middaeg | [Open] Catch All for January (Some closed prompts)

Who: Edelgard von Hresvelg and You!
When: Pre-Snatched Plot, some Post potentially
Where: Dorchacht and Aefenglom
What: A Catchall
Warnings: Possibly discussions of torture, war, and 3 Houses Spoiler Warnings.

Tarnished Reality

[Unsure of what to expect when she stepped through the teleporter, Edelgard had gone fully prepared for the worst, insisting on wearing her scarlet battle armor, with her axe strapped in a leather thong across her back. When she found the city nothing like what she had been told, she'd initially been puzzled, but as it became more apparent that she was not going to be troubled she found herself relaxing fractionally.

Her changes were making it more difficult to function during the day, so she'd come at dusk, well rested and ready to explore the city. Moving among the people, her outlander dress marking her as a Mirrorbound as surely as the unusual battleaxe she carried, the Emperor was quiet through most of her wanderings. The sounds of a scuffle up ahead of her current path drew her up short, though and she stopped and looked around a corner.]

It seems all is not well. [Mumbled, but audible enough for any nearby to hear.] Do you think we should aid the guard?

Bond Lessons

[It's strange seeing other Mirrorbound being pulled up onto the stage, but so far she has avoided being ensnared herself. Watching the goings on is interesting enough, though, but she's still a little uncomfortable with it. So, she slides through the fringes of the crowd towards another unmolested Mirrorbound.]

Eager, are they not?

Home

[Edelgard has made it a point to attempt to win over support from the aristocracy early on, including personally investigating the Mist that had settled in there. The few supporters she'd managed to charm haven't quite turned on her, but when she makes her way out of the district she can feel something building. Tensions are rising, a thing she is extremely familiar with, and that's going to potentially be a problem.

It's not until she leaves the district and makes her way towards the Haven, the cool and crisp night air making her more alert than she might otherwise be, that she senses something amiss.

Eyes narrowed, she pokes her head around the mouth of an alley to see two graffiti artists hard at work. With an exasparated sigh she turns to wave a passing Mirrorbound over.]

Look at this nonsense...

Wildcard

[If you want to plot something out, in Dorch, out of it, a quest, anything else? HMU at

intercession and let's figure it out!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hopefully. Though, we'll see where things go, with the infection and all of that."

Shoot, she hhad no idea how this society worked, but she could tell Corrin's got something on her mind. That took center stage for her, more than anything in this city, anyway.

"I didn't say something to offend you, did I?"

Corrin had turned to look back at the view again, and a few seconds passed before she half-turned back to Edelgard and shook her head with a faint smile.

"No, you're fine. I was just thinking about my," she caught herself. "The man I thought was my father. He was...very much like that. Manipulative." She paused and sighed faintly. "A tyrant."

"I see."

It's not as though she could not empathize. Though, her first thought wasn't of her own father, who was a broken shell of a man. It was of Ferdinand, a brief flicker of the Aegir heir's face sticking in her thoughts.

"You would not be the first to overcome a troubled parentage. But you, clearly, are no tyrant."

She leaves out, of course, that a few would call her a tyrant as well.

That statement had Corrin laugh out loud, a startled, genuine sound, as if it hadn't even occurred to her.

"Oh I wasn't worried about that," she said, her chuckles fading into her words as she spoke. "I actually...well, it's a long story really, but I'd like to think I've done a lot to escape him. And help people."

Corrin might not have always thought the greatest of her accomplishments, but trying to save people from Garon? Trying to stop the war between Nohr and Hoshido and turn everyone away from his awful path? Yeah. She was proud of that.

"And that's what matters most. That you helped people."

Edelgard, a touch conflicted, decided to just spit out what she was saying. Maybe it would be helpful to Corrin, or at least provide some more context for the somewhat dark emotions inside her.

"You know by now that...some would call me a tyrant," Edelgard says slowly. "This isn't news...but in the end I believe that raising up those around you far outweighs the value of one's own pride and what others may think of you. The end result is the goal. Not the words they use to try and cut you. That includes the opinions of people who you think of, or thought of, as family."

Corrin couldn't really understand that people saw Edelgard that way, but she did know the woman was very driven, and wanted to change the world. And there were always people that would struggle against something like that.

"I'm not...completely sure I agree with you," she admitted. "Sometimes the ends are as important as the means. But I do think it's important to pick who we truly believe in. And cut out the people who would try to lower us."

She honestly wasn't sure that made sense even as she was saying it...

"I'm...not sure that I said that. Not entirely. There are lines that cannot, should not, be crossed. But sometimes, action is necessary. For the sake of real, lasting change and not something temporary words aren't always enough. I think you know that."

She understood what Corrin was trying to say, and she leaned against her Bonded, the touch enhancing the ever so pleasant feeling of their mental contact.

"My father once told me that we only live once, and so we should leave the world a better place than we find it, and that's all I've ever aimed to do."

Corrin found herself smiling faintly as Edelgard's weight shifted against her. She did understand what the other meant, really. It all just seemed so...complicated.

"It's good advice," she agreed quietly. "I think more people need to hear it."

"Well. It's hopefully a message we can spread."

Not I. Not Me. We.

"Thank you, by the way. For spending this time with me. I have precious few sunlit days left to me, and I am happy to spend them with you."

Corrin let out a soft sigh at that and shook her head.

"I don't mind. I love spending time with you." She hesitated. almost looking a bit embarrassed at that admission. "But we'll figure something out. There's no way a world with this much magic can't come up with a good umbrella for you."

"I hope so."

She...does hate the idea of losing this. And these moments. But is it worth the risk?

"Shall we head down now?"

"Mm...yeah."

Corrin reached out to catch Edelgard's hand again, lacing their fingers together as she started back to the stairs.

"I saw a nice place to get lunch, my treat."

And off they went.

[Open] Catch All for January (Some closed prompts)

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