#kestrael

[viburni-archive]

@kestrael.

bodies mend easily when one has the power to stave off death. she'd been not much older than the girl in front of her when she'd asked the queen to teach her, but their first lesson has always stuck with her. bodies mend, of course, but souls need time that spells cannot fold into a blink. still, healing wounds is what lina can do. skin stitching back together, blood wiped away. she'll have a cough, the little one, but in time it will lessen to something barely there. and above all else, sleep ⸻ while magic takes the pain away, the body still needs rest to fight off whatever things her light can't reach.

it's two days later when her young guest stirs. the house is small, just a room with a cot and a space for eating, but the fireplace is blazing to ward off the winter, and the spinning wheel whirls monotone and gentle in lina's hands. a moment later, fear permeates the air.

❝ you are safe. ❞ small as the room is, it doesn't take long for her to approach the bedside. approach, but not touch, kneeling next to the woollen mattress, calm radiating off of her with a flick of her wrist. a quiet prayer. let her heart settle. let her fear dull. ❝ easy, puiule*, nothing will harm you here. it's just you, me, and the cat, yes ?? ❞

[hellesfeuer-a]

      *      KESTRAEL      /      ft.   cassandra      —      “      there’s   more   than   meets   the   eyes.      ”

it   is   difficult   to   wrestle   with   the   truth   of   what   has   happened.         caleb   should   have   checked   over   the   stones   more.      he   should   have   known   better.      nothing   in   eiselcross,   tiptoeing   through   the   fallen   remnants   of   aeor,   is   as   it   seems.      his   stupidity   costs   jester   greatly,   as   it   turns   out.

and   there   is   this   young   woman   to   reckon   with   as   well.      @kestrael​​   appears   alongside   jester,   in   a   flash   that   causes   them   to   avert   their   eyes,   caleb   and   the   rest   of   the   mighty   nein   standing   watch      —      and   there   they   both   are:      jester,   older   and   changed,   and   cassandra,   who   none   of   them   know,   but   who   jester   clearly   does.

she   looks   at   caleb   as   though   she   knows   more   of   him   than   he   does   of   her.      highly   likely,   given   the   circumstances   .   .   .      but   still.      he   questions   it   eventually,   having   come   across   cassandra   in   the   tower   library   one   night.            “      more   to   me?      ”            he   asks.            “      or   more   to   you?      ”            he   worries   for   jester      —      worries   for   them   all.

[viburni-archive]

in character tarot readings | @kestrael

the hierophan, reversed, the magician, three of pentacles.

the deck of cards is old, the silver silk pouch embroidered with blue thread looking as if it had jewels stitched to it once upon a time. they still glide between lina's hands as she shuffles, the smile she gives little cassandra soft, if a little bemused.

❝ now, sweetheart. the weavers of fate are tricksy things. and in you i sense there is a great destiny. but let us ask the cards. ❞ slow, methodical, the shuffling, the cutting, the three cards on the blanket between them, flipped face up with delicate flicks of her wrist. the crown of flowers they'd made together had slipped to the side, and as she takes in the story being written in front of her, she looks more fey than woman, joy cassandra has learned to read writ plainly in her face.

❝ ah yes, ❞ she hums, fathomless eyes unfocused. ❝ the journey you have embarked on is one of novelty ⸻ you will forge a new way, rebelling against the constraints of a past that does not serve you anymore, nor those under your care. ❞ her index shifts to the magician, a beautiful woman with silver hair, hovering in the coiled circle of a silver dragon. ❝ your greatest strength is your power of will, and ... ❞ at last she touches the third card, a man with blue skin, a person so pale it almost looks as if they are devoid of colour, and the same silver haired woman from the card prior, ❝ you will not be alone. forging a new era requires a group of people helping you build. and you will find them. ❞

[turnedfolkl0re-gone]

@kestrael : is there some place quieter? ( sophie & cassandra. meme. )

parties were admittedly not sophie's favorite thing. on the off chance that they were invited to mostly bridgerton hosted affairs, the once servant girl always felt a bit out of place whenever they would attend. her husband would calm her nervous the entire ride into london, and while on the surface it would help a bit, sophie still couldn't shake the fact that she still felt like the black sheep of the event. as though every single person that she passed somehow knew her secret. so when cassandra leans in closer and asks to step away for a bit, a smile almost immediately crosses sophie's features, turning to whisper a passing excuse to benedict and before turning back to her friend.

❝ i thought you would never ask. come now, i know just the place. ❞

[viburni-archive]

grown-up cass is 5'2 (157 cm) unfortunately

SHE'S HER ITTY BITTY BABY

[divinatiions]

[ FIRST ]: sender and receiver share their very first dance together.

Arranged marriages were already odd to him. Before the world ended, he'd caught hints of conversations his parents had been having with consultants. Something about Whitestone, how strong they might have been as allies. It was imperative they offer the princess to keep the favor of the de Rolos. Even when power shifted to different hands, there was still a letter written to the Briarwoods asking after any heirs. They would, of course, meet after the princess came of age.

But the princess was gone now, as were the parents who'd dictated her fate. Still, Lukas had been welcomed into the castle with open arms. He'd accepted the room Delilah had given him, and tried his best to ignore the way her eyes narrowed when her tongue couldn't produce the princess' name. He tried to ignore the Briarwoods as a whole, really, which was easier said than done.

They watch now, as he and @kestrael take to the ballroom floor. He's faintly aware of the sound of a piano, but his footing is nervous, faltering as he does his best to lead Cassandra in a waltz. ( Practice for their wedding day, Delilah says after they're done with dinner. )

" Sorry, " murmurs Lukas, gaze lifting from his feet for the first time since they'd started dancing. " It's been...er, a while. Since I've done this. "

[adveanture]

      *      KESTRAEL      /      ft.   cassandra      —      [   VIKING   AU   ]      sender   is   traded   to   the   vikings   for   safe   passage   and   is   subsequently   married   to   the   jarl’s   oldest   child,   receiver 

it   is   not   secret   that   frank   is   expected   to   marry.         she   is   her   father’s   oldest   child,   the   future   leader   of   their   people.      she   needs   a   partner   at   her   side,   he   and   her   mother   often   remind   her.      but   frank   is   in   no   hurry,   and   she   does   not   sit   about   the   village,   wishing   for   a   lover   to   call   her   spouse.      if   she   should   wish   for   someone   in   her   bed,   there   are   plenty   to   choose   from      —      and   plenty   that   she   has.      so   she   offers   no   protestations   when   @kestrael​​   is   traded   to   their   people   in   exchange   for   the   safe   passage   of   those   she   travels   with      —      her   parents,   they   say,   but   frank   cannot   believe   them;      her   mother   and   father   would   never      —      and   her   father   offers   the   pair   of   them   the   arrangement.      they   both   seem   willing   enough,   though   frank   is   not   foolish   enough   to   think   the   pretty   girl   with   the   fancy   clothes   fancies   that   she   has   much   of   a   choice   in   the   matter.      but   she   will   have   a   home   of   her   own,   at   least.      and   frank   has   no   need   of   cassandra   as   a   true   companion   if   the   girl   does   not   wish   it,   too.            “      we’re   not   as   barbaric   as   ye   may   have   heard,      ”            she   tells   her   new   wife,   who   is   still   pale   and   drawn   and   quiet.            “      nobody’s   gonna   hurt   ye   here,   least   of   all   me.      ”

[delmah]

@kestrael.

 she’s   too   old   for   naps   now,     but   she   still   lets   her   mother   tuck   her   into   bed   with   a   story   and   a   kiss,   piling   blankets   on   top   of   her   to   keep   the   chill   of   whitestone   at   bay.   this   is   the   routine   whenever   they   come   visit   :   delmah   will   go   sleep,   and   mama’s   gonna   walk   down   to   the   bakery   to   spend   time   with   auntie   vex   and   auntie   pike.   she   knows.   she’s   followed   her   out   before.   and   then   when   delmah   super   totally   wakes   up,   they   have   dinner,   all   of   them,   and   she   gets   to   hear   even   more   stories.   but   she’s   never   actually   explored   the   castle   all   by   herself,   which   means   that   she   promptly   gets   lost.         (     the   pretty   lady   in   white,   whitney,   she   explains   with   a   bemused   curtsy,   makes   sure   she   doesn’t   get   too   too   lost   and   leads   her   to   a   door   delmah   pushes   open   all   on   her   own.   ghosts,   she   knows   by   now,   don’t   do   well   with   physical   things.     )

 aunt   cassandra   is   writing   something,   so   delmah   makes   sure   to   be   as   quiet   as   a   mouse,   muffling   her   giggle   behind   a   hand,   until   she’s   close   enough   for   a   good   spook.         ❝     hi   !!   found   you.     ❞         experience   also   dictates   that   if   she   makes   herself   cute   enough,   she   absolutely   will   not   get   in   trouble,   so   she   smiles,   eyes   wide.