victory_road | March Catchall [closed]

Cherrygrove is a lovely city and one Lorenz has grown quite fond of. More than that, though, it's been recommended that he go there for medical reasons as well. Something about the spa being able to show him some techniques to manage his symptoms. But he hadn't expected to have company for this little venture. Still he was glad not to be alone.

"I do hope you can find somethings to entertain yourself with while I am working with the massage therapist here, Ashe." He offers a small, almost guilty sort of half smile before sipping at his tea once more, plucking unenthusiastically at the bowl of fruit beside his breakfast. The amount of food he's expected to start eating on a daily basis is patently ridiculous, so far as he's concerned.

I know it has been clear to everyone already but I feel it is worth stating outright that certain symptoms that I have previously been able to manage easily with Faith magic are causing far more trouble here. After speaking to the medical experts here I have a rather extensive regimen I need to follow. If something happens where I need assistance Stephanie will have a backup inhaler for emergencies and be able to offer instructions as to what to do.

There is other information that I feel you should all be aware of. While this is largely only relevant to those of us from Fódlan To save any confusion or need to clarify things with others I thought it best to include everyone. I have attached a document that explains what seems to be a gap in our overlapping knowledge.

[And, as promised there is an attachment included.]

[Private addition for Byleth]
Professor. I wished to warn you before you read further that... much of the information included is in regards to those responsible for your father's death. You may wish to wait until you are alone or at least not in public before reading.

This isn’t the first time Grant and Felix have gone drinking - and used that as an opportunity to chat about their shared relationships with less risk of either of them getting self-conscious. This time, however, Grant’s got a secondary goal in mind.

Or… well, no, confessing to Felix is his primary goal, if he’s honest. It’s just that-- he can’t just jump right into that. Yes, he intends to say it as clearly and concisely as he can when the time comes, but there’s… something else that’s still concerning him, and he’s got to check that first.

So, once it’s clear that Felix is (unsurprisingly) not interested in small talk, he gets right to it. “I wanted to check in with you, in regards to… well, the rest of us starting new relationships, and how you're feeling about that."

He can't help it. Lorenz.... is pacing. A lot. The announcement and the subsequent call to action among the others in the house has him all but vibrating with anxiety. Not only are none of his pokemon even close to being of a level high enough to be useful.... the idea of getting rammed by another big angry bird is enough to have him freeze up. Not only the encounter with Sandalphon weeks back but the memory of Ladislava looming over him on her wyvern, suddenly blocking his view of Ferdinand and Byleth and-

He shakes his head, huffing a sigh and turning on his heel to head back into the kitchen. He can get more tea (herbal now, he's apparently been drinking too much caffeine) and find something to snack on to ease his nerves. Mister Whiskers barely twitches an ear in his direction as he leaves, only to very nearly run smack into Sylvain.

"O-oh! I- Apologies. I thought you'd have... gone with the others?"

Things are warming up, plants will be able to get started soon and it's no surprise that Dedue is out in the yard looking after some of his previously planted specimens. The thing is, with Dimitri and the others discussing a new location, somewhere with more room, he's not entirely sure of the details, Lorenz can't help feeling like poor Dedue is going to need more help. So after running through their morning drills and trying to have Safrano help teach Yuzu a few things about horsemanship... Lorenz is left contemplating the variance he's going to have to put into his approach with his new steed.

The differences between training a flighty, high energy saddle horse and a hard headed draft are... a new challenge for him. One he's actually rather excited for. But that means more bonding with the young mudbray and so Lorenz is going to hover outside for a time, watching Dedue work. Reminded of the times he'd do the same in the greenhouse years ago and blushing faintly.

"Is there anything I could assist with, Dedue?" He finally asks after a time, after he's rested a bit since running Safrano through his training and using the blasted inhaler to ease the tightness in his lungs after.

[The text comes a day or two after Felix's birthday. Most of the message is the selfie Sylvain obviously took.]

sylvain insisted that we send this right now
with the picture
so here it is.
we're engaged.
~~again.~~]

[Felix typed and then deleted that last line.]

It's finally time. Not for the big one, no, but still a major step for Crookedkit. He's been talking it up all week, that he has something special he wants to do on the night of the full moon and he'd like for as many people as possible to attend. All that excitement has been coupled with a few prolonged absences as he's run off into the woods to make some kind of preparations, and now it's finally ready.

The spot Crookedkit has staked out is lovely, an underdeveloped section of beach that's tucked away slightly behind the treeline. He's enlisted help from his Pokemon in pushing a sturdy rock out into the sand, which is now where he stands with his back to the water and the moon above it. There isn't really anywhere prepared to sit on the beach, and all of Crookedkit's team is gathered up, Bluepaw laying flat on the sand and Needlepaw sticking her pointed snout out from among the waves behind him to watch while all his terrestrial teammates are already grouped up before him on the sand.

Standing on top of his rock and looking over both all his Pokemon and over everyone who took the time to humor him in the middle of the night, Crookedkit feels more than a little nervous, but he sucks in a deep breath and starts anyway.

"Let all, um...Pokemon and Trainers and Breeders awake right now gather beneath this rock for a special meeting!"

Already his heart sinks a little at the wording. No Tiderock, no Clan name to invoke...it will have to do, though.

Hello friends, I forgot to share these, but I had some of the cruise staff help take pictures of Dedue and I's vacation to Sevii. I thought some of you might enjoy them!

[Upload: img23.jpg, img24.jpg, img25.jpg... there are several pictures. Some of their pokemon, some of the sunset, Dedue drinking some kind of fancy drink out of a novelty glass, both of them playing some of the games on the ship and there are- oh. There are a few of both of them near the pool!

At first glance they look normal! But... all of them have a kind of vibe about them, in that Byleth is never looking at the camera in this set. His gaze is set on... is something wrong with Dedue's swimsuit? ...Oh. Oh. It happens to be very uh. Form-fitting. In these ones, Byleth's suffering is almost palpable. ]

Edited 2022-03-18 04:09 (UTC)

It started, over a year ago, with the realization that he and Chip would be here for a while, and he should probably pick up their education himself. So he’d started looking into lesson plans, and eventually began homeschooling them.

Then Eri joined the group, and it became clear over time that she hadn’t had much of an education at all before arriving, so - might as well pick that up.

And… well, Crookedkit is a literal feral kitten, so obviously he’s never been to school. But, now, living as a human child, he could… probably benefit from knowing how to read, and do some basic math.

…So, in short, that’s how Grant ended up entrenched in organizing homeschooling lessons for three children at different points in their education.

Honestly, he’s just glad that there are other adults around invested in said children’s respective educations; with the workload already split, he can more easily focus effort into his part of things, interspersing lesson planning with breeding notes as he works in public areas of the house. The lessons themselves, meanwhile, he tries to hold outside when the weather is good enough… or, if that doesn’t work for one reason or another, he’ll just. Warn everyone they’re gonna be inside. He doesn’t really want to surprise anyone with Child Math Time if they’re trying to do something else.

[_{Oh ... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh by the Gods. Ohhhhhhh sweet merciful ancestors. The past 24 hours of Corrin's life can be described like a Katy Perry song, honestly. His head ... was throbbing like nothing else. He's never had a hangover like this before.

Corrin has woken up in --?! Where ... was he? This was ... inside? Somewhere? Not his tent! Not anywhere he's seen before! How did he even get here!?

With a groan, the prince attempts to sit up - but ultimately gives up and crashes straight back down into the sofa he was laying on. Whoever looked after him (thank you Byleth) in his drunken state was clearly very attentive, as he had a glass of water by his side and a blanket draped over him.

The last thing Corrin remembers prior to arriving at the Emblem House™️ was chatting at the bar with Felix and then -- nothing? Nothing at all?? A blank??? ... He kind of remembers Byleth being there. Did they party into the night? No, Corrin, you didn't party into the night. Maybe if he hadn't drank his body weight in Pinap Coladas he would remember this, but ... alas!} ]

Oof ... [_{His mop of dusty blonde hair can be seen poking out of the blanket, with his Flygon laying by his side and ... ah. Finally, his trainer was awake. The green dragon prods Corrin as if to be all - "you alive?" - and miraculously, he was. Just a bit scruffy-haired and hungover.} ]

Ugh ... Clem, I think I'm dying. Where are we...?

As April draws ever nearer, Dimitri seems to be getting... more tired. Or maybe it's just that his exhaustion shows a bit more as he yawns frequently in the mornings even as he comes back from training with Felix. The circles under his eyes don't seem to be getting deep again, which is a good thing to see, but he does seem to spend more time away from the house. Maybe it's for naps? Dimitri isn't falling outright asleep, after all, which has to mean something.

This isn't too unusual. There are a lot of times when Dimitri has ended up very busy. Coming to Johto has give him far more hobbies of idle pleasure than being the crown princes of a kingdom did, funnily enough. Practicing drums, woodworking, sketching his Pokemon and coming up with art activities for the kids, occasionally going out to get better at being a handyman just for the fun of it. Certainly, him planning and working with construction workers on their new home takes up a good bit of his time as well.

So it is decently likely that no one picks up on things being up... Not immediately.

And it doesn't help that Dimitri can be, in fact, worryingly quiet.

Once upon a time, a time that wasn't all that long ago truly, Dimitri once had to fend for himself in the wilderness even as he waged his own small war against Imperial forces making their way through the mountains of Faerghus. A difficult thing to do, at times, when a single suit of armor was all that he had to protect himself with and yet would also give away his position easily if he wasn't careful.

Sometimes that meant waiting for ages, knowing that a patrol would come but not just when in the day. Sometimes that meant bullrushing forces before they had a chance to prepare. Sometimes, it was foregoing a piece of armor, more than one, so that he could land a sneak attack.

Dimitri does not bring to mind the image of a sneaky man, but he does seem to manage quite well regardless.

It becomes, in the end, a matter of people picking up on the absences - whether wondering if something is up despite Dimitri's claims to the contrary, or simple luck at spotting an empty room in the dead of night, or a figure in dark clothing slip out.

Or maybe find him as he waits for Martlet and apprentice-in-training Cinnamon to signal their findings... Or even him in the middle of smacking down a Team Rocket Grunt.

He has a lot of them to take out after all, whether directly in Vermillion or connnecting cities. And there's no rest for the wicked. .

Spa Vacation w/ Ashe

text for all adults; @rose_of_gloucester

for felix; sometime after Bird Crisis

Bird Crisis: Meanwhile, at the homestead

HONSE for Dedue