serraic

[serraic]

If you say I’m too much, baby, go find less!

If you can’t keep up, stay below, I guess!

If I’m such a big deal, maybe you’re too little

Ooh, ooh, it’s tough

I’m too, too, too much for you, babe

[serraic]

An injury that’s been hurting him when he fights? “Sure I can! Let me see it!” she quips, joyfully. (She still, notably, hasn’t quite caught on that it’s a rather old something-or-other, and maybe it won’t be amenable to her prayers and light magic.)

But she’s still going to try. If nothing else, he’ll get some doses of vitality out of the whole business!

“When’d you get it?” she asks, peering over his hand, waiting for him to reveal his shoulder to her. “What happened? Did it get infected?”

We Really 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 Recognize Each Other...

[serraic]

One thing at a time... sure, sure... She sinks back into the chair, swaying her feet back and forth, staring up at the ceiling, neck still cushioned by the arm...

“Gifts that match could be cute!” she sparks up. “Oooh, like... matching dinnerware or something? Or is dinnerware too cliché? You’re right, they absolutely already have their own set. But... it isn’t just about the gifts themselves, you know! It’s about what it says! You don’t want to like... make all of House Reglay look bad, with bad gifts, or whatever, you know? You want to make them proud! And say something important! Gifts are so important! They’re like. The most important thing!”

Gifts for the Greedy 🙄

[serraic]

She wants to say, You’re always going to get to spend time with me, because we’re always going to be together, but she knows that’s not true, because any day now, he’s going to find out the truth about her and cast her aside and she’ll be at square one, all alone, so she keeps smiling and puts on her skates, beating those thoughts back like this little campfire is trying to beat out the imposing chill of the winter. In no time at all she’s on her skates, wibbling and wobbling her way over to the edge of the lake. Hey, she can balance on this fine! It’ll be no problem at all!

She puts a skate on the lake, and—

Immediately slides right off it and onto her butt.

Oh! How embarrassing! And... cold. And. Wow it hurt. But she’s fine. It’s probably just a little bruise. She’d be okay tomorrow. Unfortunately, now she’s on the ice. With no way to get back up. Except for Erk.

“Haha... whoops!” She presses her hands into her head, sticking her tongue out playfully for a moment. Ohhh, it’s so, so cold. “Um... help?”

I Could Be The One to Love You

[serraic]

“Well, it’s a pleasure, Ashe.”

A hand shading her eyes, she looks over the path to the cathedral easily, thoughtfully, mentally tracing it in her head.

“Hmm... those lodgings, then? Well, it’s an easy walk from here. A bit of it’s uphill, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to handle for anyone,” she says. She thinks, anyway. Maybe the older people with their joints or something... They always seem to be complaining about their joints. “Okay! I guess we tell them it’s time to go.” And with feet light and uninhibited, she turns and addresses the crowd before her, dour and huddled over their few things.

“Alright! Listen up, everyone! We’re moving out! Your new home for now will be right by the cathedral. It shouldn’t be that far of a walk. Let’s go!”

With that, the group begins their slow shuffle to the cathedral, Serra and Ashe in the lead. He’s got that sweet, round, sort of childlike face. But before she can say much more to him, they’re interrupted.

A young child, probably no older than six or seven, standing near the front of the group, is sniffling and crying. He’s struggling between holding his sleeping baby brother in his hands and a pack on his back. Clearly there’s too much weight between the two things and he can’t quite balance each of them. He has a serious, wounded look on his face that reminds her of Erk, and that alone is enough to pull at her heartstrings, but...

But Serra really isn’t good with kids. She really, really isn’t good with kids. Or carrying heavy things.

So, well: she kind of freezes. And just stares.

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

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

[serraic]

... Huh?

... Huh? Huh? Huh huh huh huh HUH?

A “better understanding”?!

“IS THAT WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT?!”

People freeze what they are doing and look over. People from other med tents peek out in surprise. Serra’s face is bright red, shock and anger warring out for their starring role on her face.

“TO UNDERSTAND ME?!”

It’s shock now. A few blinks, and it’s anger.

“SO YOU— YOU MADE FUN OF ME, IN FRONT OF THAT CUTE BOY AND MY WHOLE TEAM, AND YOUR WHOLE TEAM, AND RIGHT NOW, JUST TO ‘FIGURE ME OUT’?”

It is not hard for anyone to listen into the conversation. It is not hard at all. In fact, she is broadcasting clear as day.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

She’s aghast. Purely. Truly. Absolutely. Like, she looks like she’s going to be ill, or something. And she feels it! A weird nausea in her tummy, in the back of her throat, behind her teeth. What is with this girl! She’s hated girls before, but this... this is... this is...

“OKAY! OKAY, SARA, okay! I tried! I tried to be nice!” Her voice only lowers slightly. Don’t worry, everyone still is getting an earful. “I tried to like, reach out, and do my sisterly duty, or whatever. But I’m not going to stand here and be mocked! I’m a lady! I’m not—... I’m not... I’m not whatever this is!”

She turns on her heel, and with that, she’s off. Stalking her way back through the med tents. Sara, if you have something to say, you’ll only be saying it by running after her.

You’re Impossible!

[serraic]

Ugh... why isn’t he, like, just leaving? He doesn’t care — she knows he doesn’t, ‘cause he can’t, ‘cause no one does, ‘cause no one will—

“It’s just, like—...” No. She’s not actually going to tell him, is she? Oh, the thought that she was like, about to, that’s mortifying! “I—...” Why, why did it have to be someone that looked so much older than her? Someone that could snap at her, and hurt her, and...

“I... I’m fine,” is what finally comes out. “R— really, I... I’m over it.” He’s absolutely going to snap at her now. Maybe if she changes the subject, or something... “What’s your name?”

teardrops on my guitar 😔

[serraic]

“Oh?” She’s actually shocked when he downs that awful tea of his own volition. What with the whole not listening to her in the first place thing, she thought he’d be a whole lot more, y’know, bull-headed about this whole thing. What a pleasant surprise! Serra smiles big, full teeth and sweet glimmer, leaning over her gloves. “Look at you go! You almost got it down in one gulp! Yeah, I get it. I hate being sick, too.”

The smile on her face turns back to irritation, suddenly. “But that’s exactly why you gotta listen for this kind of stuff! ‘Cause it doesn’t matter how sharp your blade is, or whatever! Anyone can get sick, and then, like...”

Well. You know. There were some things that healers couldn’t... um... heal.

“You’re plenty cute. I bet you’re... hmm. Don’t tell me!” She thinks, and she thinks hard. “Umm... at least a count. Maybe even a marquess! Oh, yeah, you absolutely have a sort of...” She fans herself, as if that answers what she’s saying. “Regal-ish bearing! You’re totally a marquess. Tell me I’m right! So, like. With so many people depending on you, it’s not like you can, like, just get sick and disappear somewhere! So you have to listen when we say these things, okay? Because most people won’t say it as kindly and nicely as I do!” (She hadn’t been kind or nice at all. ‘Shrill’ is a better way to put it.) // @heriteur

Totally Told You

↳ Serra & Diamant, from here

[serraic]

serraic:

“Yeah, I can play the role of nurse AND say "I told you so" at the same time, actually.” It’s her specialty, actually. He’s got a cool cloth on his head, some disgusting tea next to him that she’s going to force him to drink in a minute or two, and all the haughtiness in her chest that comes with being right. “... By the way. I did tell you so.”

caring for the sick

heriteur:

Diamant doesn’t sigh. He certainly wants to, but he doesn't—it would be rude to his caretaker, even if her approach to caretaking wasn’t the most… orthodox. Or pleasant. This girl reminded him keenly of Hortensia’s friend. He remains silent as Serra gets her word out, humming once she’s done. “Mm, that you did. This is nothing, though—I’ll recover soon, and this too shall pass. I thank you for your care until then.” He then reaches for the disgusting tea at his bedside. She needs not even force it on him. The Brodian immediately begins to down as much as he can, restless and eager to get out of this bed as soon as possible.

Totally Told You

↳ Serra & Diamant, from here

[serraic]

May Activity

(picrew)

Status: Passed! Skill Points Gained: 1

Activity ➜ +1 Authority

Skill Changes:

Authority - C (2/2) ➜ C+ (1/2)

Gained Access to the Class:

Dancer

Gained/Obtained:

Fairy Dust

[serraic]

Why? Well, that’s an easy question — the simplest there is, with an answer right on the tip of her tongue. “Because I’m beautiful, of course! What other reason is there?” There’s no stronger reason in the world for a boy to love a girl, after all! “So in a way, sort of! But he confessed to me a while ago. Before the dance.” Actually, she remembers looking pretty bad on that day, by pure happenstance. But it was bad by her standards. Not bad overall. Right. She has to keep that in mind. Bad by her standards is still overwhelmingly gorgeous to him.

She sighs. “I’m surprised you don’t have someone with you tonight, Lucius. If I were as pretty as you, it wouldn’t’ve taken Erk so long to be by my side. And I wouldn’t have to be so scared of him leaving me.”

But Lucius is much more demure than she is... he’s probably had far worse luck forging friendships. ... Not that she’s lousy with people wanting to be her friend, either. Even if she’s nice to people, they usually only get mad, or overwhelmed with her, for some reason.

Not Lucius. He’s always been nice to her.

“You know, Lucius... I knew from the moment I met Erk that I loved him. I’ve been waiting all this time for him to confess to me. So my plan — it has to work. Or...”

Or, what? She doesn’t seem to know. Amethyst eyes flutter around, unsure, and nervous.

with starlight upon you

⤷  ethereal ball 2025: continued from here

[serraic]

“Awww, cute! So you’ve known each other for so long, too! You started fighting together! That’s adorable!”

Something seems to suddenly strike her, as she holds Python’s starfish between her fingers.

“Or, um. I guess you don’t call two grown men adorable, anymore. That’s really... nice? Erk, what word would you use?”

He’s no help. She sighs.

“Well, you know what I meant, anyway,” she says, lightly, shaking a hand as if to say it doesn’t matter either way. “Our romance? Well... I think it was very normal! I knew immediately, of course. I think ladies have those sorts of inclinations about that sort of stuff. But even before he said anything, he was taking care of me and watching over me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he made it official! I was never worried.” What a lie. It’s not as though seeing him and Priscilla talk put the fear of God in her delicate little heart or anything... “And now here we are!”

“Good evening!” Serra is excitable, flowery like her dress, mingling with yet-to-be-known friends and familiar faces alike, and right now she’s set her sights on the totally unknown blue-haired guy, towering above her and her stoic-faced date on her arm. “You look two look quite handsome!” She means the green-haired guy beside him, too. They seem to be attached, sort of like she and Erk are. “I’m Serra!” A hand on her chest, introducing with confidence in the reeds of her voice. “This is my boyfriend, Erk. You two are cute! Are you together, too? Erk and I just started dating. But we’ve been in love for a while. We fought together. Well, he fought. I did the healing. I’m a cleric. He’s a mage. You should see him on the battlefield. Oh, hey, you two probably are fighters too, aren’t you? It’s a school for that sort of thing, after all. What do you two do?”

As she asks, she’s starting to play with her charm bracelet, unhooking one of her pearls and offering it to the blue-haired boy she’d been focusing on.

“Here! Let’s trade! To new friendships!”

This is. A lot to take in all at once. Python's mind works to keep up with the flurry of words the girl throws at him, but he trips over several along the way. (Cute???) He ends up working backwards, hand already clasped around the offered pearl. "Uhh, archery instructor. Learned to fight because this one was dead set on knighthood. He's Forsyth, I'm Python." 'Together' is accurate enough to answer her other question, but he's not really up for hashing out the proper wording with a fidgeting knight on his arm and a mug of mulled wine in his system. "So, uh. Was your romance as much of a whirlwind as the rest of you?"

[serraic]

“ Whoa! ”  Leif yelps as he feels himself almost accidentally step and trample on the flowers decorating the pink-haired girl's train.  “ Sorry. I'll give you my charm as an apology. Here. ”

And so true to his word, he goes to retrieve one of his pearl charms from his bracelet to hand to the stranger he'd almost wronged. But as he does so, his eyes can't help but keep going back to her dress he'd almost tripped himself over. In the end, he mutters:

“ Though... Is it not hard to walk in an outfit like that out here? Especially when the water's not too far away... ”

Something akin to pity mixes in with his genuine sense of curiosity on the matter. Or maybe this woman was just that skilled or confident? Hm...

“ I chose a short dress for someone cause I was worried she'd find it troublesome. But I'd considered giving her something like that. I thought she'd look pretty in it if only it were a different place... ”

She’s about to tell him off — really, because he should be watching where he’s going, and what he’s doing, and not trampling ladies’ dresses, because she’s not the only lady with a dress, this is sort of The Lady Dress Event — but then he offers a present! Wee! Even if it is just one of the charms, she’s still happy enough to shut up for the moment and unhook one of her own charms in return for him... then he keeps talking.

“W— well...” Yes, is the answer. Yes, it’d be totally hard to walk in the sand like this. “I just stay away from the water, you see. And stay on the harder sand and the— the stone. And other not-sand-paths.”

And maybe Serra picked out the outfit before she knew the venue. So what. So! What!

Does this mean she’s really not grown-up? That she can’t plan the right outfit for the right event? That should be part of being a grown-up, too, shouldn’t it? Sadness clutches her heart, and that turns to anger, and then it... shoots outward.

“Y-you know... you’re very rude! You almost ruin my dress, and now you’re going to make fun of me for choosing it?!”

[serraic]

"Serra!" Lucina finally finds the other woman in the crowd of people, looking stunning in the dress she'd ultimately decided on. She's so glad to finally see her again. Making friends hasn't been the easiest for her, and she's so grateful for Serra's help - and so glad to see her here. With how many people there are, she hadn't been sure that she'd find her at all.

"You picked out the perfect dress. Your boyfriend is a lucky man." Hesitantly, if only because she's not sure how to show affection yet, she takes Serra's hand and leans in to offer her a hug. "Thank you again for your help."

“Lucina!” Where Lucina hesitates, Serra throws her arms around her new friend, squeezing the life out of her. “You look gorgeous! Ohh, I knew you would!”

A confident grin overcomes her features as she pulls away. “I know he is. And so is yours! Well... that’s what he’s going to become tonight, anyway! There’s no way he won’t confess to you after seeing you looking like this!”

She nods, sure as fire. (Surefire. That’s what she’s getting at.)

“My boyfriend just went to get a drink! Do you want to meet him? He’ll be back in a moment! Or do you have to go?”

[serraic]

[ FASHION POLICE ] - What in the world is that person wearing, and are you fit to be judging them for it? Or are you instead the culprit in question? It is decided! Now more than ever, some friendly socializing is in order, as to lift people’s spirits, slicing the darkness and dreariness of the storm with her bright and positive demeanour. Looking on who to talk to, her eyes quickly fall on a girl wearing an absolutely beautiful lavender dress. Determined, she strolls right over to the girl.

“Quite the gloomy weather we are having right now, is it not? But I must say, your outfit manages to positively shine through it all! I dare even say that with the two of us standing here, our combined radiance could be enough to fool the others that it is still bright outside!” She lets out a boisterous laugh, eventually calming down enough to hold out the turtle charm.

“Here, let us partake in the game of trading charms as well. I have been asking around, trying to figure out a name for this charming turtle. Perhaps you may have a suggestion?”

Serra’s approached by a striking woman in a lot of greens, arm draped over Erk, and brightens up. After all, how do you not brighten up after such a compliment? It’s totally impossible!

“Omi— I mean— ah, thank you! You look splendid too! So splendid!” They laugh together — it seems neither notice the glances they garner.

It doesn’t matter, though, because soon Serra is cradling a tiny charm turtle. “Oh...! Erk, look at it! I didn’t know they had turtles as one of the charms! A suggestion, huh?” Well, that’s easy! “She should be named Princess! Look how regal she is! Here, take one of my pearls. Thank you!”

[serraic]

... Okay. So Serra said ‘trade’, and Sara, like, totally didn’t hand her the anchor, or anything. Serra looks at her for a long moment. Blinks her pretty eyelashes. Puts a finger on the hook of the anchor and drags it towards her, making a bit of a show of it.

What a weirdo, Sara is.

“Of course I’m a lady! Can’t you tell?” She’d flip her hair if it wasn’t pulled back. Instead, she works at fastening the anchor to her wrist. “I’ve got everything on the list checked off!”

Except, you know, her personality’s trash, she’s got no bloodline to speak of, and, well...

Anyway.

“Well, aren’t you all about putting in the work? This is very important work, you know. Your place in the world determines everything else!”

WHAT IS THIS FEELING? ✧

continued from here // Serra & Sara

[serraic]

Erk is perfect — he helps her into the carriage, like he should, and she only struggles with her dress a little bit, but, you know, really, if the dress good enough, you’re supposed to struggle with it, a little bit. She and her huge train and her beautiful boy pile into the small carriage, and with a word, they’re off to a fun, beautiful seaside destination, Serra happily chatting all the way about what do you think the castle will look like, and is he excited to see the water, and what is he going to do first, and, and, and—

When they’re stopped hours later, Serra has left Erk alone with his thoughts and is singing to herself, gazing at the world through the window of the carriage. The guard that comes to address them has piercing blue eyes and asks in a flat voice for the presents. “What, now?” Serra questions. The man’s hand remains outstretched through her window, encroaching on her space. So she shuffles around, through her skirts, pulling out the boxes with the help of Erk that the two of them had arranged at the foot of the carriage, and they hand it up to the guard.

With no ceremony, the sharp point of the man’s lance tears into her careful wrapping, revealing the box and the present inside.

“H— hey!”

He does the same to Erk’s gift, paper ripped cleanly.

And then he’s gone.

“W— wait! Don’t we need those? H-h—!”

He’s back. This time, with two bracelets, sets of charms, and instructions — to exchange them with fellow party-goers. With that, he leans from the carriage again, taps it roughly on its top, and sets them the rest of their relatively short way to the castle.

Even Serra is stunned into silence, momentarily. But only, y’know, momentarily. She’s still Serra, after all. “... Well that was rude. He could have at least told us what he was doing! Rude host, rude guards! I hope at least the party will be full of fun people.”

... Wait, what is she talking about? This party isn’t about the people, it’s about her and Erk.

“Well... I guess that doesn’t matter. I have you by my side, don’t I? It doesn’t matter who else is around me. Hey!” She holds up her new bracelet, all pearls. “Let’s be the first to trade with one another!” She unhooks a pearl, and holds it out to him.

Night to Remember