it tastes like something reanimated, like gristle in his mouth. "Marni, are...are you well?"

[machiot]

She'd thought a lot about what she'd say to him if they ever met again, you know. If you're alive, it means Zephia didn't get around to killing you. That's good. I'm glad it was only me. Lady Veyle would've been terribly lonely if her handpicked knight died just like that. They were all thoughts of that nature, repeated until they'd become grooves like animal trails. No, no, that wasn't good enough. She'd phrase it in a better way, in a cooler way.

There is a void in what she knows; a dead zone that starts from when she had fallen to the ground and when she had awoken in Fódlan. She wants to know the answers to the questions that had burned at the back of her mind while everyone else had just moved on with their lives.

But all the mental practice in the world doesn't mean much if the words don't manage to make it out in front of the man himself.

"Well, y'know," Marni scuffs her shoe against the ground. "I was having a good day, before this big guy in the middle of the road got in my way. I mean, he's this huge guy and here he is, acting like he's seen a ghost!"

He's not... supposed to be upset. He's not supposed to care that much. He's supposed to not react, just like always. That's the kind of man Mauvier is. She'll reply flippantly, because that's the kind of girl she is. That's how their relationship is.

She doesn't know what to do if things are different.

"So? Did they send you out to do errands or something, Mauvier?"