loupmorque | ---IC INBOX

[ for majority of the day furina has been notably absent from neuvillette's home, determined to familiarize herself with the city and make the best of an otherwise unfortunate situation. thus had things been quiet and calm - up until her inevitable return, out of breath and a grin wide on her face. ]

Duke! Wriothesley! Are you moping around somewhere?? I have something for you!

[ most people would see the things happening on the magical weirdo network and keep their magical weirdness buttoned up and close to their chest; all the better to not draw the ire of outside forces and what have you

Veldora has never been anything but an Apex Predator, and the only two things he fears in life are not here, and therefore, he's flying high in the world. and literally flying. he's skimming past rooftops as the world's most alarming swarm of pigeons to normal eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping over his scales. he hadn't realized how much he missed being himself, having worn his humanoid guise for so long, and been inside of Rimuru even longer

it's nice to be properly shaped again. even if he is absolutely tiny compared to his usual self, but isn't that fun! it means he fits into smaller places, and can really see the mortal world from up close with no fear of knocking down whole buildings with a beat of his mighty wings.

and so onward he cruises, skimming rooftops and tracing smoke, spiraling along without a care in the world. ]

[ it's been a week, a whole week since wriothesley returned from the same place she has gotten the beloved tea friend from. at first, she thought he came home with very little that the pickings this time were incredibly slim, but then she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. initially furina brushed it off as a lack of sleep, she had been up late the night before reading one of the manga series that rose had provided her.

but as the days passed she saw it again, and again, and again: a small flick, sometimes when he laughs, or he reads something on the app that amuses him or annoys him. movement in his uniquely styled hair, around those tuffs that look suspiciously like the ears of a dog.

surely that is all they are, right? much like the rebellious strand of her own hair that springs up into a curl no matter what she does. surely he couldn't have somehow returned from the goodwill with actual dog ears up top of that head of his, right?

it's been a week, one whole week, for furina's resolve to finally snap. to finally give in to the urge that has been haunting her steps the last few days: to touch those tuffs of hair and confirm her theory. ]

Wriothesley, I need you to lean down. There is something I must confirm before it drives me positively insane.

[Blade sends Wriothesley a picture of a red gem.]

I heard you're the guy to ask if you want to use these to power something.

[Obviously he knows that but like. He checked with Venti just to be sure there wasn't some godly secrets he was missing out on first.]

Edited 2024-03-02 02:25 (UTC)

[Navia decides to reach out to Wriothesley about what Leon told her earlier. She figures that it's for the best that he and Furina know. After all, she can't deny the possibility that she may have to stay at someone else's place if the heat gets too intense.]

Hey, Your Grace. Um... not sure how to say this, but one of my colleagues let me know that apparently that Guardian woman, Teresa Hathorne? She'd been making some noise at them about recruiting me.

I haven't been approached at all! But I wanted to let you know that if it's looking to become more than just noise, I may have to see about staying with a friend. If only for peace of mind.

Furina says you two are friends, so would it trouble you at all to let her know, too?

Wriothesley the Duke, how do you fare?

Would it be possible to meet up in person sometime soon? Not necessarily right now; I know how busy things are in the 'wind down period', as it were, but something weighs on my mind that I'd like to speak to you of.

The cave I was imprisoned in is in my back yard

[It’s been a rough few days, and it’s going to take awhile for Rose to purge everything she saw in Asgard from her memory.]

[Still, she’s doing better. And that means checking in on all the people that she hasn’t so far.]

Are you well?

Hello um. Sir.

[James you don’t have to type your stream of consciousness.]

Captain Kenway told me to reach out to you about a room in your... underwater fortress........?

[Wait— this isn’t some sort of prank, is it...? The really is an underwater fortress, right??]

[ when all was said and done it was Furina who insisted that they went home, it was Furina who insisted that he sit on the lounge room floor, and it was Furina who all but straddled him as she divested him of his vest, shirt, and tie.

despite her ability to heal she tends to him with the first aid kit she took from the bathroom, mis-matched eyes narrowed in concentration as she goes about cleaning the worst of his wounds. her hands tremble as she does this, barely constrained anger still simmering just underneath her skin, but still Furina presses on. stubbornly determined. ]

[Three straight days of literal hell. One that started at least in part because Ragna saw something that wasn't there. From there it was just a chain from Wolfwood to that singer to the Old Man from Camp 10.

Ragna had killed loads of people, in this life and his last one. But making a family witness him rip someone away made him sick. Even if everyone came back in the end, god only fucking knows how. And if they were in space it's not like anyone could have come to rescue them easily.

It all made him want to skip town. But that wouldn't make a difference. He'd have to face it eventually. And he did what he did to Wolfwood was just to keep one girl safe. If he started that route he may as well finish it even if she didn't want to look at him separated from the others in the park who went through hell.

The least he could do is make sure someone better than him got her home.]

Furina's at Blue Fish Park. She's

[... she's sure as hell not fine, but.]

She's not hurt.

[ on the evening of the 23rd when the Duke of Meropide retiring to his office for the day, he will find number of gifts sitting upon his desk. they are gathered together and very obviously from the same person and not just because of the folded letter sitting upon them.

the parchment is clearly fine, the calligraphy impeccable, and it smells almost exactly to a scent Furina adores wearing. ]

My dearest Duke Wriothesley,

I don't know if you celebrate your birthday often, nor how you would if you did, nevertheless please allow me to grant you some gifts in celebration of it. I know I needn't shower you in gifts to assure you of my affections but as you are one who I adore so deeply I will do so anyway! I care for you, Wriothesley, more than I think words can properly express. I hope you like what I have prepared for you.

Sincerely yours,
Furina de Fontaine.

[ inside the first box he will find three bracelets, the second isn't so much a box but a black satchel filled with cleaning supplies for his gauntlets (the good stuff), the third is a small box with piece of blue fabric that has been embroidered with Furina's signature sitting on a cushion of black satin, the third and final box is a black box with silver trimming filled with a blend of tea not sold in stores; slipped inside of the box on a piece of paper describes the tea to have been blended with black tea, honeybush tea, apple pieces, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, natural hazelnut flavor, natural banana flavor, assam melody, natural chestnut flavor, and marigold flowers.

happy birthday Wriothesley. ]

P.S, I should still be within the Fortress by the time you find this if you wish to see me. Otherwise I will meet you back home, mon cher.

[ Around Christmas, a giant box is delivered to Meropide with Wriothesley's name on it. Inside is a top of the line drone, and a letter: ]

Won this at an auction. Seems pretty good. Tear it apart or don't, I'm sure you'll have fun learning how it works. Merry Christmas.

-- Blade

[Yeah, so, Nico wastes absolutely no time in going to grill this Wriothesley guy, even if it takes him like half an hour to figure out how to spell the fucker's name.]

Hey, so, weird ask, but I was told by a guy I know from church that you have some kind of underwater fortress? And without rent? He offered me to go live there or something and I'm just trying to figure out if you're a cult leader, scam artist, all of the above, or something I haven't thought of yet.

Wrio, are you there? It’s important.

[Fresh off their first mission success as the Aides du Meropide, Jun's in pretty high spirits! Sure, he was having a bit of trouble getting out of the Venti form he assumed, but it'll have to wear off eventually! More important, is telling Wriothesley the good news as soon as possible!

So with his teammates, he's heading to the Duke's office. He'll knock, before entering the office as he has many times before. ]

Wriothesley? Are you in?

Edited 2025-01-05 18:56 (UTC)

heeeeeeey Wrio!!

[It's rare when Venti sends a text to Wriothesley. What's this about, now?]

so at mine and Zhong's wedding I plan to have an open bar right?
well I was thinking of also having a nonalcoholic option with soft drinks and tea!
problem is that I'm woefully out of touch with the good teas from like the West
Zhong's got all the Eastern blends covered but I wanted some input on Western blends!
AND you're the first one I thought of who would be able to help me out with that

[It's time for another weird man in Wriothesley's voicemail! Though, this one might be a touch more normal than the others. Maybe.]

Heeeeey, Duke! Name's Harumasa, and I've moved here a couple of weeks ago. Apartment hunting has been abysmally soul-crushing, and my frail health hasn't been the best since the blizzard hit. I've been recommended by... a lotta people, actually. Jun, Lia, Noctis, Ragna, they can all vouch for me.

They told me I'd probably be welcome down in the Fortress, so I just had a couple of questions to ask. They're a little personal, so would you mind at all if we just kept my personal information between us?

[He pauses and adds in a more serious tone of voice:]

Ragna says I can trust you, so I'm taking it on his word.

When Knuckles had first reawoken after his days of slumber, he had mostly been confused. Looking about and wondering where he was, hadn't he just been with Sonic and the Wachowskis, etc. But only for a moment before the familiarity of his tiny cabin and the other memories hit him.

Then it had been a whole other type of confusion. He had heard about the strange sleeps that occasionally overtook those from other worlds, but it was one thing to hear about it happening to others, and quite another to even think it could happen to him.

Turned out, it was a lot to think about and sift through, and Knuckles frankly had no idea where to even begin. He still didn't by the time he spotted the food, some bottled water and fruits (especially grapes!!) someone had apparently left for him, and the growling of his stomach took priority. It was only after he'd wolfed most of it down that he finally noticed the note tucked in with it, and, not having any better ideas right now, did as it suggested and grabbed his phone to call up a certain Duke.

[Rose is, at her very core, stupid.]

[She cares about her friends, but she is also very very stupid. If her and Veldora are now officially an item, that means people need to know, and that means she's going to tell the people who need to know in person.]

[What if Wrio doesn't approve? What if she's not good enough for Veldora? What if this makes things weird?]

[She hesitantly knocks on the door.]

Wrio, are you in?

[Does he want to tell anyone? No. But Wriothesley was the duke of the fortress and he does trust him- so it's important to know]

I wanted to let you know, while the fae are causing people to sing, I'll be quarantining myself to the Alley. It's due to a side effect of my abilities. My singing can damage electronics and injure people.

My siblings and Varian are aware of the situation. Though.... if it's alright, I'd rather the exact reasons for my quarantine isn't spread around.

Edited 2025-03-18 01:37 (UTC)

It's Kunikaki. I wanted to thank you and and Focalors or whatever her name is here for helping Tsuki. You didn't have to.

[Thanks to Jun, Harumasa has managed to eat the maple flavored dessert just to say he did it, and now he's giving the mustard one to Wriothesley. Using his stealth magic to avoid detection, he places the neat little package on the doorstep to Wriothesley's office with a note attached to it.]

Hey, Boss! Jun gave me this, but I'm not a fan of sweets. I thought this might be better off with you! You can gift it to someone else if not, I'm not your mom and it won't offend me. Hope you enjoy!

-Harumasa

[A whole Fortress underwater shouldn't be that shocking for Lighter. But maybe the fact that he spent most of his life in the arid American Southwest is what has him consider it such a marvel. It's impressive how something like this could exist without constantly leaking, but hey. That's the good of magic. God Bless.

Very soon after receiving directions on how to get there from Belle, Lighter took it upon himself to visit the Fortress of Meropide and find its leader.

But once he exited the long, long, long elevator he did take a bit of time to look around the place a little himself.]

This really is quite the place.

[ it's late when she takes the elevator down into Meropide, when she quietly walks the length towards the office of the Duke and descends the stairs that lead to his room. she isn't certain he'll be there, really, but she knows well that he wouldn't return to the apartment they share with Neuvillette without her. still there is some fear coursing through her when she reaches out to the door handle, her hand trembling up until the moment she grabs and turns it.

she breathes in opening the door enough to allow her to slip inside the room, closing the door quietly behind her. perhaps she should call out to him, make sure he isn't asleep, but if he was awake he would already know that she's come back to him. he knows the sound of her footsteps, the sound of her breath, the pulls of the bond that binds them together so tightly. so she doesn't call out, she doesn't speak, only crossing the room until she reaches the bed and climbs in.

gods, she had missed his presence.

immediately Furina tries to wrap her arms around Wrio's waist, pressing herself as closely as she can as she takes a deep breath in. the familiar smell she has always associated with him filling her nose, calming the rapid panicked beating of her heart. ]

I'm back. [ Furina finally whispers, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. ] I'm home.

action, afternoon of dec 1st.

[action] February 1st

( action ) weekend of the 10th

text; un: blade;

Text | UN: rosula; just before Blade's post

text; un: tempestdragon | a few days after the midmonth

text; un: tempestdragon | around midday

text | about a week after the event

text; un: captamerica | Sept 1ish

action, post punching childe in the jaw.

immediately post event horizon, text; un: ragna