#hare; threads

[skalitzhare]

❝  i was sort’ve hoping you needed me.  is that selfish?  ❞ (Theresa) (x) @synskalitzuv

It had been months since Theresa had last seen Henry. Ever since he’d gone off with the young Lord Capon, she’d heard nothing from or about him. It was all noble’s business that she wasn’t privy to, she was sure that’s all it was; not to mention she couldn’t read - if he’d wanted to send word, there was no way it would have been able to reach her. The fact that he’d told her it was only meant to take a couple of weeks, well… she tried to disregard the horrible things her imagination presented her with.

A knock at the door distracted her from her baking, her wandering mind. That usually meant someone looking for her Uncle, there for business, though she wondered what kind of business that might be this late in the day. He’d headed out to the tavern early that day anyway, so she was the one to answer, wiping her hands on her apron as he went to let them know he was out. Upon opening the door, however, it became obvious they weren’t there for her Uncle at all.

“Henry!” Theresa leapt forward, throwing herself at him and squeezing him as tight as she could. A beat passed before she became aware of what she had just done and got a hold of herself again, stepping back from Henry and smoothing down the front of her dress, trying to brush off some of the flour that still clung to it. “I’m— It’s wonderful to see you again,” she spoke, trying to ignore the blush creeping up her neck. Despite herself, she couldn’t keep her smile contained, “You’re finally back! And you’re here?”

I was sort’ve hoping you needed me. Is that selfish?

“Needed you? Henry, you silly boy! You think you’ve left my mind once since you left?”

[skalitzhare]

[ stitch ] hans stitches henry's wound + "you're banned from doing anything remotely dangerous." (x) @pirkstein

“You know that—ow—that Father would never approve of that. He finds far too much joy in sending me off on his errands.”

Henry didn’t mean it with any real displeasure of course, he loved his father and he lived to serve those he loved, but... admittedly, he could do with a rest. He was sent out often to follow rumours of poachers and bandits in the woods around Rattay and wipe them out if they proved true. That was just what this had been, a regular task, but he had stumbled upon this particular camp while only following a simple lead and was wildly underprepared. His hand had been forced and he’d had to wipe them out, though not without sustaining an injury himself. A gash to his arm, thankfully not his sword arm, that had bled the whole way back to the city despite his half-hearted attempts to staunch it.

When he’d walked through the gates bleeding everywhere his victory had unfortunately been somewhat overshadowed.

“Where did you even learn to do this? I thought you’d have people to do such a thing for you—” his teasing tone was cut off with another “—ouch, Hans!”

[skalitzhare]

[ FLOWER ]: sender offers a flower to receiver. - for Theresa (x) @blacknighted

Their walk had taken them off the beaten path that day, further into the woods, following along the gentle trickle of a stream. Theresa suspected Henry might be searching for herbs of some kind, but she was just pleased to tag along, not minding if he used their little walks for something more practical. She was a practical woman herself! She could hardly blame him.

A singing in the trees drew her attention away from Henry, catching sight of a thrush flitting between branches as it serenaded them. She recalled a time gone past when a pair of thrushes had chosen to nest in a bush just outside of her family’s kitchen window, filling meal times with their melodious calls, for a time. She would sit and watch them as her mother cooked dinner, darting back and forth with food for their own hungry mouths. They had never returned to that nest, but they had been her favourite bird ever since.

Her gaze lingered a moment longer, before Henry drew it back.

“Oh!” a pleased giggle joined the birdsong as Theresa turned back to see a flower offered out to her, a pretty purple one, small but vibrant. “Why, thank you,” she took on a playful tone, plucking the flower from Henry’s hand and tucking it carefully into her hair. One she was certain it wouldn’t slip out, she tilted it towards Henry, framing her face with her hands, “How do I look?”

Out of the corner of her eye, a patch of bright yellow caught her eye, and she immediately knew she had to return the gesture. She bent down and carefully picked what she deemed the brightest flower of the bunch, then straightened up and stepped close to Henry.

“Here,” she reached out to tuck it behind his ear, then stepped back to admire him, a light blush dusting her cheeks. “Now we match!”

[skalitzhare]

❛ you're not as bad as everyone says you are. ❜ - for istvan (x) @drahnovice

The water ran red as the bloodied chest plate was dunked into it, Istvan having angled himself upstream from it so the muck didn’t flow straight into his legs. Thankfully the fight hadn’t been too messy, so there was minimal clean up for his clothes and armour, but the late summer heat had dried out the blood quickly. It didn’t wash off as easily as he’d hoped it would.

He hummed, amused by Erik’s musings.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, boy,” he scrubbed at a splash of blood with his thumb, and then the heel of his palm when it didn’t immediately come away. “That vagabond made no difference to us, alive or dead. I only let him go because it was simpler than killing him. Far less to…—” he trailed off as he finally managed to dislodge the grime, watching it flake off and wash away— “clean up.”

Straightening up, he pushed his hair away from his face, his chaperone discarded with his shoes at the river’s bank. He was tiring of this. Especially in the heat; though the water was cool against his lower legs, sweat still beaded on his forehead and wet his hair.

“It was not an act of selflessness. Just convenience. If a man spares a life, it does not make him good. It is whether or not it was in his own interest that determines that,” he looked over at Erik, observing as he worked away in the heat at his own armour. “You’d do well to remember it.”

He would make a lesson out of horse shit, if he could.

[skalitzhare]

" if  you  need  to  cry,  i'll  look  the  other  way. "

- for Henry, from @favouredfortune

where it hurts starters. // @favouredfortune

"No," Henry attempted to blink away the blurriness in his vision and only succeeded in pushing the tears down his cheeks. Despite this, his voice didn't waver, "They were your family too."

The leaves of the linden tree rustled in a gentle breeze, dappled sunlight through the branches warming his face. Apart from the wind, Skalitz was silent, the bustle of life long gone from its familiar streets. It was the first time he'd been able to visit his parents in a while, given how busy life had become. He was sure Radzig had come back here before, but they had never visited *together* - in fact, Henry had only ever come here alone. There was something different about coming to see their graves with company. Shared grief softened the blow, but it couldn't stop the tears.

Henry sniffled and wiped his eyes on his sleeve, feeling smaller than he had in months.

"We didn't bring any flowers," he pointed out, all of a sudden far too aware how bare the mound of dirt before them lay.