For the arcana apprentice ask! 1, 2, 6, 8, 14, 16, 22, & 25
WHAT’S UP HAYLEY THANKS FOR THE ASK SORRY IT TOOK ME FIVE (5) WEEKS TO RESPOND
1. Your apprentice was brought along to one of the masquerades with a friend, who promptly ditched them ten minutes into it. What happened? How do they react?
Oh man Valiant would hate that!!! She’s really uncomfortable in huge crowds - Valiant habitually and almost compulsively keeps track of how many people are in a room at a time, so she can’t be surprised, and with no friends to help get her mind off it and help her feel safe, she’d get overwhelmed pretty quickly. And then escape to the garden asap! I just sort of imagine that Homer Simpson gif where he sinks into the hedge. That’s Valiant escaping to the garden, and as strangers come to make out she’s just like PLANT FRIENDS ASSEMBLE and uses her magic to hide in the garden all night.
2. Does your apprentice get flustered over anything? What make them flustered? Do they turn red? Stumble over words?
Sincere compliments really get my girl! She’s so used to hiding/going through life purposefully as unnoticeable as possible, when someone does notice her and really goes hard with the sincere kindness, it trips her up a little. Valiant has a hard time accepting compliments, and I think that would manifest in blushing & being kinda stunned for a moment. Sort of like anything she was about to do/say would be on pause until she recovers or the other person moves on.
6. Do they have a personality shift depending upon certain people? Who does it change for and how so?
Does she EVER. Valiant in her day to day is really evasive. She’s a really reliable person? But she doesn’t want to be a bother, and that manifests as going through life creating as small a ripple in other people’s lives as possible. But certain people make her feel like she can express herself more freely, take up space and exist without apology. Asra does. Julian does, from the moment that she throws a bottle at his head and he just seems impressed. Nadia does, though it takes a little time. Valiant didn’t feel entirely comfortable with Nadia until it was made clear that she could come and go from the palace as she pleased - that fear of entrapment really hindered the start of their relationship.
8. How does your apprentice express affection? Outwardly? More subtle-like?
Valiant’s affection is best described as offering a hand to someone, for aid or comfort or support, for anything. Being available to help the one’s she loves is the best way she can express her affection, because it combines acknowledging the other person’s needs, respecting their freedom to accept or deny her help, and requires Valiant to actually make herself visible. Affection from Valiant is any time she reaches out past her day-to-day routine of slipping by unseen, to provide what is needed. She’s really gentle. Like, really gentle. She just wants to help people be okay.
14. A small hand-mirror has been sold to your apprentice. When they look into it, it shows their greatest fear come to life – conscious or subconscious. What is it and how does your apprentice react?
First of all how fucking shitty!!!!! It definitely shows her aunt & uncle, who were shitty, awful people that ‘took care of’ Valiant after her parents died. They’ve been dead for years, but they really encapsulate a lot of fears & misery for Valiant - entrapment, hunger, derision, callous manipulation, gaslighting, all the gross ugly stuff that Valiant literally can’t remember but is still dealing with the repercussions of.
16. Does your apprentice have any scars or tattoos? Where are they? Describe them?
No tattoos! Not for any specific reason, she’s just never gotten one. She has scars, but no super exciting ones, just sort of scars from being someone who works outside a lot. She has a couple scars on her feet/ankles from running around the farm she grew up on, and now scars on her hands from working with plants. Small stuff, knife-slipped-while-pruning sort of stuff.
22. Does your apprentice have a familiar? What is it and what’s their name? Do they talk to the apprentice? What’s their personality like?
Valiant DOES have a familiar, whom I love!!! His name is Avi, and he’s a rufous elephant shrew!! They have only RECENTLY been reunited, because Valiant forgot him with her memory wipe, and for a long time whenever Asra would reintroduce him to her, it would trigger a full memory return, and harming Valiant. But after Julian did that Dumping Thing, Asra decided it was time to try again, and it worked!! Avi does talk to Valiant, though it’s only a little more than how Faust talks to her. Short sentences, strong intent. Avi is a tiny fight boy! Not a person enters the shop that he doesn’t sneakily take stock of and decide if they’re bad news or not. But he has the dual responsibility of reminding Valiant that she’s worth fighting for AND that she’s able to protect those she loves, like him! It’s a lot of responsibility for a very small mouse but he’s really good at it. While Valiant forgot him, he still lived in her garden! He would do most anything for Valiant, and missed her a lot while she didn’t remember him. After Asra reintroduces him to her, Avi basically doesn’t leave her side for weeks - he usually spends most of his time in the garden, but relocates to her pocket for a while.
25. What is the easiest way to annoy your apprentice? How do they react to being annoyed?
Really forcing Valiant to do anything, leaving her no say in the matter. The VERY first palace ‘invitation’ that was basically an order really got to her. Valiant really admires Nadia now, but DANG that was a rough start for them. Valiant has specifically tried to fly under the radar so no one wants to force her to do anything, and yet here it is, the midnight knock on her door that makes her report to the palace. This type of annoyance is one that can really easily grow to panic for Valiant. She tries to stay calm, but whenever she doesn’t have a choice in a matter, she starts to feel like the walls are closing in on her. It makes her jittery, and more icy than she would be normally. Once her ability to slide by unseen is taken away, she starts to feel like a cornered animal.