sonofbears-blog

[sonofbears-blog]

      Benny gaped, eyes shifting from the empty chair to Flora and back again.       “R-Really? Oh, I mean… O-Of course.” He had already prepared himself to leave her alone, so the sincerity of her offer caught him by surprise. However, he gladly pulled out the chair and squeezed himself in.       He was an enormous man, however, and it always looked odd when he used any of the furniture around the castle. Nothing ever seemed big enough for him. Not to mention it was surprising merely to see him doing anything but standing guard someplace, or without his bulky armor.       Benny shifted a little in the chair, the wood creaking its protests quite loudly, and he nodded toward the pot of tea.       “It’s cold?” he echoed, not quite understanding Flora’s distress. He hadn’t any idea how long it had been since the tea was prepared, so he thought it only natural that it would eventually cool.       “It’s OK,” he assured with a small smile. “I’ll drink it.”       Suddenly it felt like one of the tea parties he recalled reading about in several old children’s books he had growing up. That had been what he had expected life among royalty to be like. In reality - at least in Nohr - it was hardly so frivolous.       Benny took a sip of the tea, realizing immediately that it was more than just cold; it was downright icy, like it had been left in the freezer for an hour. But he didn’t mind. It was refreshing, and so he took another sip and looked at Flora expectantly.       “Maybe you should start at the beginning?” he offered, trying to be helpful.

Ice Tea? || Open

Flora watched him quietly, not saying anything for a few moments as she thought. Letting a chuckle escape her, and having a true smile for a moment, she closed her eyes and nodded. “Well, I guess it’s good to have some company.”

The maid gestured toward one of the seats near her. “You should sit with me then. I’d offer you some tea, but…” She frowned, looking down at her cup. “Well, it’s…cold.” She set her cup down, looking over at the knight now keeping her company, and taking him in.

She could see why others found him intimidating at first glance. He was a true warrior of Nohr– big and brutish. Though for her, there was something about him that just seemed comforting. And it made sense. She was certainly one who knew that what was on the surface wasn’t everything.

“Honestly, Benny,” She began to speak again, in a bit of a quiet and defeated tone. “I wouldn’t know where to start…”

[sonofbears-blog]

      “Oh.” It was more a dejected sigh than a word, and Benny’s eyes found the tile beneath his feet. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t want to talk, but he had hoped that he could make her feel better. If only a little. However, he had not expected her to insist on leaving, and he glanced up with widened eyes.       “N-no. It’s OK,” he answered, and then didn’t say anything for several moments. He simply stood there, waiting, wondering what to say, then he realized that maybe /she/ didn’t want /him/ there.       “Oh, but… I’ll leave,” he offered. “If you want to be alone.”       He ran hand up the back of his head and looked away again, lips forming the start of words but not making a commitment. In truth, he didn’t want to leave.       “Actually,” he began bashfully, “I want to listen to you. Tell me about what’s wrong.”

Ice Tea? || Open

Flora started when she heard Benny clear his throat, almost spilling her tea as she looked up. Had he really been in the study? She must have been too deep in thought to notice him…

The maid simply stared at the knight before her for a few moments, until she realized that he had asked a question. Setting her cup down with a sigh, she moved her icy gaze toward her tea. “Well, one could say that something is wrong, but I don’t know if it’s something to trouble you with.” Flora fell silent for a moment, running her thumb up and down the handle of her teacup.

She suddenly looked up again, her expression changing to a bit of an awkward smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “Did I interrupt anything? I can leave if you have something to do…”

[sonofbears-blog]

      She hadn’t seen him. At least, she didn’t think that she had. When Flora entered the study, her eyes skimmed over him, vacant and unseeing. Something seemed to be on her mind, and Benny felt the atmosphere in the room drop ten degrees.       When she had settled down at her table and took to wistfully staring out the window, Benny slunk from his own little reading corner and approached her. He didn’t know her very well, and had rarely even spoken to her during his career as a knight of Nohr, but he knew that he would not be able to sleep well that night if he simply left her there looking so morose.       Benny cleared his throat, aiming not to startle her despite practically towering over the table, and sheepishly fumbled with his fingers before he found the words with which to greet her.       “Uh… hi. … Is something wrong?”       Conversing was not his strong point, but he flashed a shy smile and hoped that was enough to push any of her fears aside.       He didn't have the best luck with the servants of the castle. Several had run away shouting some nonsense about the Ghost of Krakenburg when he had met them in the halls before.

Ice Tea? || Open

Flora had been trying for about an hour now. All she wanted was to make some tea. But today was just one of those days. She couldn’t quite keep herself in check and her frustration just made it worse. Whenever she picked up the tea pot and got ready to pour it, her magic unfortunately seeped through and made the brew cold again.

Giving an exasperated sigh, Flora closed her eyes for a minute before just setting up the tea tray as it was. It wasn’t like anyone else was free to join her at the moment anyways.

She brought her small tray with her to one of the nearby studies, one that was normally vacant and quiet, so she very much enjoyed her breaks there. She set up her things at the little desk by the window and sat down, gazing outside. She let herself become lost in thought as she took a sip from her cup and tried to just relax for a moment.

[sonofbears-blog]

      “Sorry.”       Even though he apologized for infiltrating Charlotte’s secret place, the slightest hint of a smile slipped across Benny’s lips. Charlotte wouldn’t be Charlotte without her sharp tongue, and hearing her huff and sigh about his presence brought him a sort of odd comfort. She was, perhaps, the closest thing to a friend that Benny had in the army.       “Oh. Right,” he returned to the matter at hand with a marginally more serious tone. “Fighting was reported at Windmire’s northeast wall so extra guards are being called to patrol.”       Benny had received the news in a meeting earlier that morning and though it wasn’t necessary for more than those that had attended to help out, he decided to use it as an excuse to seek out his fellow border guard. It had been some time since they had both been given the same assignment, and he enjoyed working with her.       “I suppose we should go.”       Nevertheless, he wasn't very convincing.

Two’s a Crowd {Charlotte & OPEN}

    Charlotte watched as the knight turn around to reveal his familiar face. Gods, he was difficult to pick out from behind. It could have been any knight in the army, and it wasn’t worth risking her being exposed. Though, she supposed there was a bright side to it being Benny of all people; her training spot was still secure.

    “Oh, it’s only you. You should have told me you’d be here so I wouldn’t have to waste the energy,” she rolled her eyes, placing her axe down to rest up against the dummy. Of course, Benny being there wasn’t nearly as much of a hassle as she made it out to be, but she found it as difficult as ever to stop the harsh words from exiting her lips. She was rarely even aware of it with him, as he usually never reacted in spite of her.

    “Looking for me? Here? At my training area?”

    Charlotte scoffed. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was mildly impressed that he had discovered the location she had managed to keep under wraps for so many weeks. Benny wouldn’t tell anyone, though. He had no reason to… unless he was looking for trouble.

    “So, what do you want?”

[sonofbears-blog]

Wyverns [Benny & Camilla]

@deathcomesinlavender       Everyone in camp knew that Benny had a particular affinity for animals, although the nature of the relationship varied by rumor. Those who didn’t maintain the idea that Benny could defang a tiger with his bare hands, or flay a grizzly with nothing more than a butter knife, chose instead to believe that those were the types of animals that were generally in his company. The whispers reached his own ears in one way or another, but he couldn’t tell which rumor was worse: both only added on to the common idea that he was a brutish, unapproachable man, if not for his bloodthirsty lust for big game, then for his ability to set his grizzly “friends” on anyone at anytime.       Both rumors struck so far from the truth that Benny couldn’t quite figure out how they had even started. He only ever fed the small animals around the camp, and he had only met a bear face-to-face on a couple of occasions. The very idea of skinning one made him shudder and he couldn’t believe someone would think he actually enjoyed something like that. But what was he to do?       By the time Benny had snapped himself from his thoughts, he had already wandered out to the wyvern cages. He stopped before them and examined the entrance, listening to the various growls and snarls from within. The way he saw it, it was the wyvern riders who were the fiercest in the army. He had never met a dragon up close before, but he had heard that they were ornery beasts to tame. Anyone who wished to ride one had to have an iron will. Or so he had been told.       Just then, Nohr’s eldest princess made an appearance in the doorway and Benny quickly stepped aside.       “Oh. Good afternoon, Lady Camilla,” he greeted, then let a brief moment of awkward silence sink in between them before adding as an afterthought: “Were you checking on your wyvern?”       He always found himself unsure of how to act around royals.

[sonofbears-blog]

A Chance Meeting [Benny & Setsuna]

@trappingapathy       Whether or not Benny had any responsibilities to take care of in camp, he had foregone them to spend a little time in the forest by himself. Camp was starting to feel claustrophobic for a man his size, and he was desperate just to get a little room to breathe for a while.       However, before he realized it, the hour or two he had set aside to relax quickly turned to four, which turned to six and so on until the moon had replaced the sun in the sky. During that time, Benny had carved out nearly an entire log and turned it into the sizable stack of wooden charms that sat at his feet. What was he going to do with all of them? The sudden awareness snapped him from whatever trance he had been ensnared in.       Benny glanced up at the sky, finding the moon through the canopy and judging it to be late in the evening, but not yet midnight. Then he remembered that he had been assigned to mess hall duty that night.       Oops…       He was quite sure that his presence wouldn’t be too missed though, and it was more likely that the others also assigned to mess hall were relieved that he didn’t show up. Even though he had been with the army for some time, a majority of his comrades were still frightened of him. Not that he could blame them, of course. Even so, he decided that he should hurry back to camp anyway, and began to gather up his tools and a handful of charms. He chose to leave the rest, certain that no one would disturb them in the meantime, and started back on the trail to camp.       After a short distance, a thought stopped him. He was at least half a mile into the forest, which meant a good deal of shadows between himself and camp, and he knew running into any of his comrades along the way - however unlikely - would end badly for both of them. Benny rubbed his left shoulder as the memory of his last chance encounter sprung to mind. He’d rather not have a lance thrust through his arm again if he could help it.       I’ll just stay out here until the sun rises, he decided. It wasn’t his first time sleeping out in the woods, and it certainly wouldn’t his last. The forest felt like a second home to him at this point.       He wandered off the trail in search of a comfortable place to rest, but was stopped yet again when he noticed a pit up ahead, almost completely hidden in the darkness. From what he could see, the trap had been sprung, but he couldn’t tell exactly how far the hole stretched. He approached cautiously and peered down into it once he was close enough, fully intending to rescue whatever animal had triggered it. But he certainly wasn’t expecting the victim to be another person. She did look familiar…       “Hey. Are you alright?” he called to her. Maybe she was dead.

[sonofbears-blog]

      Benny had known about Charlotte’s “secret” training spot for quite some time. Or rather that it existed - simply because he knew Charlotte - but he had never tried to find it before. It took him only a cursory sweep of the castle grounds to locate it though, and he wasn’t even surprised that she had chosen a spot that was so isolated yet still so close to everyone else. Benny chuckled to himself. She gave herself away more than she realized.       He approached the solitary training dummy and examined it. The thing had seen better days and boasted quite a few nice, deep gashes that couldn’t have come from anything but an axe backed by an impressive amount of strength. That was Charlotte’s spot, without a doubt.       Suddenly, Benny sensed a burst of wrath from behind and he turned around. Had he known better, he would have expected to be standing face-to-face with the devil himself, but there was Charlotte, wearing her finest, coyest mask. The devil didn’t even compare.       “Oh. Charlotte.”       Much to his surprise she hadn’t recognized him right away, or else she wouldn’t have bothered hiding her irritation behind her coquettish facade. He gave her a silent nod to drop the act.       “I was looking for you.”

Two’s a Crowd {Charlotte & OPEN}

    Upon waking within the castle grounds, it was common to hear birds chirping. Sometimes bugs cut through their melodies depending on the season, but it was usually a peaceful atmosphere overall.

    Well, except for the constant rigorous battle training.

    Charlotte was all too familiar with the sound of weapons smacking against training dummies. Sometimes there would be a satisfying slicing sound when someone landed a particularly good hit. Of course, Charlotte kept her training to the furthest area from the shops and bedrooms. It was quite a walk, but the privacy was worth it. Well, more to the point, the peace of mind was her real objective.

    It wasn’t easy putting up a constant façade. Though she had grown used to it, being involved in such a tight-knit army certainly made things more stressful. Hiding an axe wasn’t ever practical, and trying to swing it in a dainty manner was even worse. At least there was one place she could let loose and get a few good swings in.

    The blonde held the axe firmly with just her right hand. She wielded a large, heavy weapon as opposed to just a hatchet. Sure, lighter axes could be thrown, but they didn’t hit hard enough. No, she couldn’t have that.

    As she approached, something appeared to be rather off. In the area where there was normally a lone training dummy… there appeared to be two dummies – and one of them was alive. She gritted her teeth, appalled at the idea that someone took over her spot. There were plenty of other training areas; surely they couldn’t all be occupied!

    I’ll make a dummy out of them, Charlotte thought to herself as she approached. She consciously did her best to loosen herself up again, putting on a smile. Though she couldn’t tell who it was from a distance, they did appear strong. And, while strength was clearly not directly correlated with wealth, it didn’t hurt to have some of the strongest army members in her grasp.

    “Oh, hello there,” Charlotte called out, raising her voice both in volume and pitch. “Training seems to be going quite well for you.” She smiled, a playful tone dripping from her words.

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