inside my quiet heart

[theidlemaiden]

Who: Hilda and various!
When: Throughout the month of January/February
Where: Cadens, the Horizon, Aquila
What: Catch all with open + future closed starters inside
Warnings: Mention/discussion of death

( open starters can be found below, closed starters will be marked accordingly or you can hit me with a wildcard!
for specific things feel free to reach out to me on discord or timescars. )

Comments

cadens — open

[theidlemaiden]

[ In the first week or so after their return from Luna, Hilda can be found doing what she had been doing before their forced vacation: a whole lot of nothing. Or at least it looks like that.

She spends an odd amount of time for someone like her at the libraries, picking out books about bartending and the history of fashion in the Free Cities which she’ll squirrel back to the Sarstina or spend an afternoon or two reading them at the library without actually checking anything out.

And then on the odd night, you may actually find her behind the bar at the Sarstina. It’s obvious she’s new to this despite her bright, cheery smile and apologetic giggles whenever she makes a mistake. Anyone who watches her long enough might notice that she doesn’t actually seem to be doing any work, instead relying on some of the others behind the bar. In fact, it looks like she’s doing more talking and flirting than serving. Her skillful dodging of work comes to an end when Mags notices and she’s tasked with getting you a drink. There’s a split second of uncertainty on her face before it's quickly replaced with a cheeky smile in its place. ]

What’ll it be? Go easy on me though - anything more complicated than beer and I’ll have to find someone else to help you.

[ The night of the Offering, Hilda finds herself unable to sleep. She’s wandering the cliffs of Cadens when the water begins to boil and the clouds darken overhead. Tugging her cloak tighter around her shoulders she watches both in abject wonder and horror at nature’s spectacle. She’s so engrossed that it’s unlikely she’ll hear someone else approach. ]

horizon — open

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda’s Horizon is a shared domain fashioned after Garreg Mach, a place where she, Sylvain, Claude, Petra, and Felix had attended the Officers Academy during their teenage years.

If you happen to stumble across the large fortress, you might hear a screech of a wyvern overhead before it swoops low over you, looping quickly around the turrets of the monetary. A perceptive eye may notice the streak of pink atop the brown wyvern along with delighted laughter before the wyvern speeds off in the direction of the aerie where you'll find her feeding and caring for the other wyverns there, hair likely a little windswept from her earlier journey.

There may be another day where your nose picks up the smell of something burning from the kitchens. Students mill about the dining hills leading into it but don’t seem bothered by the smell behind the kitchen doors. Further investigation will reveal Hilda bemoaning her attempt at recreating her favourite sweet buns from home. It may be the Horizon but it seems like she’s trying to bake instead of having them magically appear.

Otherwise she can often be found in the gardens seated under a pergola in bloom with a tea set and a lavish spread of cakes and pastries, and a book in front of her. She looks like she’s in deep concentration (or bored depending on the book) until she hears the arrival of someone. In which case she’ll snap her book shut and perk up considerably. ]

Oh! Did you want to join me for some tea? It’s always better enjoyed with company.

[ There is one day when she is noticeably absent from her usual haunts, instead emerging from an almost blink and you’ll miss it entrance to a lower level called the Abyss. Or maybe you’ve found your way there by accident and have gotten lost in its endless maze of twists and turns. Either way, when Hilda realises you’re there she’ll look surprised before apologetically explaining — ]

What are you doing here? This place is under construction so it probably looks a little creepier than it normally does.

( horizon, tea )

[politicians]

[ elrond bows politely. ]

I would be honoured. I had hoped to catch up with you.

[theidlemaiden]

[ Delighted to see Elrond, Hilda stands up rising to meet him across the short expanse of grass that covers the space between them, looping her arm through his before leading him back to the table. ]

I didn't see you on the boat in Luna. What did you think?

[politicians]

[ he takes it generously. ]

It was an interesting experience, being on a boat. I have only done so a few times in my life.

the aerie

[ushiri]

[ Kahlil is leaving from a meeting with Claude when he hears the screech and feels the air shift as something large bears down on him from the sky. He vanishes completely, missing the tinkling of laughter that follows as he watches the winged creature fly away from behind the safety of the Gray Space, or as it asserts itself in Horizon, anyway. Even here, no sound travels when he's within this space.

Once his heart rate settles back down, curiosity wins out. He cuts a shortened path toward the tower, entering to find another familiar face at the top of the stairs. It's her domain, so she might feel his presence before he reveals himself, but if she doesn't she might be shocked to suddenly see him suddenly standing in the 'stables' with her. He's dressed in a black cloak and grey cassock, moons embellishing the collar. On one shoulder is the sign of The Hanged Man. ]

Hello again.

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda is tipped off by the arrival of another person in their domain not by the approaching footsteps but by the low growls of Waffenzahn and Buri.

Despite knowing that they’re growls of warning, she isn’t as concerned and turns. A genuinely pleased smile lights up her face that’s already flushed from the wind when she realises who it is. Unlike their meeting in Luna, in the Horizon, Hilda has donned an outfit from home with a cloak thrown over her shoulders that is clasped together with the gold sigil of the Lovers. ]

Kyle! It’s so good to see you again.

[ Waffenzahn seems less enthused, trying to extend his neck around Hilda somewhat possessively to bare his teeth at the stranger. The growl is cut short as Hilda bops him gently right on the nose. ]

Sorry about that. Waffle gets a little prickly around strangers and the same goes for Buri. [ She nods towards the older, grizzled wyvern in the stall across from them whose eyes are mere slits as his sizes Kyle up. ]

Are you here looking for someone?

[ushiri]

[ He gives the wyverns a curious, if dubious kind of look. Keeps his distance for now. Nothing can kill them here, but he's not exactly looking to see how it feels to lose an arm, or his head to those jaws.

His gaze flicks back to her and he smiles again. ]

I was just having tea with Claude. [ Something he would normally not share with someone else, except that Claude and his friends from school have connected domains, and he holds them in high regard.

Kahlil tips his head toward Waffle, his mouth forming a line. ]

Are these dragons?

[ There'd been a young woman in Thorne who'd mentioned dragons in her home world. They're myths in Nayeshi, and equally non-existent in Basawar. ]

horizon - tea and talk

[beautifullies]

[ After her first time in the Horizon, she's been eager return, not only because she wants to create something better than her first go, but because of Hilda's invitation. It takes her less time to figure out how to meditate than she was worried it would, and she easily enough finds Hilda. ]

I'm a bit early, I hope that's alright. I thought it would be harder to meditate, but I took right to it.

[ In hindsight, she's realized it's almost the same, focused thinking she has while in surgery. The rest of the world becomes white noise and she sinks into her work. Same principle, except she isn't working. ]

Do you mind? I can always come back.

[theidlemaiden]

Don't be silly of course that's all right. Being punctual is such a good quality to have.

[ Never mind that Hilda is usually fashionably late because she's made several outfit changes, unhappy with the smallest detail. Thankfully she can more or less imagine whatever it is she'd like to wear here without having to lift a finger.

She rises from her seat to greet Claire, leading her gently by the arm towards the table laden with cakes and tea. ]

How did you find getting into the Horizon this time around? How are you settling in?

[ So many questions, we're sorry Claire. ]

[beautifullies]

[ It's actually quite nice to feel like, at least for the moment, she's somewhere she belongs—even if she doesn't fully understand. The first question, she answers before they've even sat down. ]

I thought I'd have more trouble, but the meditating felt familiar. Nearly like when I'm working and in my own head.

[ Once they're seated, she takes in the delightful spread briefly reminded of the good times in France. ]

As for settling, it seems there's enough that feels familiar to keep me busy. Gardening, gathering plants. [ It isn't Lallybroch, but it's something. Which reminds her. ]

I have a question for you, if you don't mind.

aquila, the week of the quest — open

[theidlemaiden]

[ If anyone asks Hilda’s thoughts on animals, she’d be the first to say that she likes them. But if someone were to dig a little deeper, they’d quickly discover that the range of animals that she likes typically extends to cute ones like cats, dogs, horses, and wyverns strangely enough. If she had to go out on a limb to pass judgement on jellyfish they're...fine? She’s never really seen one and she thinks that they look like creatures from some kind of book, but of course she wants to help save them! However, anyone who knows her well enough will know that her love for fashion comes first and is probably the real reason she agreed to go to Aquila.

Any spare time she has during the week of the rescue efforts, Hilda spends at the public market starry eyed at the diversity of fabrics, dyes and materials there. On more than one occasion she can be overheard successfully haggling with the merchants. She’s quick to pick up on the nature of their cutthroat dynamic, playing them off one another like she’s a conductor and they’re her instruments. Need some help haggling? She’ll be more than happy to help. Or, maybe you want to antagonise her and make it difficult for her to get the thing she wants and start a bidding war?

She can also be found taking a tour of the arts and fashion district. Hilda flits from atelier to atelier and from gallery to gallery soaking in the culture of the city. In fact, with some combination of sweet talking and luck, she manages to get access to a couple of design houses to see how the garments or jewellery are made, leaving inspired and with a budding connection or two to designers. More often than not she can be found at a cafe or at the inn in the evening sketching out what looks like her own designs.

She may also be nursing a jellyfish sting or two on the last evening there looking a little teary eyed as she does so. ]

quest time!

[godshattering]

[ The chance to go to Aquila and get away from Cadens for a bit, this time theoretically with more freedom than in any Nocwich visits, is enough for Claude to sign up to help immediately. Other Summoned have told him a bit about the city and while he's pretty sure nothing will directly compare to Derdriu, it will be nice to see the seas again in person rather than through imagination alone.

And considering the seas - or rather, the sea life - is the exact reason they've been requested to walk through portals to yet another new location, Claude's rather pleased with this. Well, minus the part about the sea jellies being stranded since as they stand and survey the one they've been tasked with getting ready to be relocated back to its home, he feels rather sorry for it. ]

Think we should get some water to pour on it first? It looks like it could use a couple buckets' worth.

[ Maybe. This is his best guess from time spent fishing with Teach and applying this (questionable) knowledge to another water-dwelling creature. If it works for a fish then surely it'll work for this jelly, right? Worth a shot, so Claude glances down at the buckets in their gloved hands and then back to Hilda with a smile. ]

If it helps, I promise not to push you into the water while we fill these.

[ No promises for later, though. ]

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda can’t help but lightly roll her eyes from under the large sun hat she’s donned. A day on the beach, even if it’s a noble, volunteer effort, is still an opportunity to look cute while doing it. The gloves they had been given completely clash with what she’s wearing, not to mention ill-fitting and clammy inside. She looks positively miserable in them. ]

I don’t think a couple buckets of water are going to satisfy it when it normally lives at the bottom of the ocean.


[ The sass is most definitely uncalled for, but it has less to do with being callous towards the jellyfish’s plight and more to do with Claude’s maybe veiled threat of being shoved into the water by him. They both know that if he tried she’d pull him right along into the water with her.

She woefully looks down at the buckets before looking up towards him. ]

Maybe we should get a snack first. I missed breakfast rushing out here and we can’t be expected to work on an empty stomach. Then they’d have to carry us off the beach instead of moving the poor jellyfish back into the sea.

[ The reality of the matter is that she just took too long to get ready, hoping to drag it out as long as possible in the hopes that the day’s activity would be done by the time they got there. ]

[godshattering]

See, that's all the more reason any buckets of water will help it. We don't want it drying out on our watch or I think we might actually get in trouble for that, and not the fun kind of trouble.

[ His smile widens into a grin since in Claude's mind, this is just supporting his argument ("argument") for helping. Someone else nearby dumps a bucket out onto it as he peers over to see how the progress is going, and now it's Claude's turn to take a page out of Hilda's book. All those smiles disappear in order for him to turn a pleading look onto her like this is all pulling deeply at his heartstrings.

Which it is, kind of, but not to this level and where he knows exactly what he's doing while saying: ]

C'mon, Hilda. What would Marianne say about this poor, poor jelly if she was here?

[ For maximum effectiveness, Claude also says this while about facing and stepping backwards toward the shoreline to leave no options. For himself, anyway, since he's taking the buckets with him as he goes. He might also be doubling down on that expression to convince her to walk towards him if anything about this is working. ]

After this we can go treat ourselves to some fancy breakfast somewhere. I saw a couple places that said they have pastries, and they look kinda like those Faerghus ones you like. We can get a bunch of them.

[philancer]

[ He'd specifically waited for a morning they both had off together to seek her out in the markets, popping up behind her and looping his arm through hers with a bright grin. ]

Hiiiiiilda, I need your help, it's an emergency.

[ They really needed to stop owing each other favors, nothing good ever came from any of this. ]

[theidlemaiden]

[ Even if they didn't have the full morning off from rescuing jellyfish, it's not hard to steer Hilda's attention in a different direction. She looks up from the sparkly pendant in her hand up at Sylvain knowing that drawn out tone all too well already. ]

Is it a life threatening emergency or something that can wait until after I'm done shopping? Because you look like you're in perfect health.

[philancer]

Oh, I am. [ His exuberance doesn't dim in the least. ] In fact, you're just the person I need, because it happens to be a shopping emergency.

closed — sylvain | golden hour faded black

[theidlemaiden]

cw: mentions of death

[ After Petra told her the truth about her timeline and her fate in it, the nightmares about her death began. Hilda had hoped the first couple of times that it happened that they would fade with time as her brain adjusted to the reality, but that hadn't been the case. Death latched on, gripping its claws firmly around her and forcing her eyes open to the truth that she had always known about war: these things happened and death was likely an inevitability. Each death was different in her dreams. Sometimes it was a fatal arrow, other times it was a blade that slid neatly through her heart. Those were the easier nightmares to have; morbidly those felt kinder than an axe to her gut or being singed to a crisp because of a spell.

Sharing a bed with someone made it easier. Despite sharing a room with Petra, Hilda had been purposefully distancing herself from her friend, and while she liked Sylvain, Claude had been the obvious choice. She hadn't told him why she was having nightmares, or why she had asked to start sharing a bed at all and he hadn't pressed the subject although she knew he wanted to. But just like how he wasn't prepared to share his truths with her, she wasn't prepared to do the same with him either.

This particular night she's left feeling unsettled, and she pads softly towards the boy's room. There's a soft knock at the door and she calls out his name, before gently poking her head in after a beat of not hearing anything. Instead it's only Sylvain in the room. ]

Oops - sorry! [ Her voice is light, airy like nothing at all is wrong. ] I should have guessed Claude would be out doing whatever it is he's doing.

[philancer]

[ Sylvain wasn’t asleep yet. Even if he had been sprawled atop his bed, he was mostly staring at the ceiling, his own mind caught up in distant thoughts. He’d been withdrawn the past few days - ever since he’d woken to find Felix gone. Gone for good. He’d been here such a short time and there was so much Sylvain hadn’t even gotten to talk to him about.

Didn’t know if he’d get the chance to now, either. Which had had him in a far more somber mood and had him keeping to himself. He didn't want to inflict this on any of the others.

So the soft knock on his door at this late hour jolts him out of his dark thoughts in surprise, rolling over onto his side and lifting his head just in time to see Hilda poke her head into the room. A glance at Claude’s still-empty bed, and then he’s casting her a crooked smirk. ]

It’s fine, he’s probably lost track of time or something. You know how he gets. [ There’s a reason Sylvain has learned how to cast Sleep spells and it has everything to do with his roommate.

But that doesn’t explain Hilda at the moment, either. He hasn’t missed that she’s spent several nights here recently - he’d even teasingly offered to Claude that he could make himself scarce if the other man preferred. Which had really just gotten him an exasperated look and a deeply huffed sigh of long-suffering patience. Sylvain had thought the offer fully warranted at least.

Now, though, he’s wondering if this isn’t something else. The emotions he’s picked up from her over the past few days aren’t what he’s used to at all. Even now, despite her light tone and cheerful facade. It doesn’t at all match what he’s sensing.

So he leans up on one elbow and pats the mattress beside him in invitation. ]

No worries. I don’t know when he’ll be back, but you’re still welcome to stay and wait, if you want?

[theidlemaiden]

[ She lets out a huff as she rolls her eyes. ]

No you're right. We might have to put a tracker on him at this point. Maybe we can speak to Viktor and Jayce about it.

[ Despite her withdrawn and less sparkly state, Hilda had noticed that Sylvain had been a little less like himself too after Felix had left. Having never spoken about anything remotely serious with Sylvain, she didn't know how to approach it, and she hadn't the faintest idea about any of his other thoughts or feelings around the cranky sword wielder; she simply assumed that he was feeling the affects of a friend departing back to an unknown fate.

Not speaking with him on a deeper level is partly her own fault. She's never considered Sylvain more than a person to go to for a fun time, because who wanted to talk about serious things? Look where it had gotten her with Petra. Which is why it doesn't even cross her mind to talk with Sylvain about her nightmares, and she can't help but slip back into old ways. She can't help the impish quirk of her lips as she slips through the door, gently closing it behind her. ]

No funny business, though, okay? I'm a lady.

[ They both know she isn't a proper lady of any sort, at least not when she's putting it on for someone. Slipping beside him, she makes herself as small as possible, pulling her knees up to her chest before nudging him slightly with her shoulder. ]

This is a little past your bedtime. Why are you up?

[philancer]

[ He shifts over a little more to give her plenty of room, but then she goes and curls herself into a small ball anyway. Making a sound under his breath, he reaches out to snake an arm about her waist and drag her back against his broad chest, letting her lean there if she wanted, his own posture relaxed and comfortable as he drapes in against her. ]

I never employ funny business, seduction is a Very Serious Matter. [ But he shoots her a wink to show he's just playing, wanting to put her at ease. And also proving those words to be an absolute lie. Maybe. Probably?

At least he can be honest where her question prods, even if he makes a face and then flops back dramatically onto the mattress once more. ] Can't sleep. You either?

closed — eddie | i wanna be part of something timeless

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda had been serious when she said that she'd offer Eddie a chance to ride a wyvern (even if it wasn't "real", it was still the closest thing they had barring an actual wyvern showing up in Abraxas). She had yet to see even a strand of dyed pink hair, but she had already made up her mind that she'd follow through with her promise whether or not he actually dyed his hair. Giving in on a bet before it even played out was very unlike her, but she told herself it was out of kindness and less to do with the fact that she was going soft.

They set up an appointed time and she's waiting gates of the monastery albeit a little lost in thought, absently keeping an eye out for a shocking head of hair to appear out of...well she isn't sure. Maybe Eddie will appear on the path leading to her domain or maybe he'll appear out of thin air. She's resigned herself to not expecting anything particular in the Horizon. ]

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie has honestly just been hoping that his lack of pink hair doesn’t get pointed out. He’s not usually one to break promises or not hold to his end of an agreement, but his hair is kind of a big deal, and he’s beginning to think that that maybe he shouldn’t put it on the line for a sake of a joke anymore.

At least he’s punctual to make up for it, and he neither strolls up the path nor appears out of thin air. After learning that basically anything goes in the Horizon, he’s been working on his entrance. He literally appears in a cloud of smoke, a loud guitar riff, and—is that lightning?

Basically, it’s a lot. It’s just a lot, and he beams with pride as the smoke clears and he takes a bow. ]

Hey! Thanks for the invite.

[theidlemaiden]

[ Everything about Eddie's arrival — the smoke, the loud guitar (at least she thinks it's a guitar, she hasn't heard it quite like that before) and the lightning startles her and she can't help the startled scream from her mouth as she stumbles a little backward on the step. The back step catches her and she falls to her butt looking up at him with a huff. ]

Eddie!

[ She'd be scolding him if it weren't for the laughter that ends up following his name. ]

What was the noise?