arsarcana | week 6

Entry tags:

!week 6

week 6

[On Sunday morning, there is a small gift waiting for the early risers in the tower: a dull lead key (don't lick it), dangling from a length of twine tied to the wooden beam across the ceiling at the cross section of the four dorms. Upon further inspection it has a particular symbol on the back half and a note that reads "Good job. Here's your reward". The note is signed Lord H. The key goes to sixth floor, where there is the same symbol etched above the keyhole on the lock.

The new floor is even more grand than the previous ballroom, a full theatre for their enjoyment. But it doesn't take away the burning sting of certain people who would have loved to see it.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

✨WEEKLY DEALS✨

1. Random Record Shuffle* - A funky fresh record you can play in a record player! The only catch is Garfield gets to pick the artist. *One per customer [1 coin]
(cw: creepy doll) 2. Angie - The ultimate haunted(?) doll, the sweet babiest sister. There is a massive crack in her head. [5 coins]
3. The Katana of Kant - A magical sentient katana that, when unsheathed, the wielder must have a philosophical debate over whether the act they're about to commit is a moral one in order to be able to use it. If the wielder wins, an attack will do double the damage. The katana also has a German accent. [Free, Please Take It]

✨LEFTOVER STOCK AT ~~50% MARK-UP~~ ON SALE✨
1. Greater Hat of Disguise - A hat that lets you transform your appearance for as long as you're wearing it. You choose exactly how you look and sound, with the hat transforming to whatever headgear you choose. (You still have to sell the act though.) [2 coins]
2. Moon God Mask - A very large moon mask that covers your entire head. It kind of makes you want to either get a hamburger or form a cult. [1 coin]
3. The Tingler - The whole hand tingles from wearing this ring, as if more blood rushes through the area. [1 coin]

(( OOC: Don't forget to submit your orders for any threads that aren't with Heisenberg or Garfield! And don't forget activity check! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Worth the risk or not...

[He shuts his eyes and sighs.]

If we hadn't made it in time, it might all have been for nothing.

Edited 2022-04-28 06:01 (UTC)

[If whatever Hubert had tried had achieved the desired results, it would hardly have been for nothing-- Nuadha thinks, but manages not to say. Baldr is looking strained enough as it is. Mid-cooking isn't really the time for it, but he puts his hand briefly on the small of Baldr's back in reassurance.]

We did, this time. Are you already planning on scolding him when he wakes up?

Of course I am.

[There's that sharp edge again, though he also just sounds tired. It probably won't take Nuadha much effort to guess exactly why, knowing Baldr as well as he does.]

He could have been - was almost - killed. His death would have meant one more soul for our Patron's "grand design."

[But that isn't what this is really about, is it?]

[Nuadha doubts very much whether Hubert's death would have added to the design at all. But he already knows that isn't what this is about, after all.]

But we weren't too late. You were able to help him.

[There's gentle emphasis in the words, a little cautious.]

I hardly did much of anything. Felix-san was the one who did the brunt of the healing.

[And he's honestly not mad about that! He knows that his healing abilities are barely more than rudimentary, having only just learned them. If anything, he's angry that Felix was forced into that position in the first place.]

I'll make sure he rests later, too.

[Nuadha finishes with the carrots, setting them down and wiping his hands dry before he turns his undivided attention towards Baldr. He knows full well Baldr wouldn't have dismissed Mei or Bruno's contributions the way he'd just written off his own, but...]

...It helped. Considering the state he was in, he needed as many healers as we had.

[Nuadha's brow is furrowing a little with a question he doesn't seem to know how to get at, equal parts what's wrong and how do I fix it.]

He certainly did.

[The knife slices through the cabbage with an unusually loud sound of the blade against the cutting board, though Baldr says nothing.]

For his own sake, he was lucky he decided to teach that ability to others. I'll have to make sure to thank him for that later, though I think at this point he owes the rest of us thanks as well.

[Chop, chop, chop. He seems oddly antsy as he chops the cabbage, his movements nowhere near his usual practiced knifework.]

Very likely.

[Nuadha is perfectly sensible to the undercurrent in Baldr's every word and movement, if not the reason. He glances around the kitchen to ensure himself that they're alone and cautiously rubs a hand down Baldr's back again. He isn't exactly adept at physical soothing, and Baldr doesn't seem very inclined to be soothed either.]

...Why are you angry?

[That light touch causes him to tense for a moment... and then he relaxes, even if only minutely, setting the knife down so that he can take a deep breath.]

What would he have accomplished by dying? Did he really think we would all be so grateful for whatever he managed to do that we wouldn't care about that part?

We won't know until he wakes up to explain. If the explosion was Hubert's doing, I doubt he intended to be caught in it.

[But if Baldr's relaxing even fractionally Nuadha will keep up the petting motion just a little longer.]

...Gratitude has nothing to do with it. Only necessity. ...I would think.

[But they're on thinner ice now and not strictly about Hubert anymore.]

He was a fool either way to take that kind of a risk.

[He's just repeating what he said earlier, but it still stands. This is very clearly a sore spot for him, even if it's going to take a bit of coaxing for him to be open about why.]

Knowledge isn't a worthy replacement for a life.

And perhaps he thought it would save more than one.

[His hand stills, resting lightly on Baldr's back, and he steps just a little closer. This... isn't something he expects to change Baldr's mind on through logic. Not when he can guess some of what might be hitting a chord for him.]

...You take risks of your own, protecting people. It doesn't mean he's being careless.

That isn't...

["The same," he wants to say, even though he knows that on some level it is. He is a knight; a knight's duty is to serve and protect, even at the cost of one's life. It is what's expected of him. There's nothing out of the ordinary about him being willing to sacrifice his life for others.

Surely Hubert had thought that whatever it was he was doing was for the greater good?]

He told me the two of you walk a similar path. You likely understand better than I could.

[The distinction here is too fine a one for Nuadha to understand. Even knowing that Baldr cherishes his own life, he's seen him nearly throw it away. Those memories are a cold pressure in the back of his thoughts even now.]

... he told me a bit about himself. How he has been his Lady's companion ever since childhood.

[In that, the two of them are much the same, almost painfully so. Nuadha mentioning it outright makes him feel almost uncomfortable in a way, as if he's being looked at under a microscope.]

Surely he wishes to go back to her, just as I would were you not here. So why...?

Felix told me a little about the war. That the Adrestian Empire's attempted conquest failed, and the three nations were brought together under "United Fodlan." In that case, his Emperor... I haven't asked Hubert. But if their situation is like the Nexuses, it's possible Hubert now knows the outcome already.

[Hubert doesn't strike him as the type to surrender so easily even if that were true. But... the possibility exists, in any case.]

Even so, I would think he would still... still wish to be with her, at the end. To fulfill his duty as both a servant and as a friend.

[The hand that had been holding the knife now clenches tightly into a fist, his mouth thinning into a line. Briefly he bites his lip, as if debating saying more, but ultimately chooses not to.]

...Yes. I'm sure she would wish it.

[Nuadha's voice is softer at that, and he can't wholly keep the edge of old pain from it. He continues calmly as if he doesn't hear it.]

And that she would wish him to keep living afterward, if he could. To do what he could for their people. And himself.

Yes, I'm sure she would.

[It feels bitter, hollow, having this turned around on him like this and he kind of hates it.]

As would anyone, I would think.

[Nuadha's breath hitches softly in an acknowledgment of the counterpoint. He's never once forgotten that Baldr died, if not alone, then still without Woden at his side as he should have been. He settles his hand lightly on Baldr's back again.]

...Yes. So I think it's premature to worry about Hubert until we can ask him ourselves. He may have been thinking much the same and circumstances got away from him.

[Hubert. They were definitely talking about Hubert.]

I'm still going to scold him for worrying everyone, regardless of his reasons.

[On that much, at least, he's not going to budge. He can forgive upsetting himself and Hubert, but Mei? That is a cardinal sin.

They're definitely back to talking about Hubert now, if nothing else.]

And for making Mei-san have to see that.

I know better than to try to talk you out of it.

[And it might be good for Hubert, all things considered. Especially because he's not in any disagreement about Mei. He's just searching Baldr's posture for any signs that his anger or worry is easing at all.]

[The gentle touch is easing the tension minutely, though it's clear it's not going to fully dissipate anytime soon. The events of the evening hit far too close to home on multiple levels, both personal and in the sense of Hubert's safety, and he needs some time to work through them.]

... I'm sorry. I'm being stubborn, and it's selfish of me.

You've always been stubborn.

[Nuadha's voice softens just a little, turning the words from a simple statement of fact into something tinged with careful affection.]

...The worry is to your credit. You know that.

[Even if in Hubert's place Nuadha would absolutely be evading the lecture. That isn't the point.]

[That earns a soft, almost bitter laugh.]

For all the good it's done here.

[Back at home is one thing, where as bad as the situation may be at times, it at least isn't an unknown. But here, when they still aren't even clear on all of the details behind why they are here...

But the words don't go wholly unheard, and with a sigh Baldr leans sideways until he's pressed up alongside Nuadha, just savoring his warmth and solid presence.]

(no subject)

rikonstructed - 2022-05-01 07:34 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only