@infideliis sent ; "Don't you dare move."

armoured-gloves remained tightly clenched around his spear as he stood as still as a marbled statue , frozen in time like a reflection of the very same portrait carved within the capital of ORIFLAMME .

❝ upon whose orders must i yield myself ? ❞ thunderous delivered voice surged from under his breath . commanding . demanding . an answer he will have for he wouldn't allow to concede so easily if a threat was imminent .

@infideliis x

The gardens that weave through the hidden cliffscape are among the most beautiful in all of Valisthea. In the midst of spring, pink and purple petals flutter down from arched branches, carving a pathway that draws one further into paradise. 

 At the end of that path, Lunafreya can be found. As ever, tending her beloved flora with a healing touch befitting of Seraph herself. The petals stir beneath her brother’s feet with each step he takes, those footfalls as familiar a song as the rustling of the wind.

 ❝I heard people think these parts are haunted. That those who wander near the cliffsides are swept beneath the waves by a phantom.❞ She giggles, settling on a weather-worn bench. Her visage draped in a pure white, stained at the hem by dirt; her hair tied in the same updo their mother wore. She is the picture of serenity to those who don’t know her well, but doubtlessly her own brother can spy the restlessness bubbling beneath that gentle exterior. 

 ❝I’ve been thinking,❞ she confesses. ❝About what good it is to be a Dominant in these parts. Our people occasionally sustain small wounds and I can help them. But I’ve never really…saved anyone. What if I am needed elsewhere? What if…there is good I can be doing?❞

@infideliis

---

It had been a quiet day like every other, just as he preferred it to be. Nothing but himself, the farm dogs, and the produce in the fields just barely making it by each dark day. They're bland without the real sun to nourish them, nothing like what his mother used to grow back in Cavaugh. The fish from the ocean fair not much better, but it's all anyone can get in terms of fresh food these years.

Every day is the same: Wake up, feed the dogs and himself, tend the field, occasionally trek down the cliffside to fish off the shoddy pier the previous farmer had built and he had mended. Monotonous, boring to some, but it was what he needed. He was a man without purpose anymore, and without a routine he would merely waste away. Besides, it was a pale comparison but it brought back memories of his childhood, before everything in his life had gone to shit.

Aside from the occasional trucker he would give extra produce to ship back to Lestallum, Titus lived a solitary life, a new life. Everything he had once known had been abandoned in the ruins of Insomnia when he crawled out of it, and he had no intentions of ever returning, hoped that he would never see any of the faces that haunted his dreams. But the gods who so often ignored his and his soldiers prayers decided that he had gone long enough with his newfound peace, and sent him an old friend.

There was dirt under his nails as he carefully carved through the earth to pry the tubers from their comfy home, tossed into a basket at his side to be brought back and washed when he had harvested it all. Sarge, the farm's german shepherd, began barking at the edge of the property suddenly, the other two dogs noticing and joining him. "Hey!" He called out to the canine with a sharp whistle "No. Quiet." but they continued, warning of something beyond the property. Titus tried to ignore it but the incessant noise grated at him, eventually pulling him from his work. "Sarge! Heel!" he called as he approached the pack, straining to peer out at whatever it was that had set the trio off so badly.

"Brother, might you have some oats to share?" 👁️👄👁️

@infideliis

"For you, certainly." Sometimes he was selfish, but today he would share his oats.

His favorite rapper is still Porkchop.

@infideliis

Waking up in the past was an indescribable feeling. Doing so the day before the treaty signing made Nyx want to lie down and die again. But he forced his body to move, forced himself to think, because he had a duty and he had a mission, but fuck – what was he even supposed to change this late? Was there anything he could do? Maybe he couldn't change anything, but he'd be damned if he didn't even try.

Learning of Crowe's death a second time didn't make it easier. Too late. Why now? Why at a point in time where there was so little he could change? But he shouldn't think like that. A small ripple in the water could spread far – a small change was perhaps all it took.

The gala that evening was pure torture. Drautos was right there and he wouldn't even expect it – but no, doing so now would only paint him as a traitor, would make it seem like he was trying to ruin the treaty signing. He had to be careful. In a room full of enemies he had to pick out the most likely ally.

So he picked the one person he didn't know well, in some faint hope that his relationship with the Oracle would make him willing to help – if only to make all of this easier on his sister.

"Lord Ravus, is it? Do you have a moment?" he was just a guard, here to observe, but not to be seen and heard. He wasn't about to care about that though, not when so much was at stake.

@infideliis from here

Prompto recognized him easily. Who wouldn't? There was very few people who had hair like his, or who dressed as he did. And he wasn't exactly a welcome sight. The only times Prompto had met Ravus the man had geen aggressive. He didn't have much faith that the former prince had calmed down since then.

But he lowered the flashlight enough that it wasn't shining in his eyes any longer. Even though he was a little anxious about seeing the man, he still felt a little worried - not for himself, but for Ravus. The night wasn't safe, even for people like them.

"Where are you headed?" he asked. "Maybe I'm going the same way."

"You're gone really pale." [ for dion from a reluctant dragoon frand ]

Injury Memes || Always Accepting

@infideliis || Dion

Dion's gaze snaps harshly over to the Dragoon who speaks, and he regrets it almost immediately. Dizziness overwhelms him, and he feels himself stumble for a step or two until he's able to right himself once more.

Ravus, yes. He can recognize the voice through the Dragoon's helmet. This is one he's had little time to get to know, but he is a fierce fighter and Dion respects him nonetheless.

"It seems -" he pauses, to press a hand to the bleeding wound at his abdomen. He's managed to keep it hidden well up until this point, and he realizes now that he's lost too much blood in his attempt to finish the fight before accepting medical help. "It seems I've neglected a wound too long."

Carefully, he lifts the chain mail that failed to stave off a rather nasty stab to his side, and winces ever so softly at the stinging pain left in it's wake. The lightheadedness is beginning to kick in, and he falls forward just enough to put a hand on Ravus' shoulder and brace.

"I believe I need to lie down, Ravus. Would you accompany me?"

@infideliis | x

“You sure? I’m done here-- I was going to leave in the morning, but I can drive back tonight.” 

It’s a three-hour drive, at minimum, but that’s what gas station coffee is designed for. 

Normally, Xu is willing to take people at their word, no matter how unbelievable that word is, but Ravus’ voice breaks her heart a little bit. She sits up in the crappy motel bed, yawning as she leans against the headboard, phone tucked between chin and shoulder. 

“Everything alright? Are you okay?” 

Espero que cada una de ellas te den lo que yo no te pude dar, espero que ellas te cuiden como te cuidé yo, que te cuiden cuando estés enfermo y se preocupen de si comiste o no. Espero cuando no tengas que comer dejen de comer para dártela a ti así como yo muchas veces lo hacia. Espero que te digan que eres el mejor y que eres el amor de todas sus vidas el único hombre que aman y que contigo quieren vivir hasta viejitos. Que se preocupen porque tu carita siempre esté bonita tus pies y tus manos, que cuando te de ansiedad te agarren y te digan que todo estará bien. Que cuando estés en mala te digan tranquilo papi que las cosas mejorarán y te apoyen. Que les de igual si tienes dinero o no, que no te menosprecien si no tienes. Que den la vida por ti como yo lo hubiese hecho, que quieren que crezcas y que cada día seas mejor como yo siempre lo deseé. Que te abrasen y limpien tus lagrimas, que te limpien tus mocos y lloren contigo. Que se despojen de cosas para dártelas a ti, que del poco o mucho dinero que tengan te den detalles aunque se queden sin nada, que te plasmen en cartas todo lo que sienten por ti. Que se queden contigo cuando estés de insoportable, que te amen como eres, que aguanten tu sicote y tu grajo, que les encante el olor de tu sudor. Espero que ellas te valoren y valoren el gran hombre y ser humano que eres, que valoren tu tiempo, que con cada beso te demuestren lo mucho que te aman, que amen a G chiquito y lo cuiden, que te cocinen tus comidas favoritas, que quieran a tus padres y tu hermana. Espero que oren por ti y cumplan tus expectativas, espero que ninguna de ellas te falle y cueste que lo que cueste te sean leal. Ninguna de ellas te amarán como lo hago ¿por qué? porque vi lo peor de ti y no me asusté, vi lo peor de ti y no me fui, vi lo peor de ti y te seguí amando como amo lo bueno de ti, lloré y oré para que mejoraras, al sol de hoy sigo orando por ti, porque te amo y porque yo si amo y valoro quien eres, y ni 1,000 culos podrán con eso y llenarán ese vacío.

-NUNU

✏️

Send a ✏️ and I'll share a scenario or plot I want to explore.

Drautos only cared about his golden opportunity to put an end to the Lucis Caelum family line during the invasion of Tenebrae. He knew full well what the MT units were capable of and while he did not harbor any ill will towards the Mother-Oracle and her children, they were a potential sacrifice he was willing to overlook.

Queen Sylva shielded Ravus from the flames, using her body as a wall between the young boy and certain death. He had seen it countless times, countless ways. He was intimately familiar with the alarmingly sweet smell of charred meat and the acrid stench of burning hair— the sizzling hiss of internal fluids as exposed tissue burst open.

What he did was an act of mercy. Witnessing the woman being executed would leave scars, but it was preferable to more horrific visions of her screaming, clawing wildly at air and earth, twisting and spasming as the fire fed from her body.

He would willingly take on the weight of his budding hatred, would understand and stare knowingly back into Ravus' eyes at the time of his reckoning. For what else could a boy who'd lost everything cling to, what else could sate the endless agony and rage stirring in his soul?

The first mistake he had made was calling out to Regis, the foolish monarch fleeing with his son and Lunafreya while leaving the rest of Tenebrae behind.

The clawed gauntlet covering his hand seized Ravus by the back of the skull, twisting his wrist to force the prince to watch as the coward ran.

"He can save no one, least of all himself," he'd remarked coldly, releasing the boy (no, now a young man) to slump against the forest floor in abject despair.

"The only strength you can rely on is your own. Cultivate it. Hone the edge of your hatred into sharpened steel and take back what is yours."

I'll be waiting.

[TL;DR: I can see Drautos pitying Ravus in his own fucked up way (hooray toxic masculinity), accepting that one day the Crown Prince might come for his life.

He wouldn't exactly be surprised to see Ravus enlist in the militia, as he had little by the way of options, but he would play the role as mentor and see to it that Ravus is fully prepared for his next steps. Not merely swordplay and takedowns, but strategy and tactical know-how, diplomacy. He would see to it that Ravus works for everything he needs and acquires it with his own hands, by his own merit.

Perhaps it works a little too well, as he appears noticeably alarmed when Ravus later tries to seize the power of the Ring of the Lucii for himself. That is a lesson hard-learned, but he'd probably respect the sheer audacity.

Drautos will pour all of his resentment, knowledge, and cunning into Ravus and help shape him into a force to be reckoned with- If not by Drautos' hand, then Ravus can be the instrument of Lucis' fall.]

even in the violent wind

Send “metal shell” for a starter where my muse is wearing full-body armor.

@infideliis sent

“metal shell”

The armour, at least, protects his nose from the smell.

He still doesn't like it, volunteer or not; it itches under his skin even when it's shrouding him in metallic anonymity.

The fighting is over, the king and his son gone.

All that's left is the mopup.

The Oracle's children have been separated, the girl swept immediately into the manor while the boy is ringed not by MTs, but by the Imperial Troops, which immediately strikes him as suspicious. Are they hoping the boy will attempt to escape?

Idiots.

"Come with me," he says to the boy, as gentle as he can despite the inhuman filter the armor lays over his voice. After all, none of this is the prince's fault.

@infideliis:

❛  could be worse. not sure how, but it could be.  ❜

---

Oh, Bother [accepting]

❝Easy for you to say.❞ It is not the daemon stalking them that puts Solara on edge; rather, it is what the daemon has done. She'd only just had Regina serviced - now her afternoon would be spent tending to the scrape down the side of her beloved motorcycle while enduring an earful from her mother about sneaking out alone.

But she doesn't have the time to rehearse her I'm not a child anymore speech; the daemon moves closer, and Sol draws her guns in anticipation.

❝Don't get in my way,❞ she warns. Though she is still in her teens, Sol has lived around hunters since the age of 8 when the world first fell into darkness. She has the attitude, and the gall to boot.

@infideliis x

Voices from behind her door, frantic as they ready for the coming journey to Insomnia, tell Luna what day this is. She remembers it so vividly: she'd fought with Ravus and they'd become frustrated with one another, and it all seems so foolish now.

She pulls her bedroom door open, her suitcases packed for the journey remaining behind. Her desire is not to find a way out, but a way to Ravus. When last she saw him, he was but a husk of his former self, imploring Luna to close her eyes and remember him as he was. But no amount of scourge could change how she looked at her brother, and he'd taken his last breath in Luna's arms as she recalled fond memories of the Tenebrae of their childhood.

She finds him cold-faced and foul-tempered, flanked by Niflheim troopers. His arms - both of his arms - tucked regally behind his back. Her bottom lip wavers as she steps forward; slowly at first. He will likely be confused, even put off by any sudden outpouring of emotion. She begins moving faster, passing by several members of their court she does not take the time to wave to. But, he will welcome my embrace, because--well, because he is Ravus. Luna breaks into a run. Even at his worst, he is her brother foremost. And he is alive and well, and whatever purpose she has been sent back for, she has nothing but gratitude that she is given the chance to see him again.

She bypasses the troopers and Ravus' own surprise, throwing her arms around him and holding on tight, her tears falling freely. She does not explain; even if she could speak, how would one go about articulating the horrors she has seen?

[ MESS. ]  the sender finds the receiver covered in blood that certainly isn’t their own.

*  ―  VAMPIRIC STARTER PROMPTS . || @infideliis

What an undignified state to be found in – even worse when it was seen by someone who should've never been there in the first place. He was quite sure that Ravus should've been in bed by now, but it seemed like the young man would get a fright instead. Sylva knew of his need to feed – the Lucis Caelums were a long line of vampires, after all, but he doubted that she had told her children.

It had gotten a lot more messy than he intended, but his prey wasn't dead, so that was the only fortunate news at the moment. "Do not be afraid, Ravus. I will not hurt you. She is not hurt either," he was referring to the servant he had drunk from, but he wasn't sure how reassuring his words were. "If you have questions I will do my best to answer them, but otherwise you ought to seek out your mother."

@infideliis  from here "I'm no babysitter."

It was nothing personal, the grudge Ravus held against Prince Arctus.

He simply resented feeling as if he were being thrust into the role of babysitter. It was a role he hardly minded where his sister was concerned, yet a role he chafed at where others were concerned.

“I can’t fight and heal, any more than Luna can,” Arctus growled. “And trust me, if the Glaives could have been here instead of you, they would have been.”

He tries to get up from his seat, only to crumple immediately and have to catch himself with his hand. Healing was exhausting for anyone, especially if there was a large amount of scourge victims. Even though healing early stages kept you from getting infected yourself, it didn’t’ stop one from feeling like crap.

“This is supposed to be a sign of diplomacy between our countries, you could at least pretend at it,” He added. “Or are you too good to work with a bastard?”

☆ @infideliis ☆

Sometimes Nyx wondered if surviving the fall of Insomnia had been worth it. He liked helping people, liked fighting for a cause, but now the days were getting shorter and shorter and the daemons were increasing in numbers. Still, work had to be done and he, despite his injuries, was one of the people who could actually fight a daemon and survive.

Right now he was on the prowl for a person, not a daemon. Someone had told him that they had seen someone who might need help, but when Nyx finally found the guy he had to disagree. This looked like a person who was very capable of taking care of themselves, after all.

"Sorry for bothering you, but someone thought you might need assistance. Are you hunting anything interesting?" he wouldn't say no to a fight, but he'd also leave if the guy didn't want his company. Then again... why did he look so familiar? Some of his memories from Insomnia's fall were a bit blurred (he blamed the ring for that), but he was pretty sure he had at least seen this man before.