To fight for the people, not for the money

Private roleplay blog for Ike from the Tellius games. Lives in the town as a mercenary. Affiliated with The Officers Academy.

[radiantpaths-a]

radiantpaths — a private roleplay blog for Ike from the Tellius duology. a mercenary who lives in town. affiliated with The Officers Academy. wielded by Cyan (he/her/they idm) also available on @justicespeared (Cynthia) & @freliasarrow (Innes)

PLEASE USE MINIMAL FORMATING WITH ME. i can't read coloured fonts. i don't mind bolding and small text (and italics for emphasis) but that is IT. i will match your formatting if you don't like small text/prefer i use bolded text

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(last updated: 15/04/2025)

KEY STUFF:

Ike is set about a year post RD. He's set in his solo ending.

I'm assuming all supports are at A unless specified.

All asks are assumed canon unless it's either specified as an AU, or it's romantic in nature (in which case it's AU automatically)

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"Yeah, this part isn't." It would be weird to buy his... Friendship? Whatever they wanted to call what this was.

"But I don't want to not pay you for tutoring. I don't care if you don't need the money, it's the principle." Though it was chewing quite the hole through his wallet.

Hence going to get burgers.

"Just be thankful I'm not dragging you to a crappy burger truck," Ike said. Though he did know a good one, but he knew it wouldn't be Darios' thing.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[grxstnnefealltoir]

"Yes yes~ I assure you, I'm fine. I'll be especially careful." He wondered how deadly it truly was. He had seen Ike, felt the chills that had permeated through clammy skin as he was on the cusp of passing out...in hindsight it had proven itself already "Not hard to guess from your house...but as it's for you, cheap burgers it is." Now it was no bump, he had leaned against Ike and kept there as they walked. "The same applies...if you ever need me just call."

[radiantpaths-a]

The only way to be careful was to not kiss Darios. Ike could do that, even if he really wanted to kiss him more.

Darios leaned against him, and Ike's resolve immediately threatened to crumble. He didn't know what to do with their shoulders together. Should he put an arm around Darios? No, he'ddar keep his hands to himself.

"Yeah, but you're not exactly cheap to hire," Ike said. Even now, he was wasting money by not using Darios.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"I'm not being protective, it's common sense," Ike said. Why would he want Darios to get hurt because of Ike? He could deal with it. He had medication, and if all else failed, maybe one day Darios would feel the same. Or maybe he would become immune to wolfsbane.

Ike was kidding himself, but wasn't it nice to dream?

"Yeah, I'm not the guy who likes fancy stuff." Not only that, but he wasn't dressed for anything expensive. He didn't think he owned anything like that.

"Burgers are fine." Nice and cheap. Ike wasn't difficult to please.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[grxstnnefealltoir]

Memories ran through his mind at that touch and surely...it was best this way. When the kiss breaks Darios moves back to Ike's side and a smile. "It's hardly anything compared to what you go through with it. I'll live." He ran off a bit ahead and waved his hand back. "Come on, I'm starving." The unfortunate side effect of these damned things was the energy they stole to grow like they did.

[radiantpaths-a]

"Yeah, but you shouldn't," Ike said as they walked off. "Wolfsbane is poison." He wondered how they'd affect Darios, especially since Ike was certain they were caused by Darios.

He wanted to grab Darios' hand. That was stupid, considering they were barely friends - with benefits, but still barely friends. Ugh, why was Ike doing this to himself.

"What do you wanna eat?"

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"What?"

Ike felt something in his throat. He swallowed it. He knew he wasn't supposed to, and he would likely be ill from it, but what did he even care? It was fine, this would kill him anyway. It would kill him because this would never be reciprocated.

He should tell Darios to go and fuck himself. This wss insulting. He couldn't deny that it might help. He could pretend the touches were loving rather than perfunctory.

"You're insane." Ike slung his own bag over his shoulder. It wasn't a no.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

He'd like to ignore the way he finds himself spitting out a small bell but to the ground it flutters and his eyes return back to Ike. "You've known that since you met me." He walked over to him and leaned against the table, letting it hold his weight as a finger traveled the length of Ike's neck and held just beneath his chin. It was nothing too odd. The kiss they shared was short, unremarkable in a park full of people. He had worried about touching a petal of the wolfsbane but that hadn't stopped him. For all the things that kiss was, it was not loving, though Darios would certainly like to fool Ike's body into believing it was.

[radiantpaths-a]

Darios kissed him.

The reasonable part of Ike told him to stop Darios. The selfish part of him leaned into the kiss, putting his hands on Darios' hips. They seemed like an ordinary pair like this, but they weren't. They were barely above strangers.

While the pain in his chest had eased once again, Ike had to pull away.

"You probably shouldn't. Wolfsbane," Ike said. "I don't wanna hurt you."

Ironic, considering Darios was the reason Ike was spitting out the damn things in the first place

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"I guess I thought I was ready to get back into it." He was supposed to take it easy, especially with his condition. Ike didn't know the meaning of the words 'take it easy'.

"I can pay for myself," Ike said, shaking his head. "But, yeah. Maybe we could just go and get lunch." Neither of them seemed to be in the right headspace for it.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "And a movie? Are you asking me out on a date?" He was kidding - kind of.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

"Well you weren't making the same mistake as last time so, you did get better." It was still in the same ballpark but not as egregious...and at least now he could hold his pencil proper. "I suggested it, so I'll pay for it. You have enough on your plate as is." He slung his back over his shoulder and stood up. A date... "You know-" He shouldn't be doing it. These things never end well. "That night we spent together...what you did for me then, I can do for you now if it can ease your pain." Grey eyes told nothing as they looked over blue and the wind swept over the two of them. "I know you'll always have to take the one for the poison but maybe we could make the one for rest of it a once in a while thing, you know?"

[radiantpaths-a]

"What?"

Ike felt something in his throat. He swallowed it. He knew he wasn't supposed to, and he would likely be ill from it, but what did he even care? It was fine, this would kill him anyway. It would kill him because this would never be reciprocated.

He should tell Darios to go and fuck himself. This wss insulting. He couldn't deny that it might help. He could pretend the touches were loving rather than perfunctory.

"You're insane." Ike slung his own bag over his shoulder. It wasn't a no.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[grxstnnefealltoir]

The pages fluttered and eventually the binder was closed. He looked up at Ike and...why had he looked so sad? "Ike, lets go get lunch. My treat." He neatly set his things in his bag and texted someone all too fast. "It's good to take a break, right? I...was pretty surprised you called me so soon after everything but, I thought you might be wanting to get things as good as they could while you had the strength to." "So...let's just hang out for a bit. Maybe catch a movie if something catches our eye while we eat, you know?"

[radiantpaths-a]

"I guess I thought I was ready to get back into it." He was supposed to take it easy, especially with his condition. Ike didn't know the meaning of the words 'take it easy'.

"I can pay for myself," Ike said, shaking his head. "But, yeah. Maybe we could just go and get lunch." Neither of them seemed to be in the right headspace for it.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "And a movie? Are you asking me out on a date?" He was kidding - kind of.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[grxstnnefealltoir]

Darios had hoped he wouldn't but...he wasn't going to ask him to stay. "Ike...that's no reason to keep avoiding him, it'll bite you in the ass something fierce one day." But he was right. Darios was a tutor, not a therapist. How good he was at either felt about the same right now. "Yeah- sorry. Uh we were...discussing storage situations-" Fingers flipped through the pages but his focus was gone. He was glad he chose the park today. Ike's hand had long gone from around his wrist, but that warmth still persisted. "S-sorry...what were you aiming for again?" A long sigh and the rings of his binder unsnapped, a few papers were taken out. "I mixed up things with another student after last time..."

[radiantpaths-a]

Ike looked at the notes. Sure enough, they're not all about their work. Of course Darios didn't have the time to pack up properly when Ike had almost died.

"Sorry," Ike said, as if he'd purposefully almost died. "I guess we kind of got mixed up in general after last time." Not that Ike could even remember what they were talking about at the time. All he remembered was wolfsbane floating in the sink.

He rubbed his face. "Sorry. I guess my head isn't in it today. I shouldn't have called you."

But he didn't want Darios to leave. He wanted him to stay and to hang out with Ike.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

Everything in Ike relaxed when Darios touched him.

It was pathetic, this little push-and-pull. He knew it wasn't the medication - it was fast-acting, but not like that. He couldn't deny it forever. Well, he could. Maybe he could charm Darios into reciprocating.

And maybe pigs could fly, and Ike could develop a cure for cancer.

"I won't recover until either he dies, or I guess he feels the same." He took Darios' wrist gently in his own. "Don't look for him." It was a pointless endeavour.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

It was only because they had slept together, because Ike had been there for him in a moment if weakness. That was the only reason why suddenly he felt his entire being lighten up. He looked to Ike's hand on his arm and frowned. "At the very least...I'd want you to meet him. If it works out for you two then it does and you don't have to deal with this." Darios didn't understand. "Or is it that you understand what you love about him now?" His hand gently attempted to slip its free while he felt that all too familiar rise in his throat.

[radiantpaths-a]

Ike let him go. Darios didn't feel that way about him; it wasn't fair to hope. Ike didn't know if he loved him, but he certainly felt a way about him. Releasing Darios made the tightness return to his chest.

"Nah. I just know it won't end well. If he's wolfsbane, I think I'm better off waiting until he dies or something." Not that Ike wanted Darios to die. He didn't want any of this.

"Anyway, I'm paying you to tutor me, not talk about my health problems." Even though Darios was the only one who knew about it. Ike didn't want to bother anyone else with his bullshit.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

Everything in Ike relaxed when Darios touched him.

It was pathetic, this little push-and-pull. He knew it wasn't the medication - it was fast-acting, but not like that. He couldn't deny it forever. Well, he could. Maybe he could charm Darios into reciprocating.

And maybe pigs could fly, and Ike could develop a cure for cancer.

"I won't recover until either he dies, or I guess he feels the same." He took Darios' wrist gently in his own. "Don't look for him." It was a pointless endeavour.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

Darios pulled away. Ike's chest tightened. Unrelated, he told himself. It didn't stop him from choking up a whole flower like it was nothing, though it felt like it tore something inside when he did.

"Shit. That sucks, I'm sorry." He couldn't imagine feeling this way over two people. Ike was lucky; he had no problems with his family, none with his friends. His only problem was a 'stranger' with pretty grey eyes.

Why was Ike lying to himself?

"So, what are you gonna go about yours? I heard they do surgeries now to get rid of them." But it was risky, and it killed too many people. Ike couldn't do it.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

Darios turned his attention to his notes. "It's fine. I can at least get used to it, you don't really have that luxury." Fingers tapped against the table before they rose to hold his check. "Live with it the same as always. It's inconvenient but...I plan in outliving my father so he's no issue and evidently...if I can't even recall the face of the second person, they must not be all that important to me." He brushed his hair back and offered a sheepish smile. "Considering how things have always been for me, I might just be hypersensitive...I sleep around plenty, maybe I've started to confuse that for real love."

[radiantpaths-a]

It hurt.

He didn't know why that hurt - both in a literal physical sense and in a metaphorical sense. Ike slept around, too. There were men he'd never even thought about afterwards. Darios should have been one of them. He wasn't.

His breath caught in his throat. Quickly he reached into his backpack and popped a pill; it was for emergency use only, but he figured this was an emergency. "Sorry, I forgot to take one earlier." Darios didn't need to know the truth.

"You think you 'fell in love' with a one-night stand?" An ironic statement, coming from Ike.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

Darios pulled away. Ike's chest tightened. Unrelated, he told himself. It didn't stop him from choking up a whole flower like it was nothing, though it felt like it tore something inside when he did.

"Shit. That sucks, I'm sorry." He couldn't imagine feeling this way over two people. Ike was lucky; he had no problems with his family, none with his friends. His only problem was a 'stranger' with pretty grey eyes.

Why was Ike lying to himself?

"So, what are you gonna go about yours? I heard they do surgeries now to get rid of them." But it was risky, and it killed too many people. Ike couldn't do it.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"Yeah. They're poison flowers, so I have to be more careful. It's kind of rare, but it happens - that's what the doctor says." Wolfsbane may have been rare, but coughing up poison flowers wasn't. There were plenty of people in this world who were toxic. "It could be worse; it could be a holly bush or something."

He trapped Darios' foot in both of his own playfully.

"Some people are assholes and would let me die." He coughed, immediately spitting the offending flower into a tissue. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but it still affected him. Surely these flowers couldn't be for Darios; he was kind, and relatively patient. He wasn't toxic like the wolfsbane promised.

"I'm surprised you're not on anything," Ike said. "It makes living with them a lot easier. Or are you just waiting to find your person?"

[grxstnnefealltoir]

"A holly bush... makes me wonder just how bad a person would have to be for that." He jumped a bit before a smile took over his features and the foot that was free trailed up the side of Ike's leg. His head rested against the table. "I think the world would be worse without you, you family and friends would miss you." Was it jealousy the poked at hid chest now and caused little bells to form in his throat? Darios sighed. "Not for well...relationships but for my father. I'm already well used to it." Ike had helped him out even. "It's just the two atop one another is a bit...much. Makes for a shitty bouquet to."

[radiantpaths-a]

As Darios tried to trail up Ike's leg, he hooked it in place, ankle to angle, with a smug little smile.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not trying to die. I'm trying to figure it out." He didn't know how he would. He'd have to contact everyone at that party to find out who was there and go from there, because there's no way this was because of Darios.

"But you'd miss me too, right?" The question fell from his mouth like a damn flower petal. He wished he could swallow it like the poison that question was. "Sorry. Weird question. Don't know why I asked. I'm blaming the wolfsbane."

Ike blinked. "Wait, you have two?" Ike didn't envy him at all.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[radiantpaths-a]

"Yeah. They're poison flowers, so I have to be more careful. It's kind of rare, but it happens - that's what the doctor says." Wolfsbane may have been rare, but coughing up poison flowers wasn't. There were plenty of people in this world who were toxic. "It could be worse; it could be a holly bush or something."

He trapped Darios' foot in both of his own playfully.

"Some people are assholes and would let me die." He coughed, immediately spitting the offending flower into a tissue. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but it still affected him. Surely these flowers couldn't be for Darios; he was kind, and relatively patient. He wasn't toxic like the wolfsbane promised.

"I'm surprised you're not on anything," Ike said. "It makes living with them a lot easier. Or are you just waiting to find your person?"

[radiantpaths-a]

:kurthnagasquish:

[goldoanheart]

"I suppose so. After being isolated in Goldoa for so long, it... feels nice to do something that feels normal," Kurthnaga says with a soft sigh. And there were so many people from all over gathered at the academy. The things he could learn were endless. That was exactly what he needed. To learn and grow from his naivete so he could one day be the proper king that Goldoa needed.

He hadn't wanted to be caught up in another war though. In fact, that was the last thing he had ever wanted. Anyone who knew him would know that he despised conflict. For many reasons, of course, but the one that surely would have been more prevalent was the blood of those who fought, on either side. Kurthnaga's fear was a liability, he knew that much. But for him, it was just another reason to seek the peace he desired so much.

"Well... I think it's quite nice," the young king laughs gently, "Certainly a better place to learn from than only having Palace Goldoa's library to rely upon."

[radiantpaths-a]

“Yeah, I guess.” Ike looks up at the huge building; it's hard to miss, even from the town. “But it's pretty far to come to go to school.” That's one of the joys of being a prince - or king.

“Do you feel homesick?” Not that Ike really knows what that feels like. His home is people, rather than a physical place. Hell, Crimea doesn't feel like home, let alone Tellius as a whole. Ike wonders if that will ever change. Will he ever stop and have a home, rather than this nomadic lifestyle?

"You spent three hundred years in Goldoa," he continues, "I can't imagine you don't miss it." Even if the flow of time feels different between beorc and laguz, it's still a long time.

[grxstnnefealltoir]

wilted and withered, for you // ike & darios

-hanahaki au-

[grxstnnefealltoir]

>>>

Naturally Ike would still need him...probably more so now all things considered. "Hmm...it's fine enough to round up in the end up during is a bit inconvenient. You'll always want to be positive on what you come from." It was a sunny day though the cold still seeped in through his jacket. The park was nice this time of year and well, it was probably better that they both be outside. A cough to the side and a bundle of little white bell flowers fall into his hand. Speaking of- "Have you been feeling any better? Taking everything they gave you?" Stormy eyes search over Ike's every inch. He had at least gained some body weight back from the looks of it...though that could just be his own bias hoping he got better sooner than later. "I asked her but, it's still not gone away." He laid them out on the napkin as always, though now he pat them clean. "They say it'll never be solved in a day even when you both do reciprocate but that you'll see them slowly start to wither and dry up." The flowers he held now were a pristine as could be aside from the specks of blood that colored them.

[radiantpaths-a]

Ike, of course, showed up in jeans and a t-shirt. He wasn't cold, because of course he wasn't. He ran hot, and it was a sunny day - why wouldn't he?

"Yeah. I've got regular medication to help with the flowers themselves, but also, meds I have to take every twelve hours for the poison." It wasn't so bad as it was Ike's body producing the flowers, but long-term exposure would have killed him.

Hell, he was on death's door when he went to the hospital. He'd always be glad to Darios.

"And yours is still as fresh as ever," Ike said. "Sorry. It sucks. You don't have any idea either?" Well, it couldn't have been Ike - otherwise, surely the flowers would be withering by now. It was only one-sided on Ike's side, clearly, because he kept asking Darios to meet him. Not the other way. He was hopeless.

"I wanted to say thanks, by the way. I appreciate you helping me out. You didn't have to, but you did. So, thanks."