Alternation [Tales of Hearts, Beryl/Innes, T]
Title: Alternation
Author/Artist: littlelinor
Rating: T
Warnings: Spoilers for the entire game, mentions of sex
Prompt: Tales of Hearts, Beryl/Innes: stolen kisses - us girls have to stick together
Word count: 1109
Summary: Slices of life during the years following the destruction of Gardenia, in the eyes of Beryl.
A/N: This deserves more editing (not that none was done, mind), but sadly illness has cut my options short.
Also this is my take on post-game canon, so you'll see references to the evolution of Max Empire, Kohak/Shing/Hisui, Beryl achieving her dream because I think she's persistent and enough of a worker to do it, and hints of Lapis not coming back from her previous state totally unchanged.
Will be cross-posted, because this fandom needs pimping.
Over time it had become routine, habit in unpredictability, one of the only two stable things in her life.
They didn't live together per se, for Innes lived mostly on the road, and Beryl herself more often than not had too much work to follow. Only twice had she taken a long trip since the destruction of Gardenia, and one of those had been to paint a collection of landscapes, a work commissioned by the empress so that noble children of the court could see the wonders of the world before they were of age to go see them for themselves. Innes's business was thriving, and she now owned a couple of shops that dealt in her most popular goods. She would usually stay in Estrega for a week after each round, to stock up, sell, relax and trade gossip.
Every few months Lapis would remain in Estrega. In Beryl's opinion, too much time spent with Innes wasn't a good idea for a young girl, and Estrega regrouped some of the world's best scholars now that it had oriented itself towards culture rather than military might. The girl seemed to be at ease in both climates, something Beryl admired. She had expected the trauma of losing her spirune to turn her into a moody child, but instead Lapis embraced life and the second chance it gave her.
It was a strange arrangement, really, and probably wouldn't have worked if both of them hadn't already been crazy, in her opinion. But work it did. Beryl would alternate between palace, market and close countryside, and Innes came in every few weeks, her pockets full of money and her head full of gossip.
Not that Beryl needed money. She made a point of being able to fend for herself, and the pay as Imperial Painter wasn't exactly low.
She had invested in a share of Innes's business though. That part was sent back to Blange every month, with letters to her grandmother and information on the latest trends in art for her master.
She got along with Lapis surprisingly well. For a girl who had lost her parents and had to adapt to a new mother, Beryl had been scared a second parental figure, especially one not that much older than herself, would be badly perceived. As it turned out, both their tempers worked well together, and their shared love/hate relationship with the white-haired saleswoman united them. Lapis was a good singer, she discovered. Her interpretation had an eerie feel to it, making dramatic or disincarnate songs twice as striking.
She never had the guts to tell her that Shing once said dreamily that it was like the song of spiria. Her memories of the link with Gardenia were not bright, and she doubted the girl wanted to be reminded of that part of her past.
"You've grown."
She cast the Empress a sideway look, her hand still working on the portrait.
"You know I haven't taken a centimetre in years."
Marin giggled.
"That's not what I meant. You're more adult somehow. Back then you looked like a short girl."
She snorted.
"And now I am?"
"A short woman."
There was mirth in her voice, a sense of humour that had been budding when they met and had blossomed with their friendship.
Though Beryl thought it also had a lot to do with the fact that teasing Chalcedony was so funny.
Weeks with Innes were always crazy, and at the end of every one she was left wondering why she had ever waited impatiently for them to come.
The house was always much more lively, too much for her taste. She would comment sarcastically that it was like having Beruru under her feet again, except with the added disadvantage of not being able to look over her.
Innes, not surprisingly, usually took it as her cue to show that there were other strategic advantages to being Beryl's height.
Her timetable also became much more hectic, to the point that after a few months she found her workload at the palace lessen whenever rumours that Innes was in town reached it. She would have groaned at the fact that they were the worst kept secret ever, but in reality she enjoyed the change of pace and atmosphere. She'd let Innes talk her to death and bake pie and drag her outside for shopping and drinking, and keep sleep for the weeks when it came easily after a hard day.
She exchanged letters with the Hearts trio on a regular basis, and they came to Estrega every now and then, to check on both her and Chalcedony. She always wondered whether they were a rare element of sanity in her life or the proof that insanity had become her reference. Sometimes she could feel faint echoes of her old crush resurfacing, but it was more of a memory, one of the girl she had been. Besides, judging by Hisui's newfound taste in headache tea, she thought living with Shing was something few humans were cut to do.
He was fun to drink with, though. Especially for Hisui's reaction afterwards.
It didn't happen every night, but they found themselves in bed more often than not.
They weren't exactly what you could call complementary, nor were they really aligned. Innes was feline, alternating between lazy sensuality and predatory aggressiveness, while Beryl was an artist even in sex, perfecting technique, looking for beauty in both flesh and movement, creating the unexpected. As with everything else it ended in a alternation of moods and rhythms, ranging from fast to lethargically sensual, from playful to intense, and roles as fluid as the water that so often separated them.
She knew Innes had kept the first painting she'd made for her. It was a miniature of a ship at sea, and one of the first works in which Beryl had managed to instil spiria. Thinking it actually linked them was a stupid idea, something only Shing would think of. But then, Shing had a tendency of making the world bend to meet him halfway. At any rate it meant that Innes valued her talent, and maybe that was the most important.
She made one for Lapis, too, using portraits she had found of Pearl and her memory of Silver. There were five of them on the painting, not quite a family but a group, brought together by strife and circumstances. It brought a melancholic but honest smile to the girl's face, and Beryl felt a little more adult, a little stronger.
It was her time to teach, now, and as strange as it felt it was somehow fulfilling.
Author/Artist: littlelinor
Rating: T
Warnings: Spoilers for the entire game, mentions of sex
Prompt: Tales of Hearts, Beryl/Innes: stolen kisses - us girls have to stick together
Word count: 1109
Summary: Slices of life during the years following the destruction of Gardenia, in the eyes of Beryl.
A/N: This deserves more editing (not that none was done, mind), but sadly illness has cut my options short.
Also this is my take on post-game canon, so you'll see references to the evolution of Max Empire, Kohak/Shing/Hisui, Beryl achieving her dream because I think she's persistent and enough of a worker to do it, and hints of Lapis not coming back from her previous state totally unchanged.
Will be cross-posted, because this fandom needs pimping.
Over time it had become routine, habit in unpredictability, one of the only two stable things in her life.
They didn't live together per se, for Innes lived mostly on the road, and Beryl herself more often than not had too much work to follow. Only twice had she taken a long trip since the destruction of Gardenia, and one of those had been to paint a collection of landscapes, a work commissioned by the empress so that noble children of the court could see the wonders of the world before they were of age to go see them for themselves. Innes's business was thriving, and she now owned a couple of shops that dealt in her most popular goods. She would usually stay in Estrega for a week after each round, to stock up, sell, relax and trade gossip.
Every few months Lapis would remain in Estrega. In Beryl's opinion, too much time spent with Innes wasn't a good idea for a young girl, and Estrega regrouped some of the world's best scholars now that it had oriented itself towards culture rather than military might. The girl seemed to be at ease in both climates, something Beryl admired. She had expected the trauma of losing her spirune to turn her into a moody child, but instead Lapis embraced life and the second chance it gave her.
It was a strange arrangement, really, and probably wouldn't have worked if both of them hadn't already been crazy, in her opinion. But work it did. Beryl would alternate between palace, market and close countryside, and Innes came in every few weeks, her pockets full of money and her head full of gossip.
Not that Beryl needed money. She made a point of being able to fend for herself, and the pay as Imperial Painter wasn't exactly low.
She had invested in a share of Innes's business though. That part was sent back to Blange every month, with letters to her grandmother and information on the latest trends in art for her master.
She got along with Lapis surprisingly well. For a girl who had lost her parents and had to adapt to a new mother, Beryl had been scared a second parental figure, especially one not that much older than herself, would be badly perceived. As it turned out, both their tempers worked well together, and their shared love/hate relationship with the white-haired saleswoman united them. Lapis was a good singer, she discovered. Her interpretation had an eerie feel to it, making dramatic or disincarnate songs twice as striking.
She never had the guts to tell her that Shing once said dreamily that it was like the song of spiria. Her memories of the link with Gardenia were not bright, and she doubted the girl wanted to be reminded of that part of her past.
"You've grown."
She cast the Empress a sideway look, her hand still working on the portrait.
"You know I haven't taken a centimetre in years."
Marin giggled.
"That's not what I meant. You're more adult somehow. Back then you looked like a short girl."
She snorted.
"And now I am?"
"A short woman."
There was mirth in her voice, a sense of humour that had been budding when they met and had blossomed with their friendship.
Though Beryl thought it also had a lot to do with the fact that teasing Chalcedony was so funny.
Weeks with Innes were always crazy, and at the end of every one she was left wondering why she had ever waited impatiently for them to come.
The house was always much more lively, too much for her taste. She would comment sarcastically that it was like having Beruru under her feet again, except with the added disadvantage of not being able to look over her.
Innes, not surprisingly, usually took it as her cue to show that there were other strategic advantages to being Beryl's height.
Her timetable also became much more hectic, to the point that after a few months she found her workload at the palace lessen whenever rumours that Innes was in town reached it. She would have groaned at the fact that they were the worst kept secret ever, but in reality she enjoyed the change of pace and atmosphere. She'd let Innes talk her to death and bake pie and drag her outside for shopping and drinking, and keep sleep for the weeks when it came easily after a hard day.
She exchanged letters with the Hearts trio on a regular basis, and they came to Estrega every now and then, to check on both her and Chalcedony. She always wondered whether they were a rare element of sanity in her life or the proof that insanity had become her reference. Sometimes she could feel faint echoes of her old crush resurfacing, but it was more of a memory, one of the girl she had been. Besides, judging by Hisui's newfound taste in headache tea, she thought living with Shing was something few humans were cut to do.
He was fun to drink with, though. Especially for Hisui's reaction afterwards.
It didn't happen every night, but they found themselves in bed more often than not.
They weren't exactly what you could call complementary, nor were they really aligned. Innes was feline, alternating between lazy sensuality and predatory aggressiveness, while Beryl was an artist even in sex, perfecting technique, looking for beauty in both flesh and movement, creating the unexpected. As with everything else it ended in a alternation of moods and rhythms, ranging from fast to lethargically sensual, from playful to intense, and roles as fluid as the water that so often separated them.
She knew Innes had kept the first painting she'd made for her. It was a miniature of a ship at sea, and one of the first works in which Beryl had managed to instil spiria. Thinking it actually linked them was a stupid idea, something only Shing would think of. But then, Shing had a tendency of making the world bend to meet him halfway. At any rate it meant that Innes valued her talent, and maybe that was the most important.
She made one for Lapis, too, using portraits she had found of Pearl and her memory of Silver. There were five of them on the painting, not quite a family but a group, brought together by strife and circumstances. It brought a melancholic but honest smile to the girl's face, and Beryl felt a little more adult, a little stronger.
It was her time to teach, now, and as strange as it felt it was somehow fulfilling.