#pahndelion

[illeoneardito]

Monkey Business ⭒ Roy & Perne

@pahndelion ; Sword +1

“Watch out!”

This thing is hairy, huge and hefty, but thankfully, not particularly trained in swordsmanship; that ends up being Roy’s saving grace as the agile youth ducks to avoid a heavy, barbarian-like swing aimed squarely at his chest, before withdrawing a safe distance away from the unlikely opponent, using the Sealed Forest’s plentiful trees as cover.

When his lord father and the Pheraean knights recommended that he travel overseas for studies, to learn new things beyond Elibe’s potential and broaden his horizons more than ever before, this is probably not what they had in mind.

“Watch OUT I said!” Roy shouts again, an extra note of desperation in his voice, as the monkey stretches out its long, muscular arm and throws the sword it’s wielding at one of the Knights akin to a spear; the man only barely gets himself out of harm’s way in time, and the blade ends up embedded in another tree. Unfortunately, before anyone can get a hold of it, the animal reaches and retrieves it first. The damn thing is fast for its size.

There is clear exasperation in the sigh he lets out as he withdraws a few steps, catching up with another Knight that had come to this bizarre mixture of a search mission, rescue mission and battle. As their eyes meet, the pleading in Roy’s gaze makes it clear that the prince is well and truly out of ideas right now.

“This monstrosity has the strength of several trained men. I’ve no clue how we’re meant to subdue it without doing it harm. At least it hasn’t managed to climb on a tree yet, but...”

[saionofvalflame]

❀ spinny t-pose glitch | + perne

You watch as the storybook characters play out their scripted lives, day in and day out.  As though fettered, they stick to their routines; they fulfill their roles - or lack thereof. They do what must be done to keep the main beats of their storybook life going. But what happens if something new and different were to be introduced by an outside force? Will they continue on as if nothing happened? Or will they instead break? Perhaps you might be inclined to find out. [Grants Reason +1]

Most people, when faced with being sucked into a storybook out of nowhere, might be shocked, confused, or distraught about their new predicament. Considering what he experienced during the mission to the Sealed Forest in his first month here, such a situation is fairly par for the course for Saias. If anything, this seems tame compared to fighting shadowy versions of their comrades, witnessing infinite alternate realities, or even fighting ice-spitting monsters in a magical school, as Chrom related to him after his first month. There is most likely a way out of the storybook, but what that way out entails, the redhead finds himself unsure.

The... people in the village, or more accurately characters, bustle about the area performing their respective jobs. By now Saias has met several laguz in his time at the academy, so seeing each character’s animalistic features doesn’t shock him so much. What does strike him as strange, as he observes them, is the repetitiveness of their actions. Even if someone does the same job in the same way every day, there are usually differences ranging from subtle to obvious that set each day of work apart from one another. But by the fourth day, the mage can’t find any such tells in any of the villagers’ routines.

It’s like someone took a photograph, like the ones from the ball’s artifices, and duplicated it over and over, only these “photographs” are moving. Is it because this is a work of fiction and these people are not directly in the author’s spotlight? And therefore they’ve been resigned to repeating the same exact tasks over and over? The whole thing is strange and eerie, and Saias can’t help but feel incredibly alone, a single metaphorical splash of color amidst a monotonous grey background, set apart by his freedom of choice.

Except, as he walks amongst the town square’s crowd for what feels like the umpteenth time, a movement in his periphery catches his eye. Turning, the young mage spies a man with dark blue hair, one he hadn’t seen before and can’t recall being part of the story’s routine. And the fact that he lacks animal traits...! Is he from the academy too?!

“Hey! Excuse me, sir, are you with Garreg Mach Monastery?” he calls out, running towards the man. Finally, someone else who doesn’t belong here either! He can’t help the rush of hope that floods his heart as he races towards the man, questions in his throat and a smile on his lips.

starter for @pahndelion

[extenebris]

"Salem, hey! Ya forgot somethin' at the ball."

Perne hands Salem a piece of paper— their printed photo from the previous night's revelry, lines from hastily smoothened creases still marked along its inked surface. Their blurry, cat-eared visage can barely be made out, but the thief looks down on it fondly despite that. Fuzzy though the image may be, he can still make out the smiles they have on their faces. Salem was right; the wearers always looked happy.

"Here ya go. Pretty decent keepsake, ain't it?" He lets out a chuckle, "Didn't think we'd make for a nice lookin' pair of kitties, but we managed to make it work."

"Oh." Salem's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the portrait, surprised that Perne had even held onto it. He hadn't forgotten it; not in the sense that he had inadvertently left it behind. He simply hadn't thought of it as any more than a rare lighthearted moment shared with an old friend. If anything had been forgotten, it had been the photo-artifex standing by to capture the elusive scene. Nevertheless, the reminder of that night has been brought back to him and surprise smooths and softens into a gentle smile.

A crease had been made through the portrait's center, but Salem can tell by the way Perne smooths it out again that it too had been done with care to avoid a greater injury. And it gave it character, besides - much like the two whose likeness it had captured beneath its glossy surface, neither of which were without their scars. Salem's eyes flicker upward to briefly meet Perne's.

"Are you certain that you don't wish to keep it instead?" he asks. What a moment it had been, and indeed they - or at the very least, Perne certainly looked dashing even with a pair of cat ears on his head. How little they resembled the criminals they had once been in their homeland, and were it not for the proof of the portrait itself, Salem would find it difficult to believe that either of them were capable of looking so... innocent.

"I had merely suggested the props..." he adds, but his eyes and smile still linger on the photo. "Imagine what Tina would say if she saw you like this." A small chuckle escapes his throat. "She might forgive you for all of those insects you scared her with."

[symhildr]

[ Nohr ] - A quick-paced dance that focuses heavily on precise footwork and bold movements, evoking the image of two soldiers in battle.

"You seem like a good enough dancer..." Perne says in-between movements, voice breathy as his feet struggle to maintain the song's pace. He taps on his ring, and gives Forrest a weary smile. "could ya teach me if I... give ya a stamp?"

          this is the second round of dancing that forrest and perne have subjected themselves to; forrest, trying her best to comment on small mistakes in the steps, and perne, who is definitely putting in effort over confidence.  forrest is glad in her previous choice of attire, a skirt that doesn’t dare to brush against the floor, even as the dance requires slight bends of the knee and sudden drops.  she discarded her white hat and soft blue coat to better show just how exact the movements should match the sharpness of the music’s notes.

            still, she cannot fault perne for his mistakes.  he is trying.  and it’s obvious enough for her laughter to be light and genuine.   (   never mocking.  she cannot imagine adopting the common nohrian curtness.   )   it’s as the lead stays consistent with forrest’s movements, that perne speaks up.  she almost expects a remark of complaint to the dance, not the compliment that comes out instead.

            “   why thank you!   ”   forrest smiles, loyal to ever so small talent of dancing he’s progressed in after the war.   “   you’re not as bad as some may think.. the song is a quick paced one.   ”   he fails to let it be known that this dance is the first ever choreography he pushed himself to learn; a young child too focused on upstanding a reputation than confronting issues of confidence.

            perne taps his ring and forrest returns his smile for gentler one.   “   of course, though i must argue that i’d teach you even without the offer of a stamp.   ”   she quickly takes perne’s hands and tries to match their steps, just enough to lull perne’s movements into slower ones; not a nohrian dance, something less sharp, dull and gentle.   “   it’d be trouble to exchange stamps if you’re focused on the dance.   ”

            and now that their movements are calmer, forrest lets go of perne’s hands and holds out her card for him to take.   “   i greatly admire your efforts!  it’s... leading to something, surely.   ”

[ladyleonster]

[ Unicorn ]

"Hey, you're a horse lady, aren't cha?" Perne toys with the horse(?) thing's horn, his finger tapping on the sharp tip. He thinks this is closer to a weapon than it is a mount, but maybe that was part of its appeal? Regardless, he hands it over to Ethlyn, placing its plush body in her arms. "I dunno what this is but it's close enough."

A horse lady? Was it really that obvious? She's pretty sure she hasn't walked around with hay unknowingly stuck in her hair since she was a girl. Just to be sure, Ethlyn gives her hair a quick pat down. No hay. Phew.

"Aww, it's cute though, isn't it?" With the unicorn under one arm, Ethlyn drapes the other up and over Perne's shoulders. "Alright now smile!"

She considers sharing the resulting photo with Leif later and teasing him about befriending one of his friends but she's pretty sure she's embarrassed him enough fixing his cravat earlier.

[princessmacedon]

[ Bunny ears ]

"Alright, give it your biggest smile, kid!" Perne says cheerily— so cheerily, in fact, that it masks the two fingers that emerge up from behind Maria's bob. He didn't need the sleight of hand to survive anymore, but damn was it still useful for having a bit of a laugh!

It's hardly a difficult request, given the contents and most especially the recipient, and less difficult still when the man beside her grins so brightly. A beaming smile he asks for and offers, and a beaming smile he receives! Maria pours the full force of her exuberance into her pose, head canting at the last second.

It's when she gets the paper that the smile drops... only to be replaced in the next moment with yet another blinding grin, delighted and sparkling as she stifles a laugh.

"Wow... I'm a bunny!" Her free hand throws up a peace sign. Wiggles her fingers a bit. She deems the bunny's ears to have twitched, and seems delighted anew. "This is so cute! Hee hee, I can't wait to show everyone else. Thank you so much!"