fabledoath

[fabledoath]

As they get started properly on their task, Ashe pushes his reluctance and doubts aside, for the time being. Serra's rather... unusual way of conducting this is understandable, in a way. Not being too old herself, and not being local by any means, she's lacking in practice, so one shouldn't judge too harshly!

Besides, there's more important things to focus on, like the people they're leading. Ashe goes just a little behind Serra, making sure she's in the front of the whole group, but only by a step or so. He, of course, tries to keep tabs on those following them with glances here and there, but it's quite the crowd, so he just hopes his blind spots are covered by others.

And when he's not looking at them, he's keeping tabs on Serra. So when she suddenly seems to be stuck staring at something (or someone, as he soon finds), the student notices quickly enough that something is amiss, spotting the child she's got her eye on - someone clearly in need on help. And if she isn't going to say something, he should!

"... Ah!"

Ashe tries to move to the side of the group the child is at, without stepping on anyone's toes, before looking down at him with his kindest smile, and gentle eyes. He keeps his voice as quiet as he can, as to not disturb the sleeping baby.

"Wow, aren't you strong, carrying all that by yourself? But, you'll get tired by the time we arrive, trust me, hahah... Here, let me carry your bag. I won't lose it, I promise. You should focus on your little brother, he needs you now more than ever."

It's immediately apparent why this job was a good pick for him, and it's not because he can carry a bag someone less than half his age couldn't.

“Smooth Transition” and “Serra” Probably Shouldn’t Be Put in the Same Sentence

... unless there’s a “not” in there, somewhere

[fabledoath]

Logic obviously dictated that there was not really much to worry about. The wyvern wasn't going to thoughtlessly crash into architecture - if anything, it'd be harder to actively convince the creature to barrel through solid rock. If that happened, it would get hurt as well, after all!

And... yet, despite knowing that, Ashe's nerves weren't quite eased. He was still willing to push through, of course he was! Nothing ever gets done without pushing boundaries, that's simply how life is. That does not mean one isn't allowed to feel a little nervous, though. It just means he needs a little reassurance.

Normally, that reassurance came from the inside. But this time, it was Minerva, approaching, reaching out both figuratively and literally.

And even if it wasn't how she usually handled these sorts of situations, she must've been doing a thing or two right. Because although it did make Ashe a smidgen flustered, it was all the more effective in grounding him and reminding him that even when he faltered, others could still help, too. After reaching back and taking her hand, the boy sighed in relief, his grip not that tight at all, actually! He was not entirely on edge, for what it was worth. He may not have been the picture of self-confidence, but he was determined, and brave. All he needed was a little boost, really.

"Thank you! I've... We've got this." The "we" referred not only Minerva, but also to his mount, which he tried to gently pat, partly for his own sake, partly to see if it'd do... anything for the wyvern.

How Not to Train Your Dragon

[fabledoath]

Activity Tracking: May 2025

Continued Threads:

Destination: Flavortown

This Will Affect The Rat Population

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

Ethically Questionable

New Threads:

n/a

Skill points earned:

General Activity point (not allocated)

Skill point total: 32 Unallocated points: 15

New Classes Accessed:

N/A

Classes Mastered:

N/A

[fabledoath]

When Forde puts it like that... Ashe can't help but feel juuust a little ashamed. Needless to say, the student doesn't think mooching would be nice, and he already thinks they've got it too good, being able to loiter like this instead of being posted somewhere for hours after hours. That said, it's not like they're dead weight!

"H-Hah, well, you could certainly put it like that... But as you know, if something does go wrong, we *will* have to step in. So it's not like we're only here for show."

A good reminder, as well as a bit of a positive affirmation for his own sake. So he won't feel too guilty.

"But I suppose it's best for everyone if that never becomes necessary, so... Yeah, it's just our luck!"

That's when the queue moves, and Forde proceeds to order, for both of them. Very good call to ask for a recommendation! Who would know better, after all, if not the person who breathes and lives cooking?

The person running the stall leans over it with one elbow, lifting his head and cocking an eyebrow, a daring look directed at the two. "So you want my recommendation, do ya? Then you'd like to take a look at our specialty! See these here? Take 'em."

He pulls out four of them, two of the pork ones Forde requested specifically, and then two others. Juicy beef meat, pepper, and onion, coated in spices, and...

As Ashe takes one into his hand, and tries the meat, surprise emerges on his innocent face, and he discovers the secret ingredient. Disbelief paints his voice, too.

"It's sweeter than I thought, under all those spices... Could it be... Honey?? This place really is amazing...!"

And of course, the seller crosses his arms, and bursts laughing, full on.

This year might not be enough to try everything the harvest had to offer, but... He's really hoping he can drop by another time, somehow.

Destination: Flavortown

[fabledoath]

Ashe finds himself surprised, yet again. He almost feels like he has to glance up at Hubert to confirm the words came from him- the compliment, that is. Hubert doesn't seem like the type to give away praise that easily.. So either Ashe was mistaken about him, yet again... or maybe he should just appreciate it all the more for that, because he probably means it.

But that doesn't take him out entirely. He is still very much paying attention and taking heed of all the valuable knowledge Hubert offers.

"I see! Well, you probably figured this much out, but... I'm no good with magic, hahah..." A somewhat bashful smile shows on his face. No one would expect magic to be necessary to clean up a garden! Ashe momentarily wishes he could just get rid of all the refuse as quickly as the other can, as effortlessly as snapping his fingers. "I can still pull the plants out alright, but, I'd have to burn them the old way... Maybe I'll just gather them all in one pile, for convenience? How about here?"

As luck would have it, there are a couple of wooden wheelbarrows sitting nearby, as they're always valuable for gardening and carrying plants around. Or, maybe less to do with luck, and more someone else having prepared these just for the occasion. Either way, Ashe carefully sets down some of the sad-looking, almost putrid specimens in one of them. But, on the opposite end, some of the fruit-bearing plants look decent! Thankfully, most of the time, it's fairly obvious when a fruit or flower is tainted. He thinks, at least. Hubert will likely correct him before he has a chance to mess things up.

"And I imagine we'll still have to transplant the ones that aren't damaged, just in case there's something in the soil, right?"

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

[fabledoath]

A single Ashe is not all that... physically imposing, so he's more than a bit surprised (and very relieved) that his gambit has such an effective payoff. However, it's only a matter of time until their classmate regains his forces and lashes out, so they'd better get moving, quick!

When Dorothea gives him his cue, he catches the sash, and veeeery carefully approaches his target. This is... dangerous, as he needs to close the distance and get in range. But... he'll certainly try!

Of course, as expected, the instant he's within reach, the student takes another swipe at him. To defend himself, Ashe raises the sash, and... catches his wrist! He wraps it around the arm once, and this is enough to provoke the assailant into thrashing with the other arm, as it's the only one that's free. This, almost miraculously, leads to the boy catching that one too. His uniform isn't unscathed, taking a scratch or two, but it looks like Ashe himself is managing, somehow!

That being said, tying a knot while playing tug of war against the violent movements is... a lot. Even once he manages to do it (and a little messy, at that) the berseker doesn't stop, aggressively trying to pry the tied sash out of Ashe's hold.

"I- I think I've got it! But, if I just let go, he'll free himself! How do we take him down...?"

Ethically Questionable

[fabledoath]

It's all, clearly, not any more familiar to Ashe either. The boy had not even traveled beyond Gaspard territory up until his enrollment in the Officers Academy, and this was all unlike anywhere around the continent, at least anywhere the school had taken him. But... But they were in Abyss just now! Sure, there was magic at play, and that usually went right over Ashe's head, admittedly, but... Still! How far it could have taken them, really?

The student jumps a little when he feels the prince's hand, but quickly calms down. It's a good reminder that he's not alone here, if nothing else. If he's to be stranded with a classmate, having said classmate be someone he considers reliable, like Dimitri, is reassuring to say the least.

"... Ah, yeah! Thank you. Yeah, I think I'm fine now..."

And then, the cry. It's... is it a beast? Not any he's seen before! And he can't catch a glimpse of it either. Maybe just some rare animal... So he tells himself. He swallows, taking deep breaths, trying not to let fear overtake him.

"But you're right, we should get moving, quick. I can't see anything that'd guide our way, though... Can you? Or, should we just get moving regardless?"

Ashe can usually count in his fairly decent eyesight, but the fact that he's not seeing the way back... is probably unrelated to his physical qualities, unfortunately. If anything, he grows more confused when inspecting the outlandish terrain. At this rate, he should be thankful they can even breathe here, from how strange it all looks.

This Will Affect The Rat Population

[fabledoath]

Activity Tracking: Apr. 2025

Continued Threads:

Break In to Break Out

“Smooth Transition” and “Serra” Probably Shouldn’t Be Put in the Same Sentence

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

How Not To Train Your Dragon

New Threads:

n/a

Skill points earned:

General Activity point (not allocated)

Skill point total: 31 Unallocated points: 14

New Classes Accessed:

N/A

Classes Mastered:

N/A

[fabledoath]

"Hah, well, if I had not held on, I wouldn't be up here anymore... to say the least." An admittedly bad joke to push past his nerves - that incident had him nervous enough, but making through it and with praise had left him quite flustered! He, of course, knew he still had to focus, though. Keep his eyes on the sky, as it were. The wyvern still was a little antsy, and it didn't pause - in fact, it seemed to slowly gain altitude even without Ashe's command. Still very much not enough to get over the tower fully yet, just passively following Minerva's, it seemed.

"... The bell tower? The highest point, already?" Ashe felt the tension capture his body once more. He would've guessed that'd be more fit for the second day on wings, but, she knew better than he did, so if she thought it was appropriate... Just a little bit of practice, it's not like they were soaring fast anyway! It'd be fine, right?

"Well, then... I'm not backing down now! Let's see..."

Admittedly, Ashe was a tad distracted by the elevation and didn't fully catch every detail of the instructor's example... But close enough? He leaned into the wyvern some, clutched the reins without quite pulling on them, and pressed his legs onto the beast's sides.

"C'mon... please, work with me here...!"

How Not to Train Your Dragon

[fabledoath]

"Is... that right?"

Ashe knows he doesn't have any ground to stand on, when it comes to arguing with someone from the Church... It would be disrespectful, especially from someone in his station! So he doesn't. But it still sounds a little off, truth be told, hence the hint of doubt in his confused question.

"Well, then... Right! I'm Ashe, from the Blue Lions. I think the lodgings for these sorts of situations are right by the great cathedral, so it won't be too long a walk, five or ten minutes, maybe? We're supposed to be helping the elderly who might have trouble walking, or make sure kids doesn't get lost, stuff like that... I think that's most of it?"

It's phrased as a question, because Ashe is the student here. So he's sure there's probably at least a bunch of other things to consider that he missed. Plus, Serra likely has even more responsibilities, since a cleric is a spiritual guide, not only a healer!

Little does he know, the cleric herself may not have considered that side of her job at all.

“Smooth Transition” and “Serra” Probably Shouldn’t Be Put in the Same Sentence

... unless there’s a “not” in there, somewhere

[fabledoath]

When the other agrees, Ashe's face slowly shifts to a smiling one. Isn't it just nice, when things work out neatly? Despite their meeting's... let's say, "unconventional" circumstances, things are starting to turn around! He's starting to feel an urge to understand Gaius better, and so, baking together is sure to offer them a good opportunity for that. Sure, there's also the fact that it'll spare him some time thanks to the power of team work - but that's not really what's going through his mind right now.

"Thank you! First things first, we need to make the dough, since that'll take the longest. We'll be using the usual, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, milk... ah, and add these spices! I found them at the market." He takes out a little glass container, ground spice inside. Opening it alone is enough: its sweet smell consumes the room.

He does, of course, take the offer to try the jam as well. He scoops up juuust a bit, with a little spoon instead of with his finger. "... Hmm, it's good! We'll probably have too much with this and what I brought, but I'm sure it won't go to waste. We can just save it for something else."

break in to bake out

[fabledoath]

Had he not answered the question, Hubert's evident display of expertise on the matter would've given it away already, anyway. So, even if it is surprising news at first, Ashe certainly believes it now! Shocking as it may be. He really doesn't know him at all, huh! While already not the sort of person to judge someone by their cover, Ashe feels that's even more important after being met with this slight whiplash.

Without question, Ashe listens to every little instruction and follows it to the best of his abilities, putting a pair of rough gardening gloves on before touching anything else. Hubert already warned him there's some dangerous magic pollution, so it's probably for the best he just exercises maximum caution at all times.

"You've got that right, hah... I already wanted to do all I can to help, but knowing even the greenhouse was struck this badly, I had double the reason to sign up, if that makes sense? I mostly grew fruits and vegetables though. Fresh ingredients are always precious."

And speaking of, there's a tomato plant that has definitely taken much punishment. There was already a little handful of fruits growing on it, but they look... less than edible, now. Entirely discolored, and the texture is all wrong from the outside alone. The insides are probably pulverized, too. Ashe starts digging at the roots, a little dejected. Maybe they should just burn these at this point, to make sure...?

"Poor plants. I didn't even know magic that could cause this sort of damage existed... You on the other hand, it seems you definitely know plenty of both magic *and* plants, huh? I suppose that's just my luck, if I started cleaning up carelessly... Who knows if I would've caught some illness, or something like that?" It may sound a little bit like... foolish superstition regarding 'dark magic', and he's mostly joking about it, but if Hubert's suggesting caution... maybe it has some merit.

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

[fabledoath]

Activity Tracking: Mar. 2025

Continued Threads:

Break In to Break Out

Ethically Questionable

New Threads:

“Smooth Transition” and “Serra” Probably Shouldn’t Be Put in the Same Sentence

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

Skill points earned:

General Activity point (not allocated)

Skill point total: 30 Unallocated points: 12

New Classes Accessed:

N/A

Classes Mastered:

N/A

[fabledoath]

Ashe strongly believes in altruism and helping those who need it most, so it's only natural he would volunteer to help out in every way he can, as soon as the academy made arrangements to let them help. Today, he and others are to help some of the clerics handle refugees. When he sees how... everything seems to be stopped to a halt, he first thinks that they must've arrived before any of the clerics did. But boy, is he wrong.

Serra reveals herself, and... Ashe thinks, was she there all along, then? Though the way she speaks makes it seem like it's their fault, so he immediately feels like he's on the back foot, feeling a little flustered even though, really, he hasn't even done anything. Especially now that she's staring right at him, of all students.

"Ah, um, sorry if we were late! We came as soon as we were told where to."

But wait. Even without them here, one would think she'd get started! Ashe doesn't try to be accusatory about it, assuming there must be a reasonable motive behind her inaction, but it sticks out to him nevertheless, so he asks as politely as he can.

"Is... everything alright here? Why haven't they started moving in yet?"

“Smooth Transition” and “Serra” Probably Shouldn’t Be Put in the Same Sentence

... unless there’s a “not” in there, somewhere

[fabledoath]

While disappointment does overtake Ashe for just a few moments, something else finds its way there too. The other's words are just a tad too familiar, sentiments that the boy too shared at some point. The disdain a so-called street rat would get just for existing. Not everyone was so dismissive of the needy, obviously, but enough were to make an impression, and even if Ashe himself is not at all knowledgeable of how Gaius in particular ended up like that... How can he just ignore it? The answer is, he cannot. Ashe bites his lip a little in thought, hesitating on whether he should say something or not, but ends up giving in to the urge.

"Hey, hold on... You might've been doing something wrong, that's true. And it may not be the first time either, but that doesn't make you a rat. You're a breathing, living person, like everybody else. Please don't talk about yourself like that..."

The soft sadness in his eyes as he says that could shatter a heart into pieces, but it's entirely genuine. He tries to ease down a little after and not get too emotional thinking about it all. Then, glances around and finds someplace to drop the ingredients he brought himself: three jars of jam sporting different colors, some eggs...

"How about this... I came here to make buns for my friends in my class, but I'm sure there'll be some to spare. If you wouldn't mind staying a couple of hours to help out, I'll gladly give you some too. How's that?"

break in to bake out

[fabledoath]

Starter for @crimsonretainer

Many places had been ravaged in the Fall of Garreg Mach last month, one such place being the Church’s prized greenhouse. Though the monastery is able to receive food supplies from the other regions of Fódlan to help feed those who work tirelessly on the reconstruction efforts, the Church seeks to begin rebuilding their plots too. Get your hands dirty, reworking the soil and planting new seeds for the sake of the monastery’s future self sufficiency, and with it, plant a seed of hope that things shall return to what they once were too… [Grants Gauntlets +1]

It's no secret Ashe is a greenhouse regular, much like many of his classmates. The first day he saw it, he couldn't help but stare in awe as to how incredible it was! So many plants and herbs even Castle Gaspard's garden didn't have! Seeing the state it's in now though... it's sad, but most importantly, it's a call to action for the lion. He's already there, taking off his uniform's jacket to prepare himself for the hard work ahead, and rolling up his sleeves.

What is a surprise, is the person stepping softly behind him. Ashe doesn't hear him, instead his shadow being cast on him, prompting him to turn around. And he sees...

"Ah! Wait... Hubert, from the Black Eagle house?"

Ashe blinks and looks up and down. He doesn't know Hubert well, not much at all. Still, off of surface-level impressions, he never would have guessed he'd have interest in this sort of thing. Goes to show what he knows! That is to say, nothing.

"Are you here to lend a hand, then? Do you have much gardening experience?"

Despite the initial surprise, and the... particular aura Hubert emits, the lion smiles, appreciating the help - if his assumption is right, of course.

Wyvern Moon More Like Harvest Moon

[fabledoath]

She's right to reel Ashe back before he brings attention back to them. What few seconds they have before their cover is blown, he can use to actually look around and think with a cool head. Time is of the essence though, and when Dorothea appropriately starts counting up before he can discuss any of his ideas, he knows he's just going to have to nod, giving her the quickest form of approval, and start crawling towards another side of the room quickly.

A head turns to glare at the source of the noise, and it's not too happy. Whoever they were attacking prior is let go, making a loud thud, and slowly the berserker takes a couple steps, stumbling towards her. But seeing that's exactly what she wanted... resounding success! Now it's up to Ashe to make use of the diversion, strike while the iron is hot!

It's a moment's impulse leading him. A loud SCREECH resounds. Louder than Dorothea's distraction, prompting the assailant to stop midway and glance. Only to see... the boy pushing one of the many desks in the room to intercept the charge, effectively ramming them and sandwiching them between the piece of furniture and the wall. Ashe is not strong enough for that to do any substantial damage to the actual body, and that's a good thing, because magical fury or not, this is still an innocent person underneath... A fact Ashe couldn't forget no matter what anyway.

But it's enough to neutralize the threat for the time being, leaving them uselessly trying to claw at Ashe accross the wide wooden desk.

"Got you!" A sigh of relief leaves the lion, but it's not over. If they manage to shimmy out to the side, regardless of how tightly they're being squeezed against the wall, they'll be free again. "Lend me a hand and help me keep them there, please!"

Ethically Questionable