I've already made my choice. I'll be out there, fighting.
[Resignation softens her edges, dissipating the righteous anger that had seeped into her tone just moments before. It's clear that though she's resolute in her decision, she's not looking forward to it. There's been enough blood spilled in this war, enough lives lost, and adding more to the total makes her heart sink. But when it's either fight or let the army roll over innocent lives, when it's fight or risk every world ending...the only choice is to stand. This is just her way to do that.]
The Temple's still full of people. They're going to need fighters holding the line for evacuation.
[And for all that he disapproves of this war, he knows that Lightning — and others like her — are needed to defend against the campaign’s worst. The violence that will act as an upheaval for so many here. A defense against the Court’s army, someone to protect lives rather than needlessly take them.]
I cannot bring myself to the frontlines. Not with all the doubts encircling my mind. I think that… [He exhales in a sigh, flattening down the fur of his cloak still in his lap.] …it will be better for me to act as a guard for the healers shadowing the upcoming battles. I think I will ask Mercedes, though I am sure she’s already made up her mind on the matter.
She probably has. Seems to me like she's the type to pick her path and stick to it. [A rueful little smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.] That kind of attitude gets people into all kinds of trouble.
[She'd know. Hell, she is one of those kinds of people. With a soft huff that could be a laugh, she leans in a bit towards the fire.]
Make sure you look out for one another, okay? Keep each other safe.
And you, Lightning. Do not fight alone if you can help it.
[This worry goes both ways, friend. Dimitri makes a move to stand to his feet, feigning something like a stretch across his muscles, rolling his shoulders. Goddess, he feels so tired.
But then he leans over just enough to drape his cloak around her shoulders.]
And do not be afraid to accept aid when it is needed.
[Whatever she was going to say in reply to that dies away in a soft noise. His cloak is heavy, warm, and she peers at him through the edge of the fur around the collar.
Do not be afraid. Is that what he thinks this is? He's...not entirely wrong. Not for a fear of showing weakness to others, or thinking she has to handle everything alone, but for fear of getting too close. When this war is over, when they all go back to their worlds--and it has to be a when, not an if--she's going to have to say goodbye to these people. These people who have become allies, friends, family.
One thing she's not good at is goodbyes.]
Can't make any promises, but... [A rueful little smile.] I'll try if you do.
[And who is he to decline? A promise to look after himself is one that he'll only make if another asks, but it makes his agreement nonetheless sincere. There are few less flattering things in this world -- or many in others, apparently -- than a hypocrite.]
In that case, how can I say no? I will keep watch of myself if only to guarantee that you do the same.
[They can try, at least. That's the most either of them can do with war breathing down their necks. Who knows what the days ahead will bring, and if they'll even have the chance to keep that promise. Still...she cocks her head.]
You learn how to negotiate like that in military school?
[Dimitri actually laughs faintly at that, his shoulders rising. He ignores the way it feels like it's echoing in his skull.]
I would not call that a very eloquent negotiation. [But maybe that's the joke.] But no, there is some expectation that royalty should always know how to compromise to a certain extent. Preparation for a lifetime of politicking with neighboring nations.
[He does not like playing that particular dance, but if he tries, he knows all the steps. It simply runs counterintuitive to his usual nature.
Not that it was... particularly hard to just plop his cloak around her shoulders, admittedly.]
Royalty? [Her eyebrows both rise in surprise. She has painfully little experience with royals, just stories from when she was a child, fantastical tales of knightly queens and brave kings. He fits the image pretty well even with the exhaustion clinging to him.
Still, she can't help the amused chuckle that escapes her.]
[Teasing or not, Dimitri is allergic to others treating him like something special just because of his title. For all the war and strife in Fellden, being here means that most people don’t have that expectation of him, and that's admittedly... nice.]
[He seems to be doing a decent enough job of that himself, anyway. With one more amused sound, she turns her eyes back to the fire. Still...a King, huh? That's not nothing. They may be born into that position, but...]
For what it's worth? If you treat your people the same way you treat us, you'll be a good king.
[Honest, open, and trustworthy. A good person can only be a good leader, and what's a king if not a leader for his people? A far sight better than the ones in command here, at least!]
[A high compliment coming from Lightning. So poignant that it does what all sort of the achingly sincere ones do to him: cause that awful pang of uncertainty in his chest, a consequence of so much he had needed to sort through in a short period of time. Some things left untended, still not smoothed-over in his heart. Self-doubt is one, though he swallows down anything too sharp with the practice of a man who’s getting used to doing so.
Dimitri doesn’t reply at first. He only moves to his seat again, settling himself down by the fire a second time.]
Coming from you, that means a lot to me. Sometimes I am not so certain, but rarely is there ever time for doubt, only the necessity to push forward and hope for the best. It is not so different in this world.
That's the same in any world. Let doubt take over, and despair will cripple you.
[You can't save anyone if you get trapped in your own head, spiraling around doubts and questions that have no answers. Eventually they'll find those answers, but for the moment all that matters is survival.
Both for themselves, and for their worlds. Someone's got to save them somehow. Clasping her hands, she blows into them again. The chill is starting to fade.]
So long as you don't lose sight of what you're working towards, you can figure something out. It may not be simple, or without a cost, but so long as you keep moving forward you can make your own way. [A smile flickers across her face, there and gone in a heartbeat. Listen to her, getting all poetic.] So long as you don't give in, even something that seems impossible can still work out.
[A reminder that neither of them is an island, that they don't have to fight this war alone, or weather a winter's night in the dark. A reminder that, no matter what nightmares haunt them, at the end of the day they still made it this far. They can make it further.
They can fix this. Somehow. Staring at the fire, she takes a breath and lets it out, long and slow. One foot in front of the other, Farron. It's all that can be done.]
Things like this...they're too important to forget. We have to remind each other.
[Take care of each other. If they don't, who will?]
[It’s own shared burden. He needed so much to help him, to remind him, back in Fódlan. Now he lives in a stretch of his life where he only exists to pay it forward.
And so he looks at her, their faces both lit in the firelight.]
I will be sure to perform my own duty and remind you when you are overburden with thoughts of doubt and uncertainty. Not that I think you experience those very much at all.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Resignation softens her edges, dissipating the righteous anger that had seeped into her tone just moments before. It's clear that though she's resolute in her decision, she's not looking forward to it. There's been enough blood spilled in this war, enough lives lost, and adding more to the total makes her heart sink. But when it's either fight or let the army roll over innocent lives, when it's fight or risk every world ending...the only choice is to stand. This is just her way to do that.]
The Temple's still full of people. They're going to need fighters holding the line for evacuation.
no subject
[And for all that he disapproves of this war, he knows that Lightning — and others like her — are needed to defend against the campaign’s worst. The violence that will act as an upheaval for so many here. A defense against the Court’s army, someone to protect lives rather than needlessly take them.]
I cannot bring myself to the frontlines. Not with all the doubts encircling my mind. I think that… [He exhales in a sigh, flattening down the fur of his cloak still in his lap.] …it will be better for me to act as a guard for the healers shadowing the upcoming battles. I think I will ask Mercedes, though I am sure she’s already made up her mind on the matter.
no subject
[She'd know. Hell, she is one of those kinds of people. With a soft huff that could be a laugh, she leans in a bit towards the fire.]
Make sure you look out for one another, okay? Keep each other safe.
no subject
[This worry goes both ways, friend. Dimitri makes a move to stand to his feet, feigning something like a stretch across his muscles, rolling his shoulders. Goddess, he feels so tired.
But then he leans over just enough to drape his cloak around her shoulders.]
And do not be afraid to accept aid when it is needed.
no subject
Do not be afraid. Is that what he thinks this is? He's...not entirely wrong. Not for a fear of showing weakness to others, or thinking she has to handle everything alone, but for fear of getting too close. When this war is over, when they all go back to their worlds--and it has to be a when, not an if--she's going to have to say goodbye to these people. These people who have become allies, friends, family.
One thing she's not good at is goodbyes.]
Can't make any promises, but... [A rueful little smile.] I'll try if you do.
[Deal?]
no subject
In that case, how can I say no? I will keep watch of myself if only to guarantee that you do the same.
[Deal.]
no subject
[They can try, at least. That's the most either of them can do with war breathing down their necks. Who knows what the days ahead will bring, and if they'll even have the chance to keep that promise. Still...she cocks her head.]
You learn how to negotiate like that in military school?
no subject
I would not call that a very eloquent negotiation. [But maybe that's the joke.] But no, there is some expectation that royalty should always know how to compromise to a certain extent. Preparation for a lifetime of politicking with neighboring nations.
[He does not like playing that particular dance, but if he tries, he knows all the steps. It simply runs counterintuitive to his usual nature.
Not that it was... particularly hard to just plop his cloak around her shoulders, admittedly.]
no subject
Still, she can't help the amused chuckle that escapes her.]
Should I have bowed or something?
[Teasing, she's teasing.]
no subject
[Teasing or not, Dimitri is allergic to others treating him like something special just because of his title. For all the war and strife in Fellden, being here means that most people don’t have that expectation of him, and that's admittedly... nice.]
Unless your aim is to embarrass me.
no subject
[He seems to be doing a decent enough job of that himself, anyway. With one more amused sound, she turns her eyes back to the fire. Still...a King, huh? That's not nothing. They may be born into that position, but...]
For what it's worth? If you treat your people the same way you treat us, you'll be a good king.
[Honest, open, and trustworthy. A good person can only be a good leader, and what's a king if not a leader for his people? A far sight better than the ones in command here, at least!]
no subject
Dimitri doesn’t reply at first. He only moves to his seat again, settling himself down by the fire a second time.]
Coming from you, that means a lot to me. Sometimes I am not so certain, but rarely is there ever time for doubt, only the necessity to push forward and hope for the best. It is not so different in this world.
no subject
[You can't save anyone if you get trapped in your own head, spiraling around doubts and questions that have no answers. Eventually they'll find those answers, but for the moment all that matters is survival.
Both for themselves, and for their worlds. Someone's got to save them somehow. Clasping her hands, she blows into them again. The chill is starting to fade.]
So long as you don't lose sight of what you're working towards, you can figure something out. It may not be simple, or without a cost, but so long as you keep moving forward you can make your own way. [A smile flickers across her face, there and gone in a heartbeat. Listen to her, getting all poetic.] So long as you don't give in, even something that seems impossible can still work out.
no subject
You sound like someone truly born in Faerghus. To make your own path, cut your own way.
[Had he not asked the same thing of someone else, long, long ago?]
I will take it to heart. It is a sentiment I should already know well.
no subject
[A reminder that neither of them is an island, that they don't have to fight this war alone, or weather a winter's night in the dark. A reminder that, no matter what nightmares haunt them, at the end of the day they still made it this far. They can make it further.
They can fix this. Somehow. Staring at the fire, she takes a breath and lets it out, long and slow. One foot in front of the other, Farron. It's all that can be done.]
Things like this...they're too important to forget. We have to remind each other.
[Take care of each other. If they don't, who will?]
no subject
[It’s own shared burden. He needed so much to help him, to remind him, back in Fódlan. Now he lives in a stretch of his life where he only exists to pay it forward.
And so he looks at her, their faces both lit in the firelight.]
I will be sure to perform my own duty and remind you when you are overburden with thoughts of doubt and uncertainty. Not that I think you experience those very much at all.