[The compass pings Dimitri, a notification informing that someone is hailing him. Caught in an ivy-laden corridor, with armored knights harrying them out of the blue, now's not really the time to talk. But in his haste, perhaps when he's bumped against the maze walls or rammed into a knight itself, the compass accepts the call.
He's not aware of it at first. For now, all Orchid will hear is shouting, the sound of armor clanging, voices that belong to Dimitri and a few others. Rustling leaves, footsteps and general, muffled noises.
["There's nothing to discuss," Felix told Dimitri not that long ago—and there wasn't? Not then, anyway, but now that Ashe's hand has disappeared from his clock and Ashe's name has disappeared from his compass, there suddenly is. The irony... is not lost on him, especially as he stares down at this particular username before sending the briefest message of all time. Communication game: on point (said no one ever).]
Boar.
[And he considers, briefly, leaving it at that? Until Dimitri responds—but a) who knows what Dimitri is up to at this point in time, and b) Felix has never been great at letting things sit. He needs to know—well! He needs to know.]
[And neither does Dimitri enjoying letting things sit, especially if the loss of a friend from this world is like a stone in his gut. Perhaps it’s of no surprise, then, that he replies to Felix’s message without delay, as soon as he’s able.]
I have not been able to locate him anywhere. As if there was no trace of him even being in this world.
[It is, essentially, the sort of unannounced loss that he does not take well to. Then again, who would?]
( sometime in december, dimitri will find a package outside his room -- it's poorly wrapped, but the spirit is there in the enthusiasm. inside is a cloak pin, gold and in the shape of a rising phoenix. it's pretty sizable, enough to work with the heavy one dimitri always wears.
the note inside is simple, written in a rather fancy script. )
Dimitri--
Back home there's this holiday called Winter Veil. I think the dwarves started it? Anyway, we give gifts and stuff, so that's what this is! Well, it's a phoenix, actually, in the style of the Sin'dorei. We like things that symbolize rebirth, and I thought it's a pretty good thing to give at the turn of the year, right?
Happy Winter Veil, Dimitri! Yrs, - Celdori Brightreaver, Highlord of the Silver Hand
What are your favorite things? [ A pause. Maybe she should ask about something more specific. Whatever could she be asking this for? ] Favorite... food?
[Whatever could she be asking for, indeed? Though Dimitri can be oblivious when it comes to many things, the reasoning behind this might be more obvious than not.
And, of course, it’s a question that inspires a flicker of guilt in him, one that he attempts to keep out of his tone.]
Ah, Orchid... I can tell you what I once enjoyed, but if you are going to the effort of preparing something edible, I would have to tell you that it isn’t necessary.
Edited (I saw a typo way later smh ) 2019-12-16 19:28 (UTC)
[The next time Dimitri passes through Kyst, a courier will come up to him to deliver a small package in a leather pouch. Inside is a wolf fang strung on leather cord and a note.
Thanks for going with me. Call if you ever need help. Lightning]
[The next time Dimitri visits Strength's shrine, he'll find a noticeably large package messily wrapped in brown paper and bound with twine, attached with a slip of parchment with his name on it. Inside are two leather bracers and another piece of parchment.
Saw these in Kyst, thought of you. With everything that's been happening, I thought they were appropriate. Thanks for all your help. — Bigby]
[ On the eve of December 23rd, Dimitri will come back to his room at the Court of Stars to find two boxes. The first has a pair of of finely made leather gloves, soft to the touch on the inside but solid on the outside. They are emblazoned with basic rune magic that, when traced, will keep his hands warm or cool depending on the season.
In the other box is...a small shard of blue crystal. It seems to do nothing and it sits alone, cradled in a satchel of dark velvet. It can be placed into an earring, into a ring, a necklace, a bracelet. Its purpose, however, is two-fold: if Rey puts a little bit of magic into the crystal, it will begin to pulse like a heartbeat and warm as it gets closer and closer to the other shards that have been passed out: to Rey, to Clary, to Bigby, to Archer, to Dimitri, and to Neria herself. If there are no shards closer, they will lead the owners invariably back to the Gods Wood and Neria's cabin, where she has tucked a piece of the crystal. A little way of saying my home is always open to you.
...However, if the Gods Wood is closed, the owners of those shards will feel a draw elsewhere if they are close to the coast. If they should head out on the water, it will show them the way to where another larger piece of the original crystal is: the island of Aldmoor, a small island and its hamlet village that Neria visited for her second quest. As no one really goes there, Neria's taken to spending time there to practice her magic, and one of the homes there is hers. But there are plenty of others, places for respite, there specifically for people to find sanctuary away from Kyst, the courts, and everywhere else...for a short time. Neria's even provided a map and instructions!
A note is included:
Thank you for saving my life and for standing by my side. Call on me whenever you have need. I will stand with you through the storm. If you wish to protect me, you will need to get used to me doing the same for you. ~ Neria ]
[At some point during the day Dimitri will notice a small lump wrapped in surprisingly matte black paper just chilling on his pillow. Where did it come from? Who knows! There's no sign of anything else having been disturbed in the room.
When unwrapped, there's just a simple box that contains a curved dagger that seems to be of pretty decent quality. If one looks closely at the blade, there's are a few words along the spine:
Put out the good and keep the bad - F.M.
There's also a small note folded away underneath that reads:
[ An attendant will come by Dimitri's room in the Court to drop off a nicely wrapped gift box, topped with a ribbon. Inside contains several contents:
❀ A pair of leather horse riding gloves, lined with fleece on the inside. For the winter. ❀ A handmade clay sculpture of Dimitri, complete with eyepatch and poofy cloak. It's cartoon-like, with cute, small, stumpy proportions. A looped string is attached to the top. It looks like it can be hung like an ornament. ❀ A small batch of chocolate chip cookies, baked by Orchid herself, despite what he told her...
Along with the small gifts is a letter written on a piece of parchment:
"Happy Holidays, Dimitri. A nice person at the stables recommended this gift. It'll keep you warm the next time while you go horseback riding. If it gets damaged, I'd like to try to repair it if that's alright. I know you told me that you no longer have a sense of taste, but you've still got to eat. You're always working so hard. Keep your energy up.
[This is a thoughtful and utterly unexpected message. And Dimitri has to consider for a moment what V could possibly be referring to.
When he finally replies, he reflects the format, because if V looks like he's writing a letter, why shouldn't he? It implies that he needn't an immediate response, which he's learned seems to be the default for all this "texting".]
V,
That is very thoughtful of you, but ultimately unnecessary. I have not told Griffon anything that I am unwilling to honor both in and out of conversation with him. My aid shall be yours, if you are in need of it.
[ after the celebrations are over and waking up in a strange new land isn't as foreign a concept to her anymore, ingrid remembers something she has to discuss with dimitri. it's... shameful, at least to her, but if it comes to light and she doesn't make him aware of it then it would just make for more problems. she may as well come clean. ]
Your Highness,
I want to know if there is any opportunity for us to meet in private, today or tomorrow. There is something I need to inform you of, and better to do it in person.
[Ah, he is not sure whether this should be considered worrisome or otherwise. But Dimitri replies as soon as he can — texting is still a chore to him, but if treated much like a letter...]
Ingrid,
Of course I will make time if there is something of import you feel you must discuss with me. Tomorrow, perhaps? There is a small courtyard on the south side of the Court that should allow us ample privacy to speak. I can meet you there at noon, if that is acceptable.
I trust the day finds you well. I don't know if you were at the audience with the Emperor, but I spoke with them and I'd like to discuss some things with you, if you're willing to have a meeting.
I'd prefer to meet somewhere outside Court territory if at all possible. Perhaps in Kyste?
[For once, he is thankful for text, because it means he can take his time in formulating a reply. Not to kid himself, of course. Curiosity guarantees that he will take her up on her offer; the rest is just uncomfortable formality. Though perhaps he's been doing this long enough to take a less formal approach with his own "letter".]
Edelgard,
Let us arrange to meet in Kyst as you have requested. I will be available this afternoon, and there is a small square in the western section off the city that would be suited for discussion. You may meet me there if that is suitable for you.
[ It's rare that Mercedes feels a sense of... trepidation, when it comes to getting herself ready for bed. She's never truly had that much trouble resting, able to carefully set aside her more troubling thoughts with the knowledge that if she was to follow the will of the Goddess and help others, she needed to be well-rested and able to act to the best of her ability.
But this week has not been kind, in many ways. The increasingly worsening dreams, Annette weakly gasping her last, barely able to maintain a grip on her fingers, the husks of so many familiar and well-loved faces. The Emperor's announcement.
She'd jerked awake with a gasp so sharp and sudden that she'd feared calling attention to herself, but of course Mercedes is alone with an aching throat and still-damp marks on her face from where the tears had slipped free. Every nerve is on high alert, and perhaps it's why she hears it. Footsteps, soft but heavy. Burdened, if she had to put a word to it, and concern takes hold because if she had been plagued with nightmares, much like others... Dimitri must be facing something even more painful, due to his own experiences.
So, bleary but determined, she steps out of her room, still clad in a nightgown and hair free and therefore in a disarray of sorts. The hallway is dark, but the footsteps are louder now, and she turns to face the sound with the light of a fire spell flickering to life in her palm. ]
[Nightmares still visited him on occasion, even before now. They were sporadic and more fleeting than before, as if gone wan beneath his newly-found motivation, his determination to redeem himself and no longer drown in the darkness, pulled beneath by the hands of the dead.
But this feels far too much like those five years of isolation, of anger and hate. The dreams are raw and so real, standing amongst cracked earth with the bodies of his loved ones piled all around him. Knights, he recalls, so many caught in the blaze of a fire; the air smells sickly sweet, burning flesh permeating his nostrils, and it makes his stomach churn. The sight of his father running up to him is the hardest, until one night it is replaced with something worse: he is just another of those dead bodies, lain before his feet. And it is too much like before. Just like the nightmares of the past, and though it is not just him, it is too familiar to bear.
It makes him leave his room, stalk down the barren halls. A breeze filters in through a window in need of replacing, and he steps into the moonlight, barely noticing its chill.
You chose not to avenge us, and now you will let your world die? A voice whispers in his head. You will lose it all, again—]
Stop... stop. I will not listen to you. [He mutters, shoulders hunched forward and arms crossed tightly against his chest. Dimitri shakes his head. He has no need for these voices again, though they come paired with a headache that seems to split his skull in two.
Another voice, this time from behind — from someone far more welcome than the old ghosts that would seek to claim him. He turns around, dressed fully in clothes meant to retire for the night, his hair its usual tousle, his eyes strained from exhaustion. His focus harried, but not so much that he cannot center it on Mercedes.]
…Mercedes? [Even in this dim light, he can see the consequence these nights have wrought across her own expression. Her eyes look red around he edges, as if having fended off tears, when her firelight flickers across her face. He knows that he is equally, if not more so, unflattering. Dimitri even lacks his eyepatch, so the old scar across his eye displays even deeper in the shadows.]
It is late. And you should not be wandering about when it’s so cold.
[Things are going to hell in a handbasket. There's been skirmishes along the smaller border villages, people who refuse to evacuate even as the war pushes on their borders. Lightning's lost count of the number of people she's had to drag from their homes before the opposing army can close in on them, sometimes barely making it out in time. It's been difficult, thankless work.
But she's still out there doing it because someone has to. The war has finally come and so she keeps moving, scouting from village to village, tiny forest cabin to copse of trees. Even as night falls, even as she loses track of where she is and which side of the map she's on.
It's why Dimitri's fire catches her attention. Recognizing the back of his hulking frame--setting aside the thought of Snow and the others from that first wonderful dream--she strides out of the trees nearby, lowering the hood of her deep green cloak as she goes. It's late. She's tired. Sides be damned, it's good to see a friendly face.]
You shouldn't be out here alone.
[Yes, she's aware of how hypocritical that sounds coming from the woman on her lonesome. No, she doesn't really care.]
[The fire acts as both warmth and a grounding point. He can look at the blaze, its flames flickering and reaching for the air above it, and feel centered, if only for a moment. His bones can rest from endless scouting, of trying to usher stubborn natives out of the war's path, of troublesome terrain and late nights. If he allows the orange-glow to envelop him enough, perhaps it will even push out the headache that blossoms hard behind his eyes, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Maybe he can not think of the nightmares that plague him — again, they plague him, what a cruel lark — maybe he can sit and be alone without his head pounding thoughts into his mind’s eye.
He isn’t alone. The voice, coupled with its ironic wording, given his thoughts, is proof of that.
Dimitri turns to look over his shoulder, eye widening slightly in surprise. The fire casts strange shadows, but it illuminates Lightning to make her look dream-like against the darkness of the trees behind her. When he speaks, his voice sounds rugged, raw. Tired.]
Lightning. No, I think… it is you who should not be out here alone. This is Star’s territory.
The name is familiar though-- easing the concern that he seems to carry around like a millstone around his neck for these past handful of days. Jail time does that to someone, when they haven't a chance to check up on others.
[ The student left a long time ago, and the last time V was seen he was reading something intently without any awareness of the world around him... And that's where he's stayed. The book is still open on his chest, his hand against the binding, but his head is drooped back and to the side at an uncomfortable angle. This is not where he meant to fall asleep, if he even meant to sleep at all. There's always more research to do. ]
[He’s sure that he’s gone by now. The sky is dark, and the student has long departed — he had watched them go, idly, as he came back inside from training outdoors, and assumed that V had left not long after.
So does a handful of hours pass before Dimitri is even aware that he’s still present? Likely so. Nighttime crawls over the sky, the interior of his home darkens, and though the nights have been kind for the past week, he can feel the tinge of a headache squeezing at the bridge of his nose. A pulse behind his eyes.
The voices start their whispering only minutes later, and he knows he will not sleep this night.
And so he wanders, as he often does. This house is large and empty and cold, but it allows many places for him to pace, as if he’s plotting out a route through the house. His stepmother’s voice is inaudible, just murmurings in the back of his skull, but he hears a second set of footsteps as he walks down the stairs and to the first floor. He fears if he looks back, he might see the face of his father looming just behind his shoulder.
A frown, jaw set, gaze forward. His bare feet are cold against the slick floor, granted reprieve only when toes sink into the rug in the living area. He stops, sucks in breath, tilts his head up to close his eyes— And when he opens them again, he notes a strange… dark blob on the couch.]
…
[Moving closer (this world will die, Dimitri, and you will leave us without retribution, his head pounds a single time), he notes that this dark blob is, in fact, V.]
V…? [Is he alive? Is he dead? (dead!) Injured? Dimitri moves towards him, bending down just enough to place a firm hand on his shoulder.] V! Wake up!
My actions were reported by someone to the Emperor. My Crest has been sealed and I have been charged with hard labor at a military base in the mountains. So no, I am not in jail, but I will not be able to watch the house for a time, either.
[he is a bitter betty rn]
What did you do to earn yourself confinement in Moon territory?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
;text UN anthony
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Might as well find out.]
Very well. What is it that you require?
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voice | @orchid
Dimitri...
Are you doing okay?
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He's not aware of it at first. For now, all Orchid will hear is shouting, the sound of armor clanging, voices that belong to Dimitri and a few others. Rustling leaves, footsteps and general, muffled noises.
They're doing Fine, they're doing Great!]
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assuming this is during the downtime that eventually happens! it hasn't played out yet LOL
happy to assume he's still alive by then!!
c:
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forward dated to 12/06; text (un: Lightning)
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12/02 | voice; un: sarah
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[Everyone's mileage may vary, depending upon how many gods are awakening at any give moment.]
But yes. If you are still interested in teaching me, Sarah, I still wish to learn.
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*stories.......stores, brain please
It's amazing what the brain can overlook in spelling.
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text; un: felix
Boar.
[And he considers, briefly, leaving it at that? Until Dimitri responds—but a) who knows what Dimitri is up to at this point in time, and b) Felix has never been great at letting things sit. He needs to know—well! He needs to know.]
So he's gone.
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I have not been able to locate him anywhere. As if there was no trace of him even being in this world.
[It is, essentially, the sort of unannounced loss that he does not take well to. Then again, who would?]
Your clock, then, reflects the same?
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note & package
the note inside is simple, written in a rather fancy script. )
Dimitri--
Back home there's this holiday called Winter Veil. I think the dwarves started it? Anyway, we give gifts and stuff, so that's what this is! Well, it's a phoenix, actually, in the style of the Sin'dorei. We like things that symbolize rebirth, and I thought it's a pretty good thing to give at the turn of the year, right?
Happy Winter Veil, Dimitri!
Yrs,
- Celdori Brightreaver, Highlord of the Silver Hand
voice | @orchid
What are your favorite things? [ A pause. Maybe she should ask about something more specific. Whatever could she be asking this for? ] Favorite... food?
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And, of course, it’s a question that inspires a flicker of guilt in him, one that he attempts to keep out of his tone.]
Ah, Orchid... I can tell you what I once enjoyed, but if you are going to the effort of preparing something edible, I would have to tell you that it isn’t necessary.
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holiday gift!
Thanks for going with me. Call if you ever need help.
Lightning]
holiday gift - post december 12th
Saw these in Kyst, thought of you. With everything that's been happening, I thought they were appropriate.
Thanks for all your help.
— Bigby]
holiday gift.
In the other box is...a small shard of blue crystal. It seems to do nothing and it sits alone, cradled in a satchel of dark velvet. It can be placed into an earring, into a ring, a necklace, a bracelet. Its purpose, however, is two-fold: if Rey puts a little bit of magic into the crystal, it will begin to pulse like a heartbeat and warm as it gets closer and closer to the other shards that have been passed out: to Rey, to Clary, to Bigby, to Archer, to Dimitri, and to Neria herself. If there are no shards closer, they will lead the owners invariably back to the Gods Wood and Neria's cabin, where she has tucked a piece of the crystal. A little way of saying my home is always open to you.
...However, if the Gods Wood is closed, the owners of those shards will feel a draw elsewhere if they are close to the coast. If they should head out on the water, it will show them the way to where another larger piece of the original crystal is: the island of Aldmoor, a small island and its hamlet village that Neria visited for her second quest. As no one really goes there, Neria's taken to spending time there to practice her magic, and one of the homes there is hers. But there are plenty of others, places for respite, there specifically for people to find sanctuary away from Kyst, the courts, and everywhere else...for a short time. Neria's even provided a map and instructions!
A note is included:
Thank you for saving my life and for standing by my side. Call on me whenever you have need. I will stand with you through the storm.
If you wish to protect me, you will need to get used to me doing the same for you.
~ Neria ]
surprise! - Dec. 25th
When unwrapped, there's just a simple box that contains a curved dagger that seems to be of pretty decent quality. If one looks closely at the blade, there's are a few words along the spine:
Put out the good and keep the bad - F.M.
There's also a small note folded away underneath that reads:
"For the next time I need a favor.
-AJC"]
✿ dec 25th - gift
❀ A handmade clay sculpture of Dimitri, complete with eyepatch and poofy cloak. It's cartoon-like, with cute, small, stumpy proportions. A looped string is attached to the top. It looks like it can be hung like an ornament.
❀ A small batch of chocolate chip cookies, baked by Orchid herself, despite what he told her...
Along with the small gifts is a letter written on a piece of parchment:
"Happy Holidays, Dimitri.
A nice person at the stables recommended this gift. It'll keep you warm the next time while you go horseback riding.
If it gets damaged, I'd like to try to repair it if that's alright.
I know you told me that you no longer have a sense of taste, but you've still got to eat.
You're always working so hard. Keep your energy up.
—Orchid" ]
un: v
Please know you need not honor anything Griffon pulls out of you under duress. And I consider all conversations with Griffon to be under duress.
Regards,
V
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When he finally replies, he reflects the format, because if V looks like he's writing a letter, why shouldn't he? It implies that he needn't an immediate response, which he's learned seems to be the default for all this "texting".]
V,
That is very thoughtful of you, but ultimately unnecessary. I have not told Griffon anything that I am unwilling to honor both in and out of conversation with him. My aid shall be yours, if you are in need of it.
-Dimitri
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text | un: ingrid
Your Highness,
I want to know if there is any opportunity for us to meet in private, today or tomorrow. There is something I need to inform you of, and better to do it in person.
-Ingrid
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Ingrid,
Of course I will make time if there is something of import you feel you must discuss with me. Tomorrow, perhaps? There is a small courtyard on the south side of the Court that should allow us ample privacy to speak. I can meet you there at noon, if that is acceptable.
-Dimitri
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text | un: Edelgard | Following the January audience
I trust the day finds you well. I don't know if you were at the audience with the Emperor, but I spoke with them and I'd like to discuss some things with you, if you're willing to have a meeting.
I'd prefer to meet somewhere outside Court territory if at all possible. Perhaps in Kyste?
Regards,
Edelgard von Hresvelg
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Edelgard,
Let us arrange to meet in Kyst as you have requested. I will be available this afternoon, and there is a small square in the western section off the city that would be suited for discussion. You may meet me there if that is suitable for you.
-Dimitri
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During the first part of the event
But this week has not been kind, in many ways. The increasingly worsening dreams, Annette weakly gasping her last, barely able to maintain a grip on her fingers, the husks of so many familiar and well-loved faces. The Emperor's announcement.
She'd jerked awake with a gasp so sharp and sudden that she'd feared calling attention to herself, but of course Mercedes is alone with an aching throat and still-damp marks on her face from where the tears had slipped free. Every nerve is on high alert, and perhaps it's why she hears it. Footsteps, soft but heavy. Burdened, if she had to put a word to it, and concern takes hold because if she had been plagued with nightmares, much like others... Dimitri must be facing something even more painful, due to his own experiences.
So, bleary but determined, she steps out of her room, still clad in a nightgown and hair free and therefore in a disarray of sorts. The hallway is dark, but the footsteps are louder now, and she turns to face the sound with the light of a fire spell flickering to life in her palm. ]
Dimitri...?
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But this feels far too much like those five years of isolation, of anger and hate. The dreams are raw and so real, standing amongst cracked earth with the bodies of his loved ones piled all around him. Knights, he recalls, so many caught in the blaze of a fire; the air smells sickly sweet, burning flesh permeating his nostrils, and it makes his stomach churn. The sight of his father running up to him is the hardest, until one night it is replaced with something worse: he is just another of those dead bodies, lain before his feet. And it is too much like before. Just like the nightmares of the past, and though it is not just him, it is too familiar to bear.
It makes him leave his room, stalk down the barren halls. A breeze filters in through a window in need of replacing, and he steps into the moonlight, barely noticing its chill.
You chose not to avenge us, and now you will let your world die? A voice whispers in his head. You will lose it all, again—]
Stop... stop. I will not listen to you. [He mutters, shoulders hunched forward and arms crossed tightly against his chest. Dimitri shakes his head. He has no need for these voices again, though they come paired with a headache that seems to split his skull in two.
Another voice, this time from behind — from someone far more welcome than the old ghosts that would seek to claim him. He turns around, dressed fully in clothes meant to retire for the night, his hair its usual tousle, his eyes strained from exhaustion. His focus harried, but not so much that he cannot center it on Mercedes.]
…Mercedes? [Even in this dim light, he can see the consequence these nights have wrought across her own expression. Her eyes look red around he edges, as if having fended off tears, when her firelight flickers across her face. He knows that he is equally, if not more so, unflattering. Dimitri even lacks his eyepatch, so the old scar across his eye displays even deeper in the shadows.]
It is late. And you should not be wandering about when it’s so cold.
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oops late cw warning for ptsd symptoms referenced in this thread
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action; early january
But she's still out there doing it because someone has to. The war has finally come and so she keeps moving, scouting from village to village, tiny forest cabin to copse of trees. Even as night falls, even as she loses track of where she is and which side of the map she's on.
It's why Dimitri's fire catches her attention. Recognizing the back of his hulking frame--setting aside the thought of Snow and the others from that first wonderful dream--she strides out of the trees nearby, lowering the hood of her deep green cloak as she goes. It's late. She's tired. Sides be damned, it's good to see a friendly face.]
You shouldn't be out here alone.
[Yes, she's aware of how hypocritical that sounds coming from the woman on her lonesome. No, she doesn't really care.]
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He isn’t alone. The voice, coupled with its ironic wording, given his thoughts, is proof of that.
Dimitri turns to look over his shoulder, eye widening slightly in surprise. The fire casts strange shadows, but it illuminates Lightning to make her look dream-like against the darkness of the trees behind her. When he speaks, his voice sounds rugged, raw. Tired.]
Lightning. No, I think… it is you who should not be out here alone. This is Star’s territory.
[Goddess, why is she so far out?]
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un: squall
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The name is familiar though-- easing the concern that he seems to carry around like a millstone around his neck for these past handful of days. Jail time does that to someone, when they haven't a chance to check up on others.
Even so. What a greeting.]
Get to me first doing what?
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dont listen to the asshole up there heres your inbox spam, un: rinoa
Thanks for the support... Did you get caught?
I won't lie to you, I'm pretty worried about everyone.
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ok. bye
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action;
cw for ptsd stuff in this thread
So does a handful of hours pass before Dimitri is even aware that he’s still present? Likely so. Nighttime crawls over the sky, the interior of his home darkens, and though the nights have been kind for the past week, he can feel the tinge of a headache squeezing at the bridge of his nose. A pulse behind his eyes.
The voices start their whispering only minutes later, and he knows he will not sleep this night.
And so he wanders, as he often does. This house is large and empty and cold, but it allows many places for him to pace, as if he’s plotting out a route through the house. His stepmother’s voice is inaudible, just murmurings in the back of his skull, but he hears a second set of footsteps as he walks down the stairs and to the first floor. He fears if he looks back, he might see the face of his father looming just behind his shoulder.
A frown, jaw set, gaze forward. His bare feet are cold against the slick floor, granted reprieve only when toes sink into the rug in the living area. He stops, sucks in breath, tilts his head up to close his eyes— And when he opens them again, he notes a strange… dark blob on the couch.]
…
[Moving closer (this world will die, Dimitri, and you will leave us without retribution, his head pounds a single time), he notes that this dark blob is, in fact, V.]
V…? [Is he alive? Is he dead? (dead!) Injured? Dimitri moves towards him, bending down just enough to place a firm hand on his shoulder.] V! Wake up!
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the 25th
[ He has to say it, he's supposed to appear at this guy's house once a week with sandwiches and students. Speaking of the house, ]
So if you're in jail again, I can't watch the house for you.
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No, he's not in jail.
But-]
My actions were reported by someone to the Emperor. My Crest has been sealed and I have been charged with hard labor at a military base in the mountains. So no, I am not in jail, but I will not be able to watch the house for a time, either.
[he is a bitter betty rn]
What did you do to earn yourself confinement in Moon territory?
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