#perona and fia

[slumbering-in-death]

Fia smiles gently at her offer, carefully taking the plate in her hands.

“Thank you. I must say… you seemed distracted coming in. Is something the matter?”

She tilts her head slightly to the right.

Trembling head to toe, Perona slowly tiptoes into the room, keeping her eyes on Fia as though she'll lunge for an attack the moment she so much as blinks. The closer she gets, the more Fia's face seems to morph, twisting into... To put it frankly, one of the few people in her childhood that understood her.

But she mistook Fyra for her mother - it's different with her though, in that she sensed Fyra was her mother. That they had embraced one another as family.

"A-aah!"

Her foot catches on the rug, and she faceplants, somehow managing to keep the bowl of custard, accompanied this time by little biscuits, up so it only spills a bit on Fia's clothes.

Still trembling, her head remains down, and she reaches up, offering the bowl to her as she gets up into a kneel, despite being too nervous to look her in the eye.

@eldenlordofdragons [It Perona.]

Fia’s gaze is as calm as ever as she first hears then sees the white haired girl enter her quarters.

The girl seemed somewhat entranced by her, though Fia herself didn’t know what Perona was thinking of as she made her way over.

That’s when Perona tripped.

The girl managed impressive balance with the plate and bowl, but even so Fia stood from her bed to kneel by Perona’s side.

The girl would feel a hand on her shoulder, and hear a gentle voice.

“Are you alright?”

[deathblightprince]

"Winnie!"

Bouncing happily up to him, once again seeming to appear out of nowhere, Perona climbs right up into his lap, hugging him as tightly as possible. It doesn't feel like much, as per her size and strength, but the love is there.

Leaning back, she bounces a bit in his lap, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi, Winnie-!"

@eldenlordofdragons [Your Parmeseannie]

It appears whenever he was deep in his thoughts, about to go back to the darkest corners of his mind, the people in his life like Fia, Elysia, and now Perona comes in and brings him back to reality. While he may not always show gratitude in his appearance, gracious he truly was for these moments.

"Ah, Perona." He smiles as he takes her hands and pulls her up to his lap. He met her embrace with a sweet hug, wrapping an arm around her. He didn't need two, one was enough to fully embrace her.

"Hello, Perona." He didn't think it would happen at first, but he actually came to enjoy her visits. Her presence gave some light to these long dark halls. "Has thy work with Miquella progress?"

[deathblightprince]

"Brush"

Perona trying to give her new big brother a hug, cause he's scary but she loves him.

@eldenlordofdragons

How she found his castle and his bedchambers is still a mystery to him.

Trying to hug him was quite the feat for Perona, considering Godwyn is like a massive pillar when he stands around her. She's quickly becoming one of the reasons why he looks down as he walks, and gets pillows so he can sit on the wood and stone floor comfortably when she orders him to be at her level.

In his short time of living once again, never did he think he would be at the whims of a tarnished tinier than Fia. The Prince of Death, soon to be God of Death- The Grim Reaper of the Lands Between is tending to the desires of a tiny clerical tarnished... All because she chose his father as a dad, and Miquella chose her as his champion.

He's sitting on the floor now, leaning forward to allow her the opportunity to reach up and hug him. Blasted his damn height, he's scrunched himself up yet she's still standing on her tip toes just to reach him. It would just be easier to pick her up, but is he even allowed to do that? She's already uncomfortable around him when he stands tall around her, would she be afraid if he just picked her up? He had one arm- or just one hand around her. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, the only place where he could comfortably get a hug. It turns out that plan wasn't fool proof.

As she was trying to gain leverage, his knuckle started to dig into the curse mark on his left shoulder. He knew it was there as he could feel the usual burn and ache coming from his mark become exacerbated, trying into a searing sting as she continue to apply pressure. His face scrunched up slightly at the pain, but he refused to show fully how much pain he was in. Not in front of her, not when she's this small and fragile.

"Prithee, Perona take thy hand on my left shoulder now." He cringed as he could the bone on her knuckles pressing directly against the mark. "Thou'rt touching mine scars and it hurts."

[deathblightprince]

"Win-nie...?"

Smelling strongly of her prayer incense, she peeks into his quarters, Serosh loyally perched on her back. She has no idea what went down or why, but she has picked up on something being wrong - that someone needs her help. And while she's been rejected by many, still she has tried and tried, not for belonging or any sort of materialistic gain.

And oddly, it's the rejected and horrible that embrace her the most.

Pushing inside, she softly shuffles his way, Serosh mewling to alert Godwyn that she is there.

@eldenlordofdragons [Peronie!]

Her intuition was correct. Something was very wrong, but it didn't exactly tell her if she should be the one to bring comfort. For all we know, maybe Miquella could sense something horribly wrong and was giving signals to Perona to investigate.

He was laying in his bed in his large, ornate chambers. The curtains on the bed were drawn closed and the fire burned low within the grand fireplace. He didn't care how cold it was, it could never be as cold as the ice in his heart or his grave.

The mewl roused him from his state of being in-between sleep and wakefulness. He couldn't sleep, not much anyways. Nightmares had come back to haunt and nip his soul tenfold now. He was even beginning to have nightmares of that night, but instead of the black knife assassins, it was Fia, his father, his mother, or even some of his tarnished friends.

He initially believed it was his father entering the room, he was about to speak up through the curtains to tell him to leave him be, but then he heard Perona's voice and froze.

How the hell did she get in here?

He lifted himself off the bed and pulled back one of the curtains to look. Holy shit it is her, and she has Serosh? That means his dad isn't too far away.

"What it is thou need, Perona?" He assumed that if she didn't know, then she likely came in looking for something else within this small castle.

[deathblightprince]

Godwyn lets out a shaky sigh as he allowed Miquella’s power to surge through him. He felt an initial reaction from the roots inside his back to Miquella’s power, but they relaxed as quickly as they tensed. 

He couldn’t do much in his current state, or so he thought. He was grateful for the support he was given throughout this long, painful journey. He hoped Fia didn’t feel guilty for giving him a 2nd chance at life, as difficult and painful as this 2nd life has been so far. It’s been less than a year, and so much has happened. Hell, he still hasn’t had the time to grasp that he’s been dead for many, many, many years. All this lost time he’s had yet to fully comprehend. He feels like as soon as he was brought back, he was already back to his old duties of caring for others and putting his own needs on the backburner. He took on the roll of being Fia’s full time caregiver without knowing fully who she is, only knowing what she’s done for him, all the the while he barely remembered how to take care of himself. 

It’s not like he took much care of himself mentally and emotionally anyway, since he was the type of man who was too stubborn to accept that kind of help or support because he was 1000% sure he didn’t need it and other people like his mother and siblings deserved it more. Make no mistake, the biggest cause for this episode of major depression was the grim revelation of The Night of The Black Knives, but the lack of care to his mental health was almost a major factor to this breakdown. He’s suffering the consequences of neglecting his mental health so he could care for others. His selflessness towards his loved ones came at the price of recklessly and carelessly bottling up his emotions and keeping his pain private, believing it to be good for everyone else sake. 

“Nay...” Godwyn slowly shook his head, “I shant allow thee or Perona get involved within this. What happens now is between Ranni and mineself. Including any of my siblings between this is likely going to start another war that is similar to the Shattering. The Lands Between has suffered enough due to our squabbles...” Not to mention his innate guilt of his death being the catalyst for the shattering. He feared many years before his death that he was really the one keeping his mother from doing something terrible, and the shattering only confirmed those fears. 

“I fear even if Ranni hath never done this, mother would eventually crack. I... I know not of how I could tell thou or Malenia, but shortly after thou left for the Haligtree, mother’s temperament never went back to normal. Her paranoia mixed with her rage made her more cruel and vengeful than I ever remembered her to be. I feared that if I left her, she would unleash hell upon the Lands Between for Gods know what reason. Whether it be another war... or worse, I fear my presence would soon not be enough to tide her ruthless cruelty.”

"Winnie!"

Once again coming out of nowhere, Perona rushes up to him with a big smile. Understanding that he's huge she holds up what's essentially a cauldron of custard. (Totally wasn't enabled by Ensha.) It's a velvety lemon custard, said to soothe the spirit. Even the Sogwyn Dynasty is no match.

Offering it to him, she wags a nonexistent tail. "Custard!"

@eldenlordofdragons [Your serotonin, Sogwyn.]

The demi-god almost didn't notice Perona, let alone hear her scurrying up to him with a pot full of custard. How the hell did she carry that all the way down here anyway?

Godwyn glanced down at her from his desk. His appearance was off, hinting towards his vast melancholy. He sat at his desk presumably working, yet he was wearing a sleeping gown. His crown of thorns no where to be seen, and his hair down and slightly messy. It appears he just got out of bed and without taking a moment to freshen up or even change his clothes, he just walked towards his office and began working.

He pushed his chair back so he could face her. He managed to curl a small smile for her as she offered him the custard with glee. "I thank thee, Perona." He speaks softly as he takes the pot of custard from her and places it on his desk. Then he turns back to Perona with his arms open to her. "'Tis up then, aye?"

[slumbering-in-death]

Trembling head to toe, Perona slowly tiptoes into the room, keeping her eyes on Fia as though she'll lunge for an attack the moment she so much as blinks. The closer she gets, the more Fia's face seems to morph, twisting into... To put it frankly, one of the few people in her childhood that understood her.

But she mistook Fyra for her mother - it's different with her though, in that she sensed Fyra was her mother. That they had embraced one another as family.

"A-aah!"

Her foot catches on the rug, and she faceplants, somehow managing to keep the bowl of custard, accompanied this time by little biscuits, up so it only spills a bit on Fia's clothes.

Still trembling, her head remains down, and she reaches up, offering the bowl to her as she gets up into a kneel, despite being too nervous to look her in the eye.

@eldenlordofdragons [It Perona.]

Fia’s gaze is as calm as ever as she first hears then sees the white haired girl enter her quarters.

The girl seemed somewhat entranced by her, though Fia herself didn’t know what Perona was thinking of as she made her way over.

That’s when Perona tripped.

The girl managed impressive balance with the plate and bowl, but even so Fia stood from her bed to kneel by Perona’s side.

The girl would feel a hand on her shoulder, and hear a gentle voice.

“Are you alright?”

[deathblightprince]

Reading was the only thing that kept him sane while he was stuck within the hold with Fia. It was the only way he could learn about the state of The Lands Between without unloading questions onto an ailing Fia, or anyone else within the hold and risk blowing his cover.

"Being a God means thou must read aplenty. Father couldst not read much either until my mother taught him. Perhaps father could teach thee how to read before thou take the throne?" Just a few seconds after saying that he was already second guessing that. He remembered how his father wrote letters, the handwriting big and sometimes barely legible with many, many spelling mistakes. It didn't shock him because his father literally went from not being able to read or write at all to being literate within a short amount of time, but he can't say it's skilled. Father may not be the best candidate to continue her reading.

Before he could continue that thought and speak his change of mind, Perona had halted his thoughts with a sudden subject change. Well, okay then, he thought.

"I thank thee, Perona."

"Winnie?"

Tugging on his robes to get his attention, Perona stands patiently at his side. Once she has his attention she tilts her head a bit, soon raising up her arms.

"... Up?" She asks. Little sister wants uppies.

@eldenlordofdragons [Perona for his serotonin]

Godwyn turned around to peer down at the little nugget. He had given up on the thought of how she could be getting in here. She's knows where he is and how to get there, and it looks like that's not going to change.

"Has father not been giving thee enough 'uppies' as of late?" He asked as he put the book he was reading down. Regardless of the answer, he would fulfill the request.

He leaned over and picked her up by her armpits. Effortlessly, he lifted her up so she could comfortably held with one arm and attached to the hip, like how a mother would carry her toddler.

"Thou'rt comfortable, yes?" He asks her before he picks his book back up to continue reading.

[deathblightprince]

His reaction was minor considering the circumstances that causes the attack. Others were not as fortunate when they did something similar to Perona. As it turns out, both Perona and Miquella came extremely lucky in this instance. 

Godwyn’s hands were still trembling terribly. One hand gripped the edge of the table, the wood of the table starting to groan and warp in his grasp. 

He looked at her hand. He was... stumped. He felt hesitant to take her hand in the extension of recieving comfort. He was so used to just getting comfort from Fia whenever he had PTSD attacks like this. He felt uncomortably, maybe even a little embarrassed by needing comfort from a child. Even if it wasn’t just a child - Miquella is still in there somewhere. He could accept Miquella’s comfort... right? 

A shaky hand reached out to her. He began to take her tiny hand and into her palm before quickly pulling away as the deathroot writhed underneath his skin. He could feel the deathroot pushing it’s way to sprout from his back. 

He can’t stay in this room, not in the dark like this.

“I-I-.. I’m sorry. I can’t...-” He muttered quickly before turning away to leave his desk. He was heading towards the balconey outside his office, hoping the natural light of the depths and the air would calm his nerves.

He would leave Perona in the dark office as the left for the balconey, noticably leaning against a coloum to gasp for fresh air. 

✋🏻

Peronie has never seen a long haired man until coming to the Lands Between-

@eldenlordofdragons

Being a native of the Lands Between and also being a demi-god allowed him to grow a long illustrious mane that rivaled the looks of many noblemen and women alike. His looks even rivaled his siblings and mother. As the Golden Prince, he was not only loved by men and women for his diplomacy, fairness, and bravery. Before he became the powerful prince told in the books, he was a heartthrob to the masses. His long, golden hair faired well with his fair skin, everywhere he went he radiated gold and shined beautifully against the background of Leyendell's ornate sandstone and marble walls. He was the spitting image of his mother, which made him even more beloved as a young boy. As he grew into an adult, he became essentially what the public wanted and needed. A powerful and brave demi-god prince that would serve as a sword and shield to Erdtree and its people, meanwhile serving looks that stole the hearts of thousands.

That time has come and gone. Yet, after the dire plot that was The Night of The Black Knives, his long entombment, and then his resurrection, he continued to sport his long locks that reached his waist. His hair was no longer a brilliant gold, but a dull, faded gold that bordered on silver depending on the lighting. His hair care routine that he had as the Golden Prince was gone as well. He used to spend time deep conditioning his hair and styling it to look like light beach waves. Now the most he does is wash it, with minimal conditioning, let it air dry, and brush it. The results are not lustrious or silky, but his hair was clean and didn't feel dry as a bone. The lack of styling resulted in his hair being straighter at the roots and top, and a disheveled wavy mess at the ends. Considering the resources he has now, he could likely go back to his old routine and start taking better care of his hair, but with what energy? Depression has pretty much zapped his remaining motivation and energy into doing extra work toward his appearance. To the eye of a commoner, his appearance still looks well-groomed, but to him, he just looks presentable.

How Perona managed to get this close behind Godwyn is a mystery. he was leaning over, falling asleep as he was trying to read a book on the desk. Perona had managed to slink up to him and climb up on a chair so she could reach his locks. He was so sleepy he didn't register her being there. Observing the candle on his desk was burning low, he looks to have been there for a long while. His head rested in his palm, he fought sleep to continue his reading.

[deathblightprince]

Despite her reassurance, she would not see him shed a single tear. He's cried so many tears already, the thought of another session felt so exhausting to him. He wanted to sleep and be undisturbed, not by people, but be free of nightmares and sleep terrors. He wants to sleep next to Fia and not wake them up with his shouting or trashing in the bed. He wants to wake up next to Fia and not feel so exhausted and fried.

"I appreciate thy kind words, Perona..." he would mutter quietly. He patted her back to assure her of that appreciation, even if he couldn't bring himself to cry in front of her.

He was oblivious to Serosh rearing to chomp on him.

"Ack! S-Serosh!!" He yelps loudly as he thrusts his arms up to grab onto Serosh's scruff and mane. He attempts to yank him off to no avail. Serosh take Godwyn into his Claws no, eventually crawling to his shoulder so he could continue to torture him.

"Get off, Serosh! Get off!" Godwyn commands falls on deaf ears. Serosh's sweet little kitty timer is up, and now it's play time.

Godwyn at this point has left Perona's side, struggling to yank free of Serosh's enveloping grasp. Meanwhile he's knocking things off of shelves and leaving a mess in his wake.

"Win-nie...?"

Smelling strongly of her prayer incense, she peeks into his quarters, Serosh loyally perched on her back. She has no idea what went down or why, but she has picked up on something being wrong - that someone needs her help. And while she's been rejected by many, still she has tried and tried, not for belonging or any sort of materialistic gain.

And oddly, it's the rejected and horrible that embrace her the most.

Pushing inside, she softly shuffles his way, Serosh mewling to alert Godwyn that she is there.

@eldenlordofdragons [Peronie!]

Her intuition was correct. Something was very wrong, but it didn't exactly tell her if she should be the one to bring comfort. For all we know, maybe Miquella could sense something horribly wrong and was giving signals to Perona to investigate.

He was laying in his bed in his large, ornate chambers. The curtains on the bed were drawn closed and the fire burned low within the grand fireplace. He didn't care how cold it was, it could never be as cold as the ice in his heart or his grave.

The mewl roused him from his state of being in-between sleep and wakefulness. He couldn't sleep, not much anyways. Nightmares had come back to haunt and nip his soul tenfold now. He was even beginning to have nightmares of that night, but instead of the black knife assassins, it was Fia, his father, his mother, or even some of his tarnished friends.

He initially believed it was his father entering the room, he was about to speak up through the curtains to tell him to leave him be, but then he heard Perona's voice and froze.

How the hell did she get in here?

He lifted himself off the bed and pulled back one of the curtains to look. Holy shit it is her, and she has Serosh? That means his dad isn't too far away.

"What it is thou need, Perona?" He assumed that if she didn't know, then she likely came in looking for something else within this small castle.