godshattering: (pic#15733088)
claude von riegan. ([personal profile] godshattering) wrote in [community profile] abraxaslogs2022-08-12 08:54 am

[ OPEN ] hide your love, don't be shy

Who: Claude and you!
When: all throughout August and September
Where: Cadens (pre-Nocwich), the Horizon (any time), and Libertas (post-Nocwich)
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: For anything referencing Libertas: death, violence, and war


( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and if you'd like to plot something more specific, you can find me at [plurk.com profile] indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time. )
bloomly: (𝟰𝟭)

A

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-08-15 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
( she's said it once, to someone, though she isn't entirely sure she believed it at the time: that the places in the horizon feel more like safety than being in the welcome confines of solvunn's territory, as though it's a place where she can get lost or hide away, a place where she doesn't have to show her best face if she doesn't want to. wandering through domains, finding little pockets of interest or beautiful sceneries encouraged by the memories of the owner? it's like traveling without having to really go anywhere at all, and it sates her vivacious curiosity in some ways, as though it allows her to do things without worrying about putting herself, or anyone else, in danger. this domain that she's found, in particular, looks lush and beautiful, almost like a city in and of itself--it's so different from her own domain that she's drawn to it in the same way that the skies of midgar draw her in, terrifying but somehow beautiful in the same way.

getting to the double doors isn't difficult, but it does take some time--when she finally works her way through, walking carefully in her muddied boots as though she's worried about tracking dirt through the walkways, her eyes are drawn upward; at first, she thinks that the creature there, perched on a tree, might be some sort of warning device, the sort of animal that will immediately screech and squawk and duck down to attack any intruders. she stares at it, brows knitted together, as though they're both locked into a staring match--but it's the little dragon-like creature that yelps first, a melodic sort of trill as it edges down to a lower branch, and aerith laughs, bright and pleased. a friend, then, which is precisely what she wanted: standing up on her toes, she stretches one arm towards the creature, urging it down another branch as it tentatively sticks its neck out. )


Are you hungry? ( there's no one else that she can see to talk to but the creature, so she does--her lips press together, thoughtful, though it doesn't look like there's much to give it, and after all, what might she give it? does it eat meat? fruit? flowers? apologetically, she runs her fingertips down the neck of the creature. ) I'm sorry, I'll find something...

( what she finds, instead, is the beautiful courtyard, her eyes taking in all the details as she stands there, trying to read the spines of the books on the shelves from a distance. there are places to sit and read, she figures, as well as places to lounge, and: there's some sort of curious board game set up on a table, which draws her attention as she approaches. the board is checkered, and the pieces look to be done up in the style of...well, she can't quite tell. curious, she picks up a pawn piece, twisting it in her fingertips.

the creature, back at the doors, lets out a trill of announcement: aerith doesn't know what it means, but she figures it might mean the owner of this place is back; hurriedly, she sets the piece back on the board, but her knee knocks into it, and a few of the pieces topple over, falling to the ground--she quickly crouches, her dress fluffing over her legs, desperate to scramble up the pieces so that she can put them back where they belong. )
bloomly: (𝟰𝟮)

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-08-17 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
( she imagines that this person, whoever they are, must be the lucky owner of this abode--which means that it's his game she just messed up, quickly jerking herself up to her feet as her fingertips drop a piece here and there, pushing them hastily back onto the board. no, it's not a game that she's familiar with, but she imagines there has to be some sort of 'undo' button for it all, like a way to start the game over with all the pieces back where they belong.

her head whips, from him to the board, and she tilts her head at it, thoughtfully. )


...Well, the joke's on you, actually. ( when she looks back over at him, it's with a wry, amused sort of smile, like she's making a show out of knowledge they both likely know she doesn't have. ) I know how to play this game really well. I'm a pro white...piecer...

( or whatever this game is called. with a smile, she gestures to one of the seats. his seats. is she really inviting him to take a seat in his own little piece of horizon? yes, she is. )

Let's play a round. I'll tell you my name if you can win one of my pieces.

( and, with a quick, nervous sort of swallow, she takes a seat on the chair opposite the one she indicated for him. it's not that she's particularly worried about the game, but: this man looks to be someone a little more done up than just a regular citizen, or maybe it's just the effect of his clothes. she looks the same as always, plain and normal; honestly, she prefers it that way. )

Can we change the colors? Of the pieces, I mean, before we play. They're a bit dull.
bloomly: (𝟵𝟵)

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-08-22 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
( it's not that she's suspicious of him, but more that there's a curiosity for his relatively pleasant, easy-going behavior that has her gaze focused on him as he sits down. he moves like someone who is used to a battlefield, or perhaps a ballroom: someone that knows the precise ways to move their body, someone who is used to standing tall or walking tall or maybe just being tall in general. of course, compared to her, anyone is quite high in stature, but: combined with his clothes, she feels like she's starting to piece together a story for this stranger.

the distraction comes with the way he touches the board--and it shouldn't be a surprise, just as it shouldn't be anything particularly flashy, but her hands lift from the lap of her dress, pressing her palms together like it's something to marvel over. the pieces on his side flood with a beautiful blue, sliding around the squares on the board; it turns out she hadn't gotten them all back to where they belonged, but that doesn't seem to matter. )
How gorgeous...!

( what sort of color is it? the color of the deep ocean, perhaps, or a shimmering gemstone, hidden in the dust--it doesn't make her think of the sky, or the terrifying color of it, or even the blue-green shimmer of mako in the irises of those that she loved once. )

For me, then... ( carefully, her fingers pluck at one of the pieces from the corner of the board: it looks like the top of a castle, perhaps, like a tower illustrated from a storybook about princesses and terrible magicians, and as she touches it, the white flickers through with pale pink striping, curling around the piece like a ribbon. when she sets it back down on the board, the rest of her pieces follow suit; they look like candy, all wrapped up neatly in the same pink of the bow in her hair. ) Perfect! This should be fine.

( amused, her gaze flickers up to the stranger--with one hand, she gestures across the board, both casual and playful. )

I think I'll let you start. I don't want to be too much of a pro and scare you, and it's kinder for the guest to let their host take the lead. ( there's a faint smile, in case it isn't obvious that her confidence, while strong, is gentle in nature, not the sort that will get upset about being proven wrong. )
bloomly: (𝟳𝟱)

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-09-02 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, so you're the sneaky type... No, I definitely get that vibe.

( it's said in such a cheerful, speculative voice that it's obvious she doesn't mean offense by it--but it is an observation, one that she makes where she's propped an elbow up on the table, now, dangerously close to the edge of the chessboard. she takes care not to bump it; as much as her gaze moves between the pieces and the man in front of her, she's not entirely sure she could recreate the positioning from memory, and there's only so far her bluffs can take her, especially a second time.

for now, she sets her chin in her hands, watching his hand move across the board. his fingers pluck at one of the front pieces: she imagines that those are like some line of defense, and honestly, in some ways, the man before her talks like someone who knows their way with military and the like. or maybe he just reads a lot of books. it's hard to say.

she considers his request with lips that press together--with a soft hum, she lifts her chin up from her palm, dances fingers across the board, and plucks one of her own little defense pieces from the front row, meeting the stranger's little defense piece head to head.

she seems to stare at them both for a moment, before nodding to herself, as if securing the place of the piece. )


...Hmm, I suppose that's fair. I'm from Solvunn. I don't think you are. ( her hands fold down into her lap, playfully demure. ) Your turn, Prince Bluepiecer.
bloomly: (𝟲𝟲)

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-09-05 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
I never thought of putting it that way... ( --comes the sudden admission, thoughtful, as though his words have some impact on her. ) That the places themselves chose us, rather than us choosing them.

( but it's true, isn't it? perhaps her way of thinking has just been backwards, in some respects; she's never really thought to call the settlements in solvunn home, and perhaps part of that is due to the fact that it always feels like she's drifting between them for jobs or tasks or whatever she can manage to do to help. if solvunn itself is the one that called her, did it do it for some sort of purpose? she's always just assumed that this place was some sort of happenstance, a mistake in the great wheel of fate that they had spun at a whim at the edge of midgar and beyond.

curious, her lips perk up into a smile; there's something contented about the thought, and she appreciates that the stranger himself is the one that brought it up to life. patiently, she waits for him to move a piece--and though she accepts his bow, it's accompanied by a playful seated curtsey, her hands gripping the edges of the skirt of her dress to fan it out as she dips her shoulders down with little movement. )


Why thank you, my lord. ( is that how royalty talks? it makes her laugh, tickled by it, before she reaches her hand to stretch across the board--and with a forlorn sigh, she picks up another pawn. rather than deposit it where it belongs, however, she lifts up one of claude's pawns as well, holding them between her knuckles; the pieces knock together. ) A terrible play on your part, though. By the rules of the Dance Duel, your piece is now mine. He broke his ankle and has to be retired to the castle.

( the bluff sounds believable enough if only because it's so ridiculous--with a shake of her head, she plops her pawn down where claude's piece had been, and she neatly sets his pawn down at the side of the table.

mischievous, her green eyes glint up at him, as though waiting for some sort of reprimand--she imagines this is absolutely not how the game is played at all, but--local rules? )

bloomly: (𝟯𝟰)

[personal profile] bloomly 2022-09-08 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
( it shouldn’t surprise her that he seeks to copy her move—especially since she’s almost positive it’s not even a proper move, not even something standard to the game. her hands sit in her lap, poised on her thighs, and she stares at the board, then at the two pieces, as though trying to puzzle out a way to save her own; but it is what it is, and their two pawns sit on the sidelines now, the perfect company for two wallflowers hoping to pass an evening by observation only. so she does the only thing she can do: and laughs, wrinkling her nose slightly as she shakes her head. )

What a marvelous play. I should have prepared for it!

( her lips press out, as though half-disappointed with herself, but a deal is a deal, and before she can lift her hands to inquire about moving another piece, she decides to relent by the terms of their deal. )

But, I guess you’re just as pro as me, huh? Just remember that names have power, your lordship, or whatever I should call you. ( she’s beaming a little, as she lifts up one arm. ) My name is Aerith. Last name, Gainsborough. It’s okay to just call me Aerith, though.

( her hand stretches out across the length of the board: she’s holding it patiently over his pieces, her slender fingers pressed together to offer him a handshake. it isn’t the sort that might be done at the end of a game, as though conceding the victory, but more that it seems polite to introduce herself with proper manners, instead of continuing on with her next play, first. )

Since I won a piece, too, you have to return the favor, right? Or should we just use royal names instead? I kind of like that.