xenologue 2 | can you see our brand new start underneath the devil’s heart? [closed]

[hegemonwings]

🧙 WHO: Byleth Eisner and Edelgard von Hresvelg
⚔️️ WHAT: A heart to heart at the ritual and in its aftermath.
🕒 WHEN: The solstice
🗺️ WHERE: Celliwig
⚠️ WARNINGS: Fear, anxiety, mortality, magical self-harm.



It had been an easy enough decision to participate in the ritual alongside Edelgard. This was an unfamiliar place, and after the unpleasantness of the trials she found it difficult to trust the fae. So, they'd do this together. Byleth stares into the lava as they stand beneath the fountain, half-listening to the words of the Celliwig leader. She's seen molten rock before, of course—she's conjured it from beneath the earth—but something so formalized seems strange. She wonders what stone the circle might be made of to resist the heat, or what enchantments are at play here, but...

Right. The offering. She takes a breath, before looking to her partner and managing a small, wry smile as she moves a thick lock of blue hair behind one ear. "Blood or hair seems too impersonal, doesn't it?"

Comments

[flame_emperor]

"A fine idea. I'm in no hurry to return." Edelgard replies, entwining her arm around Byleth's, leaning into her so they can walk together. Anyone seeing the two of them like this would have no doubts as to what they were to each other, but Edelgard is past the point of caring about that.

She's content to walk like this, and wait for Byleth to speak, knowing that her wife—for that's what she is, Edelgard needs no ceremony or officiant to make official what she already knows in her heart to be true, and the ring on her finger is proof enough—often needs time to chew things over and find the right way to approach what is preying on her mind. She's still so new to these little things called emotions and human feelings. Byleth will set the pace, and Edelgard is happy as always to walk with her in the cool night air. For now, she lets their closeness be the support Byleth needs.

[hegemonwings]

Byleth breathes out a soft laugh as Edelgard leans into her, leaning over in return to place a kiss to the top of her wife's head. It may not be official, but she has no illusions about what they are to each other or their intents for the future. In a place like this, their own desires have strong precedence over ceremony, anyway. She stays close in that position for a few seconds as she walks, before just tilting her head slightly against Edelgard.

"We both... chose to be human. Together." she begins, pulling her a bit closer. "I just wish I knew what that means for us. The Ashen Demon is gone... so are the Enlightened One, and the Professor. I just... after those roles took, and took..." Byleth hesitates, glancing forward. Her voice is quieter when she continues, more uncertain. "I don't know what's left, El. Or how much was ever here at all."

[flame_emperor]

"More than you realize." Edelgard replies, nuzzling into Byleth as she's pulled closer. "I see it, Byleth. I've always seen it, even when no one else could. And every day it becomes easier."

She's silent for a moment, assembling her thoughts and picking the words she wants to say. "The...wonderful, frightening thing about humanity is that there is no single definition of what it means. It's something we define for ourselves, one day at a time, through the choices we make, and the lives we touch. So when you say you don't know what it means to be human...well, you're describing the human condition itself. But if you ever need something to anchor you, a place to start, then..." She stops, and turns towards Byleth, taking the older woman's hand in her own and guiding it slowly, to her upper chest, where beneath the fabric of Edelgard's top, the beating of her heart can be felt. "Remember that you chose this. The first choice you ever made for yourself that wasn't dictated to you by another. And we'll go from there, together, on the path we chose together."

[hegemonwings]

Byleth's content to walk in silence with Edelgard while she collects her thoughts, glancing up to the streetlamps on the quiet path they've found themselves on. That ever-present curiosity buzzes. She wonders what powers them, whether the fae use different methods than Camelot, whether it's magic or technology or both. Still, when Edelgard speaks again, she listens, feeling as her face slowly warms.

When her wife finally turns to face her, and places her hand over her heart... she's almost sure that she feels her own beat erratically in response. Byleth stands there, stunned and lovestruck, before finally turning her hand over to twine her fingers with Edelgard's. "We will. Always," she agrees at last, leaning down to press her lips to the Emperor's. It's not the chaste and quick sort of kiss they might normally share when at risk of being seen, but they're only two people among a strange world here. Byleth feels fine about pushing this if Edelgard does.