with pleasure and with pride
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I wrote this vague, frivolous, nondescript description to pad out the word count. Is what I would say if I were cool. But I'm not cool. So the sun and the birds and the sky and the sea were all very, very happy, indeed.
There was nothing to disturb the relative peace and non-quiet; picnic lunch on the manor parapet and/or roof simply couldn't be beat. Only if you were a flighty Wind Blade of the gay gay homosexual gay persuasion would you take notice, because everybody else would be too busy to do so.
"Master Minoth...are you alright?" She set down a forkful of salad (wildflower greens, of course, of course) with a subtle inclination of her head; the halo shimmered unbotheredly.
"Something up, Haze?"
"Well, no, it's just...your ether lines."
"Oh? Did I sprout a new one, somewhere?"
"N-no, but...they're pink! And purple, and blue, only it's a different kind of blue than your usual."
His Core Crystal, too, had shifted to differing identification, but given that it was chalked up as a general mystery regardless, that was no surprise.
"That so? Tell me, Haze, what day is it?"
"Why, it's the first day of the sixth month, I do believe." (This would put them somewhere strongly halfway through their adventure, in a generous timeline, and of course we're being generous, to allow them as much time in the lovely summerlike month as possible, because it's where they belong all year 'round.) "Does that mean anything?"
Minoth shrugged, half-pursed his lips inside-out, you know the way. Then he smiled, even grinned. "Not really. I've got an eye for my lady and my gent any day of the year."
To Addam: vulnerability. To Flora: protectiveness. To (the) both of them: complete and utter devotion.
"Oh, that's wonderful, Minoth!" said Lora.
"That's gross, Minoth," said Mythra.
Gross? Minoth thought to himself. No, gross is what I'd call the things I had to do to get out of the Praetorium intact and with my he/him badge securely pinned upon my freshly nonexistent tits, he thought further, and rolled his eyes and wriggled his brows, but didn't say so, not because no one would understand, but because no one would care. Except you. Do you care?
You probably don't care. And that's alright. I won't hold it against you.
Just as Haze held her staff against Minoth's chest and puzzled, and puzzled, and puzzled some more.
"This is unbelievable! It's not a change to your ether flow itself - my powers can't touch it!"
That, of all things, gave Minoth pause. Repeated he, in so many words, "Is...something wrong? Haze?"
"N-no," she stuttered briefly, "I'm just amazed! I've never seen a Blade with...with such pride!"
From some unknown vantage point, their expression unreadable, issued the sounds of Aegaeon and Brighid cheering (she more reluctantly than he), and Jin groaning, likely because he could have seen this coming even better than Mythra could have. Leave it to Haze to go all a-gaga over differently colored ether lines. Hadn't she ever seen him blushing pale blue and pink when women in towns could be heard fawning over such a "big, strong, masculine Blade"? Or did she think that was just down to the Paragon thing?
"Yeah? Well, as a certain prince I know would say, it could happen to you too."
"You mean I could be glowing too?" With all sorts of lovely sunset-hued pinks, and purples, and oranges?
Minoth nodded, pulled out a gun and sent a shot of ether in some mangled rainbow of those same colors up into the air, where it exploded directly over Mythra's head.
"I don't doubt it. You've gotta believe it, though!"