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@smilingshields
-> SMILINGSHIELDS: A study in the artform of human bonds, the shield that rises against the night, chivalry, purpose and the long road to brighter dawns.
A CLOSED AND AFFILIATED, LOUIS, Church of Seiros Professor, from Fire Emblem: Engage, affiliated with The Officer's Academy
STATS // ASK // TOA // DOSSIER (WIP, LINK PENDING) // SUPPORTS // WRITING SAMPLER //
"Louis!" Yunaka cheers, smiling brightly as she skips her way over to him. The day might be busy, but Yunaka always makes sure to make time in her schedule for folks on their special day. It only comes once a year, after all!
Weaving through the wandering students is a bit harder with the ceramic pot in her arms, but she makes it over to her side unharmed and undamaged and brightly smiling still. "Here, I got ya this!"
She proudly holds up the pot of lavender flowers that she had...gotten from the greenhouse. This place was nice, but nowhere near as green and flower-y as Firene was. He probably missed it. "I heard that you can make tea out of lavender, right? I mean, you could probably make tea out of anything, but anyway."
Inspection time over, she holds out the pot for him to take. "I figured if you had your own flowers, then you could make your own tea whenever you wanted, right?" She giggles. "I hope you like it!"
HOMESICKNESS AND BIRTHDAYS IS A COMBINATION OFTEN BEST NOT CONSIDERED TOGETHER, yet it would seem he's made the particular ailment all too obvious of late judging by the thoughtfulness of the gift. He longs for Firene of course, longs for the comfort of home and younger brothers and yet Duty keeps him from returning just yet, a sense of everlasting obligation that circles through his form like a spark to a flame. Still, Louis is... thankful, truly, for the woman holding the freshly rehomed lavender.
"Ah Yunaka! How very thoughtful!" Louis' smile is ever present, even as he notices the plant properly from all the almost secretive trimmings he made of it in recent weeks. "It's meant to be a rather calming tea admittedly, although I myself have little in the way of reason to partake of it... that said!" An exclamation, cupping the pot in his hands as a newer zappy blend comes to mind.
"Come in, come in, you've inspired a new combination so surely you wouldn't mind taste testing it for me." A nodded exclamation, stepping aside to offer entry as he contemplates how such a simple but thoughtful gift can inspire so much in so little time.
WHAT ENTERS THE ROOM BEFORE YOU DO?
The Energy
you arrive like warmth does, without asking permission. Before you speak, before you settle into a chair, something in the room softens. Conversations loosen their shoulders. Silences stop feeling accusatory. People don’t always know why they feel safer around you; they just do. Your presence is porous. You feel atmospheres the way skin feels temperature. Joy clings to you easily. So does unease. You often carry emotions that were never formally handed to you - just left in the air, assumed you’d hold them. Still, there is something grounding about you. You remind people that gentleness isn’t weakness, that openness can be steady.
Colours: Honey, warm amber, sunlit linen
Scene: Sitting cross-legged on the floor while others talk around you, quietly anchoring the room just by being there.
[ TXT ] : Louis? Are you up?
[ TXT ] : I'm out of town right now. Do you like either of these? They reminded me of you.
[ TXT ] : [ a picture of a hand holding up a box of tea next to a jar of marmalade ]
( 2 minutes later... )
[ TXT ] : It's okay if you're not up. I'll get both.
[ TXT; Kat-Kat, Sent: 4:01 A.M ] Kat-Kat!
He had been asleep, but one too many close calls had him set the most obnoxiously loud of ringtones for those important to him to ensure that they were able to wake him regardless of time. He will, of course, never admit to being such a worrywort.
[ TXT; Kat-Kat, Sent: 4:02 A.M ] Marmalade and tea? A novel pairing but one I can definitely make into something delicious [ TXT; Kat-Kat, Sent: 4:02 A.M ] Drop by the cafe when u get home, and I'll treat you to it in return for a story or two from ur latest adventure!
A silent flame burns ever bright
Céline - cont. from [here]
"Indeed, one must not forget the grapes." Her agreement comes with a soft chuckle, "Even though I've only just left it, I could never refuse a taste of home."
Firene, home to the most ripe fruit farms and orchards in Elyos—oranges being one of their premier crops. It rose to prominence only a thousand years before, around the time Emblem Celica had been bequeathed to the kingdom by Queen Lumera. From her many chats with the Emblem, and the stories she's heard of Valentia and Zofia... Céline faintly wonders if Celica's power had some sort of influence. Her feelings and memories, touching the land...
Even though her friend was gone now, she found comfort in looking at the flowers and orange trees, if she simply wanted to think of her.
Céline smooths her skirt before taking her seat at the table Louis leads her to, humming thoughtfully as she considers his proposals of blends. There were so many new ones to learn here in Fodlan, after all.
"A professor!? Oh my." Céline's eyes widen. "Not to say the concept is unfathomable... I'm sure your methods of instruction are calming and easy to understand. And you've always been so watchful and attentive—the students are blessed to have you." She smiles, "You must tell me more. But as for these teas..."
"Faerghus is the northern, mountainous nation, yes? I imagine their blends are strong and robust, much like Brodia's back home. Ah. But perhaps a bit of Elusia's elegance, as well..." If the weather was so frigid, they likely didn't get much sun; not ideal for the processing of lighter, sun-withered white teas. Spiced? Fruit, or berry based? Something befitting of the weather, and crops grown in the region.
"And Nohrian... you don't mean...?"
Emblem Camilla immediately comes to mind. She remembers how the woman spoke of a Nohrian black tea blended with the petals of a night-blooming jasmine. Céline herself had attempted to replicate it to help remind the Emblem of home, but... "Would it happen to be their night jasmine blend, or another...?"
Grapes, an item so mundane and yet the reassurance that the Vineyard had continued to blossom in his absence, tended to by the careful touches of brothers who he hasn't seen proper in over a year. Perhaps in the future he'll return to that far aways land, walk among the trellises and feel the sun dance across his features once again. Yet the soft hums bring his mind back to the present, a well choreographed dance of hobby and duty that meshes into one singular rhythm of his own design.
The exclamation draws a chuckle from his lips, full of a life and mirth that seems so normal It's easy to forget that it's been a tumultuous period. It's comfortable, the silence that befalls as he listens to her response, hands moving through motions that are familiar to him in oh so many ways. "It was.... an enlightening experience to teach for the first time, albeit one that did inspire a brief lived thought of immediately finding the first boat back to Firene." Laughter, hearty and full of a modest positivity as a near boil kettle is quickly swiped from the heat and set aside for a moment.
"Indeed! The land of the Blue Lions, seeped in history from the many books I've had the opportunity to read of late. Their particular variety reminds me of those found to the northeast of Brodia, although I found it does miss some of the sweetness that is customary to offset the bitterness." He can't help the smile at the hint of excitement seeping into her voice at the mention of Nohr, silently reminding himself to thank Niles at the earliest of opportunities.
"The very same, Niles speaks rather fondly of Lady Camilla, so I would suspect she was where he had originally procured the gift in the first place." The woven pouch that is quickly unwoven is almost ornate, a birthday gift he hadn't seen fit to use in full just yet before the intricate infuser is filled with concoction and grapes to be placed into the water before he finally allows himself to sit before the princess.
"Ah, but I'm sure the past year has given you stories of your own to share, I would be quite intrigued to know where your studies have taken you my lady."
[ TXT ] : have you eaten today? [ TXT ] : and hydrated? [ TXT ] : tea doesn't count btw [ TXT ] : if you come over, i'll order us a pizza :D
[TXT; Patches]: Oh? [TXT; Patches]: If there's pineapples on it again I'm getting the wrenches
Run a cafe they said, your friends can't criticise your eating habits then they said.
[TXT; Patches]: I'll be there in five.
✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝑻𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑵𝑬 . ( a collection of texting prompts. feel free to change phrasing. potentially mature content within. )
[ TXT ] : why are you still awake?
[ TXT ] : hey, where did you go?
[ TXT ] : it's getting bad again.
[ TXT ] : guess i'll just sit in bed. alone. by myself.
[ TXT ] : you can't ignore me forever.
[ TXT ] : i can't stop thinking about you.
[ TXT ] : just saw i called you last night. how'd that go?
[ TXT ] : i really need someone right now.
[ TXT ] : we need to make plans asap.
[ TXT ] : have you seen the news?
[ TXT ] : you were blackout drunk.
[ TXT ] : testing to see if you blocked my number...
[ TXT ] : do you know anything about doing stitches?
[ TXT ] : just please let me know you're okay.
[ TXT ] : did you forget we had plans?
[ TXT ] : i know you see my messages, your read receipts are on.
[ TXT ] : meet me at [ location ], it's important.
[ TXT ] : do you need comfort, to vent, or a solution?
[ TXT ] : is there anything i should bring?
[ TXT ] : call me. please, it's important.
[ TXT ] : i can't sleep.
[ TXT ] : have you eaten today?
[ TXT ] : you are always going to be my priority.
[ TXT ] : i haven't seen you around in awhile.
[ TXT ] : i had a dream about you last night.
[ TXT ] : the names are gonna get mean if you don't text me back.
[ TXT ] : at the risk of sounding cliche, what are you wearing?
[ TXT ] : just say the word and i'll drop everything.
[ TXT ] : do you seriously not remember?
[ TXT ] : come to the front door.
[ TXT ] : have you been drinking?
[ TXT ] : how do you feel after last night?
[ TXT ] : are you up? please be up.
[ TXT ] : you looked beautiful today.
[ TXT ] : i have so much to tell you.
[ TXT ] : no one's heard from you. are you okay?
[ TXT ] : who is this?
[ TXT ] : are you taking care of yourself?
[ TXT ] : thought i'd reach out and see how you're doing.
[ TXT ] : i miss the taste of your lips.
[ TXT ] : that kiss was really nice.
[ TXT ] : stop acting so high and mighty.
[ TXT ] : i left my [ item ] at your place.
[ TXT ] : are we still fighting?
[ TXT ] : i need help and i can't go to the hospital.
[ TXT ] : are you thinking about me too?
[ TXT ] : call me, i wanna hear your voice.
[ TXT ] : i don't want to talk to you.
[ TXT ] : what do you have to lose?
[ TXT ] : you don't have to ask, i'm already on my way.
[ TXT ] : i want to take a nap on you.
[ TXT ] : even if you called 6 months later at 3am, i'd answer.
[ TXT ] : what's my name in your phone?
[ TXT ] : how's trying to forget about me going?
[ TXT ] : i have nobody else to ask.
[ TXT ] : what do you mean you're at the hospital??
[ TXT ] : sorry, i think you have the wrong number.
[ TXT ] : good morning! you up yet?
[ TXT ] : do i sense sarcasm in your tone?
[ TXT ] : you start your day at 2pm?
[ TXT ] : you need MY help?
[ TXT ] : stop texting me.
[ TXT ] : i'll leave that up to your imagination.
[ TXT ] : are you asking me to sneak out?
[ TXT ] : when will i see you again?
[ TXT ] : if you come over, i'll order us a pizza.
[ TXT ] : are we ever going to talk about it?
[ TXT ] : can you come get me out of here?
[ TXT ] : you mean like ... a BODY - body?
[ TXT ] : it's just been one thing after another lately.
[ TXT ] : forgiving and forgetting is harder than it sounds.
[ TXT ] : i want your legs wrapped around my head.
[ TXT ] : call me when you wake up.
[ TXT ] : what are you doing that's more important than me?
[ TXT ] : i'm out of town right now.
A silent flame burns ever bright
Céline - cont. from [here]
MUNDANE, FAMILIAR, a life resplendent, whole, how long has it been since he left service to the queen? Yet it is not a question he poses to himself with any semblance of urgency to answer it, not when the hole of familiar longing has woven itself shut after so long left torn astray. The days spent as a teen again, the memories it prompted fades into obscurity as a part of the duo so surely missed steps beside him in a pace so beautifully familiar.
Winter's early kisses have begun to flow atop the mountains, drifts of white astray on the last winds of autumn and yet measured footfalls continue to guide him, them now, towards the garden, to the pavilion that has become a familiar mainstay of late. Time truly makes the heart grow fonder, and yet he muses the question posed, muses the answers that could be offered while avoiding the topic of scars newly faded, of battles that he has once sworn to avoid.
Yet the stories not draped in battle, the blends not marred by horror come to mind as the smile half draped in falsity to conceal the yearning for home departs, replaced with one full of mirth, of life and cherished mundane familiarity. No longer does his attention drift to that distant horizon, to the land that waits just beyond as the now becomes all consuming.
"Where then to begin? Faerghus perhaps, a land known for harsh winters yet home to the varieties sure to warm the body after a long day, or perhaps from further ashore, a Nohrian variety, acquired from a dear friend?" A web of ideas forms within his mind, a variety of those beautifully mundane days all blossoming at once, familiar and ephemeral. How easy it is to admit to his mind that this route has been surely missed.
"Of course, it would be remiss to offer tea without the complimentary grapes!" A smile true, an exclamation even as he begins to flutter around the table that has informally become his, the familiar hiss of a magically warmed tea pot, procured on the return trip of a pilgrimage to the farms to the south. "Where to begin, where to begin indeed... I suppose the matter of employment would be best, seeing as I have now somehow found myself employed as a professor through a series of rather... aloof events." There is no need to spoil the tea with stories of knights and battles, not when the occasion long dreamt is now at hand.
"Truly, it does me great joy to prepare a sampling of each variety once more, Lady Céline." Softspoken works, even as the chef long since exasperated with his methodical brewing can only sigh at the pouch of grapes pulled from his pocket as they pass.
@florages
In waxing gloom, wanes lover's moon
Anniversary Board - Heavy Armor+1 w/ Katarina
"Jayde?" There had only been but so many people in the-- ah, to call it a cast feels wrong, given everything, but there had been a definitively limited number of people in the mirror that were allowed to matter to them. By the end, she'd thought she had met them all... but then, she'd also thought she was the only one come on the monastery's mission.
"Maybe... it was just slow in following you." The phrase itself sounds like a jest, but Katarina only half means it as such. There's no telling with these things, after all; the only thing she knows is that she knows nothing at all. "It's... stranger that it's different, though. Did his mask do anything...?"
Shoulders inevitably bump her, yet those passers by never seem to think on it. Is this what it was like for those who slipped between the cracks in the mirror? It's only when Louis raises an arm to keep her from floating adrift in the sea of students that her presence is acknowledged in any way -- and even then, only through the stares leveled at the professor. The wallflower struggles to keep closer, to at least make herself marginally less of a burden.
"Is Jayde..." The words fall away from her tongue as the office door creaks open. She can infer things well enough on her own without asking callous, curious questions, prodding at whatever wounds their recent expedition has left upon Louis. "...What was he like?"
But it seems her companion's thoughts have taken a turn down a similar road, the question posed to her not unlike the one she'd given him.
"...Yes." Quietly spoken, though she doesn't deny it. What a strange thing it had been, to have a love not her own planted within her heart -- to be freed from the love she had held, if only briefly. And... to grieve, in earnest, for the heart she had given had always been true. "N-not just Eriella, but... Alistair, too. Yucie... Ange, and Ren."
To say nothing of those on the other side of the looking glass. She'd never had the fortune to meet them, but it seems as though Louis had, and she wonders if that thing in his voice is what remains of fondness. Gray eyes follow after him as he moves about, a dagger in hand, murmuring something about burning wood. It is an instinct long carved into her bones, though she stands still regardless, lest he need to carve something from her mask.
"A knight, formidable, those of us who were reversed had to content with him." Contend, such a pitiful word to convey the deep respect he felt for the knight long departed. He cannot help the smile, staring at the scratched, worn shield hidden from sight. He remembers Forsyth at his side, shields raised to defend against the descending sword, lances that struck in unison and yet the professor needs to pull himself from the memories of summer past.
Louis muses, silent, calm, thinking of was and was nots to describe the formidable rider who had so effortlessly put them on the back foot before settling him on the only way that the respect can ever be truly conveyed with words alone. "Honourable and relentless, and yet, had it been another life I would have little doubts he would have been suited to the role of Knight Commander." A sigh, the mask of uncaring emotion slipping to reveal the depths of truth to the one who it seemed had sought him out. " ...I would have little qualms of trading all the accolades received to have another day to learn of the life he had lived, to learn more about Arlo."
Yet the words cannot be called sad, merely longing in the way one longs to see an old friend after time apart. Yet as he listens to the once classmate within the mirror, a question comes unprompted. untamed. "Tell me about her, Eriella, you were the closest of us, that should give more than enough time to determine if the mask has truly managed to survive." Survive, a word more deserving for tragedy than the lives of others being erased from the word. Yet he does not pull the dagger from the sheath just yet, filtering across the room in search of a book esoteric, pulling it from the stack and flipping it to a page well-worn in recent weeks.
"Ah! Should the splinter burn cold, the object in question has been enchanted of late with an unusual effect, to render the wearer wholly invisible to onlookers, unable to be perceived..." Words read from well aged pages, as the once retainer steps closer. "The choice is ultimately yours' Kat-Kat, but should you be willing I am more than capable of testing the theory, to assure that it is not the same curse that beheld Jayde atop the lake..."
Their spirits will never fade
Anni Board, Sword +1 with Niles
The outlaw can't help but smile at the nickname Louis has began using back in the mirror. It was significantly better than some of the other things he'd been called, and neither of them really knew much about each other yet. That would come with time. Their circumstances hardly mattered. Louis and Katarina were among couple people he'd deemed worthy of getting to know him. "We probably have. They're one of those things that we can't really find a way to avoid."
His gaze flickers towards Louis's backpack as he's pulling out food for the both of them. It's kind of him; the way he thinks about other people like that. Had Niles met him at a younger age or different circumstances, he knows it would have been harder for him to accept the other's friendship. For a moment he wonders what he's packed, but they've just begun and they have sticks to find.
"Magic isn't my thing anyways. It doesn't seem like it's yours either." Whatever kinds of magic that had been used to create Eriella's prison seemed like it would be far too complex for him to understand anyways.
Louis hands him the flask and he takes a moment to peak through the opening at it's contents before deciding to take a swig before passing it back to the other. After everything they'd experienced he had expected it to be something else but it's a pleasant surprise when warm chamomile and lavender hit the back of his throat and warm his chest. "If there had been a way to bring him back with us, I'm sure he would have liked it here." Niles can't help but frown at the mention of forgetting him and their other teammates. It couldn't have been helped, nor did they know it was going to happen, but the way the world played with the way they perceived information and it still didn't sit right with with him.
"Camilla and I were talking a couple nights ago and I just wanted to ask..." There's a pause as he tries to determine how sensitive this topic was, but the other man mentioned it first and that seemed just as good of an invitation as any to delve into a heavier discussion. "After you lost your eyes, did it start affecting your memory at all?"
HE'S FOUND THAT GETTING USED TO OTHERS COMES EASIER NOW, having spent so long away from Court and the nature of royalty has given him a newer outlook on which to judge things, one devoid of fake smiles and grating laughter as his head tilts towards his companions. Louis sees it better than most in a way, the war weariness that creeps in behind smiles and jagged edges that permeate the man beside him. There's a shared experience here, one that needs not to be mentioned before he nods agreement, "and if we can spare those that come after from the selfsame cycle it will have been worth it."
In another life they would have been enemies perhaps, destined to fight to the death under banners unfamiliar, yet that life is more than a world away, buried at the bottom of some distant well and sealed for a lifetime. This one, Louis finds, is a far more relaxed one, far removed from the embers of war, and he for one intends to make the most of it in the time he has found himself given.
"I tried to learn once you know, but I found that the lance is far more dangerous of a calling in my hand than the art of mystics." It hadn't stopped him from attempting to understand the prison of course, yet the world had left him with little more than a sea of questions waiting for him to answer.
Louis weighs the stick in his hand twice before hefting it overhead and pivoting his arm hard enough to send it soaring through the air, flying free before it arcs to sink deep into the depths of the forest. In a breath he turns, pulling his own flask and letting the lavender linger against his senses, pulling him into a lull of calmness. "I tried, I'll admit, to drag him back through the mirror, and yet whatever magic kept him resident was insistent he remains there." The once retainer suspects no one else truly managed to notice, not the haphazard efforts of a slightly desperate man attempting to drag another out of a prison undeserved.
"Ah, and here I thought no one would notice." The smile is sad in a way, bringing his hand upwards to run through his hair. He'd thought, in a way, that his actions would go unnoticed, the shudder in his movements that passed in the flash of an eye. "Faces mostly, and certain details, I'm still... finding myself waking up at times and wondering why and where I am. It passes, but it lingers all the same, likely a consequence of being the first to be erased."
The knock on the other's office door is short, and it's only a few seconds later before he's inviting himself in. The door was open already. Whether his friend was free for a little chat, he wasn't entirely sure but if he needed to be quick, he would. From their mission through the mirror together a few months ago, he'd learned Louis was a reliable ally. Niles wasn't here to reminisce on that mission though. Not fully anyways. It did explain the hard ball encased in leather and the two large, padded gloves behind his back. In the mirror world they called it baseball. He hadn't had time to make any bases or a bat but they could at least play some catch with the gloves until then.
In one of his pockets of his cloak was a box of tea as well. While Niles was no tea connoisseur, it's label said it was a floral black tea with notes of spices. Camilla was always drinking it, and he trusted her taste. Hopefully he was able to replace it before she noticed one of some of her tea was missing... "Happy birthday." The smile he gives his friend is soft, and after another moment, he's pulling the gloves and ball out from behind his back to set them on the desk before fishing into his pocket for the tea. "I was thinking we could play a little bit of catch later if you were up for it. Maybe it will be easier to avoid breaking a window without a bat." Niles can't help but laugh as he passes the tea over as well before taking a small step back. "And this is a Nohrian blend."
NILES HAD LONG SINCE BECOME A DEAR AND TRUSTED COMPANION, their time together inside the prison mirror had seen fit to make that a fate no longer uncertain, as he takes great care to ensure the armour worn during their mission remains carefully tucked away lest it be needed in the future once more. Yet the knock pulls him from his thoughts, centers him in a way amidst the tumultuous sea of memories that oft threatens to consume the mind that cannot help but reminisce. It's unusual for a student to approach him outside of office hours, and yet he's more than happy to receive whomever has decided to call upon him at such an hour. "Come in!"
A turn on his heel, closing up the box before his attention turns to his guest amidst a sea of sweetly scented surprise. It's odd, in a way, to see his companion with an eye covered after what felt like an eternity in his presence without it being as such. "Ah Niles! Please do enter, don't mind the mess, you caught me amidst a... reorganization to say the least." The smile on his features is soft in a battle tempered way, showing hints of reaching his eyes, even as his faze turns to the leather glove placed atop discarded paperwork.
"Ah! So you have managed to recreate it after all." He can't help the hint of amusement that turns into fullblown laughter as the idea of smashing one of the monastery's stained-glass windows with their newfound piece of amusement. Such activities would no doubt see them swiftly unemployed, and yet Louis suspected it would have been worth it to add to the memories of their time amidst a faded dream.
"Oh? With the faintest hint of Chamomile too, truly a rare find, perhaps you'd care to share it with me?" There should be no consequences of doing that this time, he thinks, not when the rules of the dream no longer apply to them. "Thank you, my friend, truly."
That peaceful daybreak comes once more
[Apothic] - Routine shopping trip - w/ Rose
Her door swings wide to a stranger's face– one that she finds is surprisingly soft for the man who wears it. "Yes, that would be I. Is... everything quite alright?"
Pale eyes round at their edges, feathers rustling as he explains himself. She had not been advised to expect him, or asked if she was interested in an escort, but she supposes this sort of thing must be customary if he has appeared before her. This is a prestigious academy, after all. It... makes enough sense.
( Even if she couldn't begin to place why the market could possibly be the best place to start... )
Still, Rose has never been one to turn down an innocent offer. It's a good opportunity to get her bearings, and the mention of imports from home do stir a quiet longing in her. Homesickness is ill befitting of a princess, and so it is swallowed with a gentle nod. The door to her room is shut behind at her back, the front of her skirts smoothed, the ivory down of her wings folded neatly at her back.
"I would be most happy to," the answer comes with a sweet smile, "and it is nice to meet you, Sir Louis. I'll admit I am... surprised. I hadn't expected your arrival."
His lead is easy to follow, her footsteps light and carefully picked along the way. It's hard to keep her gaze any one place, the monastery's sprawling grounds seemingly in never-ending supply of things to take in. Students gathered in the courtyard– some napping, others studying, a few laughing beneath the shade of a tree– it is impossibly warm a feeling, to be surrounded by.
"You've been a professor here long?" Fingers lace behind her back, all of her distraction forgotten for a moment's question. "The people here... they have all been so kind. It must be quite a lovely job."
"Merely Louis will do, I relinquished any claim to title with a prior retirement." He feels old now, older than twenty-eight, and yet that number feels far higher than what it actually was. War does that, perhaps, makes one feel older than they are as his gaze turns to nod at the students rushing to and fro from one lesson to another, yet his gaze remains observant on the one beside him, watching for any hint of reaction to his words.
"Half a year, I suppose? Time flies in the face of an endless string of engagements." Even with his knowledge of the background of several students and faculty, he dare not broach the subject of everything he's experienced amongst the students, not when it makes even his battlehardened exterior wonder how it could happen as often as it does. A turn of his foot, calm measured steps to move towards the steps leading down to the market, almost closed eyes paying careful attention to the lessening number of carts and stalls rolling in.
There is a trick, one that is well employed as his opening move in the extended chess game of conversation, and yet he solemnly contemplates it before the flash of homesickness alerts him to the necessity of its usage. "What of Holt? I'll admit I know precious little of the land of which you hail beyond that which the Church saw necessary to inform." Perhaps it's geographic composition is similar to that of Firene's, after all, from what he knows of the young noble beside him, she seemed well suited to make the acquaintance of Chloe should she cross the sea.
"In return, I shall share of you what I can of the markets here." An almost equal trade, carefully stepping into the hustle and bustle of the markets with a simplicity to which he is well attuned. Some of the few traders are new, those that have already managed to cross the sea before the impromptu blockade perhaps and yet the artefacts on the table are unknown to him, objects new to the market it would seem. "How peculiar, those artefacts are unknown to me, and you Miss Rose?"
Nice to Meet You! I’m Bad at Everything
↳ Fiora & Louis Sword +1
Fiora isn’t a chef. Despite the fact that she spent the better part of over a decade solely feeding her sisters and her, one only had to ask her sisters to gain insight into whether or not she was adept at the art of cooking — and polite though one of them may be, the answer was still, unanimously, no. It is not to say she didn’t try, but when one only had a single ingredient and not much variation, well... one often fell short.
Standing in the dining hall, looking at the food laid out for the students and faculty, Fiora hums softly to herself. The curious gaze of a passerby makes her feel as though she must explain herself. “Ah... pardon me. It’s just... the cuisine of everyone’s homeland looks so... intricate. But it wasn’t... like that for me.” Her hand delicately traces the tablecloth. “We had nothing quite so fancy. I’m sure the taverns sold special foods and such, but... I didn’t know how to experiment with such things, when I was so little. I just roasted a fish for my sisters, when we were young. I wonder... if I’ve robbed my sisters of something precious, of learning of home dishes from their home country, all because I am not a better chef...” She laughs lightly, melancholic, a sad smile creasing her face. “I truly am such a terrible sister to them...”
COOKING IS A NATURAL HABIT, albeit one that took far too long to learn in his distant youth. By the time his brothers were grown enough to feed themselves, he had already left for the castle with skills that he could only hope would be sufficient enough to see him through the passing of time. Yet, he has become somewhat homesick of late, missing the dishes shared in the Somniel and the flavours of a homeland he can't return to just yet.
AND YET, the bluenette looks just as homesick as he feels, yet the shielded features are so quick to hide such emotions, as he weaves between table after table to approach the woman that looks out of sorts with the haphazardly strung together banquet. There's a kinship to be found here, so he does what he does best as the pot of water is pulled towards him, accompanied by, in his opinion, subpar tea leaves.
"I was a grape farmer, you know, back when my brothers were too young to work the vineyard. I hardly remember the haphazardly strung together meals of bygone days at times, when fancy was a word that was hardly in my vocabulary." A nod, pouring the tea and pushing it across the table in a swift, almost impossibly fast movement that comes with a rather large amount of practice.
"In my experience, younger siblings hardly remember the food quite as much as they remember the people they share it with..." A rather dangerous white lie, and yet all the better to put a troubled mind at ease. The knight before him almost reminds him of Chloe when they had first met, nervous and second guessing in a way that comes with experience. "Ah, where have my manners gone? Louis, of Firene, a pleasure to meet you."
🍪 + 1
"Louis!" Yunaka sings as she skips over. She's well-armed. She's got plenty of cookies, a competitive spirit, and a raring-ness to go. She grins brightly at him and waves the cookie before him before placing it in his mouth. "Wanna play?"
-> THE POCKY GAME -> Rolled a... 1
ANOTHER? He's generally starting to get somewhat shocked by how many people are appearing in his office with these so called pocky sticks that he can't help but wonder where they're all somehow managing to appear from. Yet, if Yunaka wishes to play, he finds himself hard set to avoid it, it seems, so instead he allows his lips to part, holding just enough to keep it firmly in place.
The game is awkward at first, full of laughter and shuffling back and forth to keep the biscuit from falling to the floor from the difference in height. It's amusing to him, truly, yet he keeps from opening his teal eyes as much as possible, only allowing himself to meet ruby hues when there was little else to watch.
He's never truly paid attention to the star on her cheek, for Louis it's always been one of those things that make her... her. So he keeps focusing on it, drowns out the hammering of drums in his ears as he feels lips brush against lip, grape, strawberry and chocolate meeting in one concoction as the fleeting lips pull away.
"A point for me, Yu~na~ka~." Singsong, uncharacteristically, and yet the retainer finds himself enthralled by the atmosphere of the game.
1 + 🍪
"Hey, Louis~ C'mere!" There's a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he pulls a chocolate covered biscuit from the packaging to bring it to lips. "Wanna play? I promise I won't bite." Unless he liked it.
-> THE POCKY GAME // Rolled a... 1 :evilsmile:
"You too?" The game has been going around the faculty of late, and Louis himself can hardly be considered uninvolved by now as he stares at the peach flavoured chocolate between his fellow's lips. Yet it's the words that follow afterward that make Louis smirk, stepping ever so dangerously close to seize the biscuit between his teeth.
The knight knows the rules, meeting every shuffle of his partner with his own, an elaborate game of chicken between the two until lips are barely a hair's breath away from each other. Were Louis' eyes open, they would doubtlessly be frantically darting from left to right, yet his face is a picture of serene calmness, even as both meet directly in the middle.
"You said you won't bite..." A smirk, lips pressed fleetingly together in a symphony of peach and milk chocolate before he pulls away with an unfamiliar smirk. "I never said I wouldn't Nilesy~"
🍪 + 3
THE POCKY GAME
-> Louis Rolled a 3
Louis recognises the sweet clenched between Zelkov's teeth upon his fellow's approach, a delicacy from Elusia if memory served him correct. Yet the more Louis loses himself in his thoughts, the closer and closer he finds Zelkov getting, until the space between them is little more than a stick of pocky in length. "You wish to play this game then, Zelkov?"
There is a lilt of teasing to his voice, moving forward to capture the end of the stick between almost pointed teeth. This... game... can be likened to chess, a series of intricate movements back and forth until one gives up or lips meet half way. Yet Louis has never been one to throw in the towel so easily, moving forward until lips meet for a singular spent moment, the taste of strawberries hanging heavily to chapped lips.
"Checkmate... Zelkov."
✧˖°ℙ𝕆ℂ𝕂𝕐 𝔾𝔸𝕄𝔼
The Pocky Game is a game played with two people and one biscuit stick. Each end of the treat in a mouth, inches separating you and the other. Make it to the center first and you win, break the stick and you lose. Meeting in the middle? Well, it's up to the participants to decide what that is.
Roll a d6. Send the result +🍪or [cookie] to challenge my muse at the Pocky Game. The number you rolled is the number my muse must roll above to beat your muse at the Pocky Game. If they tie, they meet in the middle. **By default, the sender is the initiator. Include 🍫 or [chocolate] to have my muse initiate instead.
