( semi-closed )

[heelies]

CHARACTERS: Achilles and pals
DATE: Shorty after arriving in Perdition's Rest
WARNINGS: Homeric levels of violence and gratuitous man muscles
SUMMARY: Miscellaneous adventures in the days following the crew's arrival. Subjects range from shopping for pants to flaunting gently used sexy clothing to slaughtering bandits.


[Assorted closed threads shall follow. PM me if you wish to plot together!]

Comments

[tolight]

[ "Our room". Old habits die hard— this conversation is living proof of that. Lucina keeps her expression carefully neutral, the poker face she's managed to learn coming in handy for moments like these. Her shoulders may tense just slightly, and she may stand a little straighter than she had before — but these are tiny changes, barely noticeable to the bare eye. She can do this.

( But it hurts, to know that some version of her father is out there, waiting to fall in love with her mother. Resentment is an ugly thing, one that will continue to claw at her for a long, long time, regardless of what she knows is logical. Despite the guilt bubbling inside of her, it's still difficult to understand. )

Between these thoughts, she misses her cue to speak. Hopefully no one notices anything different, and if curious glances are thrown her way she answers them with a small near-smile, a soft expression she can at least pull off for her mother, if nothing else. ]

[heelies]

[He nearly insists that Olivia come to him, for it is proper that guests are greeted in the house, and at present the cramped wood-paneled chamber is the closest he has to a house. But there is some telltale snag in the fiber of her voice that gives him pause and thus makes him acquiesce to her peculiar request.]

Very well - I shall be outside the saloon in a little while. We shall speak further then, lovely-haired Olivia.

[So ends his message. Achilles takes his time with washing, for this matter weighs heavily upon his thoughts as storm-bruised clouds would lour over the wine-dark sea. As he draws the warm washcloth over his legs and at last his feet, he ponders how this seems a portent sent by the Fates to warn him that soon shall the light of his life dwindle and extinguish. The sort of life a man may share with a wife, who shall bear for him sons strong and daughters beautiful - this was not meant to be his after all.

As promised, he appears outside the saloon sometime later, away from the door where the noise from within is better muffled. His imposing presence is like a beacon even in the darkness that cloaks the town. He has returned to the familiarity of his tunic, the rich red fabric of which drapes his body, and to ward off the chill of night he has wrapped his broad shoulders in the mantle of purple and indigo. Such garments will likely seem strange to Lucina, for they are of a land so far-flung from her own.

As the women approach, he cannot help but lament that upon nightfall Olivia might usually have taken the chance to change into the chiton he had gifted her - yet it seems that he shall have to forgo this small comfort, the sense that she belongs wholly to him. Nor does he move to take her into his arms as he might on any other night, greeting her instead with a subdued smile.]

Now may I properly greet your daughter, dear Olivia.

[And he grants a gracious nod to Lucina. His eyes linger upon her, finding the features that seem to echo Olivia's, and leaving him to wonder which might mirror more closely her father, this man he cannot help but disdain although he knows nothing of him.]

Fortunate is the woman who inherits her mother's beauty as you have. Although this meeting is no doubt as strange to you as it is to me, I hope that you shall bear no ill will for a man whose lowest offense is loving your mother. You shall find that I have treated her as fairly as any man would treat his wife - I have protected her honor and every day strive to bring her but a piece of the joy that she has brought me.

Furthermore, just as I would wish that Olivia welcome my own son, my dear Neoptolemus, if ever fortune grants that I shall see him again - so too shall I welcome you, white-armed Lucina.

[winces]

[ olivia still wears her alastair uniform, its impeccable white made dingy and dirty from the day's work. dirt, too, still clings to her skin, dusting her cheeks and making dim the usual luster of her hair. she finds it a bit funny, in the sort of way she does not feel like laughing, that the three of them should be dressed so differently — achilles in his garb of home, lucina in the familiar shades of chrom's deep blue, and olivia herself, wearing the emblem of the banner both now find themselves under... whether they like it or not.

it brings about a wry twist to the corner of her lips to think about, though the expression itself is wiped clean when achilles draws near and grants her a warm, albeit tentative smile. she returns it with one of her own, small and quietly grateful. her hands clench where she's got them laced before her, resisting the urge to reach out for his and grasp something sturdy, familiar.

she says nothing, the air between them all already thick, stifling. she has done enough, she thinks. she can only hope the other two manage much better than her. ]

[tolight]

[ And finally, Lucina's in her armor ( different shades of blue from top to bottom ), edges worn and weathered from how long she's been wearing it, but the upkeep she does on them make them look like they've gone through much less than they actually have. It's her pride and joy, despite it first taking shape when she wanted to take after the great Hero King — now it's something of her own.

It's times like this when Lucina's painfully reminded she's more than a soldier, or a leader of a revolution. She's a princess, technically an exalt of her own, no matter how long it has been since she had a kingdom to rule. And while that hasn't changed here, she recognizes how she needs to carry herself. Polite, noble, kind, just like her father described Aunt Emmeryn to be, once upon a time.

But she isn't Emmeryn. The anger she feels on her father's behalf is difficult to ignore, as is the resentment ( the fact that she sees him in person makes the feelings resurface, all over again ). She has to remind herself, yet again, that this is a man that has made her mother happy when her family could not. Which means that she needs to at least be kind of Achilles, since he was to her.

As in: she has to lie. ] ... I understand that these are strange circumstances, but I appreciate your understanding. [ Her expression doesn't quite soften, not like it would in front of those she cares for, but it's polite. ] It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Achilles.

[ There's a brief pause, and then, much quieter, ] Thank you for taking care of mother, when I could not. It is good to hear that... she is loved.

[heelies]

[He can feel how she resists him, as the wrought layers of a shield might resist the pitiless bronze of arrow heads that purpose to pierce through. He supposes that it is natural that a woman should honor her father so dearly that she doubts any man might match his worthiness, and that she should cherish her mother in equal measure, such that she wishes only for the fairest fortune to grace she who welcomed her into the world. For such stalwart fidelity he cannot fault Lucina. He can only hope to prove in word and in deed that his love for Olivia gleams as brightly as his honor as a man.

Still a smile shapes his lips yet its warmth does not quite fill his features.]

It is I whom fortune smiled upon when came your mother into my life.

[Or perhaps the Fates had lost sight of him for some time, and now at last has the sisters' far-seeing gaze settled upon him once more. Now at last they shall draw him back to the destiny that they had foreseen ere he was born, the destiny that he had fulfilled as water cannot help but fill a channel carved of the earth, which directs its course as it rushes onward.]

Thus it has been my pleasure to tend to Olivia in all the days we have together passed. Tell me, white-armed Lucina - how fare you in these circumstances so sudden and strange? Well do I recall the consternation which filled me when first I found myself in service with the house of ALASTAIR.

[This he asks for the sake of politeness, and because he knows not what other subject he might ask after.]

[tolight]

[ The worst part of it all is that they're actually very much in love.

It's like... watching her mother and father around the castle, when she was younger. Or them in the camps, in the present. Lucina might be extremely biased, but she's not blind. This isn't a show, Achilles' love for her mother can be seen in every single word he speaks of her, and Lucina finds herself equal parts angry and tired.

There's still an act to keep up, though. She tilts her head to the side, considering his words. ]

I — [ am used to this. Some parts of it, anyway. The timelines and saving worlds. But she stops herself in time, letting the small pause change her expression.

When she smiles this time, it's apologetic. ] ... I admit, it has been draining. [ Which is weird to admit, because not only is it a lie, she wouldn't say so even if it was true. But she's listening to the part of her that wants to leave here, now. ] They appear to be working towards a good cause, yet... [ She looks towards Olivia, then to Achilles. ] I wish I could speak with you longer, but it may have to wait for another time.

[winces]

[ it has not been a terribly long time since this reunion between them has passed, and given the last memories olivia has of lucina is of a nine year old girl... it's safe to say that olivia cannot say she knows this young woman standing beside her very well.

still, there are little tells. the body has always been a language olivia had been gifted to be fluent in, and now combined with her empathy powers...

she can sense the other woman's exhaustion, though she knows it cannot simply be from the day's excursion itself. ]

Of course, Lucina, [ she is then quick to say, reaching out to rest a gentle hand upon the girl's shoulder. she did this to her, and though she wishes to know more, hear more, just experience more, she knows lucina has already given so much more than she could possibly ask for right now. ]

It's been a long day... you should get some rest. We'll speak again later.