#【 the light of your radiance blinds friends and foes alike ⁎ support: elincia 】

[freedomarrow]

"Good afternoon, Leonardo. Keeping well, I hope." Elincia holds an object behind her back, careful to keep it out of sight. The sheepish expression on her face gives her motives away far too easily though, along with the pale pink flush on her cheeks. She had never been skilled in deception, no matter the circumstances. "I want to apologise, it's a little later than planned but I couldn't simply ignore your birthday." Shifting uncomfortable on her feet, she slowly presents him the surprise she'd kept hidden.

It's a bunny rabbit. Not a live, wiggling one of course! It would be reckless to spring an animal on someone who may not wish to or be in a position to care for it. Rather, it's a stuffed animal, plush with cotton inside and extra squishy. She's a little embarrassed that some of her stitches can still be seen despite her best efforts to hide him but she is proud of his golden, crocheted scarf, embroidered with a little deer at the ends.

"He took a little longer to finish than I planned and I couldn't well offer him up headless. What on earth would that imply?" Nervously, she offers it to Leonardo with awkward laughter, hoping the gift doesn't seem insulting. That she hasn't committed an awful faux pas here. They'd had little time to speak, to find common ground and yet... the image of them both in that field of rabbits is etched into her mind. Maybe it's an olive branch, an offer of friendship extended with great sincerity.

"Happy belated birthday. I er... hope you like it. But if you don't, I'm terribly sorry. Please, do with it whatever you see fit."

Elincia's voice catches Leonardo off-guard, surprise clear on his face as he turns to look at her upon hearing his name - though he masks it quickly with a light, courteous smile. "I am, thank you. I hope so are you," he responds.

She brings up his birthday, and his brow quirks ever so slightly - oh. It has now been a couple days, and he had expected everyone to move on to the more important daily matters by now. To learn that she had spent so much time preparing something for him, makes him... well, a mixture of embarrassed, flustered, grateful and curious.

He cannot help but feel his smile brighten up, however, as she presents the gift to him; a stuffed rabbit plushie, soft to the touch, reminiscent of some of the earliest memories of his carefree childhood. "You made this by hand?... It's so cute," he chuckles, looking over it as it arrives to his hands, before holding it close to his chest similarly to how he would a puppy.

"There is no need to apologize, or anything," he assures her quickly. He is not entirely certain why she would feel the need to apologize to him - treating him like a child, perhaps? He does not see it that way and he would not mind a chance to finally be one again, if only for a moment, really. "I love it... And I appreciate you spent so much time on this for me. Thank you."

The smile he gives Elincia as he says it is the warmest one she has received from him yet. Maybe he could finally accept that it is time to move on from what once was.

[freedomarrow]

Let Bygones Be Bygones? || Leonardo & Elincia

@estivalincia

Another day of classes is done, and Leonardo calmly packs his books and other belongings into his bag. He feels like he did fairly well today; the lectures were clear and understandable, even ones the topic of which he is not necessarily well versed or particularly interested in, so his mind is at peace.

The teachers here in Fodlan certainly earned their good reputation for a reason.

He slowly makes his way to his room through the open hallways, enjoying the atmosphere and the cool refreshing breeze of the winter. He briefly wonders whether he will be as well accustomed to the climate of Fodlan once summer arrives and - well, presumably at least - it becomes warmer. Just how much warmer does it get once winter is over.

His train of thought is brutally interrupted however, when right in front of him, in the hallway, he spots another figure from the past. He cannot help but let out a gasp, immediately stopping in his steps. It does not matter that he had only actually seen her a couple times at best; no way he would mistake the green hair, the look in her eyes and that royal posture for anyone else.

Seriously? First he encounters Ike’s sister, and now his employer?

He freezes for a moment. His mind briefly considers the options of turning back, but she notices him, so unless he wants to look really rude, that is out of the question. Besides, those are the Blue Lions hallways; they probably would have run into each other sooner or later.

So he puts his hand on his chest and offers a polite, yet somewhat stiff, bow; and then merely stands there, just staring at her, wondering what she thinks and what she will do. Or if she even recognizes him, for that matter; they met after Ashera’s judgement, sure but it is not as though he is someone particularly significant. 

He decides to let her speak first. That will determine whether or not he even has the right to say anything here.

[freedomarrow]

inquiry

@estivalincia

Leonardo’s Journal

9th of the Guardian Moon

Well, I was prepared for the possibility that I would not be the only exchange student from Tellius at the Academy, but I certainly did not expect the queen of Crimea here.

Though I suppose a place like this can be a positive and enriching experience, also for a young and inexperienced ruler. After all, I do know that Crimea faced unrest and rebellion shortly after Pelleas was crowned. I understand and believe it to be a good thing that she strives to better herself in hopes of avoiding such incidents in the future.

When you are a ruler, the gap between an incident and a tragedy can be dangerously small.

Admittedly, when I first saw her, a few too many images from the past came to me and I did not start our interactions in a good way. It was something of a bizarre feeling, I do not recall emotions getting the better of me like this ever before... Goddess, it is embarrassing. I did not get the impression that Her Majesty was angry with me, but perhaps next time I see her, I shall apologize one more time.

We both have nightmares of the past that we try to move on from. She may have my father’s blood on her sword, I will never know, but he inevitably had the blood of her people on his. I have to better myself (I believe this is what Edward would call “man up”) and stop acting like I am the only one hurting here.