Academy Dreams

[heartofarapier]

Who: Eirika, Open
When: Nov. 11 - Late Night
Where: Academy Grounds
What: What happens when you wake up to a horse eating your hair? You wake up to a horse eating your hair.
Warnings: Not Applicable
Note: Action or prose! Your choice!



[It was Ephraim's voice that she heard. Asking her if she knew who he was. And after that, there was nothing. It seemed without an interruption that she was content to be left in sweet slumber beneath a fruit tree shedding its leaves for the autumn season. At least up until the white horse that stood patiently at attention suddenly lost its said patience and with its head stirred her to something more awake.]

...Ephraim?

[Except it wasn't Ephraim at all. Unless Ephraim had suddenly become a horse. And while she was sure nothing she saw could be real, she also believed that in any moment the dream that she'd been reunited with the academy would hastily end, leaving a reality she couldn't picture being warm or welcoming.]

Comments

[hairkink]

[ Since his arrival, Koujaku had made a point of patrolling the Academy Grounds to simultaneously learn the lay of the land, and the keep an eye out for his blue-mulleted best friend, should he actually be around.

He had been on one of said patrols when he spotted someone lying on the ground nearby. Under the shade of a tree, it wasn't an entirely weird scenario, especially on a nice day like this. It was only when he spotted the familiar teal locks splayed on the ground that he decided to actually go and investigate. ]

Eirika? what are you-- [ doing...? Apparently getting her beautiful hair chewed on by a horse. Koujaku would be having none of that, and hurried over to try and put a stop to that before the animal got its nasty slobber all over her hair.

Oh and to make sure she was okay. That too. ]

Oi, Eirika, you okay? Can you hear me? [ He asked as he knelt down, batting the horse away and gently prying her hair from its mouth, ] Knock it off.

[heartofarapier]

[True that she tensed. True that she was less concerned about her horse being overly friendly and more concerned about how Koujaku completely ignored the rules of personal boundaries. Or maybe that wasn't what bothered her, but more or less the concept that it seemed some grand dream gone completely awry.

It was... a dream, right?

And it took her some consideration before she could find it in her to speak up. Eying her dark-haired hero for some silent moments, she shook her head.]

Koujaku? [Lifting her hands, she carefully drew her hair from his caring grasp.] I appear to be fine, but-

[How to say what she was thinking?]

-What are you doing here?

OH MY GOD WHY AM I BAD AT TAGS TODAY

[hairkink]

[ He released her hair easily enough, just glad that it was out of the horse's mouth. Last he checked, horse slobber wasn't good for split ends or anything. ]

What do you mean...? [ he was here to find his dumb friend, go to school and deal with the android invading his personal space every day, ] From the look of things I'm saving you from a potential bad hair day, [ a nod to the horse for emphasis. rude. ]

What are you doing out here? Sleeping under a tree out in the cold, you might end up getting sick.

NO YOU'RE CUTE IT'S OKAY

[heartofarapier]

[Her horse whinnied in response, as if to imply Koujaku simply had no sense of style. Didn't he know that getting hair styled by a horse was the most recent fad in Magvel? What an outsider!

Eirika tipped her chin up to eye the tree above her, still somewhat cloaked in leaves, though undoubtedly that wasn't going to last much longer.]

I wasn't- [Sleeping? Tapping at her chin with some thought, she shook her head.] I wasn't sleeping. [Or was she?]

[Shifting, it took using the tree as temporary support to make her way to feet and brush herself off. Still trying to put everything together, she only found herself more questions.]

I mean to say that I'm almost certain I wasn't.

nO OMG

[hairkink]

[ Excuse you, horse, if anyone knows fashion it's Koujaku and his fabulous accessories. hdu. ]

No? It sure seemed like you were asleep, [ unless she was passed out? He has no idea, either way, it was kind of weird.

Koujaku moved to stand with her, hands hovering just in case she needed further support; only retracting them when she was on her feet, ]

What else would you be doing, lying under a tree like that? You didn't fall or anything, did you?

Yup. It's official.

[heartofarapier]

[She didn't say anything immediately, mostly because she was still trying to figure out what was going on, why he was there, why of all things Eirika would either see in dreams or the Everlasting would be Koujaku. Just what was that saying?

That hearts were fickle? She was sure that had been said to her once before. Yet surely that didn't apply to her.

So when she looked back to him, lifting her hands to straighten her tunic so it sat properly, she found herself shaking her head slowly.]

I don't know, as odd as that sounds. Thank you for your assistance all the same.

FOR FUCKS SAKE, ME

[hairkink]

[ His brows furrow as he looks her over again. She doesn't have any visible wounds, and save for the horse chewing on her hair and the few leaves that had tangled themselves in it - one of which he promptly reached for and carefully pulled out, - it didn't look like there was any damage to her head. ]

You're welcome, I couldn't just leave you out in the cold like that, [ getting chewed on by horses and all that, ] Do you want to head inside with me? Maybe warming up a bit will help. [ and if she says yes, Koujaku has his arm at the ready to offer it to her. ]

[heartofarapier]

["Do you want to head inside with me?"

Where?

Undoubtedly inside one of the buildings for the academy. Ironic that after what she'd seen in Magvel that she would think of the one place that gave her a temporary feeling of ease. What did people call that? Escapism?

Eirika looked like she gave his offer great thought, even as she subconsciously curled her arm loosely about his, just under so her fingertips might splay over his wrist.]

What of my steed?

[And on cue her horse joined them on Eirika's other side with another whinny.]

[hairkink]

[ He smiles as she takes his arm, though it fades when she mentions the horse. ]

Ah... well, I don't think he can come inside with us, but maybe there's a stable around? [ he has no idea, he hasn't really been paying attention to things like horse stables. ] We could take a look around first, if you're up for it.

[heartofarapier]

Stables...

[Right. Because the academy had stables. She'd seen them before. She knew where they were, right? Looking from Koujaku to her horse, she lifted her free hand to pat him down gently.]

I apologise, Aubrenard. You can't accompany me for now, but I can't imagine you would be too content tied up either.

[Turning her attention back onto Koujaku, she continued.] I have seen them here before. You do not need to escort me, as that seems troublesome to you.

[hairkink]

Sorry, big guy. [ he teasingly said to the horse accompanying them. ] We'll find something for him, it shouldn't be too hard - this place is pretty big.

[ and if she knew where the stables were... ] If it was troublesome, I wouldn't have offered, right? I don't mind coming along, unless you're tired of me already.

[heartofarapier]

No. I wasn't- [She shook her head in a rather quick protest, likely too serious for her own good. Drawing in a deep breath to keep her composure in one piece, Eirika attempted to better explain herself.] That was not the implication. Of course you may, if you would like to.

[And she said nothing of his company, for she hadn't tired of it. If anything, she thought it rather comforting considering what she'd seen before. And in some distant way, his jesting made her think of Ephraim and to be fair, he was probably the one who could bring such solace in her direction. That was just a thing brothers did.]

If I remember correctly, there was a clearing behind the wings of the instructional classes. [Which meant any of her leading was done mostly by muscle memory and not so much thought.] Thank you, again.

[hairkink]

[ Chuckling softly under his breath, Koujaku gives her hand a reassuring pat, ] I was just teasing you, Eirika. [ she was awfully cute when she was flustered though.

He almost seems surprised when she mentions where the stables might be located, glancing in the general direction (he thinks) of the instructional classes. ] Do they give horse riding classes or something here, too? For them to have stables like that, I'd have to assume so... [ at least that was a ... semi-normal thing to have at a boarding school, right? Compared to some other things he had seen and heard since his arrival, it kind of was. ] You don't have to keep thanking me.

I'm 2 stupid and 2 late

[mohawk_tomahawk]

[Connor was ready to act.

At three days, he assumed she was very busy with school work. At five days, he started to worry. At a week, he started his search.

Her room was unlocked, he entered. Everything was there where it was usually. Things on the walls, his painting. The flowers. On the desk, the papers. Her homework.

Everything doesn't seem out of the ordinary. If she left, she would have said something and taken her things.




Something hit his stomach.

Something wasn't right. Not something good.

He had to be careful. He had to make sure she was actually missing and not being completely wrong.

Two more days later, no word. More worry. It was seriously worry now. Somewhere in his heart, he was at a panic mode. Of course, panic modes look different for Connor. His panic turns into only action and anger. So he decided to investigate further.

Ten days, still no word...Then he thought, Eggman.

Eggman.

If he did anything, he was her greatest enemy. If he did.

He will kill him. He had put his Assassin ways on hold because there were no Templars other than his father, Connor didn't kill civilians. Eggman was an antagonist, a villain. He harmed the people. He wasn't a Templar. But he was a bad man. Who needed to be stopped. Templar or no. But killing came with a larger price here since the society worked different. Then again, non Templars have threatened his friends before. They were met with a cross Connor that sent those threats back.

If Eirika was in his grasp. Or worse, dead.

...He would end him.

Four more days, Connor followed Eggman closely and tried to keep a low profile. As much as he wanted to point a finger, he had no proof. Not even a body.

This was the day that he considered forgetting that. Confronting him. But it was then when he was on one of his patrols in the forest. In the distance, from the trees, a teal head of hair and a horse. He carefully came closer.

It was her. It was her and she was alive.

Thank...thank goodness.]

...Eirika.

[Suddenly, he came down the tree. Just like that. Hood on for the moment. No, he wasn't done speaking. Even through the hood, you could see those eyes. Those eyes that have those tinges of worry.]

Eirika, where have you been? I thought-

[...
I thought I lost you.]

I could have sworn it was Eggman. I thought for a moment, he had taken you. Are you alright? You are not harmed, are you?

[heartofarapier]

[Reuniting with Aubrenard was something that left her with only questioning most things, if not everything. Koujaku for one. Herself for another. What she'd seen and heard. What she'd witnessed. What she remembered.

When Connor happened upon her, saw her with those expert eyes of his, she was walking in something of a slower pace. Oddly casual, which wasn't how she felt on the inside at all. Perplexed and confused. A litle incredulous. A lot of disbelief and skepticism. Wariness to the utmost. A single sound and a single bound from the assassin did set her on edge and she had wasted no time on resting a hand upon the hilt of her sword, something far more elegant than the rapier she had once been so accustomed to.

And when she heard him, an ache that had once been dull sharpened almost immediately. Dreams into nightmares evidently and that was what she felt it was when they crossed paths. Like he was nothing short of a phantom of the air and she was either entirely too delusional or Death's Embrace had a humourous way of mocking her. And the things she'd wanted, but wasn't permitted to have. But that was probably all the better for Connor.

She didn't reply to him at first, despite the way she tensed and set her weight on the footstep back she took - in the event that she'd had any reason to sprint in the opposite direction. And then she shook her head at him, which was something like an answer to his question. But her words were murmured and not as content as she would have liked them to be.]

Divine Providence has a way of toying with me, it would seem. You are a sight for my eyes, indeed, yet naturally even in the Everlasting I would have expected to see you.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

What are you saying?

[No really. Really. What was that you were going on about? He knew he didn't like it, however it even came up.]

Eirika...Eirika, you have been missing for almost two weeks, I had assumed. I thought the worst had happened.

[You...kinda scared him actually. It all scared him. He didn't want to lose you, alright. He really didn't.]

So I do not understand.

[He removed his hood now. So she could see him as himself. He got closer to her so they can talk properly.]

[heartofarapier]

The worst?

[Her eyebrows knit together as she thought about what he had to say. What was the worst thing that could have happened. Her dying, she supposed. Seth would have said that. Ephraim seemed to have more faith in her, though.

And briefly, she thought she heard him again, but it was more or less the distant memory of him. Eirika turned just enough to look behind her where there was nothing but the endless fields and trees. Looking back to Connor, she found herself shaking her head again.]

Two weeks? A fortnight? I don't understand what's happening. Why you're here. Why I'm here. I don't understand what you're saying. All of this has been nothing short of perplexing. I'd thought it to be a dream. I'd thought I'd-

[She paused and almost bit into her next words.] -...died, actually. I am so certain I had. They call it the Pale Horse back home. Seeing you here, and being here, it's the only thing that would make sense.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

[If you weren't already, you were worrying him. Quite a bit. Connor would now get closer. Where had she been? To make her lose herself in such a way? Her mind? Her spirit? What horrors could have transpired for the princess.

He was too worried.

If he heard correctly, it sounded like she DID think she was dead. And he wasn't here. Not really here.

He was real. He had snap her out of this whatever it was. It was too creepy, to disillusioned to let it go on for another moment. Taking his hands, he gently caressed her head in them, looking at her.]

I do not know what could have happened to even have that come from you. I am here, real. Understand that at the very least.

[heartofarapier]

[He reached for her and what it did manage to do was capture her attention so completely that for many moments, she almost tried to worm her way out of his grasp. The concept of touching in dreams and death didn't seem impossible. She'd touched plenty of things in dreams. She'd felt pain in dreams, hadn't she? The sorts of falling out of trees or tripping when she was a child.

Her hands lifted and after a moment, she hesitantly set them against his, finding a pleasant warmth that was both familiar and entirely too foreign. Like it was a flash of memories that set across her mind. Things she had deliberately put aside simply because she hadn't been able to be at her best when she thought of him.]

But how can that be? You hardly look any different than the last time I saw you. As tall, as strong, and as kind. [Then she drew his hands from her face, but continued to hold them in hers.] No... You say it has only been a fortnight for you, yet it has been half of a calendar year since I have seen you last. I never believed I would see you again. Perhaps that is why I could believe it if I were fooling myself otherwise.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

[All the more why he's convinced it was Eggman's doing now. His face soothed when she touched it. To think, once again it felt like she was taken from him outside of his control.]

Eggman, do you think this was all his doing? He had...manipulated you in such a way before. What do you remember last?

[He asked this as he wormed his way to have him take one of his hands to hold hers. The concern never left.]

...Where were you last?

[heartofarapier]

[She shook her head when he mentioned Eggman. Too eerie and close to home for it to be false, or for anything he said not to be given serious consideration. And yet it felt all too surreal to her and perhaps that was because she had grown accustomed to spend her days without the Native.]

The... Darkling Woods?

[Was that right? Even Eirika didn't seem to know, but much of the land outside of Renais was new and uncharted territory for her.]

L'Arachel was leading us to Rausten. For the Sacred Stone.

[Then she shook her head at Connor.]

Magvel. I was in Magvel... [There was a lot she could have gone into. Her expression darkened as she considered everything that had happened. So where were they, then? Ephraim and the others, if she wasn't dead. Was it like the months before when she had lost none of that time? It would have been a pleasant lie.]

[mohawk_tomahawk]

[...Okay and where was that? From how she explained it, sounded like:]

...That is your home, is it not?

[Would Eggman really make her believe she was at home for half a calender year? What would that mean? What would that accomplish? Connor had no hard believing he couldn't be so cruel, but why the horse? And now he noticed the sword.

Something really wasn't sitting right about this.

He closed his eyes in thought.]

There must be an answer to find. This does not make sense.

[Back to being concerned.]

For now, let us get you inside. Everything...is how you left it, I assure you.

[heartofarapier]

You are the second person to worry so and think that somehow my going inside should somehow answer all of the questions you have.

[She released his hand in favour of taking up the reins of her horse once more. Just simply as if to say she had no intention to leave him behind. So perhaps finding him shelter near the quarters would be a wiser thing than to let him wander too freely.]

I could not explain it. I have not the knowledge on how to. But I know what I saw. I know what I experienced. And not you, or anyone else can call that into question. [Not that she thought he was, but the idea that he thought it was Eggman, of all people. It simply made no sense. Why would that man try to send her home anyway?]

I only wonder why it was that at such a dire time that I would be here. Why so little time has passed for you and yet not for me. And yet I concede, for I have not forgotten the way you once did concern over me.

[As if it happened so long ago.]

[mohawk_tomahawk]

I had not done such a thing.

[Yeah. He said it just like that. It might not have been accusatory of her, but he was too stubborn to let it slide and not go without some clarification.]

I am just as confused. I can only piece with what I know. This place still seems far too strange to be able to understand it.

If it were another trick of the land, then I must know. I will find those answers.

[heartofarapier]

[She didn't say anything at first, but she did resume a somewhat slow and casual stride, with the expectation that Connor would accompany her. But when she did speak, it was a bit concise and direct. Diplomatic in its own right and yet very telling of the underlying sentiments with it.]

I am not positive I wish to aid you in these answers you seek. I am not positive I wish to be here.

[For while she knew in the very depth of her that seeing him was something that... was immeasurably good, to say she was not terrified to be apart of him would have been a falsehood.]