#sheergrace

[filthtouched]

branch for a songbird | Niles & Azura

Her hair is what catches his attention first.

—but, that is a lie. Of course she is here, and of course Niles knows. He knows that she is affiliated with the Black Eagles, and that the class suits her well: proud, beautiful, with the darkest feathers and the sharpest talons. She, who knows suffering; she, whose wings span wide enough to keep others at bay—of course Niles is drawn, every twisted branch reaching for her weight.

Come, it beckons, through the rattling whispers of dead leaves. You aren’t afraid of the shade. It can be our secret.

He waits until the Black Eagles students filter out of their classroom, most of them in pairs. Some of them speak of heading to the library to study; others discuss lunch plans. And as expected, lingering in the back, a solitary figure with the fairest blue hair—

“It would seem all your classmates are eager to enjoy a beautiful day,” he greets, slipping in past the doors. “Might I join you, Lady Azura?”

@sheergrace

[princepsumbra]

❰❰ SAVE ❱❱ :)))

Soft asks ft. tomato prince

His plan went haywire from the start. First the wyvern commander lost his nerve at the last second, scattering the careful formation, and now the enemy takes full advantage of the scattered Nohrians.

If--when--Leo gets his hands on that commander, he'll be food for the wyverns he abandoned.

Salvaging what's left of this battle takes precedence.

Leo shouts orders to beleaguered troops. Foot soldiers to the right flank, calvary guarding the bank of archers at their left. Mages attack in a coordinated effort from behind the front lines. This would have worked, had the wyverns been able to complete their task of dropping rocks upon the sleeping soldiers.

Above it all, he hears her voice. Singing in harmony to the clashing steel and roaring magic. Whirling her lance between notes, cutting down soldiers she may once have called countrymen.

One has no qualms bearing down upon the songstress. Katana edge gleams in early morning sunlight. Azura doesn't see, too busy fighting off an axe-wielder. For the first time since everything went to hell, true fear strikes his heart.

Brynhildr bursts up from the destroyed ground, hungry branches ensnaring the swordsman. Leo curls his fingers in and the branches twist. The magical tree fades, leaving the body to thump to the ground.

He doesn't know if she'll ever find out about her near-death.

It doesn't matter, because it means she'll still be alive.

[filthtouched]

❰❰ BRUSH ❱❱ + reverse :DDD

ask meme | closed!

❰❰ HAIR ❱❱ sender pushes receiver’s hair away from their face.

It comes with feeling like an outsider. It comes with being a stain. It comes with feeling like no place is ever really home, because the word has lots its meaning a lifetime ago, and he's never learned to associate it with a place to return to.

In one lifetime, though, he knows. He's a village boy toiling day and night to make ends meet. Sometimes, when the harvests were bad and there was too little to sell, he'd come back with only a handful of coins in his pockets and a few cuts of meat. His father would roast it while his mother would bake the bread. He went to sleep still hungry but happier than he'd ever been, huddled on an old cot with his parents on either side.

That, he imagines, is what home might feel like.

There is no such thing here, though. He didn't spend his childhood tilling soil; he spent it neck-deep in crime. He doesn't grow up to marry some kind merchant's daughter; he's grown to find a place in Leo's shadow, finding a purpose to finally ground him. It's not bad, and he's grateful for it. He's grateful for everything, both good and awful, that's led him to serve Leo as he does today. It's just...

("...lonely?" she'd asked him once. Nina hadn't been born yet, though she was well on her way.

"No," Niles replied. Beneath his palm, he can feel his daughter kick. His wife breathes a quiet 'oh', and Niles doesn't remember ever smiling as wide. "...I don't know.")

But he thinks Azura might know. Maybe not the word for it, either; maybe there isn't one. But it's that feeling of finding peace with everything that has ever happened to bring them to where they are today, but still feeling like there is no home to return to, no place to rest their feet.

Perhaps Azura finds it in dancing, or singing, or moving from place to place, ever a bird with tired wings. Today, she finds it here: dozing beneath the shade of an oak tree, with her head resting against the slope of his shoulder. Classes begun half an hour ago, but it's a nice day; he breaks his word, quite unsurprisingly, to wake her in time for it.

She has dark circles beneath her eyes. A class attended when she's this tired won't benefit her any more than proper rest.

As if in agreement, though she doesn't know it, Azura hums in her sleep and shifts. Her hair falls over her face, a light blue curtain over the peaceful expression that's finally begun to settle. And because it's her—kindred spirit, one of the few who might understand him—he doesn't hesitate in reaching out to brush her hair aside, tucking it gently behind her ear.

She smiles in her sleep. He hopes she's dreaming of a place she can call home.

[prhyst]

On New Wings [Azura & Rhys]

+1 Flying Starter for @sheergrace

It seemed Garreg Mach got quite a few foreign winged visitors. These ones sounded even more exciting than the jet black pegasi or herd of wyverns that had stopped by.

Kinshi. Originating from a land far away, appearing to be the closest thing to being purely birdlike mounts.

Rhys wasn’t the best at riding. Once he was in the sky his spirit was free and all his troubles melted away. The devil was in the getting there. He still remembered falling out of a saddle on his way in it, and also needing tiny Maria to get him close to a wyvern. He wanted to be brave and befriend the new creatures, with treats and the like in a small bag on his shoulder, but he was a little nervous.

He wasn’t alone in his trek though. He jogged to catch up to someone up ahead, out of breath before he even made it to her.

“A- Ah, Azura.” A fellow coworker. Rhys bashfully smiled as he tried to catch his breath. “Are you on your way to see the kinshi too? I’d never even heard of them before.”

[amitieos]

❰❰ CHEEK KISS ❱❱ lincie deserves more kisses so mwah mwah :D

There's a soft touch to her cheek - like water, flowing on it's journey to land never yet seen. It's refreshing, too. Imbues her spirit with a thankful energy that seeps into her fingertips.

Elincia smiles and turns her head.

To her left she finds Lady Azura - graceful and gallant as ever. The kiss upon her cheek spreads, like rose petal scattering upon ivory. Her face is warm, aflame but not quite burning. It's a lovely feeling, really.

"Thank you," she whispers softly to Lady Azura. The woman's hand find itself in her own and she places a delicate little kiss on the back of her hand. Like waves against seashells.

[dragon-kiddos]

♠ – A squeezing hug :)

⨳ — TYPES OF HUGS; ||  ♠ – A squeezing hug 

There was never a shortage of hugs when Auntie Azura was around! In his sleepy state, however, with it being quite late at night and he had yet to turn in, hugs were the last thing on his mind. 

As he sits, crowded over his desk with a myriad of work spread out in front of him, Azura approaches quietly. A gentle hand alights upon his shoulder, pulling him from his focus. Blearily, Kana gazes up at his aunt and rubs at his eyes. 

“Come along. It’s time for bed,” she whispers. He nods obediently and gathers his things, slipping them into his bag before standing to follow her. Gloved hand slips into hers as they venture to his dorm where he promptly sets his back down on the floor and turns back to her. 

Silently, he presses into her arms. His face nestles against her chest; eyes burn as they flutter shut, a telltale sign that he should go to sleep as soon as possible. Azura’s arms wrap around him and squeeze gently, drawing a soft sigh from his lips. 

“G’night,” he mumbles against her chest. “Love you.” 

“And I, you, little prince. Sleep well.”

[dragon-kiddos]

Kana is leaving; she is not.

In a way, it reminds her of his past. How he had been left in the Deeprealms, and his mother walked away. To turn the tide of battle -- benefiting from every performance the songstress gave.

She remembers how hard it was to leave the small dragon there. ( She did, in fact, leave her own son in a similar realm as well. Maybe she could lie and say that it was for the best, but was it really? Did it really suffice for their children to be alone? She remembers feeling cold and alone. Without anyone or any true home.

Was it enough for their children to feel the same? )

"Kana..." Azura knocks on the dorm door -- a beat of silence, then another -- and only enters after the boy calls out from inside the room. She almost freezes. Hesitation curling in her stomach, heavier than the need to protect. She ignores both feelings ( Kana didn't have forever to wait for her to speak. His group would be the first to leave. She had to be quick, there was no time for reluctance. )

"...you're leaving." It's obvious that he is, but she still can't push the fact out of her head. He's leaving; she isn't. "I understand that this is something you have to do, but please, prioritize yourself on this mission. Just as much as you can."

Azura knows that the request is selfish -- there may be sacrifices that need to be made -- but for now, in this very moment, she allows herself to speak them. Every wish for him to come back. To live. She remembers a time when Corrin had pleaded the same wish to her. The songstress remembers how she had broken the promise and left. ( Kana's just like his mother, she can only hope that her stubbornness didn't follow the boy as well.

It did, most likely. She hates it. )

"Do you remember the petaled bracelet I crafted for your birthday?" Her hand finds rest on his cheek, a pause breaking her words apart when she takes a moment to stare. His eyes remind her of Corrin's. Azura's not strong, so when the first tear falls, she's not surprised at all. She expected this. She knew this was going to happen.

"I want that to be the sign of our promise." Another pause. "When you come back, I'll make another one for you. I swear that I will, but you have to come back. Alright?"

The songstress would sing him a song -- fit for greetings instead of farewells -- but they don't have the time. The one thing that she can't control, remains as the one thing always against her. He doesn't have the time to wait for her to calm down; she's fine with that. Kana must get prepared, and so should she.

"Come in!"

He really should just leave the door open at this rate. So many people were coming in and out of his room, it'd probably be easier to just let them enter as they pleased instead of having to give them permission every single time.

"Hi, auntie!" he greets, but that good mood soon dissipates. "... yeah, I am."

(Truthfully, he was tired of making promises he wasn't entirely sure he could keep. How many people had he promised he'd come back home? How many people would he have lied to, if he falls?)

(Too many.)

"I do. It's sitting on my desk, see?" Gloved hand gestures towards the nearly-empty desk, and sure enough, the bracelet sits gingerly atop a tiny pillow—to ensure it doesn't break.

When he looks back into Azura's eyes, she's crying. (He's so tired of seeing everyone cry.)

Slowly, Kana removes his gloves. Clawed hands cup her cheeks as he swipes his thumbs carefully beneath her eyes.

"Alright," he nods. "I'll come back. And then, you can teach me to make those pretty bracelets, right? That way I can make one for you, too.

"I promise."

[hezulion]

[ 📢 ] what does your muse’s voice sound like? is it high-pitched, or deep? is it nasal or set in their chest? describe it in as much detail as you can. :)

Ares voice is fairly deep, it resonates most in his chest. It's timbre is somewhat dark and rich. He likes to sing sometimes, preferably when no one is listening and definitely has a full baritone voice. It's slightly unsteady when he sings.