#forgedinruin

[phantasiiae]

dancing for the first time {Clive for Jill - maybe them learning how to dance when they were younger 🥹}

First touch prompts || Accepting

Jill feels a little awkward. Anabella, despite her obvious dislike towards Jill and her family, for some reason still feels obligated to teach her the proper ways of court. She doesn't know why. Part of her thinks that maybe the duchess is planning on marrying her off as soon as the opportunity presents itself. The thought settles in the back of Jill's mind and leaves a bitter taste on her tongue, but she won't be mad at any chance she gets to be close to Clive.

They awkwardly clasp hands, stepping back and forth as Anabella harshly corrects them every now and then. She huffs, obviously frustrated, looking up at Clive with a frown. “Why is she so mean?” she mutters, sticking her tongue out a little. “I feel like I have two left feet.”

@forgedinruin

[lionheartedscout]

@forgedinruin

There is always that brief anxiety Gav feels whenever his friends are gone for a period of time. Even though they had received a report from a stolas not long ago, there's still that odd gut feeling that something had gone wrong, all these what-ifs swirling in his head and making his anxiety worse.

A musky scent reaches his nose first. Then he lifts his gaze and sees Clive approach, and all of his woes instantly melt away as he sighs with relief.

"You're back!" An easy smile graces his lips as he looks over his friend. "An' still in one piece, I see."

Not that he ever doubted Clive's skill with a sword, or even his skill with magicks. He can still sense some remnants of potent aether in the air surrounding the marquess, but decides not to comment on it.

"So, what news, my friend?"

[phantasiiae]

You’re lonely too. {Clive to sleipnir}

Deathless || Accepting

“Ah, what an astute observation. Did you come up with that all on your own? I was wondering why you were making a point to avoid me.” Perhaps it sounds bitter, but they are bitter. Of course Sleipnir is fucking lonely. The one person in the world who understood them better than anyone is gone. They're still trying to cope with it, but it's not necessarily going well. Loneliness isn't something they're accustomed to. Loneliness is a foreign feeling, thought, word. To admit to it feels like baring themselves in a way they never thought they would, but what other option do they have?

Silence hangs between them before Sleipnir lets out an irritated groan, dragging their hands down their face. They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't even be alive. If Clive was trying to make them feel better, it isn't working. “What do you know about loneliness, hm? You have all these people here who adore you, who worship the very ground you walk on. You are surrounded by people who care, and I…” They swallow hard, looking away. “I have lost the only person who cared. So yes, I'm lonely. Is that what you wanted to hear? It doesn't matter anyways."

@forgedinruin

[phantasiiae]

❛ the last time we talked, didn’t you say you wanted to kill me? ❜ {for Sleipnir from Clive @forgedinruin }

“I wouldn't put your guard down yet, Mythos. I may still want to.” Sleipnir's voice is sharp, their eyes narrowing as they look over at Clive. Truthfully, they could no more kill Clive as they could raise a hand against Barnabas. Clive may not be Odin, but he has Odin's powers. It's enough to keep a slight leash on them, enough to ensure that they wouldn't truly harm him unless some outside force commanded otherwise (they think of Ultima, how it appears in their dreams and still demands obedience. This is the closest thing they can imagine to being torn in two).

Still, that doesn't mean Clive needs to know that, if he hasn't figured it out by now. They sulk in the corner of his quarters, staring out the nearby window before letting out a long, withering sigh. “I need you to tell me why you brought me here. Really. And don't give me that savior bullshit. It can't be pity. I don't want your pity.” As they speak, their fingers dig into their own arm, leg bouncing anxiously. It's so unlike them to look so nervous, so small, but without Barnabas, who are they? “So tell me.”

[phantasiiae]

could we talk about… us? {for Jill from Clive @forgedinruin }

Morning after || Accepting

“..Well, what do you think there is to talk about?” Jill thinks it's quite obvious that their relationship has progressed to something more. It takes a lot of trust and vulnerability to give herself to someone like this. Then again, grief does funny things to people. Cid's death could've only fanned the flames between them. Grief like this can make people do things they wouldn't normally do, but she's always had feelings for Clive, even when they were children. Seeing him again brought back feelings she long thought to be lost within her trauma. 

She reaches up, gently brushing his hair out of his eyes and giving him a small smile. Here, wrapped up in Clive's embrace, just the two of them, she really thinks there's nothing to discuss. Clive has always been a gentleman, though, and she should know better than to just think he would presume anything between them. “Clive, I…have always had feelings for you, for as long as I can remember. If that's what you mean.” Her fingers trail down his cheek, his jawline, before he hand rests against his chest, feeling the thrumming of his heart underneath. “I would hope that this proves that.”