[ OPEN/CATCH-ALL ] the moon looks upon many night flowers.

[regrede]

WHO: sierra and you!
WHERE: the town, primarily the forest and the onsen.
WHEN: february!
WHAT: some open prompts, and closed starters below.
WARNINGS: general warning for vampirism/blood-sucking! i’ll update if needed.



i. blue moon rune (potentially, quest 47)

[ the trees are getting a little too close for her liking.

there’s only one solution for it, of course—push them back, just as the quest says. with the way that this town works, it seems reasonable enough that just pushing might work, as in actually shoving the trees, but sierra doesn’t really want to put herself through that in case it makes her look stupid. cutting them down also seems like a possibility, and an easy one at that, but that doesn’t seem altogether quite right either.

there are two ways to find sierra, at the edge of the forest. ]

a. in the daytime, just waiting for people to come by who look like they can take it, at which point she turns to ask a dire request.

I can destroy these… the only fee I ask is a small donation of blood.

b. under the light of the waxing moon, where she looks much more serious than her usual condescending, teasing expression. she’s staring at her own hand, where a lunar crescent mark glows softly. every now and then, she holds it up, as if checking it against the actual moon above.

Now… what shall we do…?

ii. toasty!

[ on a much lighter note, sierra fussed so much about having the baths put in, but guess who is a vampire and more or less incapable of appropriate body temperature regulation? it’s sierra. there are, again, a few ways to find her here—

a. actually within the baths, where she appears to have… passed out? someone should probably help her before she drowns.
b. …still within the baths, but now she’s in her bat form, just kind of… floating. she might be dead.
c. she’s free! sierra is outside the onsen now, with her clothes on, but her face is completely flushed and she looks thoroughly unsteady.

no matter what, she’s sort of having a bad time. ]




( as a note for the first prompt, even though it’s one reward per character, i’m totally willing to do whatever with however many people! sierra is destructive. as ever, PM me here or hit me up at pavaal for plotting! )

Comments

[noholdsbard]

It is a most curious interpretation of my achievements in life. [ Fate/ magic is weird like that. But his reply is a troubled one, as he keeps his attention on her rather than on the trees this time. ]

But my magic makes me a poor woodcutter, and a poorer musician still, since the sound of my affection for you rings chaos all around us.

[ As much as the world’s most inefficient lumberjacking can be called that, anyway. ]

Ah, my lady, it is really sad…

[regrede]

What romance isn’t fraught with chaos? I just wish it wasn’t such a brouhaha out there.

[ sierra is aware, by now, that tristan has a complicated relationship with his sorrowful past and with love in general—even their flirtations can take on quite a somber cant in the moonlight, like this. ]

[noholdsbard]

[ He sighs. ]

You have the right of it, my lady. All too frequently, love ends in misfortune. [ He feels a pang in his chest, remembering how she’d stabbed that man. He didn’t doubt for a moment that she’d had to, which bothers him all the more. ]

And yet…here we are.

[regrede]

Here we are.

[ sierra looks to him, something on her mind—all this talk of love reminds her, too, of some past romances to which he has alluded. ]

May I ask you a personal question? You’re welcome to respond in kind, if it pleases you.

[noholdsbard]

[ Inclining his head in assent— ]

Certainly, my lady. Though I fear that some questions may not have an answer.

[regrede]

I imagine this one does.

[ she gestures between her breasts, drawing a line down her chest, through the air. a mimic of the scar she saw in the ice castle, and she lifts her chin a bit, curious. ]

Where did it come from?

[noholdsbard]

[ He understands the gesture easily enough, and meets her question with a rueful smile. ]

A poisoned spear, my lady. [ He wonders if he’s saying too much. But within the oppressive nearness of the trees, it feels as though anything he says isn’t quite loud enough. As if the forest itself is swallowing voices whole.

He places a hand over his chestplate, under which that scar still throbs. ]

I hope you need no further elaboration. It is not a pleasant way to die—nor a quick one.

[regrede]

[ a poisoned spear, is it?

that’s not the way people die on the battlefield. that’s not how people die as soldiers, because a warrior’s death is one that is quick, and efficient for the person doing the killing. poison is a nasty, malicious trick.

she feels bad for him, and respects his privacy enough not to push him for more details. if he wanted to lament more, he would. ]

How vulgar.

[ and yet… a small, distant part of her resents that the same trick would not work on her. she does not mention this. ]

It does seem like the undead can never go peacefully, doesn’t it?

[noholdsbard]

[ Stabbing must not be a pleasant thing to think about, for a vampire. He can relate. ]

It seems to be the general theme of this world, I’m afraid. [ Thinking back to those illusions at Christmastime. ]

The past will haunt us and bind us to itself forever.

[regrede]

Hm, are you some sort of poet?

[ wryly asked, without truly expecting any kind of answer. instead, the question that she follows it with is something a little softer, this one sincere—and perhaps tinged with shades of girlishness, though simultaneously much, much older than such an innocent inquiry sounds. ]

Does it hurt?

[noholdsbard]

[ It reminds him of his master, truth be told—the wry sarcasm, the concern behind it. he feels something warm bubbling up within him at the question. ]

Not usually. I have learned to live with it.

[regrede]

That isn’t as reassuring as you seem to think.

[ still, she offers him a thin, wry smile. if he’s not currently hurting, or at least not as constantly as one might worry, then that’s all anyone could ask. ]

I have one last question. This one is mere curiosity. Is it the sort of pain you like to hold onto?

[noholdsbard]

[ It’s a more piercing question than she thinks, as his eyes fly wide open at the inquiry. ]

That is… [ He turns away, keeping his gaze focused on the encroaching woods instead. ]

It is my duty to bear it.

[regrede]

Hmm.

[ there’s no judgment, nor is there any curiosity in her tone. it’s as if she expected it, but at the same time, she would have been satisfied with any answer he gave her.

such a surprised reaction is strange, however. ]

We are the same, then.

[ a passing glance, at the rune on her hand. ]

[noholdsbard]

[ That reply does get him to glance back at her, his expression softening. ]

So we are. [ It’s incredible how that’s still somehow a revelation after what they’ve learned of each other already, though he can’t help but feel that surge of compassion for her regardless. ]

Then, if I may… [ Well, she did tell him he could, but he doesn’t go about asking for a woman’s secrets like this. ]

Was it a curse? From…him?

[regrede]

…

[ from him.

it was hard to tell at the time, but tristan probably did get a good look at her memories when the town was tossing them about like free candy at a festival. she saw his too, after all, but the rush of emotion made it hard to glean much detail. ]

No. [ a bittersweet smile. ] I was the one who dragged him down with me.

[noholdsbard]

Ah. [ It comes out as a gasp, dropping between them with the weight of his remorse. He turns away to gaze back at the trees, finding that a surge of emotion has made it difficult for him to meet her eyes. His fists clench, tightening around the shaft of his harp. ]

It is sad indeed… [ For her or the fallen man? He can’t quite say. ] When I had lived as a mortal man, there were many who would claim that a woman was but a seductress who leads men to ruin.

[regrede]

Would they be wrong?

[ after all, what is sierra but a seductress, promising eternal life instead of pleasures of the flesh? it was what drove rean mad, and perhaps it never would have gone so wrong if she hadn’t sunk her claws into his heart. of course, even now, she blames herself.

she loved him. she loves him still, as complicated as it is. ]

I am dangerous, you know.

[noholdsbard]

[ He wonders if he’d only imagined that twinge of regret in her reply. Certainly, that man in her memories hadn’t thought so. But then again, the best seductresses don’t usually get caught… ]


Certainly, you are seductive and dangerous. [ As vampires often are. But even so— ]

However, I cannot call you evil.

[regrede]

[ sierra laughs, more of a snort, when tristan acquiesces that she is practically a blight to the male gender. even if it isn’t said, she takes the implication because she wants it.

his next statement, however, gives her pause. ]

Oh no? Many would.

[noholdsbard]

[ Don’t confuse a blessing with a blight, Sierra! Geez ]

Then they are mistaken. [ There’s a lot of conviction behind those words. ] It is true that the potential for wickedness is inherent to all creation, but…

[ His gaze returns to the trees, and he shakes his head. ] I do not believe that evil is what drives your actions, my lady. Even this forest which now closes all around us must seek to protect what is its own.

[regrede]

…

[ it’s impressive, how easily her heart can be stirred when all he’s said, verbatim, is that she isn’t evil. sierra doesn’t think she is, after all—she’s nasty, she’s cursed, she’s dangerous, but the truth at the core of her being is that she cares about those she loves enough to bear this burden for eternity.

she’s quiet, not even breathing, for a beat. when she speaks again, it’s softly. ]

You should be careful about who you speak so kindly to. A maiden is liable to fall for it.

[noholdsbard]

My lady— [ Startled by the tenderness in her voice, he turns around, drawing closer to her. His hands reach up as if he might enfold her in an embrace, until he quickly clenches them into fists and remains where he is, a sad smile etched across his lips under the moonlight. ]

Oh, how sad. I certainly would be thrilled to capture the heart of one so fair, and yet…it is not mine to take. [ His hand reaches up, to trace the line of the scar over his chest plate, and he sighs. ]

Something yet lingers within you.

[regrede]

[ sierra knows as well as anyone that she isn’t ready, but tristan treats it with such care that she wonders, for a moment, if she could be—but her heart is still in tumult, with the blood practically still fresh on her hands, and tristan deserves better than to be a crone’s rebound. ]

I wish I could tell you that you’re wrong.

[ but, alas. he sees through her. ]

You’ve said it best, haven’t you? How sad.

[noholdsbard]

How I wish I were wrong. [ Being forced to kill someone you cared about…but they’ve talked about it once, haven’t they? About cruel, meddling Fate. ]

But the forest draws ever closer around us. [ They’ve done enough damage, he thinks, and this is no place to wallow in despair over their past lives. ]

We must make haste before it swallows us whole.