#dancingxflames / o1

[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

[windsofcourage]

THE HACIENDA WAS HUGE . bigger than what link had first thought when he had read about it , that was for certain . its pale walls & . terracotta roof tiles were a bright spot amidst fanalea's rolling green hills & . distant mountains . it was COZY . a place that link felt drawn to even before he skirted the perimeter & . saw the pasture dotted with animals of all kinds . a WHINNY could be heard on the wind , drawing link's ear towards the sound . then , he spotted them . horses , proud , & . trotting in a small herd just around the bend .

they were beautiful .

. . . he wondered if he could ride them .

deciding it would be rude to let himself into the premises , link pushed himself off the fence railing & . made to find ... well , ANYONE really . eventually , he found a someone . a lady . & . definitely not a lady wandering around half-lost like he was .

link waved . ❝  hello . do you work here ? ❞

@dancingxflames

[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

[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