SCAWWY 😱 rondo

[concoctive]

In the tapestry of floriography, the borage flower stands out as a symbol of emotional fortitude and joy. Its star-shaped blue blossoms have carried the weight of courage since Roman times, believed to embolden warriors on the battlefield. Borage flower and leaves are used for fever, cough, and depression.

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[concoctive]

You know about the Dragonstones!?

[flameguard]

My - I used -

[ FLOUNDERING ] - do you know Cordelia?! Heathcote?!

[concoctive]

[ blinks rapidly ]

Yeah! The whole - it's a lot of stuff? I dunno the whole story, but my friend, Therion, he wound up promisin' to get the Dragonstones back for Miss Cordelia after Heathcote kinda kicked his ass a little... somethin' about needin' a thief to get 'em back... glad we did, considerin' the guy that...

[ his expression gets stormy and vicious for a brief moment, before he shakes it off ]

Nevermind, he doesn't matter. We helped Therion get 'em back, so they're at Ravus Manor, at least last I knew when we talked to Miss Cordelia.

[flameguard]

[ this is - this is a lot to take in, actually. rondo was already really listening, but he just is hanging on every word, now. they needed a thief to get them back, they found one, they...

...

this doesn't even sound real? he's so stunned as he tries to wrack his brain. he saw heathcote when he came looking for the sapphire stone not all that long ago, and they already have back all five? how is that even possible? unless... ]

... Alfyn - [ he's rubbing his braincells together (and also not explaining his reaction at all but that's fine) ] - you... how long ago was the war with G'roha?

[concoctive]

[ he looks up at rondo again when he says his name, putting his hands together and rubbing them, thinking. ]

G'roha..? Gods, what, handful of years now? We had a lot of brigands around Clearbrook tryin' to take advantage of it, considering that the shit with Edoras, Riven, and Altinia wasn't that long before that, too.

[flameguard]

[ rondo processes that.

a handful of years, now?

g'roha was just barely weeks ago. and now...

... rondo... can't help it? he just sits.like his knees gave out, he drops down right on his ass on the ground. ]

... Oh. [ and then - laughs. rondo laughs, this tiny little relieved noise, and scrubs his hand over his face, running it up through his fluffy bangs after - a smile breaking onto his face like the sun parting through the clouds. ] That's... that's amazing, that's ... It's been years?

[ alfyn's from the future, which will freak him out more maybe later, but right now, it just feels like a blessing, because --

-- because that means there's a future at all. ]

Sorry - sorry, I, I'm sorry. Heh. [ a wet, watery laugh. ] Sorry. Oh... thank the Flame.

[concoctive]

Oh. [ is all alfyn can manage at first, his jittering nerves alleviating quickly and turning into concern as rondo drops like a sack of potatoes. his instinct is to take a knee, reaching out for his shoulder once he's done running his hands through his hair. the concern is immediate, genuine, and gentle, gaze assessing to make sure that he's alright.

that it's a powerful emotion, certainly, but a good one that can be allowed to happen unfettered. ]

Feelin' an awful lot like a fella missed somethin', Rondo, despite bein' the cause of it.

[ still, a small laugh leaves him. the relief is a little infectious. ]

Yeah. Nearly four years, now, I think.

[flameguard]

[ uweh... rondo reaches up and rubs at his eyes when he realizes they're wet, and just laughs. he can't really explain everything - well, he can, maybe, but some part of him doesn't want to. there are so many more implications to this that he'll think about later, but for a moment, he can live in the feeling that everything is going to be alright. that the precious dragonstones will finally be returned, after too many years away in bad hands, and that the world of orsterra will continue on. that sazantos' plan to destroy it all must fail, if cordelia is still there.

everything is going to be okay. he puts his hand to his chest afterwards, sniffling a little but smiling like the sun. ]

I... I no longer associate with - I gave it up, because I'm with the Knights Ardante, but... [ the smile goes a little helpless. ] My full name is Rondo Ravus.

[ if alfyn looks enough, he can probably see the similarities. same round faces, same blonde hair, same nose, same smile. ] Cordelia is my younger sister.

[concoctive]

[ alfyn will be turning this conversation over his head like a roast on a spit, cranking and turning it over and over, until it hits him that rondo asked him how long it'd been. had asked him about time, and things are a little amiss there.

for now, though, he is struck with this reveal and can't help but blink rapidly at him as he kneels down in front of him. ]

You - [ and his eyes scan across his face, brown and wide and thoughtful.

before he reaches and pokes him in the single dimple. ] She's got this on the other side. Didn't smile a whole lot when we first met her, at least not big enough to see it, but she brightened up the more we spent time with her and the more stones Therion brought back.

[flameguard]

[ oh... the poke to his face surprises him - and then he laughs, a little wetly, reaching up to put his hand on his cheek. he can't help it, really, heart swelling up in his chest so hard it might burst. it's a rush of wild emotions, a rollercoaster of relief and - of sorrow, at first, too.

his poor sister. sad, didn't smile a lot? he can only imagine what she's been through, and his heart breaks, visibly and obviously, but... at the same time, it means that she's doing better, now. that alfyn's friend was able to retrieve the stones, that... things might get better.

he drops his face down, finally rubbing at his eyes. ]

... Cordelia's - she's really strong. Amazingly so... she's a better head of the household than I ever would have been. [ that he knows for sure. ] I write her all the time, but... she never told me that things were going badly. She must not have wanted me to worry... I...

[ there's a beat. he looks up at alfyn, blue eyes shining, and reaches out to give his hand a squeeze between his own. ]

Alfyn... thank you. For what you and your friend must have done - for us, for my sister's house - thank you.