pensivearcher:

{♔}           He hadn’t even considered the fact that he might slip. Now he proceeded even more carefully, pausing for a moment after every step.

           As he reached the bottom, he -- somehow -- wasn’t surprised with the sight that met him. It was exactly the same as when he woke up. A pile of half-naked people sleeping, or dead, on the wide surface of Skrimir’s bare chest. There was an open space on the pile between Ike and Boyd where Soren had risen from.

{♔}           A stranger had left a note in Soren’s tent; while he feared a trap, or anything of the sort, the information the letter detailed worried him. Even if it was false, he couldn’t let someone he’d come to care about to simply remain in that state for so long.

           As Felix came into his line of sight, the tactician raised his eyebrows in surprise. He honestly looked worse than Soren had expected.

           “Are you al right?” he asked as he approached, though he knew that Felix could not answer. He immediately kneeled down beside the other and attempted to undo the knots that kept him bound.

lightofcrimea:

{♔}           Dropping the useless hilt to the floor beside his feet, the tactician gave a heavy sigh.

           “I don’t see what the point of this training is,” he sat down beside his broken weapon and pulled his knees closer into his chest, “We can both defend ourselves pefectly well. Carrying swords around would just make that more difficult.”

           And yet, he couldn’t see himself telling Ike that -- he looked so pleased when Soren and Sami finally agreed to learn swordsmanship, it was almost like he was a puppy they’d just adopted.

{♔}           Soren gave a nod, relieved to have Sami close at his side again. He pulled back his head and gazed into Sami’s eyes, though his had grown red and puffy with emotion.            “I think that I’m ready,” he muttered after a moment’s pause, “with you at my side, I know that I can be the king that Daein deserves. That is, if you will be the queen that Daein deserves.” He wasn’t sure that the proposal would go smoothly at such a turbulant moment, but it seemed… right.

[♚] She wasn’t really expecting the proposal at all- after all, though she loved him and knew that he loved her in return, she had… always expected that she would never be anything but his most loyal knight. 

However, she felt her tears change from sorrow to happiness as she looked up at him, realization of just what he was asking her hitting her. This way, they really always would be together, wouldn’t they? And she was certain that that way, she could protect him from any misfortune…

Being a queen… that would be a lot of responsibility. But she could handle it. She was sure of it! After all they’d been through together, there was nothing they couldn’t do.

“… O-of course. I-I promise! I-I’ll do my best to be the b-best queen ever!”

{♔}           Though Soren's advisors would surely frown at their new king marrying outside of nobility at first, this was a new age for Daein, and surely a new age for Tellius now that the Mad King had passed. A marriage would surely promise a future of love and peace. Of course, tactical benefits aside, there was nothing Soren wanted more than to be with the one person who remained at his side through the torture his father put him through.            "I... don't have a ring to give you," as the poor boy meant nothing to his late father, no signet ring was ever made for his future wife, so they would have to find a substitute, "But we can get one. You can choose whatever ring you want."

While a fire still burned in Elincia’s eyes, she allowed her struggles to cease, putting her arms back at her sides to try and prop herself up against the wall; getting weight off her hair mattered more than continuing to use her energy on useless fighting. She would have spat at the King if she could, but had to settle for a sudden jerk of her head, hoping that despite the pain some of her drool would be flung at her foe. Goddess knew there was enough of it running down her chin; if only the damned bit were a little smaller she could swallow it properly, but she had to settle for trying to ensure she wasn’t the only one her saliva would hit.

{[♚]} Esme hadn’t actually pondered it, in truth. When she was younger, something had clicked inside of her, that it was her mother’s fault, all her fault, for what would end up separating her from her beloved father all too soon. From the rest of her family, from everything she loved. That she’d never get to learn everything, that her time was utterly limited.

But even now, did she hate her?

“I… I believe… I find her presence to be quite an annoyance, and her contributions to my genes quite a hassle.”

“I now lack one thing that, had things turned out otherwise, may have given me something I hold precious- time.”

{♔}           Soren clicked his tongue and took that as a yes. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to stop himself from saying something - he knew it wouldn't change anything now, but he couldn't let his own child hate her mother forever without making as much effort against that as possible.            "It's not her fault, really, you know. In fact, neither of us wanted you to be Branded. I would give anything to change who I am - the excess of time is no blessing, it's a curse that made me immediately fear for your future when I learned that Sami was pregnant with you. You are lucky you are a Beorc."

The blond decided to drop the subject entirely and scowled, a hand reaching up to rake through mussed hair in an odd mixture of disgust, frustration, and resignation. Going down there would be inevitable, even if they checked the other rooms first- Unless they just gave up and left, but leaving the others to a horrible, putrid demise in the basement seemed a bit too cruel.

Alright, perhaps he was exaggerating a tiiiny bit. Just a little. Or was he? No matter.

“Oh, don’t tell me we’re actually going down there– Wait, didn’t you say you woke up in there, or am I mistaken? How in the world are you still alive?”

{♔}           "I think I did, yes. But maybe I was just too tired to notice the questionable smells at that point," the raven-haired gave a huff and covered his nose with his sleeve as he peered down the dark staircase. As he began to take steps down, his foot was instantly met with the dampness of alcohol that coated the steps.            "I really hope that didn't come from someone." Soren sighed heavily as he inspected his shoes. “Be careful. There’s probably more where that came from.”

{♔}           It was a question that Soren hadn't expected to leave his lips any time soon, but he saw no harm in going through with it. His fingertips touched Felix's cheeks for a brief moment before their lips softly pressed together, heat raising to the raven haired's cheeks as well.

With the saddle’s straps wrapped around her upper arms, Elincia could not move her hands into position to grip Soren’s leg, but she pushed against it with what little leverage she could get; he would barely feel it, with only her fingers able to reach his boot, but the message would be clear all the same. It would take a very long time to break her… hopefully more time than he had left in his corrupt life.

Crossroads;; || Closed RP with fightsforhisfriends

And just as the young man expected, Ike lifted the flap of Soren’s tent without warning and his eyes glazed upon the scene. Soren barely awake, with ink on his face, at his desk, shakily holding to his quill.

“Soren…? Good gods, did you even sleep?” he said, trotting up to the boy’s side.

“You–” his eyes were almost immediately drawn to the smudge on the boy’s face. “How did that happen?” he thought out inconsiderately.

“I was going to ask you about our route… but, maybe we should just hold off so you can get some rest…” 

{♔}           Though he was still -- sort of -- awake, Soren couldn't find the ability to speak for a few moments. He responsed to Ike's concerns with a series of grunts, slowly sitting up in his chair again.            As he was beginning to return to his senses, he yawned.            "Ike...?" he dropped his quill next to the map and rubbed his blood-shot eyes, "What do you mean? I don't need to rest, I'm fine." He propped his head up with his arm, not yet noticing the ink now staining his hand.