#keepsduty

[peacewept]

𝑪𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑹𝑬𝑬𝑺 // accepting @keepsduty :: [ LAVENDER ] sender lays their head in receiver's lap and closes their eyes

❝ You need not pace with such dedication, Alenriel. ❞  Ama calmly sits, attuning to the gifts their Lady has bestowed upon her. Eyes closed, she exhales and stretches her consciousness along the earth, she feels the vibrations upon the ground, and faintly senses footfalls in the distance, including the patrol of her companion.  

❛ I need to keep you safe. ❜ Protection declares as Peace feels them pause in front of her. 

Ama peeks, opening an eye and looks around them to the lush emptiness. Save for a few creatures in their midst, there was nary a soul around them. Soft curl to the corner of her lips when they fully open their eyes and vision falls to the back of Alenriel who so diligently scrutinizes their surroundings. She sighs, amused and contented.

❝ Ah yes, I've nearly forgotten about the perils of the forest. Something is bound to swoop upo- ! ❞ Her voice is cut short with a sharp gasp, sunset gaze widening to … a single leaf falling before her. Their jest, however, would not be taken lightly by Alenriel.

❛ I fail to find the humor in that. ❜ She shoots Ama a stern gaze but that does little to temper the faint smile on the Messenger’s face. 

❝ Forgive me, I meant no harm by it. ❞ Hand delicately placed above her heart accompanies a slight bow of her head in apology. A hush briefly falls before them one that Ama seeks to cut short as she reaches the same hand to Alenriel.  

❛ What? ❜ The study from golden eyes darts from hand to Ama's visage.

❝ Humor me. ❞ Still with gentle smile and beckoning reach, as if extending an olive branch to the other, they would wait until the grasp is taken and Alenriel is pulled to rest her head in Ama's lap.

Instantly Peace notes the tension in Protection’s form, unable to fully let themselves relax. Ama is nothing but patient, so she waits for the inevitable apprehension, yet before Alenriel can bring a refuting voice, Ama holds up a halting hand.   

❝ Just… ❞ A sigh and she places on hand atop their chest, the other rests at their crown as another soft exhale leave her. 

❝ Focus on the wind caressing the leaves above us. Listen to the hare shuffling amongst the grass and the fox that seeks to claim her. Feel the cool ground under us. Unknot your shoulders. Unclench your jaw. Take a deep breath in ... ❞ Ama lifts her hand from Alenriel's chest as if plucking an inhale from their lungs then pauses for one beat, then two, on the third she sweeps her hand along the air.

❝ Exhale, and simply stay here for but a moment. ❞ Ama's voice is gentle as the warm breeze while her thumb brushes along Alenriel's forehead. They have time before their Lady calls for them, so for now, it would be wise to settle in the solace while they're able.

[peacewept]

𝑪𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑹𝑬𝑬𝑺 // accepting @keepsduty :: [ LINDEN ] sender cares for receiver, who took a hit to protect them. + reversed

It would count as one few the few moments where Ama has experienced the pull of frustration. Her bow and arrow were discarded to the floor. A large boar lying dead before her. And Alenriel resting against a tree as Ama tends to her wound.

Delicately she weaves the strands of magic within the air. As if conducting it to her whims, the threads seek to stitch up the puncture left by the charging animal. Peace attempts to conceal the vexation along her visage as she looks to Protection. 

❝ I could have handled it. ❞  she starts through a tensed jaw,   ❝ Andruil is not one to send her porter out into the wilds without proper training against it. ❞

❛ I could not stand by do nothing. I- ❜

❝ What good is a shield if it's broken?! ❞   She feels her voice rising without intent and stops herself with a deep inhale. She looks away from Alenriel as she holds it, then releases the air threatening to burn her lungs. 

❝ I'm sorry... but I am no rare flower needing to be sheltered. ❞  the softness returns to her tone,  ❝ And you cannot always be there to protect me. ❞  In this, Ama keeps her gaze from Alenriel, unable -and unwilling- to witness the reaction to her words. So they sit in silence for a time before it is Alenriel who breaks it.

❛ What do we do with this? ❜

Another sigh as Ama looks at the boar, then off to a small settlement in the distance, newly formed and buzzing with life. She nods in the direction.

❝ We could give it to the people. Treat it like a reward for their sacrifices. ❞

❛ Do you think they would trust such a thing? ❜ Alenriel questions in a sigh of relief as the wound finally closes, to which Ama softly smiles and stands as a wind picks up around them without a source.

❝ Perhaps not... ❞ She shrugs while feathers start to gather on her mantle in her trek towards the carcass. Ama would add in a glance over her shoulder. ❝ But they would be wise to heed their Lady's Messenger. ❞

[peacewept]

𝑰 𝑵𝑬𝑬𝑫… // accepting @keepsduty

At times she is too immersed with the nature around her in this form. Every vibrant blossom. Every bristle of wind across her wings. She watches how the sun filters through the branches. Feels the caress of its warmth along her being. It brings an inward smile yet it serves to hinder her pace under Protection's watch.

I need you to stay with me.

Their voice reaches the owl's ears and she circles back to Alenriel and with a flutter of feathers, bare feet soon catch up to her stride.

❝ Oh, of course. ❞ said with a sheepish laugh and gentle smile. As they continue to walk, a moment is stolen to gaze upon the gently falling leaves, eyes of sunset dancing along the foliage. And it is in this instant that they wonder why their Lady has sent for them to venture to these parts unknown to her. She wishes to pose the question to Alenriel. It sits on the tip of her tongue, yet worries it might seem as an inquiry of insubordination.

❝ There's a river just up ahead. Do we have time for a quick rest on our journey? ❞ So she presents a different question altogether, though it still rests within her vision.

Curiosity is genuine, but a hint of concern is lingering within Serenity’s mind; a heaviness is weighing at their core. She knows The Huntress has grown restless as of late and there is an uncertainty that grows too thick to ignore. But she hoped it was nothing more than just a fleeting inkling to be quickly disproven. They could only hope as much.

Hope. It was such a fragile thing, but there was power in it as well. A force that should be nurtured, cherished … protected.

[peacewept]

Protect your peace not in a self-care or affirming way, but a secret third thing; Dani & Lou losing their gd minds over the yin yang dynamic of Protection & Peace c':

[halerellan]

❝ I'm glad to be me -- an incredibly sensitive instrument. ❞ // from @keepsduty

Their mouth twitched, but Eolasan was steadfast in not openly smirking at her. They kept to their courtesies and their picturesque stance, awaiting the moment any call - or retaliation - would be necessary. The retinue of Andruil was formidable, that much was certain, and more than that, they would never disrespect the intent of their Lady by causing friction amongst Her allies. Especially not for someone as...single-minded as Andruil's Protection.

Even if their brand of devotion to their liege tempted the promise of an easy, entertaining runaround.

"Oh, yes," Eolasan replied evenly, if somewhat dryly. "I am sure Your Lady in particular finds your sensitivity quite instrumental. No doubt you serve her well where you are wanted."

[weptfreedom-archive]

"You'll make yourself sick." // for ilriane, from @keepsduty

the thief | accepting

He shrugs through a mouthful of pastry originally intended for more worthy hands than his. This, one of a handful left after kitchen workers had taken their share, he devours with more enthusiasm than grace, which is what prompted their comment, he thinks. Ilriane Mirilan pauses between bites, reaches to claim and offer Alenriel their own, fleeting mischief of this moment brightening his eyes. "Perhaps I've earned it." One last bite, and he takes another. Greedy, perhaps, but he'd missed the last mealtime.