June Catch-All

[flame_emperor]

🧙 WHO: Edelgard von Hresvelg and YOU
⚔️️ WHAT: After a month of having her general all to herself and practicing her magic, Edelgard is ready to get down to business and start building some bridges. Tea, painting practice, and some teru teru bozu-making.
🕒 WHEN: The month of June
🗺️ WHERE: Around Camelot and
⚠️ WARNINGS: None leap to mind!

A Tea Invitation (CLOSED TO THREE HOUSES CHARACTERS)

A letter is delivered to you by courier, your name inscribed on the envelope in elegant handwriting, and sealed with the familiar eagle insignia of the Adrestian Empire. Breaking the seal, the letter unfolds and is read as such:

I would be pleased if you would join me for tea and light discussion. I believe a clearing of the air between us would be beneficial to both parties, and there are matters concerning our different worlds I would ask you about, as I'm sure you have about mine. Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Edelgard von Hresvelg.

Should you agree to the meeting, you'll find Edelgard waiting for you at the appointed time. Fortunately, the weather has held and the veranda is sunny. The tea is brewed and has a familiar scent to it; it seems she's managed to procure your favoured blend, or at least the last she knew to be your favoured. She has forgone the crown and severe hair-buns in favour of a sidetail.

"I'm pleased you could join me. Have a seat, and I'll pour you a cup."

Some Happy Little Trees

Byleth was all too quick to see to it Edelgard was well-stocked with painting supplies not long after their arrival. It was a touching gesture, and Edelgard was eager to get back to it now that she had a surplus of time to devote to it. During the war, she'd never felt comfortable spending too much time on it even when the odd moment of free time since it seemed...wasteful. When there was so much else to be doing. However, free of the war and even with the responsibilities of magic studies, she felt more at ease practicing her craft. And Brocéliande and the surrounding countryside provided an abundance of material.

Today's study are green fields near the road to the Red Springs. Set up with her easel and chair Edelgard works, but it's a slow process. The sound of movement on the road catches her attention and she glances behind to see if someone is lingering.

"Can I help you?" She asks. Normally she's not adverse to conversation, but she'd prefer to focus on getting over the art-block she's having.

Wetding

Edelgard has a specific gift in mind to replay the art supplies Byleth gifted her, but that will take time to gather the necessary funds. While this quest opportunity doesn't supply money, a gift basket to liven up their living quarters will suffice in the short-term. But the sprites will require a selection of dolls to make their choice, so enlisting aid in crafting the dolls only made sense.

"I'm almost finished this one. Hand me the blue ribbon, would you? I just need to tie it off."

Later on, you get a message from Edelgard asking her to join you in the hotel room. She's looking out the window when you enter and she waves you over. "Come, you're just in time. The sprites have arrived and I thought you might want to see the results of our hard work." Below, the wedding ceremony is almost ready to start.

Obligatory Wild Card Prompt

[Feel free to throw me a curveball if you like, I'm happy to roll with whatever.]

Comments

[flame_emperor]

There was a time such a comment would have flustered, or more likely angered her, coming from Claude. But five years had taught Edelgard a great deal about composure, and also recognizing that the reaction was the entire point of such comments, so the compliment about her appearance washes over her and she sips her tea politely.

Besides, it's not as though he was wrong.

"Thank you, Claude. It would be rather foolish of me to wear the crown all the time here, after all." It was actually something of a pain to affix to her hair correctly, even with someone helping her do it. "You're not so bad-looking yourself." He hadn't exactly been unattractive during their schooling, but in five years he really had grown into himself more.

"You're well, I trust?" She carries on, pouring him the promised cup of tea.

[leicesters]

Claude grins; she had said a similar compliment to him at Gronder, not that she'd recall here. An amusing memory in an otherwise horrific battle.

"I am! It's not every day you get dragged into another world of seemingly endless possibilities. Fódlan was so... limiting, but here, it feels like anything could happen. And people are free to be whoever they want."

He thanks her for the tea, letting it cool briefly before it takes a sip. As expected of someone of her attention to detail, it's brewed to near perfection. "Nice of you to go out of your way to pick a favourite of mine," he remarks. It's not identical, of course, but the spices mixed with the leaves are certainly reminiscent of Leicester Cortania.

[flame_emperor]

Edelgard nods with a smile. "I find that so as well. It's quite the privilege and responsibility we find ourselves saddled with." Though she's confident that they are more than equal to the challenge. Free to be whoever they want? There's a hidden meaning there, as there is with pretty much everything Claude says. Does he know, and this is his way of letting her know that he knows, or does he merely suspect and testing her reaction? Or is he simply fishing for information? As expected of a schemer and tactician like Claude, there are many potential possibilities. "Yes, Flayn is already taking advantage of that freedom, and I applaud her for it. It was enjoyable to see her blossoming so out of Seteth's influence." She chooses a deflect, but a complementary and entirely sincere one.

She nods at the complement. "Thank you, but it is Byleth who deserves your thanks. I merely followed her advice. She has...an incredible memory for personal details like that." She smiles fondly, running a finger along the rim of her cup in idle thought. Though having slept through five years of the war, naturally their time as students at the Academy is much fresher in her mind than it is Edelgard's, a matter of months from Byleth's perspective rather than years. "I will let her know you enjoyed it."

"And who is it you are free to be, released from the limitations of Fódlan society, Claude?" He has been here longer than the two of them, after all. He was likely speaking from personal experience.