middaeg | [Closed] We work hard, and then we work harder.

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[Closed] We work hard, and then we work harder.

Who: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Various
When: Early June
Where: Aefenglom and Dorchacht, and At Sea
What: Edelgard does some quests with her CR
Warnings: Violence, and Edelgard's usual warnings of human experimentation, blood in a vampiric context, and talk of death and war.

At Sea (For Corrin)

It's strange being on a ship, the rolling motions of the waves against the wood not enough to really bother Edelgard, though how much of that was her vampiric body and how much of it was her own fortitude was anyone's guess. Either way, she wasn't in her element and it probably showed in the stance she had adopted, staring stoically out over the moonlit water. The glimmer of silver off the horizon was entrancing, beautiful and distracting...but she couldn't deny that she was any less afraid of the water, no matter how it looked. Maybe it was strange since she didn't exactly need to breathe, but fears weren't easy to let go of.

Either way, she's definitely making waves in the bond, mulling over various things, and likely subconsciously calling out to at least one of her Bondmates.

Below Decks (For Byleth)

During the early hours of evening Edelgard's more active and attempts to be more social, since she can't exactly come out of her vampire-proof room during the daylight hours, or risk bringing people into it. It's simply a bad idea. She's not restless, exactly, but she has a lot of pent up energy. And even the Emperor isn't above pestering her other bondmate during their journey. So, she knocks on the door of Byleth's cabin...hoping to find something to occupy herself this evening. And time with a dear friend certainly is a good way to occupy oneself.

The Silent Forest (For Saber)

Edelgard was happy to take on this particular quest, and even happier to have the opportunity to do so with Saber. She'd seemed capable and competent during their meeting, and so when a pair of Wilder Witches were asking around for guards during this trek, it had seemed as good a time as any to get to know one another better. Fully armored, with Aymr slung over her back, the Emperor was covered in head to toe as the wagon the Wilders had brought rumbled out towards the forest path, the last rays of a fading sun not quite sunk below the horizon yet. An early "morning" for her, but they did need to get going during the daylight hours, and her enchanted clothing was good enough protection until night fell.

"Were you on the original expedition out here?" Edelgard asks of her companion, curious.

[Further prompts will be in the comments. If you want to do something quest related with Edelgard feel free to ping me on Plurk at

intercession]

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He nodded. Mutely, Hubert raised a hand, tracing a simple design in the air. The few candles he normally used for light flickered to life, and a couple gentle spheres of light manifested to hover about the room.

His bedroom was spartan as always, with only a scares few personal items about; the Arrow of Indra propped up in a stand, a bookcase filled with textbooks and notes, and on the dresser, a tiny felt bat and a couple embroidered flowers. On a small table at the back of the windowless room sat the cage.

It's larger than the one the rats originally came in but not extravagant; just enough room for a couple shelves of varying height for the rats to climb on, a few curious small boxes with levers on them, and a wheel. On the bottom corner beneath one of the shelves, the two rodents had stuffed shreds of clothe into something vaguely resembling a next—they laid half-flopped and curled over each other, nestled into one sleepy ball of grey, white, and brown fur. To sensitive ears, the faint too-fast pitterpatter of tiny hearts could surely be heard.

Hubert almost left it at lighting the room; after a moment of hesitation, he placed a gentle hand on Edelgard's back. I am here. Something grounding, he could only hope.

It was very easy to pick up on the quick beats of the rodents little hearts. They drew Edelgard as surely as the sound of beautiful music or sizzling bacon. Heartbeats meant food, now, though that feeling was one she brushed aside almost as quickly as it arose.

Her own pulse quickened as Hubert's hand found her back and she stepped forward reflexively into the room. Her eyes watched the creatures in their cage with a fever-bright gleam, a sense somewhere between panic and curiosity rising up inside her. She'd heard enough about them now to have an idea of what the rats were like, how they behaved, and how harmless they were. Seeing them half-asleep helped, as he'd predicted, since she doesn't have to watch them move.

"...okay..." she murmurs, taking another step forward, eyes locked onto the cage. "This is...it's not so bad."

The anxiety grated against his nerves, a sensation no less real despite not being his own, like holding his hand before a fire's uncomfortable heat. Months of being Bonded to Bernadetta, at least, has made him adept at adept at warding off external fear and the like. Projecting at steady calm back was the best he could do in the moment.

Hubert ghosts behind her, watching quietly—the creatures would probably stir if he spoke. As it was, the grey one's ears half-perked at Edelgard's words, little snout and whiskers lazily twitching as she sniffed about with her eyes still closed. Then, the rat tucked her head back down, tail curling about the brown-and-white rat as she cuddled closer to her nestmate.

Edelgard watches as impassively as she can. She doesn't shy away at the movement, but her face twists up into a slight frown. Just for a moment, she considers walking away. But Hubert's presence, and her own curiosity...as well as the firm desire to not lose her nerve because of a rodent...push her to take a step forward.

She crosses the room in a few steps, looking down into the cage from about five feet away, giving herself plenty of room to retreat if need be.

"They...are...a little cute. In their own way."

A pleased note passes through the Bond. This already exceeded his hopes for the encounter—not that he had questioned Edelgard's resolve. He's even a little proud.

This time, the spotted one's ears raised, but when she tried to raise her head the grey rat's paws rudely splay across her face and push down so that Dust could lift her head and investigate the new voice instead.

The grey rat's snout twitches in little sniffs again as she squints in the uncharacteristically bright room, peering at this new human (?) near her cage—and freezes.

After a few stock-still seconds (Cara trying to squirm out from under her paws), Dust explodes into motion—away from Edelgard, diving behind the nest and disappearing under the cloth.

Things are going well. Things are going quite well. Edelgard can almost see herself reaching out to touch the cage, to let them sniff or something.

And then Dust freaks out and bolts away, causing Edelgard to jump almost a foot in the air. She half turns to mist, leaping back with a yelp.

"What?!"

Consternation quickly replaces what was in the Bond, but not enough to disturb his calm. Frowning, Hubert steps closer, peering over Edelgard and into the cage.

The brown-and-white one looks quite anxious as well in the wake of her rude awaking, chittering and tense and watching the bipeds in confusion. What prompted that? Hubert mulls it over in his mind. And after a few moments—

He starts to laugh. A low ambling chuckle in his chest, and he truly felt bad for it, but...

"I think you scared her."

Well. Even as sensitive as this experiment was, he still could savor the raw, absurd irony of it.

Edelgard wilts slightly, pulling her arms around herself. That's...she doesn't know how to take Hubert laughing at the situation, but she backs up a few steps so that the rats don't startle like that again.

"...I scared her? How? I just...stood there. Did I get too close?"

That burr of guilt twists into something much sharper. Cara stands frozen but for her twitching nose, watching the vampire tensely.

"You have my deepest apologies. That was entirely inappropriate." He'd even bow to make it a proper gesture, had there been the space for it. Hubert leaves another feather-light touch to her shoulder as he steps past Edelgard to the cage.

"Truthfully... I do not know. I'm still learning about these creatures." When Hubert approaches, the mottled rat relaxes a bit, hopping around to peer up at him. He fishes a little tin from his pocket. "They'd shown no such reaction to Bernadetta, nor their brief encounter with Lorenz. I hadn't expected anything of the sort."

From the tin comes a little pellet; Cara scurries forward when Hubert offers it, taking it into greedy paws and shooting a cautious look around his fingers at Edelgard.

"They're animals. It's not as though they can't tell what I am."

There's a faint twinge of sadness in her voice, and her sense. She's not really been too bothered by her transformation since her untimely passing, having learned to see the many benefits of it. But there are times when it's made starkly clear that she is different, one of the unliving.

"Prey can sense predator, and the living are typically unsettled around...people with my condition."

Her head shakes and she looks down at the little creature, keeping her distance from them still, for two reasons now.

That... was somewhat surprising, that twinge of sadness. In regards to her unnatural state, he understood, but was she actually saddened that the rats were spooked by her presence? Hm. He would have thought that a boon, all considered.

Hubert leaves Cara with her treat, tapping two fingers against the desk thrice, by the corner closest to the nest. He does it again when Dust doesn't show herself; a little grey head pokes out from under the scraps at the repeat, then quickly retreats. He frowns.

"That may be so, I don't recall the other animals reacting thus. Though, I suppose they all are predators."

He levitates to be of the treats through the bars of the cage, hovering it just beyond the nest. After a beat, Dust darts out to seize it, and returns to her hiding spot.

"Perhaps they only need to adjust. Even now, Cara seems significantly less perturbed than her sister."

Indeed, the slimmer rat only watched as she works at her treat.

Hubert has talked them up enough at this point that she's interested, enough so to want to get a good look at the duo at least.

She watches the one from her distant spot, violet eyes focused on the unmoving rodent, taking in the little details. The beady eyes, the twitchy nose, the tiny, hand-like paws. Honestly in this light, they are a little cute.

"Perhaps. She might be the less skittish of the two. Or she hasn't smelled Heidi and Ferdie on me."

"All possibilities."

Something mildly apologetic floats through the Bond as Hubert shakes his head.

"As I said, I have much to learn about them. I'm... woefully inexperienced with animals. I know that Dust is alarmingly clever for a rodent, and the more curious of the two. Cara largely seems to hold an interest only for climbing to high places."

Hubert shakes his head a little more sternly this time, and he frowns subtly. "A habit I am currently trying to break her of, as she has taken an interest in climbing me."

"That...does sound unfortunate."

Edelgard shakes her head, taking another step back before looking at Hubert. She feels uneasy, but it's not directed at him. Just, generally, she feels awkward about this.

"I think that this is probably the best I'm going to accomplish tonight. It's a start, but I feel like I'd rather leave them to their evening."

For a load of reasons.

"It is progress, though, so thank you."

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[Closed] We work hard, and then we work harder.

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