#deevis

[valflaame]

arvis & deirdre's party outfits. :) @nagaficat

[nagaficat]

28. A memory that strains a relationship

Also asked by @thelightofcreation

The first time she dreams of the blue haired knight is on her wedding night. He smiles at her, reaches for her from atop his snow white horse. He knows her name but she does not know his. His eyes are kind and his smile inviting and she wants to go with him. To take his hand and ride away with him. She reaches, their fingers are about to touch, but she wakes with a jolt.

Tears stream from her eyes and her whole body shakes as she sobs. It had been such a pleasant dream so why does she now feel so sad, so empty, so lost? The man beside her stirs and quickly sits up when he realizes his new bride is in distress. He pulls her close, strokes her hair, and murmurs soothing promises of protection.

She tells him about her dream. About the knight and his white steed. She spares no details for perhaps her beloved might be able to help her understand. She's never met anyone quite so brilliant. If anyone might be able to find a meaning in it, surely it will be him. Besides, he is her lord husband and she sees no reason to keep anything hidden from him.

Something changes in his eyes as she describes the appearance of the dream knight. Soft concern for a sleepy wife disappears and is replaced with a swirling, fiery maelstrom that she cannot quite place. The arms around her tense and her own expression grows worried. When she asks for his feelings, he avoids any explanation. Only hushes her and bids her fall back asleep. It is late and they both need their rest. He lays back down and draws her close to his chest. It is best she forget this and she agrees. He is right, of course, it is just a silly dream.

The same knight continues to find her in her sleep, smiling and reaching. Her sweet, loving, concerned husband continues to ask why she cries in her sleep. She hushes him and tells him it is simply nightmares. His eyes are less frightening when she hides the entirety of the truth.

[avemaera]

Arvis does not wake with a start.

It is the same as nearly every night this week. Dark and turbulent chaos, with the briefest moments to breach the surface of stark white clarity. Visions of spiraling towers, deepest forests, and unknowable technology; all culminating in sunken eyes staring at the midnight ceiling of Belhalla castle.

He stares for a while, before finally sitting up in bed with a long sigh. To his left, the twins, dreaming together in their shared bassinet, a brand across each brow.

Julia, a mirror image of her mother, with the mark of Naga at the center of her forehead. And Julius-

Fingers find the matching brand at the nape of Arvis’s neck, and they nearly sear at the contact.

To his right, Deirdre, sleeping just the same. Hair like starlight in the dark, and eyes (though closed) as soft and pale as the only other person to ever love him in this life...

He settles beside her... taking hold of her hand and watching the slow rise and fall of her shoulders. He closes his own eyes and prays. To Fjalar. To Heim. Perhaps to Baldr most of all; for even just a fraction of the peace she finds in sleep.

[nagaficat]

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

She has been enjoying watching the students participate in this new fad of a game. Friends having fun teasing each other, lovers using it as an excuse to grow closer, and there have even been a few occasions that she has witnessed new couples form because of it. A few students she had been certain harbored feeling for each other but must have been too shy to act upon them until they had these cookies to use as an excuse.

For one who cherishes love in all its forms, Deirdre has enjoyed all of it immensely!

Her heart races with excitement when it comes her turn to participate in such a sweet little game. Her Arvis stands in her office doorway, a sly smile on his lips, before sticking a piece of Pocky between his lips and beckoning her forward.

"I did not think you were one to indulge in the games our students play," she teases him as she crosses the room. It is not so often that he shows this playful side of himself but she will happily indulge him anytime he does.

He leans down so she can reach and she tries very hard to make him wait for her lips on his. She takes tiny nibbles, laughing between each bite until she can no longer stand the wait herself, finishing the cookie in one big chomp as she throws her arms around him.

[nagaficat]

"My Deir, won't you come and share these sweets with me?" Camilla extends her hand to the forest maiden, inviting her to sit and enjoy the sweet bun trio with her. "An odd sort of ball this is..."

Flowers bloom as their hands meet and Deirdre is happy to be led over to a table. The little pastries look delightful and surely they will be even more delicious when shared with friendly company.

"It is nothing like the balls Lord Arvis and I would throw in Belhalla. I cannot imagine that he would enjoy the feeling of being watched like this." As much as her heart aches for him, perhaps it is better that her second husband is not here, at least on this night. She turns toward Sigurd with a dreamy haze over her eyes and a wistful sigh. "But Lord Sigurd is here with me and so I find myself quite enchanted by it all. What do you think, my lady? Are you enjoying the oddities?"

[nagaficat]

Oofa Doofa

"Duke Andrei," Deirdre curtseys as she greets her guest. But, oh dear, should she be curtseying? This is her first time introducing herself and not being introduced. The first time she's entertaining a guest on her own since being discovered as the king's granddaughter. It is intimidating without Arvis here to guide her in the proper etiquette for the situation. "I appreciate you taking the time to join me for lunch. Lord Arvis sends his apologies for not attending. An urgent matter came up but hopefully my company will suffice!"

It's too often that the duke is forced to abandon her at mealtimes. He is a busy man but she is a lonely woman! At least with Andrei, she will have some company. As unorthodox as it is, Deirdre has taken to insisting that her servants and guards sit down with her so she has someone to talk to.

"Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. I would have liked to have brought our table outdoors to the gardens but it has been so rainy so we will have to make do with my solar." The rain has not stopped her from finding time to take walks outdoors. She hopes he does not notice the mud staining the hem of her gown and the way her hair frizzes more than usual. There had been a moment when the weather finally let up a little just before she was supposed to meet with him and she simply had to take advantage even if it meant there wasn't enough time to make herself presentable.

She smiles warmly as she takes her own seat and waits for him to do the same. He looks awfully young but she supposes her husband had been even younger when he took up the mantle of duke.

@ulircursed

[nagaficat]

Headcanons: Babies and Stuff

CW: pregnancy, birth, pregnancy and birth complications, Deirdre/Arvis, too much Erica rambling

Seliph the pregnancy

Deirdre fucking loves being pregnant with Seliph. She's one of those people who just adores being pregnant and also does the whole glowing thing. She's here for it. It's a dream come true. She's been warned her whole life that this is something she can never have so like of course she wants it even more. She's grown up with no other children and knowing nothing of her biological family so she dreams of having one of her own some day. Someone to love her and break her curse and have children together with whom she can love unconditionally.

She is nervous at the beginning because her own mom died in childbirth. There's magic and shit but I can't imagine a medieval fantasy world having low birth mortality rates. Do they know about hand washing here? Skhddj. Anyway yeah that makes her quite nervous. She also worries a bit about her ability to be a good parent. She has no example to refer to good or bad. Ethlyn helps her through that a lot. Eth is like a big sis to her and Dee looks to her for advice often throughout the whole pregnancy since she’s already had Altena. Eventually the fears die down enough that she is able to fully enjoy the experience until much closer to the actual birth.

Deirdre sings and talks to Seliph while he's in utero. She's very much like this is a little person in there and I can't wait to meet him so I guess let's just start now! She starts just keeping at least one hand on her big tummy at all times just to feel closer to him.

Seliph the after birth

Ok so like it really annoys me that this woman would just dump her not even a year old son on a teenboy.  Like girl hello?  What’s he supposed to eat?  

Anyway I have an explanation.  Not at all an excuse but like you know.   I'm thinking about Deirdre having some ppd after giving birth to Seliph. And like being away from Sigurd and worrying about him fighting and the curse and whatever just kind of gets in her head. She can kind of fight back against it and vibe with Shannan by telling herself it is dangerous and blah blah blah but once that reason is taken away with Sigurd winning she can't hold back anymore and has to go be with her man.  It’s sad!

Twins Time

I think when she's pregnant with the twins things are different. With no memories, I think she'd have quite a bit of deja vu types of feelings. Like strange sensations that she's done this before but that's impossible. Maybe bouts of sadness and feelings of loss that she can't explain. But overall she is overjoyed and does still love the experience. I guess instead of fears about things going wrong it's replaced with weird feelings that's she's done this.

Ok so like you know in the real life the birth giver has to get like extra shots or whatever if the RH factor doesn’t match the baby’s?  That’s inspired me to think about stinky interactions between the Naga and the Loptous blood.  Dee has the minor Lopt blood herself so maybe it’s not super life threatening but I definitely think carrying Julius fucks her up pretty badly.  Exaggerated pregnancy symptoms like fatigue, light headedness, shit like that.  She ends up bedridden toward the end of it.  It’s brutal and it sucks.

Then when it’s time for her to give birth it really sucks.  It’s a long and hard labor.  Like a day long deal of awful.  There’s a close call where they almost lose her.  The Julia just slips out like it’s fucking nothing.  She’s warned not to get pregnant again.  It’s too dangerous.  This is devastating to her as she desperately would like to have more.

She does love being pregnant still though and she totally still glows. She's lovely like a goddess look at her. The idea of a family growing up in a peaceful time in their own home makes her so soft. Obviously she loves Sigurd and Seliph so fucking much but like the situation they were in as a family was not ideal. The twins will get to grow up in this ideal world and know both of their parents and have each other too! She's all about this perfect family picture that she never had and Arvis didn't have either. She wants her babies to have everything she never did. She never wants them to feel alone or unloved.

Deirdre as Mom for All the Babies

Dee insists on be very involved with raising her children. She doesn't want a nurse maid unless it's like a super emergency. She feeds them herself. And she absolutely coddles them. The second they start to cry she swoops in for the snuggle. She definitely baby wears and just wants to be near them always. She hates to hear them sad and will drop everything to cheer them up. They're her whole world. Especially so with the twins because I feel like it's harder for her to make friends in Belhalla than it was in Sigurds army. But she doesn't mind. She loves being super mom. She will often fall asleep in the rocking chair in the nursery please carry her to bed.

Nothing makes her happier than seeing her family together. Maybe it's watching Sigurd play wrestle with toddler Seliph. Or maybe Arvis is delighting the twins with simple little magic tricks. Even just everyone silently in the same room doing their own thing. Her face just lights up and she just drinks in the scene. Nothing is better. She wants that happy simple domestic life more than anything. She doesn't care about being the princess or the empress or money or castles or anything like that. She just wants to see her family enjoying each other.

[nagaficat]

Ghost Files

She thinks about him often. Her husband. Her beloved. Her darling Arvis. She worries how he might be faring without her. He's already lost so much in his life and now she has died and their daughter is sent away.

She hates to think of him without anyone to hold him close and reassure him that things will be alright. She hates knowing that he is as alone as she is.

But she sighs and tries to focus on the titles of the books on the shelf. There is nothing she can do for her family until she finds a way back to Jugdral but she can at least do her very best for her students. She cares so very deeply for them!

As Deirdre reaches to grab another book about casting without using a staff or tome to add to the growing pile in her arms, there is the sound of footsteps behind her. She turns to greet whomever it might be. When she sees his face she freezes and allows the books to tumble to the floor.

"Lord Arvis?" She rushes toward him. Her hands reach for his face and she laughs happily when she makes contact. "This is real. You are real. Oh, my love!"

@loptyrrany