luminousrider

[luminousrider]

"She does, doesn't she?" A hint of a fond smile finds its way to her lips. Nanna has been a constant in her own life now too, no matter how many walls and barriers she tries to put up between them. Her brother's fiancee still manages to find the cracks in her armor and slide herself into the spaces in her heart. "Nanna was the one who convinced me to try dressing up a little, too. She makes it seem so effortless to be lovely and charming. I don't know how she does it." Altena huffs a laugh through her nose.

She won't tell Leif this but she's glad to know he's still letting Nanna influence him. She wants the privacy of her own room back, of course, but she wants to see him happy, too.

The pearl is clipped onto her bracelet but her brows furrow deeply when he brings up the significance behind it. "Our parents..." She tries not to frown. She doesn't like to think about them, doesn't care to know what sort of things they liked. But she can imagine Leonster's knights harassing her poor brother with anecdotes. It's part of the reason she tries so hard to avoid them and the home of her birth.

"Thanks but you are the only bit of Leonster I need, Leif." Part of her feels guilty for her lack of interest in what he's trying to share with her but he deserves her truth. He's only ever been honest with her and she intends to give the same.

@luminousrider sent:  "Are you trying to beat Ares again this year? Here, take one of my shells." Their charms go together this year. A shell as a pearl's protector. She tries to fit the two pieces together but frowns when she realizes the pearl is just too big or maybe the shell is just too small. It's almost a match but not quite. Another aspect where the two siblings don't quite go together. "Anyway, I hope you win. You have my support." There's a pause and an awkward smile. "The pierced ears look suits you."   ( ethereal ball. ) 

    “ Altena! ”  It'd been a while since he'd seen her. That's always true to some extent, but there's a nagging feeling that it feels more true than all the other times since they've both reunited on this continent. The reconstruction of Garreg Mach makes it easy to explain away, but a slight hunch gets to him.

He doesn't bring it up now though. She has her own question and comments to make, and he owes it to her to answer those back.

“ I am trying to, yes! He seems to be improving at making connections if you can believe it. Or maybe it's his "Black Knight" gimmick that draws certain people in. It seems to be working either way. ”  He watches as Altena tries to fit the charms together, creating a less than picturesque creation, clearly not meant to do what she's intending, but he files it away for now even as the charms must go separately on their bracelets.

At her praise, he wonders.  “ Everybody seems to be saying that. Nanna really knows her style, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised... ”

To think so many people from so many different lands would all find it handsome on him though. He would have thought cultural differences would have played a contributing factor, but Nanna outdoes him every time he least expects it.

“ Oh, before you go!! You should have my charm too. ”  Leif takes one of his pearls and offers it to her.  “ Our parents liked pearls. The knights can't stop telling me about it. Perhaps you'll feel a bit of Leonster with you if I give you mine. ”

[luminousrider]

That was Altena's voice. Ares knew it was hers, could hear it bending around the corner from deeper into the stalls, even if it did sound a bit muffled on his way out.

This had just been a quick check-up on Týr but, now he'd stopped at the entrance, turning and taking a half-step backwards.

…Would Altena be willing to give a charm to her brother's rival?

Ares pondered the question as he glanced down at his bracelet, than back towards the hay-strewn paths, before ultimately just starting towards them anyway. No answer of his would b better than hers after all, and the worst it could be was a no anyway.

No other possibilities ever crossed Ares' mind as he followed her voice to the row of stalls where it was strongest, mouth already open and charm already in hand, until surprise slowed him to a silent standstill.

"Altena?"

That was still definitely her, even if he couldn't see her clearly around so much wyvern blocking the way. What she was…doing in there, Ares wasn't experienced with them enough to guess, and he wasn't going to try.

"…Have I interrupted something?"

"Oh, Ares." She is surprised to see him here in the stables. The surprise isn't unpleasant. As far as the members of the Liberation Army went, she has always appreciated his quietness even if he is one of Leif's good friends.

She stops giving her wyvern her undivided attention and, instead, gives the Black Knight a chance.

"I just, well, it's quiet here." She thinks he might understand. Wonders, even, if he sought out the stables for a similar reason.

"I heard you are competing with my brother again. Maybe I should deny you my charm." She folds her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow at him. It is meant as a joke or a tease even if her tone remains unchanged. "But that feels like cheating to me so here. Take it. Just make sure you give Peaches a good scratch before you return to the party. She's a glutton for attention."

[luminousrider]

Altena freezes as Minerva's hand moves closer and closer to her face. And then she's touching her hair and calling her beautiful and she would look good with bangs and she needs to get bangs now the second the opportunity to have a pair of scissors presents itself. She's flustered and she has no idea how to respond but she likes the attention and she likes being around Minerva.

She's envious that the other woman can just so easily jump to talking about wine and grottos while she's still standing there dumbstruck but she's able to give a nod. "Y-yeah. Sure." And heads off in the direction to try and relax a little while she waits for the other to catch up.

where were we? ; Minerva + Altena

continued from here w/ @luminousrider

As soon as Altena talked about her headband, Minerva was quick to reassure, knowing that she spoke the truth, “That’s not true. It’s large, but it fits your perfectly, it makes you stood beautifully among all the other people” she might sound a bit flirty, but she did speak the truth –her truth, at least.

Then she gently stretched her hand close to Altena's face, a soft touch as she moved a lock of hair; they were so soft and it would be a pity cutting them, but bangs might actually look pretty on her cute face. She stared for a moment before replying to the brunette, with a candid smile.

“Bangs would look good one you, indeed” she simply stated, playing it cool, not wating to burn stages and opportunities with her. Then she moved her hand, giving her time to think about it, returning to the main subject. “I know a place where we can have a drink together, peacefully” and the red-haired woman pointed a grotto not too far from where they were, “I’ll fetch some glass and a bottle of wine from the cabana behind us, I’m sure something was left on the tables there” and she smiled, hinting her to start reaching the spot.

[luminousrider]

"Oh thank Dainn."

A cabin is quite promising. Even if it is inhabited and its owner turns them away, they can maybe point them in a better direction. A road means even more structures as well. Maybe even something close enough that she can go off on her own and leave him behind. She really would rather not be stranded somewhere where she is forced to stew in her annoyance and anger with him.

She keeps trudging forward as fast as her soggy gown will allow. At least the terrain smooths out from the rocky beach as they get closer to the road. The rain pours down harder and the wind whips wet hair across her face but she takes larger and faster strides to keep up with him.

As the cabin looms in the distance, she notices that it's dark. It is night but she didn't think it was so late that there wouldn't be a single light on. Curious.

"Do you think anyone's even home?"

Together. In the Backyard. Again.

[luminousrider]

She doesn't see it. Doesn't get it at all. She doesn't know how to comfort, all stiff and stern, hard and awkward. But Nanna says she is. Insists it even. It kind of feels nice and so she doesn't attempt to argue. Maybe she can even try a little harder to be better at it.

"Is this about my brother?" Altena hazards a guess. She still doesn't really know what's going on with the two of them. It's not as if Leif would ever tell her.

Though, she wouldn't ever dare ask him, would she?

She sighs and resigns herself to the party. This is Nanna trying to tell her to stay, isn't it? And she is already here, after all. It would be more effort to leave at this point.

"I guess I can stay a little longer."

cantabile for the weary { altena & nanna

※ toa ball 2025 | first-half

[luminousrider]

If he were anyone else she might have laughed. It still was kind of funny but she is too angry, the betrayal of being lied to weighing too heavy on her heart to let herself enjoy the absurdity of the moment.

Instead, she huffs and tries to gather up the soggy mess of skirts sticking to her legs so she can trudge on. She hadn't wanted to spend the money this gown had cost and now she is suffering for the impracticality of it. At least she held firm on her footwear. Comfortable, easy to wear, and reasonable enough to hike across a stormy beach.

Altena can see him looking ahead as she struggles with her gown. He has some sort of plan but he doesn't share it. Of course he doesn't. She rolls her eyes behind his back but she knows their best bet is to stay together.

"Right. There must be something, even if it isn't much. How far away do you think we ended up? I'll admit it's easier to get my bearings in the sky."

Together. In the Backyard. Again.

[luminousrider]

She doesn't have a whole lot of swimming experience. Enough to know what she's doing but certainly not in a turbulent ocean. Or in the middle of a storm. Or while wearing a too long, too heavy gown that twists about her legs as she tries to kick and propel herself toward the shore. It's a struggle but she's a fighter.

But she does make it to shore, pushed along by the waves until she lands hard against the rocky ground. The salty brine of the ocean water burns as she struggles to cough it up but a hand reaches out to help her and she is glad she isn't alone. Until a familiar voice speaks and she realizes just who her rescuer is.

She's still mad at him. Even here. Even now. Even as she's struggling to get the rest of the ocean water out of her lungs.

Are you alright he asks. Brown eyes narrow and she answers between coughs, "I don't know. I guess I could use a vulnerary."

Together. In the Backyard. Again.

[luminousrider]

Her headband. Of course Minerva would notice it missing. As self conscious as she already feels dressed up like this, this adds even more onto it. Quickly and nervously, she tries to brush some of her hair over to cover what her head and would have.

"I knew it...my forehead looks humongous..." She doesn't notice it normally but, without her accessory, she finds it to be quite obvious. "Maybe I should just cut my bangs like yours." Wait. No. That sounds bad. "Not that I'm saying your forehead looks big! Your forehead is nice!" That sounds worse.

A drink is offered even with all of her blundering and Altena is quick to nod her agreement. "A drink. Yes. Please." She hopes they're offering more than just the one glass this year.

She's staring. She needs to stop. She needs to look at anything else. The ocean. People dancing. That guy over there wearing armor--what the hell? She would've been able to just wear armor!? But it's not enough. Altena's eyes keep finding themselves drifting back in Minerva's direction. Even the flamingo guy isn't enough to distract her from her fellow wyvern rider.

For all their similarities, Altena sees Minerva differently this evening. Even if they are both dressed in red, both dress to the nines, it suits Minerva more than Altena would ever feel it suited herself. She's beautiful.

She's looking. Shit.

"Oh, Minerva," Altena tries to play it cool, "I didn't know you would be here." She might have been hoping to see her here but she won't admit to that. "You look..." Gorgeous. Stunning. Incredible. "You look nice."

The evening breeze was warmer than Minerva thought and as she tried her best to look for someone something to fill her glass, she suddenly eyed a very familiar face; her long red dress was absolutely stunning and since Minerva observed her figure, her silhouette half-sided, she managed to observe the astounding decoration climbing from her spine –goldenish and regal, perfectly resembling the attitude and beauty of the brunette.

Feeling the embarrass crawling on her cheeks, the Macedon princess immediately shifted her gaze towards the sea, staring at the clam waves crashing into the shore: she desperately wanted to approach, but she could definitely use a glass of wine to break the ice –even though, she knew that the ice was already melted, at this point. Then, she heard a voice. Her voice.

“Oh” she slowly turned and with immense gratitude, she greeted her with a warm smile, “It’s nice to see a familiar face here” she could finally noticed her complete figure, her face elegantly crowned with a splendid hairstyle that suited her greatly and a cute seashell charm completing her outfit. But, something was definitely missing.

“You look lovely too, tonight” she was blunt, but she did her best to hide the embarrassment, “But you would look even better with your amazing headband” she chuckled softly, soft hues of red coloured her cheeks. “Mind sharing a drink with me?”

[luminousrider]

"You didn't." Blunt. To the point. Though her face is stern, she means it. Her arms unfold and find their way to her sides, fidgeting with the too much fabric of her skirt.

Tine is shaking, stammering, clearly upset and Altena has no idea what to do. Nanna had claimed her presence was comforting earlier but, this time, the discord is because of her.

"You'll find someone else," she tries softening her tone just a little, easing some of the deep furrow from her brow.

"I should go...my wyvern...I should check on her." But there is something she remembers before she turns to leave. Something she can actually offer. Altena takes a couple of steps to close the distance between the two of them and holds out a seashell charm. "Take this though, before I leave. I can at least give you this."

A Light in the dark

Mini thread cont.

[luminousrider]

Altena freezes, eyes wide. Never in her lifetime would she have expected to hear this confession from Tine. The other girl doesn't even know her.

She knows what Tine must see when she looks at her. It's the same thing everyone from Jugdral sees. The Gae Bolg gleaming in the sunlight, its flag billowing proudly over Castle Leonster. Prince Quan's lost daughter.

She had visited the stables earlier, so tempted to spread her wings and fly away, but had been coaxed by Nanna to stay. She regrets it now. This is not the type of place she belongs at. They could have avoided whatever this was if she refused her invite.

"You should go with someone else." She's never had anyone show interest in her like this before and her head is spinning. Was her tone too harsh? Perhaps, but she can't bring herself to think straight.

A Light in the dark

Mini thread cont.

[luminousrider]

"No, nothing happened. It's just..." She sighs. It's too much. Too frivolous. Too fancy. It had been different when the ball had been held at the monastery but even then she felt guilty. She grew up believing and understanding that she didn't need luxury or excess when there were people who had nothing. "Arion and I used to make fun of people in the north for living like this. What am I even doing here, Nanna?"

She strides across the crowded stables to where the wyverns are being houses and cannot help but give a little smile to her own mount. Reaching up, she gives Peaches's head a scratch before guiding her down so the two of them can touch foreheads, before turning back over her shoulder to regard Nanna again.

"Things must be pretty rough for you, too, if you think my presence is a comfort." It's meant as a tease more than an actual observation of how Nanna feels.

cantabile for the weary { altena & nanna

※ toa ball 2025 | first-half

[luminousrider]

"Your future won't be found looking into a pool of water," Altena counters, folding her arms across her chest. She shifts, trying to find a way to make the dress feel more comfortable and less tight now that she's standing differently. She should have just worn her armor. She's seen so many people just wearing armor that surely no one would take notice if she had as well. "You have to carve it out yourself."

Even if this grotto really did hold the power to show the face of someone's soulmate looking back at them, Altena knows it wouldn't matter who it was. Her future belongs to Thracia and she gives it willingly and happily.

Altena's eyes narrow and she scrutinizes Tine's face, unsure why she seems so nervous. "What is the future you hope for?"

A Light in the dark

Mini thread cont.

[luminousrider]

[Destiny Grotto]

Remember, Tine, it's going to be alright,

Your excuse is logical enough, especially since you come off as a scaredy-cat, and she knows you lived an isolated life.

She should just quit and forget it all, this stupid crush thing.

It's never going to mean anything, and yet she wishes to dream.

Alright she hiked up her skirt in advance, and her thunder spell can work to illuminate the way back if the lantern is snuffed out.

"Princess Altena I'm terribly sorry, but could I ask you a favor?"

Alright now that she has her attention, the hard part starts.

"I heard of a fascinating grotto not far away from the premises, and i-I wanted to see it."

Fuck, now you've done it.

Calm down, stop backing away so easily.

"It's something utterly foreign to me, and I have no one else to ask to accompany me."

This kind of legend is truly new to her; it is a triviality to the ballrooms of bellhalla she remembers.

But she knows the bone chilling cold the cave is sure to possess; it's a kind of mistreatment that's easy to hide, as outside extreme cases it leaves no mark.

But she wants to know what the waters reveal so that she can accept it.

Altena has done her best skirting to the shadows and avoiding run-ins with people. Especially people that know her. She is a fish out of water here and does not want the additional stress of having to make small talk. But she supposes it was bound to happen eventually.

Tine finds her and approaches with the request of a favor. She is ready to begrudgingly accept but the specifics of the favor catch her completely off guard.

A brown raises. "The Destiny Grotto? You don't really believe in things like that, do you? Predestined lovers?" It sounds ridiculous to say it out loud. There is no way there is a mysterious grotto on this beach that could show something like that, even if such a thing was real.

[luminousrider]

Altena's brows furrow deeply. She's known, of course, that there is something going on between her brother and Nanna. She opened her door for Nanna and offered to let her stay with her when Nanna had nowhere else to go. Still, she doesn't know the details exactly. She doesn't know if she has any right to know what's going on or even if she would want to in the first place. Leif is her brother and has more than earned her loyalty but Nanna is important to her too.

She wishes things weren't so complicated between the two of them and not just because she wants the privacy of her own living quarters back.

"Oh." What else is there to say? She supposes she could have offered to fly Nanna in with her, had she known. But there is a selfish part of her that knows that would make things difficult should she want to make a swift and early exit. "I didn't...I didn't know. I thought..."

Nanna's bright smile fades, the subject is changed, and Altena doesn't like it. Something isn't right. Is she supposed to ask? If Nanna wanted to talk about it, she would, right?

"No." She answers too quickly, too honestly before she can consider what she's saying. "I was thinking about leaving. I don't think I'm supposed to be here."

cantabile for the weary { altena & nanna

※ toa ball 2025 | first-half

[luminousrider]

"I believe the setting is quite fortunate for me." Mitama does not wait for her presence to be acknowledged, nor any sort of sign that the other is aware of her presence at all before she begins talking. She strolls up to the woman's side, casual as anything, and simply begins to speak as she fiddles with her charms. "Far south as we are, I do not believe I have to worry about the chilly weather driving you to seek out revenge when your fingers begin to get cold."

A joke. Genuinely. Her starfish charm comes free and, wordlessly, Mitama holds it out for her. "I do hope that now that the necessities of violence are done with for the year, we might meet again and more amicable terms. I did think you were quite impressive that day, even if my tone did not betray as much."

"I don't know," there is a hint of a smirk, "if the wine is cold enough I might still be able to feel a tingling in the tips of them."

Truly though, there are no hard feelings. She knew what she was getting into when she signed up for the mock battle. And it's kind of nice to get to tease and be teased like this.

"You were impressive too, you know. I can never seem to wrap my head around magic. Even just pushing myself to resist its effects is difficult."

Mitama speaks of peaceful times and amicable meetings but Altena can't help but hope for another chance to prove herself against the other woman. If she trains harder, if she pushes herself further, maybe one day she can give Mitama a performance that really is worthy of being called impressive.

"But here, take mine as well." She exchanges her seashell for Mitama's starfish.

[luminousrider]

Altena has a seashell!

Seashell Tine

Starfish: Mitama

Anchor Minerva

Turtle

Pearl

Ball outfit inspiration beneath the cut!

credit to @ designerdaddy on insta!

Imagine her hair in a big, thick dutch braid that wraps to the side!

She is also wearing Crocs because she thinks no one will notice.

[luminousrider]

"Maybe I don't want to be seen," Altena grumbles and folds her arms stubbornly across her chest. She could blend in at the edge of the crowd quietly observing everyone else having a fun time and that would be a perfectly successful evening for her. She does turn toward Nanna and offers a hint of a sly smile, "besides, Dorothea said I was the type of woman who would look beautiful in anything. Maybe I'll just wear my armor."

She isn't going to get away with that. She knows it. Nanna somehow managed to get her to ditch the worn out headband the past few years. There's no way Altena would be able to convince her that going in her armor was a good idea.

Altena sighs a long, drawn out sigh. "How about I just try it on? We'll both see that I look ridiculous and frivolous and then we can just look at something more plain. Alright?"

She doesn't want this, she tells herself, though her hand continues running along the fabric of the dress's skirt and she marvels at just how soft and light the fabric is while she waits for one of the store attendants to take it down from the display and help her into a fitting room.

There is no mirror in the small room, forcing her to step out past the curtain once she is changed to share the first real look of her in the dress with Nanna. And it just so happens to fit her perfectly as though it were designed just for her.

"What do you think? I think I look..." Like a princess. "It's too much. I can't." But she doesn't stop turning from side to side, admiring herself from all angles in the large, triple mirror. She fights hard to keep the corners of her lips from curling upward. She can't let Nanna realize how much she really does like the way the skirts of it swirl about her legs or how cool she finds the gold draconic accents. "It's too much..."

darling in red { altena & nanna

※continuation of the following