#+. / freedom from the gods' chains lest we forget one another ( verse: valentia. )

[sireneia]

@tomestobetold​ sent:   ✿ maybe also for Berkut & Rinea b/c i am soft  ( randomized kisses. )

    house arrest hasn’t been kind to the rigelian prince. there was a war happening outside, and rigel was going to be getting the resources it rightly deserved. this was a conflict that berkut needed to be a part of more than anything.

but emperor rudolf had said no. had berkut not underestimated that zofian farm boy, would he be out there on the battlefield? would he not have slipped to such desperate measures as to rely on nuibaba's tricks? would his uncle have held some degree of trust in him as his heir?

all he sees in his mind is his uncle's back, so closed off and authoritative, and he hears the cries of the rigelian soldiers going off to war, taking up their lances and armor into the fray while berkut was forced to remain behind. he looks on through the window, despondent, when his fiancée gently touches his arm, breaking him out of the bubble of his thoughts.

“ ah. rinea... ”  the haze over his gaze disappears the moment he feels her, and he turns to her. her presence pulls him out of the darkness, reminds him he is not alone, and he tells himself to abate those accursed thoughts just for now.

just as he is seeing her as the light at the end of the tunnel, she surely sees him as much the same — to whisk her far up above all the ridicule and misery that she lives through as house ausfalken's daughter. he has promised himself to her in the hopes that she may shine brighter than anyone else, and he cannot stay around here moping if he is to accomplish that dream.

he sweeps her bangs out of the way and kisses her forehead lightly. though the rigelian court is critical of their courtship and reminds them to stay in line with how they express their affections, none of those nobles are here to witness them now. it is just him and rinea, a couple whose shadows melt together by this lonely windowsill.

“ don't look at me that way. i am fine, as you can see. ”  his vitality returns to him somewhat, a cocksure grin returning to his face. his pallor has seen better days though.  “ i am merely restless. though i suppose we can fix that. come, let us get away from here and talk instead of our wedding. ”

8. forehead kiss

[sireneia]

@tomestobetold​ sent:  ✿ for Clive & Mathilda  ( randomized kisses. )

    today's been a day clive had been counting down the days to. after all, a free day for the both of them was hard to coordinate, what with mathilda's rank in the knights' order, plus clive's own responsibilities increasing as he worked hard to catch up to her. perhaps one might attribute it to a desire for recognition, and yes, clive would be pleased to have his king's praise in the form of a promotion, the nobleman couldn't deny there was another's recognition he coveted more.

dame mathilda beatrix battenberg — a valkyrie upon the battlefield and a woman who similarly conquered many a young knight's dreams. every man's eyes were on her, but not many could say they had her eyes on them. if clive wished to turn her head more, then the natural way to get her attention would be to become as fine a knight as she, wouldn't it?

and now that he had her attention, they could go on an honest-to-goodness actual tryst! he had planned it to be an outdoor event, seeing how more at home she was being active than she was confined indoors. her visage was always radiant, but he knows his heart skips a beat far more when he gets to glimpse her enjoying herself as a woman of her blade than as a woman of the noble court.

but even if he desires to create an environment where she can fully shine in, the weather has other plans. midway through, he feels a droplet of rain strike his cheek, and when he tilts his chin skywards, the heavens begins to pour down in sheets.

the outing is over, then, and they're both responsible enough to know sticking out here would do no favors for health. but still, even if they must return, he knows he does not wish things to end here.

“ mathilda, wait! ”  he implores her, taking first a hold of her hand in his own, his other soon after reaching for the back of her head. he brings his own head closer to hers, and his lips meet hers firmly. it is truly a plea for her to stay with him, just for as long as this kiss will allow them. his tongue traces the seam between her lips, yearning to extend the time given to them. the rain pelting against them may be cold, but clive feels his body burn, a mixture of the desire he feels for his lady and the way his lungs beg him for air.

they remind him that all things must come to an end.

when he parts from her, his gaze remains heated, but the weather reminds him to cool his head off. he chuckles ruefully, offering his coat to cover the top of her head, but the damage has already been done. even if the inside of his garment is dry, he has asked enough of her in his affections to render her hair completely drenched.

“ i... forgive me, milady. i just thought i didn't wish to be parted from you quite yet. if i am the reason you are to fall ill tomorrow, let it be me who does all your duties in your stead as my apology.... for even if i burn with fever tomorrow, i will think it all worth it to have been able to taste your lips today. for nights leading up to our tryst, i had dreamed of doing this with you. ”

16. rain kiss

[sireneia]

@echoedfates​ sent:   “how long has it last been since you slept, Clive?” - Fernand //   caring for stubborn muses.   

   “ so you've noticed, i see. ”  clive puts down the paperwork concerning the newest recruits, turning in his seat to face his friend of old. he supposes he either has not been doing a good job at hiding the late nights or fernand knows him too well.

“ please don't worry so, friend. i know everyone has been doing their best for the cause, so i'm just trying to do my own part. ”  clive’s gaze falls back onto the unfinished work, unable to fully rip himself apart from it even as a warmth kindles itself in his heart.

how long has it been since he's heard such care from fernand? he had worried that the incident regarding his family had closed him off from his friends forever, but... if he can still reach out now, then perhaps not all hope is lost. the knowledge brings a smile to the man's face.

“ i suppose there isn't much to draw me into bed anymore... ”  the loss of mathilda for their forces turns that smile melancholic. she still breathes, but when in the clutches of enemy forces, how long will she truly be breathing yet? the deliverance needs her far more than they need clive, but yet still he must try. she wouldn't want him to give up now.

...perhaps mathilda could bring a laugh out of fernand again. an image of the three of them together in days past floods his mind, and clive releases the sigh he didn't know he was holding in.

“ still. i promise you i'll take a rest as soon as i can. just a little bit more... ”

[sireneia]

@nessblessed​ sent:   “ talk to me. ” {From Silque to Kliff!}   //  misc sentence starters.   

   “ about what? there's nothing they need to know. ”  he's not too surprised at how silque accosts him though. she must've picked up on that far-off look in his eyes as of late, and if there is anything kliff can call silque now, it is that she is a meddler — whether it be out of some genuine connection she felt between him and her or whether it be because of her attachment to her quarry and his own friendship to him.

alm's heart is big, regardless of all the other things about him. it's his heart that changed his plans from returning to ram to instead deciding to make a place for himself in valentia's political affairs. that heart will surely crack a little to find out it is a road he will likely take without all of his friends.

tobin and gray might stay behind for him. as much as faye loves alm, kliff knows she's seen she's been beat and will retreat to the home she loves just as much. kliff will not join her. he will not just tobin or gray either.

least of all, he will not join silque. they will soon be parted once more. he is running. that's what his own heart feels. it's asking him what he's afraid of. but his mind doesn't see fear; it only sees curiosity. nurturing the bonds he has, the bonds he has found again — it doesn't come to him. the sea engulfs him, threatening to sweep him across from one coastline to the next.

archanea. he's only heard of it, but he wants more of it. he feels as if going there will give him some deep answer. who is he? he knows his own name, of course, but what is he beyond that?

he must go.

he extracts silque's hand from his sleeve, looking her in the face so that she might see the determination in his eyes.  “ i'll tell you, but only because you were planning on leaving me anyway. ”  he's well aware of her plans to travel all around valentia, helping everyone she might come across. it sounds noble, but it is not the endeavour for him.  “ i'm leaving for archanea. i'm dead set on it. ”

[sireneia]

cont. ( @bookoftriumph​​ )

   she had set out on this war-torn path for two reasons: to chase away the fear that she might be condemned to loneliness and to protect the friends that she held dear even if she didn't always coat every word to them with sugar. kliff dying here, dying possibly for her...

oh, she was doing a terrible job at both of those reasons, wasn't she? her hand reaches out, pausing when she realized she was reaching for the wound. her eyes begin to water and she bites her lip to try and stop it from quivering.

not now. not now. she furrows her brow, trying her best to muster up a brave face and then reaches instead for his uninjured arm, dragging him to bound after her off the battlefield. “ f-fine! but don't you dare leave me for one second, buster! ”

[sireneia]

@allisallies​ sent:   “ i like seeing you smile! ” mae to celica!   //  misc sentence starters. 

   “ truly? ”  it's not that strange a compliment she supposes, but it does bring to mind a thought: when was the last time she has felt herself smile? she doesn't usually actively think about it, but with how dreary and focused her thoughts have been as of late — especially after her premonition — she feels as if the times she's smiled have become rare and rarer.

guilt mars her features, ironically taking the smile from her face.  “ i apologize... i feel like it must have been a long, long time since you last saw me smile. you've been here for me for so long, even accompanying me now, yet... ”

yet all she can do is fret over alm and form a wrinkle in her brow. mae deserved better than that. not only her but genny and boey too. oh, mila bless their hearts... if mila is even listening now.

[sireneia]

tag dump ( 3/3 )

+.  /   freedom from the gods' chains lest we forget one another ( verse: valentia. ) +.  /   there are no heroes today only evil within all of us ( verse: jugdral. ) +.  /   the world is an unstable place that belongs to no one race ( verse: elibe. ) +.  /   keep your heart close to your chest and look beyond the surface ( verse: magvel. ) +.  /   you are more than what fate's script calls you ( verse: ylisse + valm. ) +.  /   the world is beyond black and white ( verse: fates. ) +.  /   the past holds its scars and it is our responsibility to right the wrongs ( verse: fódlan. ) +.  /   everyone exists to hold a purpose and you shall find yours ( verse: zenith. ) +.  /   the crown may be heavy but you are never alone ( verse: aytolis. )