written by glmstr and Ottoman
Several days prior
They were early, as Lughadh always preferred, but even an early arrival for the third day of the Aurellae was still a late start for the paladin. It was almost alien to the woman to sleep until seven, a luxury that her superiors rarely afforded her, though in the wake of the incident at Caranhall and the various reports she had filed they seemed to make an exception, as her requests for leave were cleared in almost record time. It was pleasant to see that the bureaucracy of the Order managed to get its shit together at times, but even more pleasant was the chance to spend the next few days alongside the lady Allard - a detail carefully worded in her requests, that she would be personally escorting her ladyship to and from the Aurellae, attending the various events with her close friend. Close friend, she mouthed the words silently as the engine died, her finger retreating from the ignition switch as her other relaxed on the steering wheel - surely someone in the Order had some clue as to their nature, but by the grace of the Wick, no one said a word.
At least not publicly.
"Here we are," Aislin announced with a light sigh, excited to see the various contestants, the next generation of the Order's finest, in their element, though she was still somewhat shaken from yesterday's commotion. At the very least, Roxanne had gotten to see first-hand just how quick her paladin's reflexes were. "Ready?" She inquired, glancing over to the noblewoman in the passenger seat, her smile concealing any hint of concern as to another breach of security.
Allard offered a smile in response, "Of course." She would have preferred to remain in bed for another hour or two, but her companion wished to see the competitions with notable enthusiasm, which Roxanne was happy to oblige. After all, she deserved the treatment.
The unfortunate Garoux-related incident did concern her slightly, the speed at which it was handled and potential bloodshed avoided was comforting. Many people could have died had the paladins not put the poor man down. After briefly looking through the side and rear windows she reached for the key fob itself and remotely opened the trunk, then opened her own door to climb out.
There was little doubt in Aislin's mind that she could be talked into an early departure, if Roxanne desired, and with such a thought the woman had long since put to rest any guilt over pulling the other from bed at such an early hour, at least for her. In short order did she step out of the vehicle, the door shut behind her as an afterthought, though she was careful to watch herself as she did so, her hand reaching for a blade that was not present.
Rolling her eyes as she ran a hand over the door's edge, ensuring it was flush with the car, she moved to the rear of the car, turning about its flank to look into the trunk and the various pieces they'd stowed there, her hands immediately reaching for the longsword that her hip lacked. Deft hands quickly pulled the swordbelt about her form, fixing its buckle in short order, though the slack granted by lack of her armor did give her another momentary pause. It felt so strange, if comfortable, to be free of such constrictions, dressed as any other pedestrian. It was a fortunate thing that her lover had taken to giving her advice, even purchasing her a blouse or two, as Ash knew well enough that she had as much sense when it came to fashion as Allard did to combat, and so she didn't look the dullard she was, were she left to her own devices.
Finally looping the belt's tongue in a knot and pulling it snug, the relaxed knight reached for the tote and the bags that held the fodling chairs they'd packed, slinging the various straps over shoulders used to burdens far more harsh than these, leaving the blanket for her better half to take up. "Thank you," She murmured, shifting one of the straps that lay on her shoulder with her thum, eyes darting to the woman beside her, "For this."
"I know after yesterday it doesn't exactly seem like the best choice."
"Brought it along to ease your mind. Besides, if all else fails another armed knight on the grounds couldn't hurt," Roxanne smirked and grabbed the folded blanket. It gave her a bit of pity, to see Lughdadh so foreign to civilian life. At the very least she took the paladin with her to all sorts of excursions and errands, anything to normalize an otherwise barren life the church's warriors were often cornered into.
The first step, similarly to every year at the festival, was to find a place to sit. A common tradition emerged of settling in one area, be it on park benches or chairs brought from homes, and basing their experience from there. Almost immediately Allard noticed an ideal spot, not far from the rest of the park yet almost completely empty. Mild to moderate seclusion was a staple in the pair's life, and this was no exception.
The walk over was characterized by quick, darting glances from the Iverian, who took in all that she could, admiring the pennants and the various vendors from afar, silently wondering if they would have the chance to browse through it all later. It was still something of a comfort to see the world in the light of day, to feel its warmth upon her brow and to look over the world as it should be. She still found herself on edge in Roxanne's apartment when it was dark, her mind playing tricks on her as she could almost swear she heard the insectine whir of the beast in the darkness.
But now was not the time for such worries, her darksome thoughts banished as the lady Allard settled on a spot in the shade of a nearby oak, and Lughadh held fast to the chairs and such until the other had set the blanket out, soon kneeling to draw the seats from their bags and secure their position. Secure their position? She lingered on that thought, blinking as her hands fell idle with the second seat, its cover drawn halfway down its form as she pondered her mental verbage, wondering, or rather knowing, that Roxanne, much like most others, never thought in such terms.
It was almost programming, in a way.
The paladin gave a light shake of her head as she saw to finishing her task, glancing up to the noblewoman once she'd seen to her seat and nodding in the direction of the chair, bidding her to sit. "Looks like we're just in time for the first round, darling." She mused, careless with her words in their tentative seclusion. As much as it might have hurt others, Ash had come to find she didn't mind such a thing, preferring to be away from the crowded din of Lutetian street life in the hours she spent with her lady-love, having already had enough of it to last a lifetime. But, she was a paladin, a life of near-monastic seclusion was almost to be expected of her - Roxanne had taken no such vows, and had set herself upon no such path.
Though she had chosen to be with Aislin, which was to that effect.
"The light didn't bother you last night, did it?" The paladin asked again, a worrisome sort when it came to Allard, referencing her perturbed sleep the night prior, when she'd woken from a nightmare, another visit to that wretched place she'd left behind a week ago.
"Feeling emboldened?" The noble chuckled and took her seat, pulling a smaller blanket from the tote bag and unfolding it. Normally her love was extraordinarily careful with using such language in public, but either confidence or giddyness must have loosened her tongue. "The light? Not particularly, no," the light in question was not the source of her waking, instead it was motion and sound of the bed's other occupant getting up, but even she was quickly back to sleep in minutes, how long it might have took Aislin to return was unknown to her.
Roxanne pulled the blanket over the pair before the autumnal chill could roll in, her own hand shortly joining Ash's. "Er, I forgot breakfast. We might want to find something later."
The smile returned to the Iverian's face as she took the other's hand in her own, squeezing it, glad that the other wasn't upset by the light. Given, she'd asked the same question before, and had received the same answer, but she couldn't help but ask again. "I suppose so." She murmured, responding to the other's earlier inquiry, glad that they could share such a small thing as their hands here in public, even if they were hidden.
Scooting back in her seat, the paladin shifted, crossing her legs before she allowed herself to sink into the chair, her discipline lax now that they were seated, though her spare hand was never too far from the hilt of her blade. "There's more than enough to find, from the looks of it," Aislin referenced the dozens of boothes not too far away, the festival's economic epicenter. "I could fetch something, if you'd like."
"Yeah, there's quite a lot, and I'll have something if you're willing. Surprise me," Allard produced a wallet and handed it to Lughdadh. It was a funny thing, how comfortably and without second thought she would simply hand over her wallet to the paladin, though she already shared so much of her life with the woman that it only felt natural.
With a brief movement the paladin moved to stand, biting back a reluctant sigh after having found herself in the seat, moving to double over the blanket back onto Roxanne. No doubt it was doubly the victory for her, enjoying all of the cover and breakfast thereafter. The wallet found itself slipped into Aislin's pocket, as well as it could fit, and with a hand on her blade the woman hesitated for a moment before departing, looking to the noblewoman as she realized just how emboldened she felt.
But perhaps it was best to save such boldness for later she decided, offering the other a parting word with a smile, "I'll be right back."
