that the fair-faced goddess to the ocean chases

lyn, descendant of the lorca. assistant instructor for the golden deer house || closed fire emblem roleplay blog associated with the officers academy

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

For those you love, it is worth being the best version of yourself.

Sylvain didn’t quite register the kiss pressed to his skin, mind far too busy over these few words alone as his eyes stared at nowhere in particular, seeking for something to distract himself with. On reflex he attempted to question it, counter it, resist it, anything that opened a way other than the path suspiciously lacking in thorns and cracked glass.

It really was too good to be true, at the same time it was indeed reality. He couldn’t doubt the love his parents had for him, nor the care his friends had for him despite their bickering and bantering; doing so felt more wrong than the years of destruction he had engaged in thinking himself in a void disconnected from his bonds. If even after all of this- after seeing what he could do to people, his worst attitudes, how his very reputation found itself stained to the core seemingly irreparably so, if even after all of this they still found it in themselves to love him in the end and keep him close?

It frightened him to not see a road lined with fire and birds spewing venom from their beaks, snakes hanging from low branches hoping to coil around his neck. 

It wasn’t the crests, or the women, or the marriages, or his role. Sylvain had never been prepared to face this.

“Hah…well, that’s a little scary.” Acknowledging that he was loved. “But thanks, regardless. Maybe I should give it a thought.”

It was only after their conversation ended and Lyn left that warmth swelled in his chest, his vision taken by soft light before blinking reality back to place. A gust of glitter blanketed his surroundings just as before, dread settling in for a second, until ginger bangs came into view as he looked around. Sitting on that stone bench was no longer a puny and bitter little frog dressed in bold warning colors, but a young man whose gaze was lost in the clouds, the burn of regret and hope indistinguishable within his heart.

Not the worst, huh.

-end.

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

Nothing was ever so easy, even when he tried to convince himself that nothing mattered. That all was lost, nothing would ever change because his actions completely sealed him and his image into the repulsive and venomous mold he has desired for years. A phrase Sylvain would often repeat to himself again and again, that he had nothing to lose- all while knowing it couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

An empty smile was all he could offer as feelings rolled and twisted around in the depths of his heart, slowly boiling in the truth of Lyn’s words and disarming any and whatever attempts to counter them. “I guess. Maybe it is.” He had a lot to lose, because much to his relief as well as dismay, he had people who cared about him. People who loved him. “I know what I’d lose, don’t worry. I suppose that’s what makes it all so hard.”

He couldn’t even say he wished he was a lone hermit, without friends or family, his existence in this world gone the moment he dies because there would be no one else left alive with his name on their tongue, because despite all that suffering Sylvain couldn’t be more grateful for the fact someone, anyone out there, still loved him for who he was.

Becoming far too aware of his size in relation to the world, Sylvain brought his limbs closer to himself. “It’s actually kinda scary, how much the weight of having people waiting for you at home prevents you from going down all the way. Even if I repeat ‘I don’t care anymore’ over and over…” A hollow chuckle. “In the end it doesn’t concern only me, does it? And I’ve never liked making choices for others.”

It was sad, yet it felt oddly light in his chest.

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

She allowed him to speak, sitting in complete silence as he worked himself into a circle, and then, almost subconsciously, into a tight ball - so he wasn't so impenetrable as he wanted to make himself out to be. 

In mirror to the motion, Lyn lifted one leg to prop her chin on the knee, hugging it to herself while the situation sank in further. She could ever understand fully what his life had been like, and she did not entirely want to – not to be callous, or dismissive of his pain, but in acknowledgement of it, and knowing that her own pain had made her what she was. 

So he did know that he had more to lose. She did not bother to point out the contradiction, could not see the point in arguing it, digging him in further when he already seemed well contented to let the pressure take him where it would. 

"It's worse," she said finally, throat tight and eyes beginning to pinprick with warmth, "not having anyone waiting for you." 

No matter what the mystic had said to her, no matter whose face she would see, if any, the next time she set foot on the grassy Sacaean steppe, it would not be the ones she had needed. Sylvain's outlook could not have been more different than hers, and in that, she found the heavy weight of pity overtake her. 

"I can't tell you what to do," she continued, tucking her palm along one side of him to steady him when she turned her head, pressing her lips to the slope of smooth skin there. "Or how to feel, just as you cannot tell me. But...I believe that, if not for yourself, then for those you love, it is worth being the best version of yourself. 

"Not the worst." 

[sunncutter]

going to medieval times and sharing a set of turkeese drumsticks

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka nods and follows behind Lyn silently. The strong get to live and the weak don’t. That’s just how it is in Brodia, and that’s just how it would be out in nature. But, it’s possible for the weak to find their own ways to adapt. The bird might die. But the bird might survive too. Like a small, starving child in the corners of a village somewhere, it might find a way to claw its way through life by tooth and nail until it finds that happy middle-ground.

Whichever it would be, she’s not interested in deciding that today.

She isn’t quite sure what Lyn means by sorrow following dragons, but…she thinks of the few she knows and hums thoughtfully. “Maybe. But there’s happiness there too.” Each of them had clawed their way to happiness too, just as they had survived everything life tried to throw their way. Not just the Divine One, but the others as well…

Yunaka smiles. Well, whatever happens, she’ll do her part to show them that kindness what she can, just like they did to her. “There’s always something, so long as you don’t give up.”

She picks up her pace just enough to slip past Lyn. She spins around so the other can see her bright smile as she jogs backwards. “Speaking of not giving up, we probably wanna hurry back. If we take too long, they’re not gunna have time to prep these for dinner, and then we won’t be getting any portions for our work, let alone extras.”

With a laugh, she spins around and starts to hurry along the path back to the monastery. Things still weren’t easy, but there was happiness in the little moments now. That was worth more than she knew what to do with.

[sunncutter]

Snow had begun to fall, but delicate and flaky, catching on the late afternoon sun in a way that almost seemed like light itself, and Lyn buried her nose into her scarf momentarily - to warm the reddening tip, yes, but also to huff a gentle laugh, warm and nostalgic.

But there's happiness too. It was true. Lyn found that she neglected that, sometimes - not entirely falling into despair, but to the side of it, finding herself locked into the bright rage of indignation for wrongs committed, and when spent only then solace in sadness. And she had not experienced half so much loss as Ninian or Nils, as any of their kind lost to the darkness of human hearts at the cost of the Ending Winter.

They hadn't given up. And neither could she.

The monastery seemed that much closer now, outlined by the setting sun, in shades of warm gold and pink, beckoning to, if not a happier time, then a least a comfortable interlude.

"Mm!" she agreed, matching pace with Yunaka, taking long strides to catch up to the woman, hefting the catch to assess it once more, with an eye keener for recompense for their hard work. Lifting a finger, she prodded one, and canted her head. "If we're quick enough, and we dress it, I'd wager they'd let us take one - to share. If you're hungry, that is."

- fin.

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

He allowed her words to sink in silently, features still simply for the fact that he was a frog and couldn’t exactly emote as freely as a human, but perhaps that was for his own gain as beyond the clammy amphibian skin sat a knowing smile tinged by the lightest hues of self deprecation. “Your intuition’s as sharp as a blade, I give you that. Even if it makes things harder on my end.”

Perhaps their lack of familiarity wasn’t the soft shield he was hoping for. 

“Who knows, maybe a part of me does want to be helped after all. It doesn’t sound so bad.” Paws holding on to the fabric on her shoulder, the end of his sentence was slightly lower in tone. Or maybe a part of him hoped to be scolded, subjected to the edge of a dagger pressing against his jugular. “I will say that getting to be a little frog that blends in with the foliage and nobody pays much mind to, almost feels nice. Almost.” 

Sylvain could’ve reached out to the Archbishop herself, even. Rhea was most definitely capable of doing something about his state and even if she didn’t then she could appoint him to someone more specialized on the matter. Though the solution wasn’t exactly clear, it’s not like he ever lacked options.

“But in either way, whatever stance I take from now on won’t really matter will it? Because if this was done to me in an attempt to scare me straight, I’d say it’s not really working. I’ve faced worse, and I know my reputation will smudge any and whatever change I ever dare to make on myself.” Blinking, the frog returned the glance. “I don’t think I have anything to lose.”

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

There was a bitterness from every word that he spoke that burned her to hear, riling a number of emotions stemming from a caustic irritation that she began to piece together was his intention. Trapped under that veneer of carelessness, or rather, as she was beginning to suspect, armored by it.

Lyn sucked in a breath and held it the longer he spoke, firming her jaw to keep herself from snapping at him, feeling the press of his little paws against her shoulder - where she had put him, for safety, when he would have allowed himself to scurry in the danger of the open, merely hoping that he would be avoided.

There was a long beat of silence then, where he might even have mistaken her for not listening - perhaps he would anyway, if his constant deflection was of any indication - before she gently released the breath in a sigh, and shook her head.

"It's so easy to think you have nothing to lose, but…I don't think you'll truly know until you've lost it. Whatever it is, or even the many things…the further you push, the easier it will be to say until it's actually true…"

A pause, then, weaving her way through the crowd to find one of the stone benches the overlooked the mountain valley below them, and Lyn seated herself, crossing one leg over the other.

"I just…I think that's very sad."

[sunncutter]

to have and to hold, until death separates you

[lazulienne]

    The leg's great size speaks to how cherished the couple was to have someone willing to hunt a creature of that caliber. For people hiding away in Burrowhaven, the distance and threat only became greater. Lapis had avoided it out of feeling it was better suited for others besides herself, but when Lyn takes it and invites Lapis to take some for herself, she is blown away by the gesture.

Her moments with Emblem Lyn had been awkward many a time, but...

Plenty of large animals have slipped away from me while I was hunting. I'd prepare so much, plan for every movement... and then it would just vanish. So frustrating.

The Emblem's honest confession comes to mind then. This was, of course, not game Lyn herself caught for the wedding, but Lapis would not have begrudged her if after such frustrations, she would have enjoyed having such a large animal to herself at last. The frustration of being deprived leads to a greater joy to what one can access when they can...

If this Lyn and the Lyn Lapis had known had had any of that shared experience, then her generosity to Lapis means all the more.

After a moment of hesitation, Lapis rips meat from the drumstick with her hands, securing herself scraps to chew. She is in heaven for it, savoring the taste and the additional crunch of the skin she had grabbed along with it, using it as splendid accompaniment for the story Lyn regales her with.

“I can see how,”  Lapis giggles good-naturedly.  “If you tussled with your wife, you'd know her strength firsthand! It'd be all the easier to gush about it then, wouldn't it?” 

In a culture where this was normalized, where they knew the challenge was to test the depths of one's resolve, then the battles must be something to behold. Perhaps they weren't unlike the ferocity of Brodia's tournaments.

“That sounds nice. Where I come from, I got teased for being freakishly strong...”  Lapis reveals, coaxed by the moment and the deja vu of being with someone who reminded her of an easy listener and willing confidant.  “So the idea someone would want to fight me back home? It's tough to imagine... but I'd like it. Maybe I really would feel more equal instead of sticking out if someone just came right at me, heh.”

[sunncutter]

"Mm!" Lyn agreed, tearing into the meat of the leg herself, chewing happily and enjoying the fresh roasted kill. "I've sparred with, and fought in earnest, many a man - but I think that it would be quite a different experience to come at it from the perspective of love. There must be a lot of trust there, wouldn't you think? One cannot hold back, or you risk planting the idea that you don't believe your intended to be strong enough…

"I don't think I could marry a man who didn't come at it with his all," she added, thoughtfully. "I would have to wonder whether he respected me."

Love and marriage wasn't something that she thought of often, nor deliberately - not while she was in Lycia at least - but it seemed here in Fodlan, it came up organically every other week. Although the environment seemed equally political as the Lycian League, with the lords scrambling for their hold on power in any direction, there was an undertone of urgency in a manner that she was unfamiliar with.

As though they were desperate to get it done with, like there was a timer of some kind.

Here at this wedding, it did not seem to be so - they'd had all the time in the world to prepare the ceremony, and while there had been a deliberate end point at the rising of the sun, it had not seemed like a desperate rush.

And here, now, to watch everyone's smiling faces on the other end of it… It felt like perhaps if this was the sort of thing to look forward to, as with the Lorca, then it need not give her so much dread to consider.

"You'd like it, you think? Is there someone in particular that you think could emerge victorious, for all your strength?"

[sunncutter]

broken looking glass

[nagaficat]

Deirdre bows her head and whispers a quiet "thank you" before offering the man the gold for both her own reading and for Lyn's. It is the very least she can do for the woman who continues to be by her side in these moments of longing. It is never easy to miss him but the ache is soothed when she is not alone.

She takes Lyn's hand again and walks with her out of the dimly lit storefront and into the bright afternoon sun.

"Lord Sigurd taught me to always follow my heart. He showed me that, no matter what happens, if I listen to my heart and believe in love, everything will turn out alright one day." There are moments when it is difficult to remember this. Times when it feels like her heart has led her down nothing but ruinous paths. But she knows she cannot give up hope. She will find her happiness again.

Deirdre turns toward Lyn, face bright and smiling. "If your heart is pulling you elsewhere, maybe it is not such a terrible thing to listen to."

[sunncutter]

Her steps out of the shop felt almost vacant, neither heavy nor light but almost detached from herself, taking a firm grounding sensation from Deirdre's hand on hers to guide her out. The experience swam in her head, punctuated by cries and giggles from the patrons who came after them, explaining this dream or that, asking for advice on love, and where their heart lay.

All uncertain, all pleading to be told where to look.

Glancing up at the smile warming Deirdre's face, Lyn could not help but give her one in return, a crease around the corners of her eyes as she softened.

"I…can forget that, sometimes. Following my heart, I mean. I…so often feel the need to do things that benefit another, or…that feel so directly in opposition to what I know to be true, but needing further backing. It sounds like…your Lord Sigurd was a brave man, to be able to encourage people in such a way. To simply go…"

She tightened her grip on her friend's hand, and veered away from the building. "For the moment, I'm all right here. …I know where my heart calls for, and…now I know what will be waiting for me, at the other end."

- fin.

[sunncutter]

going to medieval times and sharing a set of turkeese drumsticks

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka's only known two pegasus riders back in Elyos, but they seemed pretty opposite of what Lyn described. Though they soared through the skies, responsibilities and duties seemed to keep them just as grounded as anybody else in the world. Royals and their retainers and their duties and such.

It feels unnecessary to argue with an Emblem over nothing, after all, so she leaves it be. It's not like it matters in the here and now, anyway, when she's too busy laughing uncertainly at the idea of riding a alpaca into battle. "I…dunno? I don't think anybody's done it, but most of us tend to prefer our own two feet over horses in the mountains as is."

A fond smile breaks on her face again. "Oh, yeah, they collected a whole bunch of animals. Sometimes it felt like we were fighting more to find them more creatures to bring back to base with us than to actually accomplish anything." She laughs at the idea. "But, y'know, being the head of a religion and the idol of worship for a whole lotta people's gotta be a stressful thing, so I don't think there's any harm in letting them have their weird habits, personally."

Divine One is kind of a stuffy title, but it's theirs. "Oh, most heroes don't get that kinda name, no. But Alear's the last of the divine dragons, so." She shrugs casually and keeps walking ahead.

Yunaka stops when asked to, glancing over at the sight of a lone bird clucking around. There's not really a way to tell if it's part of the flock they just culled, a different one, or just out on its own for a little bit. She doesn't know much about birds and wonders for a moment which is crueler; to leave it on its own or to kill it and take it with them.

After a moment of quiet consideration, she shakes her head. "We shouldn't kill more than we need to, right?" They've got plenty of birds between the two, and they weren't ordered to hunt every last one. "No harm in giving it a shot to see if it survives, right?"

[sunncutter]

"Mm," Lyn said, allowing Yunaka a small smile before turning back to the path. "I agree. No point in destroying them all. With luck, it will return to where its flock finds nest, and continue on. …If not, then it will feed the other inhabitants of the forest, won't it?"

Once more, the circle of nature, one thing nourishing another, to keep the greater world around them flourishing. They had more than enough to subsist, and to give to the larders for what the cooks would need to do - the monastery was not wanting, and she would not take from the earth unduly.

Lyn made a thoughtful humming sound, considering the way that Yunaka spoke of her companions, finding it similar to the way that their army had spoken of Athos, or Brammimond. The Living Legend sounded similar enough to the Divine One, and while it must have been a different experience to live alongside them - as Pent and Louise did, even for a little while - then perhaps the word hero might have carried a different weight.

But it more caught her attention that this person was a dragon. The last of them, and on this side of the Gate? Or perhaps there was a different Gate, where she was from.

"It seems that sorrow is to follow the dragons no matter where they come from," she said softly, eyes downcast for a few steps, before raising them again. "I hope that they're able to know kindness in this phase of their life. After everything that's happened to them all…"

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

That response was closer to what he considered more habitual, a song and dance not too far from daily life amplified by her condition as not only a woman but as someone he wasn’t close to in the slightest. It was all because she lacked the tools and means to truly reach deep into where it really hurt, to go beyond thick layers of keloid and keratin and scrape tender sensitive flesh filled with live nerve endings and blood.

Maybe that’s why he sought her in the end instead of seeking the comfort of a friend, a stranger who could dent his shell but never truly pierce it. “If I’m gonna be honest? I don’t really know. This type of magic isn’t common in Fódlan, so I don’t know who to counter it, much less who to seek for it. Doesn’t help that I didn’t get to see its sigils or the formula, so I can’t really decipher it either. I suppose that tells you enough about how angry that girl was when she cast that on me.”

“So yeah, no plan here!” A sentence spoken in a fairly light tone despite the gravity of the situation, an apparent screen of naivete or even stupidity when in reality it was just a glint of his acceptance of his new condition. “But hey, if I’m gonna suffer life as a little frog, might as well be in good company even if just for a day yeah?”

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

The snort that escaped her, she could not entirely help. "Even if I'm a woman, huh?"

She knew that he was not so glib as he was making himself out to be - these sorts never were, and while Sain had never been so vile as to degrade that which he chased so fervently, she now had the experience to see past their slick, and oft callous veneers, in a way that she would not have those years ago.

There was no way to know if he was simply cruel, if he enjoyed it, or if there was something else at play, not if he did not tell her - or even if she did not have the head to listen.

Lyn's steps took her out of the courtyard, moving further into the monastery in search of…well, she was not sure. Perhaps someone who might recognize their situation, and to extend a hand to assist.

"You present such a careless face, but you still sought help. It wasn't for my company, I know that for certain - if you knew me at all, you would know I'm no soft heart to simply allow such blithe disregard to go by unremarked." She canted her head briefly, to glance at him askance on her shoulder.

"You're no fool, for all your posturing. Surely nothing I've said, is anything you haven't already thought. And I don't believe you don't know what steps best to take from here."

[sunncutter]

broken looking glass

[nagaficat]

Deirdre wonders if he knows. When he looks at her, can he tell that it was the same miracle she prays will bring her Sigurd back to her that brought her to this place? She believes him fully, even with how skeptical Lyn has become. She knows nothing is truly impossible.

"Lady Lyn..." Deirdre speaks softly and sets a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It is alright. His words have helped."

The warmest guiding star. That was just like her Sigurd. Not just for her but to all of them. His light and warmth had inspired them all to follow him. And she will continue to seek him out.

Stars continue to shine after they are gone.

[sunncutter]

The melancholy and fury prickled just beneath her skin, heavy in her chest even after Deirdre tried to dissipate it with her blithe acceptance. It was not so simple as all that, but Lyn knew, too, that the path through a loss was not always merely a climb upward to the fresh air out of the mire. Indeed, it could have taken many dips back down to drowning in sadness and self-pity, and in many cases, may never end.

The phantom pain of a presence steady and comforting, suddenly ripped away.

Lyn's brow puckered sadly, and she cast her eyes downward with a begrudging shake of her head.

The mystic, however, was not done with her just yet, and seemed to intuit her frustrations, fingers curling gently around hers to prevent her from tugging away. "Do not think that my readings are the same for the both of you. Her warming star is nearing, but yours is stalwart and grounded - yours, I believe, would wait for you. Forever, if need be, but as it is… I do not think that you wish to wait."

Her throat tightened around the words she wished to bite out at him - the irritation, the confusion, the skepticism, it all seemed to collect and die out before it reached her lips, and Lyn was simply left staring at the weight of her hand in his, feeling the press of knobby knuckles against her veins.

It would wait.

And, unspoken…he who would wait.

"I won't pretend that your prediction isn't an impressive one. But…I've come all this way," she said, so softly she wasn't sure he would hear her - but then, he had seemed to hear things that she had not even said. "I've learned so much…"

"It is to bear no shame, to return to the comfort of home, is it?" the mystic said kindly, patting her hand one final time before the next client shuffled forward for their reading, drawing his attention away and onward.

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

Lyn’s reaction was not exactly encouraging, yet it was nothing Sylvain had never dealt with before. Being regarded with disdain, indignation, anger, disgust was a feeling he had known from birth, accompanying him from when he was but a young boy cornered by stronger bullies or hiding from his own elder brother, all the way to his current age where none of those daggers slathered in insults could even make him flinch.

It’s not like they didn’t hurt, though. But he knew better than to show such weakness gratuitously to a woman.

Beady little eyes widened, interrupting him as he tried to make himself comfortable atop her shoulder as the frog looked up at Lyn’s face. “Hold up, that’s a lot of things! First of all I’m not trying to insult you, I just said you were very beautiful and it’s true!”

“Second of all,” He adjusted his feet- or paws, shifting his gaze away from hers. “Apologizing isn’t really gonna fix anything. If someone hurt your heart enough for you to retaliate physically, would you accept them if they suddenly said ‘I’m sorry’, even more with the presence of a teacher nearby meaning their apology is probably out of obligation and not genuine? That kind of stuff only goes so far, and seeking her will probably only make her more upset in the long run.” His words were probably far too telling of his own mindset and intentions, surrendering parts of himself to her that would certainly worsen his case, but there are things Sylvain learned to just not mind after a certain point.

This will heal the wounds, and things will return to normal in no time.

A hollow laugh left his mouth. “My type of normal is probably not the same as yours, so.”

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

"As you will," she said briskly, neither dismissive nor in particular fond, and in spite of the impatient edge it was not an unkind response – merely an irritated one; "You know nothing of the wrongs done to me, or by me, nor the forgiveness offered in turn, but I'll not lecture you on what you know to be wrong, if you're insistent on allowing yourself to remain a silver-tongued lout – but neither will I abandon you while helpless. You may call my sex cruel, but I have yet to hear a plan from you, to retain your normal shape." 

He might not have been her student, nor even her friend, but his situation was unique and particularly dangerous, and he did not appear to be approaching it with the gravitas that it required. More excuses as to his behavior, how she didn't understand – she had heard these things before, and it never mattered. 

Her temper would rise, regardless, to hear it, and in the end he would do naught to improve himself. 

"So, if you will not seek absolution from the source, and I am no mage, then where would you look for a start? I doubt that this is the particular type of magic taught here – I have a friend back home who might know something, but he's faraway, and I wouldn't leave you to him alone, for fear that he may focus too strongly on the magical pursuit, than the human one." 

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

As he hopped onto the open hand, the frog puffed his chest- though instead of making him seem bigger or cooler, it just led to another little ribbit. “As expected! I’m aware of my fame, don’t worry about it.” Even more considering the lady before him was a teacher- she may not be one of the lions, but at this point the ginger is well aware of how word travels fast regardless if it’s faculty or the student body. 

The amphibian blinked again, looking around for a second as if pondering over what to even say about the origins of his situation. “Uuuhm…let’s just say I kind of got some names swapped around with a girl that fancied me, she got quite mad about it, and next thing I know I’m a clammy little frog.” It was the truth! Or at least it was very adjacent to it- maybe if he had told her the full story it would’ve been better, but it could very well just lead him to being stuck as a frog for even longer.

Professor Lyn was a girl too, after all. Just as likely as any other women in the monastery to hit him with a ‘well deserved’ if he is to be honest about it all. “About that…haha, I don’t really think trying to find her will lead anywhere. If she went out of her way to turn me into a frog out of anger then it’s not very likely she’ll change her mind on it even if a teacher shows up. Girls are pretty cruel when they’re mad, you know!”

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

The grimace that pinched her face took on several stages, starting at the beetle of her brows and moved downward to curl her lip. It was anger, it was disgust, and disdain, and indignation. 

She took a breath in through her nose to keep a cool head, depositing the little frog on her shoulder lest she grip him aggressively and hurt him - she was better than that, at least. 

"And so you will refuse to seek her out to make things right, is that the way of it? Because of her cruelty, in retaliation of yours at a deeper level... I suppose if that is the case then you must resign yourself to life as a frog," she added, with a bite of sarcasm. 

She wouldn't let him get out of it so easily, nor would she allow him to suffer unduly, regardless of his own pig-headedness. But if she did not know which of his angry spurned lovers had caused the issue, she could not very well go around the campus in search of her. 

"What exactly is your plan, then? You will not apologize to her, you'll insult me while you're at it – and this will heal the wounds, and things will return to normal in no time? Is that it?" 

[sunncutter]

going to medieval times and sharing a set of turkeese drumsticks

[dcggersedge]

"Yeah, there were a few others who were way more eager to handle cooking duties than me, so I was happy to leave it to them." She was pretty sure most people, nice as everyone on the Somniel was, weren't really eager to give her a second shot after trying her cooking for the first time anyway. "We even had somebody with us who was a chef before all this war stuff really kicked off! Some of the stuff we got to eat was pretty ridiculous considering we were at war."

Better than anything she ate back in the capital too. Even on the nights where she did good work and she was allowed to treat herself to something fancier at the tavern, they never had meals like the kinds of things she ate in the Somniel. The dining hall has some impressive dishes of its own, but…there's something about the Somniel's cafe that she misses.

Ah, well.

"Yeah! The Divine One had a few back on their farm. They looked pretty soft." Yunaka had tried to give the farm a wide berth, most of the time. The smell of the stables was unpleasant, and she was pretty sure that alpacas were the type of animals to spit on you if you weren't looking. She was not letting them do that to her, no siree.

She doesn't know who Lyn is referring to. She doesn't remember anyone like that coming up in their discussions back on the Somniel…but if she talked about her with a tone like that, she must be somebody very important. Yunaka smiles softly in turn with a gentle laugh. "You sound like you miss her."

[sunncutter]

"Hm? I suppose I do..." 

It was easy to say that she missed her friends, and Florina high among them, but there was such a constant ebb and flow of her presence in their lives, and vice versa, that it had not occurred to her to put a name to the feeling, simply allowing it to exist with the comfortable warmth of the memories they had created together, and the fond wistfulness at the thought of creating new ones. 

"But she's off on her own now. Perhaps she's gone back to Ilia for a while, but the nature of it is that she'll fly off to distant places to work, and will move on – that's what a pegasus knight does." 

Their steps had taken them back through the forest, not following precisely the same route over hill and knoll, but along the cleaner paths meant for hunting. She could see the spires of the monastery in the distance, and tucked the fringe of her scarf up, against her nose, wrinkling it with a little laugh. 

"Maybe if we'd had an alpaca, the journey back would not be so long. Can they be ridden?" She didn't know – they might have been too small. "Your...Divine One? Collected them, I'm assuming? A unique animal to have, I think." 

There was a pause in companionable quiet for a moment before she added, "It seems as though so many of us have already been to war. No matter the background, nor where we are from. I'm not familiar with your Divine One, I don't believe we refer to our Heroes in that way in Elibe, but...it seems as though we have that in common – that is, something or someone to believe in, and to fight for." 

A gentle cluck drew her attention, and she held out a hand to stop their movement, looking about the clearing until she saw the shuffle of movement – a lone turkoose, possibly separated from its flock. 

Lyn cocked her head. "What do you think? Should we leave it be?" 

[crevassier]

he will be (de)frogged soon alhamdulillah

closed starter for @sunncutter | +1 faith

[crevassier]

With a squeal that sounded a tad too embarrassing even considering his current status, the little frog jumped back and lifted its little reddish paws…or were they his hands? In defense. “Hey, wait a second! No need to escalate to violence here! You wouldn’t hurt a little guy like me, would you?” As if to prove his point, the amphibian hopped around in a little circle, complete with a little ‘ribbit’ sound, before looking up at the maiden with big warm eyes begging for mercy.

“I’m just appreciating your beauty, no foul thoughts here!” Focus Sylvain, she’s the one who can effortlessly stomp you into oblivion here. Shaking his head, the frog blinked. One eye first, then the other. “Alright, I’ll get to the point. I’m a student, and someone turned me into a frog for no reason, and I don’t know how to go back. So I thought seeking a professor for help was the most sound thing to do. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

He then tried to get a little more height, not exactly enjoying the idea of being so small. A few hops landed him on a nearby stone bench- still far from ideal, but better. “I’m Sylvain from the Blue Lions, by the way!”

@sunncutter

[sunncutter]

It did not make sense, but it brought context to the whole thing. 

Lyn dropped to one knee to bring herself closer to level with the frog, hopping insistently as he spoke, identifying himself as not merely a student, but an infamous one. An eyebrow cocked dubiously. 

"Sylvain? I know you. Or rather, I know of you." Who hadn't heard that name around campus? Either in between snickers, or between harsh whispers, with the occasionaly shout thrown in for seasoning. Never had such a polarizing name been uttered aloud at Garreg Mach, from student or faculty alike. She had heard of him being a skilled lance, and, in spite of appearances, a sharp mind, but... 

"So who has turned you into a frog, then? And, more importantly, why have they done this?" 

She leant forward, arm extended for him to clamber into her palm if he would like, for her to lift him to eye level and to rescue him from harm's way on the flagstones. 

"If you provide me with the details that you know, perhaps we can get this reversed. I'm no skilled hand at magic, but whatever you've done, it can surely be something that we can reason with." 

[sunncutter]

to have and to hold, until death separates you

[lazulienne]

    “ Yes! ”  Lapis brightens at Lyn's redirect.  “ I don't want others to have it hard, but it sure does make me grateful to be with the people I have. ”  She chuckles softly. She wonders if people even ever really 'lose' this ceremony either, or if those helping out rig it to let the couple win at the very end. Lapis hadn't been briefed to do so, but she imagines if it came to it, so long as she saw the party involved trying their best, her heart would have softened and would have wanted it to work out for them.

She hopes what the couple gains, beyond gratitude, is the realization of how far they would go for one another— a reaffirment of the vows by putting words to actions.

Lapis listens to Lyn speak more, feeling the nostalgia of hearing Lyn speak of the plains which seemed to raise her Emblem counterpart so well. Lapis tries to remind herself to not get swept away nor deterred by that nostalgia.

“ Oooh, sure thing! ”

It's easier when Lyn leads so well, pulling them over towards the buffet table. The food DOES look scrumptious, even if it might all be unfamiliar to her. As she's debating what she feels even worthy of taking, in the end grabbing the dishes that seem to be less popular, Lapis asks Lyn:

“ Say, you said you had a tradition on the plans kinda like what we were doing down here. What was it like? ”

[sunncutter]

"Hm? Oh, that." Lyn laughed a bit, waited her turn as Lapis perused and helped herself to the buffet table before approaching, seeking out both the familiar and unfamiliar. The wedding party had seemed to go out of their way to make such incredible smelling foods that she couldn't help but be appreciative of the assortments, the roasted meats and fried doughs, the little bowls of berries bright as the jewels on the bride's neck. 

"Well," she began, plucking a thick leg of poultry - perhaps Lapis would like to share, "It's not quite so involved as all this. It's not a specific ceremony but it is... I suppose one could call it a challenge of conviction." 

Leading them to a table where they could sit and enjoy their meal, she continued, thinking back on the long nights under the vast inky sky, turned vibrant indigo and sunset orange by the light of the great bonfires, "But if a man wanted to marry a woman, he needed to prove to her that he was worthy of her. Not merely that he was willing to fight for her, but that he could be her equal." 

Carefully, she picked at the meat on the drumstick, gestured to Lapis in invitation - which part would she like? - as she went on, "And so, once he got it into his head, if there was a festival or other feast, then they would wrestle. It was merely a match between couples, and one cannot count the women of Sacae out – their strength rivals that of the men, make no mistake!" 

Tearing a section of the drumstick to eat for herself, she grinned. "I can't say that I've participated in such a thing, as yet, or even if it was common amongst other tribes, but I recall many a husband regaling listeners with tales of his wife's beauty, and of her ferocity." 

[sunncutter]

broken looking glass

[nagaficat]

Lyn is right, Deirdre knows it. Sigurd is gone and has been for far more years than she has any desire to count. It does not stop her from dreaming, praying, knowing that she will see him again. She believes in miracles and she believes in her beloved.

She does know loss. She knows it far too well. She has lost friends, family, everyone. And she does long for them all. But this fortune teller is specific. Sigurd's name. He sees his face, just as she had in that grotto.

"Please," Deirdre begs, leaning forward with her hands clasped together and eyes wide with desperation. "You know something. Please, you must tell me."

He holds his hands over hers and nods. "Hold onto your hope. He will find you again."

She does not know if he is simply trying to indulge her but she does not care. All she wants is to hear someone else say it and he does.

"Oh! Lady Lyn! Can you imagine!"

[sunncutter]

It was difficult to imagine. She could, if she stretched credulity just far enough, but mostly, in this moment, she found the assertion cruel. 

"The dead cannot return to us," she snapped at the mystic, rising to kneeling as though she were making to stand, every line of her rigid with indignation. It was a mantra she had already needed to repeat to herself, when she was younger, the first step in a tragedy to accept that a tragedy had occurred – Lyn did not know how long ago Deirdre had experienced separation from her beloved, but it rankled to think that the peaceful medium they had come to in the grotto was being shattered so callously by a market performer. 

"Indeed they cannot," he said cryptically, idly, tilting his head first to one side, then the other, the fringes of his hair dusting against the robes on his shoulders lightly as he moved. It was an odd gesture, not quite thoughtful but something deeper and more pensive. "And yet, when I look into your eyes, my lady, all I see is a fire that burns so bright and so blue that it becomes the sun in the sky for you. 

"And is that not the warmest guiding star?" 

Lyn's fingers clenched into a fist. "That's enough. You cannot continue to torment her like this – I won't allow you to take advantage - " 

"Your guiding stars, however...are many, and scattered." The mystic's tone softened, and his eyes grew sad the longer he looked at Lyn. "There is someone waiting for you, but it is not the one that you want, is it?" 

A pause, where the man reached forward and glanced into her eyes, as though asking permission before taking a hand and patting it delicately, but with grave certainty. 

"Or perhaps it is that you do, but you cannot bring yourself to say it yet. It is home, though. It is home," he repeated, with another pat. 

[frigidsurge]

Don't let it weight you down

[frigidsurge]

It’s a little bit awkward; she spends uncountable moments gazing down at her hands.

Trying to chase the phantom warmth of touch just like she always does.

She still has a lot of healing to do, doesn't she?

Okay okay what else is there to do?

She can ask Lyn if she wants any jewelry to go with it, maybe something handmade based on her homeland.

She should have spare material, and what about the paper flowers?

But that's all for later; she should use this time for her own outfit, right?

She looks down towards the pile of clothing she’s still half buried in.

There has to be something. Maybe this one?

It has a silverish sheen to the white that could work well with the boots she owns, even if those aren’t the most responsible beachwear.

Crap

She’s about to take it out as one of the sleeves gets caught somewhere within the pile.

A gentler tug reveals it to be clearly severed halfway.

It had to be damaged already, right?

Otherwise it wouldn’t have come off so easily?

She should take this one. It might cost her the positive relationship with the shopkeepers if she’s found out and doesn’t own up to it.

She hears rustling coming up behind her and doesn't even think about instinctively hiding her mistake behind her back.

[sunncutter]

"Well?" She emerged from the changing room, and shifted into a bit of a pose before awkwardly dropping her hands back to her sides. She twisted her hips this way and that, appreciating the drape of the skirt. "What do you think? Does it meet your approval?" 

It was still not entirely what she was used to for moving around, but then, a ball wasn't going to be a battlefield. There would be no need for any feats of athleticism, nor for any defense of her life, or that of her friends. 

Just enough for a dance with a friend, perhaps, or a walk along the beach. 

"It's lovelier on a person. You have a good eye for this, I'm glad that I run into you here." Lyn offered a smile, the corners of her eyes creasing. "I'm sure that you'll be able to find exactly what you're looking for, as well. You need it to be white, right? Are you trying to match with someone?" 

[sunncutter]

but where are the moles and do they give pentacles

[heliacalrisings]

Somehow, this is what he's been roped into. Ephraim can't say that the monastery lacks a variety of things to do. He's never made mochi, nor tried it, but today that will change. Rhythmic thumps echo in the kitchen as he and his partner work toward pounding the dough.

Lyn pulls back and Ephraim follows with a worried glance toward Lyn.

"Apologies," he offers. "I should be more careful too. It's not an experience that I'm used to. Why don't we switch places? If you hit my hands, I'll take the mallet back." He offers a light smile along with the suggestion.

The mention of the mirror brings out a scoffing laugh. "Drama's Mochi Madness. Except whoever doesn't finish theirs first gets booed at by the audience."

He offers her the mallet in case she wishes to take him up on his offer. "What was your take on how that all turned out?"

[sunncutter]

"Hm? No, don't worry about it. I'm not so sure your hands would be quick enough," she teased, though it held little bite. One person needed to pound, and the other needed to reach – while she was certainly strong enough to wield the mallet, she didn't want to risk striking him, and although she didn't know him well, he seemed of a sort with Hector. That was, less dextrous. 

"We'll adapt. I'll be curious to see if it's more worth it than...whatever all of that was." A laugh, and a shake of her head as they resumed their prior rhythm. 

It seemed that Ephraim was less forgiving of their time behind the mirror than even she was. For all that it had been an assignment to execute someone, it had been purely a game, with little else to drive them forward – and at the end of it, just a pathetic man, who had committed no crime. 

Lyn frowned, brow pinching thoughtfully. "I won't say I enjoyed it, certainly. It seemed...it all felt so misguided. As though...as though none involved knew what to expect, from any direction. I suppose that makes a better show, in the end – right?" 

But what of the church, then? What of those who had sent them? 

"I guess..I just wish we knew why."