#cagcdlxve / o3

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // she'd heard it from marcellus before the news could break. a murder in downtown arcanus. multiple witnesses. accounts of strangulation. the details were still hazy , but from what her partner had managed to tell her , the victim lived next door.

at first , byleth couldn't quite make sense of that. in some ways , it almost felt TOO FAR-FETCHED. ( a shiver crawled down her spine at thought thought . remembering — . . . remembering . ) but she had no reason to doubt marcellus' word. the only thing left to do was investigate herself. her visitation to no . 102 was met with relative silence compared to the effervescent presence of her neighbor. from there , it didn't take very long to wonder where lilith might have gone.

"tae." she greeted. a quick once-over revealed the girl's tension. aggression mounted in her , coiling in her shoulders and flashing in her eyes before recognition had settled in its place. "... i hope i'm not intruding," she said , pausing briefly before continuing. there was no need to mince words.

"— my partner , marcellus , told me the broad strokes about what happened. if it's alright with the both of you , i would like to ask her personally for more information. on behalf of the AIPD ... .... and as a friend."

@dancingxflames ---> @cagcdlxve

[magnusmodig]

𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 brow. nostrils flared with thinly veiled disgust. watching closely , and one might notice a spasm of cheek as his TEETH GROUND TOGETHER. his jaw locked tightly , and his eye looked distantly ahead. there was trickery at play. THIS MUCH , thor could sense , for LIES WOVEN INTO LIFE'S TAPESTRY were very much his father's parting gifts. but although his ancient mind clung to the DISCREPANCIES in this tale of woe , so too did his thoughts stumble and falter.

how would a planet sustain itself without the cycle of life and death? activity and rest? why would a DRUID know not the cut which festered and ROT AWAY his own planet's life-blood? either this PHINEAS was an incompetent scholar . . . or a vile man. ( it was now to thor's current understanding that he may just be both. )

the god of the storm shifted his weight. with the movement , his expressions eased into something stoic , and the cerulean blue of his eye pinned the priestess of concordia beneath it. an airless grunt filled his lungs.

❝ rains do not exist to serve the river. it is the river that serves the the rain ... and the earth. ❞

⋆˙⟡ " I wish I knew. " she answered him quickly. How often had she not asked those very same questions? She's read and searched and begged for there to be something else that could be done. That she could do that would not allow this to come to pass.

" My... teacher, High Druid Phineas felt those details were not important to disclose. He dedicated his whole life to learning about Concordia's magic. " He would know if there was another way, but he silenced those questions as they came out of her mouth.

She didn't give up at the time and sought answers in other ways. And yet they all lead to the same end.

" I have overheard the mother and sisters speak about how... the life of Concordia was only growing, rather than dying in turn. Everything born of her land is gifted with her blessing. So... as a lake with too many rivers to feed, it loses more and more of its source. " she looks up to Thor, a quiet look in her eyes. Her cheeks twitch as if there was an attempt to smile.

" But that's what the rains are for. " She blinks. " To restore it... "

[magnusmodig]

𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀𝐍 overly keen eye to spot the difference in lilith's demeanor between now ... and a mere fortnight ago. the thunder god's brow furrowed low. his eye quickly scanned over the maiden for any blight or blemish would cause such disturbance in her. hm . . . perhaps she was a slight bit paler than usual. almost SICKLY in that respect. the bloom of color had faded from her cheeks and the light from her eyes as once it had before. clad in pale grey , the color faded from her even further , until she was left as ashen as dust.

she laughed , and even the sound of her voice was worn . as though the notes were grating over a rusted blade. eye flit to meet lilith's gaze , and SNAGGED BRIEFLY along the cuff of her collar.

❝ . . . yes , i concur, ❞ he breathed , HALF-DISTRACTED. ❝ the earth is a wondrous thing . . . ❞

peeking out between the cloth of her dress and silken brown braids draped over her shoulders , HE HAD SPOTTED WELTING. the bruises stood out from the pale of her skin , DISCOLOURED BLOTCHES turned grey-green as her body slowly healed the aftermath of great violence.

the hairs at the nape of his neck stood on end. thor tilted his head , and gestured towards his own neck.

❝ — what's this? ❞

⋆˙⟡ Her eyes widened. She, of course, had no reason to believe that Thor was being untruthful towards her. In fact, in all likely hood he had indeed simply been passing by and noticed her. And why wouldn't he? They always caught their eyes in the wild.

But now the choice was hers. Does she tell him? Does she lie? No... she couldn't do that. If she would want one person to be shielded from her sorrow, it would be kind Sir Thor. He did not deserve such a burden. But a pain came into her stomach even considering the notion of speaking a lie.

There was a long pause after he had spoken, but she made up her mind.

" Oh. " Her shoulders relaxed. " I... have not been at my best as of late. Tae- she was watching over me... but she can be a little overprotective at times. "

Her laugh came out hallow, broken by the strain she felt whenever she spoke. " But... I wanted to be here. Outdoors... " out of her house. a hand touched the ground. More flowers sprouted as a result. " I feel ... at peace, among these... It's been lovely being able to hear the earth once more. "

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // green eyes widened. brow furrowed slight. uriah. that was . . . her friend. — but before byleth could even begin to parse through the meaning behind such a revelation , lilith had risen from her seat in great haste. all remnants of byleth's own confusion vanished without a trace as her gaze shot upright to meet lilith's.

they knew each other. or at least : his name meant far more to lilith than anyone in this room had thought. it was curious , but MORE THAN THAT : lilith's panic was a flurry of words and high emotions. so much so , that byleth found herself at a loss as she sat with her hands folded over her lap , STILL AS STONE.

( maniacal laughter bubbled from her house leader's lips , stilted and so unnatural that it almost didn't sound like his voice at all. ) just as lilith's panic reached an all new height , and tae rose to meet her , BYLETH BREATHED .

and all time s t i l l e d .

“— you’ll do more harm to yourself and those around you by putting on a brave face , rather than being truthful about your needs.” so she was saying .

this time , byleth obliged tae's cup of tea , and was grateful for the light taste of something light.

"i'd imagine this has all been stressful for you. but if you can answer some questions truthfully , every one of us would be grateful." she paused briefly as she mulled over her words. uriah creed. " . . . did either of you encounter any suspicious activity in the days leading up to what happened?"

@dancingxflames

As if Tae's heart couldn't ache anymore. She still believes that there is a reason for Snowy's action. There could be something, but, no, Tae shakes her head and speaks, "Byleth is right. That is no way to excuse his action still."

Tae lowers her gaze and nods at Byleth's question. "I did." Don't mention the fight and don't mention the injury. Speaking of, her arm is throbbing.

"I followed him into the woods. I've seen him around before," She admits with a nod, "Not here. But back in our world. I wanted to make sure who I saw then was who was behind Lilith's...." She stops herself, her jaws clenched. Anger and rage are boiling inside of her. "I needed to make sure." Loosening her grip and loosening her tension, she looks at Byleth and reveals, "I believe his name is Uriah Creed."

@cagcdlxve

[magnusmodig]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐘 sprawled all around them , spurred from seed into bloom by the maiden's very will. as thor watched the leaves and petals unfold and chase the afternoon sun , he felt in himself a sort of kinship with the earth , and the woman who sparked it to life. through a haze he felt its stirring in him : a memory from bygone days when the god of thunder - then merely a child named thor - sprawled out in the dirt and the grass of his mother's green gardens . he recalled the feeling of the storm-swept breeze blowing through the treetops , and the pitter-patter of a thousand raindrops cascading across the whole of valaskaljalf. each and every one had reverberated back through his own senses as though born of his own hand's touch .

reaching forth for the fringed curl of a carnation , he traced its soft petals gingerly — as though she too now felt the world as he once did .

❝ no, ❞ he replied, ❝ i simply saw you from far afield , and wished to greet you here. ❞

❝ . . . why ever would lady tae have sent me? ❞

⋆˙⟡ Liked starter @magnusmodig

She had been sitting under the tree for a long while now. She felt guilty ( so much guilt, it made her want to- ) leaving the confines of Tae's abode. But she was never made to be indoors for so long. She needed the warmth of the sun, and the grass on her feet. There was peace she found among the wilderness, she needed peace more than anything else.

Surrounding her were several blooms of flowers. Lilies... Tulips... Carnations. All sorts of colors and varieties. It looked like a wedding bouquet ( or a funeral casket. ) Her hand remained connected to the earth, where her heart poured out to the petals.

There was no change in movement when she noticed the shadow. She recognized it well enough. ( that shade of red. a shelter. a warm embrace. ) Despite the numbness in her body, even she could feel the lifting of her heart. A soft blush of life came to her cheeks as her lips perched upwards.

Her eyes, however... those were still cold.

" Sir Thor!... " she greeted warmly, looking up. It took far too long for her to find his eyes, but even when they did, she did not look for long ( the tree tops behind him took her attention instead. ) " It's a beautiful afternoon to be walking through the park. "

She pondered what it was he might've been here for... only for the corners of her lips to fall. guilty. did she make him worry? " ...Tae did not send you, did she? " more flowers began to spring up around her. Maybe she wished she could simply be swallowed by these lovely things.

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // this ... was going to be a long day.

already , byleth could feel the weariness that came with the oncoming dread of an arduous procedure. it settled like a heavy weight on her shoulders , and lay blanketed there as she observed lilith and tae. it never mattered what the situation was. whether it was preparing nightly over tactics and lessons for an upcoming lecture for the blue lions , or bracing herself for the ONSLAUGHT of discontented soldiers under the snap-tooth fang of the tempest king's plans of vengeance — or even the mountain of prayers and confessions brought forth to the acting archbishop throughout the tides of war.

ultimately , THIS FEELING remained the same ; like slogging through mud.

". . . given the circumstances , it's good that you're holding on to your courage. but we aren't at war. and if we were , even soldiers know you'll do more harm to yourself and those around you by putting on a brave face , rather than being truthful about your needs." healers couldn't do their jobs and keep soldiers alive if individuals failed to admit when they were hurt. commanders couldn't keep their troops alive on the battlefield if they didn't know who was unfit for deployment.

then again , in war , the battle would come to you either way. most people didn't get a choice whether they were ready or not.

lilith did. and yet byleth was already getting the feeling that tae was having just as much a hard time as an ill-informed healer.

byleth splayed her hand in gesture as she continued. "that said , i would be lying if i said to you that this was a simple courtesy call. for the sake of your safety and the safety of others in the city , i'm going to need to ask some questions about what happened. and if either of you have answers , it would be within your best interests to answer accordingly. that way , i can relay the information to the AIPD."

she paused. "i understand that it may be difficult to talk about. so you can take as much time as you need before putting your thoughts to words. is that alright with the both of you?"

@dancingxflames

Tae's own eyes meets Byleth. She was fine. The only thing that concerned and worried her to no end was Lilith. She was angry for Lilith. She'd feel the things Lilith didn't have the energy to feel. "Please sit, I'll make you some tea." After gesturing to the seat, Tae prepares Byleth a warm cup of tea.

"Thank you for checking in," She says as she looks to Lilith. That little light she saw when Lilith spotted Byleth...she can only hope that having Byleth here has eased some wound. Still, Tae is keeping an eye on Byleth despite the feeling of knowing byleth would never do any harm.

"Lilith..." Tae's hand reaches to touch her friend's carefully.

@cagcdlxve

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // between the two of them , the tension in the air was nearly palpable. and yet , it was in that way that byleth found herself slipping into an old , rhythmic certainty about it. she was reminded of the guard barracks as soldiers slipped back inside the monastery's walls after a long battle. she remembered the silence of the long road back home after the onslaught of so much death.

soldiers and their commanders didn't get the luxury of rest after something like that. but it seemed lilith and tae were holding themselves to the same standards , even when they were anything but combatants.

"i'm alright," she said, if only to ease lilith's mind. she lifted a hand to quell her friend's thoughts before they spun. "i heard about what happened , and i wanted to check in with you." beat. "...i... have been in similar situations before. it can be difficult-" she glanced at tae and nodded towards her- "for everyone involved."

Tae is always a great judge of character. Her instinct tells her things that would normally keep herself and Lilith safe. She didn't think Uriah would cause much trouble because while she did feel he was not to be let too close, she didn't feel any ill will toward Lilith from him. Had he masked it knowing that Tae was someone who could sniff certain things out? She didn't know. If Uriah was like that then how many more were like that and HOW many others were out there readying themselves to harm Lilith? SHE didn't know.

So, naturally with that in mind, when she opens the door to see Byleth standing right there...She's guarded. Like a mother bear protecting her cub, she stands at the doorway, eyes on Byleth. There's anger and aggression coursing through her. There's distrust toward people, but it's hard to feel that way with Byleth.

And as a friend.

Yes, they needed Byleth. Lilith had to tell Byleth what happened. "Please, come in." Tae bows her head and steps to the side to allow Byleth indoors. Once in, she'll close the door behind them and lead to Lilith.

"Byleth is here, Lilith. She came to see you."

@cagcdlxve @fellstcr