#wanderingsstar

[lionsword]

Ice Ice Baby [White Heron Cup]

White Heron Cup starter for @wanderingsstar @viridescent-lance and @nagaficat

Roy was so excited he was worried about being able to dance correctly. He grinned at Nils, tamping down his nerves like he usually would before combat. However, going out onstage to perform was its own trial. With only a decorative sword at his side, he felt out of place.

"Okay. Let's go!"

It felt like something they were sharing, a memory of someone long past, their reminiscence in steps and flourishes rather than words. Roy hadn't gotten to know Ninian, but he knew she'd been dear to Nils, if not everything to him.

The dance was both in her honor and an expression of new joy, fire red and ice blue blending in spirit.

Style: 9

Choreography: 6

Technique: 4

Total: 19

Roy's steps still weren't the best. All that practice and he still likely bruised at least one of Nils' toes. "Sorry!" he whispered after a bad step, still enjoying himself.

[ashenprofessor]

Flash of brilliance, and steel

closed starter for @wanderingsstar

Swordsmasters of Elyos and Hoshido have long inspired people with their signature finishing move: the ability to cut through an opponent with dazzling speed, so fast that one can’t even perceive the blade leaving its sheath. The Battle of the Eagle and Lion reignites interest in learning these techniques. Determined students have made some progress but haven’t quite mastered the move. Think you can help them? [ Grants Sword +1 ]

It could be said that Byleth knew their way around a sword. I had after all been their weapon of choice since childhood when Jeralt began their combat training. Since taking the position at the monastery, with access to some of the best teachers in all of Fodlan, their skill had only grown and Rhea had even gifted them with the Sword of the Creator. Yet despite all this, Byleth had never considered the possibility of finishing moves. 

Byleth entered the training area where numerous staff and students were wielding swords, practising flashy moves. Some looked effecting, others were all show and no blow. Removing their own sword from its scabbard, Byleth ran through a couple of easy drills to warm up before returning the blade to its home at their side. Approaching a training dummy, Byleth took a deep breath, focusing their spirit before drawing the blade in a flash and slashing across the mannequins chest in a quick strike. It was good but still not quick enough. Sighing, the mercenary moved away to allow others to try. 

Looking round the room, they spotted one of their former house attempting the move too. Wandering over, Byleth slipped into instructor mode before creating the teal-haired person. “Helli Nils. Are you interested in learning this finishing move too? It’s a tricky one to get the speed with. How’s your progress at mastering it?”

[aimlessarchery]

🎨 yippee!!

oh mein gott its a little dragon boy

[justicefanged]

*GASP* A Child

It was way too early after the rowdy night Linus just got through. While the monastery might be stuffy as hell, the areas around it? Good ol’ places, with normal enough folks and no one checking to make sure he was setting a good example or...whatever. Drinks were had, songs were sung, and sloppy fist fights were inevitable.

Linus was quickly running out of places to go in his free time without coughing up gold for property damage. Which, in his defense, was hardly just his fault! Can’t exactly have a bar brawl on your lonesome, now could you?

But, right, he was doing something...Or trying to. Pretending, more like. There was a lotta busy work, teaching these brats. Most of the time, if he could do something physically in the way of teaching, he would. But, that didn’t always work out for several reasons, and that meant he had to wing it. Books didn’t teach fighting or tactics in his humble opinion, but frankly, neither did he -- at least, not well. Plans were Lloyd’s thing; Linus was the brute force that got them done as they should have been.

And politics? He’d rather choke to death on a spoon! He wasn’t equipped to do anything with that, so Linus avoided it at all costs. 

But it was raining cats and dogs outside, and he’d already gotten complaints about making his students tough it out and learn how to work in such conditions. So. Here he was. Absolutely not carving something ridiculous into the underside of one of the desks in the classroom as he tried to think up ways to fill in the time he had to teach that day. 

Too bad his head was working about as well as if he’d been donkey kicked.

“Gah, this is an absolute load of bull shi--!” Linus’ grumbling is unceremoniously cut off when he sees a student peeking in at him from underneath the desk, red eyes in an otherwise innocent face making him jump -- and promptly slam his head against the hardwood of the desk. Rolling onto his side as he clutched at his head, Linus shimmied his way out from the desk rather ungracefully. “Fuck! Kid, you can’t just spook a guy like that, alright?!”

@wanderingsstar

[destinian]

"Ninian?! Is that you! You're actually here! Thank goodness-!! I missed you so much. I-Im just so happy that you're okay!"

Not once has Ninian regretted her choice to remain behind with Lord Eliwood and humanity. Even with the knowledge that this choice will cut her life short, she knows her place is here. But it hasn't stopped her from missing her brother every day and wondering what things would be like had she gone with Nils back through the Dragon's Gate.

It's lonely without him.

She wishes he could be here to see how happy she is with Eliwood and all of their friends. She wishes he could meet Roy.

Ninian's eyes widen when she hears that familiar voice call out her name. But it can't be. Still, she turns and there he is. A smile breaks out across her face and she runs to him, pulling him into an embrace and confirming that he is really here.

"Nils...you're here...! I'm so...happy! I didn't think...but you're here! There is...so much to tell you."

[pheraefire]

[ Cue the Music ] " Lord Eliwood!! " The young boy ran up to him, seemingly excited he reconized someone in this crowd. "Havent you seen those insects playing over there?! Its rather strange but-" He tries to calm himself down, he cant forget the real task at hand. "-I want to show them what a real musician is like!!! Please come with me!"

this situation he found himself in, something like a fairy tale, left the lord in utter confusion. it left eliwood on edge truthfully, but the best he could do was smile and show his support to his friends. they were not under threat, after all, so he allowed himself these frivolous moments. if things did go awry, at least there would be plenty of capable warriors to fight, despite their size. for now he would have to confront his new reality of mice waiters, and... even insect musicians.

speaking of, a familiar face entered from his periphery, clearly excited about something. the boy's words spew out of him a mile a minute, a speed eliwood can hardly keep up with. he cannot recall seeing nils so alight with joy before, it is a most welcome change indeed. he cannot help but smile, knowing that his hardships seem to far from his mind. "calm yourself, nils, lest you forget to breathe!" a hearty laugh escapes the lord, giving the lad a pat on the shoulder.

"i've seen them, but i have yet to hear them play myself. i'd be delighted to join you, though. lead the way, nils."

@wanderingsstar

[fangedjustice]

How Not To Approach Children

@wanderingsstar

It was a bit hard to find peace and quiet here. It wasn’t a bad thing per se, as bustling activity was a good sign and nice in its own way, but sometimes, Lloyd needed a place that was quiet. He wasn’t going to get it in the barracks, or walking the halls or watching the students and knights go about their training. 

So, outside of the monasteries walls it was for the morning.

Gathering up some writing supplies from his quarters, since he was...long overdue to returning a letter, Lloyd picked his way through the ever-busy paths of Garreg Mach, reaching the bustling marketplace and heading toward the gates when...

Was that...music? It wasn’t rare for there to be some sort of music playing around the marketplace, travelers often performed for a little extra coin during the days and nights available to them, but this music...This was something he knew. Something that itched at the back of his mind, somewhere...

There!

A younger boy, with oddly colored hair, enthralling a small group of people with the airy tones of his flute. If he hadn’t seen the boy’s eyes, perhaps Lloyd would have simply moved on from the scene. But, now he knew why the musical sounded familiar, and he couldn’t just...walk away.

“...I see you’ve made it all the way out here. Quite far from home, aren’t you?” 

[lionsword]

Roy was just as surprised as Nils that he was performing this well too.

"Er, it's never been this easy before." Roy danced smoothly in time, enjoying himself more than he thought. Without putting much thought into his steps, they were able to execute a stylish and perfect execution of something... a little odd, but with lots of flair.

"I'm not thinking much about it. Maybe I just need to not think when I dance!"

That, or he and Nils really did have a special bond. It could be both.

@thelightofcreation and @allegreta

One hop this time ( White Heron Cup )

starter for [ @lionsword, @thelightofcreation and @allegreta ]

Their first round went pretty well! And despite Roy's inexperience with dancing, the young lord is doing very well in his uncle's eyes! Nils grins as he whispers "You're almost a natural at this- are you sure you dont know how to dance?"

He should be a dance teacher! If someone like Roy can do so well Nils is fully confident that he could teach anyone!

style - 10 choreography - 3 technique - 10 TOTAL - 23!

Despite just being two kids having fun, they seem to know what theyre doing! At least, to the judges! Nils laughs "At this point maybe were just to good at this!" He added at the end of his laugh, honestly the half dragon is pleased that Roy was able to keep up so well!

[bxldrsdraumar]

And I Would Walk 500 Feet

When one has become as small as a mouse, one must take care to avoid unexpected hazards. Rain and hail hit deceptively hard. Those stairs you’d vault up one or more at a time? You’ll need to find another route. And all those cats, dogs, and chickens around the monastery you’ve befriended over the school year? Well, the dogs are still more than happy to be your pals (watch out for their enthusiasm, however), but the cats and chickens… The former think you look like the perfect toys now, and the latter may or may not be wondering just how edible you are. Quick! Escape the courtyard!

(starter for @wanderingsstar)

The courtyard seemed to stretch for miles, rolling hills of green lawn, dunes of ant hills and gushing rivers and lakes formed by the mid-autumn rains. Despite the fact of the circumstances, Sigurd almost felt like he was back in Chalphy, and he sighed at the breeze that ruffled through his hair.

He was not in Chalphy, though, and the fact of the circumstance remained: he was very small. So small, in fact, that while he knew he had to leave the courtyard, to begin to find a direction to move to find the dastard that had done this, the world had become to vast and expansive that he almost did not know where to start. Getting his bearings about him, Sigurd thought he could identify north by the distant spire of the cathedral in the distance. But he could also see another front of big grey clouds rolling in, and he knew that travel in inclement weather was difficult under normal circumstances.

It seemed to him, as absurd as it might sound, that the best course of action was to find shelter. Sigurd shook his head at the prospect. It was almost funny.

"Well then," he said. "If north is that-a-way, then the dormitories are to my left." It seemed an easy enough route if he skirted close to the stone-laid footpaths, so he began to make his way in that direction.

It wasn't long before he encountered another soul, and though he knew, of course, that others had met the same strange fate as he, Sigurd was simultaneously relieved and aggrieved at the news. "Ah! Young man! Hello," he called, keeping his tone kind. "I see we are in the same predicament! Are you injured, my boy?"

[theofficersacademy]

Activity Check: July

We’ve conducted the activity check for July!

If your muse is both:

Not listed below

Has made the activity requirement for this month (3 IC posts, regardless of any exemption status)

you may claim your activity skill point! Simply add it to your Total Skill Points on your stats and allocate it wherever you please. If you have reached a new letter rank and would like to claim a new ability, please message the Masterlist.

Warned:

Nils @wanderingsstar

Sophia @nabataprophet​

Alear (M) @alyration

Freyja @foreversnightmare

Booted:

Finn @lanceofleonster

Serra @serraic​

Takumi @wndbrn

- the House Leaders

[lionsword]

Blade Class [Nils & Roy]

Starter for @wanderingsstar

Swordsmasters of Elyos and Hoshido have long inspired people with their signature finishing move: the ability to cut through an opponent with dazzling speed, so fast that one can’t even perceive the blade leaving its sheath. The Battle of the Eagle and Lion reignites interest in learning these techniques. Determined students have made some progress but haven’t quite mastered the move. Think you can help them? [ Grants Sword +1 ] 

Roy was rather skilled with a sword. He had to be to even be alive by then, and he’d had Cecilia as a teacher and a father with an impressive legacy to live up to. Any new technique wouldn’t be too difficult to master, right?

He mimicked the way he’d seen swordmasters pull their sword from their sheath and use the draw as a lethal strike. Focused, he put all of his focus and power into it, whipping his arm as fast as possible for the move-

So intensely, that his training sword flew through the air, clattering against the wall of the training hall and a suit of armor along the way with a bang. It landed only a couple of feet in front of Nils and Roy gasped, hand over his mouth.

“I’m terribly sorry! I’m having trouble with the latest move they��re teaching. Are you hurt, Uncle Nils?”

Rushing over to Nils, Roy picked up his training sword again and blushed, hot with embarrassment. He’d wanted to be able to teach Nila some sword basics and even more advanced techniques, but he was handling his blade that day about as well as a wet spaghetti noodle, and much more destructively.

“Have you tried out the Elyos and Hoshido technique yet yourself?”

[destinian]

" I mustve really joined at the right time! Happy birthday Sister... Here you are! I hope you enjoy your gift "

"Nils..."

She hadn't realized how close to her birthday it had been when she first reunited with him here. Now it feels almost as though he had this planned the whole time. Her whole little family is here now. Her brother, her fiance, the son she will one day give birth to. She hopes Nils will see Eliwood and Roy as family too.

"I don't need any gifts...you're here...we're together again."

[peerlessscowl]

> its a dps loss

wanderingsstar

Once free, Nils rubbed his wrist lightly, it did not hurt- but it was normalized for him to do this every now and then. "Thank you. It's something I learned sadly through experience." He looks down, shame washing over him until he lifts his head up, giving his hand to Raven, confused.

He stares for a moment, watching as Raven explains what he has to do next. Thats right, what if theyre armored ? or... laugh it off? With a firm and determined nod. He took what he learned from Raven, following step by step.

" Like this?" The first attempt is always the hardest, but he kept trying at the technique, getting closer and closer to prying his hand off. The last time that he did, everything happened so quickly- It felt natural at that point.

" Haha! Yes! Now that is what I'm talking about! Woo! " A little self-cheer here and there doesn't hurt. Sadly, It seems he was too engulfed in happiness to listen.

It took the kid a few tries to get it. As Raven expected, he wriggled against his hand a few times, then in such a way that twisted his arm. Finally, though, he became used to the movement, the direction he needed to pull, and with a sharp tug -

" Haha! Yes! Now that is what I'm talking about! Woo! "

Free from Raven's grasp for the final time, the kid danced around the space, celebrating his hard-earned victory with hoots and hollers. Sitting back on his haunches, Raven couldn't help but smile softly at the boy's self-satisfaction, and allowed him this moment of self-congratulation.

"Thank you. It's something I learned sadly through experience."

Watching the boy dance around the space, Raven lingered for a moment on the panic he saw in his face, the resignation when he admitted that it had happened to him, presumably more than once, and his lips twitched downward back into a soft frown.

"Hey," he said after a moment, beckoning, "come here. Two more things, and then I think you should get something to eat." When the kid approached, Raven didn't rise, staying crouched low so that he remained at eye level.

"If you can't wriggle out, and kicking doesn't work, shove the heel of your hand into their nose, hard and fast." He demonstrated, striking swiftly at the air before him, then again to ensure the boy understood the motion. "Like that. That'll give you the space you need to run away.

"And finally - " He paused, shifting to look at the boy squarely in the face, gaze intense. "Finally, if you know that I'm nearby, you can come find me."

It occurred to him, briefly, that he hadn't introduced himself, and he pressed his palm to his chest in emphasis. "Call…call for Raymond." The name still felt heavy on his tongue, but he quashed his discomfort for the moment. "No matter what the threat is, I'll help. All right?"

- Fin

[justicefanged]

“Sure, sure. They’re grand people, totally clean hands,” Linus scoffed, rolling his eyes at the boy’s outburst.

Really, it wasn’t his place to say, but that rarely ever kept the Mad Dog from barking. He didn’t get to speak to the Lycians like Lloyd had been able to before...before things went sour. He knew their general skill, since they’d gotten so far despite the full force of the Fang being thrown against them, and he knew that they were fighting against Nergal. But that didn’t negate the fact that they had killed men and women he knew. Didn’t easily change the views he’d grown up with and held and killed for.

He sighed loudly at that last bit, rubbing at the back of his neck in discomfort. Taking kids against their will had never been something he’d been okay with. Even if Linus and Lloyd hadn’t been the ones to do it directly, they hadn’t stepped in.

“Yeah, they did do that, kid. Listen...Ya ain’t got any reason to like me, and ‘m not tryin’ to change your mind. But those of us that lived, that were real Black Fang, we didn’t agree with what went down and...we should’a done somethin’ to stop it but we didn’t.” His tone is gruff, a messy mix of shame and anger, but it’s all internalized and not directed at Nils this time. “Shit got fucked, and everyone had a bad fuckin’ time, alright?”

That was probably as close to an apology as Nils was likely to get right now.

“None’a your damn business! Forget about it!” Linus blurted out, more comfortable shifting back into an argument than whatever sappy shit that was. “Oh yeah? Well then, why don’t I help ya look. What’cha lose, squirt?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

Fat chance! If this place knew what Linus had done then maybe they wouldn’t have him here! Even if Nils knew deep down it wasn’t truly the Black Fangs fault. Everything ties back to Nergal, every problem they ever had since returning always ties back to him. When he was dropped so RUDELY, He fixed his uniform up not wanting it to look messy.

“They aren’t pricks! They’re my friends-! They did everything to keep us safe even if it was… inconvenient. I-… I’m not staying with them though. Ninian is” Nils didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore- and he isn’t even going to comment on Nergal, a can of worms that could explode at any moment really.

“If you didn’t want the job then why did you take it huh? It’s not like anyone wants your skills!” Okay well, that last part might’ve been rude “I was just- looking for something I left in class, it’s nothing of importance to you.” He isn’t going to tell the truth about wanting to look for answers to cheat- How much trouble would he be in… but it would be way worse if they DID find out he lied.

[bxldrsdraumar]

And I Would Walk 500 Feet

wanderingsstar

As dizzyness sets in, It takes Nils a bit to notice the hand extended at him-- He slowly reaches out before being pulled up. Perhaps the small size is making Nils feel this way, because he can usually be fine after a bit of running, but when getting chased by a huge dog? He mustve used up way more energy than he thought.

" Maybe for you, youre already pretty tall arent you? Honestly for me it feels like nothing has changed.... " making fun of his own height the softest "heh" couldve been heard after he felt the hand on his shoulder "I dont want to go swimming-- im not even that good yet" Guess that is enough insentive to get out of the rain.

He was already on the move, practically dragging his feet along until Nils heard the other man's offer. Any other day he would scoff and say I don't need help! but today is not that day "I- Wouldn't mind that, if only for a short while--" Nils stops, waiting for the other to approach him- hes not moving.

"Ha! I suppose that's true, it is a matter of perspective!" Having been a presence larger-than-life for, well, most of his life, it had never occurred to Sigurd that this change might be more drastic for some than others. How humbling it was to be made small and then to be brought low.

Kneeling, he presented his back to the boy, his arms a cradle while he made himself comfortable. Before he rose, Sigurd wrapped his cape around the boy and knotting it, securing the boy to him.

"All good, then?" He adjusted the weight a bit, hoping to find a position in which the boy was comfortable against him before he started moving. "Then get some rest. It seems we've a long road ahead of us."

It was mostly a jest - the dormitories were scarcely one hundred yards from where they were, but at this size that distance seemed to stretch on before him forever. He once again considered the rolling grassy hills, the streams created by the previous night's rain, and he glanced up at the sky. If they were to make it in one piece, he had better get going.

[bxldrsdraumar]

And I Would Walk 500 Feet

wanderingsstar

He's never eating soup again. Nils doesn't even like soup! Now he's stuck as small as an ant wandering around trying to find somewhere up high to find his bearings. He climbed his way up on what looked like a box that was laying around, seeing the courtyard was so far away made him lose so much hope quickly... until:

Arf!

Oh- Is that?

Arf! Bark!

Turning around he saw the source of the noise- a dog. "H-Hey there uh.. little- no big buddy... uhm please don't" The dog jumps on the box, causing Nils to freak out, desperate to avoid the happy animal, clearly it did not listen to him. You don't move fast at such a small height, but somehow he was able to hide from the dog in the grass. Luckily a guard happened to walk by and shoo the animal away, giving Nils time to breathe. He sat on the damp ground, out of breath and just wishing this was all just a weird dream.

It was peaceful until someone called out to him. Nils looked up and saw the blue-hair man " Hurt? no. Just... Just tired, I want to rest.. "

Sigurd felt his expression soften, and he extended a hand to help Nils to his feet. He did not know what the boy had been through in the short time that they had been made small, but he heard the wheeze in the boy's chest as he attempted to catch his breath, and he thought he could hazard a guess that it had not been a restful afternoon. 

"I can understand that – how overwhelming this has been, even for someone like me. The world is suddenly much bigger, isn't it?" Sigurd pressed a comforting hand to the boy's shoulder as he looked down at him. "I fear we must press onward, though – we cannot take our rest in the open like this. Who knows what dangers there may be lurking in the grass." 

He felt silly to say it, but the threat was quite real – with ants the size of infants crawling about their feet, who knows what other perils their everyday life had in store for them? 

"Do you feel that you can press on? I would hate for us to be caught out here in the rain – pleasant though it was last night, I hesitate to say it would be so gentle on us today. We should seek shelter where we can. If you are unable to travel for the time being, I don’t mind carrying you on my back."