[ Following the quite hectic meeting they had attended, Yuri tugged Byleth aside on the way out. He didn't know the man terribly well, but he did know this place, and that was enough to be concerned. ]
...You should be careful of the locals. They may well be in on all this, considering the casual mentions of doing us harm.
[ Ala, frequently, did just this. Byleth had stopped her from going around breaking fingers, but given how some of the others were attached to her despite the things she said, Yuri had concerns.
Did Jeralt have to spot the red flags for him back home? ]
[The girl - he can't remember her name - who had been overly eager to break fingers had been mildly alarming, but he didn't consider her dangerous. She hadn't tried very hard to hurt anyone, and Byleth had easily disrupted her impulsive scheme just by holding her hands captive.]
But, most mercenaries are strange like that. It didn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary, really.
[After the brief interaction on Dextera's post, Claude decides to contact Byleth more privately. He sounds like he needs it, and not somewhere where others can butt in and make things even more overwhelming for him.]
[Byleth is both accustomed yet not to this communion business. It bared similarity to how he spoke with Sothis, but in the same vein, the onslaught of foreign emotions and quick thoughts made him want to curl up like a hedgehog. One-on-one communion was far... easier.]
[ do... not mind him as soon as he catches sight of eisner doing whatever he is at the moment kaname's coming over with a small bag of chocolates in hand, tied neatly with a blue ribbon. ]
Eisner. I understand you're playing postman for Lark, so ensure these find their way safely to him -- with not a square missing. Understood?
[ lark told him... it's admirable but also this is chump work compared to the piano suou just ordered. ]
[Byleth was just taking a walk, vacant "wii shop music is playing in my head" expression in place, when he was approached for... a delivery request!? Finally, Byleth can finally play the role of postman after so many weeks of waiting! He visibly perked up, like a dog being offered to deliver the morning newspaper to its owner.]
Yes! I understand. I'll deliver this immediately, and protect it with my life, if need be.
[Even though he's literally just going to walk across the perfectly safe (for now) town but, he's got the spirit! He's just excited...]
[Byleth was initially startled - as always whenever he's contacted by Communion, no matter how gently - but his wariness quickly dropped when he recognised Dimitri's voice.]
Oh, Dimitri, hello. We can speak now, if you need. Unless you wish to have this conversation in person?
[For all that the night had turned into drinking, party games and general (heh) merriment, Claude isn't terribly drunk, having spent a good deal of the game either feigning taking a drink or just sipping. He's still on high alert given the circumstances, so while he could unwind and have fun a little, he's not about to slacken any hold on his faculties should anything unexpected happen as it did with AetΓ³s and Manon.
That said, he is getting tired, though, so he'll eventually follow Byleth back to the tent where he agreed to spend the evening.]
I know you're worried, but I don't think we need to sleep in shifts, given the circumstances. We'll trust those keeping watch to do their jobs, okay?
I trust them about as far as I can throw a demonic beast.
[There's a reason why his room back in Springstar was practically fortress (and he slept in short catnaps). Without Jeralt here, or his trusted men, Byleth felt uncomfortably exposed during the night.]
I don't believe they'll do anything actively malicious, but it's difficult for me to trust them entirely when I'm at my most vulnerable. Unless I'm in a fortified area, or have someone I trust nearby, I always have a lingering... concern that something may happen.
[In retrospect, maybe this was the remnants of Sothis's paranoia and traumatic death leaking into his subconscious. She proved that being murdered in your sleep, even when surrounded by those meant to 'keep watch', was a realistic possibility.]
[ At some point in late May, Byleth is going to find a not-so-neatly wrapped (though with an obvious attempt!) package in his assigned Guild room. Inside, there's a Book of Bonds, a single leaflet with instructions, and a handwritten message on the first page: ]
I still think it's a bit weird that you know me better than I know you, so I'm hoping this will help us even out that gap. Can't let you have an edge over me, right?
[Claude feels... awful, really, and he's still getting his bearings, but one of the first things he does is reach out to Byleth. Not Sothis, but his friend, the one he was -- still is -- concerned he might never speak to again.
Still, he tries to remain calm, even with the urgency pushing through in the Communion.]
Byleth, it's me. Are you okay? You made it back, right?
[Byleth was still trying to regain his bearings after waking up in his garden of all places, the local cat that came by to filch dried fish from him pawing at his cheek. His entire body ached and his head hurt, and everything felt like a jumble in his mind. He actually didn't remember crawling back into his house - literally crawling - to lie down on the floor there instead as he tried to sort through the very unreal and abstract memories rattling in his brain.
He had never been possessed by Sothis for so long, and he was never allowing it to happen again, if this was the aftermath of it. He had never felt so disjointed and disconnected from his own body in his life.
Just as this dazed thought clumsily staggered through his mind, however, he felt an urgent Communion contact push against his consciousness. Raw as he felt, he flinched from it before recognising who it was: Claude.]
...yes. I'm at my home.
[Still trying to sort out what the fuck was going on, but since his home had been in ruins last he checked and it was now whole again... well, time travel, probably. Or maybe everything was fixed somehow? Whatever. He'll take any explanation.]
[... She means to say more, but. Neither of them are decent at small talk. Perhaps it will be forgiven that she can not muster it now. She has more pressing business.]
Have you seen recently any sign of the war god, Set?
[She knew they were at least vaguely acquainted, for she had seen overheard them on Communion, but... most of the people she knows for sure have deeper bonds with the man (god) she despises, and she will not speak to them, even in a time such as this. Byleth it is.]
Hayame, hello. I haven't seen him recently, now that you've mentioned it.
[The last Byleth had seen him in person had been when seeking his advice regarding the Sword of the Creator, otherwise... the public Communion. Byleth had been busy pondering how to approach settling Sothis's remains to rest, as well as sketching out a vague storyline for this "happy ending" he had promised Set - that he'd completely neglected to visit the man in person for a while.]
I hope he hasn't wandered off somewhere and gotten hurt. When did you last speak with him?
( the line of Communion opens with a bloom of static and some odd distortion, as if there's a radio frequency that must be properly dialed in before it's fully established. )
Good afternoon. This is Byleth Eisner, yes?
My apologies for approaching you unprompted. This is Jonathan Sims. Mr Andor and Set indicated to me that you might be of help. I am looking for more information on your journey into the Beyond.
[Byleth was initially wary at the unknown contact - his usual gut reaction at being tapped first in Communion - but his guardedness eased at the polite introduction and the explanation. While he had never spoken directly to or even interacted with Jonathan, he had never heard anything overtly bad about him either (unlike, say, Silco). He was essentially a complete stranger asking for assistance - and Byleth was always compelled to lend a helping hand to those.]
I'll be happy to help. What sort of information are you seeking?
[ Bondrewd does return to Zenith. Not because he lacks belief in Meridian's goal, nor ability to accomplish it, nor because of any slight against his person β no, perhaps because he associates "the dawn" with the future, and intends to bring it to illuminate the dark-obsessed ranks of Zenith, and carry all Shardbearers to a bright future.
It does not detract from his work, although returning to Zenith and re-Harmonizing his Shard appropriately with it means he does not feel as frenetic about what he wishes to accomplish. Such an energized state had been what got him into trouble, after all, in Heliopolis. ]
Mister Eisner.
[ A placid greeting, invoked into the depths of Byleth's mind. ]
Would you like to begin our work together? While I do not have baselines from your companions, I am certain it will not encumber us. We will obtain the answers you seek about your unique body and nature. Should you be willing and ready, you may meet me in my laboratory in Kowloon.
[ He offers Byleth a memory of the route to it, the image of a great, soot-stained and crumbling warehouse laden with the native bright, pink fungi that infest much of the Below. ]
[Byleth was initially wary at the sudden Communion contact, but upon Bondrewd's introduction and reasoning for the call, he immediately perked up.]
A recognisable landmark. I'll be able to find it.
[He wasn't very familiar with Kowloon, having only travelled there the once to harass question Silco over Birdie's disappearance, but what little he had traversed was still pristine fresh in his memory, and the directions Bondrewd had beamed into his mind were easy enough to follow. If he left now he should get there in good time.]
I can visit now, if that works for you. My desire for answers hasn't waned, and I feel now would be the perfect time to commence our work. A peaceful lull has settled over Kenos, and I'm not sure how long this respite will last.
[No Oracles, no Blight, no other disaster careening out of the sky to send them scattering like a kicked ant's nest... now was the time!]
[ β the point where Communion violently begins is born from the sense of intimate connection developed between two individuals.
It is very obviously a burning, bright thing from Set, whose mind scatters into the corners of those he has forged some sort of companionship with β for duty, for responsibility, for fun, for solemn vow. What arrives is the briefest sense of rising disorientation, woven through with a burst of wrath and grief so white-hot that it might char flesh from bone within seconds, shot through with rapture and the whiplash of love. It rises like a dying, murderous sun ( like Meridian ) β stifling and acute and suffocating β only to be tempered within seconds, by the cool, crisp wash of the dark sea ( like Zenith ), tempered and soothed with all edges laid flat once more.
The Communion plunges into quiet and calm, like a great, purring beast, and ends as abruptly as it began. ]
[The Communion startled Byleth, as all Communion contacts did, but this one had been a potent, tempestuous thing, rushing over him like a freak thunderstorm and leaving his hair standing on end and his unbeating heart metaphorically skipping several beats. He froze almost comically, his pen - Sothis's remains - hovering over paper, the ink still shining and wet, before he slowly set it back down into its inkwell.
He waited, but the silence stretched in the wake of that natural disaster guised as a man's soul. He wondered if the contact had been accidental, or impulsive, and debated in pretending not to notice if that was what Set wanted - but at the same time, he remembered Set, wild-eyed and frenetic, standing amongst a field of blooming flowers and clawing at him with desperate fingers, who had snarled at him to leave, even though that was the last thing he had needed.
So, he didn't hesitate. He reached back, figurative hand open and gentle.]
Good afternoon, Byleth. I hope this message is finding you well today.
[ Link's Communion voice sounds distinctly upbeat. He's still in a good mood after the Oracle win, it seems! ]
This may seem strange, but... I am going to Kowloon tomorrow and I felt I should tell someone. The place has a pretty bad reputation, and I'm going there to meet a Zenith, so... well, you never know what could happen. It didn't seem wise to just go without telling anybody.
[ So, here he is, awkwardly telling you and a handful of others about it! Haha. ]
If you don't hear from me in a few days, send the Legionnaires, okay? [ Spoken as a joke, but. It really isn't. ]
Understood. Please be careful: Meridians aren't welcome in Kowloon, so you may experience some hostility from the locals if you overstay your welcome. Can I ask who you're meeting and the purpose of your visit?
[ In the wee hours of the morning, whether Byleth was awake at that time or not, he may hear some unusual noises. Soft clinks and clunks, the settling of something weighted and metallic near at hand, the crinkle of paper. These sounds on their own may amount to nothing in particular.
They're soon joined by the sweet aroma of confection, not very far off. Byleth may well be familiar with the sound of a plate being laid to rest at their one table. Whatever it was, it isn't a light dish. Yuri's footfalls are near silent in the stillness of what passes for night in Springstar, his location only determined by the soft sigh of the couch as he evidently takes a seat there.
With this, silence settles in again.
Yuri knows what Byleth often wakes around this time. Perhaps not always, but he wanted to be ready regardless. Today, if he is correct, is a special occasion. Sure, he made no mention of his own birthday, used to only his mother marking the occasion, but... Byleth had never properly celebrated, because he didn't know it.
Between the few details Byleth had supplied and Yuri's time in the monastery β more importantly, beneath it β he believes this must be the day. So he'd quietly readied for it, looking into options for gifts and the like.
The results were a custom fishing rod of the finest make he could find, tailored in black with a finely etched metallic pink pattern resembling his favorite flowers, with a tackle box to match. While these were purchased, made to his specificactions, the lures in the box were handmade. These, Yuri could safely tailor without drawing much notice, after all. One of them looks rather like his new dragon form, upon inspection.
He couldn't bake a cake himself without Byleth seeing or smelling it, so this too he custom ordered. Since Byleth doesn't express favorites with food, Yuri had taken a guess at a flavor that struck him as indulgent but not overpowering. Naturally, the only appropriate shape was that of a fish. The top is wreathed in berries and edible flowers, pink lettering spelling out Happy Birthday, Byleth.
Whether a party would have been welcomed or not, Yuri found himself uncertain. Not knowing what Byleth would be comfortable with, this seems a safe place to begin, especially since Byleth said he didn't know his birthday.
The paper proves to be a note tucked under the handle of the box, written in Yuri's oddly elegant-for-a-commoner script:
Byleth,
I have reason to believe today would be your birthday. Access to church records and all that. I couldn't be sure of your wishes for such an occasion, and asking would have made surprises impossible.
But I felt it was an occasion we should celebrate. I hope everything suits your tastes. Happy Birthday.
- Yuri
Depending on whether Byleth gets up when Yuri estimates or later, he may be sleeping on the couch by then. ]
[Of course, this was one of the days where Byleth seemed to have decided to 'sleep in', having exhausted himself the day prior with more 'flight training' in his draconic form (which had resulted in nothing but giving him extremely stiff and aching back and shoulder muscles). He didn't stir as Yuri crept around, setting everything up, and he didn't stir when his friend sat on the sofa to wait for him.
No, Byleth was very comfortable curled up in his little nest of blankets and pillows, quiet, snuffling not-quite-snores leaving him until his internal clock pinged that it was close to 'noon', forcing him to rouse. He frowned and grumbled, rolling over and back against restlessly, before he finally opened his eyes and sat up, hair sticking up at odd angles and eyes in a half-squint.
...he could smell food.
Following his nose more than his eyes, Byleth crawled out of bed and followed the scent to a... cake? A fish-cake. Byleth blinked several times, clearing the sleep from them as he actually took in the scene before him, instead of hyperfocusing on the fish-cake and nothing else - like, the words on the cake.]
Happy... birthday?
[His first thought was 'it's Yuri's birthday?' before he registered the 'Byleth' underneath 'birthday', and spent another full minute letting his half-asleep brain sluggishly process this riddle. It was his birthday? Hah? Since when? How? Huh?]
[Claude's dilemma: he knows that sometime around this time of the month, it would be Byleth's birthday in FΓ³dlan. He knows this based on things he shouldn't know, and also knows that Byleth from his own world simply had a birthday he had chosen (or Jeralt had chosen) instead.
With that in mind, what was he supposed to do to mark Byleth's birthday? He wanted to ask him about it, but that invited questions he wasn't prepared to answer, and in any case, it might be nicer to make matters a surprise. So, sometime in the afternoon, Byleth will receive a familiar nudge of communion.]
Say, Byleth... I don't suppose you're at home right now?
[He is indeed, half-curled up in bed from an exhausting day of failing to fly and just giving himself incredibly sore back and shoulder muscles instead. So, when he accepted Claude's communion, there was a slight haze of drowsiness on the fringes of the connection.]
[Excuse Byleth as he goes through a series of 'huh?' and 'oh' and 'wait, my birthday???', which manifested as him staring blankly at Felix for about six solid seconds.]
Oh. Well, yes. You can never have too many knives.
[He nodded slowly at this bit of wisdom. Ever a maxim of a mercenary: always have knives.]
But to be honest, I had completely- [not known] -forgotten about my birthday. It's not often celebrated.
[There is something stuck to Byleth's door when he returns one day.
It's a well-loved envelope with Byleth's name on the front in very elegant, neat script. Inside the envelope are a handful of papers with writing from almost the top margin to the bottom, front and back, in the same handwriting.
It's a short story about the romance between a beautiful, vivacious young woman bitten by a vampire and a hardy, diligent young farmer from town. He helps dispel the vampire's curse over her by confronting and defeating the lordling vampire in a castle nearby. It is very vanilla, but endearingly wholesome.]
[WHOEVER WROTE HIM THIS BEAUTIFUL AND ROMANTIC STORY??? HE IS SO TOUCHED!!! HE READ IT SO MANY TIMES!!! D!!! IF HE FINDS OUT IT WAS YOU HE WILL RADIATE SO MANY POSITIVE VIBES IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION!!!!! D!!!! D!!!!!!!!!]
[ Very suddenly, thereβs a sense of Communion touching your characterβs mind. However, itβs as if they connect with the mind of a shared Aspect, as theyβre not able to block out the brief, but sharp memory that comes to them. ]
A Shard-Bearer races across the battlefield to provide healing to an ally, but they curse this world in screams as they go. Their life had been peaceful before they were stolen here.
[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however theyβd like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during todayβs NPC Communion Post. ]
[ Byleth receives a small parcel; inside are some baked goods and sweets, some fish jerky, and a romance novel. Dimitri honestly isn't sure if Byleth has read this one or not, but it came highly recommended from the store he bought it from, so he hopes it will be worthwhile. There's also a note: ]
Byleth, I hope these tokens of my regard find you well. I know the Oracle event was not easy; please let me know if you need my assistance or company. I wish you all the best. Your shadow was trying. But I hope you've recovered.
[The gift was well-recieved... and also prompted a burst of guilt in Byleth, since he'd been putting off approaching Dimitri about what had gone down in the maze. So, after tucking the jerky in his long-term food storage (for Just In Case) and setting aside the baked goods and sweets for later, he carefully reached out to Dimitri via Communion.]
[ It's late in the month when a certain book finds its way into Byleth's bed-nest. He may not recognize it, unless he occasioned to spot Yuri with it around the house, during which his concentration on it was evident. The cover is plain and unassuming, lacking for the polish of an official publication. It smells vaguely of lilacs and ink.
Inside, there is a simple note on the first page which reads:
A story for Byleth.
Yuri's handwriting is unmistakable, curiously elegant and flowing like a true noble's son, yet lacking the overembellishment that typically comes with the same. Every page is filled with this handwriting, along with the occasional stutter, stop, crossed out revision and welling of ink where his pen lingered too long.
The story itself is about a knight, dispatched by his lord to slay a dragon which had been sighted outside a small farming village. This village also happened to be where the knight hailed from originally, and so he was doubly motivated to protect it. Only upon finding the dragon, he discovers it trapped in a black, tarlike substance.
The knight, rather than take advantage of the creature's vulnerable state, is moved by its apparent suffering and attempts to free the dragon instead. This leads to the black substance spreading to him, but he does free the dragon. Moments later, a great black beast rises from the dark pool around them and attacks.
Together, the knight and the dragon drive off the creature, but are themselves further covered in inky black. The substance has altered them, and while the dragon flies off, the knight returns to his village only to be turned away. He has been afflicted by Malice, a malady little understood and greatly feared. The knight finds his blackened armor has been fused shut and he can no longer speak.
His village elder, recognizing his armor, recounts an old tale about the great scourge which birthed the Malice. The great black beasts which spread it across the land must be dispatched in order to rid the world of it and this is the only means by which the knight might be restored to his former self.
So the knight sets off on his journey, hunting for the Malice Beasts which must be quelled, limited in his task by most peoples' inability to understand him. The knight grows lonely, for try as he might, even those who don't fear him on sight are unable to discern what he tries to tell him. He's forced to loot and poach, lurking on the periphery of camps and villages. Only occasionally does he see a great dark shadow overhead β the dragon he had freed.
One rainy night, his lonesome camp is visited by that same dragon. Neither able to speak to the other, what remains between them is their wariness. The knight's transformation has left him with little appetite and great difficulty eating, but he cooks just the same, and it is the meal that he surmises the dragon to be attracted by. The dragon eats, and the knight finds himself with a companion: one who does not fear his affliction for it bears the same one.
From there, the knight finds himself with a companion more often as he chases rumors of the great black beasts. Though they cannot speak to one another, they find wordless ways to communicate. Gradually, they even develop a habit of passing the nights together, and the knight finds the silence less daunting for it.
At last his journey leads them to the first of the black beasts, and the knight does battle with the monster. With the dragon's timely aid, he defeats the beast... Yet he doesn't strike it down. Much like the dragon, he sees pain in this beast's eyes, so he reaches out to it instead. The tarlike substance sloughs away and dissolves, leaving only a small, frightened rabbit.
It is the knight's mercy which overcomes Malice, he discovers, as some of his own affliction melts away. The rabbit, long feared as a marauding monster, was a nature spirit. With its freedom from the Malice, it imparts a small blessing on the knight, restoring his voice and implores that he save the others before vanishing.
The knight turns to the dragon who has shared this journey with him and sees that his companion, too, has been cured to some degree. He realizes then that if his voice has returned, there are so many things that he wishes to say...
And here, on the last page, ends Part One.
Yuri's reason for asking whether Byleth would be comfortable with something like the shadows from the labyrinth may be a little clearer now. ]
[On the first day of the new year by the Kenosian calendar, Hayame seeks out Byleth. She has a delivery to make for the other man in that home, as well, so... she brings both. There is a certain formality to her visit at first, not just the fact she has come dressed in her one formal dress, the shorn short remains of her hair styled as best she could. There is ritual to the greetings she is attempting to recreate in this world- the ones she had grown up emulating and learning so that one day she might perform them. A low bow, gratitude expressed for the care in which she has been held the past year...
But eventually she softens from the rigid (though sincere) motions, in order to present what she has brought. Somewhat embarrassed, inexperienced in being in any sort of position to give actual gifts to people, she manages to explain that in her world it is customary to present new clothing on the occasion of the new year, so...
She has brought this- a robe-like top that resembles the fashions she is used to from her own world. Close enough, anyway. As she puts it in his hands... She manages to say that she hopes he likes it. That it would honor her if he were to wear it. And that they will be in each other's care for the next year as well.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A is for Austice
...You should be careful of the locals. They may well be in on all this, considering the casual mentions of doing us harm.
[ Ala, frequently, did just this. Byleth had stopped her from going around breaking fingers, but given how some of the others were attached to her despite the things she said, Yuri had concerns.
Did Jeralt have to spot the red flags for him back home? ]
no subject
[The girl - he can't remember her name - who had been overly eager to break fingers had been mildly alarming, but he didn't consider her dangerous. She hadn't tried very hard to hurt anyone, and Byleth had easily disrupted her impulsive scheme just by holding her hands captive.]
But, most mercenaries are strange like that. It didn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary, really.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
K is for Khalid in Kenos sending a Kommunion
Hey, Te-- uh, Byleth. Everything okay?
no subject
Fine. They were just too loud.
[Not just in volume, but in... everything.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
austice, 2/26
Eisner. I understand you're playing postman for Lark, so ensure these find their way safely to him -- with not a square missing. Understood?
[ lark told him... it's admirable but also this is chump work compared to the piano suou just ordered. ]
no subject
Yes! I understand. I'll deliver this immediately, and protect it with my life, if need be.
[Even though he's literally just going to walk across the perfectly safe (for now) town but, he's got the spirit! He's just excited...]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Kenos, 3/2
Byleth, there's something I need to speak to you about.
no subject
Oh, Dimitri, hello. We can speak now, if you need. Unless you wish to have this conversation in person?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenos, during the meri mingle/alenroux campaign
That said, he is getting tired, though, so he'll eventually follow Byleth back to the tent where he agreed to spend the evening.]
I know you're worried, but I don't think we need to sleep in shifts, given the circumstances. We'll trust those keeping watch to do their jobs, okay?
no subject
[There's a reason why his room back in Springstar was practically fortress (and he slept in short catnaps). Without Jeralt here, or his trusted men, Byleth felt uncomfortably exposed during the night.]
I don't believe they'll do anything actively malicious, but it's difficult for me to trust them entirely when I'm at my most vulnerable. Unless I'm in a fortified area, or have someone I trust nearby, I always have a lingering... concern that something may happen.
[In retrospect, maybe this was the remnants of Sothis's paranoia and traumatic death leaking into his subconscious. She proved that being murdered in your sleep, even when surrounded by those meant to 'keep watch', was a realistic possibility.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
S is for Sheazons
I still think it's a bit weird that you know me better than I know you, so I'm hoping this will help us even out that gap. Can't let you have an edge over me, right?
--Shez
kenos, post-oracle event
Still, he tries to remain calm, even with the urgency pushing through in the Communion.]
Byleth, it's me. Are you okay? You made it back, right?
no subject
He had never been possessed by Sothis for so long, and he was never allowing it to happen again, if this was the aftermath of it. He had never felt so disjointed and disconnected from his own body in his life.
Just as this dazed thought clumsily staggered through his mind, however, he felt an urgent Communion contact push against his consciousness. Raw as he felt, he flinched from it before recognising who it was: Claude.]
...yes. I'm at my home.
[Still trying to sort out what the fuck was going on, but since his home had been in ruins last he checked and it was now whole again... well, time travel, probably. Or maybe everything was fixed somehow? Whatever. He'll take any explanation.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenos
[... She means to say more, but. Neither of them are decent at small talk. Perhaps it will be forgiven that she can not muster it now. She has more pressing business.]
Have you seen recently any sign of the war god, Set?
[She knew they were at least vaguely acquainted, for she had seen overheard them on Communion, but... most of the people she knows for sure have deeper bonds with the man (god) she despises, and she will not speak to them, even in a time such as this. Byleth it is.]
no subject
[The last Byleth had seen him in person had been when seeking his advice regarding the Sword of the Creator, otherwise... the public Communion. Byleth had been busy pondering how to approach settling Sothis's remains to rest, as well as sketching out a vague storyline for this "happy ending" he had promised Set - that he'd completely neglected to visit the man in person for a while.]
I hope he hasn't wandered off somewhere and gotten hurt. When did you last speak with him?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenos | early warqu
Good afternoon. This is Byleth Eisner, yes?
My apologies for approaching you unprompted. This is Jonathan Sims. Mr Andor and Set indicated to me that you might be of help. I am looking for more information on your journey into the Beyond.
no subject
I'll be happy to help. What sort of information are you seeking?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
KENOS | EARLY WARQU; COMMUNION
It does not detract from his work, although returning to Zenith and re-Harmonizing his Shard appropriately with it means he does not feel as frenetic about what he wishes to accomplish. Such an energized state had been what got him into trouble, after all, in Heliopolis. ]
Mister Eisner.
[ A placid greeting, invoked into the depths of Byleth's mind. ]
Would you like to begin our work together? While I do not have baselines from your companions, I am certain it will not encumber us. We will obtain the answers you seek about your unique body and nature. Should you be willing and ready, you may meet me in my laboratory in Kowloon.
[ He offers Byleth a memory of the route to it, the image of a great, soot-stained and crumbling warehouse laden with the native bright, pink fungi that infest much of the Below. ]
no subject
A recognisable landmark. I'll be able to find it.
[He wasn't very familiar with Kowloon, having only travelled there the once to
harassquestion Silco over Birdie's disappearance, but what little he had traversed was still pristine fresh in his memory, and the directions Bondrewd had beamed into his mind were easy enough to follow. If he left now he should get there in good time.]I can visit now, if that works for you. My desire for answers hasn't waned, and I feel now would be the perfect time to commence our work. A peaceful lull has settled over Kenos, and I'm not sure how long this respite will last.
[No Oracles, no Blight, no other disaster careening out of the sky to send them scattering like a kicked ant's nest... now was the time!]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
BACKDATED TO LATE WARQU | KENOS
It is very obviously a burning, bright thing from Set, whose mind scatters into the corners of those he has forged some sort of companionship with β for duty, for responsibility, for fun, for solemn vow. What arrives is the briefest sense of rising disorientation, woven through with a burst of wrath and grief so white-hot that it might char flesh from bone within seconds, shot through with rapture and the whiplash of love. It rises like a dying, murderous sun ( like Meridian ) β stifling and acute and suffocating β only to be tempered within seconds, by the cool, crisp wash of the dark sea ( like Zenith ), tempered and soothed with all edges laid flat once more.
The Communion plunges into quiet and calm, like a great, purring beast, and ends as abruptly as it began. ]
π
He waited, but the silence stretched in the wake of that natural disaster guised as a man's soul. He wondered if the contact had been accidental, or impulsive, and debated in pretending not to notice if that was what Set wanted - but at the same time, he remembered Set, wild-eyed and frenetic, standing amongst a field of blooming flowers and clawing at him with desperate fingers, who had snarled at him to leave, even though that was the last thing he had needed.
So, he didn't hesitate. He reached back, figurative hand open and gentle.]
Hello, Set. Do you want to spend time with me?
THE PEN!!!!!!! :CATCRY:
the pen!!!
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenos, communion
[ Link's Communion voice sounds distinctly upbeat. He's still in a good mood after the Oracle win, it seems! ]
This may seem strange, but... I am going to Kowloon tomorrow and I felt I should tell someone. The place has a pretty bad reputation, and I'm going there to meet a Zenith, so... well, you never know what could happen. It didn't seem wise to just go without telling anybody.
[ So, here he is, awkwardly telling you and a handful of others about it! Haha. ]
If you don't hear from me in a few days, send the Legionnaires, okay? [ Spoken as a joke, but. It really isn't. ]
no subject
Understood. Please be careful: Meridians aren't welcome in Kowloon, so you may experience some hostility from the locals if you overstay your welcome. Can I ask who you're meeting and the purpose of your visit?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Kenos | Inqu | 20th of the Horsebow Moon π
They're soon joined by the sweet aroma of confection, not very far off. Byleth may well be familiar with the sound of a plate being laid to rest at their one table. Whatever it was, it isn't a light dish. Yuri's footfalls are near silent in the stillness of what passes for night in Springstar, his location only determined by the soft sigh of the couch as he evidently takes a seat there.
With this, silence settles in again.
Yuri knows what Byleth often wakes around this time. Perhaps not always, but he wanted to be ready regardless. Today, if he is correct, is a special occasion. Sure, he made no mention of his own birthday, used to only his mother marking the occasion, but... Byleth had never properly celebrated, because he didn't know it.
Between the few details Byleth had supplied and Yuri's time in the monastery β more importantly, beneath it β he believes this must be the day. So he'd quietly readied for it, looking into options for gifts and the like.
The results were a custom fishing rod of the finest make he could find, tailored in black with a finely etched metallic pink pattern resembling his favorite flowers, with a tackle box to match. While these were purchased, made to his specificactions, the lures in the box were handmade. These, Yuri could safely tailor without drawing much notice, after all. One of them looks rather like his new dragon form, upon inspection.
He couldn't bake a cake himself without Byleth seeing or smelling it, so this too he custom ordered. Since Byleth doesn't express favorites with food, Yuri had taken a guess at a flavor that struck him as indulgent but not overpowering. Naturally, the only appropriate shape was that of a fish. The top is wreathed in berries and edible flowers, pink lettering spelling out Happy Birthday, Byleth.
Whether a party would have been welcomed or not, Yuri found himself uncertain. Not knowing what Byleth would be comfortable with, this seems a safe place to begin, especially since Byleth said he didn't know his birthday.
The paper proves to be a note tucked under the handle of the box, written in Yuri's oddly elegant-for-a-commoner script:
Byleth,
I have reason to believe today would be your birthday. Access to church records and all that. I couldn't be sure of your wishes for such an occasion, and asking would have made surprises impossible.
But I felt it was an occasion we should celebrate. I hope everything suits your tastes. Happy Birthday.
- Yuri
Depending on whether Byleth gets up when Yuri estimates or later, he may be sleeping on the couch by then. ]
no subject
No, Byleth was very comfortable curled up in his little nest of blankets and pillows, quiet, snuffling not-quite-snores leaving him until his internal clock pinged that it was close to 'noon', forcing him to rouse. He frowned and grumbled, rolling over and back against restlessly, before he finally opened his eyes and sat up, hair sticking up at odd angles and eyes in a half-squint.
...he could smell food.
Following his nose more than his eyes, Byleth crawled out of bed and followed the scent to a... cake? A fish-cake. Byleth blinked several times, clearing the sleep from them as he actually took in the scene before him, instead of hyperfocusing on the fish-cake and nothing else - like, the words on the cake.]
Happy... birthday?
[His first thought was 'it's Yuri's birthday?' before he registered the 'Byleth' underneath 'birthday', and spent another full minute letting his half-asleep brain sluggishly process this riddle. It was his birthday? Hah? Since when? How? Huh?]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenos, communion
Hello, Byleth! I hope you're well. I was wondering if I could ask your advice about something.
no subject
I'd be happy to give all the advice you need, Dimitri. What's wrong?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
kenommunion
With that in mind, what was he supposed to do to mark Byleth's birthday? He wanted to ask him about it, but that invited questions he wasn't prepared to answer, and in any case, it might be nicer to make matters a surprise. So, sometime in the afternoon, Byleth will receive a familiar nudge of communion.]
Say, Byleth... I don't suppose you're at home right now?
no subject
Hm...? Yes, I am. Are you wanting to visit?
(no subject)
(no subject)
Season!!!
...I'm sure you probably already have a good knife, but you could carry another one.
no subject
Oh. Well, yes. You can never have too many knives.
[He nodded slowly at this bit of wisdom. Ever a maxim of a mercenary: always have knives.]
But to be honest, I had completely- [not known] -forgotten about my birthday. It's not often celebrated.
I mean Seasons I know how to spell the RP I'm in
(no subject)
kenos, funky almost action
It's a well-loved envelope with Byleth's name on the front in very elegant, neat script. Inside the envelope are a handful of papers with writing from almost the top margin to the bottom, front and back, in the same handwriting.
It's a short story about the romance between a beautiful, vivacious young woman bitten by a vampire and a hardy, diligent young farmer from town. He helps dispel the vampire's curse over her by confronting and defeating the lordling vampire in a castle nearby. It is very vanilla, but endearingly wholesome.]
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
a memoryβ
A Shard-Bearer races across the battlefield to provide healing to an ally, but they curse this world in screams as they go. Their life had been peaceful before they were stolen here.
[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however theyβd like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during todayβs NPC Communion Post. ]
late takiltu
Byleth, I hope these tokens of my regard find you well. I know the Oracle event was not easy; please let me know if you need my assistance or company. I wish you all the best. Your shadow was trying. But I hope you've recovered.
-Dimitri Blaiddyd
Dimitri, you good bean... also communion
Dimitri... I received your gift.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Seasons!
Re: Seasons!
felix...]Kenos π late Takiltu
Inside, there is a simple note on the first page which reads:
Yuri's handwriting is unmistakable, curiously elegant and flowing like a true noble's son, yet lacking the overembellishment that typically comes with the same. Every page is filled with this handwriting, along with the occasional stutter, stop, crossed out revision and welling of ink where his pen lingered too long.
The story itself is about a knight, dispatched by his lord to slay a dragon which had been sighted outside a small farming village. This village also happened to be where the knight hailed from originally, and so he was doubly motivated to protect it. Only upon finding the dragon, he discovers it trapped in a black, tarlike substance.
The knight, rather than take advantage of the creature's vulnerable state, is moved by its apparent suffering and attempts to free the dragon instead. This leads to the black substance spreading to him, but he does free the dragon. Moments later, a great black beast rises from the dark pool around them and attacks.
Together, the knight and the dragon drive off the creature, but are themselves further covered in inky black. The substance has altered them, and while the dragon flies off, the knight returns to his village only to be turned away. He has been afflicted by Malice, a malady little understood and greatly feared. The knight finds his blackened armor has been fused shut and he can no longer speak.
His village elder, recognizing his armor, recounts an old tale about the great scourge which birthed the Malice. The great black beasts which spread it across the land must be dispatched in order to rid the world of it and this is the only means by which the knight might be restored to his former self.
So the knight sets off on his journey, hunting for the Malice Beasts which must be quelled, limited in his task by most peoples' inability to understand him. The knight grows lonely, for try as he might, even those who don't fear him on sight are unable to discern what he tries to tell him. He's forced to loot and poach, lurking on the periphery of camps and villages. Only occasionally does he see a great dark shadow overhead β the dragon he had freed.
One rainy night, his lonesome camp is visited by that same dragon. Neither able to speak to the other, what remains between them is their wariness. The knight's transformation has left him with little appetite and great difficulty eating, but he cooks just the same, and it is the meal that he surmises the dragon to be attracted by. The dragon eats, and the knight finds himself with a companion: one who does not fear his affliction for it bears the same one.
From there, the knight finds himself with a companion more often as he chases rumors of the great black beasts. Though they cannot speak to one another, they find wordless ways to communicate. Gradually, they even develop a habit of passing the nights together, and the knight finds the silence less daunting for it.
At last his journey leads them to the first of the black beasts, and the knight does battle with the monster. With the dragon's timely aid, he defeats the beast... Yet he doesn't strike it down. Much like the dragon, he sees pain in this beast's eyes, so he reaches out to it instead. The tarlike substance sloughs away and dissolves, leaving only a small, frightened rabbit.
It is the knight's mercy which overcomes Malice, he discovers, as some of his own affliction melts away. The rabbit, long feared as a marauding monster, was a nature spirit. With its freedom from the Malice, it imparts a small blessing on the knight, restoring his voice and implores that he save the others before vanishing.
The knight turns to the dragon who has shared this journey with him and sees that his companion, too, has been cured to some degree. He realizes then that if his voice has returned, there are so many things that he wishes to say...
And here, on the last page, ends Part One.
Yuri's reason for asking whether Byleth would be comfortable with something like the shadows from the labyrinth may be a little clearer now. ]
new year's delivery [KENOS]
But eventually she softens from the rigid (though sincere) motions, in order to present what she has brought. Somewhat embarrassed, inexperienced in being in any sort of position to give actual gifts to people, she manages to explain that in her world it is customary to present new clothing on the occasion of the new year, so...
She has brought this- a robe-like top that resembles the fashions she is used to from her own world. Close enough, anyway. As she puts it in his hands... She manages to say that she hopes he likes it. That it would honor her if he were to wear it. And that they will be in each other's care for the next year as well.]
[KENOS]
this is...... the PROTECTION LION!
it'll eat any mean geese that come your way!!!
no subject
Thank you. I'll name this noble protector Greg.
(no subject)
kenotebook
[ Somehow, even the name sets him on edge. Thankfully, these notes are far more... convenient than Communion. ]
no subject
[Indeed, very convenient... enough so that the response that came through was more of a smooshed, lazy scrawl than a properly written out sentence...]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)