#lunarsbrace

[ivalatona]

Not So Fated A Meeting

What is that I spy

with my little eye~?

The markings of a princess, no doubt! It takes one to know one, and L’Arachel knows when she spots someone of similar ilk. That flowing sea-colored hair, the way she carries herself down the academy’s halls, her soft tone of voice--all come together to solidify the idea in her mind. And who better to befriend her than a fellow princess? If L’Arachel is to gain fame and favor in this land, she’ll have to start by connecting to its royals. 

Oh, but there is that secret identity of hers. She’ll have to try extra hard not to blurt out being from Rausten.

In her hands is a simple textbook, but today it shall be the key to this fair lady’s heart. L’Arachel wastes no time waltzing in front of her, acting innocent, pretending to be minding her own business... And then, thud! The book drops. She purposely lets it fall loose from her hands at Eirika’s feet, giggling to herself on the inside, but playing the part of a flighty maiden on the outside.

“Oh, heavens me! Aren’t I just such a clutz today? You have my apologies for disrupting your busy schedule. I’ll just pick this back up and be on my way...” And so she does. Well, at least that first part. L’Arachel has no intention to leave just yet. She gently bends down to retrieve her book, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear when standing back up again. “Ah, but before I do, would you mind telling me your name? You have such a refined appearance, you see, so I’d quite like to know you...” Without so much as hearing the other’s reply, she gasps, “Wait, don’t tell me! Are you a princess? Aha, I knew it was divine providence that brought us together! I am L’Arachel, Rausten’s own prince-- oopsie, I mean, Beautiful Princess of Peerless Beauty!” 

Handshakes are not a thing this absurd royal does. Instead, she presents her hand palm-down, for Eirika to kiss. It’s all just part of the fun of being holy royalty! “My mission is to slay the many denizens of darkness in the land, so amassing an army of likeminded princesses only seems the logical course of action, wouldn’t you agree?”

Do keep in mind that L’Arachel is acting purely on an assumption here. She doesn’t know Eirika is also of superior breeding, even if she’s convinced in her mind that she does. That, and the confident grin she wears really highlight the ridiculousness of this forced encounter.

@lunarsbrace

[swiftscion]

The Moon and Stars

A strange request, nay, a demand has come in for the school of Garreg Mach: a wealthy noble has apparently misplaced one of her pets, and she wants him back. He’s about six feet tall, hairy, orange, and has a face only a mother could love… according to her servant’s pleading description. Last she saw him, they’d been traveling near the Sealed Forest. Great! So all you have to do is track him down then and wait, hold up– is that a monkey? Why is it charging right for you? And why’s it wielding a sword?! … Oh, don’t forget, if you harm a hair on her pet’s head, she will have yours on a plate in return. [Grants Sword +1]

“...Huh? Hey, look out!”

CLANG!

Steel meets steel in a flash of unforeseen combat! Larcei pushes Eirika to the side by the time she can hear the clash of swords, but the force behind each blade drives them together in a bind. In other words, even if Eirika blinked, she’d still be able to catch the action. 

The scion’s keen senses caught the early warning signs of the monkey’s move, which allow her to react fast enough to parry its advance. If Eirika watches closely enough, she’ll be able to notice to just how similar Larcei’s motion is to their target’s. Both slashes from the sword-bearing mammals come out in a similar manner, and they meet in the same way--just opposite.

Larcei steps to her left, and the monkey to its right. They go back again, and it’s clear that neither side will give in. This monkey is reckless and aggressive, but Larcei can’t just break her weapon’s grasp on the thing. If she did, she’d be letting it swing wildly. She looks back to Eirika for answers, swallowing her pride and accepting the fact that this is a two-person job,

“Uh, hi,” She breathes, “That was a little, ngh, unexpected. Look, as much as I wanna cut this furry little demon into the ground for challengin’ me, I’m pretty sure we were given instructions not to hurt it.” The voice that speaks to the Renais woman is strained and struggling. Larcei finds difficulty not in merely fighting a monkey, but in restraining herself from damaging it. She knows it won’t let up, but she has to. How unfair! 

“Ugh, this thing’s really making me mad! ‘Think you can go in behind and grab it by the tail or something? The last thing I wanna stare at his annoying face any longer--Grrrahhh!” 

A last, forceful push marks the end of Larcei’s dialogue. She leverages the pair of locked blades mere inches away from the primate’s face--providing Eirika with the opportunity to lend a hand. If she chooses to listen to Larcei, or act out a plan of her own, it would be wise of her to consider a monkey’s agility...

@lunarsbrace

[fieryfreelancer]

L + Ratio + Cry About it + Stay Mad + Cope + Seethe + That’s why your bracelet got stolen 

Perhaps asking Eirika to be her company on a mission was a mistake. She’d just been hoping that this blue haired woman was less dense than the exalt, and while it clearly wasn’t Lucina... Eirika had her own little road bumps that she had to get over. 

Like, oh dear Naga above, please, stop talking about your brother. Could you imagine talking extensively about a family member in such a positive light? Severa could never. 

The biggest difficulty on this connect is mainly that she never had siblings. She had close friends, but never any brothers or sisters. Just flawed parents who tried their best. And while that was respectable, it was just difficult to relate to. The closest thing she’s ever had to siblings would probably be... Inigo and Owain when they all hopped ship that carriage wreck of a timeline. 

“That is fantastic Eirika, I’m so glad to hear that,” tone not quite matching the enthusiasm her words might invoke. “Look, there’s the town up ahead. Stay close to me and don’t be weird.” As hard as that may be for the younger princess, Severa had some semblance of faith. Head turned to watch the other, she doesn’t even realize that there’s something in her way, shoulder bumping into some guard by the gate.

Head whipping around, her pony tails flailing about with her, she snaps, “Hey! Watch where you’re goin’!” The guard, completely unshaken by the minor bump, turns to face the two girls, and now, perhaps, there is something akin to remorse in her stomach.

“Oh, uh, I-”

“Sorry about that. I should’ve been more mindful. Are you two here to answer my mission request? The one about the duel?” 

The girl didn’t expect a no-named guard to be the reason that they were there, and the mission sure didn’t list a duel with her... Sev has this uneasy feeling as her eyes meet Eirika’s.

@lunarsbrace

[bladelike]

*    dear  marisa ,                                                [ contact ]                  one muse touches the other’s arm in a sympathetic gesture  ♡                                                   *    sincerely ,    eirika  ——  @lunarsbrace​​  .  

                THERE  SHE  STOOD,  IN SILENCE     with that blank expression that felt too natural on her features in the middle of a now quelled battlefield.  ensanguined :  remains of the lives that poured out of her hands,  gore that stuck her face, mangled her hair, stained her leather skirt ——   even that felt normal.   many believed that only the divine decided what  would be  &. could be  possible.  she  thinks they may be right .  as her sights set on what  was  meant to be  another chaperoned mission for students, accompanied by the knights... turned into what  would be another unfortune slaughter in a matter of minutes.

            she  relaxes,  lowering  her  blade.  breathe,   in  [ ... ]  out,  repeat.  she called this safety,  called  it  refuge . but, she dares not call this freedom.  knowing she is weaponized  :   a mere extension of her blade,  didn’t get such a luxury.  people found her useful when there was a blade in the ridges of her palms. she knew that. this was her worth:  a woman made weapon. she like it that way. it was simple.  bones shift inside of her and lungs steady themselves as the battle high settles on her veins, settling her thoughts with each breath, regaining what she called normalcy. 

             resurfacing long thoughts abandoned in empty churchyards,  watching an overgrown graveyard haunted with the voices of those who never made it out   &.   the  amount of  times she had been inches away from the sharp end of another’s weapon and two wrong moves from following them in suit.  but,  it was something . she always emerged ——  just fine .  whether it be freshly off  the battlefield with someone else’s blood dried on her skin with or  the the taste of iron seeping out of her teeth.

         she flicks crimson off her sword, painting the mud red under it’s empty slash.  freedom, hmm...   she couldn’t believe such a thing. because in her dictionary :   freedom never started for her it only showed in scraped palms, open wounds, and bandages.  freedom ends in pain whether it be her’s  or  another’s  or the lingering memories of the way her father yelled the words that always etched ever so clearly in her mind,  desperate to make a carbon copy of himself in her skin. with that she knew that her freedom was resigned and it hardly bothered her in the slightest anymore. believing that if she taught herself how to become nihility itself.  how to leave behind nothing but a lattice of broken elements —— that everything would be better if she just managed to make it through another day no matter the state she’s in. that was her method of freedom.

           just like sealing the endless thoughts,  she returns the shamshir to it’s scabbard, she looks around, it was just her and eirika. everyone else seemed preoccupied as they tended to the wounded and apprehended whatever criminals still managed to hold onto their breaths.  she turns back to the only person who seemed to keep up with her on the battlefield in terms of speed, but the look on her face was mixed with fear and awe.  the student drops to her knees, as silence falls on the two.  marisa massages out her neck and looks to the side, taking a knee next to the princess.  she gently  &.  cautiously puts a hand on her forearm, lightly shaking the girl’s under her grip, attempting to comfort her senses to prevent any further damage to her psyche. not that marisa could blame her,  most mercenaries are used to this kind of bloodshed that she tends to cause. 

          her rosen hues look down at her stained clothes and closes her eyes for a minute.  she sighs.  there’s warmth on her arm, noticing that they’re mimicking her actions. it’s eirika who’s probably staring at her in pure concern.  her expressions unravel  & lighten under the touch.    ‘   i guess... she’s always been like that.  ’      she catches herself leaning into the touch for a split second before gentle grabbing the royal’s hands and collapsing them between themselves. 

          marisa shakes her head in reassurance.        “   it’s fine, eirika.  this doesn’t really bother me.   ”      she pauses and raises her gaze back at eirika.   “   however, i'm going to guess by the look on your face... that this  isn’t  your strong point.   ”    the mercenary smiles wistfully,  it was the best she could manage, even if it was out of pity.        “   but,  that’s okay. we only have one life and if its threatened we need to protect it at all costs.  after all...   ”    a shrug this time putting her hand on the young princess’ head, patting her like she seen a pair of certain siblings do before.    “   ... being reborn isn’t an option that we can freely or willingly chose. so, don’t let it get to your head ,  survival comes first.   ”    

[ivalatona]

[ cat ] - the sender picks up one of the academy’s cats to show to the receiver

She can't not scoop up the little creature that brushes against her leg. It would be criminal, really, so Eirika scoops up the orange furred cat with a little giggle. "L'arachel, look!" Blue head turns to the other, presenting her new friend with a warm smile. "Isn't he precious?"

//via academy life

To say she squeals is a tragic understatement. L'Arachel is beside herself with excitement at the mere sight of the kitten, and nearly melts away when she extends a hand to pet it.

"'Precious' does little to describe how adorable he is!" As her fingers softly scratch the tuft of fur on its head, their new feline friend begins to purr and wrap its arms round her wrist. "Ah! Eirika, look! I think he likes me!"

L'Arachel is beaming now. She adds her other hand to rub the tummy of the cat, leaning in closer and humming to herself as she enjoys its presence. The cat, delighted from being given so much attention, mewls and draws closer to affectionately lick her arm. "A cute critter deserves a cute name, and I believe I've come up with just the thing:

Rennac!

Isn't it fitting? Little Rennac is the perfect name for a pet cat."

Rennac (hereby referred to as Rennac Jr. so as not to cause confusion) happily meows at his name, seemingly confirming that it's a fitting one.

L'Arachel, however, would not have noticed. She is currently too absorbed in playing with Rennac Jr.--eyes shut as her hands swarm around his body. She's only known him for a few moments, but has already given him all the pets, scritches and scratches a little kitty could ever hope for.